Why is soccer training stuck in the past?

Well hello there friends.  This is a topic I have been really wanting to write about for a while now.  I have had the opportunity to take in some great soccer spectating over the years.  To be honest I was never really a fan until I actually got into watching it.  I will say this before we even go any further.  I've never been a soccer player or coached a soccer team.  I have been in and around sports all of my life though and they do have allot of the same characteristics.  What I do know something about is training, so that's what we will talk about. 

Now, it's funny....
I can sit and watch a game and tell you in the first 5 min who is going to win generally, unless it's a good match up.  For some reason, more often then not, one team will be more dominant.  One team is quicker, faster, and more aggressive.  The other team generally is chasing them around hoping to get the ball and make some miraculous play that may or may not happen. I'm going to let you in a little known secret of what wins games.  Getting that dam ball in the net.  To get that ball and to be able to get it in the net you best be quick.  Speed and quickness is what that takes.  If you are being beat to the ball every time, then guess who has the ball... you guessed it, NOT YOU.  OK let's say you get to the ball at the same time, who gets that ball?  Not shy little Sally over here being afraid cause she's so frail from all the miles she's been pounding down to "stay in soccer shape".  You know who gets that ball every time? Bad-ass Brenda, who's aggressive, fast, powerful and ready to dominate the hell out of Sally, that's who.  You can pile your team of frail distance runners up around the goal all you want to try to defend but an aggressive quick team will get through that shit.  Guess where that leaves you anyways, 0 points on the board.  Yay, you become the team that the "best you can do is tie".  Who in the hell shows up to play to tie?  Losers, that's who.  

OK, now that we got the easy play by play and obvious stuff out of the way, lets look at what needs to change in my mind.  

1) Soccer is a fucking contact sport.  Anybody that thinks different needs to open there eyes, wake up and quit being a shit-wit.  Soccer is a constant fight for a round ball between two teams that want to battle to get said ball into a goal.  

2) Not getting into different positions of all players, I mean we could get down to how we could train each position different, but that's for another post lol.  Soccer is a game of movement.  We have standing, jogging, running, sprinting, jumping, kicking, throwing.. you get it.  Soccer is not cross country running.  I've seen the training going on and watched what the outcome of that training is on the field.  There needs to be a new way of thinking.  

3) Soccer players need to be trained more like contact sports athletes.  Take a look at how rugby players train.  How fast they are, strong, explosive, oh and they run for basically the same amount of time.  I'm not saying get rid of the long distance stuff, they need that too.  Just don't need that every single day.  Quit shunning squatting, dead lifting, and pressing.  Athletes need to get strong.  Strong explosive athletes, are the fastest athletes.  FAST WINS, SLOW LOSES.  BOTTOM LINE!! 

So there we have it.
Now for all you soccer parents out there - Get them training, get them strong, get them fast, get them explosive.  The benefit to them will be that they will be all around better players.  Benefit to you is they will have less chance of injury out there on the field.  Win Win.  Sounds like a pretty novel idea to me.  

Positive Vibes

Well here we are pushing into the middle of the week-ish.  We have some heavy ass squats for us coming over the next few days depending on our training day layout out here.  I've got 3 different blog posts going right now that I'm writing but I stopped those to bring this quick little post.

All over the the internets, the youtubes, the books of face, the twitters... generally anywhere out there on the line in the "fintess industry" all I see is allot of negativity.  So many posts, just about how people are mad at somebody, or somebody is doing something that they feel in there opinion is wrong, or the world is against them or they don't think somebody should be doing something they are doing because they don't know anything.  How about this, try to post something positive.  I'd much rather contact somebody for information or even just converse with someone that has a positive attitude and doesn't need to put others down or talk shit to try to get business.

Hey it's just my opinion, I'm a nobody that knows nobody and knows very little. But what I do know I'm happy to share.  Now back to focusing on these heavy ass squats coming up.  Positive mental state... check!

So you wanna be jacked?

I'm writing this as hope that maybe you will watch the video below and take it in.  Most of us do enjoy to have a few drinks here and there, or stuffing our face with some donuts.  On occasion, not a horrible thing.  But, if you are going to the gym day in day out, but not seeing the progress you had hoped maybe it's time to take a look at the outside factors.

What outside factors do I speak of?  I am talking about diet and recovery/sleep.  I'm not talking about what diet or eating style is best.  There are 100's of ways to eat to help make your goals attainable.  What I am talking about here is eating like complete shit, drinking, and sleeping like crap.  These all play a role on one another.  Eating like shit is pretty much obvious.  If you can't figure out that what you put in your body has an affect on how you look...you might need to seek help.  Now lets get into the drinking and sleeping.  I'm including a video at the bottom, that explains hopefully in easy to understand terms the metabolic process of alcohol in the body.  Also, if you think that you are sleeping good because you are passing out from your drinks.  Not so much there either.  

I'll close this out with this.  If you contstantly are looking for the new thing that's going to get your ripped, saying the only way you can get cut or gain muscle is by using steroids, but you can't clean up your diet, eat well, and stop drinking... you might need to take a long hard look at the mirror and see where the problem really lies.  It's really simple.  Eat good most of the time, cut out the booze, and lift heavy shit. Done deal. 

The Biggest Loser Mentality

Good morning Eternians near and far.  Today I wanted to touch on a quick subject that I like to call the "Biggest Loser Mentality".  Now I'll start by saying I am not a doctor or anything close to the sort, so take my ramblings for what they are.

It pretty funny when I think about it, but not on the other hand.  Someone will start on a nutrition program, generally just cleaning up there shitty diet.  First week you always see a good drop in weight (5-8 lbs) once they start to actually drink some water and eat some "healthier" foods.  Beginning week two can continue with a higher number then tapering down to the 1-4 lb per week mark.  Generally speaking a drop of 1-3 lbs per week is the sweet spot.  It could be a few more here and there depending on how much you have to loose as well as other factors.  

This is where we get into this crash diet or Biggest Loser mentality.  Generally its one or the other.

Crash diet- 

It's always hey I have a vacation or event coming up and I need to lose x amount of weight.  That would be the quickest way for me to not work with you.  My first thought when I here that comment is, what a shitwit.  Why can't they just get it.  Grasp the concept that the way you are eating is making you fat. You can't just diet for a month and loose it, come back fatter than when you left, then continue to get fatter when you back and try to crash diet again.  You are wrecking havoc on your hormones and your metabolism.  Now, if you were to get your shit together.  Start eating right and continue with that getting yourself down to a healthy weight and maintaining that with a good diet and exercise, you could go on vacation whenever and be looking how you want.  You could control yourself when on vacation with some splurges here and there without a major affect to your weight or health.  Instead you choose to eat like shit and not take care of yourself for the whole year besides one month where you actually think you are be healthy but you are probably more than likely starving yourself.  

Biggest Loser-

"Well I was just hoping for more".   This comment right here.  Steam generally starts to roll.  This comes from what I call the "Biggest Loser" mentality.  You watch these shows where these people loose double digit weights for weeks on end.  There are plenty of articles written by former contestants going over the wild shit that goes on at the "ranch".  Here are a few examples 

* Workouts from 4-6 hours 

* Intake daily of less than 1K calories 

We are looking for a sustainable weight loss.  Take a quick google search of how many Biggest Loser contestants kept that weight off.  It's not pretty.  

If I told you, over the next year you could loose around 100lbs if you cleaned up the shit you eat and worked out 4 days a week. Wouldn't you think that sounded great?  That's roughly 2 lbs a week weight loss.  So, the next time you weigh yourself to see what you lost for the week.... don't be a shitwit.

3 reason why food challenges are stupid

Been seeing so many posts on the line about these "food challenges".  For anybody that doesn't know these are generally 30 day challenges of some kind of "healthy" eating.  I'm not trying to say getting people to eat healthy foods isn't awesome.  Just getting people to eat this way for 30 days is stupid.  Here are my 3 main reasons for despising food challenges.

1.  Generally these challenges are done by some sort of gym or group of people.  Little do they know that whoever is putting this together is making a cut of the money they are paying and pretty much doing nothing for it besides saying they are "doing it with you".

2.  The yo-yo.  Awesome you show somebody they eat this way for 30 days and maybe they drop a few lbs. Could be upwards of 10 pounds depending on how shitty they ate before.  Generally all water they drop and maybe a pound or 2 of fat if that.  The first thing these challengers do after the 30 days is go hammer down as much shit as possible they missed out on during the 30 days.  Then it's right back to there shit diet after that and guess what the pounds go back on.  Then lo and behold another challenge comes up and they are right there on it again.  Up and down up and down.  This shit wrecks havoc on your hormones and your metabolism.

3. Thirty days is not enough time or commitment to make an actual change in someones eating patterns.  In the eyes of the challenger it's to just get through 30 days.  These challenges in my mind do more harm than good.

Why not get someone to commit to 90 days.  From my experience 3 months is an adequate time frame to make an actual change in someones diet, daily routine, life and mind frame. Find someone that actually knows something about nutrition, how much you need to be eating and of what and let them guide you and hold you accountable. Every person is different, has different goals and needs different things.

Yes, yes I know all you out there that are furious reading this, there can be some good to come out of these type of things.  All in all, in my opinion for the few that may benefit from these there are way more that do more harm than good.

There you have it.  My take on these stupid ass food challenges .

The Grind

Over the last week or so I have really thought about what I would write about next.  There were a lot of things that came to mind, but top on my list was what I really think makes the difference in training.  I'm not talking about nutrition, and even though I 100% believe that Westside is the best side, there is one thing that is at the top of my list.  This one thing separates good from great.  Attitude. mindset and the ability to, what we call, love the grind.

I believe there are 2 types of mindsets.  One is a fixed mindset.  A person with a fixed mindset is someone that tells them self they are no good at something and no matter what they do that it will never get better.  This is also the person that when you try to help them and coach them, they have an excuse.  Excuses like, well I've never been good at the squat, or I've never been fast off the floor on my dead lift. In there mind no matter what they do or how much the work, they will never get any better.  Bring in the "Growth Mindset".  People with this mindset know that the more work they put in the better at something they can get.  They don't let limitations of not being good at something or something not coming easy to them stop them from getting better.  People with a growth mindset, can learn to love the grind.  Now looking at those two, you should be able to pick out which one is you.  You should really strive to be a growth mindset and if you aren't, guess what?  You can be!  All you have to do is stop living inside your little box.  Use the power of your own mind to learn to push.  

Now that we have that out of the way and you can see if you are a fixed or growth type we can move on.  Let's get into what the grind is.  The grind, or grinding is not giving up.   Not allowing yourself to say, that's enough.  You must learn to push yourself harder and longer than the average person does.  When they say that's good, you say nope and press forward.  When they want to quit early and cut everything short, you don't stand for that shit.  These people may get slightly better at doing something but they will never, ever be great.  Learn to love the Grind and it will reward you.  

If I told you that there was a way for you to get just 1% better each day would you take it?  I sure as hell hope you would.  Shit lets even say .25 of 1% better each day.  You better fuckin say that you would.  This is what is possible for you if you can learn to grind, push hard, have a positive mindset, and quit with all the fucking excuses.  

Now that you know what's possible, set yourself on the path to make it happen.  Learn to love the grind.  It will reward to 10 fold.  I will leave you with some quotes.  Maybe you have already seen them maybe you haven't, but after readying this I hope you can relate them to your own training and life a little more.  

"People need to quit looking for the easy way out and get to work" 

Dave Tate

"Get your head right.  Training isn't east and won't always be a walk in the park.  There's more to getting strong that just lifting the weights.  You have to get an attitude with the weights and bust your ass.  Louie once told me that he would NEVER train with anyone that didn't scare him in one way or another.  This is the best advice I've ever heard.  I'm not saying that you should be a dick, but there is a HUGE difference between "training" and "working out"." 

Dave Tate/ Louie Simmons 

Better sign up now.... only 2 spots left

Hello out there world wide websters.  I've been slacking on the blogging, but lucky for you I'm coming back at you with the heat! I'm sure this will make some people get all fired up, that is if they actually read it, but IDGAF.

Now, I'll start off by saying who am I? Who am I to say what I think and have people actually listen to it.  Hhaha, I'm nobody.  Yes, I own a gym.  Yes, I train people.  Yes, some people listen to me.  Yes I do write/coach some clients on the line.  Yes, I have some papers that hang up on the wall... not a shit load but some.  I am a tiny 165er that is reasonably strong.  I have been training for about 15 years now, helping people for the last 4, and owned a gym for the last 2.  Over that time I feel like I've learned a lot of shit from a lot of people that I highly respect and know a shit ton more than me.  Does that give me the right to say what's right and wrong.  Well, I have no idea but I sure as hell am going to give you my opinion on this matter that really burns me up whenever I see this shit online.

I keep an eye out there to see what's shakin on-the-line.  Twitter, Istagrams, Facebooks, Youtubes etc. and there seems to be this one common thing I see.  These online programs and eBooks.  Everywhere you look, every shit-wit out there on-the-line has some 30 day, 12 week or some other bullshit program they are peddling all over the net to anyone that will take the bait.  Here is where it gets good, the bait.  This line right here gets me fired up every time... "Sign up now! Hurry only 2 spots left!"  You know what... Fuck you.  One, don't think people are that stupid that they haven't seen you peddling your shit for the last months in a row and there is always only 2 spots left. Two, if your program is so good and your eBook is so next level, you would't be using tactics like that and plastering the web trying to get people to get on your shit.  If you are one of these guys, please just stop.  Your work should speak for itself without having to resort to that kind of douchebaggery.

In closing on this subject I will say, by no means am I saying everyone out there on the net is full of shit or offering shitty programs.  Hell I even write programming for online clients.  Guess what?  I sure as hell wasn't out there baiting them into anything.  Those people find me. Shit maybe my next writing should be about this great trend of all these "fitness pros" whoring themselves out.  That would be a good one....