With so much going on in the Summer you may find yourself putting off workouts because you just cannot find the motivation or the time. One of the greatest benefits of organized sports during the school year is that the schedule of school and practice makes it almost impossible to fall out of routine. The Summer, as I have written about before however, is a whole other issue.
Being the competitive person that I am…I couldn’t just sit back and accept this to be the case and do nothing about it. I’ve seen far too many teens come back to Summer workouts and August training camps in horrible shape, only to lose their starting jobs or worse, get injured, all because they stopped training during the Summer. So you can see, simply accepting it as a “fact of life” wouldn’t be good enough. That said, I do think that sometimes desperate times call for desperate (or at least creative) measures! I’ve come up with some new ways for YOU or your athletes to stay motivated throughout the Summer. I figured, with the huge popularity of social media sites like Facebook dominating most teenagers time during the Summer, why don’t we join in the fun and use it as a primary way to keep motivation for working out high?!? Let me explain.
When I was growing up, everyone was always worried about how much weight they could lift, how fast their 40 was, how high their vertical jump was, etc. This was and is still very common especially in high school athletes. Coaches even use record boards in weight rooms to get their athletes staying motivated during their lifting programs. But what happens when there’s no coach there to force you to attend workouts? You got it…..time to break out the “virtual motivator”….Facebook and your friend and networks you’re linked to on there.
By having access to a social media site such as Facebook you are given a chance to actually host your workout stats/goals for the public to see. The mere fact of publicly stating your workout goals for all to see can be a great motivator. Accountability has a way of making people just a bit more of an action taker for fear of failure. On the other hand, if you have friends who are in the same predicament as you, start a Facebook group where you can all upload starting pictures, stats, goals and progress pictures. From there retest dates can be set and there can be constant communication with one another (ok, maybe a bit of trash talking!) as results are posted and progress is made by all. As a coach and physical therapist, I’ve used and had to resort to so many ways to keep players motivated to succeed (particularly when seasons weren’t as successful) however, I can’t say I’ve found one that has been as big of a hit as this one. It’s engaging, fun and most of all effective. The “Buzz” factor is high too, so even with just a few kids starting out, it quickly spread to others who just wanted to be part of the “hot” thing that was going around. Again, realizing the amount of time our players are spending on social media sties, I figured, if we can’t beat em…let’s join em! Why not get them to spend some of that time in a productive way?
Once established, you can create a group called something like the “90 Day Transformation” crew and invite all of your friends who you think would want to join. Appoint moderators so there can be judges of the contests throughout. This group will serve as more than motivation. You can also use it to find out other friends workout schedules or see when they are at the gym. Working out with a partner usually works out better for most, but either way, whether you choose to go it alone (using that accountability to boost work productivity) or partner up with some buddies….it’s a win-win for all. Setting it all coudln’t be simpler. If you have trouble with any of it and you’re the coach, just simply call in one of your players… odds are, they’ll get it ten times quicker than you could any way…andy hopefully they won’t charge you!
Stay strong and continue to enjoy your Summer!
Jeff
Filed under Sports Nutrition, Uncategorized by on Jul 7th, 2010. Comment. 
As many of you know Taylor Lautner of the Twilight vampire cult flicks has one of the most envied bodies in Hollywood these days…particularly by teens. You can’t walk past a magazine stand without seeing him on SOME cover. So how did he do it? How did he allegedly add close to 30 pounds of pure muscle in just 6 months? Some say it was his perfect diet, others say it was his grueling workouts, and then there are those that resort to the good old steroid rumors. So, can a perfect diet and hard work equal a body like Taylor’s? The answer is absolutely! In fact, it’s a prerequisite. The real question is…can it be done so quickly and if so how? This is the kind of question I get asked almost daily by teens who are looking to quickly “bulk up” for the upcoming season to impress their coach and win a spot on the varsity squad. Let’s see if we can learn a bit from Taylor as we break down the components I just mentioned to see how to apply them the right way, to pack on the muscle while keeping fat gains to a minimum.
There are many misconceptions when it comes to burning fat and getting those abs showing. Many young athletes think cutting out calories is the quickest and easiest way to get your muscles showing? However, this is not the case when you are looking to have a body like your most envied celebrities, or even the biggest guy on your football team! Top athletes and famous actors/actresses do not cut meals when they’re trying to look good, they ADD meals. When Taylor is interviewed he constantly discusses how he was constantly eating to help speed along the transformation into the bigger version of himself. When you eat every 2 1/2 to 3 hours, you’re supplying your body with the constant stream of muscle building nutrients and calories that it needs, ensuring that at that very moment they might be needing it…your muscles will have the goods to get the job done. As you add lean muscle your metabolism will speed up and your body will burn fat. There’s this self propelling system that gets developed and the end result is that your body becomes a muscle building machine. Starve it of the food it needs, and it’s like forgetting to grease this machine. The gears will bog down, the machine will sputter and eventually stop working alltogether. I have always had the mentality that you can eat as much as you want as long as you are eating the right thing. Filling your diet with complex carbs, sufficient amount of protein, and essential fats, your body will be well on its way to where you want it.
After he got the diet part down Taylor knew he had to work extremely hard to burn off all these extra calories he was eating. Taylor’s philosophy to growing large muscles was to train with heavy loads at high intensity. By getting your muscles training close to exhaustion you will hit a growth stimulus that your muscles need in order to gain in mass. Many athletes train with weights they can handle and do not push themselves to the limit which will negatively affect muscle growth in the long run. Remember, you’re body loves to stay right where it is. If it doesn’t need to change….it won’t! This is called homeostasis. I know…big word, sounds scientific and sophisticated but it’s really quite simple. Provide your body with a reason to get bigger (by lifting weights that are a challenge to your present strength levels) and you will be rewarded with gains that seemed impossible to achieve by staying in your comfort zone.
I was recently asked through email if it’s possible to gain weight by football season (fall). The answer is YES, but how much weight is healthy and what are your expectations? Think about it…even if you gain 1-2 lbs per week until September 1st you’re looking at up to a 12 lb gain in pure mass. These types of gains will definetly carry over to the field and help you with your game. Just be aware of setting your sights too high and either putting on fat because you are trying to gain too much weight too quick (which will slow you down) or worse…resorting to dangerous or unhealthy methods when you see the weight isn’t coming fast enough to meet your 30lbs in 30 days expectations!
Like I have preached time and time again, the combination of a solid diet, and a dedicated workout regimen are the main factors in getting that celebrity body or even just the body that you’re confident will make you a better player. So what are you waiting for? It is never too late to start adding muscle and burning fat. My best advice to your whether you are trying to burn fat or add muscle, or both, is to simply pace yourself and avoid RUSHING to get your results. Taylor Lautner’s body is attainable, you just need to know how to attain it. Ignore the freakish rates at which he put on the mass and instead focus on what he did correctly so you can apply it to yourself. As always the formula for success seems to boil back down to three standbys. Work hard, eat right, and stay motivated!
Stay Strong,
Jeff
If you realize you need to be eating better (like Taylor) but haven’t quite found the way to “dial it all in” to a simple plug and play system then what are you waiting for to get a hold of your literal nutrition blueprint? Get a copy of the Teen Sports Nutrition Blueprint today and see how easy it can become to add lean muscle when you actually have a step by step plan for getting there. Nutrition just got a whole lot easier!
Filed under Sports Nutrition by on Jul 21st, 2010. 4 Comments.
