SUMMER 2018 TRAINING OPPORTUNITIES

All training opportunities incorporate age-appropriate fitness exercises that include resistance, cardio, and sports performance (speed/agility) implements. Groups will be lead by certified personal training/strength and conditioning professionals.

Maclay School (Webster Center): Tallahassee, FL 32312

Week of June 11th – Week of July 16th (6 weeks)

*EARLY BIRD SPECIAL*

$100 (BEFORE SUNDAY, JUNE 3rd)

Mail: PO Box 656, Havana, FL 32333

ONLINE PAYMENT

 Women’s Fitness Training

• Monday, Tuesday, Thursday (9am-9:55am)
• $150 (6 weeks) or $20/session

Boys and Girls Training (Rising 5th & 6th graders)

• Tuesday, Thursday (10am-10:55am)
• $150 (6 weeks) or $20/session

Girls Training (Rising 7th-12th graders)

• Monday, Tuesday, Thursday (11am-12:30pm)
• $150 (6 weeks) or $20/session

Contact us here for questions or concerns.

Sport-Specific Speed Training just for you! June/July 2014. Schedule your sessions today.

“The only reason we fail in life is broken focus …something else introduced to us as an option that we choose to accept.” -Mike Murdock

Uncommon leaders stay focused!

What do a musician, soccer player, and painter have in common? They are each an artist in their own right. Art is defined as “a skill acquired by experience, study or observation”. Which begs the questions: What is your artistry? What is the purpose of executing your art without PASSION?

I believe that coaching is an art, because while many may carry the title, very few are willing to neither master the skill-set nor understand the responsibility. Similarly, many athletes wish to be defined as “THE BEST” but few are willing to assert the time and PASSION necessary to achieve this level of ARTISTRY…

Eleven years ago marked the commencement of a journey to find my PASSION in sports, a strong and barely controllable emotion, or the “thing” that drives me. I was a senior in college, preparing to graduate with an opportunity to serve as an intern in Strength and Conditioning at Florida State University. I remember sitting at my desk wondering, “What impact will I make on this world?” It was important for me to define my legacy and execute it.

After about 3 months into the internship, my supervisor (coach) described me as “wet behind the ears”, a description that I initially took offense to but later welcomed as he hired me (full time) fresh out of college. It was official: I was a Strength and Conditioning Coach for a Division I school. It meant the world to me that he BELIEVED in me (when I clearly didn’t believe in myself…I WAS TERRIFIED). Eleven years of experience in the field hasn’t come without challenges, insecurities, and disappointments, but the rewards of growing and impacting a unique part of society are priceless. Not to mention all of the free Nike gear!! Annnnnndddd free trips around the country!!! I was living my dream and thrilled about the opportunities ahead of me.

Today, I continue in that passion …a passion that drives me to serve this generation, and a passion that serves a larger purpose. Why am I so passionate about sports performance training? Influence! Athletics is becoming increasingly more prevalent in our society, and as the numbers of participants increase, the potential for impacting this generation is ripe!

Interestingly enough, the same lessons that I experienced as a young Strength Coach are the same lessons I lead with today. It is an honor (that I don’t take lightly) to challenge my clients/athletes to simply get better with each opportunity they have to “get better”. CHOOSE to be great! Simple concept, yet this single decision is what distinguishes average and best. It is with great diligence that I desire to help others find their passion, but they first need to find that same desire within themselves.

At the end of their preseason training, I challenged a girls’ high school varsity basketball team and presented them with this:

1. CHOOSE what you want to accomplish this season.
2. IDENTIFY what it will take to achieve this.
3. Are you willing to DO what it will take to achieve this? (be honest with yourselves!)
4. Be PASSIONATE about pursuing greatness

I realize that coaching is LEADERSHIP. Coaching is INFLUENCE. It warms my heart to still receive phone calls and texts from former players! It is evident that at some point, and in some manner, I impacted their life (although I believe that they have impacted my life more.). At the end of each day I examine every interaction, conversation, and/or reaction I experienced with a client, student, and/or athlete. I ask myself the following questions:

-What was my investment? What did I choose to “pour” into someone’s life?
-Did my words or actions encourage?
-Did I challenge motives, work ethic, or mentality?
-Was the session conducive to learning?
-Did I maintain a high standard of expectation?
-Ultimately, did I establish an atmosphere conducive to enjoyment, growth, and fulfillment?

This daily evaluation is essential to my growth as a coach because I understand the importance that WORDS and ACTIONS have on the INFLUENCE of human life. Oscar Wilde wrote, “Life imitates art far more than art imitates life”. This philosophy suggests that art sets the visual principles by which life is perceived. Thereby, coaching is just another tool to prepare kids for life. This is why I’m passionate about what I do…I want you to win!!

What is your artistry? What is the purpose of executing it without PASSION? Life (phase of earthly existence) without passion is merely existence without life (growth).

I have had the opportunity to work with a diverse group of athletes and in turn have seen every “type”: Talented but lazy. Hard worker yet lacks skill-set…you name it! However, when the rubber meets the road, the individual who flourishes in their craft is the one who simply CHOOSES to be PASSIONATE in their ARTISTRY.

**VIDEO: A film produced by Seahawks players and coaches. http://makingofachampion.org

by Ivana Chapman CSCS

One of the fundamental changes in the fitness world for over a decade is the trend towards functional training. The term recognizes that bodies should move in natural patterns rather than in isolated muscle groups. Although the origin of functional training appears to be from rehabilitation, functional exercises provide benefits for healthy athletes and the general population.

Defining Functional Training
Functional training involves exercising through natural movement patterns, rather than forcing the body through a fixed range of motion on machines or performing isolated movements that target single muscle groups. Exercises can be performed with bodyweight, or with equipment such as kettlebells, dumbbells, barbells, medicine balls, cables, stability balls, sandbags, rocker boards, and resistance tubes.

Primal Movement Patterns
When we look at the body’s ability to move, there are seven movement patterns that are involved, often referred to as primal movement patterns: squat, lunge, push, pull, bend, twist, and gait (walking/running). Any exercise that involves one of these movements could be considered functional (i.e., a barbell squat could be considered a functional exercise).

Benefits for Athletes
Since athletes push their bodies in multiple planes of motion, they need to train themselves to be strong in all of these movements. While a few sports (Olympic lifting, power lifting, and some track and field events) only involve one or two of these patterns, most sports involve many of these movements to be used in competition. Through functional training, an athlete learns to simultaneously recruit all major muscle groups while moving in multiple planes.

Purpose for the General Population
Functional training has become a buzzword in gyms because the exercises are time-efficient and prepare people for the physical demands of their lifestyles. Bending over to pick up a child, moving furniture, and sprinting to catch the bus are typical examples of potential demands that might be faced over the course of a day. Being prepared to complete these tasks can come through a progressive program of functional training.

Prevention of Injury
Sedentary lifestyles predispose people to weak and tight muscles that perform poorly when challenged by full range movement patterns. For athletes, the added intensity of competition can put muscles, ligaments, and tendons under abnormal strain in multiple planes of motion. Through functional training, the strength and mobility to deal with these stressors can be acquired in a balanced manner.

Training for Life
Most people want to feel stronger and more able to perform their everyday tasks with vigor and enthusiasm. Preparing the body with functional training makes bending over to pick up objects, reaching up to put dishes on a high shelf, or carrying groceries home from the store less challenging. Training the body functionally prepares it to better perform from day to day.

The body is an amazing machine, and it is designed to function as a whole rather than in isolation. While functional training appeared to be a fad a few years ago, it now seems that using natural movement patterns can improve performance in both athletes and the general population.

by Derek Grabert MS, CSCS,*D

We have been inundated with statistics quantifying the percentage of children that are obese. Typically, these values are stratified by race, gender, socioeconomic status, place of residence, or various other demographic variables. Regardless of which statistic is most impactful to you, the take home message is that childhood obesity is a growing health concern; not a dwindling one. Children need to eat better and exercise more, we all know this. The key is getting them to adopt this lifestyle.

In the field of strength and conditioning, terms like long-term athlete development (LTAD), training age, and functional movement are often used when talking about youth resistance training. These are important aspects of youth training, but focusing on confidence, simplicity, and fun might make more of an impact.

Confidence is difficult to measure but usually results from achieving goals. 

Confidence is difficult to measure but usually results from achieving goals. Strength and conditioning coaches can motivate overweight and obese children by helping them set SMART goals, or those that are specific, measurable, attainable, realistic, and timely. Improving strength and decreasing body fat are examples of goals that are SMART. In support of these positive outcomes, McGuigan et al. found that eight weeks of resistance training was able to reduce body fat and improve measures of strength in a group of overweight and obese children aged 7 – 12 years old (3). If children are able to physically observe changes in strength and body weight, they can gain confidence that a specific mode of activity is working. Furthermore, resistance training can be a driving force to get kids active in other recreational activities. Although not measured in the aforementioned study, several parents noted that their children began an organized sport following the resistance training program (3).

Organizing a resistance training program for overweight and obese children can be difficult and unfamiliar for some coaches. However, a simplistic approach is usually the best solution. As a general rule of thumb, resistance training intensity should include multi-joint exercises, performed 2 – 4 days per week, with an intensity of 50 – 85% 1-repetition maximum (1RM). Rest intervals of 1 – 2 min should be incorporated between sets and exercises should be performed at moderate velocity (1). It is important to note that overweight and obese children may have some barriers to certain exercises and their progressions might occur at a slower rate than some of the other children. Coaches and physical education teachers need to be aware of these trends and make the appropriate exercise modifications for each child. Refer to Table 1 for exercise progression descriptions for children.

BE A BETTER ATHLETE.

TRAIN FASTER.

Why APX360 Sport-Specific Clinics?

Every sport is unique, so it’s important to teach your body how to move and react to your sport’s game or match-like situations! APX360 will teach you how to become a better athlete by training faster (and under control), as each session will be jammed packed with explosive step-by-step methods and drills that are sure to help give you the competitive advantage.

All clinics are open to any entrants: only limited by age (10-19 years old)

SOCCER SPEED CLINIC INFORMATION: Please check back for updates.

• Location: Maclay School (3737 N. Meridian Rd, Tallahassee, FL 32312)
• Cost: 6-one hour sessions = $100
• Tuesdays (5:30pm) – July: 9th, 23rd, 30th
• Saturdays (10am) – July: 13th, *20th, 27th
• *Please note: Saturday, July 20th: session will begin at 11am

Space is limited. Reserve your spot today!

• REGISTER HERE

• ACCIDENT WAIVER AND RELEASE FORM

• CLINIC FLYER

Things to bring to training:

• ACCIDENT WAIVER AND RELEASE FORM (required prior to training; no exceptions!)
• Training equipment (i.e. cleats, soccer ball, basketball sneakers, glove, etc.). All participants MUST bring sneakers to preserve alternative surfaces (note: turfs aren’t considered sneakers)
• Water bottles/sports drinks (encouraged to expedite water breaks)