test

As I’m sure you know by now, I have been lucky enough to work with an amazing group of  both Pro and Amateur Figure Competitors. You also know that I’m also lucky enough to have an amazing girlfriend who is also a Figure Competitor. On top of that, my mother, who now runs Flow Yoga studio in Port Richey Florida, was a competitive Bodybuilder in the early 80’s. So, to say that I have both a heavy professional and emotional attachment to the world of women’s Figure training is an understatement!

.

That said, as my athletes learn smarter strength and conditioning methods and concepts from me, I also learn from my athletes. The lessons I have learned from my figure girls have positively effected how I live, learn and train. And, I’m sure these lessons will do the same for you. So, in this post, I’m going to provide you some amazing insights on what we ALL can learn from these amazing athletes!

.

But first, I would like you to join me in congratulating  Alli on her 2nd Place Finish this past weekend at the Yorton Cup.

.

CONGRATS ALLI !!!!!!

.

Not bad for only her second show and for someone who had the flu the week before the competition.

.

Alli just did a fantastic Blog post recapping her experience at the show which I highly recommend reading here.  Also, be sure to post a comment congratulating her on all her hard work and accomplishments.

.

I know many of you have been following Alli’s training on her Blog. Check these pics and see the finished product of what all those workouts and consistent diet she wrote about can do!

.

Now, onto the valuable lessons in learning, living and training everyone can use from Figure athletes.

.

Lesson In Learning

.

Any athlete will tell you that regardless of how much you attend seminars, read in books, articles or watch on videos – you still need to get in the gym and experiment and find what works for you.

.

This is especially true with Figure training! Each show has different standards of what body type they are looking for. Some like a softer body, some like a muscular body and others look for ultra leanness. With each show, these  girls often have to take a leap of faith and train in a way thats unfamiliar to them in the hopes that the outcome will be the look the judges are after. In many cases, half way through training, they realize things arent moving in the direction they were after and they adjust accordingly.

Now, imagine if they just sat around reading every article and watching every video? They would end up confused because everyone is saying different stuff. Plus, they would never know what really worked best for them because all the time they spent “learning” what the supposed experts are preaching, they could have been learning about their own body and becoming an expert on training themselves.

.

So, the big lesson here is this – Take action! Reading is great. But, nothing replaces the value of what you learn when actually go to the gym and train.

.

The second lesson here is – listen to your body! Just because the “experts” say it’s good, doesn’t mean it’s good for you. Don’t be afraid to use your common sense regardless of what the “experts” say. Even me !

.

The third lesson here is one that I find particularly valuable. Figure athletes understand this whole heartedly – You only learn how to succeed by failing first.

.

We always think that practice makes perfect. But, we forget how we found what perfect was to begin with. When learning to ride a bike, you have to eliminate all the wrong ways to ride it before you find the right way. This is why you fall a bunch of times before you are able to ride.

.

So, if you want to succeed in Strength training or athletics or in life, be ready to fall. And, be happy that you fell because It will only bring you a step closer to success!

.

Lessons in Living!

.

At first, the whole reason Alli began training for a figure show was to have a training goal that she was guaranteed to stick with and see through till the end. And, nothing is more motivating that setting a goal in which the end result is to get on stage, with little clothing, in front of both an audience and judging panel of strangers who are going to be critical of every aspect of your body.

.

Since, making this goal, Alli has turned a training goal into a full time lifestyle in which she will continue to cultivate and grow.

.

Now, don’t misunderstand, Alli has always been a motivated and skilled athlete who trained hard. But, training for fun and training for a specific goal and deadline to achieve that goal is a whole different story.

.

As you can see, Alli not only achieved her goal but surpassed it by a long shot. Not only did she do that but, in the process, she gained a ton a practical training experience, learned that her will to succeed far surpassed her obstacles and she learned how to separate what was urgent from what was important. These are all invaluable lessons!

.

These lessons not only made Alli a better person, but made her a better, more knowledgeable trainer.

.

So, take a lesson from Alli – Don’t just do stuff, whatever you are doing,  set a goal and get after it with purpose, persistence, passion and pride!

.

You would never get on a plane if you didn’t know where it was going, would you? Of course not! So, why are you living you life like that. Again, take a lesson from Alli and set goals for yourself and take steps each day toward achieving it! Even if you only dedicate a few minutes toward your goal, each day is still a achievement and a success.

.

Lessons in Training

.

I’ve always said that, folks train like they live their lives. Every person that I’ve trained who has worked hard for every thing they currently have, never needed me to motivate them. Why? – because they brought that same dedication, drive and intensity they posses in their professional world, to their training world. On the other hand, the folks that always seem to be struggling with life, seem to be the same ones who quit early, do the most whingeing and seem to need the most motivation from me.

.

I thnk this goes to show that there is another side to training & conditioning that is more mental and spiritual.  It’s about what my good friend, Coach JC Santana calls – “training the human will”.

.

As Alli quickly realized, once you discover that you do have the ability to push yourself in the gym each day and follow a strict diet, even on the days you don necessarily want to, you realize that if you can do this, you can do just about anything.

.

In other words, once you find out that you can get over a specific obstacle, all other obstacles don’t look as challenging.

.

So, get to the gym and push yourself hard. If you can do this, and still leave with a smile on your face, other stresses and issues in life won’t seem all that bad.

.

You also may find that you morph from the person who complains and limits themselves to only what they know, to the person who is ready for anything because you already know, regardless of what is, you can beat it!

.

A  Big Thanks!

.

I hope you enjoyed this post and I hope you too, have learned some valuable lessons in life, living and training from Alli and these amazing athletes known as figure girls.

.

Keep these lessons in mind the next time you see one of these girls in a picture or at the gym. Because, my friends, there is so much more to them then just the make up, spray tanned body and muscles.

.

With that said, I’d like to wrap up by saying thank you to Alli for making us all proud and to all my dedicated figure athletes for teaching us these amazing lessons!

.

If you’d like to congratulate Alli yourself, comment on her blog post here…

.

.

In my – The TRUTH ABout Muscle Imbalances Part 1 and Part 2. I clarified some of the common myths and misconceptions about muscle imbalances. And, exposed you to some smarter, more logical approaches to training clients and athletes with muscle imbalances.

.

Now, As promised, in this post – its all about Practical training strategies!

.

I’m going to reveal my Top 5 Ways Guaranteed to alleviate and prevent muscle imbalances!

.

All the training strategies I’m getting ready to tell you about are simple to understand, easy to apply and can be used safely and effectively with athletes of all levels, in any setting from large group to one on one training.

.

So, if you want to create a workout that reduces current muscle imbalances, prevents injury and creates more symmetry and improves functional strength – apply these concepts below to every workout you do!

.

Coach Nick’s Top 5 Ways to Corrective and Prevent Muscle Imbalances!

.

#1. Use Uni-Lateral Exercises

.

Unilateral training has become the dominant style of ALL my lifting these days. Why? – because we all have one side that is stronger and more developed than the other! If I spend most of my time performing bilateral movements – I’m just reinforcing those existing imbalances. I may also be putting my athletes at an increased risk of injury!

.

Many folks would tell you that to progress the loaded squat – you start on two legs (bilateral), progress to a split stance, then to a single leg stance. I however disagree and do almost the opposite. I start everyone with either a loaded split stance or single leg stance long before I ever get them to do a loaded bilateral squat. Keep in mind Im talking about loaded squatting, not unloaded squatting. I use unloaded, bilateral squat patterns with everyone!

.

Although many folks seem to understand the importance of unilateral training. It seems that this concept is rarely applied to training the upper-body. So don’t forget about your 1 arm rows, 1 arm push ups, and one arm presses!

.

For more on the benefits of unilateral training check out my article here and Allis article here.

.

#2. Write Unbalanced Programs!

.

Put simply, when it comes to designing a workout program – Unbalanced bodies need Unbalanced workout Programs!

.

So, if you are a strong bencher but have no muscle mass in the middle of your back – Do more pulls than pushes!

or,

If you naturally have a thick torso but skinny legs – spend more time lifting your legs!

.

This stuff is really not rocket science but folks just aren’t doing it!

.

#3. Practice Balanced Training Methods

.

Yes, I know this is opposite of what I just said above! The fact is, once you trained properly to alleviate your imbalances, you need to maintain your current level of balance. This can only be done by designing a well balanced program.

.

Plus, if you are a coach or trainer looking to preventing muscle imbalances from happening at all, practicing well balanced program design methods will do just that.

.

A well balanced program consists of  doing a 1:1 ratio of everything – For every pull there is a push. For every flexion there is an extension. Everything done of the right is also done with the left. I think you get the idea.

.

#4. Start with the Weak Side

.

If you have an obvious weak side or Non-dominat side – I recommend always starting your sets on that side.

.

Why? – well, what if on your strong side, you could perform 20 reps with a given weight. But, your weak side can only perform 15 reps with that same weight. By starting with your weak side, you set a rep # standard for what you want the strong side to do as well. In other words, if the weak side can only do 15 reps. You would only do 15 reps on your strong side as well.

.

This strategy will have two positive effects- 1.) it will save the strong side from possible overuse injury and prevent it from getting too strong relative to the other side – 2.) force the weak side to get stronger and catch up to the strong side.

.

Lastly, it always takes more energy and CNS demand to do things on your non-dominant side. So, it’s always a good idea to start each set using your weaker side because you are fresher and able to devote more energy and effort. This will lead to faster and larger gains in strength and performance on that weak side.

.

#5. Control the Force You Can Create!

.

This is really a call for the use of mostly standing, free weight based, functionally integrated exercises. This way, you develop and improve the optimal stability required to control your body while improving strength to move your body.

.

Put simply, many folks out there in the weight room are strong. But, only in the gym!

.

The problem is they cannot control the force the can create. So, they can only generate maximal force in which a bench or machine can control it for them. All they have to do is move the load.

.

Think about a guy who can bench a ton or weight. But, when he does push ups, his low back and head sags down toward the floor. This shows that although his upper body can produce tremendous force, his torso cannot control (stabilize) the pull of gravity. This means that his torso (core) cannot control all the fore his upper-body can create. My fiends, this is a huge imbalance that can only lead to dysfunction and injury!

.

So, do you stability work and spend most of you time in the gym Not sitting or lying down on a bench!

.

There you have it!

My top 5 ways to correct and prevent muscle imbalances.

.

I’d love to hear your ideas and thoughts so post your comments below!

-

-

Alright, I’m back home from giving two killer presentations at the ECA World Fitness THRIVE Conference. The crowd at both classes could not have been any better and a BIG Thanks goes out to all the folks at ECA for welcoming me with open arms and for their amazing staff!

.

On top of that, Alli had her Figure Competition this past weekend. Tomorrow, I will reveal the results and talk about what goes back stage at a Figure Show.

.

For now, we are back in action with Smarter Strength and Conditioning concepts!

.

In todays post, I’m going to hit you with one of my favorite Leg Complexes. A  leg complex could also be called a leg circuit.

.

This complex is one of the version I have developed from the original Super Legs circuit designed by my good friend, Coach JC Santana.

.

This Leg Complex is done unilaterally so its great for sports specific purposes and for physique competitors to develop symmetry.

.

.

.
.

A few weeks ago the editors at T-Nation contacted me about contributing to an article they were calling T-Muscle Twitter – Short Answers to Short Questions.

.

The concept is, they asked me two questions, and I had to answer in 140 words or less. Yes, I know Twitter is only 140 characters. But thats by far not enough to say anything significant. Which is why I pretty much abandoned using twitter altogether.

.

Anyway, In the article, I answered two questions;

.

Question #1 – How can I get bigger shoulders?

and

Question #2 – What’s a good, bodyweight only,  in-home program  I can do to look good naked?

.

If you would like to see my answers to these two questions, you can read the entire article here.

.

In the article, I provide two training programs and multiple videos. See it all here!

.

Plus, Tmuscle has recruited a bunch of other well respected coaches to provide their tale on the same questions. That means you get to learn a wide variety of approaches to same issue, all in one article. Which my friends, is something you don’t see too often!

.

.

Well, here it is, the first installment of a regular Friday post that I’m calling “Freestyle Friday”.

.

Basically, on Fridays, I’m going to mix things up a bit from the normal Smarter Strength & Conditioning concepts in favor of something a little more fun and entertaining. Don’t get me wrong, I love the Strength & Conditioning stuff. But, there is nothing wrong with talking about other things of interest like good music, movies, articles and anything else I’ve come across that week. I mean, there is much more to life than just training!

.

So, lets kick things off with a music recommendation. If you are like me, you are always looking for cool new tunes to listen to while training.

.

Music on Performance U Playlist

.

Band – Flaw

.

Style of Music of Flaw – Hard Rock

.

Recommended songs from Flaw  - My letter, Best I Am, Not Enough, Recognize, All the Worst, Final Cry, Paycheck.

.

Here is a music video for one of my favorite Flaw songs – “My Letter”. The video is a bootleg but you can still listen the song just fine! Enjoy!

.

.

.

Iraqi’s Suck At Jumping Jacks

.

These videos made me laugh. It seems the average Iraqi man is not naturally blessed with much body awareness or coordination.

.

.
.
It also seems that these Iraqi’s could use a few of my Warm Up Progressions DVDs. Check this video out!
.

.
.

6 Things Your Body Does Every Day That Science Can’t Explain

.

I like to consider myself a student of human body. I’ve love anything and everything that teaches my about the human body.

.

I recently came across this very cool article on Cracked.com called “6 Things Your Body Does Every Day That Science Can’t Explain”.

.

Articles on Cracked.com are always smart, concise, light hearted and just plain funny. It always nice to learn and get a few laughs while doing so. You can check out the article here.

.

.

Now its your turn! – Post below and tell me (and all the readers) about your favorite songs to workout too, cool Youtube videos, Interesting articles you have come across and anything else you think we’d like!

.

.

In my last post, I provided you with Mark Young’s brilliant concept of using Tight Rotations as part of a cardio / conditioning / fat loss workout.

.

As promised, in this post, I have provided a video that will show you one of the ways I utilize Tight Rotations in our Metabolic Conditioning here at Performance U.

.

In this video, you will see Alli McKee doing some serious upper body dominant conditioning after her Strength Workout. Trust me when I say, Alli can out-last any and all comers when it comes to conditioning. When we are training, regardless of how difficult the workout, Alli won’t stop until I tell her to stop! That my friends is the type of drive, mental toughness and dedication it takes to be a champion!

.

And, its why Alli is going to kick ass on stage at her figure competition next week!

.

Watch Alli “get after it” in the only she knows how, as she performs 1 round of her interval conditioning.

.

.

.
.

Now , go here to read Alli’s Blog post in which she reveals the exact training specifics of the Conditioning workout you have just watched. Yes, here, Alli tells you the specific reps, sets, tempos, rests used in during her strength session that day. Plus,  she provides the work/rest interval times she performed on the conditioning workout in the video here.

.

Where else can you get real world training information like this? – No where but here at NickTumminello.com and at Alli’s Fit to Figure Blog.

A little while ago, my good friend and Fellow Strength Coach, Mark Young, sent me an email about how he has been incorporating the Tight rotation Core training progressions into his interval conditioning workouts.  You can check out Mark’s Blog here.

.

I wanted to share Mark’s email with you because he has a great idea that I think we all can highly benefit from. Plus, his one interval training concept has sparked about 100 new interval training ideas for me. And, I’m sure it will for you too!

.

First, If you are not familar with the Tight Rotation Core Training Progressions;

Go here to see Tight Roation Level 1,

Go Here to view Tight Roation Level 2

and Here to Tight roation Level 3.

.

Now, here is Mark’s email about how he use Tight Rotations to spice up his Interval Training and Fat Loss workouts;

.

“Nick – I saw your post the other day about Dewey Nielsen and thought I should share my implementation of the tight rotation as well.  Since you mentioned it to me a while ago I have been using it and figured this might be of interest.”

.

“I often like to mix core work with conditioning in the interest of time and so I came up with the idea of having my clients do a tight rotation for time (usually 20-30 seconds) followed immediately by a 30-40 yard sprint.  I never imagined how intense this would be, but most clients tell me that their obliques feel like they’re about to explode after this.  After 5 consecutive sprints people are totally cooked. – Mark Young”

.

Put simply, I love Mark’s idea! Since receiving his email, I have been taking Mark’s concept of using Tight Rotations as part of a interval conditioning and Fat Loss workouts and applying it myself, in a multitude of ways, all with much success! Try it yourself and I’m sure will too

.

The training options available with applying the Tight Rotation progressions into your interval conditioning and fat loss workouts are endless! You are only limited by your imagination! Just make sure you a have a good reason for doing whatever way you come up with!

.

If you are still not confident in developing your own methods of using Tight Rotations in your metabolic workouts, don’t worry because I’m going to take the guess work out of it and show I use it here at Performance U!

.

In my next post, I will provide you a real world training video, featuring one of my favorite metabolic conditioning / Fat Loss circuits utilizing Tight Rotations.

.

Stay tuned!!!

Wow!… The positive feedback from my – TRUTH About Muscle Imbalances Part 1 – is still pouring in!

.

It seems the simple, no non-sense approach to understanding muscle imbalances provided in Part 1, was just what the doctor ordered for many coaches and trainers interested in this important but often overly complex and sometimes confusing topic.

-

Well, in this, Part 2, I’ve got more simple, user-friendly concepts that will add clarity to a few other concepts and controversies surrounding muscle imbalances and how to effectively deal with them. Plus, in this post,  I will also provide you with some more, reality based concepts as to what muscle imbalances are important to deal with and which ones are not… this may surprise you!

-

Now, let’s explore more on the TRUTH About Muscle Imbalances.

.

The Human Body Is Supposed to be Imbalanced!

.

Yes, thats right, I said the human body is supposed to be imbalanced. All of us, from elite athletes to the average Joe and Jane, are imbalanced by nature, by design and most importantly, by necessity!

.

Don’t believe me? – Than answer these questions;

.

What hand do you always write with?

What leg do you always kick with?

What side do you always golf from?

What leg do you always lead with when wrestling, boxing or doing MMA?

.

I can go on here but I think you get my point. The reality is, as long as you have a “dominant side”, you are always going to have muscle imbalances!

.

As my good friend, Mentor and fellow Strength Coach, JC Santana says – “As humans, by nature, we will always have a strong dumb side, and a weaker smart side”.

.

Think about it for a moment and I’m sure you will agree with Coach JC Santana. If you are a right handed person carrying a heavy bag a groceries. You are always going to hold the groceries in your left hand to free up your right hand in order to perform all fine motor skill type activities such as using your keys to open your car door.

.

A right hander, just about everyday, has to carry something heavy from a small child, to a brief case to a gym bag to walking the dog with your left hand while keeping the right hand free to do fine motor tasks like writing, opening locked doors, dialing phone numbers and sending text messages.

.

With this in mind, it’s easy to see how we (right handers) commonly develop a strong dumb side (left hand) and a smart weak side (right hand).

.

Of course, it works opposite for left handers!

.

Imbalances Go Beyond the Muscles!

.

Its interesting to note that it’s not just muscles that have imbalances. In fact, almost everything about your body is imbalanced by nature.

.

Just read the Book - The Dominance Factor - by Carla Hannaford, and you will soon learn simple ways to discover things like your dominant ear, dominant eye, etc;

.

Understanding these little concepts can really help you better work with others. For example – a child in school, who is right eye dominant,  will have a much easier time learning when he or she is sitting on the left side of the room.

.

Why?… because this will put the student’s right eye closer to seeing what the teacher is writing on the board.

.

With this example in mind, you can start to get an idea of how these Dominant side concepts can be applied to enhance the effectiveness of your personal and group S&C training programs.

.

Muscle Imbalances ARE Sports Specific!

.

Many folks will say that you must have a perfectly balanced body in order to perform optimally in sports and prevent injury.

.

I would not completely disagree with this statement. But, we have to be specific as to what imbalances in sports are good and what imbalances are not-so-good. Because, the reality is, certain imbalances can actually improve sports performance.

.

Just think of a right handed boxer. In order for a boxer to succeed, he or she should have a dominant side. Would you want to train a right handed boxer as a southpaw (left hander)? – Absolutely NOT!

.

The only exception for a boxer to train using both stances should be when its part of technical and tactical training for a specific fight strategy.

.

Another example of an imbalance that is crucial to successful sports performance is the block style start for sprinters and anyone wishing to improve their combine style sprint starts (w/o blocks). In these cases, you should spend most of the time doing sprints, starting with the same stance dictated by the what works best for you (aka – the athlete’s Dominant side).

.

Now, don’t get me wrong, its always helpful to train from both stances. But you should spend much more time working from the side you’ll actually be starting the test or race from.

.

The BIG Question?

.

Now, the big question all this leads us to is – Which imbalances are the ones that hinder performance and possibly cause injury? In other words, which imbalances are bad?

.

The answer – The ones that…

.

- interfere and/or prevent normal, fundamental, functional ability

- change normal gait and locomotive patterns (walking, running, skipping)

- restrict normal joint ranges of motion

- cause pain

- interfere with optimal rhythm and timing or movements

- cause abnormal/ sub-optimal postural deviations

.

In other words, its okay for a sprinter to have the ability to push off one leg harder than the other leg when sprinting, as long as that same sprinter can do general things like squatting and deadlifting with decent symmetry.

.

Its also okay if a right-handed boxer hits harder with his right punch, as long as that same boxer can perform upper-body exercises with optimal symmetry, rhythm and timing.

.

Put simply, a sports specific imbalance is perfectly okay as long as it 1.) only shows up when the athlete performs certain sports specific skills and 2.) DOES NOT negatively change the athletes ability to perform general, fundamental movement patterns or cause pain.

.

5  Simple Recommendations for Successfully Training with Muscle Imbalnces!

.

As trainers and coaches dealing the athletes who we know are going to have imbalances, its our job to;

.

1.) Understand the difference between an asymmetry and a “dominant side”,

2.) Do NOT attempt to “fight” any imbalnces that you know are strictly there as a necessary adaption mechanism, by the body, in order to perform a given sport more effctively and efficiently,

3.)With #2 in mind, Do NOT feed into making any current, sports specific imbalances worse within a S&C program,

4.)With #3 in mind, devote slightly more training time to improving the non-dominant side during general S&C training,

and

5.)  If an imbalance, sports specific or general, causes pain, limitation or dysfunction, it should become a primary training and rehab goal and be addressed and corrected as soon as possible.

.

Coming soon…

.

I hope the above info has further helped you understand the TRUTH about Muscle Imbalances and expose you to some lesser considered points on dealing with them.

.

In part 3 of my Truth ABout Muscle Imbalances, I will provide you the exact training strategies you can utilize to prevent future imbalances and correct existing ones.

.

In part 3, its all about simple, user-friendly, battle-tested training strategies that all Coaches and Fitness Professionals, regardless or setting or experience level,  can immediately apply to improve their programs.

.

Trust me, you absolutely do not want to miss Part 3! So, keep checking back and don’t forget to comment below.

.

.