Albert K. Park

Train Anywhere Anytime!

The quiet hum of the furnace pumping heat into the room is a common sound for me to hear daily. 2 am is often the time I get the chance to sit down write, read, and catch up on everything I am behind in and the other day it proved to be an opportunity for me to catch up with my friend via Skype. (awesome piece of technology that allows you to make international phone calls) It was about 7 pm in South Korea when I got the call from my friend.

We caught up on everything from work, friends, and international women but also got on the topic of working out. I used to train this guy back in the states and we would do everything from high intensity workouts outside, flexibility & mobility work, and even speed & agility training. We were making tremendous progress, until he left for Korea.

“How is your training and working out going in the motherland?” (I am Korean by the way)

“Not so good, there is no gym near me and not too much to work with”

I could sense the utter pain of him pushing those words out of his mouth as he knows I wouldn’t approve of that response. Don’t worry we are best friends and I know he expects me to motivate and push him harder then others.

“Hmmmmm, interesting!” I knew my response would make him a little nervous, as I said “Gotcha, you moth*rFuc&er!” to myself.

I always love to hear this from people, no gym no workout. Right? Wrong! I am a firm believer in incorporating bodyweight work into training to achieve a great workout and see results. My trips, although not so frequent anymore, into larger commercial gyms always reminds me of the absence of bodyweight work with trainers ordering clients to bench press excess weight when they can barely do 10 pushups. For those clients who can’t move their arms to wipe their own ass for the next 2 or 3 days, I truly feel for you and I hope your bathroom responsibilities get easier.
The masses of meatheads who also ignore bodyweight work probably doesn’t motivate you let alone make you feel comfortable next to a tanned, hair gel addicted freak, to knock out some pushups. Don’t worry these guys are just doing what they know, which isn’t much but to look in the mirror after every set to make sure their cubic zirconia’s are angled correctly and that their sleeveless t-shirts are in the perfect position to show off their biceps. Does Jersey Shore ring a bell!

The advantages of bodyweight work is tremendous and again I will resort to bullet points to avoid my rambling and making this a long read, since I know I wouldn’t want to sit here and listen to me talk about the intricacies and science behind it.

• You won’t need a gym or any equipment, meaning it’s Free 99.
• It gives you the opportunity to truly focus on form allowing you to prevent injury when you do start to load excess weight for these exercises.
• The 1 hour workout can be condensed into a 30 minute, fast & furious session that allows you to see similar results if not more and opens up time for you to do more of things you need to be doing. (eating healthy, reading, work, talking to international women)
• You can see fast results in increased strength, fat loss, and overall fitness levels.
• The variety of exercises can be fun and challenging despite you will probably be alone in your apartment or hotel room with your neighbors banging on the walls.


The Beginner Workout

Bodyweight Squat x 12 reps
Pushup x 8 reps

Reverse Lunge x 8 reps each side
Jumping Jacks x 25 reps

Lateral Lunge
Burpees x 10 reps

Varied Pushup x 8 reps
V sits x 10 reps

1st Program version: Perform in coupled supersets 2-3 sets per superset. Ex. Squat than pushup, rest. Repeat 2-3 sets. Then next superset of Reverse Lunge and Jumping Jacks in similar form.

2nd Program version: Perform all exercises from Squats to V sits then rest. Rest 1-2 minutes than repeat for 2-3 sets.

Points for form:
Squat: This vital lower body exercise can easily be done wrong especially when you move into loading excess weight on you. So practice these good form techniques as it will ensure you work the right muscles and prevent injury.
- Make sure you maintain a straight/neutral spine.
- Learn to retract your hips backwards like your about to sit in a little chair behind you.
- This pointer goes hand in hand with retracting your hips. If you see your knees fall over the top of your feet or even worse come past your stop. The position of the knee should stay over the heels allowing for full range of motion in the hips and no acl/mcl/tendon injuries.
- On the movement up/concentric make sure you are pressing through your heels and not the balls of your feet. Balancing will take some practice.
- Make sure you complete the full movement at the top by returning to a complete standing position with hips locked forward. Squeeze the butt cheeks at the top.

Lunge:
- Again watch knee position in the front leg, it should be directly over your heels and should not pass over or onto the foot.
- Maintain a neutral and straight spine. Placing your hands directly over your head will allow you to practice this.
- On the return up, make sure you are pressing off the heels. It is a common mistake to roll of the ball of your foot.

Lateral Lunge:
- The lateral lunge combines techniques of the lunge and squat.
- The bent leg should maintain a position where the knee stays directly over the heel of the foot and not out in front or to the side.
- The hips will have to retract for this exercise to be performed correctly so again, pretend you are sitting in a little chair behind you. This may be difficult if you have tight hip flexors, which will probably be the case.
- Try to position your chest directly over the bent knee.
- The other knee will maintain a locked out position.

Pushup:
- Position your arms about shoulder width on the ground.
- Lower to the ground with your elbows tucked close to your body and not flaring out.
- Pretend you are pushing the ground away from you as you return to the upward starting position.
- Contract your abs to maintain rigid form.

Burpee: What the heck is a Burpee? A burpee is a movement that incorporates strength, flexibility/mobility, and cardio vascular training. I will break it into steps for you below.

1.) Start in a standing position
2.) Lower down and place both hands on the ground in the similar stance as if you were going to do a pushup, next and outside of your feet about shoulder width.
3.) With your hands firmly positioned, kick your feet back as if you were assuming a pushup position.
4.) Next kick your feet back up into the position prior to kicking your feet out, with your hands placed outside of your feet.
5.) Explode up into a small jump from the ground.

V sits:
- This is an abdominal exercise that will force you to work both the concentric, isometric, and eccentric movements.
- Laying flat on the ground with your hands fully extended above your head you are going to fold into a v shape.
- Drive your hands to meet your feet then slowly in a controlled movement return to the starting position.


The Intermediate Workout

Bodyweight Squat x 15 reps
Narrow grip pushup x 5 reps before failure

Front Lunge x 10 reps each side
Burpees x 12 reps

Regular pushups x 2 reps before failure
Mountain Climbers x 12 each side

Isometric Lunge hold 30 sec x 3 reps each leg
V sits x 12 reps

Mountain Climbers:
- This exercise will require you to start in a pushup position with your butt hiked up slightly in order for room for your knees to drive up.
- Next drive one knee up towards your chest and return it to starting position while simultaneously driving the other knee up.
- Remember to drive the knees high into the chest and all the way back into an extended position.

The Advanced Workout

Jump squats x 10 reps
Narrow grip pushups x 5 reps before failure

Jump lunges x 6 reps
Pushups x 5 reps before failure

Bodyweight Squats x 20 reps
Burpees x 12 reps

V sits x 12 reps
Mountain climbers x 15 reps each leg

Jump Squats:


Exercise Variations to increase Difficulty

Pushups: Once the pushups get easy in both narrow, regular, and wide forms. Don’t worry! There are endless variations to this exercise and don’t be afraid to get creative.

- Try elevating the feet to different levels. Use a chair for one level, than go to a higher elevation like the end of the bed, you can even use the wall to achieve an even higher elevation, almost to a handstand position.
- You can also incorporate explosive pushups, where you are exploding off the ground to increase difficulty. No need to clap quite yet, just try to maintain intensity exploding off the ground and controlling your landing.
- The t pushup is one of my favorite variations of this simple exercise. Simply go down into the pushup and while maintaining this position slide your body without moving your feet to each hand, making a T than come back up. You want to aim for getting your nipple to your hand positions, you may want to position them a little wider than shoulder width, before you come back up.
- Lastly, if you master all these variations, get your Bruce Lee on and start working the one arm pushup. Maintain a wider foot stance and position your plant hand at an angle underneath the middle of your chest. Let’s just say when you get here, email me and I will show you the technique.

Closing:

Considering the time of the year, Christmas and Holidays, I have had a number clients do some traveling. This meant missing workouts. But does it really. Despite being stuck in a 6X6 hotel cell, you can incorporate all of these workouts in your room. I know a lot of you are saying, “Albert! Would you really be doing these workouts on vacation, ummmm Yeah! I would! “

So, I am advising yet pushing you right now in the middle of holiday mayhem to get on your horse and really ride through this season. I know there are tons of distractions including Christmas parties, vacations, family visits, shopping, but don’t be the cliché New Years resolution victim to say, “I am going to really get in shape this year!” Get off your ass and start NOW! Merry Christmas and Happy Holidays!

After long months of planning, organizing and preparing the much anticipated website for Hocevar Performance is now up and running.

This is an opportunity for you to see how we train, where we train, and a bunch of other cool info about sports performance and personal fitness.

www.HocevarPerformance.com

           For the last week I have had tons of things bogging down my mind. I guess it's that time of the year when things get a little hectic. Not to mention right after I wrote the lower back pain article I ended up hurting my lower back. Real smooth Exlax, yeah I know. But more importantly there is a lesson to be learned in that and another article to be written on the importance of dead lifting form. It's coming soon.
          Another annonyance of stress has been the increasing fear of "dun dun dunn". The Thanksgiving Dinner! Everyone I meet and all my clients are really worried about how much this one glorious day will effect them. Meaning how long they will feel the effects. Below I am going to give you some bullet points to follow in order to easily get through this holiday without gaining an easy 10 pounds. Afterall Christmas feasts and parties are just around the corner.

• Before the holiday try eating healthy: Since we are all expecting a gut busting holiday that will lullaby even the crankiest babies to sleep, why not prepare your body to process all that goodness. What do you mean? I mean helping to naturally raise your metabolism through diet and exercise. Try eating 5-6 smaller meals each day which will force your body to continually process foods all day increasing metabolism.
• Avoid overloading on the sweets and carbs: Trust me I know the best foods are sweet and carb packed so I am not saying eliminate these completley. What I am saying is don't overdo it. Maybe this year you will have extra vegetables, no not the ones covered in marshmallows, but the green things.
• Make sure you watch how you eat the leftovers: This is where the majority of the weight americans pack on to their midsection comes from. It's not from that one feast but the 10 feasts that come during the next week. Don't worry I used to do and probably will still do the same thing, but try with me this year to really limit this. Usually we will pile on the goodies onto a microwavable plate, zap for 2 minutes, then have a thanksgiving feast repeat. Next thing you know, it's two hours later and your waking up in front of the t.v. confused and hungry again. This is what we want to avoid. Try smaller portions that have a minimal amount of sweets and carbs.

• Get back on your workout regimen: This is a vital aspect of maintanence. You can get really comfortable with missing a few workouts after thanksgiving, afterall you are coming back from seeing family and friends. You also have a weeks worth of leftovers waiting for you at home, something you look forward to even more than the weekends now. GET BACK TO WORKING OUT! Get back on your work horse asap before the fat finds a home on your hamstrings. Focus on one workout at a time. Come see me if you want and I will definitley make sure you get back to it.

     My gag reflexes fired as I spit out my mouthpiece and slugged some water. The comments on the article were right, this was no joke despite it looking easy. This is the beach body workout for fat loss by Craig Ballantyne that was posted on Nate Green's Blog. I did it with my Kickboxing Mouthpiece to restrict oxygen and incease oxygen capacity, dumb idea to try it the first time. Whatever here it is, maybe you can try it after flooding your glands with turkey gravy.

Beach Body for Fat Loss

• Repeated Vertical Jumps - 8 reps
• Pull ups - 2 reps before failure
• Lunge jump - 6 per side
• Close grip pushups - 5 reps short of failure
• 1 and a 1/2 Bulgarian split squats - 10 reps each side
• Regular Pushups - 2 reps before failure
• Bodyweight rows - 15 reps
• Bodyweight squats - 25 reps
• Mountain Climbers - 15 reps per side
• 1 arm KB swings - 10 per side

Instructions:  Perform all the way through until done. Rest 1-2 minutes and perform for 2-3 sets. Or as many times as possible in a 20-30 minute window.

Each round took me around 4-5 minutes. So it is a pretty fast and effective workout. Definitley works the entire body and a great way to burn fat.
          

Below are 5 main points that derived from the conversation.
1.) Bulk vs. Sculpt

          
           There is a huge misconception in this word because it doesn’t really portray what strength training does. You can’t really “tone” the body. What you can do is sculpt. You can sculpt muscles to make them look the way you want and with lean muscle mass on your body, the less fat you will have. Here’s the catch, if you don’t have any muscles to tone, such as in the case of a woman not strength training, then there really isn’t muscle to sculpt. So, let’s put on some lean muscle so we can start sculpting or “toning” if you like.


2.) Cardio Brainwashed


             In college I worked at the school’s gym and did time both in the weight room and cardio floor. Stereotypically the weight room was a shark tank, overflowing with stinky testosterone and the cardio floor
was a sea of women accompanied by the deafening monotone buzz of cardio machines. The sound still triggers goosebumps on my arm. Ladies, please, I’m begging you, don’t be the stereotypical working out female and spend hours on an elyptical machine

              The cardio machine has many downfalls. I will just bullet them to make it easy and keep myself from getting carried away.

- Reduces total muscle expenditure
- Almost all have handles that many depend on
- Deactivates stabilizing and balancing muscles that are vital to everyday
- Is fixed in a repetitive motion scheme which creates muscle imbalances

              With a cardio focused training program you train your body to progressively become more efficient at the given exercise. When your body adapts, it naturally wants to perform the movement with the least amount of energy used, hence efficiency. This is definitely not ideal for an individual seeking fat loss. Your program should continually become harder which forces your body to adapt time and time again. The repetitive movements effect how much your entire body gets involved.

                The treadmill is a moving belt that deactivates the hamstring and glute (butt) which would actually be pulling and pushing you through the movement when running naturally. Instead the belt takes the place of these muscles resulting in a quad (thigh) movement. So you sit there for an hour working out your quads, rep after rep, and you wonder why your legs are getting bigger and your butt isn’t getting any tighter. Think about it, take a second.

3.) Strength training to melt fat!

         Strength training is more beneficial than you think. For fat loss, weight training is the catalyst that is going to help melt away fat. Consider first that lean muscle not only tightens the body but promotes the reduction of fat. Lifting weights is also more often than not, metabolically more demanding than cardio. This means an increase in metabolism, which helps you to regulate food more effectively, and enables you to burn more calories after the workout is done. Even up to a couple days after your workout.

         I know that the calorie counter on cardio machines is fun to look at and it sure does give you a sense of accomplishment, almost like a pat on the back when you get off but that’s it. Although you may not burn as many calories during a strength training session, you will burn more fat in the days following.

Burning fat when I’m not working out? YES!

Unlike cardio workouts, a strength training exercise is exponentially more demanding metabolically. Even during a bent over row you are not just working your back out but you also use your biceps and triceps to help pull the weight, your core is stabilizing, and your shoulder is helping you to balance. More muscles used = more stress on the body = more muscles to repair = more calories spent for the next couple days as your body tries to repair and rebuild everything.

So when does it burn the fat? Great question.

         During aerobic exercises like the elyptical, your body is burning oxygen for energy. Strength training is performed in the anaerobic, a state where it resembles a sprint, no oxygen. So, instead the body uses glycogen for the energy.

4.) More Challenge = More Fun

                In Ms.Graham’s fourth grade class, we began learning our times tables I did in fact enjoy it. I enjoyed it all the way up to the point where I was acing every quiz and then I got bored. My test scores began actually dropping because I was more interested in her, she was smoking hot by the way, then I was the test itself. My mom finally got concerned and asked “Why are you failing?” . My response “I don’t know, it’s boring” . So she told me to try to finish first in the class every time, this intrigued me.

                   So for the next month or two I began finishing first in the class and returned to scoring A’s across the board. Point of the story, if your workout is boring, 2 hours on the elyptical machine, your probably not going to want to work as hard let alone do it.


5.) Women have an advantage over men!
               
                 Despite being able to see my own breath, the blanket of warmth from the sun made it an awesome morning to be outside here in Seattle. My friend invited me to go for a jog with her around the University of Washington area and I was totally down, apparently I had forgotten about the hilly terrain when I agreed to this. I met her down in U Village and we started. Her matching attire of hardcore running gear foreshadowed the intensity and misery I would be blindsided by.


After we finished, I barely made it to the end, I did my best to not sound so out of breath.

“Great run!”




“For sure!”

1.) Women are able to endure activities longer. This doesn’t mean you get to jump on an elyptical machine for an entire season of Grey’s Anatomy or whatever nighttime drama you watch. But it allows you to work exercises longer, so when it comes to strength training, it is important to progressively increase weight. Often time you will see trainers give women light weight to do for 15 reps just because they are good at it. This is absolutely ridiculous if it doesn’t make you work. So heavier weights doesn’t meaning your lifting to get hugemuscles, it just means to push yourself to an ideal working load. Why? Because you can handle it, and more.

2.) The next and what I think is the more important advantage is chemically related. When dealing with recovery from workouts, women have the ability to recover quicker then men. This is due to their efficiency and quicker production in producing Adenosine triophosphate. This is the chemical source of energy for muscle movement. So by a quicker production, the muscles are jam packed with energy faster then men after a workout. This means faster recovery for muscles to be ready for another workout. Damn, sounds good to me, I am thoroughly jealous.
Conclusion

             As I finished my salad at California Pizza Kitchen I walked away with a new, refreshing insight into women and working out. Most women don’t strength train, the ones that do probably aren’t on a goal specific program, and there is a huge stereotype that needs to be broken. By simply incorporating strength training into their working out fat loss is easy! If only I can figure out the rest about women I might have better luck in the dating field!

The walkway winds a swirving path up to the cobble stone steps that lay in front of the stained glass door, the familiarity of the sight was warm. The dark green grass of the front yard where a summer's work of slave like weeding was put in stretched all around the house. Going home to my parent's house is always awesome! Great home cooked meals, my old room, and some good ol family time.

I put down my overnight bag in my room, the old poster I had of Muhammad Ali standing victoriously over Sonny Liston in the first minute of the first round was finally starting to fade. It's funny how everytime I look at that poster it still get's me psyched up to train. Not a second sooner I heard my mom screaming for me to come and eat!

I don't know if you know anything about asian culture but here's a little perspective, mother's like you to eat. Eat until your full and then eat some more. Course after course, even desert has 5 courses. So after stuffing my face for an hour or two it dawned on me like a number 2 right in the middle of a Mid term! I am going to have to work off all the fried, breaded, sauced, and most delicious foods. But unlike in high school where I basically had the keys to the local gym and also had an arsenal of weights at home, there was nothing now!

After a quick tv session with my pops, I put on some shorts and laced up the sneakers and walked into our garage. I just want to take some time to really savour this moment.
The long flourescent industrial bulbs buzzed to dimly light the dark concrete floor, one flickered on and off desperatley trying to catch a steady stream of electricity.
An overwhelming smell of gasoline from an army of power tools and motor oil finds it sweet way to my nose. Call me crazy but I have come to love this smell.
This is the type of environment and atmosphere that you thrive in. I remember jumping rope and doing pushups for hours in that garage with nothing but system of a down and my mom yelling at me. It didn't matter that I had a 34.99 per month membership to the social testosterone tank that opened next to popeyes from 6 am to 10 pm, because I got some of the best workouts in my fuc*ing garage.

I knew without weights I would be doing all bodyweight work. No problem, some of the hardest things to do is bodyweight and if you can't do it you probably shouldn't be loading excess weight on you until you can do the "easy" stuff first. Right? Haha (evil laugh)

So this was my Garage Workout:
Warning: This will be hard

Jump rope 15-20 min
I go through this variation to help pass the time:
1.) Left leg 100
2.) Right leg 100
3.) Both leg 100
4.) Alternating 100
5.) High knee 100
6.) Varied your choice 100
7.) Skier 100
8.) Jumping Jack 100
9.) Speed 100

Bodyweight Circuit:
Performed 3-5 sets. I did 5

Pushups 20 (Set 1. wide, Set 2. Narrow, Set 3. Down side to side, )
Exploding Body Weight (BW) Squats 20
Shadow Boxing 2 min
Jumping lunges 10 each leg
V-sits 15
Shadow Boxing 1 min
Burpees 20
Prisoner squats 20
Shadow boxing 3 min

REPEAT

Remember you should be going through each BW exercise with perfect form and full range of motion. Each shadow Boxing session should be done with your feet and position continually moving, not just standing there.

Turn on some heavy music to get you going if your environment looks like the inside of a holiday inn. Or if your in a garage or warehouse or the parking lot outside of work get into the mindset to work even harder.

My workout was hard but very satisfying, it was just what I needed. Yes my mom busted in the garage to see what the heck I was doing, she just told me to turn the music down, typical, and make sure I drink a lot of water. "Thanks Mom!"

This was an email exchange from my friend. It was about his lower back and I thought hey there are tons of us suffering from lower back pain, this may help you too. Enjoy this is the actual words and exchange between us. (some names have been changed throughtout the email, you all understand)

Friend: "What kind of good core stabalizing exercises do you got pimpin, I need to get my back right."

My email:
"What's up buddy!

Hey sorry I had to dip out early form dinner on your b-day, lame I know bu I had to work late. Pre sale set up. Trust me I know. THank your dad again for me for dinner, great restaurant by the way.

Anwyays about your lower back. Your right on track with knowing that strengthening your core is going to be essential in being pain free, but really be careful in how you go about it and really listen to your body.

Starting off with a core strengthening program with back pain you realy have to avoid flexion and extension. So bending over motions and bending back motions. I'm sure your thinking how the heck am I going to be able to strengthen my core without those motions, don't worry! It's more than possible and should be extra progressive with you.

First thing you will want to do is flexibility focused. Mainly try to stretch the hips to increase hip mobility. A lot of lower back pain is increased due to a lack of mobility in this area and tends to make the hamstrings even tighter. When you can't retract your hips to pick things up, you bend over, not good for your back.


The stretch: go down onto one knee. Now take the knee that's up and move the foot a little more forward so it is a little uncomfortable. (It will feel like it's stretching already) then reach with the hand on the same side of the knee that's down and reach over your head towards the side the knee is up. You will feel it in the downed knee hip flexor.

This will help a lot, trust me!

You can also sit in a chair and pull one leg up onto the other. So the ankle of one knee is over the knee of the other. like how old men sit in a chair not how girls sit.
Now pull up on that knee that's horizontal towards your opposite shoulder. Also press down on the knee towards the floor.

So both these stretches daily and thoroughly. 2 to 3 times each. Hold each stretch for 40 to 50 seconds.

Now core strengthening:

So for you, really start with plank holds. You know the drill. Forearms on the ground hips straight for about 30 to 45 seconds. Here is the key, when you get your forearms down, make sure your upper back isn't rounded. Sag inbetween your shoulder blades. This will focus your core to work harder instead of your shoulders. 3 sets of 30 second holds should be good.

Do planks for your side too. When the front plank get's easy. Lift one foot up in the air to increase difficulty. Don't increase time yet.

Exercise 2:
Ab roll outs. So I don't know if you have access to a ab wheel or a barbell but these will also help you keep a neutral spine and work your core without flexion or extension.

Start on your knees then roll straight out, keep your abs braced tight and then roll up. Go 4 sets of 6 to start off.

Exercise 3:
Med ball circuits. So standing perpendicular to a wall, throw a medicine ball against the wall without turning your torso. For track and field we would twist our upper body in order to develop explosiveness in our hips but avoid this. Use your arms to throw and brace your upper body so it doesn't turn. Keep the abs tight, and use your core to prevent your body from turning to much. You can't toss it too soft or else your core won't work. So pick an 8 to 10 pound med ball and give a good toss.

Do both left and right sides.

Exercise 4:
This one is a regular pushup. But you are going to be doin it with only one foot on the ground. This doesn't mean the other foot gets to cross over the other one but means its up in the air and balanced. This will help keep your core tight and work it hard. Do 3 to four sets of 10 pushups to start with for each leg on the ground.

Exercise 5:

If you make it to and gym do exercises in a split leg stance. A good one is the standing the cable press. (Chest press from standing) do this in a split leg stance, it will help both increase hip mobility and core strength.

Friend, I hope these exercises will help. Once your core get's stronger and back feels better you can slowly start adding more challenging core work. But with lower back pain, a progressive program is vital!

Dude if you have any open time and we can coordinate our schedules, I know your busy with tons of things, I would love to show you these things at the private training facility down here in renton so that you can do them properly whenever you train your core.
Let me know if you need any more advice, want to check out some reading material on lower back pain, or just need another opinion on it.

Unfortunatley I know how bad it can hurt, especially when you get nerves pinched, remember my back from senior of high school and driving home laying down. Damn you Mr. Smith. So I hope this stuff will help in your back battle. Good luck bud.


-albert

In order to help and become more interactive with you all, there is a new facebook fan page for you to join. Albert park's complete performance and fitness experience on facebook. Just use the link on this page to lead you there.

It is a great opportunity for you to stay updated on new blog posts, all the new things I learn and read, and a chance for you to submit any questions for me to answer. Your questions can be anything training related from fat loss techniques, injury rehab, nutrition, and questions on any training methods your curious about. I will do my best to answer all of your questions and if there are questions I don't know the answer to, I promise I will research them and get back to you.

A lot of new articles to come, since I am reading some great books including "power training" by tony dos remedios and the "the new rules for training for women" by alwyn cosgrove.

-albert

Beads of sweat streaked meandering streams down my face, when my sweet dreams were invaded by “It” the terrorizing clown made popular in the “scary” 1990 motion picture. When they said parental guidance, they weren’t joking.

My best friend Michael was always into Halloween, haunted houses, and freaky movies. (He was also a fan of Goosebumps books and that show “Are you afraid of the Dark” man I hated that dumb show) One night, after some 7 year old negotiations, I finally gave in and agreed to watch “It”. Hey the 7 year old Mike was pretty persuasive. Little did I know, the movie was about a clown haunting kids like us, and “it” would haunt my dreams for years to come.




This Halloween seemed no different then the usual. Little princesses and spider men trick or treated, the weather was frigid and wet, college age and up girls dressed in slutty costumes (I didn’t mind this part), and all my friends used the unofficial holiday as another excuse to party. For me, Halloween 2009 would turn out to be one of the scariest ever!

On my lunch break at my day job, I pulled out my blackberry to check out the latest t-nation.com articles and reread some of my favorites like I usually do. With a belly full of a chicken breast salad and water I read Dan John’s article “4 challenges to Light your fire”. My palms usually get a little moist when I read his articles in anticipation of the grueling workouts he designs. He’s a renown strength coach and religious studies school teacher, probably because you really do need help from God to get through some of his workouts. This guy pulls weighted sleds carrying sand bags through the Utah snow in t shirts. Come on! If that doesn’t get you stoked I don’t know what does.


One of the four challenges really leaped out at me, since I’ve been doing a lot of KettleBell work for the last 6 months, considering my boss and mentor is a Russian Kettlebell Certified crazy European trainer from Slovenia. I mean that in the best possible way. The challenge was called the “THE BIG 55”.

The Big 55 was simple. It utilized two exercises with the Kettlebell (KB). KB swings and goblet squats. It’s name is derived from the rep scheme. 10 KB swings, 10 goblet squats, 9 KB swings, 9 goblet squats, etc….all the way down to one. 10 + 9 + 8 + 7 + 6+……..1 = 55. Get it? Good. The idea is to pick a weight that you can do 10 KB swings and goblet squats with and perform the rep scheme all the way down to 1 without putting the KB down. If this sounds easy, you probably have never done either exercise or don’t know what a Kettlebell is. Don’t judge.


(The swing: Maintaining a straight back, stand on your heels, look straight, and use an explosive hip snap on every rep.
Goblet squat: It is quite similar to a front squat. Hold the KB in front of your with both hands and the KB close to your chest. Squat. This will give you a more comfortable and natural straight-spine position)

So with getting off work late, I lost all motivation in the Halloween festivities and texted back my drunk friends telling them that Count Dracula (my costume this year) wasn’t going to make it out. Instead I decided to walk into the underground gym where I train and train others at, Hocevar Performance (shameless plug I know), to take on Dan John’s Big 55 challenge.

Have you ever been scared? Really terrified. A terror that triggers a chain reaction where you start sweating, your butt cheeks clench because you might sh*t on yourself, and you start breaking out into a repetitive prayer chant. Well, when I walked in to the gym drinking my pre workout concoction my body was blindsided by a new and uncomfortable fear. It was a lethal combination of “Oh this place is haunted, let’s get the f*ck out” scared and a “What was that growling sound” while your out in the woods at night scared. I could hear “The Big 55” laughing like a banshee.

It came and went in a mere 15 minutes but it’s effects were felt long after the last drop of sweat. Each swing told me to give up and each squat laughed at me. But as the last goblet squat was finished the KB smacked the ground as hard as my body. I layed motionless and breathed in breaths of freedom. Oh air, so sweet!

Dan John, you are truly a mad scientist and know how to force the human body to adapt and transform. Mike (Michael as I know him pre 17), tell “It’ that I am probably stronger, bigger, and faster than his psychopathic, middle aged, overweight ass and if he wants me he has to catch me first. If he does find a way to get me, I will be taking a Kettlebell straight to his clown skull.



Doesn't look good for you "CLOWN!"


Happy Halloween!

As I sit here at my day job dreaming about training I came upon this awesome article written by nate green. Yeah the mens health guru, t-nation golden boy, and training fanatic. Check it out at his website www.thenategreenexperience.com. Enjoy!

I think that it literally spoke! It kind of sounded like Eddie Griffin in Deuce Bigalow, Male Gigolo.

“C’mon man, you got to indulge and treat yourself every now and again!”

I sat in the Burger King parking lot staring at the luminous and radiant glow of the Drive thru open sign. The sweet but sickening aroma of grease penetrated the vents in my car with ease, filling my truck cab up with an intoxicating smell.

“You already know what your going to order fool! Just do it already. It will all be over soon!”

My stomach was starting to sound really convincing. It’s argument flowed out effortlessly and left a sting with each statement.

Five minutes had gone by. An elderly couple dining in took notice of me sitting in my truck and began sending glares in 25 second intervals. Do I drive thru, to exit with a glorious meal that will clog my arteries, store fat in my stomach, and send my blood sugar levels screaming. Is their even another path out of this predicament, hope was fading fast and my stomach was about to take an inevitable victory.



The monotonous beep of my blackberry never sounded so ethereal. It resonated in my ear as if the note was blown out of an angel’s trumpet. It signaled a text message.

I opened it. It was from my boss and training partner.

Training tonight at 8 pm mo*th*rfu*k*rs.

I put my truck in gear and drove straight home.

I am writing this not to tell you what to do but to motivate you to start doing what you already know you should do. It’s time to make the vital changes in your diet to assist with your training. Yeah the High Intensity training is helping you burn fat and the circuits are making you strong, but the pizza is not helping. Here are some easy ways to start changing.

1.) Get rid of Sugars and Simple starches:
This mainly means soda, candy, cookies, chips, sauces, dips, spreads, fruit drinks, fruit juices from concentrate, etc. etc. If it makes you happy and reminds you of your childhood, chances are it’s not good for you. Sorry!

2.) Eat more often
This doesn’t mean eat 5 huge meals. It means eat portion sized, healthy and fresh meals that will help you curb your appetite. Instead of missing breakfast, gorging on a late lunch and finally ending your day with a late dinner because you weren’t hungry for a long time because of that big lunch. Does this sound familiar? Yeah that’s what I thought, don’t worry, lift your head up. It will be okay. You can change starting now!

3.) Eat more Lean Protein
Protein builds muscle and burns fat! Need I say more. Fresher is better so go eat some chicken, Bison, elk, beef, bass, tuna, anchovy, caviar, squid, trout, salmon, shrimp, octopus, halibut, Venison, and yeah. Eat lean protein.


4.) Fresh fruits and Vegetables
Packed with vitamins, antioxidants, minerals, and fiber. All good for a healthy body. You would be a fool to avoid these. I bet there a lot of fools reading right now huh?


5.) Drink more water. Then drink some more.
Your body needs it to function properly period. End of statement. No info. You want some go read something somewhere else. I am tired of writing about drinking water.

Use 5 tools to help you start making a change in your nutrition. I guarantee that you will see results by leaps and bounds. Don’t think that a diet of diet coke, cheetos, and frozen dinners is going to help you get the results you desire. Nutrition is the change you need and I know you will be able to do it.

MMA Combat Conditioning


Black dots decorated my vision with Picasso-esque style accompanied by a dangerous but enjoyable light headedness. Creeping up with fox like slyness was an overwhelming feeling in the lower intestine that would soon trigger an explosion either out the mouth or butt. After a 3 minute recovery, my lungs were still working overtime trying to bring my oxygen deprived body what it craved. The lifeless bodies on the floor from the next group signaled another round for mine. “Shit!” All my energy was focused on ignoring what my body was screaming “Give UP!” and telling my brain “Hold on!” because I had two more rounds in hell. MMA Combat Conditioning is officially here.


After months of deliberating, planning, and experimenting in the laboratory we call Hocevar Performance, we have spawned the MMA Combat Conditioning Program. With programs for fighters, combat athletes, and weekend warriors it’s a one of a kind system that will allow you to reach your goals and go beyond.


I know what your thinking?
I’m not an MMA fighter, Kickboxer, or anything combat related. What does this have to do with me?

Well, when was the last time you looked at the physiques of these amazing athletes. They maintain high muscle mass with extremely low body fat percentages because of the way they train. By utilizing high intensity training with mobility and flexibility work they are able to maintain these unique body types. Who doesn’t want to be ripped and still weight 200 pounds!


What if I’m a fighter?
If you’re a fighter, How can I say this? You won’t find another place where you feel so at home. This is a one of a kind opportunity to take your strength and conditioning to the next level. We combine your combat art with strength and conditioning to help you become the athlete you need and want to be.

Official News headline from Hocevar Performance:


MMA Combat training

Speed, Quickness, Athletic Prowess, Strength, Power, Durability, Agility, Lifestyle, Energy, Endurance.

You know what your goals are…..
And what you have to do to improve and make it happen.

Training at Hocevar Performance can help you take it beyond. We combine our performance based evaluation process with your individual goals to create a customized and personal regimen aimed at helping you achieve more than you thought possible. Get the results that will take your performance to the next level in our Combat training programs. We live by hard work and breathe high performance.


Off Season Conditioning: Weight loss/gain. Reduce body fat. Increase lean muscle mass. MMA and combat specific conditioning.

Power Specific: Maximize the lethal combination of speed and power for your art. Improve your explosiveness and leverage against others.

Fight Specific: Focus on the efficiency of your movements to improve first step quickness, reaction time, speed and power in your fighting style.

Take advantage of this one-of-a kind opportunity to improve your athletic performance and enter your next fight as a complete warrior.

Contact
Albert Park
Assistant Strength & Conditioning Trainer
Hocevar Performance
albykennethpark@gmail.com
253-223-6989

The graffiti stained concrete walls inside Hocevar Performance, the “Training Laboratory”, stands 20 something feet tall and slightly intimidating. Training program formulas are scribbled all over whiteboards, the work of the mad scientist, trainer and owner, my mentor Luka Hocevar. The presence of passion can’t be ignored as even the graffiti screams the anonymous artist’s expressive signature style.

Even the cold bricks that makeup the building, permanently wear the gym’s creed. “He who conquers others is strong, but He who conquers himself is stronger.” Regardless of how many times I read it, my heart still drops to trigger goose bumps. It generates a certain aspect of the training experience that many tend to ignore. Some call it the Zone, some may call it therapy or even training atmosphere.

Hocevar Performance is no social gathering unless you consider puking together a bonding experience, actually I take that back, teamwork is an important aspect we emphasize but only after fearless training. This warehouse is the site where a myriad of individuals come to test their limits and then continue to push beyond them only to set new, higher goals. Do we have fun? Hell yeah! What’s more fun then getting results you never thought were possible.

Before I introduce you to a new and “fun” workout we use for conditioning at Hocevar Performance that you too can use in your training, I want to touch base on this so called “Zone”. Take some time to ask yourself:

“Am I really giving it everything, every time I train, to demand and not hope for a physiological response/change?”

“Am I pushing my limits to become better and to improve?”

If the answer is yes. Good. Great. Fantastic!

If the answer is no, maybe it’s time to stop, sit and revaluate what your doing. What are your goals and what happened to that determination? Why go through the motions when you can really challenge yourself both physically and mentally to produce a better you.

I believe Mixed Martial Arts (MMA) has broken out of the brutal cock fight stereotype through the “Zone”. It has evolved into a sport where training becomes a lifestyle and the “Zone” becomes absolutely necessary. Train like a combat fighter, focused on the goal at hand to get better, stronger, faster, more fit. In their case if they aren’t mentally focused and in the “Zone” in both their training and the fight they get there faces smashed in, be lucky this isn’t what happens to you when your not focused on your training.


If you haven’t been working out/training with this mind set, your truly missing out. Your training develops meaning and purpose that in turn ends up fueling your drive.


“If you don’t know where you are going, you might wind up someplace else.”
- Yogi Berra


Now the Workout

Warning: If you like poker, black jack, or even Magic tricks, you may never look at these things the same.

This is straight from the “Laboratory” at Hocevar Performance gym.

Deck of Cards Conditioning


From a deck of cards remove all cards from 1-4, leave the Jokers in them. Next write out exercises for each of the suits. Try to choose exercises that demand full body movements and challenge you.
Example.

1.) Hearts – Pull ups
2.) Spades – Pushups
3.) Diamonds – Mountain climbers
4.) Clubs – Lunges

Next pick an even more challenging exercise to assign to the Joker. You should have four in your deck. You can even make the task to double the reps for each of the exercises.

Example: Sprints, Jump squats, Weight work, Kettle bell work, Sled dragging etc.

Directions:
- The directions are simple. Shuffle the cards and lay them down on the ground. This “activity” is best done with a group of 4 or less, if your alone, you will be in my prayers.

- Pull each card up and do the corresponding exercise the amount of times of the card. Face cards are ten, Ace is 11. So if you pull a 5 of hearts, you will be doing 5 pull ups.

- Remember if you chose Joker to double your reps, your 5 of hearts will turn into 10 pull ups. We usually will say if you pick another joker your rep scheme goes back to normal.

- If your in a group, every individual chooses a separate card and goes until there are none left.

- Repeat up to 3-5 times through the entire deck. Speed is your goal on this exercise so don’t slack off. If your alone, again you will be in my prayers.


Albert’s Advice in Getting through

1.) Music can often abate some of the pain. Some common artists that make an appearnce on our stereo : Linkin Park, DMX, System of a Down, Tupac, Notorious BIG. (I like heavy metal too)


2.) Please eat something an hour or two before you train. Don’t be foolish and go into this on an empty stomach, you just won’t make it. A common thing to see in our training sessions is everyone slamming protein shakes, pre workout concoctions, and gallons on top of gallons of water.

3.) Try training with a group. The adrenaline is contagious and motivation is priceless.

When was the last time you actually did pull-ups, pushups, and bodyweight exercises in your workout at the gym? Why do pull-ups when you can do 200 pounds on the Lat pull machine right? Or Why do pushups when you can bench 225 pounds? I can’t do anything but let out a small chuckle when body weight training comes up. As Alwyn Cosgrove , renown fitness guru who writes for men’s health, and a number of other top health magazines would say, “why load excess weight when you can barely do bodyweight work!” .

I have a friend who can bench press 275 pounds for endless reps. Quite impressive for anyone really. He’s a frequent gym rat who loves his creatine and Muscle & Fitness magazines. But when I challenged him to do 25 proper, chest to the ground and fully extended arm, pushups he laughed a little in my face. A little rude I know.

When the tear ducts from my eyes finally ran dry from all the crying from laughing so hard he finally understood. By the 20th rep both of his elbow and shoulder complexes were cracking with painful cacophony, sweat had started to stain his affliction t shirt (I hate those shirts by the way), and the fast pace he had for the first 8 reps had transformed into a turtles pace as he painfully squeezed out the last 5. No matter how much you lift, you will always be able to find bodyweight training beneficial.

It’s appalling how often I see Personal trainers put their clients through loaded weight work when they can barely do bodyweight work. 20 correct form pushups should be a standard before putting someone onto a bench press with extra weight. Why jump under a squat rack when you can barely do 15 bodyweight squats properly? End result is usually injury.

Benefits of Body Weight.
Now let’s get to the good stuff.

1.) Bodyweight training is Safe.
- As long as I have been training, I have never heard anyone suffer a serious injury from doing a jumping jack, pushup, or bodyweight squat. The great thing about bodyweight work is that most of the movements and exercises are natural movements and it is at a weight that your body should be able to move. Bodyweight. You are never under a bar that’s loaded with 160% of your bodyweight that, if any bit of your form is off, can cause you serious injury. I’m sure all you lower back victims aren’t laughing right now, sorry I feel for you.

It was Monday, National Bench press day, so it was only right that everyone in the gym was working their chest out except for a couple ladies on the elyptical machines. They were looking quite fine I might add. LA fitness, another commercial powerhouse also tends to attract the bench press addicted meat head. I walked in on an active recovery day so I knew I would be doing some body weight exercises. After my first set of explosive pull ups (exercise is explained later) I got tons of evil stares and a 275 pound beast of a man was so disturbed he found it absolutely necessary to approach me.


275 Beast: “Hey bro, what the heck are you doing?”
Me: “Ummm just doing some pull ups.”
275 Beast: “Why? What is that really working?
Me: “It works my back and it’s pretty damn hard on my respiratory system.”
275 Beat: “Man if you want to get huge, you should load up that lat pull and do like max out 2 reps.:
At this point in the conversation, I just smiled and walked away. It’s just not worth the time and effort. The sad reality is that bodyweight training has been given this negative old school stereotype and completely ruled out as a form of training. The truth is that it can be one of the most effective weapons in your training. To Mr. Meathead, I can’t wait to see you when your forty, arthritis will have completely kicked in, and all that heavy lifting will have worn your cartilage down that you will be pushing a walker, the kind with the tennis balls on the end around everywhere. Not to mention your liver will have failed from all the non FDA approved supplements you have filtered through it that you will have a permanent dependency to senior citizen diapers.

2.) You can use it anywhere & anytime.
- No dumbbells, No benches, No cable machines. All you need is yourself and some time. Now that would make an awesome Infomercial. What’s up now Bowflex. Honestly this is probably the greatest aspect of bodyweight training is that all it requires is yourself. You can do it anywhere, at the park, in your room, inside of a hotel room while your on vacation. So if it can be accessed so easy, why isn’t everyone doing it? I know. I ask myself the same thing.


3.) The heavier you get the harder it is, there are always modifications to increase the difficulty.

- For you larger, more bench press focused, prehistoric men this will probably be a little bit harder to get through your brow bone into your head but let me try. You. Too. Can. Benefit. From. Body – weight. Training! This is true because the heavier you are, the more you have to push, pull, jump, sprint, you get the idea. So Mr.275 pound beast, I would love to see you attempt 5 explosive pushups without rupturing your spleen.

There are also tons of different modifications to body weight exercises that can increase the difficulty. So increasing your body weight is not the only way to provide extra resistance. Martin Rooney, the nation’s top NFL combine trainer form Parisi Speed Schools and MMA’s top strength and Conditioning trainer devoted a year to finding the best body weight training. He traveled the world training and studying in different martial arts including Muay Thai in Thailand, Sambo in Russia, and Brazilian Jiu jitsu in Brazil. The one main aspect he found in common with all their training was the body weight training. He incorporated this into the training he did as the Rutgers Wrestling strength and conditioning coach and the results speak for themselves. They broke an all time win record for the history of school! The school is like a million years old!



So if collegiate wrestlers, MMA pro athletes, and NFL pros are all incorporating body weight exercises into their training, why aren’t you.? Good, Bloody, Question!


Bodyweight Exercises?
There is a myriad of great exercises that you can perform to maximize gains in your training. A lot of these exercises will probably bring back horrible memories from junior high gym class, yeah I am talking about when you wore that stinky t shirt with your name hand written on it. Below is a list of those fun, traditional, but highly effective exercises to refresh your minds.

The Pushup: A military standard because it is so effective. Make sure you keep your elbows tucked in, as soon as those elbows flare out stop and refocus.

Pull up: This exercise requires you to lift your entire bodyweight. So take advantage and don’t cheat. All the way down and all the way up. Vary your grip to stress different areas of your back.



The Y Squat: Some people underestimate the body weight squat, when the truth is so many can’t do it with good form. With your arms in a Y position over your head and shoulder blades locked, perform a perfect form squat. This doesn’t mean just squatting down, this means hips retracting, the bottom of your hamstrings getting parallel with the floor, straight back, and hips pushing through at the top.

The Lunge: A staple in building your legs this exercise can be performed front lunges or reverse lunges. Take a step forward bending your front leg so that the hamstring is parallel to the ground and return. Make sure you push off your heel on the back up.

Advanced Bodyweight Exercises?

Modified pushups: You can change up your pushups easier than you think. Varying your hand width is probably the easiest way to change up the old gym class pushup. Also try elevating your legs to increase difficulty. Once you have mastered these try explosive pushups where you push yourself up off the ground, DON”T CLAP, catch yourself on the way down and repeat. This recruits fast twitch muscle fibers which in turn builds bigger Muscles.

Jump squat :
This should be performed just like a body weight squat but from the down position you will be exploding and lifting yourself off the ground like a vertical jump. The key is to use perfect form throughout the motion.

Burpee:
If you have ever wrestled, practiced MMA, or have just come across a good trainer than this exercise has probably shown up in a nightmare or two. From standing up your going to place your hands on the ground by your feet than kick your feet back so your in a pushup position. From here you are going to explode back up, jumping off the ground a little bit and repeating. Great exercise for conditioning.

Isometric Lunge holds:
Isometrics can be misleading in its difficulty just because the general consensus is that all you do is hold a position. This is true but when utilized with lunges, you will quickly realize that a little hold can turn into an entire work out. Try doing your lunges with the last rep of your set an isometric hold for 15-30 seconds. This is a quick way to increase strength in those legs.

Explosive Pull ups:
This one is for the Meat head at LA fitness. Once you can do a regular pull up, try making it explosive. From the hanging position, explode up so you fly well above the bar while releasing your grip. On the way down catch yourself and repeat.


Extra! Extra! Body Weight Circuits for Fat LOSS!
Melt fat away with body weight circuits. I know I have written a few blog articles on circuit training and how it’s a great way to melt fat. So I don’t want to bore you with the science of EPOC and the benefits of high intensity training. I will just get straight to the program, you lucky readers you.

All exercises are supposed to be performed one after another until you are completely done. Rest for 1 min to 1 min and a half after you perform all exercises.

Y squats 12 -15
Pushups 12 – 15
Lunges 12 – 15 both legs
Burpees 15
Toe touch crunches 12 – 15
40 yd sprint
REST

Advanced Circuit #1
Jump squats 12
Explosive Pushups 8
Reverse Lunges 12
Burpees 15
V sits or crunches 12
40 yd sprint
Rest

Advanced Circuit #2 (also known as hurricanes)
Jump squat 12
40 yd dash, rest on jog back
Varying width pushups 12
40 yd dash, rest on jog back
Lunges with last rep a 20 sec isometric hold- 8 reps
40 yd dash, rest on jog back
Burpees 12
40 yd dash, with rest on jog back
V sits 12-20
40 yd dash, with rest on jog back

Perform all circuits for 3 – 5 sets. The workout should take you 20 – 30 minutes tops. Stay consistent, dig deep, don’t let that little voice inside your head telling you “let’s just do 11 reps instead of 12 because nobody’s counting except for me” to shut the hell up, and watch the fat drip off your body!

Let’s keep attacking the Weight Gain Season with weapons like bodyweight work. Don’t forget about your goals and stay consistent.

This month, September, symbolizes so many new beginnings. The back to school rush, the glorious start of the NFL and NCAA college football seasons, the end of summer and beginning of fall (in Seattle’s case this means the welcome back of rain), and returning the old routine of work blues.
It also is the notorious beginning of what I call the “Weight Gain Season”. It is a potent mixture of Halloween sweets, thanksgiving feasts, Christmas parties on top of Christmas parties filled with delicious food, and finally approaches the finish line with end of the year guilty pleasures. An average American will put on around 15 pounds in the next 3-4 months before swearing to themselves to lose it plus another 20 on New Years. Does this sounds familiar? Yeah, I thought so.

I got into this industry because I absolutely have a passion for training but I also have an equally serious passion for helping people. I want to help you fight this years “Weight Gain Season” by slapping it in the face and starting your change now. How great would it be to get a jump start on that New Year’s resolution by getting into better shape by January. So when January comes around, you won’t have to worry about losing weight because your waistline will already be lean and mean. You can save your resolutions for bigger problem areas like saving up more money and not blowing it going to the bars, spending more time with your family and friends, or finally going on a trip somewhere to show off that new hard body on the beach!

Does this mean I won’t be able to eat any of the good food?


Of course not! I would never be that evil, plus thanksgiving and Christmas are my most favorite holidays of the year. (I absolutely love all thanksgiving food, mMMmm stuffing) By being on a program, it will help you maintain and keep your goals within grasp and one or two days of indulging in home cooked meals won’t phase you. It will just mean busting your ass a little harder next workout and with how high your metabolism will have spiked and the resiliency your body will have learned to burn fat, turkey and gravy won’t have nothing on you.

How do I get started?

1.) Write down your goals on paper with a pen!
Yeah Microsoft word is great and yeah I used it to write this article. But there is something about goal setting and manually writing it that makes it more genuine and real. It’s like signing a promise/contract to yourself. Who can be more real with yourself than You! The more specific the better folks.
Example.
- An example could be a goal of Fat Loss. Specifically twenty pounds and toning up the stomach and lower body. Also to gain more endurance/energy In order to play longer with the kids at the boys and girls club I volunteer at.


2.) Write down what you will have to do in order to reach those goals!
This can include starting to workout twice a week and progressively make it to four times a week. Living a healthier lifestyle by walking more and eating more clean by eating out less. This step can really be an eye opener because you quickly realize that there are a lot of little things that you can do already to start the change.

3.) Stop talking and Get started!
Don’t stare at the piece of paper with these things written on it! Go to the grocery store and buy some fresh clean foods. Get outside and say goodbye to the sun with a workout. Just get the ball rolling.

What I am going to do for YOU!

The next group of articles will be focused in helping you tackle the Weight gain Season with killer workouts, nutritional advice, and tons of great ways to stay motivated. I know it will get hard but keep reading the piece of paper with your goals on it to remind you how serious you were, are, and will be.

Nutritional advice Bonus!

This can come to you as Breaking News or repetitive banter but please use it in your fight against the Weight Loss Season.

1.) Eat 5-6 smaller meals
- This will curb your hunger so you don’t gorge yourself whenever you get a chance to eat, resulting in an increase in metabolism meaning you get to burn calories quicker and more efficiently.
- Don’t think that a meal is always something big. It can be a replacement meal like a protein shake or a light snack like apples with a little peanut butter.

2.) Eat fresh!
- No this isn’t an advertisement for Subway! This just means anytime you can cook with fresh produce, lean meats, and fruits take advantage of it. This will give you an opportunity to give your body clean calories and productive fuel to workout.

3.) Eat out LESS!

- One thing that has helped me to eat out less is reading the nutritional facts that are mandatory at all restaurants in Washington now. I found out that one of my favorite meals at the Cheesecake factory had nearly 3,000 calories in it. Woops!

With September here, I always get reminded of back to school. The biggest problem I had was deciding on what I was going to wear the first day back. What would have all the girl’s wishing they were with me and all the guys wish they were me? Maybe a Tommy Hilfiger polo shirt, Levi’s double wide leg jeans (baggier the better) and some Adidas Sambas on the feet! Now there are bigger problems in our youth like this epidemic called Obesity. Ever heard of it?

Think with me, really hard to way back when you were that bright and happy 11 year old kid. I know it might be hard, but reach far back into your memories past the college parties, behind all the high school drama, and files and files of junior high hormones. Do you remember what you used to do for fun?

Maybe it was riding your bike down to the lake to go swimming, meeting up with friends to play a pick up game, or even just running around the neighborhood raising hell! For me I was always climbing and propelling off of really high things. (Thanks to Rambo)

Why do you bring this up Albert?
I bring your childhood memories up to mainly draw a contrast to the activity levels of youth today.
What do all these things have in common?
The main commonality between the childhood activities of my youth was the focus on the physical activity level. I remember dripping sweat pedaling my blue Schwinn up my best friend’s humungous hill with only the pleasure of playing with Nerf guns fueling my drive. I remember working 2 months straight in the scorching summer heat, hammering and cutting for 6 hours a day trying to build our neighborhood fort. In previous generations, youth have always been able to maintain a balance between their nutrition and activity levels. This higher level of physical activity allowed kids to maintain a healthy frame. What has changed so much that a youth obesity epidemic has been hurled into our lives?

Differences between then and NOW!
People listen up! This increasing problem with youth obesity has developed exponentially in the last 8 years. I am only 23 years old and youth obesity was barely even a topic of interest when I was young. (and I was a chubby kid) So what factors are leading to childhood obesity increases.

1,) Active parents who practice healthy lifestyles are more likely to have active kids.
This is a no brainer. Your kids look up to you, practically worship the ground you walk on. I remember trying to do everything my dad did whether it was play golf, play catch, and even drink a beer. (hey I was 9 and curious okay!) So if your not active and wondering why your kids obese, then this should be a revelation to you now. Your child has probably never seen someone do something active in real life, try getting up and doing something with them.

Healthy eating habits are another thing kids can learn from you. By educating and showing them what healthy alternatives are out there, you can completely change a child’s life. Crack! Glug, glug, glug! If this is you murdering a can of soda, I can guarantee your kid are going to be cracking and glugging to 300 pounds with you.

2.) Increase in technology!
It’s interesting thinking about how my friend’s little sisters have always grown up with the luxury of the internet. What ever happened to doing a report using books and the ENCYCOLPEDIA! Yeah that paper version of wikipedia. (probably sitting in your attic now) When I visit him at home, it’s the exact same scene every time. I know he is down in the basement so one of his sisters will answer the door.

Little Jane, about 4 foot 2, missing one of her two front teeth, will run to the door unlock and run back into the family den.
The door creaks, as I let myself in and routinely greet the two little girls “How do you do ladies?”
They yell “good!” as I peak in the den.
Two girls, one 6 the other 9, are glued to the computer screen, sitting on their knees in order to see the screen.
This is the scene on a summer day with no school at his house.
I will sometimes ask, “why aren’t your sisters outside playing or something?”.
“I don’t know, they probably don’t want to!”
Wow!
I’m speechless.


I hate to bring up another example of how technology is affecting our youth obesity levels but this next one, I have seen take down multiple age groups like the bubonic plague. Are you ready for this?
Video GAMES!!!!
All you guys are probably chuckling a little bit right now. This is directed at males because you know there is a weakness in your genetics for this. I will admit, I am guilty for sitting glued to a screen for hours playing NCAA college football or GTA! When I was a kid it was more like Mortal Kombat 3, Contra, and Blitz! But then what is the difference. Yeah I played video games when I was a kid but I also played outside!

Now kids come straight home from school and go straight into their rooms where they have X BOX, Wii, and Play station 3 to choose from. They only leave their room to piss and eat.
Attention Grown ass Men!!
If you’re an obese man and still find yourself sitting in front of the tube playing hours on top of hours of video games. Get off your ass, and go do something active! Don’t call me a love Doctor but you might even find yourself with a girlfriend in a couple months!

3.) Physical Education and participation in Youth activities!
My foot cheated off the line as I eyed and salivated after the foam ball that would soon be squished in my little hands. Adrenaline overflowed into my 9 year old veins as I anticipated the floor burn my left knee would sacrifice for the win. Mr. Matilla’s whistle was the sweet sound of freedom for all our 4th grade animal hearts as we unleashed in a savage but very strategic game of SOCUM! Also known as dodge ball. P.E. for me was the best class of the day. It was a recess that was actually a class, I thought the school system had gotten something mixed up.

The really upsetting thing is that now, there are thousands of physical education programs across our country that are losing funding and are forced to shut down. This is huge in our fight against childhood obesity. Now there is a lack of education on the importance of physical activity at an elementary level and the kids are now moving even more less at school. So with no one telling them to stay active at school and no one telling them stay active at home, they are basically doing what they know. Not moving. Sad, yes I know.

Then What do we DO!
My free time as a kid, was not so much up to me. I was always either participating in little league, a soccer league, basketball, and violin practice. (don’t tell too many people about that last one) With local youth organizations like the Little League, Youth Soccer leagues, YMCA, and the Boys and Girls club, there are tons of resources for kids to not only stay active but get the opportunity to develop great characters. I remember meeting lifelong friendships, developing teamwork and leadership skills, and also sweating a lot. This is just a great tool to use in overcoming this youth obesity problem we have.

Conclusion
As cheesy as it sounds “I believe the Children are the future”. How are we going to let the future of our world lie victim in the hands of something so solvable as obesity. Seriously here, we are not speaking on the terms of terrorism, energy conservation, or even war. This is childhood obesity, not astrophysics. The main concept that people and trainers lose is that kids are not adults. You can’t reason with them the same way you would with a weight loss client. Kids are not going to care about love handles and not looking good in a bikini. They just don’t want to get made fun of at school which probably causes them to eat more snickers bars at home. Here are just some things to consider in helping kids fight obesity.

1.) Lead by example
- exemplify how to do it by staying active yourself and practicing healthy eating habits. Maybe by doing active things together you may even be able to develop a better relationship and lose weight together.

2.) Make exercise FUN!
- I think that this is the most important one. If it isn’t fun, kids won’t do it. This is plain and simple. I didn’t think violin lessons were fun so I never practiced. I thought soccer was fun so I played in and outside of the house, all the damn time. Plain and simple! So keep this in mind when your making your kid do 100 yard suicide wind sprints. Ask yourself this “Is this fun for him?” Maybe it is, I don’t know, just make sure they are enjoying it.

3.) Educate them!
- This is can go either way with kids. If you make the physical education fun than it’s going to be a hit. If you approach this process like you would an adult, chances are you are going to lose the kid at “we need to lose weight!” . So find a fun way to talk about eating healthy, maybe by going out and sampling different flavored health shakes!

I hope this is just a small wake up call to the growing epidemic of child hood obesity. Whether you want to believe that it is a problem or not, the epidemic is snowballing into a massive problem and the more the general population stays apathetic about this the larger the obese population will grow. These are going to be people fighting for our country, teaching our kids, and leading our country. Where do we draw the line!