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A Road Less Traveled: My Journey to Now, Part II

**This is Part II in a series of posts titled “A Road Less Traveled: My Journey to Now”. Please read all of this as I lay it all out there and take you on the journey; my own personal story to say, that has made me the coach and person I am today.. Be sure to check out Part I first to get a handle of where we’re at now up to this... [Read more of this review]

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A Road Less Traveled: My Journey to Now, Part I

**This is Part I in a series of posts titled “A Road Less Traveled: My Journey to Now. Please read all of this as I lay it all out there and take you on the journey; my own personal story to say, that has made me the coach and person I am today.. I wasn’t always interested in running fast, jumping high, lifting heavy stuff, etc…... [Read more of this review]

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Change Your Mindset and You Will Build Muscle Fast

**Guest Post from Jason Ferruggia author of Muscle Gaining Secrets and owner of Renegade Strength and Conditioning; Enjoy.** Change Your Mindset and You Will Build Muscle Fast By Jason Ferruggia Let’s be honest. Everybody wants to improve the way they look. I don’t know of too many people that don’t want to build muscle fast or lose more... [Read more of this review]

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Sandbag Workouts (Videos)

Me wrestling with the sandbag I mad e up a couple sandbags yesterday (FINALLY) after purchasing a couple army/navy duffle bags off of ebay. This was my first time ever using a sandbag for training, and I was completely blown away by how tough this simple tool really is. The cool thing about these is that you can do endless movements, anywhere, anytime.... [Read more of this review]

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How to Build Bigger Arms

*Guest Article from world-famous strength and conditioning expert Jason Ferruggia, author of Muscle Gaining Secrets. Guns, jacks, pipes, hooks, pythons… Whatever you call them, the fact remains that most guys want bigger arms. While they are nowhere near as impressive as a big set of traps, you still don’t want to have and extra six inches... [Read more of this review]

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The 5 x 5 Training Program

**Below is a  Guest Article from Mike Westerdal, owner of CriticalBench.com** The 5 x 5 Training Program By: Mike Westerdal Owner, CriticalBench.com Sometimes, we all get in a rut or hit a plateau and are looking for a routine to shake things up and kick-start the gains. And often, when this happens, guys start looking for the newest “hot”... [Read more of this review]

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Quick Tips for Faster Sprint Starts

A fast  and powerful sprint start is essential for all athletes who hope to run a faster 40 yard dash, steal more bases, or win a state championship sprint race. Most team sport athletes are tested in a distance over 30-60 yards, so you would bet that training them to get very good at sprint starts would be top priority… Right? I would... [Read more of this review]

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How To Train for Speed PLUS An Example Week of Training

In the spirit of summer and football season nearly here, I’m in a very sharing mood. If you were ever curious to see how I structure speed and strength training programs for athletes that I work with, you’ll enjoy the sample week of training that I’ve been putting a group of athletes through recently (2 football players; 1 HS,... [Read more of this review]

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7 Easy Ways to Improve Your Squat

Below is a guest article from Charles Staley of Staley Training Systems. Enjoy, -John Cortese 7 Easy Ways to Improve Your Squat By Charles Staley, B.Sc, MSS Director, Staley Training Systems StaleyTraining.com The ability to squat safely and effectively is an important arrow in the lifter’s quiver- properly... [Read more of this review]

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Lessons From an Alumni Football Game

Me playing some defense this past weekend. Good times! As some of you may or may not know, I played in an alumni football game this past weekend. It was my old high school’s alumni football players versus our rival high school’s alumni. It felt awesome to put the pads on again and play the game that we all obviously love so much. I thought... [Read more of this review]

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3 Myths and Lies About Strength Training for Athletes

If I hear another athlete, coach, or parent tell me some ridiculous reason for why weight training is BAD for you, I will scream. Very loud so everyone around me hears it, too. Yes, IMPROPERLY PERFORMED WEIGHT TRAINING IS BAD FOR YOU. This should be not confused with PROPERLY EXECUTED, WELL-COACHED, SOUND-REASON weight training. Unfortunately somewhere... [Read more of this review]

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Is Muscle Soreness Really Needed?

**Below is a guest post from Mike Westerdal, owner and creator of CriticalBench.com Enjoy, -John Cortese For a lot of bodybuilders, competitive athletes and guys who just like to work out, sore muscles are the marker for a “good” workout. If you’re muscles aren’t sore the next day or the day after that, then you probably... [Read more of this review]

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The Truth About Strength and Conditioning for Youth Athletes: Part I

This will be a series of posts about strength and conditioning for youth athletes; read Part I below. This is a topic that I’m very passionate about and I have some strong views on, so bare with me here while I shed some light on why I feel even youth athletes need to be involved in some form of basic strength training. Hear me out…... [Read more of this review]

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How to Develop Explosive Power

There are many different ways to develop the type of speed and power needed to excel in sports. No matter which method you choose, a very simple and effective way is to simply start jumping. This doesn’t need to get very complicated or fancy. For some reason, basic jump training has been made overly complex and complicated by many people... [Read more of this review]

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Are Essential Fatty Acids Really Essential?

Hey guys! Hope you’re well. It’s late, so I’ll keep this quick… It’s a very simple question. But a very important one. If you’re at all interested in your health then do NOT miss out on this article. It’s based on science, not guesswork. Yet it’s easy to understand. Check it out here: Why You Need... [Read more of this review]

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