7 Tips To Create The Perfect Conditions To Take Your Game To The NEXT LEVEL

“There is no try. There is only do or don't.” - Yoda

Adapted from Mark Bender's Train Tough The Army Way

How bad do you want it?

How bad do you want to achieve excellence in the sports you play? Are you gunning for the top or just putting in time? Do you have goals Or are you waiting to see what happens?

Go ahead, be honest. How bad do you want it. What kind of effort are you willing to put in? Fifty percent? Seventy-five percent? Ninety percent?

You think you're busting your butt; you might even be a starter. Seventy-five percent is a solid effort; you feel pretty good about yourself....

A 90 percent want-it rate makes you a player.

Guys look up to you. You have a few weaknesses... The only question is... are you going to own up to them?...

A 100 percent effort means every fiber of your being is on a mission...

At 110 percent, we leave planet earth and enter a whole new realm...

110 percenters rise to levels beyond there physical their physical gifts. They don't set out to be anything less than they are capable of being – they want to amaze people.

Here Are 7 Top Tips To Reach The Next Level:

Have a Goal – As an athlete, goal selection is part of your job. It's your job to define your destination and develop a strategy for getting there. Your destination is where you want to be, not a mythical wonderland of see-what-happens. Once you know your goal, you can focus all of your efforts on hitting it – and blasting through to the other side.

Make it a Habit – Good habits strengthen performance; bad habits add friction that makes achievement difficult. Every habit builds on every other habit. Good training habit make for good study and career habits. Identify, break down, and destroy bad habits; identify, build, and reinforce good habits.

Be a Warrior – Becoming a dedicated athlete is not an easy decision – but it's a choice that leads to extraordinary results. Dedicated athletes are like warriors. Warriors proceed as though the limits of their abilities do not exist. Most athletes try. Warriors don't just try. They perform as though their live depend on success.

Want It BAD – If you want something badly enough, you find a way to get it. You close off distractions and concentrate on the task. Your mind is right. Your desire is focused.

Set High Goals – Teams and individual players need goals. They need to ask the question, “What will it take to achieve the goals?” The answer always involves a tremendous amount of work. If it doesn't, then the goals aren't high enough. Lofty goals have high requirements.

Be Coachable – When somebody points out a problem or a weakness you have, accept it. Be open. Be coach-able. Don't take it personally. Getting defensive is taking a step away from the reality you need to confront. The truth eventually comes out in the sporting world – usually during the game. Get it out before then, so you can learn from it.

Lead the Way – Think of yourself as a leader. Demonstrate leadership by the way you conduct yourself. Quiet at first, and deferential, you slowly but powerfully exert the force of your personality on others. You accomplish this by doing – by demonstrating that you have control of yourself and are fit to lead others. Leadership is a trust that is earned.

To be a successful athlete you need to have a successful plan of attack and plans don't just happen by chance. You basically have 4 choices.

You can do nothing and keep getting the same results that you have been getting. I'm wondering though, are you getting the results you deserve?

You can spend years reading books, testing various programs out on yourself. Unfortunately, very few people people actually turn their knowledge into action.

You might even go to a friend or a family member and ask them to help you out. That's OK if that person has the knowledge and experience to implement the strategies you need to step up to the next level. If not than you probably still wont get the results you deserve.

The last thing that you can do is to work with a professional, someone who can guide you step by step and hold you accountable for your actions and results. You see, when you are working with a professional you are guaranteed results.

To discover how you can take your game to the NEXT LEVEL call me NOW at 410-645-0231 to request you r Free STRENGTH ACCELERATOR Info-Pak.

STRENGTH ACCELERATOR is a unique, no nonsense, and powerful sports performance system conceived to hone your mental and physical strength and toughness. STRENGTH ACCELERATOR will prepare you to take on the competition – and the world!

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Top Chef: Next Level - Breakfast

You don't have to be a TOP CHEF to prepare healthy, satisfying meals that meet all your nutrient and energy requirements.

As athletes, you must fuel yourself for performance with a proper mix of carbohyrates, proteins, fats and micronutrients. Every meal should include three essential components:

1. A source of quality protein

2. A source of fiber

3. A complex carbohydrate.

To ensure that you have enough energy, it is important to front load your food intake. Too-often, student-athletes skip meals and consume more low processed nutrient-density foods (ie. fast food, junk food, etc) to get them through the day, then have one large meal at the end of the night when they are extemely hungry.

Front load you food intake by starting with a healthy breakfast and then eatingmeals and snacks throughout the day, so the energy and nutrients you comsume all day long can be used to improve training and recovery.

Many athletes' biggest food-related mistake is eating too small a breakfast or skipping it entirely. Even if they eat a full lunch, those who skip breakfast will consistantly underperfrom in the afternoon training sessions and are likely to overeat at night.

Quick Breakfast Ideas

- Oatmeal with your choice of peanut butter, raisins, chopped nuts, brown sugar, and/or honey mixed in

- Yogurt parfait: fruit, granola, and yogurt

- Whole fresh fruit

- Granola with added nuts and raisins

- Peanut butter and jelly sandwich on wheat bread

- Fruit smoothie made with yogurt, whole fruit, juice, and soy or whey protein powder

- Apple, string cheese and hard boiled egg

- Egg white omelet with vegetables and lowfat cheese, wrap in whole wheat tortilla

Football Two-A-Days: What Color Is Your Urine?

What can your urine color tell you about your hydration? At what point are you dehdyrated? How do keep from dehydrating?

It's so important that you learn the dehydration symptoms. Learning the dehydration signs and how to treat someone who is dehdyrated can save a life, perhaps even your own.

What does it mean if you see a dark yellow urine color? Typically, this can be a sign that you are not drinking enough water. Are you dehydrated? How much water have you drank for the day? In general, you should be drinking 8 glasses of water a day. If you're working out and sweating, you'll want to drink additional water. If you do not drink enough water, then your urine becomes over-concentrated with waste, which is why it is a darker yellow urine color.

A urine color rating of 1, 2 or 3 is considered to be well-hydrated

But how do you know if you're dehydrated? What does it mean to be dehydrated?

In general, most people consider urine color to be a sign of dehydration. The darker your urine, the more dehydrated you might be. At the very least, urine color can be an early indictaor of dehydration. Now, while your urine color can be used as a guide to know your level of dehydration, it is only one of the symptoms, there are other symptoms of dehydration you will want to watch for as well.

Do you have a headache? Do you feel dizzy? Both are signs of early dehydration. Other signs to watch for are nausea, weakness, fatigue, walking funny or unsteady and muscle cramps.

If you notice any of these symptoms, especially with an abnormally dark urine color you should immediately take the following steps.

- Stop your activity and get out of the sun.
- Loosen your clothes.
- Sit down and rest.
- Take sips of water.

Off Season Agility Ladder Drill for Football - Icky Crossover

The agility ladder is a time-tested and proven effective tool for improving your footwork. The training effect is similar to jump rope, but with several advantages. First, agility ladder training is multi-directional. In most sports, you are not staying in one spot. You are moving forward, sideways and sometimes backwards. Second, your feet are also allowed to move independently in more complex patterns than a jump rope allows. And third, the cycle time can be increased greatly, because you are not limited by the speed of the rope turn. The end result is that you can train your feet to move quickly through complex footwork patterns. The benefits to any ground-based sport are huge.

Agility ladder training will improve your speed, coordination, timing and balance. Plus, it will set your calves on fire. I’m not a muscle isolationist, but this is seriously effective calf training because it engages the fast twitch muscles. Olympic lifts, sprinting and other power training will help you move large distances quickly and that is a very important component of sports movement. Agility ladder training will add precision to those last few steps that get your body into perfect position. The importance of quick adjustment steps cannot be understated. They are like putting in golf.

Adding it to your workout program is simple. You can throw it in as a warm-up. It elevates your heart rate and awakens your CNS.

Eating for Two-A-Days

Once two-a-days start, players should consume at least three meals per day with snacks in between. Aim to proportion two-thirds of the plate to consist of carbohydrates, and choose foods with higher water content such as fruits and vegetables.

Skipping breakfast is not an option!

Especially when a player has an early morning practice or lifting session. If you feel like you do not have alot of time or money, a smoothie(McDonalds sells them now), yogurt, cereal and fruit, or even a sports drink and sports cheap and fast option

Adequate caloric intake is very important. To support a large, hard-exercising body, this can mean consuming a lot of food. That is okay. Players should not be trying to lose weight during this time.

For the player desiring to gain weight, the most important point is to be consistent, eating more calories every day. Some tips:

- Start a meal with food, not liquids, so have the sandwich first, then the shake.
- Replace low or no calorie beverages with juice, lemonade, milk, and sports drinks instead of water.
- Try to eat one-quarter more at every meal and snack.
- Keep snack food around to nibble on.
- Add higher calorie foods to every meal: granola instead of sugared cereal.
- Add nuts to cereal, or snacks.
- Eat bagels instead of bread.
- Add more protein, but only 4 ounces more a day, through food, not supplements. Choose cheese, low-fat lunch meats, an extra piece of chicken or fish, milk, and yogurt.

To make the most of your talents, MAKE NUTRITION A PRIORITY!

Camping Season

A summer strength and conditioning camp can give high school athletes in all sports a constructive activity for their months off and a competitive edge for the coming year.

By Jeff Decker & Tim McClellan

Jeff Decker, MEd, CSCS, is Strength and Conditioning Coach at Mountain Pointe High School in Phoenix, Ariz. He can be reached at: jedecker@cox.net. Tim McClellan, MS, CSCS, is Director of Performance Enhancement for Makeplays.com and author of the book Inner Strength Inner Peace. He can be reached at: tim@strengthandpeace.com.


Mountain Pointe High School in the Tempe (Ariz.) Union High School District has enjoyed a tradition of achievement both academically and athletically since it first opened its doors in 1992. With 31 state championships, 26 state runner-up finishes, and 125 regional titles in less than two decades, the school has a lot to be proud of.

Last year, in an effort to continue this level of success, Principal Bruce Kipper adopted the mantra of the International Center for Education Leadership: "Rigor, Relevance, and Relationships." For the athletic programs, this meant it would be a year of new ideas and expanding horizons.

Among the changes was a new head coach taking over the football program. Kipper and Athletic Director Ian Moses wanted an experienced coach with a proven track record in all aspects of coaching who would also serve as an educational leader. They found Norris Vaughan, who brought with him a team-building philosophy that had achieved impressive success at other schools. Vaughan looked forward to turning around a program that had struggled through a 2-8 season the previous year, and a major part of his rebuilding philosophy involved a renewed emphasis on strength and conditioning.

As part of this renewal, we worked with him to create the 2009 Mountain Pointe High School Summer Strength and Conditioning Camp. Participating in a summer program is an outstanding way for high school athletes to gain a leg up in the coming year's sports and to do something constructive during their time off. When planned properly, a summer strength camp can be productive, educational, and a lot of fun for everyone involved.

Read the full story HERE

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The Rest of the Story Part1

Success-driven athletes push themselves harder and harder in the weightroom, on the practice field, and in every other aspect of their lives. It's up to you to teach them that rest and recovery are essential parts of the performance equation.

By Dr. Terry Favero - Taken from Training - Conditioning Magazine Issue: 19.05 July/August 2009

Every athlete and every coach understands that hard work is a key to success. Athletes looking for an edge will train harder in an effort to outwork their opponents, teams going through a slump will try to "train their way out of it" by ramping up practices and workouts, and many athletes view working to exhaustion and beyond as a badge of courage and a sign of ultimate commitment.

But there's another component of athletic success that's too often overlooked, and that's recovery. When athletes do too much or coaches push too hard, the regimen eventually becomes counterproductive--the body wasn't designed to work without adequate rest. Evidence of this imbalance isn't hard to find: In a recent survey of published literature, I found roughly 30 articles championing various training methods for every one article about the role of rest and recovery in the adaptation process.

Planned recovery takes many forms, from improving sleep habits and eating patterns to scheduling days away from the gym that allow for regenerating tissue and rejuvenating the mind. Too many coaches spend their time scripting daily and weekly training programs, yet fail to strategize for recovery and regeneration with the same depth and precision.
Science has proven that proper recovery facilitates faster physiological adaptation and enhances performance. Ignoring recovery today leads to tomorrow's poor practice session and, eventually, poor recovery habits that are tough to break. It also reinforces attitudes that can lead to overtraining injuries. But by taking advantage of planned recovery and making it an integral part of a comprehensive training program, you can help athletes experience the gains that elude them when they work hard, but not smart.

STATE OF AFFAIRS

Most high school and college athletes understand at least the basics of appropriate recovery. If they haven't learned it from coaches, health classes, or other educational sources, they've at least felt the soreness after overworking their muscles, the fatigue from working out without proper fueling, or the overall misery of trying to function on too little sleep. And still, most athletes fail to follow an optimal recovery strategy.

Today's student-athletes must balance demanding training schedules with complex personal, social, and educational demands. The pressures of daily life are rarely factored into an athlete's total training or overall workload, but they're a major factor in the individual's health and well being.

What happens when an athlete has too many commitments and not enough time to meet them all? Recovery is usually among the first things to suffer. Rather than cut short a training session, they might skip a post-workout meal. Instead of missing practice to study for an exam or complete a class project, they'll sacrifice a few hours of sleep that night. In the long run, these decisions take a serious toll, both physically and mentally, and performance begins to decline.
To better understand the current landscape surrounding this issue, I recently conducted an informal survey of high school and NCAA Division I athletes, examining nutrition, sleep, and recovery behaviors. While not scientifically rigorous (the sample size was only 40 people), the results provide an interesting snapshot that's probably typical of many athletes in these age groups.

Nutrition.

I found no significant differences between high school and college athletes in eating habits--both were equally poor. Half the athletes skip breakfast at least once per week, while 20 percent said they miss it several times per week. Sixty percent reported missing other meals occasionally as well. Perhaps most troubling, only 46 percent of the athletes said they regularly eat within 60 minutes after completing exercise.

Sleep.

On average, most high school and college athletes get far less than the recommended eight hours of sleep per night. In fact, 38 percent of college freshman athletes in my survey get less than seven hours in a typical night. Sleep is one of the most frequently mismanaged recovery habits among athletes of all ages, and the consequences are immense.

Regular recovery activities.

My survey showed that in general, high school athletes do more in terms of recovery activity than college athletes, but only when directed to do so by their coaches. Essential recovery activities include (but are not limited to) a daily cooldown, especially following demanding workouts, active re-stretching or lengthening of the most active muscle groups, and post-workout rehydration. In addition, foam rolling and deep static stretching should occur at least twice weekly apart from normal practice times.

In the survey group, 52 percent of high school track athletes used a foam roller daily, compared with 18 percent of college track athletes. And 88 percent of the high schoolers stretched daily, compared with 53 percent of the college athletes. However, I found that in general, unless the coach leads a team through specific recovery activities, most athletes are consistently inconsistent in their recovery choices.

The above data should sound an alarming note: Recovery behaviors for both high school and college athletes need serious attention. Athletes develop training habits at an early age, and most carry these habits--good and bad--into college sports. College often provides a wake-up call, since talented and healthy athletes might not have experienced any real consequences for poor habits in high school or club sports, where practices are far less demanding, competitive seasons are shorter, and athletes can get by on pure skill even if they're not performing at 100 percent.

Terry Favero, PhD, is Professor of Biology and Conditioning Coordinator for the women's soccer team at the University of Portland. He has also worked with the U.S. Olympic Development Program, and can be reached at: favero@up.edu.