Hitting the Hills... Or Is It the Other Way Around?

This weekend I did a couple massive hillclimbs on my bike.. Saturday was a bike race up Mt Ascutney in Vermont and Sunday was a practice ride up Mt Washington in preparation for the big race on August 15th. The Mt Ascutney autoroad has 2300 feet of ascent over 3.7 miles. An average grade of 12% with extended sections of 18-19%. The Mt Washington autoroad is 7.6 miles with 4700 feet of ascent, an average grade of 12%, extended sections of 18-19% and the last 50 yds at 22%. These are brutal, relentless climbs that test you to your absolute maximum limits. The only way to understand how hard it is to climb something like this is to try it. And then once you're done trying it, do it again and try to do it as fast as you possibly can. This requires a level of mental and physical strength that most don't possess. Which is why there really aren't a whole lot of people doing it. To train for this I train on the biggest, toughest hills in the area around Wilton, Mason, New Ipswich, the Pack Monadnock Autoroad, and sometimes up into the White Mountains but those hills are easy compared to the ones I did this weekend. None of those climbs take more than about 10 minutes to complete and none of them, with the exception of Pack Monadnock, approach the steepness of the mountain autoroads.

This past week was a tough training week for me. From Monday to Wednesday I did two really hard workouts in the gym with kettlebells, sandbags and bodyweight exercises and I put in about 100 miles on the bike with some really tough threshold and VO max intervals. I went pretty easy on Thursday and Friday and showed up at Mt Ascutney feeling pretty good Saturday morning. I had never done the Mt Ascutney autoroad, which would come back to bite me later. I use a power meter for my training so I have a good idea of how hard I can push for extended periods of time. Racing with the power meter helps at the beginning of a race like this because you can pace yourself a little at the start to prevent blowing up too early. For example,

when the gun sounded, a bunch of guys in my field went off really hard. Too hard. They stayed out in front of me for about a mile, but then they would blow up one by one and I started picking them off. Going by them as they would be all over their bike huffing and puffing. Blown up. Only the strongest would stay out in front and be able to maintain that kind of pace. To be fair, it wasn't like I was taking it easy. Within 5 minutes my heart rate had climbed to about 95% max. But I was able to hold it there the whole way. My heart felt like a blender running on the ice crush setting for the 33:46 it took me to complete the race as I came across 36th out of about 200 racers. My field was clearly the strongest in the race placing more than 20 riders in the top 50. I was 13th in my field of about 55. The one part of the race that I made a mistake was near the top. The road flattened out for an extended section and I was thinking that I was very close to the finish and that maybe there was one last little kicker to climb at the finish. So I hammered on the flat section and gave it everything I had left, only to turn a corner and see a 1/4 mile wall that I had to make my way up. Devastating. I was way over redline and it was all I could do to make the last 1/4 mile, but I made it.. In a ton of pain...

Now that I'm done with the race, this is the part where you see why people that do hillclimbs are such a mental bunch. When I get across the line at these races it is so painful to stay on the bike that I usually just point the front wheel towards an empty patch of land, fall off and lay there for a couple minutes. I'm not the only one, by the way. One person who came across after me practically landed on me as he obviously had his eye on the same empty patch of land I had my eye on... Once I catch my breath, I'll get back on the bike and spin for a bit and look for somebody I know. So I found a friend of mine and pull over to him. I ask him how he did. He says "that sucked. but i think i PR'd" (means got a personal record).. Somebody else pulls up to us and, unprovoked, says "that sucked".. somebody else pulls up to us and says "holy shit, did that suck". I'm not kidding. Nobody says "wow, what a great race". Nobody climbs hills because it's fun. We do it because it sucks so bad that getting to the top is a huge accomplishment. When you tackle something like Mt Ascutney or Mt Washington you are among an infinitesimal percentage of people in the world who would even consider doing something like that, never mind actually achieving it. It pushes you to your absolute limit. Every time you do it, you prove something to yourself. And it's miserable. But the feeling after you're done is something that is very difficult to describe and it makes it all worthwhile.. Well, maybe not immediately :)

I was pretty happy with my result and I hit a new personal best for 30 minute power output. So I'm definitely getting stronger as time goes on. And then it was off to Mt Washington..

I get up Sunday morning at 4:45 so I can get some food in me a couple hours before I plan to go off at about 6:45. My best move of the weekend was to bring my little espresso maker on the trip with me. I fire up the espresso maker and start the process of my own version of doping. Quad-shots of Espresso, bagels, peanut butter, and bananas. Sufficiently, doped, I head off to the Mt Washington autoroad to get warmed up. My legs were feeling a little tight from the previous day's effort, but of more concern was my lungs. I was still suffering from some exercise induced asthma from my "ice crush" effort the day before and I was worried that I wouldn't have the lung capacity to push as hard as I would need to today. This was going to suck. Which, of course, is exactly why I was doing it :) I was warming up on my rollers in the parking lot waiting for my buddy Bill to show up. Bill is one of the top hillclimbers around and has climbed Mt Washington 5 times finishing top 10 in the race on a couple occasions. While I was waiting, a woman and her husband showed up and parked next to me while i was warming up. The woman was getting ready to climb. Here's a little excerpt from our discussion:

Me: "Ever ride it before?"

Her: "No, how is it?"

Me: "It sucks beyond belief."

Her: "Hahaha."

Me: "No really, I'm not going to lie to you, it's miserable."

Her husband: "Hahaha glad I'm not doing it, have fun honey..."

She quickly warmed up and headed out a while before Bill and I went off.. I ended up passing her later on at about the halfway point and she was suffering big time.. I gave her a "Cmon, you're doing great!" as i went by and she responded with "Unnhh".. It was nice to see the development of a true hillclimber.. Now when she gets to the top she'll be just like the rest of us as we commiserate with each other mumbling our mantra, "man, that sucked."

Back to the story.... Bill showed up, we finished our warmup and headed up the mountain. I heard a "ping" come from my rear wheel which I thought sounded like a broken spoke but when I looked around I didn't see a spoke flopping around so I kept going. Come to find out later, one of the spoke nipples had sheared causing the wheel to come out of true to the point that the wheel was just slightly rubbing the brake in one spot. But I'm working so hard to get up the mountain anyways that I never noticed it. Oh well, the suck factor goes up by a little for the day. Whatever.

When I climb the mountain I know I'm in for unspeakable pain but I try to keep my sense of humor as long as possible. I crack lame jokes to people as I pass by them "Are we there yet?", "Mind if i get in behind you and draft for a little bit?" (remember we're moving about 6 MPH).. My sense of humor usually lasts about 30 minutes and goes away right about the time you get above tree line and start getting pummeled with wind. Today's ride was no different. Within the first mile my heart rate settles out to about 168 bpm which is about 92% max. A little less than the "ice crush" rate I maintained on Mt Ascutney yesterday, but still pretty damn high, and my lungs were already searing. Legs warmed up nice and my power numbers were right where I wanted them. Get through mile 1 pretty easy even though it's a nasty 12-14% grade. During the next 2 miles there are extended sections of up to 18% grade which most people have never seen on a paved road before. Between mile 3 and 4 every part of your body is in pain and there is absolutely no position, sitting or standing, that provides any relief. And I'm not even half way there. This is where the mind games start for real. "Dude, you're not even half way. You're never going to be able to keep it up.". But I do. Once above the treeline at about mile 4 I'm a little over half way there and I'm getting long looks of what's to come and it's really, really ugly. I can see half a mile up the road at a time some times and it's just so steep and I'm in so much pain that my mind is screaming at me to quit. But I don't. I keep turning the pedals as if my life depended on it. Not only that, but since I'm trying to accomplish a PR, I'm turning them as hard as I can. My heart is beating out of my chest at about mile 5 as I turn into a half mile stretch of gravel that's at 18% grade with a 50MPH headwind that freezes my fingers and practically knocks me off the bike a couple times. Now we're having fun, right? Um no. Did I mention how bad these rides suck? The last couple miles are a blur. My lungs are gurgling, there's shit coming out of my nose and mouth that's freezing to my cheeks and eyelashes with the wind chill at about 30deg. My lower back is killing me. My legs are killing me. My arms are killing me from pulling on the bars. I stand up, it hurts. I sit down, it hurts. I pass people that have gotten off their bikes and started walking. I would rather die than be one of those people. I didn't come to walk my fk'n bike to the top of this mountain. I get to the top of long steep sections that end into a turn, hoping to get around the bend and see something flatter. But it's not. It's as steep if not steeper than what I just came off. Then at mile 7 I enter the cloud. It's cold and wet and the scene is surreal. Moonlike, with nothing but rocks and fog all around. (I know this from when I was on the Moon and that's exactly what it looked like).. I come to a flat spot and I know I'm getting close to the finish. I hammer the flat spot and come into the last uphill section of the climb. I hear the people cheering at the top as I come around the last little kick in the teeth which is about 50yds at a mind-numbing 22% grade. I cross the line and look at my clock, just under 1:18. A new personal best. This is at the end of one of the toughest training weeks I've put in. The day after a monster effort up Mt Ascutney. A 50 MPH headwind at the top. And a rear wheel that had a slight rub all the way. My goal is to hit 1:10 on August 15th. Cutting 8 minutes in 4 weeks may be unrealistic even under ideal conditions, but if there's one thing that's for certain it will be that I will give it my best. I left everything I had on Mt Ascutney yesterday. I ate, slept, got up the next morning and left everything I had left on Mt Washington. I set personal bests on both days. The efforts sucked beyond belief and my body is hurting a lot. But I accomplished things this weekend that most people will never accomplish in their lives and, for that, it's all worthwhile.

And now.... I'm going to eat a giant bowl of Jake's Ice Cream...

Best,

kevin

Does Everything Have to be an Adventure?

One of the guys that's been coming to the gym since just about day 1 set a goal for himself to climb Mt Washington. Kirk's on the back end of his 50's and when he first came to the gym, the climb up the stairs was about all he could take, so tackling the tallest, nastiest peak in the east is no small accomplishment. Actually, climbing Mt Washington isn't an easy accomplishment for anybody regardless of age or fitness level. It's one of the most strenuous climbs around. Kirk has been training with us 3 days a week for the last 8 months and he's gotten incredibly strong. He's bounding up the 6 flights of stairs to the gym and he's doing 20+ box jumps on a 24" box in a 40 second interval. He works his butt off with kettlebells, medicine balls, and bodyweight exercises, side by side with guys and girls in their 20's. This guy is fitter than most people half his age. When Kirk, Alison, Danielle, Michele, Jake and I set out to hike Mt Washington on July 4th we expected a challenge but we weren't expecting it to be the adventure it turned out to be. But Mt Washington has a sign at the top that says "The Worst Weather in the World" for a reason, and even though it was July we really had to work to achieve Kirk's goal of summitting that day.

Like any hike in the Whites, it started out with a nice walk in the woods through sheltered forests and past falling waters. Fairly mild grades, but nothing too steep. Right about the time that Kirk commented "this isn't too bad", the trail turned upwards so that we were climbing about 1000ft per mile for the next couple miles. Pretty steep. The forecast called for possible

thundershowers and a little rain, but up until this point it was really just cloudy. The only wetness in the air was from the endless waterfalls that we were passing on the Amonoosuc Ravine Trail. Absolutely stunning trail. What we lacked in views due to no visibility from the fog and cloud cover we got back tenfold from the beauty of the headwaters of the Amonoosuc River and the never ending waterfalls. We got to treeline and put on our rain jackets since it was misty out, but left the rain pants in the packs since it really wasn't that bad. As we were to soon find out, this was a big mistake. We hiked up to the Lake of the Clouds Hut, which is a really cool AMC full service hut. We took a short break and I grabbed a cup of coffee. The coffee they use is called Java Juice. It's an extract that you mix with hot water. It was one of the most disgusting things I've ever tried. I'm thinking the "Java Juice" is some kind of Dung Beetle extract and the people at the hut use it to ensure nobody is hanging around drinking coffee. Because there's no way anybody is having a second cup of that crap.

The peak of Mt Monroe is about 3/10 of a mile from the Lake of the Clouds Hut so we decided to summit that first before heading towards Mt Washington. This is where the day became an adventure. We're above treeline and totally exposed at this point and it was getting really windy, maybe 30mph winds with 50mph gusts. Not a huge deal, at least it wasn't raining.... As we get within 30 feet of the summit of Monroe we start getting pummeled with sleet and some small hail. Initially I'm thinking, well if it's just sleet maybe my pants won't get wet and I'll have a chance to get my rain pants on when we get back down off the top of Monroe. There was no shelter anywhere and it was too nasty with the wind and weather to open up the packs and try to get the

rain pants on at this point anyways. We summit Mt Monroe, I do my customary peak handstand (which is really challenging when the wind is blowing 50mph and sleet is hitting you sideways in the face)

and we head back down, pants and gloves still dry since it remained sleet and hail to this point.. And then the rains came, and when it did, it came in drops the size of grapes. My pants soaked through in about 10 milliseconds, soaking my legs with the water running straight into my boots. Now we all have soaked legs, feet and hands as we scrambled back down Mt Monroe. The temps were in the 40's with the wind chill in the 30's. We got back to the Lake of the Clouds Hut in a much different state than the first time. There was a look of dread on a couple faces. Kirk found out that his jacket wasn't waterproof, and he also didn't have rain pants. But he did have a poncho, which I told him he should put on, secretly knowing the entertainment value of watching somebody hike up a mountain in 50 mph winds wearing a poncho :) Just kidding Kirk, I was honestly hoping it would keep you dryer.

We had Jake with us and he wasn't allowed in the hut, so Michele and I went down to a little emergency shelter they had under the hut and tried to dry off, hoping the weather would pass. It was decision time. The peak of Mt Washington was 1.5 miles away with another 1400 feet of climbing and totally exposed. There was just enough visibility to see from one cairn to the next, the sleet, rain and hail was being driven sideways by winds that were increasing to a sustained 40-50mph, the wind chill was in the 30's and our extremities were soaked. In these conditions we would be lucky to make the peak in less than an hour and a half. Easy decision, right? We should have turned around. But like I said to Kirk (half-jokingly), "Anybody can summit Mt

Washington on a sunny day.".. So we went for it. This was probably stupid, and given the choice again I'd probably turn around. But Kirk had worked really hard to achieve this goal, we were almost there. We had plenty of food. The observatory at the top was open and we could have bailed at that point and got a ride to the bottom if necessary. And as long as we kept moving I knew we'd stay warm enough. So off we went. We trudged along without talking. Step by step. We marched right past the sign that says "STOP. People have died of exposure in the Summer in bad weather. If there is bad weather then turn around.". We hiked with heads down because the sleet was stinging our faces if you looked up. Miserable conditions. But I was surprisingly upbeat at this point because it was challenging and I enjoy challenges. Plus I was still feeling strong and wasn't tiring at all. Would have been nice to have a nice leisurely hike up the mountain with spectacular blue sky views, but I enjoy being tested. And we can get views on another day. Today was about getting to the top regardless of what was thrown at us. After a good hour or more we finally got to the top. I turned around and I see Kirk sprinting with a huge smile on his face. How great is that? It's July 4th and it's like February and this guy is sprinting up the top of the highest climb in the Whites with a beaming smile on his face... People are getting off their tour busses in amazement as they watch the 5 of us plus a dog walking out of a cloud towards the observatory. They ask us "you didn't just hike up here did you?".

At the summit, goal completed (at least the part of getting up the mountain), Kirk is a very happy man despite the atrocious conditions we've been climbing in..

We hung out at the top for an hour hoping to warmup. I had a really good cup of coffee, but to be honest, compared to the Java Juice I had at the Hut anything would have tasted like cappuccino in an Italian cafe at this point. We were eating our trail mix, bananas, and energy bars while watching the tour bus crowd stuffing their faces with hot dogs and nasty, doughy pizza. People were in the gift shop buying those silly "This Car Climbed Mt Washington" bumper stickers.. So many people out there that need Dynamic Strength and Conditioning, so little time :)

The weather board in the observatory said that the winds were at 50mph sustained with 70mph gusts. It was raining and sleeting. We could have decided to try to get a shuttle to the bottom, but that wasn't going to be an option for me. And as it turned out it wasn't going to be an option for anybody else

either. After my customary peak handstand (which I couldn't hold for more than a half second because of the 70mph wind gusts) we headed back down. Warming up for an hour and then heading back out in this miserable weather was a real test. But the goal was to get down out of the exposed section as quickly as possible. So why we chose the Jewell Trail makes no sense to me now, (although I think it did at the time). An excerpt on the Jewell Trail from the AMC White Mountains guidebook: "...featuring a great length of ridge walking above the treeline with fine views, but this part is also greatly exposed to the weather and offers no shelter between summit and treeline. In bad weather, or if afternoon thundershowers threaten, it is safer to descend from Mt Washington via Lakes of the Clouds Hut and the Ammonoosuc Ravine Trail, despite the steep and slippery footing on the latter trail."... Ok, so the weather sucks, afternoon thundershowers are possible, we want to get below treeline as quickly as possible. The guide says don't take the Jewell Trail. Let's take the Jewell Trail! In retrospect, we chose the Jewell Trail because the Ammonoosuc would have been really tricky in parts to descend in these wet conditions. So we chose exposure over technical difficulty because we felt the chance of injury was probably greater on the Ammonoosuc.

Going down was more difficult than going up. Above treeline it's all rocks that are covered with some kind of lichens that are wicked slippery when wet. So every step has to be taken carefully which slowed us down considerably. Plus, at this point we're starting to show signs of wear and tear. We've been out for about 6 hours, we're cold and wet because even with rain gear, when the rain is driven into you sideways at 70mph it finds a way under your gear, and there's no let up in sight. We're still trudging along with just enough visibility to see from one cairn to the next. We're coming down the Gulfside Trail looking for the Jewell Trail. We come across one sign that tells us we're going in the right direction, but when the Jewell Trail splits off from the Gulfside Trail about 1/4 mile past that sign, there is no other sign that tells us that. With our heads down, we continue following the cairns on the Gulfside Trail. I knew the book said that we would spend a good amount of time traversing a ledge but I started thinking we were spending too much time going sideways when we should have started heading down by now. As it turns out I was right, and luckily we only went about 1/3 of a mile past where we should have been. As we tracked back I started to see a line of cairns about 100 feet below us that we hadn't seen on our way past before because of the limited visibility and the fact that we were spending a lot of time with our heads down to avoid getting pummeled by the persistent sleet which hadn't let up since we came off Mt Monroe about 3 hours ago. There was no sign saying that the cairns below were on the Jewell Trail, but according to the map it had to be. So we got on it and stayed on it the rest of the way. By the time we got back to the cars we had been out 11 hours. Pretty exhausted and beaten down but definitely exhilarated. We had just climbed the toughest peak in the east in about the worst conditions imaginable for the middle of summer. And Kirk had just completed his goal! It was an incredible day and a great adventure and I'm really psyched that I was able to be a part of it.

All the best,

Kevin

Dynamic Strength and Conditioning - The Cure For Insanity

Insanity - the act of doing the same thing over and over again and expecting a different result.

Everything is done with a result in mind. We live in a world that is "results-oriented". For example, when I was in corporate America, part of my review every year was dedicated to how "results-oriented" I was. When you open the sports page you probably go to see what the results of last night's games were before anything else. When you start a fitness program you have a result in mind that will typically involve a new body and state of mind. Everything is done for a purpose and that purpose is always to achieve some kind of specific result.

But before any kind of meaningful result can be achieved, a goal has to be set, and a plan put in place to achieve that goal. When it comes to a person's health and wellness, many people set a goal, put the wrong plan in place to achieve that goal, don't achieve the result that they wanted, and in the end give up. A couple years later, that same person sets the same goal, puts the same plan in place hoping to achieve their goal this time around, inevitably fails, and gives up again. This cycle goes on and on. This, by definition, is insanity. The act of doing the same thing over and over and expecting a different result.

Everybody has done this. You wake up one day and say "Holy crap, how'd I get so out of shape?" and you decide that it's time to turn things around. You dig out the gym bag you haven't used in over a decade with your Chuck's, the short gym shorts like you wore in gym class, the "Disco Sucks" t-shirt, and an old pair of tube socks (dude, you are so 1978) and you head down to the local chrome and fern palace where you meet the high pressure sales rep with the shiny smile, slicked hair, pressed khakis, polo shirt and a clipboard. They guarantee you that you've come to the right place and that if you sign up today you're going to get an amazing deal, but it's only today. What a stroke of luck that every time you walk in one of these places you happen to catch them on the only day of their amazing deal... You can't sign the contract fast enough. And then you start to put your plan in place.....

Warmup on the treadmill.. Monday is back and shoulder day, Tuesday: biceps, triceps, chest, Wed: leg day, Thu: cardio and abs, Fri: Uhh, maybe i'll just go in and do some more benchin' and preacher curls. Everything is done in 3 sets of 10 with long breaks by the water cooler asking others "whatcha benchin?" or talking about the 75 yd punt return for a touchdown you had when you were 12 years old playing Pop Warner football. And I know there's those of you out there shaking your head right now saying what an ass I am because "everybody knows you should do back and chest on the same day", but if that's your best argument then you're completely missing the point. The point is that after two or 3 months of this (or something similar to it that you may have gleaned from the pages of "Muscle and Fatness Magazine") you're painfully bored, you're not making gains anymore, you're starting to get injured because of the stupid machines you've been strapping yourself into, and nobody wants to hear the story about your touchdown anymore. So you stop going. But because of the contract you signed, you still pay a monthly fee to some faceless corporation who is thankful that they can still take your money and not have to worry about cleaning up after you anymore. Two or three years later you find yourself in the same predicament and you go through the same routine and think that this is the time that you're going to get a different result. But you don't get a different result, do you?

I used to lift weights at the chrome and fern palaces. I used to strap myself into stupid "one size fits all" machines and do leg extensions and hamstring curls and flys and lat pulldowns, blah, blah, blah... I used to hit the same training plateaus, get the same injuries, fail to get the results I wanted, and suffer from the same boredom as all of you. This is why I started Dynamic Strength and Conditioning. Because I believe in getting results and I believe everybody has it in them to get the same results that I've been able to get since I stopped going to places like Planet Fatness about 6 years ago. Functional strength and conditioning training works your entire body in a way that nothing else does. It translates to real world results and performance gains. It leads to huge increases in energy and self-esteem. It burns fat off your body. Actually I think the more appropriate way to describe it is that it scares fat off your body. It's never boring because every day you show up I will have a different, challenging workout for you that will be physically demanding and mentally stimulating.

There are a bunch of people coming to Dynamic that still go to those other "gyms". When I ask them why, I get three different answers..

1. I don't know

2. Because I'm under contract and I have to pay for it anyways.

3. Because I don't want to lose my muscle tone.... (no, i'm not kidding, people have said this to me)

Uh, yeah that makes sense, anybody coming to Dynamic will be the first to tell you how lacking in muscle tone both Michele and I have become since we don't do bench presses or preacher curls. This shows you just how deep the brainwashing of the bodybuilding industry has been ingrained into society. I think the re-education of everybody is happening slowly and people are starting to come around to the fact that if you want to really get in shape then you need to get active and get your whole body moving. Bench press makes you better at the bench press. Biceps curls make you better at the biceps curl. The Pec Deck makes you better at crashing cymbals together like those little wind-up monkeys. What we do at Dynamic Strength and Conditioning makes you better at living and enjoying the real world. We get real world results and we have a lot of fun doing it. Stop the insanity and join us!

Tomorrow there's a group of about 20 of us meeting on Nashua South High School football field at 10:00am. We have a lot of people trying to crawl 100 yards with a power wheel strapped to their feet. These are the same people who were lucky to get 10 feet the first time they tried it. We're going to have slosh pipe obstacle courses, tire dragging, some other running and jumping type exercises, and in general we're just going to be having a really good time working up a really good sweat. If that sounds better than standing around the water cooler during your breaks in between 3 sets of 10 listening to some meathead talk about his glory days as a teenage Pop Warner football player then you should come and see what we're all about...

All the best,

kevin

Transmogrification Part IV

Now with a clear head, a clean way of living, good friends, and an incredible bike, I started getting serious about improving every aspect of my life. I was well into my 30's and I wanted to make sure that I made the most of the time I have going forward. Lots of people look back on their earlier years and have regrets. Wish they had done something different. I made more mistakes and made more bad choices than most people. Trust me on that one. I could spend a lot of time wishing I had done things differently but that would be pointless. The truth of the matter is that without the "old me", then the "new me" would never be able to exist. If there's one thing I've learned it's that great gains only come through great suffering. Physically, and especially mentally. People who haven't had to suffer, or run from their problems are weak. Coping with incredibly difficult situations makes you stronger for the next time you have to do it. Dealing with pain and suffering makes you so much stronger when you come out the other side.

There are lots of variables in my life, but the one thing that remains constant is that when I am in top physical condition I am better able to deal with whatever life throws at me. Being in top physical condition always comes back to the bike. When I made the transition from being a hairy legged recreational century rider to a competitive bike racer two things happened. I became much more intense about my fitness level and I started shaving my legs. The shaving part was really tough at first. I was scared to go out in public for fear of the mocking. Cyclists shave for a few reasons. When you crash and get all kinds of road rash on your legs it's much easier to clean and less chance of infection. Leg massages after races are much better with no hair. Some people say there's an aerodynamic benefit but unless you're Bigfoot I don't see how a little leg hair is going to slow you down that much. So I shaved. And later that season I put the reasons to shave to the test with a crash at the Loudon race track. At 30 MPH, I was in the middle of the pack when a couple guys ahead of me locked handlebars. It all happened so fast I didn't know what was happening until I was flying over my handlebars. My feet never came unclipped from the pedals so as I was spinning through the air, my bike was still attached to me. I flipped once and came down head and shoulder first, cracking my helmet. My bike came over the top of me, and finally came unclipped from my feet as it catapulted through the air, seemingly in slow motion, and went crashing down the track. I checked myself for injuries. I had some chunks taken out of my wrist and elbow and some road rash on my shoulder and forearm, but nothing on my legs.. There's irony for you.. Next time I'll shave my arms instead :) Amazingly, my bike was fine. Just a few scratches.

Later that season everything came together for me on one incredible day in Vermont. I was racing in the Green Mountain Stage Race. This is one of the toughest and most beautiful stage races in the country. It was the second day of racing which was a 60 mile road race on a rolling 20 mile circuit that we did three times. I had kind of a lousy day on the first day, blowing up on the climb to the App Gap and finishing 21st out of 80-something in my field. Day 2 I was feeling pretty good though. I spent most of the day near the front of the pack taking turns at the front pulling, at one point I pulled the group up the KOM (king of the mountain) climb and gave my buddy Jon a leadout for the KOM points. On the last lap we were about 5 miles out from the finish and the pack had slowed down considerably as the racers at the front decided they were done working and wanted others to come forward and start pulling. This is the thing about racing, when you're at the front in the wind, you're working harder than the people behind you. Up to 30% harder which is huge. The etiquette is, if you're going to hang near the front of the pack then you better be ready to take your turns in the wind. Then there's the sandbaggers who sit at the back of the pack and draft all day and only come to the front in the last couple miles to set themselves up for a sprint finish with fresh legs since they didn't have to do much work all day. I hate those guys. Anyway, we got to a point where those at the front decided they didn't want to work anymore and nobody was moving up to take their place. I also decided I was tired of pulling the sandbaggers around all day. So the whole group slowed down quite a bit as we were heading into a short hill. I was feeling strong, and I was feeling even more impatient. I just wanted to go. So I did. I took off from the group and figured a few guys would probably try to go right with me. I put in a monster effort over the short hill and kept pushing hard on the other side. When I looked to see who came with me there was nobody there and I had opened up about a 100 yard gap on the field.. I thought to myself "what next?" So I went into Time Trial mode. As hard as I possibly could. I knew I could cover the 5 miles in about 12-13 minutes depending on the head winds. I was cranking along, looking back every so often to see where the group was. I was opening up the gap little by little but I knew at some point the group would organize and start chasing me down. When you have even 4 or 5 guys working at the front of a pack to reel in a solo break you can close that gap pretty quickly. I was about 3 miles from the finish and I turned onto the road that the race finished on. It's a wide open road with a long gradual climb and it had a nasty headwind. My body was in agony and my heart was max'd from the effort. I got about 250-300 yds up the road and turned around and I could see that the group was starting to close the gap. The headwind was demoralizing. The thoughts were going through my head "no way you're holding onto this now. they're going to catch you.".. I had to make a decision to try to hold on to the break or situp and let the group catch me and try to fight it out in a sprint. This is where the mental toughness comes in. In as much pain as I was already in, I decided to put myself in more pain and try to hold on for the solo win. One of two things were going to happen. I was either going to hold on to win, or I was going to get caught and finish 70th because I had nothing left at the end. I put my head down and pedaled as hard as I could into the headwind. I stopped looking back. I had the lead car in front of me and that's all I focused on. When I felt like I couldn't pedal any more, I dug deeper and pedaled harder. It was one of the most brutal efforts I've ever put myself through. I got to the 1k marker and finally looked behind me. I didn't see anybody. I opened up a huge gap on the field, I had about a half mile of visibility down the road and I couldn't see anybody. One of the race officials on a motorcycle came up next to me and gave me a thumbs up and said "Awesome break!".. It was at this point I knew I had it. I sat up a little and took it easy the last 1km, there was no way I was getting caught now.. The emotions started flooding through me because I had just gone through such a difficult period of my life. The pain of the exploded marriage, the difficulty of essentially starting all over again with nothing (I literally left my house with clothes, a bike, and a blender because cyclists need to be able to make smoothies and it was a really nice blender), the agony of my workouts, the happiness of finding Michele, a person I could finally trust and call my best friend. This wasn't The Tour de France, but it was my Tour de France. It was a defining moment for me and it served as a reminder that I could come back from my own rock bottom and achieve greatness. As I came the final 100m into the finish line I could hear Michele over everybody else cheering. The announcer was yelling my name over the PA. I came across the finish line, lungs bleeding, legs quivering, hands in the air, the weight of the world finally lifting off my shoulders.

Good Times!

This is me with the weight of the world leaving my body :)

In Transmogrification Part V - Staying focused. Setting up a new beginning...

All the best,

kevin

It's All About State of Mind

I was out the other day for a brutal interval session on the bike. The workout for the day was to do two intervals of 20 minutes a piece at 105% lactate threshold. This was one of my toughest sessions to date this year. If you're wondering what lactate threshold is, it's the maximum sustainable effort that you can hold for 60 minutes on a bike. This is not the maximum effort you feel like holding for 60 minutes. This is the maximum effort your body can physically maintain for 60 minutes. Most people will never experience this level of suffering, and to be honest, why the hell would you want to? It's absolutely miserable and requires a ridiculous amount of mental strength to push yourself that hard for that long. You have to go way beyond the point where your head is telling you to back off because it hurts so much.

When I race my bike up Mt Washington I need to be at lactate threshold for about an hour and ten minutes if I'm going to meet my goal. My training is designed to increase the level of power I can put out at threshold so I can get up Mt Washington in an hour and ten minutes. I have a power meter on my bike which tells me exactly how much power I'm putting into the pedals at every point in time. It is the single most unforgiving coach I have ever dealt with. It just sits there on my handlebar showing me a number. I know where my numbers need to be and the power meter forces me to destroy myself to make the number go up and it doesn't give a shit how I'm feeling or what the conditions are. Ever. One of the ways to increase my lactate threshold is to do intervals at or above threshold. Thursday's ride had two of these intervals that took 20 minutes each at 105% threshold. I got through the first one in a lot of pain and then I recovered for about 20 minutes before starting the second one. I was one minute into the second 20 minute interval when my mind started telling me to back off and that there was no way I was going to hold this level of effort for another 19 minutes. The next 19 minutes were super miserable and seemed like an eternity, but when the timer hit 20 minutes I had maintained my target output power for the entire interval. It was an incredible test of mental and physical strength and I passed. I was feeling nauseous and ragged, but very satisfied that I got through it.

I got home and texted my buddy, Chris, who's a former ultra-marathoner and knows all about suffering. I asked him why we continually do this to ourselves? He reminded me how happy I'll be at the top of the mountain knowing that my effort was all worth it. He's absolutely right, but it's more than that for me. And to all the people that come to Dynamic Strength and Conditioning and push themselves to their limits on a regular basis it's more than that to you too.

This is what it's all about. It's about state of mind. When I complete a ride like I did the other day, or if I go off on a solo break in a bike race and hold on to win, or if I do 100 burpees as fast as I can, or get on the power wheel and try to crawl 200 yards without stopping, or try to see how many times I can snatch a kettlebell in 10 minutes.... these are all things that improve my state of mind. These things test me at incredible physical levels which gives me an incredible fitness level that continues to get better each day, but more importantly these things give me a state of mind that tells me I can achieve anything. I have energy levels through the roof. I have self esteem and confidence (not sure if you guys have noticed that or not :) There is no challenge I'm afraid to take on and I'm in a much better position to deal with all the crap life tends to throw at me from time to time. If you knew me 20 years ago you wouldn't know I was the same person I am today.

I'm turning 42 in a couple weeks and I feel like I can live forever. Medicine has a way to extend the bad years of somebody's life and keep them alive through sickness and disease. What we're doing at Dynamic Strength and Conditioning is extending the quality years of your life. I'm going to be 70 years old and I'll still be able to kick a soccer ball around with my grandkids and take them to the beach and teach them to swim. I'm not going to be ravaged by disease and sickness when I'm 80 because I'm taking care of it now by eating right and exercising and not poisoning myself with alcohol and junk food. I'm exercising with functional strength and conditioning methods that train my body the way it was meant to be trained. I have better strength, mobility, flexibility, and muscular endurance than almost anybody I know at any age. My state of mind is incredibly positive and strong and I wouldn't give it up for anything.

But it's not just me. This is for all of you that are coming here, whether you realize it or not. This is for Tom, retired and in his 60's, who came in the other day and told me his blood pressure, resting heart rate and cholesterol are lower than they have been in 10 years, and he's only been coming to me for about 2 months. This is for George who just got his license renewed and his latest picture looks younger than the one he took 10 years ago.. He said to me, "Kev, I'm going backwards in years. This is unreal!". This is for Sharon who's dropped 5 clothes sizes in the year she's been training with us. Or the young woman who was struggling with depression, anxiety and fatigue for years, and after about a month with us was in tears explaining how she's been consistently happy for the first time in as long as she could remember.

In the last couple weeks a lot of people have been upset about the upcoming changes at the gym. I've heard that it seems like we're catering to elite athletes. Next time you're in a group session tell me how many elite athletes there are among you. I'm not catering to elite athletes. I'm catering to real people, whether they be elite athletes or men and women like you and me. We all want the same thing. We want to feel the best we can feel. We want that rock solid state of mind that makes us feel like we can conquer anything. That's how Kirk's going to feel when he reaches his goal of climbing Mt Washington on July 4th. The changes coming to the gym are in an effort to continue to enable you all to achieve that state of mind. The changes are a step forward not a step back. I know the prices are going to be higher than what they are now and that price increases are always met with a certain level of anger and resentment. But to be able to offer all of you what I'm offering at an average of about $10 - $11 a session I don't really feel like I need to apologize for that. Personally, I can't put a price on how I feel everyday. If there's one thing in my life that's truly priceless, it's my state of mind and my health and wellness (Ok, that's three things :)

I know what it took to get me to this point and I know how to get all of you there as well. It's what I'm passionate about and it's what I'm good at. Michele is exactly the same way and anybody else that we're going to bring in as a trainer will be exactly the same way. If you want what we have then you're in the right place :)

All the best,

Kevin

Maximizing Your Results

I sent out a newsletter last week detailing the upcoming programming changes at Dynamic Strength and Conditioning. If you didn't get it, email me at kevin@dynamicsc.com and I'll send you a copy. As expected, the proposed changes were met with some skepticism. Many people will almost always view "change" as something bad or unnecessary. This blog entry is going to address all the questions and concerns regarding the upcoming programming changes coming to the gym.

I want to start out by explaining the major reason for the changes. I've been a coach for 17 years and a competitive athlete my entire life. I always strive for the best conditioning and results for myself and my athletes and I always look for the best ways to increase performance. As most of you have noticed I'm pretty passionate and intense about what we're doing at Dynamic Strength and Conditioning. This passion and intensity translates directly to the results you're going to see when you come to the gym because you come in knowing that my main goal is to get you in the best shape of your life. While I think the "open group" format has been beneficial to many, I know that going to a structured, progressive personal training program will be much better. Here's an analogy.. Let's say I'm running open soccer clinics 5 days per week for 12 weeks and people can randomly come to them whenever they want. Some people come 2x per week, some 3x, some 5x. There's never the same group of people and I'm unable to work any progression into the program because you never really know who's going to be there or how many people will show up. These people that come will undoubtedly get better at soccer. At the same time, I'm training a group of players 3x per week. They all show up to every session. I run them through a 12 week program that progresses from fundamental technique through advanced tactical attacking and defending schemes. At the end of the 12 weeks the two teams play each other. Who's going to be better prepared for this match? I'll give you another analogy. Michele and I have been running the 60 Day Challenge for 8 months now. Every 60 Day Challenge is a group of 12 people working in a structured personal training program. In each 60 day period, the people involved in the Challenge have lost inches of fat off their bodies and increased their fitness levels by an order of magnitude. People in the regular open sessions also continue to make gains, but the people in the 60 Day Challenge make superior gains. Additionally, people coming to the unstructured open group sessions 4, 5, or 6 days a week for an extended period of time have hit training plateaus and showed signs of overtraining in the form of sickness, fatigue, and joint injuries.. These are exactly the types of conditions that a well-designed training program will avoid.

Most complaints have been targeted at a loss in flexibility as to when you can come to the gym, but honestly, the people who are coming to the gym are almost always coming on the same days and same times every week. Plus, I have built in ways to accommodate people who travel for work and missed days due to other unforeseen circumstances. 

So, here is a Q and A with the coach.. I hope this answers all your questions..

Q. If I am understanding this correctly - there will be no more open schedule (FIT, and KB ) classes like I have been attending and the monthly "unlimited" fee is going away?

A. Correct, we are going away from an open "unlimited monthly" format. There will be no more F.I.T., Kettlebell +, or Spartan sessions. In their place will be the Dynamic Performance and Maximum Metabolic Conditioning group personal training programs. 

Q. So, I would sign up for a 12 week program or 90 Day Challenge program - and commit to that schedule?  

A. Yes, when you sign up for any of our programs you are making a commitment to particular days and times.

Q. Would I do this once, or every twelve weeks? Is my spot guaranteed?

A. You would sign up for a program each time. People who are already in a group are guaranteed to keep that spot if they want it. You will be offered the first chance to keep your spot in the group, if you decline, then it will be given to the first person on the waitlist.

Q. My job requires me to travel. Without the flexibility of the open group format how can I commit to one of your programs if I have to travel?

A. I understand that not everybody's schedule is fixed and some flexibility is required. We will have a couple time slots set aside per week for people to make up a missed training session. Also, for each of the 12 week sessions I am adding a 13th week at the end that will serve as a chance for anybody who missed time to make it up. If you didn't miss any time then you essentially get a free week. Additionally, if you know you are going to be away for any extended period of time we will give you a jump rope and a jungle gym to borrow along with workouts for the time you're gone so that you can stay on track with your program while you're away.

Q. If I can't make the gym for a month, then do I have to wait until the next program begins before I can start up again?

A. We will be able to integrate experienced people into the middle of a program if needed and if there is room in the group.

Q. How are new people going to be exposed and join the gym? Are you going to let them join in the middle? 

A. New people will typically join the 90 Day Fitness Challenge so that they can get used to working out in a functional conditioning program. As all of you know, it is a lot different than any workouts most of you had ever done and it definitely takes some time to get used to the demands being put on your body. If somebody comes to the gym that is already at a level of fitness that would allow them to fit into a Dynamic Performance program then we will be able to integrate them into the program if there is room. If they are not, then they may want to join a semi-private personal training program to start training while they wait until the next 90 Day Challenge starts. 

Q. I like to work out more than 3 or 4 days a week at Dynamic Strength and Conditioning. Can you mix and match 2 programs? 

A. This is tricky. The idea behind personal training is to have a program developed for you that gives you maximum strength and conditioning benefits, effectively allowing the trainee to continue to make gains while limiting the chance of overtraining injuries. If somebody wanted a 5 or 6 day training program, then the way to do it would be to get a structured 5 or 6 day training program. Whenever a person is training that often, it is imperative that the program they are in is structured to avoid overtraining injuries. For example, as a competitive cyclist, if I am going to train 6 days a week my program needs to have a balance of threshold intervals, VO2 max intervals, endurance and tempo rides as well as recovery rides. That's a single training program that makes the best use of a 6 day per week training cycle. Signing up for 2 different training programs with different goals in mind (like the Dynamic Performance and Max Metabolic Conditioning programs) would not complement each other as well as one might think. I completely understand that people want to workout more than 4 times per week. If they want all their workouts to happen at Dynamic Strength and Conditioning, then I can certainly put together a 5 or 6 day per week program for you, but I would suggest that signing up for 2 different group sessions would not be the optimal way to do it. If you wanted 5 or 6 gym workouts with us, then the optimal way to do it would be to sign up for a 4 day per week program and then have me design a 5th/6th workout for you that would complement the 4 day program you're already in. You could either do this in a semi-private session at the gym or it could be a workout I give you to do at home. The best thing about functional conditioning is that all the gains you make in the gym translate to real world activities. Most of the members we have, probably 90% of them, are very active outside of the gym whether it be running, biking, competitive sports, hiking, snowshoeing, or some other activity. My best recommendation for anybody would be to sign up for a 2,3, or 4 day training program at the gym and then spend a couple days a week having fun with your other activities. That's really what we're here for, is to provide you with a body that operates at maximum performance and efficiency so that you can enjoy the real world to your fullest potential.

All that being said, for the right person, a mix of a 2 day Dynamic Performance program with the 2 day MMC program could work with some modifications to that individual's Dynamic Performance workouts. This would be necessary to avoid overtraining.

Q. What is the limit to the number of people who can join a session and how did you decide on that number?

A. The group size will be 16 people for the 90 Day Challenge and the Dynamic Performance programs. Based on our experience this is the maximum size to ensure that everybody gets the level of attention they need from the trainer. Also, with groups of 16 or less there is no limitation on the type of exercises that we can do. Larger groups restrict the level of attention from the trainer and also place restrictions on the workout programming. For the Maximum Metabolic Conditioning program I am limiting group size to 8 because it is very focused on kettlebell work and other resistance based exercises that will need more attention from the trainer.

Q. Is the Dynamic Performance program similar to the current F.I.T sessions?

A. The Dynamic Performance program will be a mixture of bodyweight, kettlebells, and all the other equipment that we use at Dynamic Strength and Conditioning. These programs will be designed to maximize functional strength, muscular endurance and cardiorespiratory function, increase range of motion and mobility, and build bulletproof core strength in a structured, progressive training program. There will also be fitness assessments so that you can monitor the gains you’re making. 

Q. Is the Max Metabolic Conditioning program similar to the current Spartan workouts?

A. The MMC program will meet 2 times a week and will be an advanced program with a lot of single and double kettlebell work (in addition to other training modalities) with a focus on maximum strength, explosive power and top metabolic conditioning. Participants will be pushed to their limits at each session. It is highly recommended that participants have an intermediate to advanced level of functional strength and endurance before joining this program.

Q. What is the difference between the 90 Day Fitness Challenge and the Dynamic Performance program?

A. The 90 Day Fitness Challenge is a more comprehensive personal training program with nutritional guidance, body measurements and goal setting. It is also targeted more at the individual who hasn't worked out in a while and is just getting back into it and/or the person who has never been involved in a functional training program and needs the extra guidance required of a beginner. The Dynamic Performance programs are the next progression from the 90 Day Fitness Challenge. People entering the Dynamic Performance program will have achieved a more advanced level of functional fitness than the people that typically join the 90 Day Challenge and the workouts will therefore be more advanced and challenging.

Q. You mention hiring "highly trained and certified" professionals. What kind of certifications are you going to require of your training staff?  

A. Just like now, all structured group and semi-private personal training programs will have certified trainers. Specifically, the requirements of the Dynamic Strength and Conditioning trainers are:

- Have a passion for their own health and fitness and the ability and desire to instill that same passion in others.

- Be certified/trained in functional conditioning. By August, our training staff will consist of myself, Michele and one other trainer. We will all have a Level 2 CNT certification from the Monkey Bar Gym. This is currently the best functional conditioning certification available in the world. Additionally, our trainers will be required to attend at least 2 training seminars and/or certifications per year in order to continually improve their coaching and training skills. You will not find better trainers that specialize in functional conditioning and kettlebell training anywhere in the area.

Q. I noticed the fees have increased. How did you arrive at the price for the programs?

A. I am sensitive to the current economic climate and it's affect on people and I've priced the programs as best I could so that it wouldn't be cost-prohibitive to people. At the same time, it's very important to understand what you're getting for the price. There is absolutely no question that a personal training program will yield far superior results than just joining in open group "classes". What you're going to be getting is a true personal training program with structure, progression, and phenomenal results. With the same group of people committing to a personal training program it allows me to design an entire program for the group and it also allows me to charge you a fraction of what personal training would normally cost you. Personal training typically costs anywhere from $60 to $150 per hour. One of my group personal training programs will give you the best results attainable and it will cost you less than what you would pay to attend somebody's outdoor boot camp or a yoga session. The average cost per session is about $10. That is an incredibly small price to pay for a professionally designed and instructed personal training program.

Q. Do you have similar discounting plans available like before?

A. We will have 10% discounts for first responders, military, students, and seniors (65+). We will also have 10% discounts for couples and family members.

Q. Do you still have a referral program?

A. Yes, if you refer anybody who signs up for one of our packages, you will receive 10% of their package price off of your next package. For example, if you refer somebody to the 90 Day Fitness Challenge which is $495, you will receive $50 off your next package.

I hope this addresses everything. If there's anything I missed, feel free to email or talk to me at the gym. Like I said before, this is a great program to maximize your results, guarantee that you continue to make gains while avoiding overtraining, it eliminates overcrowding and ensures a sufficient amount of attention from the trainer running the session, and it will undoubtedly get you in the best shape of your life. 

Along with the newsletter I sent out a feedback form asking for the program(s) that people are interested in as well as the days and times that you would like to work out. Please fill them out and return them to us at the gym. If you need one of these, then email me and I will get it to you. Once I have the new schedule in place we will be taking reservations for the new programs. 

Michele and I would like to thank all of you for helping us to become the premier functional strength and conditioning gym in the area.

All the best,

kevin

What Came First, the Single Sport Athlete or the Three Season Sport?

This has been a topic on my mind quite a bit lately, mostly because my daughter is a 10 year old girl who currently only plays soccer. My son predominantly played soccer and spent a couple seasons playing Lacrosse, but he was essentially a single sport athlete. I remember having him play tee-ball when he was 5 or 6 but that was a disaster. Mostly because tee-ball is the stupidest thing ever invented. Nobody likes tee-ball. Kids, parents, coaches, dogs, nobody.. Maybe mosquitos like tee-ball because it's the perfect opportunity to get a lot of people standing still for hours at a time. The only part of tee-ball that is even remotely interesting to anybody involved is when you're the kid hitting a ball off a tee, which is actually the most unrealistic part of the whole game. I'd like somebody to explain to me why it's useful to teach a 5 year old to hit a stationary ball off a stick when that will never, ever happen in a real game. It's unrealistic, and it's unnecessary. Take your 5 year old out in the back yard and play Wiffle Ball with him. It's fun, it's more like baseball, and it's exciting. Back to the main topic....

So, if you're older than 30 and somebody asks you what sports did you play as a kid what do you answer? Football in the Fall, basketball or hockey in the Winter, and baseball in the Spring/Summer, right? Some played soccer in the Fall if it was available to them. Most places didn't even have soccer as a youth sport 25 years ago. Ask a kid today that's under 20 what sports they play and they typically have a single response.. Soccer.... Basketball.... Baseball.. (or maybe you get a blank look and something like "Uhhhhh... skateboard").. The reason for this is because all of these youth sports have become multi-season sports. Kids can play 100 hockey games in a season that spans 10 months a year. Soccer is played outdoors in the Fall and Spring and indoors in the Winter.. Basketball has town travel seasons and AAU seasons. Baseball and Lacrosse have gone to Fall and Spring seasons. All of these sports used to be single season sports. But capitalism destroyed that. People started seeing dollar signs in locking kids into sports for 3/4 of a year with club teams, tournament teams, indoor teams for foul weather seasons.. But I'm not going to rant on about capitalist pigs. Maybe another day I'll take that on. 

Here's the underlying problem. Now that every sport is offered for multiple seasons during the year, kids are practically forced into specialization at very young ages. The fear of skipping Fall soccer to play football is there because now the parents are afraid not to have their child play soccer three seasons a year for fear that they'll lose their spot on the team. And God forbid they don't join their team for a once a week session at the SportsDome over the Winter (at a cost of about $100 per kid per 8 sessions). The coaches make sure the parents understand that if their kid doesn't join in then their spot on the team is in jeopardy. So Johnny dedicates all his time to soccer and never learns to shoot baskets or throw a baseball.. I love soccer, but I love variety more. And variety breeds functionality and diversity. Because I played multiple sports as a kid, I can play pretty much anything as an adult. I can pick up all kinds of new activities quickly because, by playing multiple sports when I was younger, my body developed the coordination to do many things. Year round soccer has spawned a whole generation of men who can kick a ball 50 yards but throw like a girl and have no hand to eye coordination. Now before all of the women get all mad at me about my crack about "throwing like a girl" remember that you now can picture exactly what I'm talking about because in general girls throw like....well... girls. :)  Of course I'm not talking about the elite softball players that come to my gym (please don't bring your bats to the gym today)..

So how do we fix this? First, there is a place for specialization.. If your child is so incredibly talented to fall into that very, very small pool of athletes that has potential to play professional or D1 college sports, then by all means, foster that talent and get them as much competition and at as a high a level as possible. If your child does not fall into that 0.0001% of the population, then it's unnecessary to have them specialize until they're at least high school age and can decide for themselves that they only want to continue with one sport. Specialization at young levels leads to burnout. Almost 85% of youth sports players stop playing by the time they're 14. This is because they get sick and tired of playing the same sport all year long and they get sick of the pressure to perform at a high level.

Tough problem to deal with when many coaches and clubs intimidate parents into forcing their kids to pick one sport when they're 10. But do your kid a favor and resist. Expose them to as many sports as possible.. In this day and age when kids rarely play pickup games anymore it's on the parents to get the kids exposed to other sports through organized leagues.. And they're all out there, unfortunately, year round.. If you look at the top athletes at the college and professional levels they were all multi-sport athletes growing up. Engaging in multiple activities is awesome for the body and it's something you benefit from your entire life.

All the best,

kevin