Early mornings are common culture among the strength training community.  Sessions begin at 5:30am with an alarm clock that rings well before this time. Coffee has been a staple of our being (for most), and provides a “pick me up” for the early morning commute, long days on the floor and the hours of continuous education.  Truth is, for the last ten years I’ve drunk enough coffee to support several Tim Horton’s franchises, and ingested enough caffeine to make the FDA reconsider what “normal consumption” truly is.  The result is that I grew more and more mentally tired.  Mid day exhaustion, yawning on dinner dates, and a bedtime that resembled that of a middle school student.  It wasn’t until recently when I started to research the effects of caffeine consumption and adrenal fatigue that I realized the beverage I craved the most, may be the plight of my condition. 

Everything comes at a price!  Everything!  The question is: are you willing to pay the cost?  I call it rent, but you can call it mortgage, time, sacrifice, sweat equity, or today’s price for tomorrow’s return!  Success is rented!  That’s right…RENTED!  It’s not guaranteed, promised, or contractually obligated.  There is no allowance, no severance package or golden parachute clause.  Dad can’t pay for it, Mom can’t wish it, and you can’t taste it unless YOU pay the price.  Payment is due EVERY DAY, not at the end of the month.  You can pay rent in weight room hours, film, making good off-ice/field choices, being coachable, a respectable teammate and performing in the face of competition. If you don’t CONSISTENTLY work, you can’t afford to pay the rent.  If you can’t afford to pay the rent things get taken from you.  Houses, cars, businesses, relationships, contracts, material possession and SUCCESS! 

In school we do what we are taught, in the real world…we do what works.  Today there are countless resources at the disposal of the strength and conditioning practitioner.  Books, DVD’s, lecture series, podcasts and programming manuals all designed with the coach in mind.  Through countless hours of education and enough coffee to kill a small farm animal I have found that many times the real world can be the best teacher of all.  You can have all the scientific reasoning, research and peer reviewed literature behind your program, but if you don’t have the time, resources and athletes’ to carry out your plan, your results will be dead in the water.  Through trail and error, here are three lessons the real word has exposed to me with regards to program design that cannot be found in the pages of a book. 

I know…there have already been hundreds of articles written about Crossfit.  Some good, some bad and some just for the sake of a few Internet hits, dust up and “debate.”  Truth is most of my thoughts have already been written about by Coaches I hold in high regard, but I still frequently get asked the question, what do you think about Crossfit for hockey players?  Before I dive deeper into my response, let me start by paying a few compliments.  Crossfit has done an excellent job of building a brand (although cult may be a better word) of fitness enthusiasts.  They incorporate high intensity training, Olympic lifting, foundational lifts, and plyometrics into their protocol, all of which can aid in the development of building the athlete.  The major issue is not in these exercises per say, but in the “application” of these exercises, the overdose of stress, lack of technical proficiency and the idea of turning training into a “sport”.  I know, here comes all the hate mail, but as a strength and conditioning professional, I feel that I need to stand firm in my professional opinion, and in doing so inform both parents and young aspiring players.  Below are 4 reasons why Crossfit is not an ideal training regiment for hockey players. 

It’s that time of year again at DSC.  A new batch of young interns has joined our staff in hopes and aspirations of becoming strength and conditioning professionals.  Whether the end goal is the University/College setting, or the private sector this experience will help “set the table” for their future endeavors.  Over the years our internship program has evolved into a formal application and interview process.  Well before an intern sets foot into the confines of our facility, it’s important that our staff feels that he/she will be a good fit for the DSC family.   Pulse, passion, and purpose far outweigh diplomas, pre-conceived opinions, and certifications.  We have been pretty lucky over the years to have a very good mix of interns, some better than others.  Below are five keys for young coaches to have success, and a memorable internship experience in the strength and conditioning field. 

I am pulse, I am purpose, I am passion…I am Coach.  I am discipline, I am desire, I am determination…I am Coach.  I am teacher, I am mentor, I am leader…I am Coach.  I am thermostat, I am temperature, I am regulator…I am Coach.  I am detail, I am fine print, I am “the little things”…I am Coach.  I am transformational, I am inspiring, I am caring… I am Coach.  I am energy, I am enthusiasm, I am motivation…I am Coach.  I am not reality TV, cable boxes, gaming systems, quick fixes, infomercials, false bravado, or transactional.  I am the person that seeks to lead, guide, blaze, live, learn, fail, fall, stand, walk and breathe with the best interest of “my team” in mind.  I am Coach! 

We have had the unique experience of training multiple populations at DSC.  Although hockey is our niche, we have had the opportunity to train a diverse number of field sport athletes, motor sport athletes, and most recently Olympic caliber freestyle wrestlers.  Our goal for all populations, regardless of sport, is to provide a safe working environment and deliver tangible RESULTS!  Bottom line, we are not “married” to one-way of doing things.  We are “married” to best practice. 

The adrenals are the glands of stress.  They are no larger than a walnut and sit on top of the kidneys just above the 12^th rib.  Under normal functioning conditions the adrenals secrete precise and balanced amounts of hormones (epinephrine and cortisol) that keep our bodies functioning in the ever-changing environment of stress and recovery.  However, when chronic stress outpaces the ability to recover, adrenal fatigue may ensue.  Think of overdrawing your bank account and leaving a negative balance.  When the adrenals are fatigued the account is compromised.  Here’s how it works:

The weight room is a demanding place.  Mechanical loading, physiological disturbance, and psychological stress are just a few of the cumulative stressors that can leave us feeling sore, tired, irritable, and just plain exhausted.  If we continue to pull from these “reserves” without giving back, various hormonal imbalances, overtraining syndromes and chronic musculoskeletal injuries may be the direct outcome.  Furthermore, if lean muscle mass is the goal, the importance of “working in” is your trump card.  We believe in this so much that at DSC we have a picture hanging from our gym walls (many thanks to Jeff Cubos) that serves as a constant reminder of the importance in the decisions made outside the confines of the gym.  Bottom line:  you can’t get the most out of your workout, unless you are taking the time to “work in”.  Below are three tips in keeping your glass full!

Outside of the weight room I have many passions, but none greater than my love for music.  I love listening to it, writing it, playing it and watching people perform.  I love all types of music, genres, bands and solos artists.  But no one, and I mean no one compares to Bruce Springsteen.  I recently had the opportunity to see him (it was actually my 5^th time), and to say he put on a show would be an understatement!  I have never seen an artist more passionate, with so much energy and a love for his craft.  He played on into the night for three and a half hours never taking a break then finally said: “Columbus, do you have anything left”, and proceeded to close the show with yet another song.  You might be wondering what this has to do with strength training, but the message is woven into every piece of fabric in our lives.  Here are three tips to perform like “The Boss” in the weight room, the classroom, the field, ice, in relationships and personal life.