Motivation for Training
May 12, 2012 | 
Author Back in 2009 I started this website, before I started what has become a fast-growing strength training and velocity development business. My friend and mentor Nick Tumminello suggested I start a blog. I did, but for months I was embarrassed by it, feeling as though I had no business having a web presence. Who was I?
But, I found that people started reading and they, thankfully, told me that they both enjoyed and were helped by what I wrote. I kept going. That said, much of what I write about is a blend of:
- My own experience as a player who has tried most everything to improve.
- Experiences being injured and performing rehab from some of the world’s best doctors and PTs.
- Experiences learning hands on from Tim O’Brien, Fred Cantor, Nick T, Jeff Friday, Alan Jaeger, and more.
- Reading, watching videos and attending seminars when possible.
The point of all this is that I’m always learning, taking in information from people who have been around longer, are in different fields, or have done more research than I. I’m an intelligent guy, but I don’t necessarily want to do some of the research and reading that PTs and doctors have. But, I’m willing to listen when they tell me what’s the latest. Read the rest of this entry »
I meet lots of parents in my line of work. Out in the midwest, the best thing about life is how nice the people are. Yet, not all parents approach the sporting careers of their children in the right way. Having been through a relatively long relationship with baseball and my parents, I know what parental attributes further a child’s career and which ones potentially derail it. An emotionally healthy athlete is one who plays his sport because it adds joy to his life, not because he feels forced into it. Here’s a list of some of the things I find relevant in raising a young athlete. Read the rest of this entry »
Every rep counts. That’s right: each rep of each set of each exercise in your training program is there for a reason. With every rep, you have the option of getting the most out of it, or of half-assing it. This is common sense, right? You have at most half a dozen exercises in a given training session, so it shouldn’t be too hard to give maximum focus and effort to each one for 45-60 minutes. And yet, this is less common than you would think.
Check out my 12 minute radio interview with 94.9 WXRJ in Bloomington, Illinois. Click the link and listen in!
I’m going to revisit a piece I wrote about eight months ago with regards to the ever-burning question: what drives you to train? If it’s a little dramatic, just bear with me and it will make sense once you finish reading.
I scream. Lights dance in my eyes with each step, and in this moment of primal agony I am propelled by just one thought: onward. My pounding legs nearly falter as another frenzied wave of fire courses through my legs – and then it’s all over. The tire sled skids to a stop. Clenched hands release as the metal links clatter dully on the concrete, my body following suit just moments later. Read the rest of this entry »
Some workouts are hard, if not impossible, to complete without taking strides to keep ourselves motivated and on track. This is the very reason people hire personal trainers – to create additional accountability and ward off their inner-pussality.
Yet, if you’re trying to get in shape, and really want to tackle some tough workouts, here are some tips to keep you with it ’til the end. *PLUS!! As a bonus, read to the end to learn a new word for softness that I just invented!*
A Soft and Delicious Destructor. You're just soft.
Even the best athletes in the world say “I can’t” much more than they say “I can.” Yet, the elite figure out a way to get it done, even when their body and mind don’t want to.
I was recently running with a friend who quit before I did. I also had a solo workout in which I quit before I completed my intended volume. And last week a client of mine told me that he couldn’t do any more [reps]. All of these situations raised in me the question…
What If you HAD to do more?
What if you were forced, FORCED, to keep going? Could you? Read the rest of this entry »
Guess what? Sports are political, especially pro sports. Thing is, not everyone grasps this concept, and this conversation seems to be had by disgruntled players every other week. Guess what? I hate this conversation. If you wanna talk about politics, go cry to someone else. I’ll be in the weight room, or outside running sprints, or out long-tossing. Keep talking about how other guys get chances you won’t get; I’ll be out making my own path to the finish line.
Sure, we would all love to be that guy who hits .220 in college and gets 3 years to live the dream in the minors because our dad is the lawyer for the Yankees. But you know what? That guy knows deep down that he didn’t earn it, and no matter how many chicks he gets under the pretense that he is a “pro,” deep down he knows his own athletic impotence. I’ll know deep down that anything I obtained was earned.
Don’t get me wrong, I understand that it hurts that you’re an “honest” one, out there doing your best just to get beaten out of a spot by some guy who knows more influential people than you do. Thing is, though, you don’t deserve it more than a lot of people, you know, people who work harder than you. You just got lucky by having a good arm, or a good bat, one that you maybe didn’t deserve any more than the promotion that other guy got.
So let’s all stop crying. I don’t cry about how I’m 5’11, right-handed, 24 years old and missed my last season because of surgery. I don’t give a shit that I’m gonna get passed up by guys who won’t be as good, but who received more money than I, or who were granted a favor by an executive. It’s gonna happen, I know it, but I can’t control it. I control ME. That’s it, and I make sure I’ve got everything in order. Even then, whenever I start feeling entitled to something, I check myself, because I am naturally gifted compared to a lot of average joes and I’m pretty sure I didn’t earn my genetics.
You know who has this conversation the most? The guys who work the least. The guys who don’t do anything for the first 5 months of the offseason then jump on the bench press with a month to go. These are also the guys who will quit and blame their loss of passion for the game on the politics. But the guys who put their heads down, take care of themselves and just WORK, they understand that they’re leaving it all out on the field or the weight room every day. Sure, they care that they get passed over, but hard work is honorable, and you just can’t hold people down who refuse the life of mediocrity, refuse to blame the world for their failures, and refuse to quit when faced with adversity.
Yesterday Ben asked me if I wanted to post some inspirational videos. I told him I was the wrong man for the job. You see, I don’t watch sports movies. I don’t seek out inspirational videos. I don’t like to be inspired by the doings of others. I like to just keep on going.
I appreciate others sending me videos of this sort, and I watched one by Will Smith that my friend Tim O’Brien sent me. I liked what Will said, but the thing is, that stuff just doesn’t get to me anymore. Waiting to develop into a pro caliber ballplayer has taken significant effort nearly every single day of the last 6 years of my life. Because I have realized that change takes time, and I can’t throw 1000 pitches in a day to perfect things all at once, I have to go to sleep and wait until the next morning arrives, so I can get after it once more.
The video Ben posted yesterday, I won’t even watch it. My motivation comes from within – the hurt inside me that has been caused by my dreams moving away from me seemingly at the same pace that I claw toward them.
But no matter what, I just wake up and get to it. I do as much as I can for one day, and then I rest so that it all sets, making me a little better than even that previous morning.
Yet, through all this time of training and waiting, I am inspired by a few other things from within, and I’ll share them with you…
- The day I throw in front of a scout, have it together, and get signed afterward. I see it clearly in my mind, down to to the venue and the individual pitches. It’s already happened and will happen; thing is, it just hasn’t yet happened.
- The People I Know Who Believe If Anyone, I can. If I quit, then who else is left to be the example of what can happen when you refuse to quit? I’d be just like every other mediocre person on this planet. I have one life to live, and going after things until they get really hard, then quitting, would be a horseshit way to be. I’m the guy who will keep going and won’t quit, even when everyone else thinks it’s time to hang em up and call it a career. Other guys in the bigs have done it, and quite frankly, I think I’m stronger willed than even they. One more day is one more day to improve, so hanging on can only better my chances.
- “The final chapters are yet to be written.” My strength coach, Fred Cantor, said this to me one day in the weight room as I explained to him how my opening day start didn’t go well, despite my preparation and optimism. I rarely break composure, but I was on the verge of losing it at this point. He doesn’t show it in the same way as others, but I know he is one of my biggest fans. What he said was subtle, but it stuck, and I kept it mind as I continued to control my own destiny.
- “A Resolute Man Will Find A Way” This is my favorite phrase ever uttered by a human being, and it was said to me in an email by my favorite philosophy professor, Roye Templeton. I had written to him telling him about my poor performance and elbow surgery, because the last time we had spoken there was optimism of me being drafted if the season went well.
My senior year in college, at a bar, I was introduced to a senior female athlete who I had seen in the athletics department for 4 years but never spoken to. She said, “You’re the guy who trains really, really hard.” I said that it might have been me.
It was one of my most proudest moments.
resolute |ˈrezəˌloōt; -lət|adjectiveadmirably purposeful, determined, and unwavering
….was the phrase uttered to 4 of my athletes this week. You see, we have a policy here at Athletic Edge, that, if you puke, do it in a trash can, and if you puke in a trash can, you’re gonna get rid of the bag yourself.
Now understand that pushing people to puke isn’t the sign of a good trainer, nor is it ever my goal. Furthermore, I never insist that someone on the brink of vomiting would continue to work – it’s simply not productive for any of us. If they let me know, I’ll insist that they rest.
Yet, I can at least respect those who work until they puke, because it’s not easy and it’s not a good feeling. Like I said, I don’t want or ask them to do that, but if they quietly go to that point, then hey, at least they worked hard.
Reason for all the fluid loss this week was that I had a large group of college players with whom I have been working 3 times per week for 4 weeks now. Workouts started out tame, and have progressed to be pretty difficult. The guys who have come consistently are in great shape, and can now handle a heavy conditioning workload. Those who, because these workouts were voluntary for their school, decided not to come regularly but DID decide to show up on the last week got a rude awakening. They were hurting, and left with a leaky, smelly trash bag in hand. Shame.
Oh, and don’t drink a quart of blue gatorade 10 minutes before working out. Turns out, it comes back up in a beautiful shade of green…
Dear High School Pitcher,
It is time to make a decision.
I know you want to play college baseball, and I know you dream of one day being a major leaguer. Thing is, no matter how well you perform for your high school team, 80 mph pitchers don’t make it anywhere; Sorry to burst your bubble. You’re just not that good in the grand scheme of the baseball world.
Chances are, its already too late, but you can maybe turn things around if you are willing to train real hard and real smart. If you want to give yourself a fighting chance, you have to do it now. Not in two weeks. Not tomorrow. Right now.
And let’s be honest, your current workout program probably consists of going to school with bedhead and coming home to eat Easy-Mac. That works for some people – genetic freaks. And as you check your biceps, let me assure you that you are not one of these freaks; I have friends who can throw almost as hard as you with their non-dominant arm.
Don’t mistake me – I want you to do well, move on and continue to live the dream. But it is time for a little introspection and a new plan of action, because things obviously aren’t working.
I’m a strength coach. I see you guys come in to our facility all the time. Let me tell you exactly who you are, as you invariably fit into one of the following profiles:
The Weak Kid
5’10″, 145 pounds. 76-78 mph. Arms and legs that look like fleshy lo mein noodles. He can do 15-20 “pushups”, but not one of them is technically correct. Do you really think that guys who throw 90 mph do it with this little strength?
The Strong, But Scrawny, Kid
6’1″ 160 pounds. 79-81 mph. Sure, he can do 8 chin ups, runs all the time and isn’t lacking functional strength. But guess what? If you’re “strong” but still don’t throw hard, then you need to do something different, and consider putting on some weight. Congrats on being lean and explosive, but Force still equals Mass x Acceleration, and your mass just isn’t getting that baseball moving.
The Out of Shape Kid
6’2″ 230 pounds, 20%+ bodyfat. 80-81. Again, you’re not a genetic freak, so don’t even start to tell me how C.C. Sabathia’s hypnotic jiggling helps him throw shutouts. You need to lose a bunch of weight, which might reveal some dormant athleticism and power production.
The Untrained Athlete
5’11″ 170 pounds. 80-83. He isn’t scrawny, is athletic and has good baseline strength. Yet, he has never picked up a weight, trained, or done anything remotely resembling betterment. Doing anything might turn this guy into a stud.
Which one of these are you? In a world all too concerned with self-esteem and feelings, it’s time to be honest with yourself, just as I am being honest with you. Your career, without change, will end on graduation day, and I guarantee being a student working toward a day job isn’t nearly as fun as being a college athlete working toward a championship.
Sincerely, A Realistic, Honest Strength Coach
Are you the kind of person who hates doing the same things day after day? Hey, me too!
Until recently, I didn’t listen to my own motivations. I thought that I had to run sprint intervals 3 days per week to stay in top shape, no matter how bad I grew to hate them. I thought that if I relented for a second, a slippery slope would land me on the couch.
Ruts become trenches, and trenches are no fun
Now that I am out of college and solely responsible for my own training, I listen to my body, and I listen to my desires. I have learned that there are enough alternatives to any given exercise to allow me to omit those I hate, thus keeping myself sane while still in shape.
This is the time of year in which it is time to turn one’s focus toward next spring, which means making goals and working toward becoming a better ballplayer.
So set some goals. If you don’t, it will be much harder to stay on track this winter as the weather turns sour, school starts to wear on you, and your comfy bed calls your name.
Get there.
I like to set my goals at the upper limit of what’s realistic, and I don’t worry too much if I don’t reach them, as long as I come close. Many people need to do the opposite, and set many smaller, more manageable goals to act as stepping stones toward a final, better product. To each his own. But, no matter your method, there needs to be a finish line somewhere and the vision to reach it.
So for my winter, which lasts from now until March, my strength goals are the following:
-Reach 195 pounds while staying below 8% bodyfat.
-Deadlift 450×5
-8 Reps Rock Ring Chin-Ups with 45lb added
-Develop the core of a gymnast
My assault on these milestones is going to be pretty complex, so brace yourself: I’m going to:
-Deadlift, chin-up, and lift my ass off
-Eat like a man twice my size
-Only eat carbs for breakfast, and pre and post-workout
-Eat more vegetables than a vegan hippy
I also have pitching-specific goals, but they are more broad, not worth sharing, and really just sum up to: be the most polished, healthy and powerful pitcher I can be. That’s every pitcher’s goal, anyway.