Posts Tagged ‘Dan Blewett’
February 1, 2012 | 
Author Whenever I’m faced with people discounting the role of sports in our lives, I think back to my time in Philosophy classes in college. As a Philosophy major, I spent most of my time trying to decipher the meaning of the world via the meaning of some very cryptically written essays and books. As an athlete, I never forgot the lecture in my Philosophy of Sport class in which my professor gave his argument for the value of athletics. Many academics dismiss them as petty amusements, but they are much more than that.
Desporto: To Carry Away. When the terrorist attacks of 9-11 occurred, why did the Yankees play only days later? To whisk away the troubles of a very shaken, desperate city. Why do we flip on the television to watch the game after a stressful day of work? To get lost in in the amazing physical feats of another, drowning out the tedium and nagging repetition of daily life. Sports have been and will be around forever because they always allow us to escape the reality that life is often harsh, difficult and undeterred.
I just got off the phone with my student Chris, one of the finest young men I know. He had texted me and my good friend Daryn letting us know that he was dropping out of our throwing and hitting academies, respectively. This young man’s girlfriend had just suffered a huge family shakeup and he felt that he had a duty to be a man and take care of her. In her time of extreme need, he explained, he couldn’t justify playing a foolish game. Very few males at his age would show this kind of character – he’s a man at age 16 if there ever was one. Read the rest of this entry »
It’s been crazy busy the last few weeks getting back from California, which was a tremendous experience, organizing my schedule (booked to the teeth) and writing new programming for 50 strength training students and 42 Warbird throwers. Here’s a few things to look forward to on my site in the next week or so:
1. Early results from the first 30 Warbird Throwers. A rough look at my data suggests that my group has gained on average 3 miles per hour and as high as 7. I’m pretty excited, and have new technology (Thanks Mike!) to share throwing data on my site. Check out the Player Velocities Page under the Warbird parent tab. If you’re not local you won’t know the names, but you can check the progress some of my hard workers have made. Nick Hieb, a Junior, just threw in front of a few college coaches and sat 3-4mph higher than he had previously peaked as of last year (his peak is about +5-6). Pretty excited about him – he’s earned it.
2. My Trip to LA for Alan Jaeger’s Pro Camp was awesome. I have lots to share but as of now too little time to share it. Soon – it was well worth the trip.
3. I’m going to share via video some of what I’ve learned about velocity this winter, and I’ve learned a whole, whole lot. The radar gun is the greatest pitchers’ training tool ever created, in my opinion. You’d be amazed how much pitch-by-pitch feedback can do for a thrower and a coach who wants his kids to throw harder. I’m not going to give away my proprietary program, but I will give you insight into what you can do at home today to throw harder immediately.
Thanks! Stay Tuned….
I want to give a shout out to Conner Cox, one of my athletes who has recently committed to play Varsity Golf at Parkland College in Champaign IL. Conner is a talented athlete in two sports, baseball and golf, who has diligently worked over the two years I’ve had him.
It’s always great to see my young athlete succeed. Conner plans on having a productive two years at Parkland and then transferring to a Top Division I University. Continued hard work will get him there.
We throw the 2oz JUGS lite flights to give us an idea of theoretical near-maximum arm twitch speed, the theoretical near-max of how fast your arm can go. A true theoretical max would use no weight at all, but 2oz comes reasonably close. This is measured on flat ground with no competitive adrenaline, so theoretical max would be higher than this as well when factoring in a mound and competitive, in-game atmosphere, which to me personally adds 4-6mph based on years of radar gunning.
Measurements were taken with a new Stalker Sport 2 radar gun set to Tenths. The goal of testing theoretical max arm speed, as we do in all of my Warbird Throwing Academy groups, is to see what we could potentially achieve if we strengthened the arm enough. Can I strengthen enough to throw actual 5oz baseballs as hard as these lite flights? We will see. Once we have measurements of the theoretical max, then we work to bring the actual baseball max up to the level of the theoretical max. We also use these to increase the arm’s speed – throwing heavier balls never allows it to run at it’s full clip, so to speak. In the same way plyometrics allow strong but slow athletes to convert their strength into explosiveness, so does throwing lighter balls for baseball and softball players.
No Jesse Heatons were seriously injured in the filming of this exercise (though he did have a nice bruise). This was not particularly safe done without a helmet, so don’t try this on your own. Jesse’s a college player at Saint Scholastica, and one of my toughest strength trainees.
It must be pretty amazing to throw a real baseball 97 MPH; it must provide a feeling of invincibility. My hat’s off to the few who actually can.
Interested in some DBSP SWAG?
What’s the best training method for fat loss? Without a doubt, it’s complex and circuit training. In the following video you can watch myself, Max and Daryn perform a dumbbell complex for 2 repetitions or so.
A complex is a workout composed of many exercises that flow together performed one right after another. In the complex shown below, we are using the following exercises with 50lb dumbbells in each hand:
- Shrug
- Romanian Deadlift (RDL)
- Bent Over Row
- Arc Pull
- Hang Clean
- Front Squat
- Push Press
- Push Up
- Renegade Row
On this workout one cycle was comprised of 5 reps of the above, top to bottom. So, we go from 1-9 and repeat until 5 repetitions is complete, then we break. Our rest interval was 2:00 and we completed 5 cycles before all running to the little boys’ room. It was hard, and not nearly as fun as eating Oreos on the couch.
Go out and try this. You’ll probably find that grip strength is as much a factor as anything toward the end, but that’s part of the fun (misery). Chalk is a must.
If you’re a New Years’ Resolutioner, this is a great workout to try once and then give up on completely; I highly recommend it for quitters.
Oh – and if you’re a baseball player and are thinking “But Dan, don’t you contraindicate overhead pressing for throwing athletes?” Great question, Skippy. Yes – this is true – we almost never perform overhead pressing because of the impingement and deltoid recruitment it causes in the shoulder. But, if you perform 25 reps of a push press, effectively making a 50lb dumbbell half its weight, with a neutral grip every once in a while, no one is going to get injured and no one’s arm is going to be negatively affected. Just like eating an entire pumpkin pie is OK once every November, a little contraindicated exercise every now and again isn’t really a big deal. If I was pressing up 100s with an externally rotated grip, then that would be much less OK. Good question, though, Skippy.
Lastly, if you’re interested in more of these complexes, check out the “Strength Training For Fat Loss” DVD.
I was just flipping through my iPhone looking for a photo for a future blog post, when I came to a realization: there’s a big story to be told via my photos. So, I decided to share the best of the best with you. This is unlikely to be in perfect chronological order, but I’ll do what I can.
This was in Spain last Christmas, which isn’t technically 2011, but it was within 4 days or so and is worth sharing. This was the best breakfast ever, and was provided every morning in our hotel. Fruit, meat and yogurt. Pretty simple, but healthy and delicious. Jamon Serrano is the ham shown, which is cured for 400 days and sliced paper thin; it’s incredible and unlike anything made in America. Depending on the pig’s diet, the fat can even melt at room temperature.
But for as well as Spaniards do breakfast, they don’t seem to have a clue about what is, and what is not CREEPY. Christmas just passed, and I guarantee one-surgically-removed-one-button-eyed-denim-Santa did not come down anyone’s chimney, at least not without a greeting by a shotgun. Seriously – these things (there’s another one in a top hat next to it) were creepy as hell, and did NOT want to make me buy whatever crap they were peddling. Read the rest of this entry »
Welp, I’m officially 26. I’m like 45 in the baseball world, but so be it. Anyway, I’m going to share some of my vast wisdom on this day…26 little pearls for you. Enjoy or don’t. Read the rest of this entry »
The music at Meijer has alerted me that it is once again Christmas season. It’s just barely December and already everything is decked with boughs of everything else.
This year, rather than write a simple “What Gifts to Buy” article, I decided I want to encourage a zero-possession-shift for this year. Yes – I am going to impose my lifestyle of very few material items on everyone else. So, I’m going to suggest 5 things to buy for your athletic friends and family. I am also going to recommend that you steal and destroy 5 of their current possessions, items that are likely holding them back from productivity. That way, you can get them new things without increasing the amount of “stuff” attributable to their name. Hopefully by getting them new, cooler things while destroying their old, counterproductive crap, we can put them on the right track to having a better year in 2012. Without further ado… Read the rest of this entry »
I occasionally discuss the role of the opposite gender in each of my athletes’ lives. What Do I tell them?
Stay away.
In a roundabout sort of manner, I’m advocating chastity in my gym. While I’m fully aware that making young athletes more athletic, strong, and successful at their sport increases their attractiveness to the opposite sex, and the subsequent testosterone built during training also increases their natural drives toward the opposite sex, my interest is in building a good career for them. For most athletes, a boyfriend or girlfriend is a major distraction in their quest to make something of themselves. I advise my youngsters that girls are the devil, and that boys are big pieces of garbage. Is this true? Yes and no. Here’s why I hold these views: Read the rest of this entry »
I’m occasionally asked “Is the Rice Bucket good for strengthening the hands?” I reply: “No. They are a waste of time.” The Rice Bucket is an old set of drills – they were even recommended to me when I was like 10 (I did them) – and even back then I thought they were stupid and ineffective. If your hand was immobilized in a cast for 6 weeks, then maybe. If you’re a normal person, then no – the rice bucket is garbage. Here’s why: 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 »
I was recently in the local supermarket and spotted some new, Whipped Peter Pan peanut butter. As I asked myself, “why the hell would I need whipped peanut butter?” I looked curiously at a claim on the label “1/3 less sugar.” Oh, really, Peter?
You need to understand – I love calling companies out on their deceptive practices. As such, I flipped the jar around to look at the nutrition label, wondering how they managed to squeeze 1/3 of the sugar out of said nut goo. The answer? They didn’t. Not technically. Here’s an example of what they did, provided to you in town-crier format:
“I’ve created the world’s lowest fat Pizza! Come eat it! It has 87.5% less fat…it’s true! This magical pizza is called…one slice.” Read the rest of this entry »