The Blog of Keith Minikus

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I recently posted my take on the Olympic lifts which can be found here. In part deux I want to further talk about concerns with regards to the Olympic lifts and their variations. Another argument made by coaches who do not use the Olympic lifts is the risk to the wrists which I touched on slightly in the first article. Now you might be surprised to hear me say this but I agree with that completely, it is a highly valid argument when incorporating the Olympic lifts. I have heard of injuries like that happening when those lifts are used. It even happened to me. You would think that knowing that it is a risk and experiencing it first hand I would disagree with the use of the lifts.

That is even more reason for me to use the lifts in my program or at least the primary reason I feel confident in using the lifts in my programming. Why does an injury like that happen? Well it usually happens when coaches have absolutely no clue about teaching the clean, or it occurs because the coach does not pay attention to the athletes when they utilize the clean or the Olympic lifts. As coaches we tend to be impatient with getting athletes strong and powerful. That is what we ultimately get paid to do and we want that to occur as fast as possible. Some coaches jobs are completely incumbent upon getting athletes stronger and if that does not occur said coach may be looking for another job.

So when I hear the argument about Olympic lifts being dangerous to the athletes’ wrists, I have to take a step back and ask why someone would feel this way. First, do they have experience teaching and coaching the lifts properly? Have they personally done the lifts themselves? Second, how fast is the coach trying to progress the athlete into heavy weights? If the majority of the Olympic lifts are performed at or above 90% then there is a problem. The lifts are explosive in nature, heavy weights do not make the lifts, and the lift is the end and the means. Take the time to teach proper form and make sure your athletes can perform the exercise properly. Make sure the athlete has flexibility through the wrist and knows how to catch the lift properly.

Some would say there is a possibility that the athlete might still catch the weight improperly and hurt their wrists. I agree. It is a risk when performing the lift, just like slipped discs are a possibility with heavy squats or deadlifts. Heck, there is even the possibility of dropping a barbell on your throat while benching. There are risks that come with being an athlete they are all manageable risks if the coach is conscientious. Nothing is out of the realm of possibilities Sh*t happens. No matter how prepared and careful you are things do not always go as planned. So as a coach you weigh your risks verses outcomes.

As a coach you should be honest with yourself and with your abilities. If you have limited experience teaching the lifts and are not tremendously confident in teaching the lifts, then avoid them. You can still develop power without them, however you loose the catch which I fell is extremely important for athletes especially contact sport athletes. There is a great article by Joe Defranco on other means to developing explosive power without using the Olympic lifts. The article can be found here.

Reading time: 2 – 4 minutes

Force = Mass x Acceleration

As a coach there are many reasons for doing something a certain way. For me I feel that the Olympic lifts and their variations provide tremendous benefits for athletes and in lieu of that I incorporate them in my programming. However, I am not just referring to power output when I say benefits. There is by far a much more powerful benefit derived from pulling a weight off the ground and lifting it over your head or catching a large amount of weight at chest height. . Lifting is done to increase ability and also as character building or mental prep if you will. Doing a power clean is a form of mental training or psychological prep.

Now let us think of the lift and its application to a football field. As an athlete if I can clean and press 300lbs and I know that the guy across me weighs two thirds of that, could I not in turn think of my opponent as something to be thrown around. When I bust my butt in a weight room throwing around weight as explosively as possible then I in turn will feel better at throwing my opponent around. I feel that the power clean was the best example of this, but it is not limited to that movement alone.

The bench press although not a total body movement would be another great example of mental prep.  If on my dynamic day I incorporate weight at or above 225 and I can throw the hell out of that kind of weight, will that not allow me to jam the hell out of a defensive lineman or an offensive lineman? It most certainly will, and I must utilize that workout and think of it as more than just a weightlifting session but as mental prep for dealing with unruly opponents. Another incredible movement or implement is a heavy tire. Tire flips done as explosively as possible is perfect for mental prep. Visualization is one of the greatest tools that is under utilized or not utilized enough by coaches and players. Use your workouts for more than strength and power.

Knowing you can do something is a tremendous advantage if you consider what you do and its applications to something else you will benefit far better than someone who does not derive a mental benefit from training or from someone who only lifts to increase absolute strength. Utilize more than one method in your programming it does not have to be the power clean but it should be explosive. Visualize that weight as an opponent on game day. Do not just lift to be strong, lift to be powerful.

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“It does not matter what you eat, it’s about portion control.” Would you really take that statement seriously. I sure as hell do not. This morning following a training session with a client, we were discussing proper meal choices and “healthy” eating. Another trainer decided to chime in and tell me and my client how, “it’s ok to eat the stuff you want, it’s just about portion control.” Well thank you for clarifying that for me.

Never mind the fact that he has absolutely no clue about my clients current and previous eating habits. I understand people have philosophies and beliefs, but to say it is ok for a person wishing to get to a healthy weight to continue to consume; sugars, simple carbs (ice cream, donuts, cake) is ok, is absolute  absurdity to say the least. Now I am not saying that sweets are the devil and you are forbidden from eating them for as long as you live. I am saying when trying to reach a healthy weight you should abstain from sweets for at least 90% of the time.

If you keep your sugars and simple carbohydrate portions under control your still not going to loose a significant amount of weight, period. You sure as hell will not improve your health. I guess I could be a prick, continue to allow my client to eat like crap and continue to utilize that to sell more training. I do not know about you, but I am pretty sure the primary objective of my job is to help people. Giving shoddy advice like that is part of the reason America is in the midst of an obesity epidemic.

Lastly, if you disagree with how I train or the things I say by all means confront me on them. Privately, not in front of my clientele. I am up for discussing anything I do and I am more than capable of justifying those things if you insist on that. Heck! I am even willing to admit that I am unsure of something or that I do not know how to do something. I have little fear of those things because you will not find me without a “method to my madness,” if you will. This completes my short rant on ignorance and poor etiquette.

Photo courtesy of Simon Howden

Reading time: 6 – 10 minutes

Since attending a conference over strength and power development I have been looking for a good reason to talk about what I experienced. The speakers were mostly strength and conditioning coaches from high schools around Texas. There was also a college coach who had some great stuff to regarding training at the University of Texas. As a football player at heart it was exciting to see how a top notch strength & conditioning program was put together or at least an overview of what a top notch strength and conditioning program looks like.

These coaches had very interesting things to say about their strength and conditioning programs. Considering the state of my high schools strength and conditioning program I was completely amazed. The extent of there programming and the actual application of certain exercises blew my mind.  However, there were some things that made my body cringe in fear. Seeing those things has had my mind racing and I am not at a point where I would like to get it out. My fear or lack of approval if I am allowed that was with regards to the use of the Olympic lifts in their programs. It is not the Olympic lifts that I do not approve of but rather the manner in which they were used. The form for some of these kids was beyond horrible it was terrifying. I must also add that it was not just the o-lifts that were horrible it was all of them. So since that conference I have been thinking about how the programs were set up and the possible pro’s and con’s of that type of programming and during this time a came across an article on training economy. The article essentially talked about training time and making good use of if. The author claimed that due to time the o-lifts were not a good choice to use in any program that aims to improve the performance of athletes other than Olympic lifters.

So I must admit up front that I am a member of the o-lift faction. I believe without a doubt in the validity of the o-lifts and or their variations as a primary contributor to positive sports performance.  Now on a short note before I continue I must state that I acknowledge the differences in opinion between coaches and their coaching philosophies just like I accept the differences people have with regards to their political views. Even if those views are completely wrong. I am only kidding about that last statement. This controversy almost borders on ferocity as religious differences. However as coach I am attempting to justify the Olympic lifts or at least a statement of purpose. I guess you could say my personal manifesto. So without further adieu I believe that the Olympic lifts and their variations are superior to basic plyometric and dynamic effort exercises alone.

There are many reasons coaches argue against the use of the Olympic lifts in their programs, however I only with to talk about one or at least the main argument. The primary argument against the Olympic lifts and the close variations has to do training economy. Now considering what I saw at that conference, which was basically young men, exhibiting horrible motor patterns or what I typically refer to as “motor morons” attempting to demonstrate a very complex movement would have most people agreeing that the Olympic lifts are a horrible idea as a part of sport specific training program. However, I see that as a way to argue my point for the Olympic lifts.

‘How?’ you might ask. Well not only were the Olympic lifts horribly executed, but the other lifts were executed horribly as well. Most of the errors in execution had to do with motor inefficiency, or basically the body’s ability to do things simply, kind of like going around as opposed to going in a straight line to get to a certain point. As a coach I know that the beginning of a training program is when the greatest results happen in the shortest amount of time. Programs at this time could come straight from a muscle & fiction magazine or your five year old sister could have written it and the likelihood is that you would have still improved. So knowing that beginners or “motor morons” can improve on little to nothing due to enhanced neural efficiency then why the rush to do heavy box squats or heavy Olympic lifts? You have to develop the motor patterns necessary to complete even basic movements in order to do them right then why could you not incorporate the o-lifts?

What I am trying to get at is, how can you make an argument about training economy not allowing for the utilization of the o-lifts due to there complexity and the amount of time it would take to teach the lifts yet still having time to teach the other lifts. I can agree that the o-lifts do take a bit of time to teach, but we are not developing Olympic weightlifters. We are trying to bring up specific athletic abilities. In all actuality we are not talking years to reach a point of development in which the benefits of the o-lifts are reaped. We are only talking the time it takes to reach a level of proficiency in with the lifts and their variations can be used safely. The Olympic lifts and their variations take close to the same amount of time to teach and to develop proper motor patterns as a proper squat.

Specifically, I am talking about the hang power clean and or the hang power snatch and progressing to the point where an athlete can do a snatch and a clean, possibly even a clean jerk or clean & jerk. Well if you think a “motor moron” can execute a heavy back squat safely or deadlift correctly I would say you are quite mistaken. To assume or argue that the time taken to learn these “basic movements” pale in comparison to the o-lifts would be a misstatement. The time it takes to become efficient enough to safely squat and deadlift heavy is about the same amount of time it would take to get to a point where the power clean and the power snatch from the hang or the floor could be utilized safely.

“KB snatches and cleans are safer and quicker to teach than the o-lifts and the benefits are reaped quicker than if you were to use the o-lifts”. ‘Really!’ and this person pulls that skill from where? Lets just agree that you would have to teach that to them too. Whether or not KB movements are easier to learn and are as effective as the o-lifts is debatable. I will agree that teaching the clean does present a special challenges and that is primarily the flexibility through the wrists. But I would argue they need to address flexibility and coordination throughout the body and especially the wrists, especially if you are a football player.  So while you are teaching the posture in the squat why could you not work flexibility in the wrists with some front squats which reduce the compression of the spine and might be a little safer for our “motor morons”.

What I am trying to say essentially has to do with the need to teach athletes how to move and perform lifts safely and efficiently. You can not say that the o-lifts are not viable and still throw a kid in the cage and ask him to move heavy weight especially a box squat without first teaching correct form. After seeing what I saw at that conference I would argue many coaches especially at the high school level are impatient when it comes to adding weight to the lifts without first addressing the functional needs of the athlete. If increasing neural efficiency accounts for the greatest part of a beginners gains and it can be achieved through just about any method why could you not teach the o-lifts and there variations while you were teaching them how to squat, deadlift, jump, run and bench correctly?

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Here are some things that I learned after the fact. I wish someone would have pushed me to do some of these things while I was younger. Knowing what I know now I make a point of educating my athletes on choices that they should make now while they are in highscool to help elevate their chances of getting into college. A big, strong football player is good, an intelligent, hard working, strong football player is even better. All of these suggestions will help to elevate your chances or your athletes chances of getting into certain colleges.

1. Highschool athletes and students should not opt out of AP or Honors classes. Do not take the easy road through school. I wanted to have fun and take it easy. What this amounted to is cheating myself out of a whole lot of potential possibilities. Colleges like to see that you took the hard classes.

2. Not taking college classes when I had the chance in high school. If you can substitue government and economics at the highschool level for community college classes do it. They are not hard. Your friends will still be there. Your not missing anything life changing by college level classes. Some school offer them at your highschool. At mine the classes started at 8:00Am as opposed to 9:15AM, that and hour earlier. (I would argue that some college classes are easier than highschool classes with regards to volume of work, what is different is the intensity it can be a tad bit higher but nothing a young mind can endure and overcome.)

3. Not volunteering more when in highschool. Find something that you enjoy and get involved. It can be anything.

4. Not respecting my teachers as much as I should have. Only now do I realize what they put into their classes and the impact that you as a student have on them.

5. Join some clubs; run for student government, join SADD (Students Against Drunk Driving). Find a group join it. This will help tremendously when you are applying for college.

6. Play a sport if you play one sport consider playing a second. When your young take advantage of this free time do not get caught up doing nothing. The tougher the schedule the more likely you are to stay on task.

7. Go on recruiting visits to colleges both sports related and academic related. I was invited to lots of colleges for visits and I did not go on near enough of them. The ones I did go on were great learning experiences for me.

Even if you or your athlete takes just on piece of these suggestions they already elevate their acceptance chances.

attributed to billaday accessed February 3, 2010 (http://www.flickr.com/photos/billselak/2417001179/)

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Sn 50/3, 60/3, 70/2, 80/2, 90/2, 100/2, 107.5/1, 112.5/1, 117.5/1, 122.5/1, 12o/1, 125/1

Front Sq 100/5, 120/5, 140/2, 160/1, 122.5/6×4

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Cg sn 75% 2(3)

pp or pj light 3(2)

Sn pulls to explode 105% 2(3)

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These last couple of weeks I have been having some serious hip flexor and IT band issues. I thought it was just a soft tissue problem, so I began an excruciating regimen of foam rolling, which did absolutely nothing except cause me excessive amounts of pain and suffering.

My coach told me to go see this guy she  visits when she starts having problems. He is a Myo-Practor. Yes there are such people and according to him there are only five in the nation. At least that is what I think he said. Well basically he pops your whole body back into place, a lot like a chiropractor but with much better care and it seems a greater understanding of the human body if you ask me.

Basically one leg was about an inch and a half shorter than they other. My shoulders were outta whacka and well just about everything was out of whack. Following thirty minutes of loud cracking and subtle yanks on my limbs he was done and I was taller. Oh, yes I was taller.

Well to get to the point, he worked, he fixed me, all the pain is gone for the most part and now it is residual soft tissue problems that can be solved with stretching and foam rolling. If you have nagging injuries and pain, consider seeing a specialist. Getting a massage is not just a treat is also serves to alleviate pain in the body and can get you back on the road to accomplishing all your performance goals.

If you live in Austin or the surrounding area feel free to contact me and I will give you his number.

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love coach

This past weekend I did a seminar for continuing education at NB Canyon High School. While watching these young men have the time of there lives I found myself reminiscing about those old high school football days. Getting your butt kicked in a rather ridiculous off-season strength and conditioning program. The thought  made me smile, I am laughing even now as I write this.

But, I am not here to ponder the intricacies of strength and conditioning, rather I find myself contemplating my tremendous passion for training athletes and coaching athletics.  How is it that I am here, now?  Is it because I have been an athlete my whole life, or maybe it was the people that I met along the way.  A little of both I guess.  Our lives are the culmination of our experiences and our relationships, at least mine is.

There are those things which leave greater impacts than others.  My old high school coach; Pat Honeycutt, who I spent three years playing varsity football under.  Those years being the biggest impact on my coaching and teaching endeavors.  My freshman year  is still fresh on my mind.  Getting moved up to train with varsity for the playoffs was the first time I was able to experience Coach P’s unique style of coaching.

Pat was one of the primary motivators for me becoming a teacher and a high school football coach. He is not the only coach/teacher that I am inspired by, but he is one of the primary reasons I am here today.  Coaches assume special position in the life of athletes.  They spend more of their time with their athletes than they do with their own families for most of the year.

The time spent immersed in the life of a coach does not end when the bell rings or the athletes and the students clear the halls. The job is never ending, it follows you home, it is there while you lay wide awake in bed trying to fall asleep. Coach Honeycutts job never ended. It would be a diservice to call what Honecutt did a job.  

My close friends were helped in ways you and I can not imagine.  A coach who went above and beyond his job as a teacher and a coach. If you were in trouble you bet your sweet butt you could have called him with anything. His door was always open and he was always willing to help an ex-player. For Pat, you never left, you were indelibly a part of his life.

What made Pat a good coach is the number of lives that he touched. Pat did not just develop athletes he developed young men. Hopefully as my life progresses, I will have the chance to aid and inspire at least a fraction of the people that Pat Honeycutt did. I am so grateful for Pat Honeycutt and for everything he did for us.  Pat’s legacy will continue because in his actions he helped to inspire me and  in my actions I will strive to inspire others, to serve young men, just like he did and in those acts I will have secured his legacy.

Rest In Peace Pat Honeycutt

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Today was the first step of many for me and my business or rather service venture. Friday the 30th of October 2009 my business was established.

The Turf & Iron Athlete

Human Potential Evolved

est. 2009

This is the face of American Capitalism and My piece of the American Dream in fruition. It was a tremendously empowering feeling to create a business entity. Now I get to enjoy all the rights of a business, well a rather small one. Actually I do not have that many rights just a name, but it is still a step. I think the quote goes something like ” no matter how long the journey, all journeys begin with but a first step,” something like that. The truth is this is probably one of the best things that I have ever done for myself aside from going to college and graduating.

Unfortunately graduating from college really does not make anything any easier, at least it has not helped me. Following college I actually found myself lost and unable to create a place for myself in this world. Graduating college is not all it is cracked up to be, or at least what I thought it would be,  especially in an economic depression. These last few weeks I have been dropping off resumes and writing cover letters after losing my job due to the state of our economy.

Now I have not been searching with any intention of moving forward in life but merely finding a means to subsist. What I have realized is that I have been limiting myself. Do I really want to stop or merely get by in this world or do I want to carve out my own piece and live a life of limitless potential. Can I really just subsist on a minor wage or a slightly better salary with all of the ideas and bits and pieces of knowledge I have accumulated over my life. I must declare that I will not and I can not just be mediocre.

What was it that was holding me back from moving forward. It was fear that thing that John F. Kennedy said was the only thing we had to fear.  I guess the fact that I am responsible for ME, was something that was tough to actually embrace. I was attempting to “live a life of quiet desperation” as Thoreau said. The truth of the matter is this; life is about choices and first steps, I was tired of playing it safe and staying on the sidelines I finally decided that its time to play.

So today I created a sole proprietorship Dba The Turf & Iron Athlete. For me this business is the culmination of a lifetime of exercise and physical and emotional development. I am an athlete and will always be an athlete even when I no longer compete, I will still exude the mentality of an athlete. What I am refering to with regards to Athlete is not a person exhibiting a skill or profession or even a hobby, but rather all that makes that person what they are. An athlete is a way of life it is a mentality. It is the progession of ideas and abilities to a level of mastery. It is being health both physically and mentally.

To be an athlete you must be disciplined and devoted to your team, the team could be your family, your co-workers your school. Athletes are the leaders they are the doers. So that is what this business is, a vessel for creating tough people, physically and mentally capable people in all walks of life. So if your ready to move past mediocrity the join me in the evolution.