Over the past few weeks I have watched Shawn Moody transform our athletes FAST. Shawn has been training athletes for over 20 years and has an arsenal of knowledge to back it up.

 What makes Shawn’s coaching so effective is his coaching ability. He is not some weekend GURU who decided to start training athletes because it would “be cool”. Shawn is able to coach and perform each drill. And he does each drill himself with perfection. Shawn works with a variety of athletes from different sports and he is able to connect with each athlete because of his coaching cues.

I have watched Shawn take an athlete and fix is mechanics is one session. This IS huge for an athletes performance. I 100% back Shawn Moody and his coaching.

We have become good friends over the past 6 years and I have learned a ton of training from Shawn. You can always learn from your elders!!! Shawn is a Senior Level Certified Coach under world renown Strength & Conditioning Coach John Davies of Renegade Training, and is acertified Speed / Agility and Quickness Trainer through the National Endurance and Sports Training Association.

Coach Moody has worked along the sideof NFL players and Olympic track andfield athletes. And he has great knowledge in the area of speed development and it’s carry-over to sport.

The athletes in this video has made some huge strides. There are 2 lineman in this video both 6-3 and 270-285 and these guys are moving very well. The other athlete is going into 9th grade and has built such an advantage that anyone his age may NEVER catch him.

 We have a few other athletes from DST training with Shawn as well.. I will be posting a 6 week following up on the training and transformation he has done for these athletes.

p.s. This video might have a black screen. Just hit play and watch these athletes move!!!

On July 16^th 2011 at 10:30 A.M. we will be hosting our 2nd Annual Strongman Fundraiser. We will be raising money for “Kenzie’s Krew” and the Epilepsy Foundation of Western Central Pennsylvania. (awesome video at the end)

Strongman Training is a great way to break up our workouts and push our minds a bit. We have restrictions on who trains strongman and how much weight they will use. I know a lot of high school coaches have their football, baseball and wrestlers flip tire without any proper coaching. They just roll the tire out and tell them to flip it. BIG PROBLEM!! Some athletes are not yet strong enough for such demanding full body lifts. After the athletes perfect trap bar and then box squat with an adequate amount of weight then we start teaching the tire flip with the 300lb tire. Everything comes back to technique and understanding the movements. Once the athletes can master the 300 lb tire then it’s on to the 450 lb. Every athlete wants the 600 lb tire but they must display power when using the 450 lb tire and be able to flip it 5 times with perfect technique.  

Sled Drags are a progression too. We make sure the athletes keep their feet under their hips, press out with their toes and can handle heavier weight.

Hand Over Hand Rope Pulls help condition our athletes making their grip very strong. We coach our athletes to keep the rope in a straight line. Our coaching cues are start in an athletic stance, (linebacker, short-stop), keep your eyes on the rope, put the rope into your belly button and pull fast.

Farmers Walks are usually built up with first carrying DB’s or KB’s. We MUST strengthen up the grip and upper back big time if the athletes are going to handle the heavier weights for the competition. Farmers Walks are a great tool. They help strengthen the core, upper back, grip and most importantly the mind.

Don’t forget July 16^th. Start time is 10:30-2:30. Come and witness some awesome strength as we help raise money for “Kenzie’s Krew”!!

(Kenzie and last years strongman champs)

 Now click here to watch some DST athletes training for our strongman event!!!

 This video is awesome because it gives you a chance to see the strength in our athletes. I’m not talking about “How much ya bench” or ”dead lift”. I’m talking about relative body strength. Rope climbing is one of my favorites. I feel strong and powerful when I climb those ropes. When I see these athletes get up the rope it shows me that they are understanding the importance of body weight training. Some of these guys are 205 lbs and are flying up the rope. The last post shows Andre Ross flying up the ropes with ease.

I always talk about “Building the Foundations of Strength” in your young athletes. It might be an 8th grader or a college athlete. Depending on their strength levels and or previous training they should be able to use their own body weight as a training tool.

The athletes is this video are Jr High, HS and College athletes. All of these athletes have or are still building body weight strength. I have been more than irriated at HS coaches throwing young 8th grade athletes under the bar and making them squat, bench, dead lift and power clean. With no previous training. They are holding back these athletes from reaching their full potential and also putting them at risk of injury.

My little rant is over…sorry!!

You want your athletes to work to bigger lifts, YES! We do as well. But, before they touch a barbell I want them to master movements and gain a ton of strength and confidence. We want to mentally prepare our athletes for bigger things in the future.

This post is about Andre Ross.  Andre fought MMA for a few years and was very good at his craft. He still trains with us and his work ethic is contagious. This dude has been with DST since Day 1 and has been a big influence on our young athletes. They see how ripped, strong and powerful Andre is with his body weight training. I always tell them that strength is formed in many different ways. Andre is a prefect example. Andre has the mind set to train hard each and every workout. This is important for our young athletes to learn. There is a huge difference in training and training with a purpose. This mind set is not developed in one night. This has to be embedded into their training each time they set foot in the door. As their performance coach it is my job to get them to reach their full potential. Andre has set a great example for our younger athletes. He always brings up the intensity when he trains.

p.s. I got another post coming soon about a tough ass teacher/rugby player.

Here is a video of how to properly flip a tire. I wanted to post a video that breaks down technique, talks about progressions and shows two of our athletes exploding through the tires.

Here are the coaching cues I use with the atheltes when they flip tire: ( I repeat these each and everytime they flip)

-Dig your chest into the tire

-Feet under your hips

-Big air, chin up

-Drive into the tire

-(2 steps) 1st step into the tire: 2nd step drive your knee hard

-Run, Run, Run through the tire

-REPEAT

 

When you mix hard work, dedication, dieting, and mental toughness together you get nothing but results. Throw the excuses out the window and learn to conquer your goals.

We have added “Feats of Strength” into our gym and it has brought the intensity up!! Once you conquer a Feat of Strength you get the red DST shirt. Some athletes have hit new PR’s on bench or dead lift. Other can get the shirt through hitting 20+ pull-ups! Earning a red shirt is endless and the athletes are all trying to find a way to conquer “Feats of Strength”!

Trap Bar:405 lbs