Thursday, November 8, 2012

Saturday, October 27, 2012

Tuesday, October 23, 2012

Ultimate Performance Strength and Conditioning Mentorship 2012

Strength and Conditioning Mentorship:

Where: Na Fianna GAA Club,
Glasnevin,
Dublin 9,
Ireland

When: December 10-13, 2012

Time: 10am-5pm

Topics Covered:
Functional Movement Screen
Functional Movement Screen Corrections
Testing
Warm Ups
Jump Training & Plyometrics
Medicine Ball Training
Olympic Lift Variations
All Major and Assistance Lifts
Energy Systems
Program Design and Periodization schemes
Pitch Session Program Design & Periodization schemes
Monitoring and Recovery
Nutrition, Health, and Wellness
Functional Medicine

Cost: €500

If interested email:

robbie.ultimateperformance@gmail.com

Stay Strong,

RB


Tuesday, September 18, 2012

Sunday, September 9, 2012

Wednesday, August 1, 2012

Monday, July 30, 2012

Friday, July 13, 2012

The Real Food Summit is now on sale

The Real Food Summit is now up for Sale. It is well worth the $67 for the information you get.

Check it out

Stay Strong,
RB

Wednesday, July 11, 2012

Understand rather than condemn

There are days when humanity can get me down. But for the most part there is always a voice in the back of my head telling me to dig in and fight on.

You know its not so much all the bad shit that goes on in the world that gets me, its the fact people always condemn, but never realize that they need to understand. Why does someone murder someone, or rape someone, or blow something up?

Nobody is born into the world with hatred in their hearts. These emotions are learned through environment. Everyone is a VICTIM of THEIR CULTURE. If you are from North Korea, you are taught to hate American's, if you are American you are made to believe that Al Qaeda are pure evil, and vice versa. Victims of their culture! See the fact is you can never really condemn anyone when you know this. You need to understand why people are the way they are!

Example:

You think a certain guy is.... well.... is an asshole. But the reality is though that this guy got the shit kicked out of him by his drunk of a father (and we need to ask why was the father a drunk in the first place also?) throughout his entire childhood. Do you think this guy thinks the world is such an awesome place.

Also he was brought up on poor nutrition, which didn't help his physical and mental development either, and plus his parents where also both malnourished themselves long before they even conceived him, so he was already malnourished in the pre-natal period. This guy never had a chance.

With regards to people who commit aweful crimes, we need to understand that these are damaged human beings at a molecular level. They have serious biochemical issues within their brains. They also have some of the most serious nutritional deficiencies out of all populations. This is the same with drug addicts, and alcoholics. These people are mediating serious biochemical issues, and nutrient deficiencies with their addictions. Trying to "talk" these issues away is futile. You cannot not fix biochemical issues with just talking.

When you study the work of Bruce Lipton, Joesph Chilton Peace, Jacque Fresco, Weston A. Price, Joan Mattews Larson, and Paul Chek, you will be blown away. When you study how the environment shapes who we become, when you study the subconscious and conscious minds, when you study how the child's brain is mean't to develop, when you study how important healthy soil is to our health, when you study how important proper nutrition is, you begin to realize that you need to understand, and NOT condemn.

You need to ask why? Not pass a judgement. And even when you find yourself passing a judgement, or making a statement, or giving an opinion. Ask yourself this? Is this really you passing this judgement, or making this statement, or giving this opinion, or is it your environment? Is this the ignorance of your indoctrination from your environment. This again goes back to something I always say and feel very strongly about. THINK FOR YOURSELF!

Stay Strong,
RB

Saturday, July 7, 2012

Real Food Summit

Just in case you are not aware Sean "the man " Croxton's Real Food Summit Starts tomorrow make sure you registered for the event, It is going to be jammed packed with great health and wellness information

Check it out here - Real Food Summit

Stay Strong,
RB

Friday, June 22, 2012

James Smith "The Thinker" Seminar

James Smith "The Thinker" will be giving a seminar on GPP for Athletic Development at Na Fianna GAA Club on Friday August 17, 2012.

Cost will be €150

It should be a very informative event.

You can register here

Stay Strong,
RB

Tuesday, June 19, 2012

Sunday, June 17, 2012

Tuesday, June 12, 2012

Wednesday, May 16, 2012

Tuesday, May 8, 2012

Phase 2 Strength Program: Na Fianna Senior Hurlers


Roll
FMS Weak Link/Stretching Series
Dynamic Mobility/Warm Up:
Plyo - Day 1: Linear Hurdle Hops 2x6
Day 2: Lateral/ Medial Hurdle Hops 2x3
Medball - Day 1: OH Medball Throws w/Split Stance 2x10/ Standing Chest Pass 2x10
Day 2: Standing Medball Throw 2x10

Power & Strength Work:

Day 1:

A1:Hang Clean 3x3
A2: Mobility for Weak Link ( T-Spine, Hips, etc)

B1: TBDL 3x3
B2: Flat DB Press - Neutral Grip 3x5
B3: FE Plank Row 2x5

C1: DB/ KB Goblet Reverse Lunge 3x5
C2: 3PT DB Row - Neutral Grip 3x5
C3: Standing Curl & Press - Neutral Grip 3x5
C4: FE Side Plank Progression

D1: Eccentric TRX Row - Neutral Grip 3x8 3-0-X-0
D2: Push Up 3x8 3-0-X-0

Day 2:

A1: Hang Clean 3x3
A2: : Mobility for Weak Link ( T-Spine, Hips, etc)

B1: Chin Up - Supinated Grip 3x3
B2: DB/ KB Goblet RFE Split Squat 3x5
B3: FE Plank Progression

C1: Bench Press 3x3
C2: 2 Arm DB/KB SLDL 3x5
C3: 1/2 Kneeling Pallof Press Progression

D1: Slideboard Leg Curl 3x5
D2: Eccentric TRX Rows - Alternating Grip 3x8 3-0-X-0

Stay Strong,
RB

Tuesday, April 24, 2012

Its here!

Functional Strength Coach 4.

If you are a young strength coach getting into the field, I feel that FSC4 will be a worthwhile investment.

Stay Strong,

RB


Sunday, April 22, 2012

Evolution of a Strength Coach

By Mike Boyle
Functional Strength Coach 4

 A few recent events have made me realize that all strength coaches will eventually evolve to the same place. Like many of us, I listen to and read a great deal from the internet. One trend that I have seen is that some of the previously “hard core” guys are gradually embracing the corrective exercise/ functional training side of the coin. This made me realize two things:

 1. Why I think the way I do

 2. Why others make fun of me

 The reason I think the way I do and the reason lots of the “hardcore” guys make fun of me is because I am old. I am further along the evolutionary trail of the strength coach. You see, we all start at about the same place and we probably all end up at the same place. I just started my journey sooner. In fact I am in year 32 of my evolution. For me phase 1 of the Evolution of the Strength and Conditioning Coach, The Bodybuilder, was actually in the 1970’s. I saw Boyer Coe guest pose at a show in Connecticut and wanted to be the next Frank Zane. If you don’t know who those guys are, it’s OK. You are just too young. The truth is almost all male strength coaches and personal trainers go through the evolutionary process listed below.

Stage 1- The Bodybuilder.

Face it, we all started here. Maybe we wanted to get better at sports but what we really wanted in our teens was to look better for girls. To do this we picked up a muscle magazine, joined the local gym , copied the routines and began bodybuilding. The beauty of this stage is that we knew it all. We bombed and blitzed our way to success as Joe Weider looked on from the pages of Muscle and Fiction.

 Stage 2- The Powerlifter

 At the onset of stage two the bodybuilder realizes that the really strong guys in the gym don’t give him the time of day. In fact, the truly strong guys laugh at him in his tanktop as he admires his arms in the mirror. The young bodybuilder and future strength coach is determined to get some respect so he really works on his bench press to gain that respect. What he then realizes is that these strong guys don’t respect anyone with no legs and a big bench. The bodybuilder soon evolves to the powerlifter. As in stage one we still know it all but what we know is different. We realize that what we thought we knew in stage 1 was not quite as true as we thought. At this stage we never admit any mistakes though. Stage two last for 2-3 years or until the first major injury. In this time period you really fall in love with the weightroom. You become diligent about diet and not missing training days and you get stronger almost every week. Your training partners cheer you on. Your technique is not perfect but you are moving big weight. Usually in stage 2 you also decide to enter a meet. A meet is great reality therapy. Your 315 bench done in “all you” form with just a bit of an arch and bounce becomes a 275 pause bench. Your “parallel” squats suddenly expose your lack of knowledge of geometry. Usually you bomb in the squat in your first meet and resolve to return a much better lifter. In stage two you are at your most macho. You laugh at anyone doesn’t do back squats and deadlifts and you post frequently to internet forums. All posts mention how strong you are and usually some line that belittles those who don’t lift heavy iron.

 Stage 3- The Injured Powerlifter.

 This stage begins with a bad back or a sore shoulder and usually lasts through one or two surgeries. Stage three is like denial in the substance abuse world. You realize that your days of lifting huge weights are coming to an end but you refuse to say it out loud. Your searches of the internet now focus on healing your wounds. You vow to make a comeback. Often, you have surgery and attempt to lift in a meet again. Like a guy repeatedly slamming his fingers in the car door, you can’t wait to get back under the bar. You learn about ART, MAT and a bunch of other therapies that seem to have guys names. You also begin to sneak a few looks at books on injury prevention and heaven forbid, you begin to explore things like warm-up and mobility. At the end of the injured powerlifter stage you begin to apologize to those older and wiser that you made fun of and called names. You realize that much like your parents the guys you taunted on internet forums were just older and wiser.

Stage 4- The Functional Training Guy.

 Most of us end in stage four. Usually we have a few scars from our time in stage three putting off the inevitable. In stage four we realize that we can still train however, the days of trying to pick up the heaviest thing you can lift goes by. You become an innocent bystander watching car wrecks as you see the young guys move from stage 1 to stage 2. You try to warn them but they laugh at you and go into their chat rooms and make fun of you. All you can think of is “call me when you are fifty and we can talk”. The truth is evolution and development are both inevitable. Young men will always want to impress young women. They will also, in a very primal way, want to impress other young men. We can only hope to speed the evolution and save people some pain. As you read this hopefully you will see yourself in one of these stages and intervene. Next time you get ready to “lay it on the line” ask yourself why.

 P.S. – Mike Boyle is releasing his new program, Functional Strength Coach 4 on Tuesday, April 24th. Functional Strength Coach 4 is Coach Boyle’s most up to date system cultivated from over 30 years of coaching everyone from general fitness clients to athletes ranging from junior high to All Stars in almost every major sport, that will guide you to better results with your athletes and clients. Click here to be the first to know about the all new Functional Strength Coach 4

Thursday, April 19, 2012

Learn From One Of My Mentor's

As many in the strength and conditioning field who know me know, that I interned at Mike Boyle Strength and Conditioning in the fall of 2009.

The coaching experience I gained at MBSC was priceless! To work along side the MBSC staff for 4 months was a privilege. I am now very lucky to be able to Mike, and everyone else at MBSC a friend for life.

If you want to gain an insight into my experience of the MBSC training philosophy and Mike Boyle himself, than save up your pennies and purchase Mike's newest DVD set - Functional Strength 4.0.

If you are a young and aspiring strength coach, it will be an investment you will not regret.

Functional Strength Coach 4.0

Stay Strong,
RB

Sunday, April 15, 2012

Out of rhythm, out of health!

I know, I know. I have been very lazy on the blog lately.

Honestly my mind has just been racing lately with a lot (and I mean a shitload) of thoughts.

I have evolved from a strength coach/physical therapist into a extremely holistic human being, and practitioner. I am now at a stage of putting everything together to 1) make me a better person, and in turn love myself and find out what my purpose in this universe is, so that 2) I can in turn help others, and show them love also.

I have been studying my different fields and disciplines outside of human performance, such as, functional nutrition, and functional medicine, health and wellness, biology, spirituality, philosophy, agriculture (its all connected), and many more. I am of course still staying in touch with my roots by still studying strength and conditioning, and physical therapy.

So out rhythm, out of health! What do I mean by today's blog title?

I recently finished a book called "Lights Out" by TS. Wiley, and Brent Formby. The moral to the story is we humans now as of the last century are completed out of sync with our circadian rhythm. This in turn is leading us to complete hormonal disaster. Our ancient physiology has evolved to a feast/famine, light/night, summer/winter cycle, but now we never have a famine anymore, because we never have night anymore because we have the lights on 24/7, 365 days of the year.

According to Wiley and Formby, weight gain, insulin-resistance, and high cholesterol are completely normal! Yep! These were the needed adaptations that we humans had to have going into the long hard winters ahead, were food was going to be a lot more scarce. Over this winter period the weight gained in the summer would normalize, and we would start running our bodies on ketones as their were no carbs present in the winter, so the insulin resistance would be reversed.

But now as we know,there is no winter to prepare for anymore. Its ALWAYS SUMMER. We always have the lights on!! This in turn stimulates the stress response which stimulates sugar/carb cravings, and now thanks to modern technology, carbs are in abundance all year round. Starting to get the picture.

Everything in this universe is dualistic - Yin/Yang, Man/Women, Hot/Cold, Good/Bad, Right/Left, Day/Night!

In the summer we were meant to feast more than fast, and in the winter we were meant to fast more than feast. But now the famine NEVER comes.

Even more recently I have come across the work of Dr.Jack Kruse. Part of Kruse's work is on something called Cold Thermogensis. Basically Dr. Kruses talks about the fact that we humans have now lost our ability to be cold adapted creatures that our ancestors were, and this is greatly affecting our metabolism, and tries in with the hormone leptin.

He also tries this cold adaptation in with circadian Biology that Wiley and Formby wrote about in "Lights Out", and a seasonal/Paleo type diet, that Wiley and Formby also spoke about to a degree. Dr. Kruse though has gone a step further with the Cold Thermogensis.

A lot of Dr. Kruse's writings on his blog are very scientific and can be hard to follow fully, but are without question fascinating. He calls what he has discovered "the ancient pathway". He has been getting unbelievable results with patients in his clinic apparently, and his own weight loss story is nothing sort of amazing. Dr. Kruse dropped 133lbs in 11 months using his leptin prescription.

Take away points:

-Circadian Biology seems to be a critical area to consider in health, and longevity

-Eating seasonal seems to be something else to consider. Dr. Kruse gives examples of what he terms "Mis-Matches", like eating banana's in the middle of winter in a country like Canada.

-Cold adaptation and leptin = Very interesting

Links:

JackKruse.com

TS Wiley

Underground Wellness Podcast Interviews:

Jack Kruse

TS Wiley

Stay Strong,
RB

Monday, April 9, 2012

The Beautiful Truth

The is a documentary on the Gerson Therapy for Cancer.

Enjoy



Stay Strong,
RB

Tuesday, March 6, 2012

Podcast Interview with Dr. Tom O'Bryan

Enjoy

Stay Strong,
RB

Phase 1 Strength Program: Na Fianna Senior Hurlers

Roll
FMS Weak Link/Stretching Series
Dynamic Mobility/Warm Up
Plyo - Day 1: Linear Box Hops 2x6
Day 2: Lateral/ Medial Box Hops 2x3
Medball - Day 1: OH Medball Throws 2x10/ Tall Kneeling Chest Pass 2x10
Day 2: 1/2 Kneeling Medball Throw 2x10

Power & Strength Work:

Day 1:

A1:Hang Clean 3x5
A2: Mobility for Weak Link ( T-Spine, Hips, etc)

B1: TBDL 3x5
B2: Flat DB Press - Neutral Grip 3x8
B3: Plank Row 2x5

C1: DB/ KB Goblet Reverse Lunge 3x8
C2: 3PT DB Row - Neutral Grip
C3: 1/2 Kneeling Curl & Press - Neutral Grip
C4: Side Plank Progression

D1: TRX Row - Neutral Grip 2xAMRAP
D2: Push Up 2xAMRAP

Day 2:

A1: Hang Clean 3x5
A2: : Mobility for Weak Link ( T-Spine, Hips, etc)

B1: Chin Up - Supinated Grip 3x5
B2: DB/ KB Goblet RFE Split Squat 3x8
B3: Plank Progression

C1: Bench Press 3x5
C2: 1 Arm DB/KB SLDL 3x8
C3: Tall Kneeling Pallof Press Progression

D1: Eccentric Slideboard Leg Curl 3x8
D2: TRX Rows - Alternating Grip 2xAMRAP

*AMRAP = As Many Reps As Possible

Stay Strong,
RB

Tuesday, February 28, 2012

Bruce Lipton = Genius

Your DNA does not dictate who you will be. Your adaption to your environment does.

The universe is energy based not matter based.

Your thoughts have a profound impact on your physiology.

Enjoy,





Stay Strong,
RB

Monday, February 6, 2012

Is Functional Medicine/Nutrition the Missing Link?

Hello to all my readers and followers. I have been flat out the past month between study and work, and thus have struggled to update the blog.

Currently I am finishing my certification in Functional Diagnostic Nutrition, which is an online course that I highly recommend, I am also in the process of getting certified as a Metabolic Typing Adviser, and I am studying for the HPAT (Health Practitioners Admissions Test) as part as my application for medicine. Yes medicine, medicine.

Work wise I have been flat out with the senior hurlers in the club, and some work with the senior footballers, senior camogie, and Dublin Minor Ladies Football squad. So busy, busy.

Anyway back to the subject line of today's post. Is Functional Medicine/Nutrition the Missing Link? So what do I mean?

What I mean is over the course of the last number of years (particularly this past year), I had become increasingly frustrated with my lack of ability to help people with chronic health issues that was really affecting them. I am also referring to athletes here and not just your average Joe. Just because someone if fit, doesn't mean that they are healthy. I felt like I was missing an important link in my chain!!

I was constantly coming across athletes and clients with fatigue issues, digestive issues, sleep issues, and depression and anxiety issues. So I started to educate myself on these topics. I somehow, by good function, came across Sean Croxton's Underground Wellness podcast, and the rest as they say is history!!

It was from Sean's interviews with all his guest's that I then started to buy their books, and read/studied them. Then I started to buy more books, and research more resources with anything to do with health, wellness, functional medicine, functional nutrition, etc. It was also thanks to Sean that I heard about Reed Davis and Functional Diagnostic Nutrition (FDN). FDN was the missing link in my chain.

FDN is a course that teaches you to be able to administer functional lab tests to seek a person's under-lying cause for their health complaint(s). It also teaches you what protocol's to put in place with each individual patient/client. It teaches you to also respect each and every persons biochemical individuality, by using metabolic typing to determine each patient/client's metabolic type. This is then used to devise a tailored nutritional and supplement protocol for your patient/client that will be implemented for the initial 90 days.

After the 90 day protocol the labs test are re-done to see if there has been an improvement from the initial lab tests. This in turns gives you an objective result so you are not just left relying on your patient/client's subjective feedback that the protocol is working.

After the 90 days it is recommended that the patient/client stick to the Metabolic typing nutrition plan (and any additional supplements if needed) so that they will be optimally nourishing their unique biochemistry.

The main test's that we (FDNers) run are:

205 Functional Adrenal Stress Profile
101 Metabolic Assessment Profile
304 Intestinal Barrier Function Screen
401H GI Pathogen Screen
Mediator Release Testing (MRT) - Food Sensitivities

The 205 Functional Adrenal Stress Profile:
This test seeks to find what stage of adrenal fatigue your patient/client maybe in.

101 Metabolic Assessment Profile:
This test looks at - Protein breakdown and absorption, oxidative stress, and liver function

304 Intestinal Barrier Function Screen:
This test looks at the the health of the intestinal walls. It seeks to find out if your patient/client has a leaky gut.

401H GI Pathogen Screen:
This looks to see if your patient/client has a parasite and/or fungal infection

This education has greatly assisted me in providing a far more holistic approach at helping anyone attain their goals, whatever they maybe (fat loss, health, sports performance, etc).

So that's basically what I have been up to the past few weeks.

I hope to get a few more posts up over the next few weeks with some useful information with all things relating to functional medicine/nutrition, health & wellness, and strength and conditioning of course!!

Stay Strong,
RB

Wednesday, January 18, 2012