Bob Takano has a new article up at his blog in which he mentions a talk he gave to a bunch of parents of volleyball athletes about the importance of determining whether your son’s or daughter’s strength coach is qualified to do what it is your child needs done.  Good strength coaching is becoming a serious factor for parents who are hoping that their kid will get a sports scholarship when they go off to college. And if your athlete is on the verge you need to take the choice of strength-performance coaches seriously.

Here’s a quote:

I spent some time discussing the range of abilities presented by people calling themselves personal trainers and how widely those abilities and backgrounds could vary.  I told them to ask questions about prior experience working with athletes, the success levels of those athletes, injury rates of their athletes and what factors would be improved besides vertical jump.  I provided them with an arsenal of questions to help them determine the competency of any strength and conditioning coach or personal trainer they might encounter including whether or not they were certified.

The truth is, it isn’t always easy to find a serious strength coach who has the knowledge of the unique demands that a competitive athlete faces.  These include massive time demands (school, work, practice, girl/boy friend, smokin’ weed with their buddies … but you aren’t supposed to know about that one!), serious risks of over-training due to the overload their already getting from their sport-specific coach, and risks of sport-related injury that could kill their chances at a scholarship.

If you walk into any “normal” big-box gym you’ll be hounded by a slew of “trainers” who look about the same age as your kid!  They’re all excited and jovial, no doubt, but they rarely are going to have a clue what they’re doing (certified or not). Not good.  But, where would you find a qualified coach, and what does “qualified” even mean?

To follow Bob’s lead (again … and yet again I’m using the “5 tips” format! … oh, heavens), I’ve got my own small list of things I’d want to know about a potential coach for my kid (assuming I had a kid).

1. Did you find the trainer in one of those large commercial gyms?  If so, we may have a problem. Not only are the trainers at these places usually grossly under experienced, the gyms themselves are understocked with what I would consider necessary equipment:  platforms, bumper plates, chalk, etc.  If the gym you’re taking your young athlete into doesn’t have at least those three things prominently displayed, then you’re unlikely to find the coach you’re kid needs either.  Sports performance training is a completely different animal then so-called bodybuilding training.  The trainer should know the difference.
2. What certifications does the coach have?  If it’s ACE, turn and RUN.  Trust me on this one. I would only be comfortable with one (or both) of the following:  1) USA Weightlifting’s Sports Performance Coach certification (or equivalently, USA Weightlifting’s Olympic Club Coach certification) OR 2) NSCA’s Certified Strength and Conditioning Coach certification.  That is, the coaches business card should have “NAME, USAW” or “NAME, CSCS” on it.  Oh, and a college education wouldn’t hurt.
3. Was the trainer an athlete?  If they weren’t, that isn’t necessarily a deal breaker, but it could be a sign.  There is not much like personal experience to teach someone what NOT to do.  If the trainer feels they could have been a “champion” if only they’d had the right coaching, then maybe they’ve developed some idea of what “the right coaching” is.  The strength coach Mark Rippetoe once said, “The best coaches were mediocre athletes.”  They know what it’s like to struggle, to suffer, and to be defeated.  Combine those things with a positive attitude and an inquisitive mind, and you’ve got yourself a good coach … which lead me to:
4. Make sure the performance coach is a “thinker”.  OK, this can be hard to gauge in a quick meeting.  But, designing programs (not just routines) for an athlete requires taking into account a large number of variables, all of which interact back with one another.
5. Is the strength coach a “yeller”?  I know that we all have memories of our high school coaches yelling and screaming at us. And in the movies it’s certainly more fun to have a guy like Mickey from Rocky – red faced, spit spewing from their mouths, veins popping out off their forehead. But, the reality is that most great strength coaches can get their point across without needing to yell.  This is particularly important if your kid is a daughter.  Girls rarely respond well to aggressive screaming.  You know that line, “you’ll catch more flies with honey …”

I could come up with a lot more, but this will have to do for now.  The underlying point is to keep your eyes open and ask a lot of questions.  Anyone who is worth it will more than happy to answer any questions you have.

When I was in High School there were 90 year old women who were bigger, stronger, and taller than I was.   I’ve since gained 60 pounds of muscle–though, I haven’t gotten any taller.  I’ve helped a lot of other skinny kids (and adults) pack on pounds of muscle over the years, and I’m here to tell you that it’s not as impossible as you’d think to gain upwards of 20 pounds of muscle a year throughout your High School and College career.  If you’re determined to be as big and muscular as you can possibly be, read on.

You’re in High School.  So, right now, your metabolism is fast–blindingly fast.  You’re constantly busy with a lot of home  and school work (you may even have a job).  And, up till now, you’ve let your parents do all the thinking for you regarding your diet.  I can’t do anything about the first two problems.  But, I can help you with the third.

I’m going to take a (not so) wild guess that you are making one (or more) of the following diet mistakes right now:

1. You don’t eat breakfast
2. You don’t eat right after your workouts
3. You don’t eat right before bed
4. You don’t eat more than 2 meals a day
5. You do eat at these time, but you are following the diet of your favorite Bodybuilder.

The first 4 of these are cardinal sins if you ever want to get big.  You can have the perfect weight training routine, but you’ll still be skinny if you don’t eat a lot. You have to eat a ton of food.  Period.  There is no breaking of that rule–ever.  Eat breakfast, eat post-workout, eat before bed. Those are the 3 most important meals of the day.

The last mistake (number 5) is more of a problem than you might think.  The trouble with bodybuilding diets is that they are too healthy.  I’ll repeat that.  They are TOO HEALTHY.

While bodybuilders are a frequent source of laughter among us strength coaches because of their ridiculous training programs that only work if you’re on steroids, they HAVE figured out diets that are great at getting you leaner and more ripped.  Bodybuilders are very good at that.  But, that is not your goal!!  You have to get big before you can diet down and show off your muscles.  I don’t mean you should get fat, of course, but you have to give up on your abs for at least a  year.

You need massive amounts of calories if you are going to put on 20 to 50 pounds of muscle.  You CAN do this.  I was a skinny kid too, and I did it.  And the way to do it is actually quite simple and enjoyable.

The Trick?  Eat crap all the time–yes, crap.  Mac and Cheese, ice cream, burgers and fries, fried chicken, pizza, etc.  Fun, right?  Get only as much protein as you need to feed the muscle rebuilding process (about 3/4 to 1 gram per pound of body weight), and focus the rest of your eating on carbs and fat (mostly carbs).   You see, your problem isn’t that you aren’t building muscle fast enough, it’s that your body is eating away all the muscle that you’ve build!!  But, if you give it enough calories (carbs) to fuel itself, then you’re protecting your newly built muscles from being devoured by your freaky-fast metabolism.

OK, OK, so what’s the diet already!  Below is a simple 5 meal a day diet (4 meals and 1 shake) that has worked for many skinny kids (including me).

The Diet

Breakfast:
4 whole eggs
2 pieces of toast, each with peanut butter and jelly on them
16 oz of whole milk

You could instead eat Pancakes and eggs, or steak and eggs.  I used to eat a whole can of ready-make buiscuits with 4 eggs, syrup, butter, and a large glass of milk.

Lunch:
(you can easily pack this in tupperware and bring it to school)
1 whole box of mac and cheese, mixed with
1 whole can of tuna

You could use ground beef instead of tuna.  Mac and Cheese is great because it’s easy to make before school, easy to carry around, cheap as dirt, and very high in calories (one box has  over 1000).

Snack (an hour before working out):

Bagel and Cream cheese or cookies and milk (or both!)

During Workout:

Gatorade

After-workout:
Shake with the following
1 scoop whey protein powder (~25 grams of protein)
12-16 oz whole milk
1 cup+ of ice-cream

Another option is simply to drink one full quart of chocolate milk.  Fast, simple, relatively cheap.  I’ve heard that’s what the University of Washington football players do.  Those guys are not small!

Dinner:
Whatever Mom makes (eat 2 servings), this is a good time to get vegetables.

Things like Burgers, pizza, etc are perfect.  But, it’s hard to say no to meat loaf, or Teriyaki chicken and rice!  Even better, YOU should start cooking dinner for your family (give your Mom a break, man!).  Some day you’ll be on your own, and if you don’t know how to cook, you’ll never reach your strength goals.

Before bed:
Large Bowl of ice-cream, or large bowl of cereal (always, always, always eat carbs before bed)

Now just workout with weights 3-4 days a week on compound movements (squats, cleans, snatches, deadlifts), and do 2 days a week of cardio (cardio makes you hungry, this is very helpful–I hate cardio, too).  What are you waiting for?  Go eat!

Parents: I know that the above looks very unhealthy.  It is.  Especially for us adults.  WE can’t eat like that.  But, a young High School kid who is actively working out a lot and has a naturally high metabolism will thrive on the calories.  These kids are like aliens compared to us.

What you can do to mitigate any potentially negative effects would be to make sure they eat vegetables at dinner time, take a multi-vitamin every day, take extra vitamin C and E, and take Fish Oil capsules.

I stole this from an Article in Olympic Coach Magazine (the same one I referenced below)

I quote it in full:

Turkey Chili
Serves 6

Ingredients:
1 Tbs Olive oil
16 oz Ground turkey (93% lean)
2 Tbs Garlic, minced
1 cup Diced onion
1 cup Diced bell pepper
1-12 oz Dark Beer or Broth
2-14oz cans Diced Tomatoes
1 can Campbell’s Healthy Request Cream of Celery Soup
1 can Low Sodium Black Beans
2 cups Frozen, shelled edamame
MRS DASH Southwest Chipotle Spice to taste

Preparation:

1. In a large sauce pan, sauté ground turkey in olive oil until brown. Add MRS DASH spice blend and garlic and cook for 3 minutes.
2. Add onions and peppers and cook until onions are soft (approx 5 min).
3. Add dark beer or broth and simmer until 75% reduced.
4. Add canned tomatoes, beans, and cream of celery soup. Stir well, cover, and simmer over low heat for 30-45 minutes.
5. Add frozen edamame, cover, and simmer an additional 10 minutes.
6. Feel free to spice it up at this point with your favorite hot sauce.

**Get creative and add more of your favorite vegetables like frozen corn, zucchini, mushrooms, and even jalapenos!

Nutrition per serving:
Calories: 420; Total fat: 16g Saturated fat: 4g; Protein: 29g; Carbohydrates: 36g; Fiber: 9g; Sodium: 570mg

Kitchen Tips:

1. Ground turkey may have the same total fat as ground meat; but it is lower in saturated fat than lean ground beef!!!
2. MRS DASH spice blends are a great way to season food without increasing the sodium. The blends are perfectly balanced and much more affordable than buying individual spices and blending them yourself!!!

Created by: Adam Korzun, MS, RD, LDN

Avocado Rice
Serves 6

Ingredients:
4 servings Instant Brown Rice
½ tsp Ground cumin
2 Tbs Scallions, chopped
1 ea Avocado, diced

Preparation:

1. Follow the package instructions for 4 servings of rice.
2. Cook according to package details.
3. When cooked, add in cumin, scallions and diced avocado.
4. Stir until well incorporated.

Nutrition per serving:
Calories: 165; Total fat: 5g Saturated fat: 1g; Protein: 3g; Carbohydrates: 27g; Fiber: 3g; Sodium: 50mg

Kitchen Tips:

1. Brown rice has only its husk removed during milling, so it is richer in fiber, trace minerals, and those important B vitamins than more processed white rice.
2. Instant Brown Rice has all of the benefits of traditional brown rice, but it cooks in one third of the time!

Created by: Adam Korzun, MS, RD, LDN