Congratulations to Max Ouput athlete Jordan Holtz from Valhalla High School for verbally committing to Bucknell University last week. During the spring Jordan lead his high school baseball team to their first ever State Championship, including throwing a complete game 2 hit shutout to take the crown!

Jordan has been working with me for over a year now and his commitment from himself and family is unparalleled.  Being from New York, Jordan and his father travel about an hour each way to train.  And when he is not able to make the trip because of a busy schedule he stays in contact with me and update his program to keep making progress.

From the first time meeting with Jordan I could see the incredible work ethic, but more impressive was how much of a polite, courteous young man he was.  I couldn’t be happier for Jordan and his family and hope this is the first of many stops in the baseball career of the big right-hander.

Recovering from the stresses of working out and life is often the most forgotten part of making progress in the gym and on the field.

Working daily with my college athletes reminds me that quality of sleep is virtually obsolete these days. Whether it comes from staying up late drinking, doing homework, or just hanging with friends, it often leads to under 5 hours of sleep a night… which is about half of the recommended 9.

While my first recommendation in regards to sleep is to find time to take naps throughout the day to make up for lost sleep, but most of these young adults don’t have time for this option either.

Fortunately for them I am often in the same situation working crazy hours, taking graduate classes, coaching a baseball team, and training myself. To optimize my sleep, I have been using Sleepytime Tea by Celestial Seasonings for the past year. I use it with a teaspoon of honey right before bed to help me unwind from the, and it works amazingly.

Last week I was visiting a friend at a local natural foods store he owns and I stumbled across Sleepytime Extra tea. I bought it and used it that night. The only thing I can remember is laying on my bed about to turn on the TV and I was out cold before I could hit the power button. I had probably the deepest sleep of my life and woke up with zero grogginess, even with the added valerian root.

Celestial Seasonings has a wide variety of teas, all of which are all natural, quality products. I highly recommend anyone whom wishes to increase the quality of their sleep to give both of these products a try for added recovery. Let me know how it goes!

Today we have a special guest interview with one of my best friends Sergio Merino.  Sergio is a strength coach, personal trainer, amateur bodybuilder and all around nutritional guru.

1.) For those who don’t know you Sergio, explain how you got lead into the field of fitness and nutrition.

I was your typical fat kid who happened to be strolling down the grocery isles looking for his favorite breakfast cereal when i happened upon my first FLEX magazine with my favorite actor, Arnold. Once I opened up the pages I was blown away by the physiques. I couldn’t get enough of it. I must have tried damn near every routine they put in there. I never tried any of their diets though; guess I was smart enough from the start to figure that out on my own. I lost nearly 30 pounds and all the girls took notice (which was the whole goal, i mean who does this for health and to feel better?) From there I turned my passion for bodybuilding into a passion for athletics. I always wanted to play football but I was slightly delusional, I actually tried out for the football team. I ran a pretty decent 5 flat 40 @ 147, pressed and squatted a decent amount of weight, only problem was I decided to try out for tight end. I thought I was the next tony gonzalez but i was more like elian.

My failure in football led me to lacrosse where I found good use for my size and speed as a midfielder. I got cut my senior year after training my butt off on the elliptical all season (specificity of training makes a lot of sense now). Luckily though, I loved the sport so much, i asked to be a volunteer coach for the team. These guys were like brothers to me and I wanted to help the young guys grow. I was never the selfish bitter type. If I could find a way to help in any capacity I did it. You can kind of start to see how my life has led me to where I am currently at.

Fast forward to freshman year and I fell victim to the dreaded freshman 15…. twice. I gained 30 lbs over my freshman year and I was pretty pissed with myself.

By the spring semester I decided I needed to change, once again, but what would be my purpose this time around. This is where natural bodybuilding came into the mix. I contacted Layne Norton to assist me with my prep and I designed possibly the worst training program ever and dieted all the way down to 130 lbs, i was as lean as I have ever been and didn’t look 130, but I definitely need to add some mass. I placed 2nd in my teen class (yay for muscular fat people who think they’re swole and got cuts), 4th in my novice class (out of 5), and 6th in my open class (out of 6). Regardless of how I placed, the feeling was awesome and cheesecake never tasted better than it did that afternoon.

During this time I knew I wanted to be in the fitness industry as a personal trainer. My junior year of college is when I learned that there was such a thing as a strength coach. I did an internship at Quinnipiac University with Brijesh Patel, the most intimidating 5’1 strength coach you will ever meet and went from thinking upright rows were good for your medial deltoids to integrating joint mobes, activation, bad mouthing back squats, and getting collegiate athletes fired up.

Now I’m personal training at a private facility, Results Plus, in my hometown of Hamden and helping people move better, get stronger, and reach their goals.

2.) Now I know your preparing for 3 bodybuilding shows in the near future in hopes of earning your Pro Card, Have you changed anything this time around as far as diet or training from your previous shows?

Training is pretty similar, traditional 4 day body part split, pretty moderate volume. I like to apply my own percentages to the rep range I am aiming for based of my 1rm for a given exercises. I see too many bodybuilders end up with bum shoulders, bad knees, bad low backs. You just can’t go 100% all the time and not expect something to wrong. Diet has been very different this time around, still doing a carb cycle of high-low days, with protein and fats being consistent throughout, but I’m not restricting food choices. If it fits my macros, I eat it.

This time around if that M&M fits Sergio’s macros he’d eat the whole thing.

3.) Awesome, I love the simplicity of your nutrition and not killing yourself with all kinds of crazy diet programming.  After spending so much time up at QU with Brijesh and really enjoying the functional aspect of training how do you incorporate that with your everyday clients who are looking for purely aesthetic changes?

I try to teach them that looking good without being functional is like having a brand new 2011 Mercedes with a bad engine. Yeah it looks amazing, but when asked to do something, it doesn’t perform very well. You got to have balance. You have to have mobility and stability at the proper joints in order to maximize your gains whether they are for strength or hypertrophy. You have to get them to understand that exercises are not a one size fits all and just because it was in FLEX magazine doesn’t mean its the key to 24 inch biceps in 24 days.

4.) I like the analogy, it is often tough to get people thinking outside of what they have herd all their lives about training and not taking care of there bodies. What do you feel is the most overrated aspect in training, something that you see almost every client miss daily?

I freaking hate how every client judges a work out based on whether they did crunches or not. With all the research and findings that Dr. Stuart McGill has done I don’t understand how trainers and people still believe they are good for you. (ATT: If your a trainer and still believe that flexion is good for you, punch yourself in the face and stop reading this interview now) Core training correctly seriously has to be the most misconceived aspect of training.

Sergio thinks your pretty awesome if you don’t do crunches.

5.) Thanks for your time Serg, I wish you the best with your diet and training, were all expecting big things from you in the near future!  How can people follow your progress to the top of bodybuilding ranks and reach you?

You can follow at me at quite a few places. On Twitter @ CTStrengthCoach, through my training log @ http://www.usplabsdirect.com/forum/stacks-logs/4992-usplabs-athlete-contest-prep-2010-2011-a.html, and be sure to check out my articles section on bodybuilding.com @ http://www.bodybuilding.com/fun/sergio_merino.htm which will be updated much more frequently in the next few weeks

Here is a featured article on one of my Sacred Heart Baseball Players JJ Edwards. http://fairfield.patch.com/articles/edwards-turning-around-fortunes-of-fairfield-junior-legion-team

I have had the pleasure of coaching JJ and now coaching younger athletes side by side.

Along with a great baseball knowledge and a tireless work ethic on making his players better everyday, JJ always finds the lighter side of baseball.  Proof is in his official baseball picture on SHU’s website and the dancing ball players video.

The Corn Refiners Association have been running ads “showing” that high fructose corn syrup (HFCS) is just another form of sugar and completely safe.  Well let’s take a look at the facts and you can be the judge.

Sugar and HFCS do share many of the same properties.  They are both the main choice of beverage companies when using a sweetener with calories.  Both have been shown to increase weight gain (most markedly fat gain).  HFCS and sugar are carbohydrates, which have been linked to type 2 diabetes.  Finally, according to the Food and Drug Administration, both can dawn the title “natural” on their labels because both are said to contain no artificial or synthetic ingredients or color additives.

Although they may share many of the same qualities they are no way the same product.  High fructose corn syrup is made by treating corn syrup with enzymes to convert a portion of the glucose into fructose, and for those of you who are not science buffs, all this means is that the chemical structure is altered.  The byproduct of the chemical reaction is HFCS which is about 50% fructose (sugar found in fruit) and 50% glucose (the simplest form of sugar).

Some of you may be thinking “well fruit is good for you, how is this sweetener bad?”.  Well, it’s still a sugar, a sugar without all the vitamins, minerals, fiber, and phytochemicals found in fresh fruit, not to mention the quantity of sugar found in a piece of fruit is far less than in a can of soda.  In the weight loss category fructose is not necessarily our friend either.  Fructose is very demanding for our livers to digest and in turn the body produces extra enzymes to trigger fat storage.  This is why many bodybuilders remove all fruits from their diet the last few weeks before a competition.

Although not enough research has been produced for the FDA to outright say that HFCS is bad for us, there has been some interesting research coming out.  In March of this year, Princeton University published a study in which rats were given either a normal diet or their normal diet with high fructose corn syrup added to their water.  Each group consumed the same amount of calories daily, but at the end of the 6 month study the HFCS group had gained 48% more weight than the group whom had a normal diet.  The main weight gain in the HFCS group was abdominal fat, which has highly been linked to impaired health and diminished longevity.

Sure, let him have another soda.

This leads me to believe that we do not fully understand how we metabolize HFCS and we may not know the long term detrimental effects of this sweetener until it is too late.  In the meantime I suggest everyone start reading labels and stay away from high fructose corn syrup.  Your body fat, blood profiles, blood pressure, and body will thank you.

Source: Bocarsly et al., ‘High-fructose corn syrup causes characteristics of obesity in rats: Increased body weight, body fat and triglyceride levels’, Pharmacology Biochemistry and Behavior, February 2010

*Originally published in Ridgefield Fitness Clubs’ Newsletter*

Sacred Heart’s Mike Drowne (South Hadley, MA) was taken in the 28th round of the 2010 Major League Baseball draft today by the Los Angeles Dodgers. The Pioneer center fielder and leadoff hitter set a new single season run record in his senior campaign crossing the plate 65 times while also stealing 33 bases.  Drowne was selected to the All-Northeast conference second team in each of the last two seasons.

“Mike has done a great job for us the last two years and really deserves this honor,” said SHU head coach Nick Giaquinto.  “He is a hard working kid and this is a feather in the cap for our program.”

If Drowne signs his contract with the Dodgers he could begin playing professional ball this season.

* originally posed on http://www.sacredheartpioneers.com/ *

I just wanted to say congratulations to Sacred Heart University’s Baseball Program for a great season.  All of the hard work in the off-season really paid off.   Posting the most wins in school’s history and numerous other accolades.

SHU Trip Heads To Fenway Park For All-Star Game

A trio of SHU seniors, Jared Balbach (Pine Bush, NY), Jeff Heppner (Aqubogue, NY), and Mike Drowne (South Hadley, MA), were selected to the 2010 All-New England second team.  They will represent the Pioneers on Sunday at the New England all-star game at 3:00 pm.

Balbach and Heppner were each named to the All-Northeast Conference first team in 2010 as Sacred Heart earned the #1 seed in the NEC tournament.  Balbach finished the year as the Pioneers top starter with a 9-3 record and 3.63 earned run average.  Heppner led SHU with 13 homers and 56 RBI in his senior campaign.  Drowne was an All-NEC second team selection stealing 33 bases and setting a new Sacred Heart single season run record, crossing the plate 65 times in 2010.

* originally posed on http://www.sacredheartpioneers.com/ *

The other day I was recording a players front squat and a few of the guys thought it was a great time to dance.

Watch for the guys in the background and have a great weekend!

This is in no way the last time I will be speaking of motivation, but this topic really gets me fired up. (I apologize for the lack of better wording that may follow)

Motivation breaks down into simple psychology, it’s either intrinsic or extrinsic.

Extrinsic motivation is great— fame, fortune, girls, cars, a ring, and swagger… it’s all great.

But intrinsic is a totally different animal. Having the will to do something to the best of your abilities and far beyond your wildest dreams is something that can’t be taught. In my opinion, intrinsic motivation is ingrained as a child through family, friends, life choices, obstacles, and much more. Plain and simple.

I don’t care what facet of life we are talking about from business to family to sports, if you have a will, you will find a way.

Being a Red Sox fan I will open with some motivation from Dustin Pedroia. As most of you know, In his first 2 Major League baseball seasons Pedroia was voted Rookie of the Year and MVP of the America League. Not to shabby for someone whose generously listed at 5’ 9” 180 lbs, and been told from little league to the majors he just was too small, too slow, had a horrible mechanics batting, and loads of other reasons.

This quote was taken from his recent biography from a fellow major leaguer “Dustin Pedroia wakes up every morning of his life gets out of bed and looks for someone’s ass to kick. He’s got a chip on his shoulder and rightfully so.” He has it ingrained deep in his heart and soul.

Now I’m going to turn the tables and highlight one of my favorite athletes of all time, Derek Jeter. Yep, I said it, I’m a Jeter fan. God knows I hate the Yankees’ as much as any true sox fan, but Jeter is truely amazing. Throw personal and team stats out the window. This guy carries himself with more class than just about any person I could name. He is the epitome of an amazing teammate; I might even say the best teammate of all time. And his work ethic is something that most people couldn’t dream about. That and a couple of billion dollars is the reason he has so many rings, and (hopefully not) a few more to come.

“Jeter knew early on that if he wanted to play in the Little League all-star games or go to a baseball camp, he had better come home with good grades and keep his behavior in check. Each August, he sat down with his parents and wrote a contract for the upcoming school year. They agreed to terms on grades, sports, extracurricular activities and curfews. And, there were consequences for breaking the contract. Driven by his passion to play ball, Jeter successfully maintained a 3.83 grade-point average in high school, never cursed, drank or used drugs.”

He knew what he wanted and he got after it each and every day. That’s intrinsic people.

The last piece I will leave with all of you is an e-mail I got this summer from a new ball player to the program. This e-mail was unsolicited and came out of no where. (I cut out some of the personal info the keep this person anonymous)

“Name and personal info

Accomplishments in high school… blah blah blah… To be honest, I have tasted success and victory and I’m addicted. I will do anything to have it again.

My life revolves completely around baseball and getting better at it. I play with the ————- (a travel team) in the summer and I work out at ———– during the summer and the off season. For the past two years, I’ve worked out with three younger teammates and friends consistently. I tried my best to put together a lifting program that was sport specific and keyed on making us better athletes, not necessarily on getting us big biceps and chiseled chests. Obviously though, I am not, nor is anyone else nearly as qualified as you are in this field.

I am going to implement the workout you sent right away. I’d like to take you up on that offer of getting together though. I have some questions for you and I’d really like to get your input on some things that I could do specifically to make me a better player. I want to make the hard work I put in at the gym really translate into something I can use next season.

I’m hungry Josh, and you don’t have to believe that, I plan on showing you.”

Not only have I seen the effort, it’s been constant, non-stop every day. From diet to playing to school, the kid wants it.

Can I promise he will make an impact at the college level? Nope.

Can I make a promise that someday he will make it to the highest ranks of professional baseball? No way in hell.

Do I think he will if he stays on the path he’s on right now? You bet your ass I do.

Doing things right one day doesn’t mean shit. Making perfection and hard work a habit, now that will elicit greatness.

Forward to 3:25 and see why the Saint are hours away from their 1st Super Bowl Championship.

Enjoy your day!