Dad, My Hero & Role Model

Today I turn 30 years old. And while this is a milestone birthday, I also am aware that Sunday is Father's Day. 

So the subject today is one that is very near and dear to my heart, My Father Manuel Heshiki.

While he may never see this, it's important for me to share my thoughts with Father's day right around the corner. My dad came to this country like most parents of first generation born minorities with practically nothing but the clothes on his back. He shared with me how he had been deported TWICE and somehow made his way back. I guess they were a lot less strict about the whole thing back then, if you somehow made it in, they'd let you stay so long as you behaved.

After marrying my mom, my brother was born and he ended up worked two jobs: at a Benihana style Japanese restaurant and at the Ford Motor plant outside of Edison, NJ. After I was born he simply worked two shifts at the Ford plant. I remember growing up and wondering why I never saw my dad and when I would give him a kiss (this is if I somehow managed to stay awake on Friday nights) he always had a really rough face. Later I realized of course he woke up to go to work early in the morning with a clean shaven face with the same disposable Bic razors which he still uses btw, that by the time he came home his beard had started to grow back in. A lot more than a 5 o'clock shadow.

This was my life until we moved out to California in 1991. There my parents both went to work with my Uncle at our family Peruvian restaurant in Los Angeles. This was the beginning of The Bulls dynasty and I was a HUGE Basketball fan. I always wanted to go to the park to play, but my parents were always working. I used to think why can't I go play. Why do I have to spend every moment outside of going to school, here in the back of a restaurant folding menus and eating Peruvian food!?!? (which in hindsight wasn't so bad, Lomo Saltado ftw)

I would whine about not being like every other kid I went to school with. Why did I have to wear Payless shoes and hand-me-down discount clothes. I can never recall my Dad raising his voice or disciplining me about my incessant complaining. (It's quite obvious I was a punk and will pay dearly as a parent in the future) 

Instead on weekends he and I would leave for the restaurant early in the morning and he would take me to shoot around with an $8 plastic basketball from K-Mart. My dad was in his late 50's at this point. He somehow found the energy to work 10 hour days, 6 days a week and then put up with me!

I'll never forget this Basketball

While I of course love my Mom, I'll never forget all the amazing things my Dad has done for me. Not just the insane amount of hours he'd work but how he NEVER complained. A trait that as I turn 30, I wish to emulate moving forward. He always seemed to have a goofy smile and tried making a joke even when I was an annoying moody teenager. Little did I really understand what my Dad did for both my Brother and I. The sacrifices to put us through school, to put food on the table and provide for us what little luxuries we could afford like McDonalds after school on Fridays or nose bleed seats to a Lakers game at The Great Western Forum. 

If you are fortunate to still have your Dad in your life today, give him a hug and tell him you love him. I hope that in my lifetime I can even be half the man my Dad is. I will forever be grateful to him for showing what it is to be a real man and an even better person. 

How I Organize My Own Training Program

Lifting + Running = more calories. CHECK!

So you're trying to be a great long distance runner but still have biceps, pecs and 400lb deadlift? You're crazy! (silence) umm...Is that even possible?

The short answer is I don't know.

I've only started to take up running again. I'm currently tweaking my own programming adjusting under the bar volume, milage on the road and macros in the kitchen.

But I firmly believe this goal is very possible. Here are a few of my observations so far.

Strong legs in the gym= strong legs on the road too

The biggest thing I've noticed when running 8+ miles is not that my legs get tired; I got the legs just not the lungs for running faster. I recall back in high school and college that my legs would routinely get tired performing anything above 6 miles, add in any kind of considerable incline and my legs were fried.

Years of squatting and deadlifting have made my legs much more resilient to fatigue. This is interesting considering they're technically calling upon different fiber types: slow twitch vs fast twitch and different energy system: aerobic vs anaerobic.

No Cramping or Side stitches

Another common problem runners have is related to poor breathing mechanics. This often results in getting side stitches or cramps in their oblique area. 

As a weightlifter I understand how to properly maintain a certain level of tightness to ensure a stable midsection. This is a result of proper breathing mechanics to ensure not exhaling fully because this will destabilize the trunk (think a relaxing yawn, you draw in A LOT of air followed by fully exhaling). 

Also having a core strong enough to perform 20+ reps on a trap bar with 350lbs is a pretty strong transverse abdominis, it should be able to hold up to the fairly easy pounding running transmits. Here's Dr Quinn Henoch demonstrating a PRI technique of how to breathe using the diaphragm. 

How This Might Work For You

I suppose it's important to cover who this type of training WON'T work for:

• If you struggle with the core lifts of squatting and deadlifting, and you perform zero unilateral work. (Struggle like you can barely perform your bodyweight on these lift without looking like you're performing it during an earthquake)
• If you think a one minute plank is REALLY hard. (again without looking like there's an earthquake)
• If you're a physique athlete, you'll lose SOME muscle therefore distance running is counterproductive to your goals. (and there are better ways to whittle away that last remaining amount of fat) 

Related: Screw Cardio! Four Complexes for a Shredded Physique

Any lifter with a few years under their belt and a decent command of the core lifts would be fine and might even benefit from added C word...Cardio (GASP). 

Sunday: OFF

This is in anticipation of a BIG lifting day on Monday morning. 

Monday: Heavy lifting session

Here is where I push the envelope on my core lifts. I work up to a heavy single and back off for a decent percentage depending on how I'm feeling 70% ( I feel terrible)- 90% (I have the POWER!!).

I squat and deadlift on the same day. I bookend session with a superset of a chest supported back movement/rear deltoid movement along with anti-flexion core work.

I may or may not perform a light run afterwards, 3-4 miles at a sub-maximal pace 60-70% Max HR. 

Tuesday: Lighter lifting session

I'll typically perform hip thrusts on this day, weight is dependent on how I'm feeling of course. I'll typically superset 6 movements, move at a decent pace since I'm not looking to really move the needle on weights. Core movements include anti-rotation like payoff presses.

I will take the day off from running. 

Wednesday: No Lifting

Having not run the day before, this is usually my longest run of the week. So far it's been 8 miles. If there's a day where I want to push the distance it's on Wednesday. I move this along on a pace I deem fit, so far it's been slow and steady as to allow my joints to get used to lifting and running. 

Thursday: Upper Body

I'll perform 3 supersets consisting of a variety of pressing motions always with a pulling motion. Example: Incline dumbbell bench press and Chest supported incline dumbbell row, dips and a single kettle bell racked walk or standing dumbbell military press and inverted rows. Flexion based movements like reverse crunches and hanging leg raises comprise my core work today. 

No running.

Friday: Lower Body

This is my accessory day, depending on how my week went , I'll evaluate if there something that needs strengthening. Here I'll almost always perform some type of unilateral lower body move like split squats to start then move onto technique drive movements like Paused Squats and 1 1/2 rep style deadlifts.

Again I'll perform some type of back work. If Thursday had a lot of vertical pulling, I'll keep it to the horizontal variety on Friday or vice versa. Core is often more dynamic in nature like bear crawls, unilateral farmer's walk or a valslide body saw.

Running: Moderate milages if my low end is 3-4 and high end is 7-8, I'll perform a 5-6 mile pace run where I'm trying to lower my mile pace. If my 7-8 mile run is performed at 8:10, I'll attempt to perform these 5-6 miles at 7:55-8:00.

Saturday: No Lifting

I will run again, usually a really easy sub maximal 3-4 miles. Mostly a recovery run.  

Final Notes:

• Leading up to deciding to run again, I was performing some kind of squat pattern movement 4x a week and deadlifting 2x a week.
• I have upped my carb intake, around 3g per lbs now per day and upped my fat intake by 50%. I may play around with this and lower my carb intake. I'd like to see if I'm able to maintain performance and not have to eat 1-2 cups of starchy carbs at every meal. I LOVE rice but after a while, it's a bit much. 
• I still play Basketball occasionally. Ball is Life bro...
• I'm performing a crazy amount of soft tissue work to maintain proper muscle length and try to avoid injury considering the amount of added stress to my body. Hence the slow progression of adding in miles. Big milage is often associated with injuries in runners. 
• Speaking of recovery, if I don't sleep at least 8-9 hours on lift+run days, I'm a zombie the following day. This makes it even harder considering I'm working all day too.

Why You Shouldn't "Work Up" To Hiring a Personal Trainer/Coach

Every week I receive an e-mail or inquiry that goes something like this:

I'm looking to get serious about my training but would like to begin in a month. I'm trying to work myself up to working with a trainer.

Here's why you shouldn't feel this way and needlessly spend your time spinning your wheels. Even worse, you may put yourself behind the proverbially eight ball with poor movement patterns and reinforcing bad habits. 

We Already Made the Mistakes For You

Individuals become personal trainers after many years of trials and tribulation both mental and physical. We've failed and learned from mistakes. So why spend weeks or months making those exact same mistakes!

We want to help you get to your goal in the quickest way possible, so you can have the body you've always dreamed of. If you decide to hire a trainer, it's not for an hour of their time, 3x per week. You're hiring them for their years of expertise and knowledge.

I go into work every day with the goal of making you better. Your goals are our goals, if you succeed then we succeed.

We've Been Where You've Been

Nobody likes change. Why go through it alone. Part of why you hire a coach is that they've been in your shoes at some point in their lives. That experience is something that can't be taught.  

And even if they haven't been in your exact position, a great coach should be able to empathize with your fears and concerns. Sometimes you look at a trainer's physique and think they've never been fat or out shape. Which is simply not true. We all begin from the same start line. 

Hair good for the selfie. Now where's that "How to Deadlift video" again?

Trainers Are Usually Not YouTube Educated

What I mean by this is not that we don't occasionally peruse YouTube to learn from better coaches, but that the overwhelming majority of our expertise isn't only from the internet.  

They've often spent years either in school earning a degree, a CSCS or being accredited by reputable certifying bodies like ACE, NASM, NSCA, and ISSA. This is another aspect of what you're paying for. If all they did was open up a magazine or choose a workout from a website, wouldn't you just do it then!? (sadly the answer is no for a lot of people)

I've spent a decade reading countless books and watching video products to be the coach that I am today. I'm not only proud but can stand with my head held high that I provide people the best possible service that I can.  I really believe this, down to my core. 

"Speed" Ladder Doesn't Build Speed

A starting point would be discussing populations that would benefit from using a speed ladder: beginners, youth and/or out of shape deconditioned individuals. You know what else would improve their general fitness, strength, power and endurance? ANYTHING! 

There are "speed" coaches out there who use the ladder drills with their youth population and see great results. Likewise trainers who use them with the elderly population and see an improvement in movement and balance. But I would argue they could perform a rudimentary movement pattern for an hour once a week and produce similar benefits. This holds true for individuals who has less than a year of formal training. 

The speed ladder is often used as a tool to improve athletic performance including speed and agility. Lets go over what speed and agility really means in the context of athletics. 

Speed involves covering more ground in a shorter period of time. If you can run 100 meters in less time after 1 month of training, you've improved your speed. The basic principles to improving speed is increasing stride frequency to go with stride length as a means of quantifying speed improvement. It's often thought of in more linear movements like the 40yard dash shown here by NFL Running Back Chris Johnson. 

Agility is your ability to change direction rapidly while being able to apply more horizontal force into the ground at an angle different than your current direction. To do this effectively your legs must be outside the vertical position of the center of your mass. If your center of mass doesn't move, you won't change directions. All you'll do is move your legs and not fall on your face. Agility often goes hand in hand with change of direction.

Anything we perform in the gym is done to improve general physical preparedness for athletics. Any result to tie-in athletic performance to a drill is pointless since there is a lack of specificity to the activity. Sports in itself is chaotic by nature, and running a linear pattern won't do much to get you ready for the reactive nature of the beast.. 

Speed and agility are based on rate of force, meaning if you go through the ladder at a sub maximal rate, you'll only improve your conditioning. Likewise any true speed training needs to be done with adequate rest periods, anything less than that you'll simply be performing cardio. For any training modality to work, it has to replicate or produce fundamentally similar benefits as the end goal. The S.A.I.D (specific adaptations to imposed demands) principle applies here, your training needs replicate force, rate of force application, metabolic and neural demands of an activity to have true carry over. 

Ladder drills can be very effective as a warm up for true speed training. It can help load and unload the muscles, tendons and incorporates some cardio. Technique needs to be the focal point, so skip the fancy footwork you saw on youtube.

Agility training involves a rapid change of direction from the initial direction of momentum. The most effective way to change direction involves having the legs move well outside of the vertical alignment of the center of mass, and driving into the ground at as horizontal of an angle as possible to create a strong drive against the ground. Momentum can also be overcoming inertia if you aren't already moving. This rapid change from no movement to movement could be considered a “first step,” which does not fall neatly under traditional speed training. The best example of agility would be NFL great Barry Sanders, always amazing to watch!

While ladder drills involve a rapid change of direction from one position to another, the direction one applies force is more linear than horizonatal. As a result any movement outside the center of mass is usually pretty tiny compared to more conventional agility training. Ladder drills would work well as a warm up for the same reasons mentioned above for speed, but in terms of developing higher levels of agility, it may not be as beneficial. It could be incorporated in sub-maximal workouts to involve some change of direction with low loads to stay sharp.

Like with the smith machine and bosu ball, every tool has a job in the gym. The ladder is great when used appropriately. It does very little to build top end speed, agility or quickness compared to conventional training. Relying on the speed ladder as a main cog to your training might actually make the athlete slower.

It's great when used for conditioning, rehabbing and as a warm up for much higher impact movements but as a stand alone training tool, it won't make you an Olympic sprinter any time soon. 

One Life

Recently in London Gary Vaynerchuk was at Vaynerworld. This was an event organized by CEO of Creative Content Agency Raj Kotecha and Sujan Shah of Rocaba Group who interview Gary over a variety of subjects. While the interview is GOLD, there is one specific part that resonated with me.

Around the 57 minute mark is where he begins his closing statement and the truth hits hard. He discusses spending a large amount of time in his 20's speaking to 90 year old people. He says he was a hungry guy and wanted to hear it from people who had been there and done it. Gary laments that all of them started their life stories with "I wish". Wishing they had worked harder, spent more time with their family, and followed their true passions and not simply do as their parents desired. 

 The biggest poison in us is regret. 

You can tell me why how bad it is and why you can't do it. It's just not true. If anybody ever did it, then you can too. You're not trying to reinvent the wheel. You simply haven't found the one way to bring yourself disproportionate success. It takes time and effort to find it and when you do, go all in. Is it hard work? Yeah big time. And you may find out it was hard because you're actually lazy. Or discover you talk a big game but you're full of it. You need to come to grips with your truth and only then can you move forward. 

Stop making excuses. Stop complaining, nobody's listening. They may pretend like they're listening, the market doesn't care. What you need to do is make one person happy, you. Then you can make everybody else happy. You know why I like making people happy? Because I'm already happy. Understand are you doing the things that are putting you in a position to succeed? Not just in business but in life. When you're happy in life, your business can roll.

That final line hit me hard as I'm about to make some life altering changes in the next few months. I kept looking around at the things in my life that weren't working well, namely my business. When in fact I had so much to be happy about. When I acknowledged this, deep down in my core, I finally began to pull myself out from rock bottom. 

We only get one life, one time on this planet. Make it count.