THE SERG TRAINING PODCAST

Sergnamic

Common vernacular. I’ve been having moments. I’ve been listening to myself…you know that self that sits higher than the other selves of SERG, and I’ve had what I would call thoughtful mind shifts the it comes to some of my goals, my visions. 

The goal is for the “term SERG” to enter common vernacular.

The acronym is SERG, and my thoughts are simply put..If I use this principal to delve into my relationships with sports performance as an athlete, teacher, coach, administrator, parent, civilian - you name it…I am surely giving myself and others the best opportunity for success.

Strength - We’re going to look at Strength as the number one priority behind this overarching principal of Sergifying everything. My beliefs are that an able bodied individual has a responsibility to prioritize some sort of strength training just to reach baseline. Surely, you can exceed that, and there are those who could never in a million years imagine prioritizing some sort of exercise- but the facts are this. Our able human bodies respond positively to synchronized episodes of outside physical stress for improvements sake. We are to view exercise the same way we view maintenance, and upkeep for some of our most prized possessions and relationships. If we are not prioritizing exercise/movement in a way that we can be proud of than we should be considered the outlier and be looking for ways or even individuals that can help point us in the right direction. At the core if we are considering what it means to be a responsible and able human-being for ourselves and those around us- exercise should have a place at the table. 

Brushing teeth, changing car oil, oiling bike chains, and teacing valuable lessons to our children aren’t always at the top of the list either when it comes to what I would consider fun - but nonetheless those things are essential and need to happen in order to cultivate those materials and young people (children). I am concerned by the number of folks I see making excuses and hiding behind ailments and appointments those giving themselves permission to no prioritize themselves and it has to change. 1 day, even if just one day….it has to be on the schedule.

Energy is of ultra importance, I am no philosopher or anything but I am certain that negative and positive energy impact our daily lives in good and not so good ways, we have to pay attention to the energy we are allowing around us and be especially rigid with how we use our energy in ways to produce positive results for ourselves and provide a helping hand for others

Resilience- we have to know that shit can go south…things are going to go wrong, and no- that doesn’t make me a pesimist but more of a realist. What am I to do when I get cutoff in traffic, and I am already late for an appointment? What am I to do when I had a workout scheduled, but I’ve fallen ill and don’t quite think I can make it through what I had planned? What if I just do not feel like it today? Or my attitude isn’t in a great place? How am I to be resilient and pre-empt these negatives while creating priority around doing a “version” of what I intended regardless of the circumstances that have come up.

Gratitude - Simply put, be grateful- even for the not so great things that may have happened or will happen down the line, the facts are this. We didn’t have to experience anything, but yet we get to enjoy all of this. Be it good or bad, their are certainly folks out there snapshot right now that are not as fortunate so be grateful.

imperfect :-)

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Should explosiveness or stability be a higher priority in an an athlete’s workout?

stability is trained before strength, and strength is trained before power.

A stable core is no doubt important for everyday activities, but for optimal athletic performance stabilizing the core is absolutely imperative.

I personally view the Hara" (the core), the physical center of being as the single most important part of training. My athletes know we follow a boom, boom core approach, meaning upper push/ squat (bilateral or unilateral) + core followed by - upper pull/hinge (bilateral or unilateral) + core. Also, we generally take an anti- approach to core training for example anti-ext ( ), anti-flexion (), anti-lateral flexion ().

My thoughts are this, if I can have my young folks build the ultimate relationship with core stability than we are ultimately able to create relaxation of the muscles promoted by a strong core, create greater freedom of movement, better control of power through patterns with less less extraneous or junk movement, and conserve energy through efficiency. Smooth power, it’s what we want and need when it comes to athletic development, shoutout to my ballplayers (my guys hitting dingers, and making it look good).

So I could totally geek out, and get into speed development and more here..but for the sake of answering the question, stiffness/stability is of ultra importance as it is the literal gas in the tank to strength and power development.

Loaded question, I think it’s important to note that strength doesn’t necessarily mean size although there seems to be some correlation. Perhaps you could benefit from some isolated glute work, and I suppose I could make the consideration for more hypertrophy or overall volume. More or less - we could also identify some nutritional strategies if you are looking at this from more of an aesthetic sense…I’d love to chat more about this in depthly one on one as there is surely a more personalized feel to this question which begets a more personalized approach to action.

I answered one of my PE students questions about Bench Press?

What are the best exercises to increase bench other than bench?

1. Improve Your Form.
2. Check Your Grip.
3. Vary Your Training.
4. Use Your Feet.
5. Practice Makes Progress.

I have been the Director of Athletic Performance at The Shipley School for 2 years. My work with the young people there has been a blessing, here is a sneak peak into our program and what we prioritize for our student-athletes and why.

In this episode of The Serg Training Podcast we discuss how we can make our mentality work for us when it comes to determining positive outcomes in sports. 

"I don't need to tell you what you already know." - Serg

In this episode of The Serg Training Podcast we discuss low back pain, and the plan to improve.