Liz-High Jump

It has already been two years since Santa Cruz Strength opened it's doors.   In that time we are proud to say we have guided some great athletes and and built even greater community.  Come celebrate with us May 18th for a BBQ pot luck and shin dig!

The festivities will begin at 12 o'clock at Santa Cruz Strength.  We will also be holding a fundraiser for SCS intern Clay Edgin who's daughter who was recently in a severe car accident which left her in a coma for 7 days. Needless to say there are substantial medical bills to be paid.  To help raise money we will be running a mock power lifting and olympic lifting meet for anyone who wants to participate.  Entry will be anything you can donate and there will be the opportunity to sponsor lifters based on weight lifted, for example, if you pledged $.01 per pound, and an athlete lifted 1500lbs, the donation amount would be $15.00.  Donations can be made by check paid to the order of Courtney Edgin or via paypal to TeamCourtney2013@yahoo.com.

Workout of the Day

Strength - 

Press 4 x 4

Chin Ups 35 total

Conditioning - 

Threshold Training: 5 min ROw at ~ 88% Max HR, 5 min rest x 5

Dion-Long Jump

The Hydrostatic Body Fat testing track is coming back to Santa Cruz Strength!  This truck was a huge hit last time and gives extremely valuable and accurate info including lean body mass, body fat percentage, basal metabolic rate etc...  Testing is $49 or $39 for a retest.  The truck will be coming April 28th and you must secure your spot by signing up at the gym!

*Congrats to SCS Athlete Dion Shattuck who competed in (and won) his first Decathalon.  Hard work pays off!

Workout of the Day

Strength - 

Deadlift 3RM, then 3x5 Deficit Deadlifts at 80% of 3RM

Glute Ham Raise 3 x 8

Conditioning - 

Cardiac Power Intervals

90 Second Row at 100%

*rest till heart rate recovers to 120-130 BPM, repeat 4 -10 times.

Most of the conditioning we do at Santa Cruz Strength is in the form of High Intensity Interval Training also known as HIIT.  HITT are essentially short sprints with adequate recovery between reps to ensure maximal intensity on each interval.  An important factor during a HIIT workout which often goes overlooked is managing your rest periods effectively.  Two strategies to try are diaphragmatic breathing and active rest for optimal recovery.

Diaphragmatic breathing is done by expanding the abdomen rather than the chest when breathing.  This ensures that the lower portion of the lungs are being filled with air, which is where a majority of the gas exchange occurs.  Be sure to focus on expanding the belly when you breath and taking very deep full breaths.  This technique will help you lower your heart rate and recover faster between intervals.

Secondly, when doing intervals, as soon as you finish your sprint you want to get up and continue moving around to avoid any pooling of blood or metabloic byproducts.  This will help flush out metabolic waste and oxygenate the blood so you are ready to hit the next sprint HARD!

Give these a shot next time you are doing HIIT and see if they help you recover!

Workout of the Day

Strength - 

Cleans On the Minute for 15 minutes at 85%

Weighted Dips 5 x 5

Conditioning - 

5 x 500 m Row Sprints

*rest until heart rate returns to 120-130 to begin your next sprint.

Pam

T-Shirts are ready for order, this time we are going with American Apparel through Tee Spring.  This is a great way to be sure you get exactly what you want.  Simply go to the site and order your shirt in any size and have it shipped directly to you.  Other swag is coming shortly.  But be sure to order now because they won't print until we have sold a total of 30 T-Shirts!  Click here to get yours: http://teespring.com/scstrength for T-Shirts http://teespring.com/scstrength1 for Sweatshirts, http://teespring.com/scstrength2 for mens/unisex tanks.  

CAMPAIGN ENDS MARCH 31st so order today!  This means that you must order by March 31st and if we don't meet the minimum order they will not be printed.

Steve-Prone Row

Strength & Conditioning Workout Of The Day

Strength-

Deadlift 2RM; Rack Pulls w/2RM weight for max reps

Split Squats 3x8

DB Row 3x10

Self Myofascial Release and Stretching

Collin

When we write the conditioning workouts at SCS we are always aiming for a specific stimulus.  However, there are times when we don't achieve the desired effect for a number of reasons:  1. the athletes desire to push themselves, 2. the athlete's relative strength depending on the prescribed loading, 3. the athletes muscular stamina vs. cardiorespiratory endurance etc. For one given workout we may have 5 athletes who all have a very different experience based on these factors.

One tool I love using to remedy this issue is the Polar heart rate monitor.  There are a number of different models with varying features, but the base models will give you plenty of helpful information to help guide you in achieving the desired stimulus of a workout on a given day.  With this tool you can track heart rate variability, resting heart rate, target different heart rate zones during training,manipulate rest intervals based on recovery, track recovery after training, and much more.  But most importantly the Polar will make sure you are getting the desired stimulus from each workout by tracking and targeting your heart rate during the workout.

Ready to take your training to the next level?  Think about investing in one of these or ask a coach more about the value of this tool.  The more data and testing we can gather during your training, the less we are just shooting in the dark and hoping we hit the target.

To get a good base model check out this site - 8 Weeks Out

Workout of the Day

Strength - 

A1. Box Squat 5 x 3

A2. Face Pulls 4 x 12

Conditioning - 

4 rds

40 m Heavy Sandbag Carry

10 DB Hang Power Cleans

30 Jump Rope

Nate

Strength & Conditioning Workout Of The Day

Strength- 

Pause Front Squat 5x3

Hip Flexor Bench Stretch 5x 30 sec ea leg

Wall Slides 5x6

Conditioning-

5 Sets:

50m Sled March

10 Sledge Strikes R

10 Sledge Strikes L

Kyle

Sometimes I just stand in awe at what Santa Cruz Strength has become.  In under 2 years we went from unknown to one of the premier strength and conditioning facilities in the area.  One of my favorite things about the gym is the amazing diversity of people and athletes, just last week we had Liz Patterson (2x NCAA Champion in the High Jump and Olympic hopeful), The Falcon Family (the hardest working, most consistent bunch a coach could hope for), Heidi Fish (3x CrossFit Games Masters athlete), Ann Codiga (13 year old super stud Softball player who rocks a 240lb deadlift), Jeff Leonard (Top ranked firefighter combat challenge athlete), The entire competitive SCS USA Weightlifting Team, Dion Shattuck (one of the top ranked High School Decathletes in the state) and Larson Graff (competitive arm wrestler) all training under the same roof!  These athletes are the heart and soul of what we believe in; individualization, dedication and hardwork.  These athletes dont all have to be training the same way to feel a tremendous sense of community and camraderie.   It's the diversity of both training style and people that breeds a healthy sense of competition, pushing us all to be better.  It makes me excited for what the future of SCS will bring and like I always say, this is just the beginning.

Workout of the Day

Strength - 

Push Press 5 x 3

Face Pulls 4 x 12

Conditioning - 

10 x 25 m Heavy Reverse Sled Drag

Accessory - 

Hanging Leg Raise 3 x 10

Reverse Hyper 3 x 10

Melissa- Training for two

Strength & Conditioning Workout Of The Day

Strength-

Deadlift 3RM; rack pull with 3RM for max reps

F.Rack Split Squats 3x8 

DB Row 3x10

Finish with self myofacial release and static stretching

Jeff Leonard- Firefighter Combat Challenge Athlete

I was talking to one of our competitive athletes at the gym tonight, and we were discussing how as we get older (and yet only in our mid 20's) we have to warm up before we do ANYTHING.  What struck me about this, is it seems that most people are in such a hurry to get on the bar they do a half assed 5 min warm up and jump straight into lifting heavy weights.

A proper warm up begins with a little soft tissue work with the foam roller, lacrosse ball or "stick".  This self myofacial release will both increase the pliability of the muscle as well as simulate muscle tension which causes the Golgi tendon Organ to relax the muscle, creating more range of motion.  We all have our own problem areas, so spend 20 or so seconds hitting each part of the body - T-Spine, Lats, Pecs, Glutes, Quads/TFL/Hip Flexors and Calves and then spend and additional 2 minutes hitting your problem areas HARD.  

Next comes some monostructural work, I prefer the Airdyne or Rower which have lower impact on the joints than running.  After this finish up with some dynamic range of motion and mobility work.  Again you can prioritize your "problem" areas and gear the warm up towards whatever exercises you are doing that day.  If you are squatting you may spend more time wamring up the hips and working on ankle mobility, if you are bench pressing you may spend more time on warming up the shoulders and elbows.  

One last side note, during your warm ups work from the larger muscle groups to the smaller muscle groups.  If I see one more person walk in and start doing band pull aparts at the beginning of their warm up the whole gym will just do Airdyne intervals for a month!

All in all your warm up (including SMR, monostructural and dynamic mobility) should take anywhere from 15-20 mins.  During your warm up you should increase your bodies core tempature (you should be sweating by the end of it!), activate and potentiate your nervous system,  activate inhibited muscles, increase active range of motion, decrease viscocity of synovial fluid in the joint, decrease potential for injury just to name a few!

Do yourself a favor, make it a ritual to come in 5 or 10 minutes early before your workout to insure you have a proper warm up.  Your body will thank you and you might be surprised by how your performance changes as well.

Workout of the Day

Strength - 

A1. Pause Bench Press 4 x 4

A2. Single Leg Hip Thrust 4 x 12

Conditioning - 

6 rds

15 Supine Ring Rows

25 m Single Arm Farmers Walk Right

10 Push Ups

25 m Single Arm Farmers Walk Left

Accessory - 

Weighted Back Extensions 3 x 10

X - Band Walks x 3