Robertson Training Systems Newsletter 4.26

In This Issue

- Robertson Training Systems Updates
- Testimonials
- Nutrition Tip
- Exclusive Interview:  Chad Waterbury
- Upcoming Interviews
- New Articles and Blog Posts
- Schedule

Robertson Training Systems Updates

The I-FAST page is coming along nicely

While still under construction, the Indianapolis Fitness and Sports Training website is coming along nicely.  We still have quite a bit of content to upload, and we need to find a place to get our graphic up on there as well!

If you're interested in training at the facility, you definitely need to check out the page and sign-up for the newsletter.  Unlike my current newsletter, this will be geared solely towards people who want to train at the facility, and will include updates, open gym hours, training schedules, etc.

Indianapolis Fitness and Sports Training Home page

Congrats to fellow Indiana powerlifters!

Indiana had 3 National Champs at the Men's Open this year - congrats guys!

-  Erick Niekson won at 165lbs. as Wade Hooper finally moved up to 181 lbs.  Erick has been a National runner-up several times now so I'm sure he's quite excited for his first National championship.

-  Jeremy Hartman won the 220lbs. with 733, 518, and 755

-  Mike Tuscherer won the 275lbs. class, defeating last years IPF World Champion Tony Cardella in the process.

Congrats guys and best of luck in your future training!

New Article Up

Everyone here knows I've been writing for T-Nation for a while.  However, as they've started to really push their female site www.FigureAthlete.com,  I'm going to be writing some articles for the ladies out there as well.  The first piece I've written for them revolves around core training.

Sexy Core Training

Testimonials:  The Monster Mobility Pack

Nutrition Tip

Exclusive Interview:  Chad Waterbury

MR:  Chad, thanks for coming back for another interview.  In case someone missed the original, could you please re-introduce yourself?

CW: I guess I’m nothing more than a nervous system geek. I take what I’ve learned from my neuroscience studies and apply that information to build bigger, stronger, faster, more mobile athletes.

MR:  Last time we chatted, you mentioned that you had a book deal in the works – how’s that coming along for you?

CW: Yep, I wrote a book for Rodale publishing that will be available in December. It’s a beautiful, full-color book with the latest training principles that will develop the body I described above.

I’m very excited about the book and I hope it really changes the way people train. It’s the only mainstream book that I know of that’s devised of principles solely from the angle of the nervous system. Make no mistake about it, the nervous system holds the key to getting the look and performance you seek.

MR: You also mentioned you were heading up the strength and conditioning for Rickson Gracie’s International Jiu-Jitsu facility in LA.  How’s that working out for you? 

CW: It’s really an awesome gig. There’s no greater business pleasure than working with hungry, young athletes that have huge potential.

Many high-profile athletes require a lot of babysitting. Not these guys. Fighters, in general, are some of the most respectful people you’ll ever meet. That’s why I devote my limited time to them. From a trainer’s standpoint, it’s certainly no way to get rich, but I sleep very well at night.

I also thrive on the challenge. For example, there’s no sport that’s more detrimental to the joints than jiu-jitsu. So I’ve really honed my ability to identify and correct movement dysfunctions. The carryover to any type of training, for any client, is huge once you understand the importance of joint health.

MR:  Let’s talk training a bit, specifically for MMA fighters.  This is obviously a growing industry, so how do you address training an MMA fighter?  What are some of the key components you focus on?

CW: Well, first of all you’ve got to assess the hell out of them. Each assessment I do for a fighter takes no less than three hours. Fighters in general are replete with imbalances and joint dysfunctions due to the demands of their sport. You’ve got to know what you’re dealing with, and what the athlete’s limitations are, before you start loading them up with deadlifts and Olympic lifts.

In particular, you’ve got to really respect the spine. As you know Mike, spinal flexion in general is not good. And when you consider what a fighter’s spine must endure, you’ve got a significant risk for a career-ending injury.

Take jiu-jitsu fighters, for example. You can’t tell a jiu-jitsu guy that he can never flex his spine! So that in itself poses a huge challenge for me. But I’ve been fortunate to learn from the best. In particular, my friend Dr. Stuart McGill has been invaluable. I just spent two days with him in Los Angeles and he never ceases to impress me.

There’s really a lot to cover with regard to a fighter, but I’ll outline a few points. First, you must learn to strengthen and stiffen the muscles around the spine and core by activating the abdominal wall, glutes and lats. Dr. McGill calls this “superstiffness.” But you must also be able to turn it off just as quickly to preserve energy. Second, you must really work on hip mobility and power. Twisting, throwing and grappling movements should come from the hips and thoracic spine. It shouldn’t come from the low back. Third, you’ve got to train movements that challenge stability across the entire body. Lifting and carrying odd-shaped objects such as sandbags and water jugs are great tools to have in your arsenal. Exercises like the Turkish get-up and lunges while holding a single dumbbell are great, too.

I could go on and on, but I’ll stop there.  

MR:  I’ve done a little bit of training in Krav Maga, and I’m constantly shocked at how much endurance you need!  And just when I thought my legs were in shape, I realized how poor my upper extremity/shoulder endurance was L

Any good tips or tricks to getting your conditioning up to par?

CW: Ha! You’re right. You can have a world-class pressing and pulling strength but as soon as you’re forced to hold your hands high and throw punches for 10 minutes straight you quickly realize that there’s more to athletic development than a big bench press.

The best way to build endurance is to practice the sport. For example, the best way to build shoulder endurance is to take boxing lessons. The best way to build wrestling endurance is to hire a wrestling coach. In other words, endurance training must be specific to the sport. Running won’t help nearly as much as practicing the sport.

There are, however, training methods that will help. For upper body endurance there’s no better form of energy systems training than jumping rope. I also like to have my guys bearhug a heavy bag and run with it forward, backward, and side-to-side. This builds total body endurance strength – the kind of endurance strength you need as a fighter. I also like high-rep overhead squats with an empty barbell. 

MR:  Let’s shift gears and talk maximal strength.  Being a competitive powerlifter back in the day, the focus was always on getting stronger.  What are some of the big ticket items you need to address if your only goal is get freaky strong?

CW: First off you need to make sure that your joints can handle the load. That’s why thorough assessments are essential. Assuming the guy doesn’t have any spinal or low back issues that need to be corrected first, the deadlift is one of many great exercises. So is the front squat, row, lunge, etc. 

It’s important to understand that maximal strength work is very taxing so an athlete needs to keep the volume as low as possible. Two maximal strength sessions per week is all an athlete can usually handle. The goal is to beat the last performance. So if a guy pulled 315 pounds in his last session, I’ll try to get him to pull 320 pounds, even if it’s for only one set. But athletes are capricious animals. They have a lot of peaks and valleys with regard to their performance because they’re always pushing the envelope. Therefore, the best “periodization” plan is to list to what the athlete tells you, and cater the training to what his performance shows on that day. In other words, if you work with athletes you better be able to adapt on the fly.

For non-athletes a higher volume typically works better. The more sets they perform, the better their cerebellum gets at perfecting the movement. That’s why Tiger Woods’ swing is so incredible – he’s practiced it a million times. A neuroscientist would look at Tiger Woods’ swing and say, “that guy has a beautiful cerebellum.”

For overall maximal strength nothing beats the chin-up/dip/deadlift circuit with more than 80% of your one repetition maximum (1RM). Focus on getting as strong as possible with those movements, then assess your joints to determine your weaknesses. At that point, incorporate corrective exercises such as face pulls, x-band walks, ab wheel, and the like. 

MR:  This next question should be interesting…

We both know that when you write, speak, coach, etc., you’re “putting yourself out there.”  Obviously there are tons of internet experts who know more than we do, but I digress.

What is a specific topic where someone took an idea of yours and spun it into something it wasn’t?  We may not be celebrities, but keyboard warriors always seem to find a way to “spin” something that we’ve said!

CW: Ha! Where do I begin? I think lifting speed and total body workouts are the two most misunderstood components of my system 

With regard to lifting speed, you should attempt to lift a load as fast as possible. This isn’t a free ticket to use shitty form! And if you’re in physical therapy, it’s not necessary since you must first retrain the proper movement pattern. But for healthy athletes you should lift as fast as the load allows while maintaining perfect form. If we’re talking about any load heavier than a 3-4RM, this is a moot point. You don’t need to focus on speed since you won’t be able to lift a maximal load fast. Fast tempos are for loads that allow for more than 5 reps. When I talk about fast tempos people sometimes jump to the conclusion that I don’t advocate any other lifting variations. Nothing is further from the truth. There are times when you should pause between reps, hold the peak contraction for an extra second or two, or slow down the eccentric phase. But none of these methods have anything to do with the lifting speed. 

Total body workouts consist of an upper body pull and push, along with a squat or deadlift. The aforementioned chin-up/dip/deadlift is one example. The row/military press/front squat is another example. This is certainly not how I train all of my clients, all of the time. But I feel many, many people would benefit from this approach so I often talk about it. I really like upper/lower splits too. But I never use body part splits because I believe the more frequently you can train, the better. As a rule of thumb you should train the muscles three times per week. With a typical body part split, such frequency isn’t possible. If you look at the research, and the real-world evidence, more frequent training always leads to better results.

For example, performing 3 sets of 3 reps for the front squat on Monday, the single leg deadlift on Wednesday, and the back squat on Friday will induce far superior strength and muscle gains compared to performing all 9 sets once each week. 

MR:  All right Chad, we’re close to the finish but I have to wrap up with my ever-famous “Final Question.”

What is one mistake that you’ve made in your coaching career?  And what have you done to correct it later on?

CW: This is a great question. I think the biggest mistake I made early on was that I didn’t clearly define what my system is all about. One of the reasons why I have so much respect for my friend Pavel Tsatsouline is because he defined his image and philosophy right from day one. That was a really smart move. I mean, everyone knows what Pavel is all about – kettlebells and Russian strength methods. But not as many people know what I’m all about.

I’m not a bodybuilding coach. I’m not a powerlifting coach. And I’m not an endurance coach. I’m a guy who develops lean, strong, muscular bodies that possess plenty of mobility. Most of the guys who hire me want to look and move like Georges St. Pierre. 

For example, it would probably shock many to know that I spend most of my coaching time identifying and treating joint injuries. That’s why the Gracie facility hired me to work with their athletes. And I’m heavily involved in fat loss protocols. Over the last 12 years, the number of people I’ve worked with who didn’t seek some level of fat loss can be counted on one hand.

MR:  Thanks a ton for chatting with me today, Chad.  Where can my readers find out more about you and your products?

CW: The best place to start is with my book Muscle Revolution. It lays out the principles of my training and nutrition system. Everyone can benefit from the book. You can pick it up on T-nation (www.t-nation.com) or on my website (www.chadwaterbury.com)

I also have a training and nutritional system, The 10/10 Transformation. It’s an outstanding system that revolves between intense circuit training for fat loss, and high frequency training for hypertrophy. The goal is to lose 10 pounds of fat and gain 10 pounds of muscle. You can get it HERE.

Also, you can find my articles in Fight! Magazine, T-nation, and Men’s Fitness.

Thanks Mike! It’s been my pleasure. You’re a good man and a real pioneer in this industry. 

Upcoming Interviews

June 30th - Paul Kelso, author of "Kelso's Shrug Book"

July 7th - Dan John, author, speaker, Olympic lifter and living strength legend (www.danjohn.org)

July 14th - Julia Ladewski, assistant strength coach at Buffalo University, powerlifter, and member of Elite Fitness training staff

July  21st - Shawn Windle, Indiana Pacers head strength and conditioning coach

If you would like to submit a question for one of our upcoming interviewees:

1) Please send an e-mail to info@robertsontrainingsystems.com
2) In the subject heading, please list the person your question is directed towards (i.e. Mike Boyle)
3) In the body of the text, list one or two questions you'd like to have answered.

We can't promise that our interviewees can answer all questions, but we'll do our best to get a nice mix of questions. Thanks for your support!

Stay Strong

MR

www.RobertsonTrainingSystems.com

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