swartzperformance-blog

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Custom Programming

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Weightlifting Team

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Weightlifting Team

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Personal Training (90 Min. Session)

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Personal Training (90 Min. Session)

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Personal Training (60 min. session)

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4 Week Weightlifting Program

This beginner program is perfect for a lifter who has been training for less than 6 months or a lifter who has been training for 6-9 months but is interested in re-teaching themselves good habit. This program focuses on breaking down the snatch and clean & jerk, while at the same time helps increase a lifters metabolic conditioning level and overall body strength. Program length: 4 weeks.  

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12 week Power Lifting Program

This program is a 12 week 4 day a week powerlifting focused program. This program is designed for a novice to intermediate level lifter. The program has 2 days of squatting, 2 days of pressing, 1 pulling day and a metabolic conditioning/ explosive training day. 

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A Better Way to Train your Core

A Better Way to Train your Core

By: Erik Jernstrom

 Stop doing crunches and sit-ups!

Protecting Your Spine

Crunches and Sit-ups are common exercises seen done by many gym goers with the intention of developing core strength and aesthetic appeal.  A good exercise program for developing the core works all the musculature around the spine. These core muscles are there to help brace and protect the spine from going into dangerous ranges of flexion, extension, or rotation, where injuries like herniation’s or bulged disks can occur. Simply put, when doing crunches or sit-ups we end up flexing the spine repeatedly, which pushes the nucleus of the spinal disk out of position predisposing us to an increased risk of a herniation or bulging disk. Bulging spinal disks or herniation’s can then push on the nerve roots causing pain as seen in the image below. 

A Safer Alternative

With all this being said there is a safer alternative to training the core that trains it for its appropriate functional use, bracing. Some of the simplest and most effective ways to train the core is the use of planks and plank variations. Below I’ll give you 4 different plank variations you can incorporate into your core training.

#1. Traditional Plank   

This is the standard, good, old fashioned, plank. It is a great place to start and can be challenging if done right. The biggest things are to make sure; your back is flat, you squeeze your glutes, and your stomach is braced. I recommend you do 3 sets of 20-60 secs for this exercise

#2. Side Plank

Like the traditional plank the side plank is a great place to start and can be really difficult and effective. Guidelines are to make sure your shoulders are inline with each other, squeeze your glutes, and brace your core. Again I recommend you do 3sets of 20-60secs for this exercise. 

#3. Side Plank With Physioball

This is a more advanced plank variation and shouldn’t be performed until you’ve mastered the above plank variations. to perform the side plank with a physioball, simply perform a side plank as described above while putting a physioball between your feet and squeezing it. Performing this exercise for 3 sets of 20-60 seconds should be sufficient to thoroughly work your core. 

#4. Stir The Pot

Stir the pot is an advanced core exercise and should be done once you’ve mastered the plank variations above. It is performed by keeping your back flat, squeezing your glutes, and bracing your stomach, then rolling the physioball clockwise and counter clockwise. For this exercise I would recommend to do 3 sets of 10 rotations going each direction. 

Bonus! AB-Roll Out

This is another advanced core exercise. Starting in a kneeling position squeeze your glutes, brace your stomach, and tuck your chin down. Than roll out away from your knees while maintaining the three points listed above. Then return to the start position and perform another rep.

Note: if your low back starts to arch you’re going too far the goal is to resist going into lumbar extension

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Treat Yo Self: A Simple Guide to Recovery

Erik Jernstrom

As athletes we’ve all been there and know the stories all too well. It’s the end of a brutal workout whether it is daily doubles, crazy heavy weight training sessions, or intense conditioning that leaves you thinking…” I’m about to be so sore tomorrow!”. In the life of an athlete days like that are inevitable. That is why it is important that you take action steps to treat yo self.

Imagine your’ body as a bank. A hard training session is a withdrawal, the money represents energy. Just like a bank has a finite amount of money, your body has a finite amount of energy. The constant goal is to always have “money” in the bank. So how do you keep yourself from going bankrupt but still be able to “withdraw” energy? This is where recovery comes into play. Recovery is like a deposit. In order to keep your bank and energy levels in the black you have to make constant deposits, because you are making content withdrawals. The follow are some simple and effective recovery strategies you can start implementing to keep your energy bank full and ready for those hard training days.

Sleep

Sleep is arguably the most important of all the recovery strategies! It is vital for both psychological and physiological restoration. During sleep major amounts of growth hormone are released into the body. Lack of sleep can; delay reaction times, decrease immune system function, decrease growth hormone synthesis, and increase the difficulty of performing exercises. It’s not just the quantity of sleep that’s important, but quality also. Athletes you should have a goal of getting seven to ten hours of undisturbed sleep a night.

Nutrition (Food & Water)

Another important aspect of an athlete’s recovery is what they put into their bodies after a hard training session. Like sleep, food quality and quantity are of the upmost importance. A simple recommendation for clean eating is to have your meals be well rounded and consist of only whole foods (i.e no processed foods), with lots of fruits and vegetables. Having a healthy and well rounded diet will help with glycogen resynthesis (resorting your muscle with energy to train again) and protein synthesis (repairing the damaged muscles so they can grow bigger and stronger). In addition to a good diet proper hydration also plays a large role in recovery and performance. Adequate hydration helps transport nutrients, regulate body temperature, and lubricates your joints. Lack of hydration can lead to fatigue, cramping, and possible heat exhaustion in extreme conditions. As a general rule of thumb you should try to drink half your bodyweight in ounces of water daily along with 20-30 ounces per pound lost after training.

Self-Myofascial Release (Foam Rolling/Lacrosse Ball Rolling)         

Referenced to by several different names like; foam rolling, lacrosse ball rolling, poor mans massage, etc.The benefits of self-myofascial release (soft tissue work), for recovery purposes have been shown in countless research studies. It has been shown to reduce; muscle soreness, break up knots, increase mobility, and increase blood flow. All these not only lead to better recovery, but also could lead to potential decreases in injury. Foam rolling can be done anytime and it is suggested that you roll a specific area for 30-90sec before moving to the next location.

Active Recovery

Active recovery can be done either as a cool-down after a training session, or on an “off day” to help promote recovery. The biggest benefits of active recovery are that it helps athlete’s psychology relax, it also flushes the lactic acid out of the muscle and brings back more nutrient dense blood to the muscles, and also lowers resting heart rate by increasing the hearts efficiency to deliver blood. General recommendations for active recovery are activities like; brisk walks, cycling, or elliptical work. These activities should be done for 20-90mins at roughly 55%-70% of your max heart rate. A quick way to estimate your max heart rate is 220-age.            

Contrast Showers

Contrast showers are an easy and effect way to boost your recovery for your rigorous training session. The nice thing about contrast showers is that you don’t need any fancy equipment and loads of ice, all you need is a shower. The effects of contrast showers are that it constricts and dilates your blood vessels allowing for a “pump effect” and helping with blood circulation. This “pump effect” flushes lactic acid out of your system and brings in flesh blood. It is also shown to help you psychologically relax and decompress. You should try for 3-4 rounds of 3 minutes hot and 1 minute could… and yes you do end on cold!

Summary

The following strategies can be implements in any variation and in terms of recovery less is not more, you should do as much recovery in between training sessions as possible! So next time you’re going through hard training cycles try a couple of these strategies out to help quicken your recovery!   

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John is on point with his prep for junior nationals. He hit a PR snatch of 112kg,PR clean & jerk of 142kg and total of 255kg. #oregonweightlifting #ironbeaver #corvallis #crossfit #weightlifting #ironbeaverstrong #usaweightlifting (at Iron Beaver Weightlifting)

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Check out the new web site. http://swartzstrengthconditioning.com/#intro #swartzperformance #weightlifting #powerlifting #crossfit #corvallis #oregonweightlifting (at Corvallis, Oregon)

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Iron Beaver Weightlifting Coaches 1/4 zip

Dress to impress. You’ll appreciate the Yerba Knit Quarter Zip pullover’s blend of comfort and style when out jogging on a cool day. Contrast inner collar and neck tape for a flash of color (Unisex Sizing).

Color: Smoke

Dress to impress. You’ll appreciate the Yerba Knit Quarter Zip pullover’s blend of comfort and style when out jogging on a cool day. Contrast inner collar and neck tape for a flash of color (Unisex Sizing).

Color: Smoke

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Iron Beaver Weightlifting Coaches 1/4 zip

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Iron Beaver Weightlifting Team T-Shirt

Next Level Premium Fitted Short Sleeve Crew, fabric laundered is made of 100% combed ringspun cotton, 32 singles. This product is set-in 1x1 baby rib collar with tear away label. (Unisex Sizing).

Color: Military Green

Next Level Premium Fitted Short Sleeve Crew, fabric laundered is made of 100% combed ringspun cotton, 32 singles. This product is set-in 1x1 baby rib collar with tear away label. (Unisex Sizing).

Color: Military Green

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Swartz Performance 1/4 zip sweater

Dress to impress. You’ll appreciate the Yerba Knit Quarter Zip pullover’s blend of comfort and style when out jogging on a cool day. Contrast inner collar and neck tape for a flash of color (Unisex Sizing).

Color: River Blue

Dress to impress. You’ll appreciate the Yerba Knit Quarter Zip pullover’s blend of comfort and style when out jogging on a cool day. Contrast inner collar and neck tape for a flash of color (Unisex Sizing).

Color: River Blue

[swartzperformance-blog]

Iron Beaver Weightlifting Team T-Shirt

Next Level Premium Fitted Short Sleeve Crew, fabric laundered is made of 100% combed ringspun cotton, 32 singles. This product is set-in 1x1 baby rib collar with tear away label. (Unisex Sizing).

Color: Military Green

Next Level Premium Fitted Short Sleeve Crew, fabric laundered is made of 100% combed ringspun cotton, 32 singles. This product is set-in 1x1 baby rib collar with tear away label. (Unisex Sizing).

Color: Military Green