Baseball Coaches, Baseball Parents – MUST READ!
April 26, 2011 by danny · Leave a Comment
Throwing a baseball is one of the most dangerous actions in all of sports. The chances of players hurting their shoulder and/or elbow are already high enough. Why increase those chances even more!?! Most parents and baseball coaches don’t know that they don’t know (that they are a BIG part of the injury problem). Well, Strength Coach Eric Cressey is here to help all of us involved with parenting or coaching young baseball players. If you’ve been contributing to the problem (even inadvertently), it’s time to learn, and make some adjustments. After all, that’s what life is all about – learning and APPLYING what you learn to make improvements.
Enjoy this great piece from Eric.
The Glycemic Index – Awesome or Overrated?
April 25, 2011 by danny · Leave a Comment
Over the years I’ve gotten quite a few questions regarding the glycemic index. While I think it is a decent tool, it is definitely NOT the be-all and end-all as some infomercials like to claim; “the secret to our diet’s incredible success is the breakthrough science known as the glycemic index!” Yeah. Ok. Riiiiight. Below, I’ve copied and pasted a portion of a Q and A that Dr. Jonny Bowden did awhile back. He does a great job of explaining why the glycemic index is overrated, and why the “glycemic load” may be a more accurate indicator of healthy foods. I’ve also highlighted in RED the take-away message that I want you to get out of this Q and A. The more knowledge you have, the body chances you have for a lean, healthy body!
Q: I read that the glycemic index is overrated and that what we should really be paying attention to is glycemic load. What’s the difference?
A: The glycemic index is overrated. You should be paying attention to glycemic load. There’s a big difference. Here’s the scoop:
Glycemic index is a way of measuring the impact a given amount of carbohydrate has on your blood sugar, something you definitely want to know. But to do a fair comparison, they have to use a fixed amount. In the case of the glycemic index, it’s a standard 50 grams of carbohydrate.
Problem is, very few carbohydrate foods in real life are 50-gram portions.
See, if you go to a store to buy spices and there’s a spice that’s $500 a pound, that sure sounds like a lot of money. But if you’re only buying a half-teaspoon of the stuff, it’s pretty irrelevant. You want to know what you’re going to pay at the register, not necessarily what you’d pay if you bought a pound.
Similarly, you really don’t care what the impact of 50 grams is on your blood sugar; you care what the impact of the amount you’re actually eating is.
Glycemic load is a more sophisticated formula that takes into account the actual grams of carbs you’re eating — the portion size. The glycemic index of carrots is high, leading a lot of people to think you should never eat carrots, which is a dumb conclusion. Fact is, the average carrot has 3 grams of carbs. You’d have to eat like a giant rabbit to have a significant impact on your blood sugar.
The glycemic load of a carrot, on the other hand, is only 3, making it an extremely low-glycemic food — unless you’re drinking pure carrot juice or eating 13 carrots at a sitting.
Pasta, on the other hand, has a moderate glycemic index, but is almost never eaten in 50-gram portions. Factor in the portion size at a typical Olive Garden and your blood sugar will be on the roof, and stay there for a week. Not surprisingly, the glycemic load of pasta is very high.
The technical formula for glycemic load is GI (glycemic index), multiplied by the number of grams of carbohydrates in the portion, then divided by 100. Low glycemic load is between 1 and 10, medium is between 10 and 20, and anything over 20 is very high.
That said, remember that both glycemic index and glycemic load only refer to the food eaten alone. Add some fat or protein and the total impact goes down. And plenty of high-glycemic foods are good for you (say, carrot juice) while plenty of low-glycemic foods (fried donut holes) are not.
So take glycemic load into account, but don’t be a slave to it. It’s just one measurement to consider when planning a diet.
Incidentally, athletes in training actually can benefit from high-glycemic foods, especially when they’re training twice a day. Mrs. Smith with Metabolic Syndrome… not so much!
Fat And Where It’s At…
April 21, 2011 by danny · Leave a Comment
Our society went low-fat in the 80’s and diabetes became a disease that swept the nation. Low-fat this, non-fat that, more carbs here, more carbs there. That is one way to sum up the diabetes problem (along with other health related diseases). But of course, there is more to the story than: decreasing fat and increasing carbs = diabetes. Don’t get me wrong, I am NOT anti-carb at all! Like America always seems to do, we took this to an extreme (eat as low fat as possible and the majority of calories we consume should come from carbs). While this is old news and most people in the nutrition/fitness/health game now realize that we should include more healthy fats and less processed carbs, I don’t think the message has completely gotten out to the masses.
More times than not, when I have a new client come into see me to talk nutrition for the 1st time, I get the inevitable: “when shopping I make sure to get fat-free or reduced fat products as much as possible.” Fat has many benefits. Yes, fat has more calories per gram (9 cals) than protein and carbohydrates (4 calories), so we need to keep that in mind when consuming fat. But it’s not ALL about total calories (although still important). The quality of calories consumed is a huge piece of the puzzle.
Below, I’m going to look around my house and let you know what healthy fats are currently in my place.
-Nuts: Almonds, Pecans, Walnuts
-Fish Oil Capsules – I recommend getting about 2 grams of combined DHA/EPA per day
-Butters: Natural Peanut Butter, Almond Butter, Cashew Butter, Butter (Organic Valley Pasture Butter)
-Organic Extra Virgin Coconut Oil (We cook with this a lot!)
-A package of ground flax seeds
-Extra Virgin Olive Oil
-The fat that comes from the food in my fridge… grass-fed beef and organic free-range eggs. I no longer eat just the egg white and suggest to all my clients that they eat the whole yolk as long as it comes from a quality source (free-range).
Now, there are definitely other healthy fats in this world, but the above list is what is currently en mi casa (is that proper Spanish? I don’t know, it’s been awhile for me 
).
Below, I’m going to copy and paste a portion of what nutrition expert Brian St. Pierre had to say about full fat dairy in his nutrition contribution to Eric Cressey’s excellent product, Show And Go. As you will see, if the fat comes from a quality source, there are many benefits that you’ll be missing out on, if you go fat-free or reduced-fat.
NBA Playoff Predictions – 2011
April 15, 2011 by danny · Leave a Comment
This should be a great post-season. For the first time in a long time, there are legitimately a handful of teams that are capable of taking home the trophy. My good friends and NBA experts, Jeff Rinaldi and Matt McKenna break it all down. So let’s get to it!
Danny: I’ll start it off with you Jeff. Do you see any upsets in round 1 in the East?
Jeff: Well, I know one upset that WILL NOT happen and that is the dirty Pacers over the Bulls. Stern should think about folding the Pacers. I usually wouldn’t say this but the Bulls should go ahead and look to round 2. I seriously think the Knickerbockers are going to give the Celtics all they want. The Celtics better look out.
Danny: McKenna, your turn. Let’s take a look at the West – any 1st round upsets?
McKenna: I actually have two of them although beating Dallas in the first round is kind of a yearly tradition now isn’t it? I do like Portland though. They are athletic, deep, and just pose tons of match up problems for the Mavs. Kidd couldn’t defend me and rebounding could be an issue so the Blazers are my first pick. To me that isn’t a long shot (Insert Greg Oden joke here). The other upset is the Grizz over the Spurs. The Spurs are prime for a first round exit, they are old and have the potential to have injury issues as soon as the tip goes up. They also know they aren’t as good as either of their second round opponents and certainly won’t beat LA, so why prolong getting embarrassed by a good team. So married men keep an eye on your wives because a little French horn-ball will be on the loose earlier than normal this season.
Danny: Why you gotta do TP like that?! We’ll get to your finals predictions later. For now, give me one team out of each conference that is *capable* of making a deep run even if this team is not your first choice – or the “obvious” choice.
McKenna: I hate to do this Danny but the Magic terrify me and I think they can beat the Bulls. If they are knocking down jump shots and Howard is willing to break a sweat they will murder the Hawks and beat the Bulls in six. Nobody can keep Howard off the boards and once the game slows down in the playoffs controlling the boards is key.
Danny: You’re right, the Magic can be scary. But I’m not worried, just like nobody on the Bulls (or in the league) can slow down Howard, nobody on Orlando can slow down Asik… face!
And Jeff, any surprises?
Jeff: The Pacers! Just kidding. Dreadful team. I like the Thunder to get rolling and knock out the Spurs in round 2. Westbrook and Durant can carry that team. The whole West better look out.
Danny: And who do you think it going to make it to the conference finals, and fight for the right to go for it all? Let’s start with Mr. Rinaldi.
Jeff: Bulls vs Heat. Thunder vs Lakers. Chalk it up!
McKenna: I like the C’s and the Magic in the East. I’m hoping I’m right because if it’s the Bulls I won’t sleep for a couple weeks because Rose is terrifying. In the West I like the Lakers and OKC. I could even fathom the Blazers knocking off LA but Kobe, the most hated man in my household (tied with ARod of course) would never let me enjoy the playoffs.
Danny: Spoken like a true Bostonian! Time for the moment we’ve all been waiting for: who plays in the finals, and who takes home the hardware?!?
Actually fellas if you don’t mind, I’ll get things started…
I really don’t want to do it, but I guess I’m going to have to go with the Lakers. I still think they’ll be able to turn on that switch. Kobe is close to his last leg (last leg of dominance, that is), but I think he still has another year or two of great playoff basketball left in him. Odom has been really good this year and of course they still have Gasol and a much improved Bynum. Onto the Eastern champs… Da Bulls! I know you think I’m being a homer here (and I probably am), but I have really loved this team from the start. When the pieces starting to fall into place this summer, I knew it would be a great year. We (yeah, I’m part of the team) have shooters, scrappers, bangers, defenders, scorers, and of course, Mr. MVP! Believe it or not, I really think that Luol Deng is the “X-Factor.” When he plays well, the Bulls are the best team in the NBA. If he can give us ~18 ppg and be active on both ends of the floor, I like our chances.
Mark it down, Da Bulls in 7!!!
McKenna my friend, what say you?
McKenna: Well I know this will shock people but I like the C’s coming out of the East. They are flawed but this is their last run and I think the old guard will rise up one more time. Plus the Red Sox have gotten off to a rough start so that means the city of Boston is on edge and winning in their building will be tough. I also like the way the seedings fell and I think not having to see the Bulls till the Finals, if that happens, will help. They C’s can still defend and if Rondo stops pouting about losing hid best bud Perkins, he will be seeing him in the Finals for a reunion. That’s right, in the West I’m going with the OKC Thunder! I hate Kobe and karma has got to catch up with him eventually. Re-hashing why this guy is the biggest a-hole in professional sports is unnecessary but trust me he is long overdue for some comeuppance. The Thunder have two great scorers, one who shoots threes and is seven feet tall (Durant), the other (Westbrook) will be guarded by either Derek Fisher or Steve Blake so that is favorable. Ibaka and Perk can match up with Bynum and Gasol so the match ups are going to be good and the chance for a great series has me pumped. David Stern will be crushed he doesn’t get another Lakers vs. Celtics match up but it won’t matter because once the C’s raise the eighteenth banner to the rafters the title will return home and all will be ok in the world.
C’s in 6!!!
Danny: And Jeff?
Jeff: Excellent picks guys. I think we have a re-match of 1991 with Da Bulls vs the Lakeshow. Everything is in order. Young Derrick Rose like MJ, HUNGRY for his 1st title going up against a legend in Kobe (Like Magic) with 5 rings. Da Bulls win 4-1 sending Phil into retirement questtioning his Zen crap, as the team which made him famous ends his career. Rose wins MVP of the finals and Luol Deng (agree with Danny) plays the role of Pippen..an unsung hero. This championship opens the door to another dynasty which all Bulls fans deserve with their years of loyalty.
Danny: Great job guys! It will be interesting to see how it all unfolds. I just realized there was barely a word mentioned about the Heat! Have we lost our minds? Or are they just not there yet? Readers, what do you think? Leave your thoughts and predictions in the comments section below.
My Experience With Twice-A-Day Training
April 11, 2011 by danny · Leave a Comment
I can summarize my experience in two words… It. Sucked!
Alright, thanks for stopping by, be sure to check in next time as I go over…
Ok, ok, I’ll elaborate. There was more to it than just a bunch of suckiness.
First of all, the main reason that I went to two-a-days was because I figured this may be my last chance to do some time-consuming, crazy training plan for the next 18 years. Any day now my wife is going to be popping out twins. Whenever I tell people that I can’t wait, they tell me how excited they are for me and that being a parent is such a great experience that can’t be described in words. Next I tell them that I am sooo ready for this. Then they laugh at me. Hey, thanks a lot my people! Verrrry encouraging! 
Ha, I know what they mean – no matter how ready we think we are, we’re never truly ready… especially with 2 babies at once. Ok, back to the training.
How To Best Set-Up Twice-A-Day Training
Strength Coach Charles Poliquin has made the following recommendations:
-Increase your training volume gradually. He suggests starting with two 20 minute workouts. Longer training sessions would be counterproductive, as you will not be able to put as much energy into your workouts and could overtax your recovery ability.
-You need to take plenty of time between workouts to achieve an optimal training effect – he suggests about 4-6 hours between sessions. According to Charles, this time spread is critical. If you use a shorter one, you will be too fatigued; and in a longer one you will negate the nervous system activation effect of the morning workout (this is known as a super compensation effect).
-This next piece of advice is what I have read from Strength Coach Christian Thibaudeau (although I *think* Poliquin believes in the same set-up): make the morning session your high intensity session (high weights closer to your 1 rep-max) and the afternoon session higher reps and/or use high intensity techniques (i.e. drop sets, post-fatigue method, etc).
The Program
Day 1: Chest and Back - A.M. Heavy (basically I never went over 8 reps and the majority of my sets were 6 reps and under)
P.M. Higher Reps and High Intensity techniques. The majority of my sets were 10 reps and up and I used the “post-fatigue method” one time for each body part. Chest example: Band Push-ups X 10 reps immediately followed up with standing cable flyes X 12 reps. Back Example: Neutral grip (palms facing one another) pull-ups X AMRAP (as many reps as possible) immediately followed up with stiff-arm pushdowns X 12 reps.
Day 2: Legs – A.M. Heavy. All I did here was two exercises – back squats for 4 sets of 5-7 reps and glute-ham raises for 4 sets of 5-7 reps.
P.M. Higher reps but I didn’t use any high intensity techniques on leg day. This day was hard enough as is!!!
Day 3: Off
Day 4: Shoulders and Arms – A.M. Heavy
P.M. Higher reps and high intensity techniques. An example here is the superset I did where I went from doing rope pushdowns immediately into v-bar pushdowns. You can use more weight with the v-bar so I did that second, but used approximately the same weight as the weight I used with the rope. This concept is similar to a “mechanical drop set.”
Day 5: Off
Day 6: Repeat program starting with day 1 again (although, I gave myself the option of taking this day off as well and repeating day 1 on day 7, depending on how I was feeling).
My Thoughts
It definitely was not easy. Like Coach Poliquin noted, “Twice-A-Day training is not raindrops on roses and whiskers on kittens.” However, I did like the fact that the workouts were shorter. I’d say that each sessions took me about 20-25 minutes to complete, not counting warm-up (foam rolling, mobility work, etc) and cool down. My schedule is conducive to two brief sessions in one day separated by 4-6 hours as I usually have a couple breaks in my day between training clients. For most people with “regular” jobs however, this would be pretty tough to pull off.
The hardest thing for me was leg day. You know when you rack the bar on your last set of squats, right? What, you don’t know that feeling Mr. Hugearmsandchestbutlegsasskinnyasachicken? Well then, time for you to man-up and work your like every now and then. What was I saying? Oh yeah, that great feeling when you rack the bar and you know you don’t have to do another squat, deadlift, or lunge again for at least a few more day! That’s the best!!! Well, imagine racking the bar and thinking; “Damn, I have to come back and do this again in about 4 hours?!? ” Those were some loooong days!
Overall, I’m glad it is over but I am glad I tried it. Next, I’m onto a bunch of “random” workouts, which is rare for me. But I don’t want to get into too much planning, as the twins are about to take over my life! Wish me luck!
The Right Exercises For Your Basketball Strength Training
April 6, 2011 by danny · Leave a Comment
I had a new article published at iHoops today. Even though iHoops.com is a basketball website, the advice applies to any lifter out there. Check it out…
In the field of strength and conditioning, everyone wants to know what the best exercise is for X, Y, and Z.
I’ve had people ask me, “what is the best exercise to improve power?” I’ve had people ask me, “what is the best exercise for strong shoulders?” I’ve had people ask me, “what exercise is better, back squats or bulgarian split squats?” And the list goes on and on.
My answer is always the same–it depends. As much as I’d like to give these enthusiastic and inquisitive individuals a one-size-fits-all answer, I just can’t do it. There are too many factors to consider before I can even come close to giving them my opinion. For example, I’d need to know…
Real Butter, High Blood Pressure, and Help With Baby Names…
April 4, 2011 by danny · Leave a Comment
I have to give props to Brian St. Pierre, as he consistently puts out great information. Today I’m going to copy a couple links to the last two blogposts he has made on his site because I think many of you will be interested in the topics. Sometimes we trainers like to talk about topics such as ”exercisesto strengthen the serratus anterior.” While important, this can have you falling asleep at your computer. But when it comes to butter and high blood pressure, that’s where it’s at! I mean, who doesn’t like to add a little butter to their meal here and there? And who doesn’t either have, or know someone with high blood pressure?
The Truth About Real Butter Here, Brian discusses whether or not butter should be a part of your nutrition plan. (Hint: It really depends on the source). Besides butter, there is some other great info in this article. Definitely worth a read!
How To Decrease High Blood Pressure In America we love to medicate (i.e. over medicate). As usual, the best medicine is food. Don’t get me wrong, there is a time and place where meds are needed. But if we would just focus on whole, unprocessed foods, often times meds wouldn’t even enter the conversation. In this piece Brian discusses foods that will help bring that high blood pressure down (or keep it down if it is currently at a good level). After reading this post, I forwarded it onto some friends and family members that have high blood pressure. I suggest you forward it onto anyone that you know that has high blood pressure or that is looking to keep their blood pressure down. So I guess that means you need to forward this onto everyone in the world… just do it.
Finally, my wife is over 30 weeks pregnant with twins. Because we’re cool like that, we are not finding out the sex of the babies. We have 1 name for each sex that we like (Daxton and Capri). BUT, what if we end up having two of the same sex? I’ll tell you what, we’re screwed! As of now, we can’t agree on a second name for either sex. We’re looking for a second name that is unique AND super-duper-luper-muper awesome! Any suggestions? Please help!!!
How To Increase Athleticism
March 28, 2011 by danny · Leave a Comment
I just had an article published by my peeps at Sears titled, “How To Increase Athleticism.” How do you increase athleticism? Is improving your skill and increasing athleticism the same thing? I think not. To get my take on how to increase athleticism in more detail, read on my friend…
March Madness!
March 26, 2011 by danny · Leave a Comment
I recently wrote up a “March Madness” article for FitStudio. It’s all about the craziness that is March Madness and what it has meant to me over the years. Check it out HERE.
Enjoy this weekend’s games!
Major League Baseball Predictions – 2011
March 23, 2011 by danny · Leave a Comment
March Madness once again has been outstanding! We have a couple days of downtown before the craziness starts back up, so I figured now would be a good time to post this. My good buddy Jeff Rinaldi and I had been texting back and fourth about what to expect out of the Cubs this upcoming season. In our “conversation” he told me that he has been doing his MLB homework. I’ve been extra busy lately, but I decided we should at least get a “rapid fire” preview of this upcoming season. So let’s get to it!
Danny McLarty: Thanks for coming back for another Q & A Jeff! This time MLB 2011…
Jeff Rinaldi: Danny, anything for the “Legend!” I am leaving for spring training in Phoenix tomorrow. Can’t wait to see our Cubs.
DM: You know I have to do it – briefly let me know, do our Cubbies have any chance this year!?!
JR: I think the Cubbies will be competitive as long as they stay healthy. I don’t see them winning the Central though.
DM: Let’s start in the NL. Any surprise teams?
JR: I actually like the Fish as a team to look out for. The Marlins have good starting pitching with Johnson, Nolasco, Vasquez and Anibal Sanchez. Combine those young buck hitters and I smell playoffs. I think they take the Wild card. Phillies too tough in the NL east.
DM: Who is winning each division, and who do you have as this year’s wild card team?
JR: Phillies, Cardinals, Giants and Marlins in the NL.
DM: Your NL Cy Young pick?
JR: Roy “Doc” Halladay again. Mark it down
DM: And NL MVP?
JR: I think Matt Holliday shocks some people and wins it.
DM: Onto the AL. Surprise teams?
JR: I think the Angels are going to be very good this year. Weaver and Haren anchoring a good staff. They disappointed last year and they know it. They win the AL West.
DM: Cy Young?
JR: I think Jered Weaver edges out Jon Lester to win it.
DM: AL MVP?
JR: Carl Crawford in his new uniform
DM: AL division winners and your wild card pick?
JR: Red Sox, White Sox, Angels, and the Rangers with the Wild card. Sorry Yankees.
DM: Do you have a breakout player or two, in either/both leagues that become household names this year?
JR: How about Andrew McCutchen, Starlin Castro and Mike Stanton in the NL. AL, I think Gordon Beckham rebounds from the soph slump this year
DM: The San Francisco Giants shocked the world last year. Who do you have going to the ‘Series this year, and who takes home the trophy?
JR: Not going out on a limb on this one. Red Sox over Phillies. Both teams are too good on paper.
DM: Thanks again for another great contribution Jeff! Any closing thoughts?
JR: Loved giving my predictions D. Hopefully, they turnout better than my NFL picks. One final note, I really think Zambrano is going to pitch very well for the Cubs this year. He was dynamite in the 2nd half last season and I think he felt bad about his antics. For the critics on Big Z, remember if Soriano or some other Cubs had half the passion Big Z did we’d be a better ball club. Look for a big year from Z!
What do you all think? Do you agree with Jeff’s picks? Any players that will come up big this year and walk away with some of the hardware? Have another team that you think may take it all this year… besides the obvious – Cubs! Let us know what you think.
