Today, we want to offer a congratulations to Coach Blake Gould!  He participated in the Under Armour Combine Training in Bradenton, FL, back in February and came back with a contagious renewed passion and enthusiasm!

He wrote a great blog post called “Taking your clients to the next level” that appeared on the Combine 360 page!  Take a look and leave a comment to tell Blake how awesome he is!

Blake has been a long-time supporter of Hyper Wear.  He loves to make his clients sweat using the SandBells and has come up with some awesome routines using them.  His Under Armour training has enhanced his overall coaching and continues to help him develop as a great trainer!  Way to go, Coach Blake!

This week I’m sending off one of my most long serving athletes to his first year of college, Jack Wallace, and we’re doing it in Hyper-style!!

Jack attended St. Andrew’s Episcopal School here in Austin and is about to begin his collegiate track and field career at the University of the Redlands in California this month.

He is a hard-working, dedicated 400m sprinter that is ready to take his abilities to the collegiate ranks, and I’ve been helping him prepare for that goal since late 2009.

I caught his final workout with me on camera and decided to share it with you! He’s working with a Hyper Vest PRO, 25 lb SandBell, TRX, and other great toys we have here at CATZ!

Good luck Jack!

[youtube]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FPeJbaE9RJY[/youtube]

Never Stand Still!

Bill Meyer, SCE, USAW
Head Hyper Wear Coach
Performance Director, CATZ-Austin

MMM #71

We recently came across a local news story that features an amazing CATZ client, Zane Choat. There’s a great video showing him working out with various pieces of equipment, including the SandBell in a couple of shots. Check it out:

Have a hyper day!!

Men’s Health Magazine has featured Hyper Wear in the past, but this is our Sandbell’s first feature.  If you haven’t ran to pick up the latest issue, here’s what they had to say about the Sandbells:

Sling some sand around
This new dumbbell substitute builds your forearms

You may be used to lifting heavy, solid objects, but there’s value in going soft. SandBells, stretchy neoprene disks filled with sand, can be used like dumbbells, kettlebells, or medicine balls. “The shifting sand forces you to work your grip, which triggers more muscle activation in your wrists and forearms, “says Jim Liston, C.S.C.S., owner of Competitive Athlete Training Zone in Pasadena, California. They’re also easier on your joints. Sizes range from 2 pounds to 50 pounds. hyperwear.com

If you are already using the sandbells, we’d love to hear how you’re using them.  Leave us a comment, and give us the scoop.

Today we’re taking to the beautiful outdoors of Austin, TX! We’re talking SandBells and TRX Suspension Training for the next several weeks and you are in for a good time, I promise you that!

If you are familiar with the TRX straps we’re talking about, you might be thinking “How can Bill combine one hands-dominant exercise with another?” Well, start with some good creative thinking, add in some quality pieces of training equipment with no limits to where we can exercise, and you’ve got yourself a training program! Enjoy this opening video on front squatting with the TRX and SandBells!

Key Points – Squatting in the split stance position is great for single leg strengthening and taking your overall leg strength and stability to a greater level instead of always doing a traditional base-stance squat.

Enjoy!

Never Stand Still!

Bill Meyer, SCE, USAW
Head Hyper Wear Coach
Performance Director, CATZ-Austin

MMM #44

We’ve reached the final week with CATZ Founder, Jim Liston, putting CATZ Austin Coach, Blake Gould, through the paces of the foundational movements of strength training. With the final progressions being introduced, Jim throws out some heavy hitters to finish the workout in Orlando, FL.

Look out for the SandBell Toss and Chase, Lateral Lunges, Plank Madness, and some great Single Leg Stabilization Exercises. Can Blake keep up with the best that CATZ and Hyper Wear have to offer? You’re about to find out…

Never Stand Still!

Bill Meyer, SCE, USAW
Head Hyper Wear Coach
Performance Director, CATZ-Austin

MMM #43

Ok MMM’ers, there’s only 2 more weeks left for you to get your fill of CATZ Founder, Jim Liston, bringing the heat down in Orlando, FL with CATZ Austin Coach Blake Gould trying to keep up!

I think this is the specific video that Blake was telling me about when he got back home from Florida, saying “Man, I thought I was in shape, and then I started training with Jim!!” Take a look at the video for more of the 5 major movements of strength development!!

Never Stand Still!

Bill Meyer, SCE, USAW
Head Hyper Wear Coach
Performance Director, CATZ-Austin

MMM #42

Round Three! We’re back in Florida with Jim and Blake for another look at the Hyper Vest and SandBells in action.

Competitive Athlete Training Zone Founder, Jim Liston, takes CATZ Austin Coach, Blake Gould, through another series in the foundations of training here at CATZ. As always, look for the basics: a push, pull, squat, split squat, and single leg exercise.

Have you been keeping up? Are you able to do the workouts with Jim and Blake? Post a comment on the video on YouTube and let us know what you think!

Never Stand Still!

Bill Meyer, SCE, USAW
Head Hyper Wear Coach
Performance Director, CATZ-Austin

MMM #41

Round Two!! Get ready for some more Jim and Blake in Florida!

Competitive Athlete Training Zone Founder, Jim Liston, takes CATZ Austin Coach Blake Gould through another series in the foundations of training here at CATZ. To ensure a great training session, you always want to include a push, pull, squat, split squat, and single leg exercise. Once again, Jim comes up with a creative way to use SandBells in this simple, but challenging workout.

This week I challenge you to follow along at home, so grab your SandBell and get started!!!!

Bill Meyer, SCE, USAW
Head Hyper Wear Coach
Performance Director, CATZ-Austin

MMM #40

So, CATZ President and Founder, Jim Liston, is known for devising workouts that can kick your butt. Last week we saw the warm, but the warm up is officially OVER!!

This week Jim shows Coach Blake a few pointers on training all planes of the body at once, while challenging balance. He moves from basic square stance exercises to split and eventually single leg only. Let’s see how Blake handles the workout this week!

Never Stand Still!!

Bill Meyer, SCE, USAW
Head Hyper Wear Coach
Performance Director, CATZ-Austin

MMM #39B

What a special guest we have to start a new series of MMM this year! Jim Liston, founder of the Competitive Athlete Training Zone, has joined us out at the American Football Coaches Association Conference, in Orlando, Florida. Along with Jim is our own CATZ Austin Coach, Blake Gould.

This week they are showing us a little warm up series with the SandBell. This warm up is ideal before any type of exercise, whether it be weight training, plyometrics, or even running. One of Jim’s philosophies of training is to always cover 5 keys of training: exercises that cover square stance, split stance, single leg stance, a push, and a pull. Cover these and you’re in for a great workout no matter who you are!

Enjoy!!!

Never Stand Still!

Bill Meyer, SCE, USAW
Head Hyper Wear Coach
Performance Director, CATZ-Austin

MMM #38A

The final week of our Female Athlete Series with Diane Vives is here, and we thought we’d end with one of the, if not the, most popular sports for young females to play: volleyball.

This week, Diane brings us a few basic exercises on how to improve an athlete’s passing technique through a lateral lunge exercise designed to stress the muscles but not the joints and ligaments. As always, if your focus is injury prevention through the exercises we’ve brought to you the past 4 weeks, make sure the correct technique and speed is used during the exercise. If not done correctly, the issues a female athlete may have in the hip, knee, or ankle may simply be compounded instead of treated through these exercises.

Never Stand Still!

Bill Meyer, SCE, USAW
Head Hyper Wear Coach
Performance Director, CATZ-Austin

MMM #36

Next up in our series related to the female athlete, we are tackling shoulder stability.

Gone are the days of military press and open-chain shoulder raises as the way to create a strong shoulder.

Although there are lots of injuries that take place in sports due to non-contact, open-chain activities (such as repetitive spiking of a volleyball and meter after meter of a certain swimming strokes), several injuries occur from contact with another athlete or the ground. Therefore, performing closed-chain shoulder stability exercises creates a well-rounded shoulder that is used to taking force at all angles and is more efficient at staying in its girdle during activity. Weight machines with a fixed range of motion don’t do the trick, as movement in sport requires a strong, stable shoulder in all planes of motion and at extreme angles.

Try giving these exercises a shot and take the time to feel the difference of an open-chain exercise versus a closed-chain. Enjoy!

Never Stand Still!

Bill Meyer, SCE, USAW
Head Hyper Wear Coach
Performance Director, CATZ-Austin

MMM #35

This week we will continue the topic of training female athletes and how we can create a safer, stronger, and more stable athlete for any sport activity.

For many reasons, female athletes incur more lower body, non-contact injuries than their male counterparts do. One of the more technical reasons is that the Q angle is much larger in females than in males. (The Q angle is the angle formed by a line drawn from the ASIS to central patella and a second line drawn from central patella to tibial tubercle.) This increased angle creates more valgus-driven force on the female athlete’s knee. Valgus pressure at high speed or extreme force can cause debilitating injuries in the knee such as the dreaded ACL tear.

In this week’s video, Diane Vives and I show you a simple and fun exercise to assist female athletes in strengthening their lower body to avoid unnecessary valgus forces in a non-contact situation. This exercise can be done each training session or even daily to help produce muscle memory for the athlete, creating a more stable knee. Enjoy!

Never Stand Still!

Bill Meyer, SCE, USAW
Head Hyper Wear Coach
Performance Director, CATZ-Austin

MMM #34

Today we have a special treat for you as Diane Vives, fitness guru here in Austin, TX, joins me on the Hyper Stage. She’s going to help me kick off the next topic in the MMM series.

Diane and I recently got together to talk training and discovered that we both train a large number of female athletes from all sports. We decided to do a series of videos specifically geared to the female athlete and the non-contact injuries that they incur.

You don’t have to go far to find a female athlete in your circle that has had a serious non-contact injury happen to them in a sporting activity. Some say that lower-extremity injuries for female athletes is more of an epidemic than a simple problem. So over the next few weeks, we’re going to show you a number of simple exercises that will help decrease the chance of running into one of those pesky injuries in sports.

This week we’ll start off with a short interview with Diane and then introduce a grip exercise with the SandBellsâ„¢ that everyone can enjoy!

Never Stand Still!

Bill Meyer, SCE, USAW
Head Hyper Wear Coach
Performance Director, CATZ-Austin

MMM #33

Today Coach Blake and I are tackling a new drill with SandBellsor some on-field training for the big fellas. That’s right, this ones for you guys on the O-Line.

Run blocking is key and today Blake has come up with a drill to help the big men on the line increase their acceleration off the line and to help finish the tackle. Watch as Blake runs me over with a 30-lb SandBell in this explosive drill that you can do in the weight room or on the field!!

And don’t forget about Monday Night Football tonight as the Ravens take on the Browns down in the Dog Pound!!

Never Stand Still!

Bill Meyer, SCE, USAW
Head Hyper Wear Coach
Performance Director, CATZ-Austin

MMM #32

Part 3 in the Squat Series is looking at coming off the line of scrimmage as fast as possible. The Viking Toss (or Caper Toss) is a fantastic way to create explosiveness through the hips and ensure that your athletes are fully engaging their glutes in their squat pattern. Bottom line is that the Viking Toss is a fun and competitive exercise that can help bring out the best in your players.

Check out the video link to see Coach Blake execute the Viking Toss with SandBellsâ„¢ weighing from 20 – 40 lbs. As always, we’re both wearing a Hyper Vest® for added weight and resistance to get even more out of our workouts.

Enjoy!!

Make sure to tune in to the Steelers take on the mile high Broncos tonight on Monday Night Football!!

Never Stand Still!

Bill Meyer, SCE, USAW
Head Hyper Wear Coach
Performance Director, CATZ-Austin

MMM #31

Part 2 in the Squat Series…..Time to introduce some power. Last week we worked on creating strength with heavier loads and slower tempo. Now it’s time to be quick, explosive, and train at game speed.

Here’s a variation of a squat-to-push-press that you can do with any size group of athletes using a medium-sized SandBellâ„¢. Make sure you still focus on triple extension of the ankles, knees, and hips as you let the SandBell fly!! And also remember that creating a strong base in the core and legs is always necessary before going into a power series, no matter who the athlete is.

Enjoy!!

Tonight the Falcons are invading Bourbon Street as the Dirty Birds take on Reggie Bush and the high flying Saints! Be sure to tune in!!

Never Stand Still!

Bill Meyer, SCE, USAW
Head Hyper Wear Coach
Performance Director, CATZ-Austin

MMM #30

Ok, let’s get down to it. What’s the number one exercise in the weight room you think of when you’re training football players? The Squat. What a fantastic exercise for overall strength and stabilization. Having a strong squat is one of the major exercises to enhance an athlete’s ability to produce force, hold their ground, and be explosive.

In honor of the squat, we’ve decided to do a three-part series on a few variations of the traditional squat using a heavy SandBellâ„¢. Enjoy the simple variations of the exercise, but always remember to think about proper form with each repetition! A heavy squat is nothing to take lightly…!

Be sure to watch the Eagles march into the Capitol to take on the Redskins tonight on Monday Night Football!

Never Stand Still!

Bill Meyer, SCE, USAW
Head Hyper Wear Coach
Performance Director, CATZ-Austin

MMM #29

Everyone knows that it’s not just the wide receivers and running backs that catch the ball on the gridiron; all 22 players on the field need to have good hands. Coach Blake and I got together and took a traditional practice field drill and changed the ball to a light SandBell.

The advantages of using a SandBell in this drill are to incorporate grip strength and shoulder stabilization as well as working on mental focus. Each SandBell I throw at Blake are a different color and therefore a different weight. Imagine the possibilities of the mental progressions that are can be reached with a creative coach.

Enjoy the drill, and make sure you catch the Broncos charging into San Diego to take on the Bolts on Monday Night Football!!

Never Stand Still!

Bill Meyer, SCE, USAW
Head Hyper Wear Coach
Performance Director, CATZ-Austin

MMM #28