A few weeks ago, Diane and the Hyper Wear team traveled out to Las Vegas for the 2011 NSCA conference. At the conference, Diane gave an educational presentation, “Training the Female Athlete,” which was accompanied by videos, pictures and of course, invaluable information. Seeing that Hyper Wear is not only committed to providing innovative and functional performance training products, but also to educating our audiences on functional training, fitness and injury-prevention exercises, we’d like to share Diane’s presentation videos and insight with our Hyper Wear followers!

Diane’s collection of videos is a great resource for a myriad of exercises and fitness topics—exercises to strengthen and stabilize muscles to prevent injury, core and rotary stability, dynamic balance, vector training, coaching cues, building upper body strength and preparing for higher workloads, to name a few.

Click to view Diane’s presentation videos.

If anything can be said about Diane, in my opinion, it’s that she is the voice of functional training. Her circuits and exercises are safe and effective. The videos provide great demonstrations, along with audio tutorial of how to safely implement each exercise step-by-step. After watching, you’ll not only have a list of exercises to try out next time you hit the gym, but more importantly, you will be left with an understanding of WHY each move is going to strengthen your muscles, build mass, improve performance and prevent the forsaken “I” word…injury.

Click the link above, view the videos and LEARN SOMETHING! Implement these exercises into your workout routine, you’ll see results and stay strong and healthy. And what could be better than that?!

This week I’m taking a different approach to the traditional push-up. I can’t think of another exercise that our young children despise more than the push-up, and why wouldn’t they? They’re in such a new developmental stage where their bodies are growing, their head is usually bigger proportionately than the rest of their body, and there we are, the teacher making them get on the ground and crank out push-ups over and over again with each passing day.

Why not create a game out of it? Try the Plank Position Dot Toss game in this video, and bonus points go out to everyone out there that has SandBells to use instead of dots! This game doesn’t have to be the end-all-be-all…create ways to integrate the students or athletes to work together, encourage each other, and work out their minds all at the same time!

[youtube]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zq0aqMDqv9A[/youtube]

Never Stand Still!

Bill Meyer, SCE, USAW
Head Hyper Wear Coach

After reading this article I feel sorry for Jillian Michaels…  She needs some SandBells and a Hyper Vest PRO!  They make working out FUN!  Anybody have her address?  I’d love to send her some!

We are always so humbled when we get promoted in a magazine.  We have never purchased advertising in a publication, but have been blessed with several excellent promotions of our products.  This week, we are thankful for our latest mention, found in the Mar/Apr 2011 Muscle and Fitness Hers – the magazine “for women who want more out of fitness.”

Here are pics of the cover, page 25 where the mention can be found and the mention up close:

The safety of the Sandbell lies in it’s combination of the neoprene outer layer and the play sand on the inside, providing for maximum safety when throwing and catching at high levels of intensity.

Advancements of this exercise include splitting your stance or even standing on one leg.

Never Stand Still!

[youtube]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wcEnq08erYk&feature=channel_video_title[/youtube]
Bill Meyer, SCE, USAW
Head Hyper Wear Coach

MMM98

On our recent trip to the LA, California area (Whittier to be exact) we had the pleasure of meeting Michael Y. Seril. 

Michael Seril is a nationally recognized and respected figure in the world of fitness and exercise. In June 2006 Michael was recognized by the National Strength and Conditioning Association (NSCA) as the 2006 Personal Trainer of the Year.  In 2007 Michael received the Community Leadership Award from the President’s Council on Physical Fitness & Sports.

Michael Seril has been named the recipient of a 2010 Jefferson Award for Public Service.  Michael was awarded this prestigious honor for his public service in building the Excellence Through Exercise Foundation into a well-known force for the improvement of the lives of children.

Michael has put together a SandBell Smorgasbord for you to enjoy with his various clients.  Check out his website (and more videos with SandBell Exercises) at: http://www.michaelserilfitness.com/

Enjoy!

[youtube]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=25fbWGjNR-4[/youtube]

Never Stand Still!

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

MMM #66

Sparrow and I are back on the beach for yet another SandBell/Cool Vest combo! We actually came up with this one back in Austin during a burnout set at our neighborhood pool.  We hope you enjoy it as much as we do! Speaking of neighborhood pools, anyone else out there get looked at funny when you bring in a towel, stopwatch, 50lbs worth of SandBells, and some resistance bands to the pool? Don’t people get it? Some of us just love to train in all environments!

I do two pool conditioning workouts per week so if you’re in need of some ideas for training in the pool, send me a line and I’d be glad to help!

Never Stand Still!

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

MMM #65

We found a fun circuit video from a great friend and amazing trainer, Dos Remedios, who loves Hyper Wear products. Robert dos Remedios is the 2006 NSCA Collegiate Strength Coach of the Year. He is the Head Strength and Conditioning Coach at College of the Canyons in Santa Clarita, CA, and a sought after speaker and writer on conditioning.

He is also great friends with Alwyn & Rachel Cosgrove, who own and operate Results Fitness Gym. Both have written multiple books and are highly sought after trainers and speakers.

Well, Dos and Rachel teamed up to film Rachel doing an intense workout out at Hermosa Beach, CA! Rachel works out with multiple pieces of equipment, but the best is her training with the SandBells, performing a full body exercise called the Viking Toss.

Watch out though, Rachel is a true Man Eater in this video!

Enjoy!

[youtube]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_dHw2dz3Utw[/youtube]

Never Stand Still!

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

MMM #64

Here’s a simple little core series you can do with any size SandBell.  We chose to haul a couple of 8 pounders down to the water’s edge at South Padre Island, TX.

The exercise is a compound set of trunk rotations that start with regular twists and lead into a ballistic exercise. We’re wearing our Hyper Vest COOL to make the summer time heat a little more bearable and it sure does make a difference!  Sparrow and I wouldn’t be caught without ours for our time on the hot, sunny beach this trip!

[youtube]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fCHX6DPY-tc[/youtube]

Never Stand Still!

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

MMM #63

Last week Sparrow and I performed an original SandBell series named after its inventor (and the inventor of the SandBell), Cosmo Raines.  It was called the “Cosmic Slurpee”!

Well, while looking on YouTube, we found a Hyper Customer who was showing off a SandBell Slurpee (Slam + Burpee)!!!  We were so excited to see other fitness professionals getting into the fun that we decided to let you see her rendition of the Slurpee.  If you are in the Lacey, Washington area, you need to go to the Fit Pit, meet Susan Moore, and JOIN THE RESISTANCE™!

Enjoy the Video!

[youtube]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0Nu5CHBogBw[/youtube]

Never Stand Still!

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

MMM #62

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