ATHLETIC STRENGTH AND POWER

ASAP @ The Athletic Performance Center Prepping Players for the NFL Draft and Indianapolis Combine

ASAP~Athletic Strength And Power in Tampa, Florida has been prepping players for both the combine and the NFL draft. Human Performance Specialist, Scott Savor has been coaching players through the progressions. By using position specific fundamental drills, vertical and broad jump training, 10, 20 and 40yd linear sprints, bench press repetition training, and the Indianapolis NFL Combine-specific agility drills, the athletes are becoming best prepared for the tests at Indy.

Scott just returned from Tokyo, Japan where he and Jacksonville Jaguar Strength Coach Mark Asanovich met and trained with Japanese football players and Sports and Field owner Tatsuya Okawa

Here's are a few quotes about ASAP~Athletic Strength And Power and the workouts that some players experienced:

“…Really didn’t know what to expect, but after the first day…Loved it!  Everything was so positive and I learned not to be negative towards self or others.  They (The Athletic Performance Center) know how to push you to your max!”

Curtis Lofton

                            University of Oklahoma

“My experience here has been great, and I looked forward to every workout with the APC staff.  They have great energy and mentalities that create a very productive environment!”

Ty Hall

                            Boston College

 

“I thought the whole program made me better aware of how to workout, and allowed me to focus on my workouts, because of how well I was taken care of.  The intensity of the program made me perform at my best day in and day out.  Everyone I worked with came with a great attitude everyday!”

Clay Hamblen

                            Georgetown University

 

“My experience here has been one of lifetime, having the privilege to work with Scott, Ted, Joe and John has increased my confidence and my overall knowledge of the little things in this sport.  It’s an unbelievable atmosphere to learn and grow in!”

Todd Spitzer

                            University of Cincinnati

 

“The APC has allowed us for a great working atmosphere along with great people who train and push you to your limits!”

Digger Bujnoch

                            University of Cincinnati

 

“It has been a great experience for me, and I will be able to take a lot back home with me in terms of conditioning and lifting.  The APC is really a state of the art facility!”

Doug Jones

                            University of Cincinnati

 

“I had a great experience!  Scott and Joe really pushed me to my maximum potential and gave me the tools to continue working even more!”

Pete Clifford

                            Michigan State University

 

“Training was extremely positive, which in turn only gets the best out of you!”

Chris Norwell

                            University of Illinois

 

“I’m glad I came down here. It feels like I got a lot bigger and stronger…but most importantly I learned a better attitude towards things.”

Chris McKillop

                            University of Pittsburg

 

“It’s been great! I’ve worked harder than usual, because of the staff!”

Rob Zarrilli

                            Hofstra University

ASAP Podcast with Michigan State Olympic Sports Strength Coach Tim Wakeham

MSU's Olympic Sports Strength Coach, Tim Wakeham, gave an extensive facilities tour at the Jenison Fieldhouse to ASAP Director Ted Lambrinides and the two discussed program design, strength facility scheduling and also recent  training device  implementation. Later, Coach Wakeham  was able to take a timeout from the MSU Strength & Conditioning Clinic and share a few minutes with ASAP Podcaster Ed Cicale for today's podcast. Just click  on the ASAP Podcast logo below for today's  interview.

Also, be sure to check out the ASAP Photo Album for more pictures from Michigan State!

All Rights Reserved  Copyright 2008 www.athleticstrengthandpower.com blogpost and podcast by Ed Cicale

ASAP Podcast with Michigan State Basketball Strength Coach Mike Vorkapich

Today's ASAP~Athletic Strength And Power Podcast is with the Michigan State Basketball strength and conditioning coach: Mike Vorkapich. He's a former Spartan himself, as he played football for MSU back in the 90's.... so he knows what it takes to get athletes ready for competition... especially in the Big Ten! Furthermore, he's got a great coaching pedigree and trained a Spartan squad that's won a National Championship, too. We caught up with the busy coach, who directed the 2008 Michigan State Strength & Conditioning Clinic a few weeks ago for this interview. Click on the ASAP~Vorkapich Logo for today's podcast.....

         All Rights Reserved  Copyright 2008 www.athleticstrengthandpower.com blogpost and podcast by Ed Cicale

ASAP:Football Players Developing Quickness & Burst for NFL Combine, College Pro Days

It's a busy time of the year for ASAP Director Ted Lambrinides. A multitude of college football players are prepping for Pro Days held on college campuses and of course, the NFL Combine which is held at the RCA Dome in Indianapolis, Indiana. Since Ted has been to several of the combines at Indy, he knows what the pro scouts and coaches are looking for and how to help his athletes best prepare. His long time association with professional NFL strength coaches gives ASAP~Athletic Strength And Power~ an obvious edge in athlete preparation. In fact, ten NFL strength coaches serve on the ASAP Advisory Board. In fact, just this afternoon, Jacksonville Jaguar strength coach Mark Asanovich stopped into The Workout @ Covington and discussed equipment and program design.
Two weeks ago, Ted was on the outskirts of Detroit, Michigan as he visited the new Allen Park facility, home of the Detroit Lions and assistant coach Kevin Tolbert. Coach Tolbert gave a full tour of the Allen Park expanse as the two were able to discuss the training of pro football players. Furthermore, Ted was able to test out some of the new strength training equipment employed by the Lions. Check out the ASAP Photo Album (found in the left hand column) for some pictures from the tour. Here's a couple of pics to get you started:

ASAP Podcast with Aaron Hillmann; Strength Coach, Bowling Green State University

Aaron Hillmann explains to Princeton High School (Cincinnati, Ohio) Strength Coach Mike Shibinski and ASAP Director Ted Lambrinides how the "Falcon Body Shop" program is set up

"The Sting of Battle is always going to keep us motivated"...Aaron Hillmann

The Bowling Green State University strength training program is certainly flying high under the direction of Aaron Hillmann.  Coach Hillman, proudly directed the tour throughout the new Sebo Athletic Center and beamed when showing off the new 9,300 square foot strength training complex. The new weight room, a far cry from the old handball courts they used before, contains every type of modern day training apparatus necessary to build superior athletes.... and a couple of vintage machines that are still as good as the day they were made.

And an indoor, turfed area that allows the Falcons to perform dynamic warm-up, speed work, agility work, and also bodyweight exercise training.

Today's podcast is an interview with Coach Aaron Hilmann. Click on the ASAP Logo for the podcast. For more inside photos of the new strength training facility, click on the ASAP Photo Album found in the left hand column.

All Rights Reserved  Copyright 2008 www.athleticstrengthandpower.com blogpost and podcast by Ed Cicale

Podcast Music: "Frail Grasp of the Big Picture" Eagles; Long Road Out of Eden 2008 CD

 

Part 3/3: Ted Lambrinides and Kim Wood Play HardBall in a Discussion about Steroids and Human Growth Hormone

With baseball's Roger Clemens and his personal trainer Brian McNamee dominating much of the current sports pages, ASAP~Athletic Strength And Power, takes it's stand against drug use. The podcast, recorded in Kim Wood's unique home gym, explains the hard facts about steroids and human growth hormone (HGH) by two leading authorities. Ted Lambrinides serves on the NCAA's speakers bureau and has spoken to hundreds of coaches and college athletes, as well as high school coaches and players, too about the perils of steroid use.

While some coaches "looked the other way",  Kim Wood did the opposite. He took a stand. He knew and understood the dangers of the drugs..... often citing that players who delved into steroids were also admitting that they "didn't have what it takes to be a man". Kim retired a few years ago after a 28 year career as an NFL head strength coach for the Cincinnati Bengals.

Click on the number below to listen to the podcast. There are three segments to the interview with the other two posted on previous dates. However, you can attain all three here. Listen to ASAP's podcast hosted by Ed Cicale:

    

(For the 60 Minutes interview with Roger Clemens, click on the photo of Clemons above)

All Rights Reserved   Copyright 2008 www.athleticstrengthandpower.com blogpost and podcast by Ed Cicale

Podcast Music: "Frail Grasp of the Big Picture" Eagles; Long Road Out of Eden 2008 CD

Functional Hand Strength...... a Podcast with John Wood

Sometimes it's all but forgotten. Hand Strength. Think about how important it is to just about every sport and many endeavors. John Wood hasn't forgotten about it. It's his business. The former University of Michigan football player and son of long time Cincinnati Bengal Strength Coach has been around weight rooms and physical training since the day he was born.
Today's podcast is one that was recorded in East Lansing, Michigan when he sat down with ASAP's Ed Cicale for a conversation on building hand and grip strength. Click on the podcast below and also on John Wood's www.FunctionalHandStrength.com blog logo on the right. Click on the the picture of John (who snatched that 140 pound dumbell) to go to his website

John_Wood_Podcast

All Rights Reserved Copyright 2008 www.athleticstrengthandpower.com

Podcast Music: "Frail Grasp of the Big Picture" Eagles; Long Road Out of Eden 2008 CD

ASAP Podcast with Michigan State Football Coach Mark Dantonio

Michigan State's Head Football Coach, Mark Dantonio, delivered an opening statement at the Michigan State Strength & Conditioning clinic and then joined ASAP's Ed Cicale for a podcast about physical training and how it fits into the total scheme for this Big Ten Football program..... and on the art of coaching. Dantonio also spoke about some of the things that MSU hopes to get out of the comprehensive strength program directed by Ken Mannie and the strength staff.

Coach Dantonio was a graduate assistant football coach at Ohio State in 1984, the same time that ASAP Director, Ted Lambrinides was the Assistant Strength Coach for the Buckeyes. Dantonio came back to be the defensive coordinator when Jim Tressel took over the OSU program eventually coaching for the 2002 National Championship Ohio State squad. He then took over as Head Coach at The University of Cincinnati before heading to East Lansing and Michigan State.

"The Mental Aspects...some of the intangibles"

• Teaching Player Responsibility
• Leadership
• Attention to Detail
• Work Ethic
• Attitude

The Physical Aspect

• Get Stronger!
• Improvement of the Physical

Goals of Winter Conditioning

• "We'll make it very tough on our players"
• Take 'em to the Edge
• Create adverse situations
• The importance of bonding through hard work
• Prepare the players, physically, for spring practice

Advice for young aspiring coaches to become a great assistant coach

• Timing
• continue to learn
• assess what goes wrong....and what goes right
• become a better teacher...coaching is teaching and sharing knowledge
• Players don't care as much about what you know... They have to know that you care

and advice on becoming a head coach............

• you have to take care of the small things.....
• and, the big things, too
• you never really 'leave' your job
• you're constantly thinking about 'what's the next phase of the program?'
• and, you have to step back a little from your position coaching
• you have to win...so, there's some anxiety and pressure involved

On what's looked for when recruiting players to Michigan State University

• Size
• Speed
• Football Ability
• Academic aspects
• Social

Coach Dantonio's Biggest Influences

• His father
• His high school football coach, Ron Apperson at Zanesville High School
• Ohio State's Head Football Coach, Jim Tressel

Here's the podcast with Coach Mark Dantonio: (please excuse technical sound difficulties)

Podcast_with_Coach_Dantonio

All Rights Reserved   Copyright 2008 www.athleticstrengthandpower.com Podcast and blogpost by Ed Cicale

Northern Kentucky's "Brazilian Strikers" Girls Soccer Team at ASAP

A Northern Kentucky Girls Soccer program has been working to gain an edge through an intense training program. Coach Attef Mikhail has enrolled his team, the Brazilian Strikers, into an all-inclusive training program at The Workout@Covington, just a long strike from downtown Cincinnati. The workouts include intense Acceleration Training on the treadmills, Speed and Agility Training geared toward soccer specific movement patterns, Core Development, and Strength Training. Explosive Training is also being employed through the use of the SHUTTLE MVP, a cutting edge training device that involves firing the explosive, fast twitch muscle fibers.

Female athletes tend to use their quadricep muscle strength more than their male counterparts, who involve much more hamstring firing in their lower body, athletic movements. This can lead to ACL tears and stress fractures due to musclular strength imbalances. Hamstring muscles should be 60-70%  as strong as the quadriceps. Therefore, the ASAP~Athletic Strength And Power program is designed to enhance strength gains in that all-important knee joint. Front lunges, side lunges, squats, the Shuttle MVP and a variety of single joint movements using the Hammer Strength machines make sure that these girls are strengthening the musculature involved. Furthermore, the girls are pushed through a speed/agility station and then sprint training using an interval training concept.

For more pictures of the Brazilian Strikers Soccer team in training, check out the ASAP Photo Album (in the column on the left).

All Rights Reserved  Copyright 2008 www.athleticstrengthandpower.com

 

Part Two of Three: ASAP Podcast with Ted Lambrinides and Kim Wood on The Mitchell Report

Here's Part two of the Podcast with ASAP Director Ted Lambrinides and Kim Wood. In Part Two, Ted explains about the research on Human Growth Hormone and ponders why anyone would have a personal trainer inject them with vitamin B-12. Meanwhile long time Cincinnati Bengals strength coach (retired) Kim Wood speaks out on the issue of performance enhancing drugs and how they are involved in the game today.

As the Mitchell Report and many of baseball's stars capture much of recent sports pages, ASAP~Athletic Strength And Power is there to provide a candid and upfront look at the real issues and the facts regarding human growth hormone, steroids and  ethics in sports.

Click here to  listen to Part Two. (We experienced some technical sound difficulties during the recording)

Download drugs_n_sports_2.mp3

All Rights Reserved   Copyright 2008 www.athleticstrengthandpower.com  podcast by Ed Cicale

Podcast Music: The Eagles; "Frail Grasp of the Big Picture"  Long Road Out of Eden 2007