Truly succeed with your 2020 new year’s resolution

The 3 pieces of habit you didn’t realize are Essential for Health and fitness Success in 2020:

The 3 pieces of habit formation that you must keep in mind while creating your New Year’s resolutions. I hear many share the popular “No great workout out runs a poor diet”. Catchy and there is truth to that saying, however, no diet or workout outruns poor habits, the biggest piece of health and fitness success. The question is, how do our daily habits affect us and how easy is it to change them? Habits are the body’s automations that we’ve created through reinforcement. Not realizing, there are specific activities that you do or that you no longer do, daily, that have deconditioned and sculpted (from a physical, movement, and mental way) you into the person you are today.  The following are three important processes to make sure any goal that is set, is achieved!

Habit Formation 1: The 4 stages of competence-

The 4 stages of competence either boost our abilities to dominance or our demise. There are various levels and intensities that these stages fit. We’ll be focusing on the smaller ones that we may not realize affect us on a high level. If a task we often do can be automated it allows us to focus on other tasks that take thought. For example, if you’ve woken up went to brush your teeth and at the same time, in your head, went through the main points of your extremely important presentation at school or work. A few hours later, you may not even be sure if you brushed your teeth because of the focus on the presentation. The task of brushing teeth is, for most, an automated process. The 4 stages of competence is the process the body uses for task automation. The 4 stages are defined below:

• Stage 1 Unconscious – Incompetent:  The individual doesn’t understand how to do the task and isn’t actually aware that the task is even needed. Example: If There was a time, where coffee wasn’t a part of the morning routine. Whether, the first cup was an instant favorite (for most it isn’t, still not this writer’s drink of choice ) or it was indulged due to necessity, that would be considered stage 1.
• Stage 2 Conscious – Incompetent: Now with the awareness of the task, the individual decides to add it in to the schedule and learn to use it.  Example- Tasted coffee, enjoyed it’s energy boost, now decided to understand how much or little is needed to drink, what can be added to it, the flavors of coffee and any other tricks of the trade.
• Stage 3 Conscious – Competent: Aware of the task and now somewhat skilled but still has need to think through steps.  Example: The flavors of coffee, the amount, how much sugar or cream should be added are now known but still take some thought. If arguing on the phone while making your coffee, you’ll probably mess it up because it still takes focus.
• Stage 4 Unconscious – Competent: It has become “second nature” Can now be performed at the same time as another task. Example: Walking into a coffee shop on the phone arguing about something important and not even thinking about how much or what to add to your coffee. It needs no thought.

The 4 stages of competence is an important process the human mind goes through. Becoming aware and able to complete a task without thought. It is an extraordinary ability and it has its many positives, however it has some drawbacks as well. The ability to make certain task automated allows for more processing power to focus on the tasks that aren’t as proficient. Stage 4 becomes automatic. Unlike a computer, when a person makes something a regular process good or bad it becomes a part of them. The only way to over ride the now natural task is to create a stronger process and avoid the one learned.

Habit Formation 2: The Habit Loop

   example with stress eating

The brilliance of the human body,  Fight or flight! The body must survive, with all the remarkable capabilities a human being has the ability to automate processes to conserve energy. One of the processes is called the habit loop. The habit loop is present during the 4 stages of competence. The habit loop reinforces the act and makes it automatic. Based on 3 parts: The cue, the routine and the reward.

The cue is what sets off the habit. It’s the trigger to begin the regular routine. Been strong on a diet for a month, you sit down with a friend and as any great host put a batch of home made cookies in front of you. You say “No thank you, I just ate”, like the good dieter you are. As the conversation continues to pick up without realizing the person offered the cookie to you in the middle of a story you’re telling them, you grab the cookie and without thinking about it you eat it.

The routine- the diet may be on the forefront of your mind but subconsciously eating the cookie allows for the reward. Once your mind is focusing on the stories and discussions you realize you are chewing a cookie!

The reward- For each person and situation it may be different, whether it’s being a part of the experience of eating and talking with friends or the taste. The reward may be a negative affect once the loop has been complete, but once the cue triggers, there needs to be a stronger reward that can override the current routine. Translation- If coffee with extra cream and sugar is the desired drink in the morning changing it to black coffee may not be the long term answer. It would be better to identify a drink that gives similar reward, taste, timing, experience etc. instead. The goal is to create a habit loop stronger or won’t make you feel like your missing out too much.

Habit Formation 3: The Healthy Life Style Puzzle:

Looking back, when you were in the best shape of your life. What was a prominent theme in your life, regular activities, what were the people surrounding you into? Most likely, sports, active hobbies, active lifestyle, active friends, support, more time/less obligations  etc. The people we surround our lives with and the things we do, sculpt us into the people we are today. Most groups of friends, family, teams act and look similar. The person that doesn’t have similar qualities usually ends up choosing to do other activities or spend time with others. As mentioned earlier, No amazing diet or workout regimen will change a weak life style and poor habits. It may change for the short term even a few years. However, unless there is true commitment to the new lifestyle there won’t be true results.

Bringing it all together:

There are many places to invest in training, nutrition, surgery… before making an expensive mistake, understand what your goal is and if it’s an aggressive one adjust your expectations or be ready for an overhaul, depending on how strong the current habits are in your life puzzle. Placing a new puzzle piece into a puzzle isn’t just a one piece change, the whole puzzle may need a change.

For part 2: follow the link
Part 2: The one exercise that will help you succeed in the new year

Kirill Vaks
Sports performance movement specialist
BA-CSCS-ACSM-NFPT

New years resolution articles you may have missed:

• The New Years Phenomenon: 3 steps to staying discipline
• New years resolutions – Guide to success
• 4 Great tips to success in the New year

Take action… Now! 

Visit us:
Inside of the Flyers Training Center
601 Laurel Oak Rd.
Voorhees, NJ 08043

Sports Performance – 3 simple thoughts

Fancy versus Simple. Yes, having a machine that lifts the weights for your clients is great, but that may also go against the principal of overload. Just kidding.. kind of… 3 things that drive me crazy about the fitness and yes, sport performance world.

1. What’s the hot piece of research or what are the top “experts” in the field discussing

Keeping up with the latest information is important, as well as, paying attention to the people who have made a name for themselves. However, stop focusing on their research or whats the next hot technique. Define yourself with your training style, your results, your niche. When I started in the field, I wanted to be the best in nutrition, performance, “corrective”, you can only be truly great at one. The ability to research, apply the research and reset (yes, you will have to reset/start over, you will continue to find variables in the research which was missed.)

2. Equipment- Fancy Vs. Basic

 State of the art equipment makes everyones job easier. There is something about that scene in Rocky 3 when Apollo takes rocky from a state of the art performance facility and takes him into a dirty and questionable boxing space. Less equipment and more focus on the foundational principals. Train in the various planes, understand energy systems and develop movement ability and power through movement. … The trainer’s ability to help develop an athlete has less to do with the training toys available and comfort of the facility but the trainer’s understanding of the most effective way to approach a developing athlete. One of my favorite drills we run monthly at Training Aspects, each trainer is challenged to use a random item in the gym or outside and must come up with 15-20 various exercises with it. That’s right everything even a trash can could be used as a piece of equipment.

3. The amount of business focus versus results focus

Keeping the lights on is important but so is allowing clients to succeed. That’s *why* they invested in your services! Getting and keeping clients is a challenge and finding ways to cover overhead helps. The business part is an important piece of running a successful facility. However, The amount of “Business minded” people in the field is insane. More people focus on business models than genuinely caring about the client and developing their craft. It takes sacrifice and doesn’t always pack the wallet, until the rumor begins to spread… there is someone out there that genuinely wants to help.

Just a 4th of July thought. Posted on a Wednesday :-)!

Kirill Vaks
Sports performance movement specialist
BA-CSCS-ACSM-NFPT

Take action… Now! 

Visit us:
Inside of the Flyers Training Center
601 Laurel Oak Rd.
Voorhees, NJ 08043

Unleash the Potential Podcast, is here to help hockey players, parents and the hockey community get a better sense on how to help the athletes develop and achieve their goals in the hockey world and help transition those successes and failures into positives in the next chapter of their life. The stories will feature, coaches, scouts, players, parents, trainers, various experts all to hopefully bring information and experiences to help the community. It is not meant as advice, each person’s situation may be different.

Episode 1- Scott McKay 12 Hockey development Take aways

The head coach and organization president:

Scott started as a Jv B coach in 2000 and quickly moved not only the coaching ranks but the administration side as well. By 2009 became the president of the organization and head coach of the varsity team.

President Vs coach:

The job of coach, focus of about 17 players and at the job of president, 40 plus players plus the duties of running an organization,  being able to deal with concerns of parents, players, coaches and continuing the building process of the organization. Often the two jobs collide.  Scott, however, has been able to balance both and keep the teams focused on winning.

Developing talent to continue to winning culture:

Having a great feeder program has been essential for the Cherokee organization. Most players start in the Marlton street hockey league. By the time middle school comes around the players interested move into the middle school hockey program, for stage 2 of development. By the time they get to 8th grade they begin transitioning to the high school level. Besides the development of the players , Coach Scott mentions the importance of creating an organization of value and fun. Have players want to be a part of the program.

You control effort, give 100% :

If you’re talented and you don’t give effort, you most likely won’t make it. Work on progressing your abilities every step of the way. The one ability you do control is your effort.

 Playing time, players earn it :

The Cherokee coaches want you to take risks without hesitation. If there is a mistake, they’ll let you know and then it’s the players job to correct it.

How to get benched :

From the last point, pick your head up, don’t hesitate to make a play. However, if you continue to make the same play after being told contnuosly that’s the wrong play… your playing time will most likely be cut. Have an open line of communication with the coaches.

Approach a coach :

Parents looking to approach a coach. Make sure you’re not heated give it 16-24hrs if you’re heated. look at it from both sides. Could there be a reason why the player isn’t getting as much time?  As with anything in life don’t go into a conversation angry. It probably won’t be very effective.

Bench etiquette:

Whether you’re the best player or the not so best player, bench etiquette is every player job. Keep it positive and if a mistake is displayed, ask the player questions about it instead of degrading the player. Win, lose, tie.. keep the bench energy upbeat, teams have come back from worse!

Compete to play:

The chiefs are one of the top teams, if you a player wants to make it, have to compete! Stay in front of the coaches, show the work ethic, development, mind set, show the value you can bring. The organization wants to win, you don’t make it, keep working there is a good reason.

Player thoughts:

There are no guarantees, figure out how to continue to progress. Off ice training, on ice training, mental training, nutrition etc. continue to develop.

Organization tips:

Create a board that has the least bias possible. Develop a board that is looking to stay on whether they have kids in the program or not. To accomplish a plan time is needed, if there is no consistency no plan will have enough time to become successful.

Transition next level :

The next level, is faster, stronger, more experienced. What can you bring to the table? Know your strengths and continue to develop those bright spots.

Written By:

Kirill Vaks

BA, CSCS, NFPT-SNS

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• Sports performance exercise of the week

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Visit us:
Inside of the Flyers Training Center
601 Laurel Oak Rd.
Voorhees, NJ 08043

Top 6 Strength and power tips for Optimal performance

Request Tuesday!  The people have spoken, here are 6 tips to increase strength and power.

Strength and power Tip 1: Understand your sport

The sport that you’re are training for is important to understand. If you play a sport that allows you to get on and off the ice/field/court or are you in a a sport that allows you to actively rest depending on where the ball is on the field? Identify the amount of rest to action there is. In the Top 5 Sports performance myths we discussed going for distance runs. if you understand the demands of your sport you will know if going for distance runs will be effective to increasing performance.

Strength and power Tip 2: In or out of season

Training is a year long process. The intensity and focus may vary depending on where you are in the sports season cycle but the goal is sustainability. When training intensely in the off season, it’s then just as important to be able to sustain the results achieved through the highly active and intense regular game season. When training in the off season don’t necessarily worry about hitting record highs, rather focus on being able to sustain a high level and sustain that level through the in-season. Go into the season strong… Great! Are you finishing the season strong?

Strength and power Tip 3: Increase strength duration

If you train strength or power focus on 3-5 reps or about 15-20seconds of reps. If you’re able to do it for more reps or longer than 20seconds increase the weight until you cant.

Strength and power Tip 4: rest periods

Yes, Sweat, out of breath, the feeling of puke may be signs of challenging the muscles, body and results. However, think back to your purpose, is it a conditioning day , movement day or a strength and power day? To increase strength give 2.5mins-5mins breaks in between, no matter how advanced you are if increasing overall strength is the goal, rest between is crucial! If you’re doing it right, you’ll still be drenched in sweat and about to puke ;).

Strength and power Tip 5: Move the weight as an extension of your body

My star wars fans … Be one with the weight, have the capability to move with the weight as if it was attached to you. Being able to raise or move a weight, is great! In sport we don’t move in one direction and no movement in sport is always the same. That’s what makes sports great. Talent, strength strategy, if there is a weakness the opposition will exploit it. Think of the NFL combine, the guy that has the top numbers doesn’t necessarily dominate on the field. Don’t be that Guy/Girl, Once the regular movement is mastered, now move it under different circumstances.. think of planes of movement, strong in the sagittal (forward and back) then try it in the frontal (side to side) then what happens in the transverse (rotational).

Strength and power Tip 6: Train the planes

The Sagittal plane is one of the fitness worlds favorite movement areas. Squats, cleans, deadlifts snatches. Sports require movement. There are many Advanced but safe ways to work those exercises in the other planes of movement and if not there are other exercises that can be applied.

Written By:

Kirill Vaks

BA, CSCS, NFPT-SNS

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Visit us:
Inside of the Flyers Training Center
601 Laurel Oak Rd.
Voorhees, NJ 08043

Top 5 sports performance myths

Sports performance is a broad topic when thinking about the various sports: Hockey, lacrosse, dance, wrestling, gymnastics etc. Each sport has its section of myths, for now we’ll start with the big 5 that cross the majority of the sports.

 Myth 1: Yoga is great for athletes, it makes them more flexible..

There are many benefits to incorporating yoga into your  training program.  purpose and intent is the most important piece of a training program. The logic makes sense, if you stretch, then you should increase flexibility.

Yoga has a focus on increasing passive flexibility. Passive flexibility is the ability to move a joint into a position with aid. Having the passive range of motion is important but if you stop there, you have no control of that ability. This is where programing is vital for sports performance success. The next step would be to find strength in that movement, meaning have the ability to get yourself into that position without aid, Active flexibility. Then continue to fine tune the movement.

Summary: Yoga is not bad and has many benefits but is not necessarily the answer. If an athlete needs to increase mobility, the athlete needs a program that will allow the athlete to be mobile and strong through the movement not just have passive flexibility.

Myth 2: Using weight will make you lose mobility

Where to start with this one… Society pushes the idea of working hard, puking, dripping sweat, heavy breathing means that you’re getting results. This is based on the principal of overload, as an athlete trains, to continue getting results an athlete must increase the difficulty of the training regimen.

TRUE! As mentioned in Myth 1, intent and proper progressions decide performance results. If an athlete is told by a coach to get stronger. “Stronger means lift weights!”… doesn’t have the proper tools/guidance/information to develop strength properly,  and attempts to lift weights, swing kettlebells , push sleds, without the technique necessary or understand how to progress further. Then yes, using weights may decrease mobility.

Summary: Weights are not bad! How they are worked into programs is the issue. Intent and purpose, develop the movement needed for the sport. Then, once it’s been mastered, begin strengthening the movement. When the goal is to be able to lift a weight, the purpose is forgotten, the point of lifting the weight is to make sure the movement of the body that is needed is able to put out more force with the proper range of motion.

Myth 3: “I eat whatever I want I don’t gain weight, it’s fine, I’m fine”

Whooo-aaah..The American society has an obesity epidemic on its hands. That doesn’t mean if you’re skinny it’s ok. The food we eat is our recovery, growth- mentally and physically, fuel, maintenance and allows our body to perform.

I call my athletes Lambos (Lamborghini). You don’t put the same fuel in a Lambo that you do in a Corolla (No disrespect to my corolla drivers, they take regular gas and Lambos need Premium gas or better). Your body is that -expensive car- with high grade fuel source, let your body run on low grade fuel and the body will begin to decrease in performance. The good news … if you feel you play your best eating unhealthy, can you imagine your true potential with nutrient packed food?! Unleash the potential!!

Summary: Being Skinny or if you need to gain weight, does not mean you should fill your body with food that won’t help your body replenish and grow for as hard as you train for your sport. Get the proper nutrients and allow your body to unleash it’s true potential.

 Myth 4: “You’re out of shape”… “start going for distance runs a couple times a week!”

 Out of shape = go for a run… as all of our prior myths.. it makes sense! Running is great for many things and if you enjoy it, do it! As long as the Purpose and Intent is understood.

How many remember Bio class in high school? The teacher discussing ATP and energy systems. The diagram to our left shows three different color lines. Each line shows the dominating energy source during strenuous tasks. Most sports that last at least 0ver 20seconds are based off of that red line.

Hockey, lacrosse, wrestling, etc. The athlete has about 20-60seconds of high intensity and in most cases gets  a cool down, line change, stoppage of play, the ball is in the defensive or offensive zone or the player just has nothing left in the tank and has to slow down. For this reason running at a consistent pace for 15-30mins doesn’t necessarily help improve our conditioning  when we need the endurance to recover quickly after a full game of 30-60second spurts of high intensity.

Summary: Always begin with what is the purpose what is the intent of the goal of a training program. Going for a run is great, and it may have a place in a training program, however, how can I make that 3mile run 3xs a week truly transfer benefits into my game? Is it the right training technique to get my true potential? If you’re not sure of the answer ask a sports performance coach just stay away from blogs and youtube you never know what people will write. 😉

Myth 5: Mindset training is for the weak.

If it’s important to understand the intent of a training program, the intent of a nutrition program, the intent of a team you play for, their intent for your development and your intent to move forward to the next level. Why would mindset be for the weak? We have tutors in school, coaches in sports, financial advisors, even baby name consultants but understanding what you as a player want, need and the path to success is considered for the weak?

Once again it comes back to Intent and purpose. If you plan to play your sport for the fun of it and you are ok with whatever happens, good do that, you probably don’t need help in understanding your vision. However, if you have committed a decent portion of your life, time, finances, sacrifices, why would you not want to understand what your vision and the path to your vision. There are only a small percentage of athletes, no matter how talented that get a chance to breakthrough. In hockey there are 60 Division 1 hockey programs and they usually allow about 18 of the players selected to get a full scholarship to the school that means there are only 1080 scholarships awarded. Let’s say your goal is to get a full ride to a D1 school. We established there are 1080 scholarships awarded, and there were 19.9million people estimated to attend American colleges and universities in 2018. That breaks down to about a .000005% chance to getting a scholarship, and if you’re an athlete that is extremely talented it may be a bit better, .005% chance.

Ok, don take my statistics to seriously. The point is, just like the prep for our body is important, our mind needs that same purpose and intent. Sports often get the misrepresentation of its just a game, you’re crazy if you take sports too seriously or that its all physical. The sports industry is projected to reach 73.5 billion in 2019. Still think its just a game? The misnomer of all physical and no mental… The greatest athletes, Michael Jordan, Wayne Gretzky, Joe Montana, Mariano Rivera all are remembered for their ability to take the game into their hands with all the pressure of letting down their teammates, coaches, fans, family, contract deals, never achieving their true greatness. The Biggest difference between great players and legendary players is their ability to understand their purpose and intent in any moment, whether It’s a world championship game and everything is left on your shoulders or its a scrimmage and there is no pressure. Their ability to block all of the other thoughts and focus the task at hand, requires the greatest of mental strength.

Summary: Mindset training is essential. The social stigma among the athletic community about mind set training is beginning to become more popular which is great! However, it’s still not where it should be, which is great for you! Start learning about how to apply mindset training into your training regimen. Make it part of your daily life and it will truly help you unleash your true potential!

Bringing the Sports performance myths together

The Myths in the sports performance industry hold back each athletes ability to take their game to another level. Sports are not just a game, the lessons that athletes learn about team work, work ethic, failure, leadership, communication, perseverance, mental toughness, rejection, success and the many more lessons that shine through for the players that reflect on their years of experience are indispensable. Take 5 of your own beliefs put them to the “Intent–>Purpose test” do they hold up? In the coming weeks, we will be expanding on all five of the myths… yes, especially Mindset! Luckily you came across this article and are excited to break the norm and unleash you true potential!

Written By:

Kirill Vaks

BA, CSCS, NFPT-SNS

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Visit us:
Inside of the Flyers Training Center
601 Laurel Oak Rd.
Voorhees, NJ 08043