FC Strength

This is a short guest post from my good friend and fellow certified underground strength coach, Laureano Ibarra. Larry currently coaches and heads the strength and conditioning program for some of the nations top and up-and-coming figure skaters in Colorado Springs. Don't let his job title fool you. Larry is anything but a girly man. He grew up in Venezuela, was an accomplished figure skater, and has trained and competed in both Muay Thai and MMA. Not to mention he has more tattoos than a biker bar and is built like a brick sh#t house. He has something to say about the state of affairs of our young "men" in the world today. These are some strong words from a strong dude clearly sick of how the sheeple are acting. Keep reading and be prepared to take notes. Enjoy...


Okay, I'm going to rant a bit ... what the f#ck has happened to men nowadays?! They're nothing but a bunch of whiners and complainers. Every article I read has to do with folks getting their "fee-lings" hurt. I grew up knowing that thick skin saved you from getting a bunch of good ass-whoopings. And even if you did get one, you didn't complain about it. You were thankful for it ... seriously!! We've become uncultured, uneducated, unskilled, weak-minded, rude, disloyal, lazy, and entitled.

Here's my advice:

I've spoken many times on this site about having a solid training program and have written articles on how to design your own, so that is not what this is about. There are 3 other important factors to keep in mind when trying to dial in your lifestyle to match your training goals.

First and foremost is NUTRITION. You literally are what you eat. Therefore if you're stuffing your face with a bunch of crap you can expect to look and feel like a bunch of crap. My nutritional knowledge isn't the greatest and I am not a certified dietician or any of that mess, but, from experience with myself and with my clients, I can assure you there are a few guidelines that should definitely be adhered to:

1. Eat more protein. This should really go without saying, especially for females. Protein is your friend. I'm not suggesting that you only eat protein or eat it in surplus amounts, but make sure you're getting in AT LEAST 0.8-1.0 grams per pound of bodyweight. If you're looking to gain some quality weight try anywhere from 1.0-1.25 grams per pound of bodyweight.
2. Processed foods are the devil. If it came in a plastic package, has a shelf life of a twinkie, or has passed through more machinery than a quart of motor oil, DON'T EAT IT. Stick to real, whole foods like grass-fed lean meats, wild poultry, wild fish, roots, rice, fresh fruits and vegetables.
3. Water does an amazing thing ... it keeps you alive. Drink it. If you're on any kind of exercise program you need to make sure you're taking in an adequate amount of water. You need to consume more water than usual in order for your body to function properly and keep up with the amount of water that is lost through perspiration. The easiest way to do this is to skip out on the juices and replace them with good 'ole fashioned water.

Neck training has to be one of the most overlooked and underutilized facets of programming. Strengthening the neck through its ability to stabilize and resist movement is extremely important not just for athletes, but for the everday gym-goer as well.

Why Train Your Neck?

First and foremost, a strong neck will help you to avoid serious injury in a collision. This doesn't mean you should become a bull-necked behemoth and go get yourself into a car accident to test your metal, but in case you were in a car accident, having a strong neck would help you evade some serious damage.

Take a look at sports like football, MMA, and wrestling. Have you seen many pencil-necked lineman, fighters, or D1 wrestlers? I think not. There's a reason for this. In their given sports the amount of collision they get into during gameplay is huge. Lineman get smashed on every play, fighters get punched, kicked, and kneed to the head, and wrestlers get slammed and pinned to the mat. Constant impact on the neck, cervical vertebrae, and the surrounding structures. Having a weak neck in these situations isn't an option, it's a necessity.

If you haven't read Part 1, Part 2, or Part 3 of this series, I suggest starting there before continuing.

The final installment of this series will include my go-to exercises for explosive power and rate of force development. Like I've said before, being strong is great and something that every single person who trains should be striving for, but strength is only as good as the speed with which you can demonstrate it. Slow strength is not as useful as explosive strength.

As with the others, we will break down our explosive movements into 3 subcategories including:

• Implement Olympic Lifts
• Medicine Ball Throws
• Jumps

I decided to only utilize these 3 subcategories because they are easy to teach and don't require any special equipment that you wouldn't be able to find in an ordinary commercial gym.

In Part 1 we covered the lower body, Part 2 covered upper body, and the next logical piece of the anatomical puzzle would be the CORE.

I really loathe using that word but technically it's in the middle and it's the direct connection between your upper and lower halves. This is a seriously important thing to remember. All of the power generated by your legs will have to pass through your core in order to reach your upper body. And this will happen in every plane of motion and at every angle possible. So keep in mind that your "core" is a lot more than just that ever-so-elusive 6 pack.

We will break down our core movements into 4 subcategories:

• Rotation/Anti-rotation
• Flexion/Anti-extension
• Lateral Flexion/Anti-lateral Flexion
• Complete Usage