QB Canada Announcement

As the #1 ranked QB camp in Canada we are always striving to be the best and develop our QBs

With this in mind, QB Canada is happy to announce that Will Finch has joined our staff of QB coaches

Will has been with QB Canada since grade 7 and has had an illustrious career at Western University

Unfortunately, Will had to retire last week  but he is excited to join our QB Canada Staff and help find the NEXT GREAT CANADIAN QB

Will , Coach Mike and the Big Dawg will be coaching at QB Canada’s Winter camp starting Monday February 1st 2016

There are only 6 spots left in the # 1 rated QB camp…Please contact us ASAP

Please email larry@sstcanada.com to register or act now

REGISTER HERE

will and mike Finch

Have a Great SST DAY from Will , Mike and Larry!

CFL combine blog- Dillon Guy–ACL recovery–ahead of schedule!

Dillon Guy 1

Looking back to the first time I put on football pads I have had two goals I wanted to reach. The first was achieving a scholarship to play college football in the states and the second was to play football at the professional level. Over the past 5 years I achieved my first goal; playing college football for the University of Buffalo. I now look towards the goal of playing football in the CFL. During my journey, I will be using this blog throughout my training, leading up to the combine and training camp.

Having played college football in the states, they’re a lot of factors that I have walked away with; one of them being the mindset of training. With that being said, theirs only one place where i know I can train at that shares that same mindset. When I was going into my senior year of high school i trained at SST’s Hamilton location . There training made me physically and mentally prepared to not only play college football in the states, but to thrive in that atmosphere.

When I was presented the opportunity to once again train at SST ,with Larry ,who is a top calibre strength coach, I knew that it would be the perfect situation.

Since Monday I have been on a daily routine that consists of multiple session of training . This was approached with the mentality of pushing your body to its full potential and breaking through barriers that may present itself. After the training sessions I began a treatment session where the people of Proactive Athlete take care of the body and help it recover. With the first week now over , I am already looking forward to starting back up on the Monday .

Dillon Guy

U of Buffalo

CFL Combine Blog- Mercer Timmis

Mercer T

With almost 7 weeks left until the combine my training has really started to ramp up. Time management has been key in order to fit in all my lifts and running workouts with my school schedule. My nutrition has been a huge component to my combine prep and I have made sure to fit in 6 meals a day all of which only contain chicken, fish, vegetables and nuts. The purpose for this is to lean out and I have to consume copious amounts so that I can maintain my weight. My new set of programs have been demanding and are helping me feel more and more explosive.  Larry’s programs are very unique and every day my legs or upper body is sore. It has been a combination of exercises with significant volume along with tempo and other strictly for speed. 

Mercer E Timmis

Haskayne School of Business ’17

Risk Management: Insurance and Finance

How to Decrease Your 40 Yard Dash Time- Part 2

How to Decrease Your 40 Yard Dash Time in the Weight room – Part II

In Part I of this article readers were introduced to the concept that strength = speed. Specifically, football players wishing to decrease their 40 yard dash time were told to focus on strengthening their lower back, hamstring and VMO muscles (teardrop muscle found on the inside of the quadriceps). Part I reviewed the best exercises for strengthening lower back and hamstring muscles, so let’s move on to the top three exercises for developing VMO strength: squats with chains, wobble board split squats and sled dragging.

Exercise #1 – Squats with chains

If you improve your speed during the first 10 yards of your 40 yard dash then half your battle is over. In the first 10 yards, it’s all about quads and glutes so choose exercises that specifically work these muscle groups. SST suggests squats with chains.

When SST says “squats”, we don’t mean those quarter or 90 degree squats that most trainers advocate, we mean good old-fashioned rock bottom squats. Why? It’s simple; rock bottom squats do a better job of developing glutes and quads (especially the VMO).

To further increase the effectiveness of the squat, SST has their athletes perform squats with chains. During a squat an athlete is strongest in the top position and weakest at the bottom. By using chains, SST compensates for the strength curve by matching weight to strength levels. For example, say you’re squatting 300lbs plus 50lbs of chains. At the top, when you are your strongest, the chains are hanging so you are lifting 350lbs. As you squat down and your strength level decreases, you are only lifting 300lbs because the chains are resting on the ground.

Results: Increase VMO strength, decrease ground contact time, improve strength & speed during first 10 yards of the 40 yard dash

Description: Start with chest out and lower back arched. Begin to drop hips to ground by first bending knees as far forward as possible and then lowering hips until hamstrings cover calves. Pause for 1 second at bottom. Lift up through legs while maintaining arched back. Feet must remain flat on the ground at all times.

Variations: 1 ¼ squats, front squats with and without chains, back squats with bands and jump squats

Exercise #2- Wobbleboard Split Squats

You’re probably thinking “What the heck is a split squat”. Split squats are a lunge without the explosiveness. What’s a wobbleboard? Imagine a small board with a hard ball stuck under it (it’s not exactly that, but you get the idea). By performing split squats on a wobbleboard you are training your leg muscles from the hip joint down in an unstable environment. Destabilizing your leg muscles ensures that your VMO gets blasted…in a good way of course. It also allows you to recruit more leg muscles than you would have had you been training in stable environment.

Results: Increase VMO strength, stabilize muscle strength in legs, decrease ground contact time

Description: Starting position: place foot of non-dominant leg on wobbleboard. With chest out and shoulders back, move hips forward and downward while remaining upright. Allow the front knee to travel over toe of front foot until hamstring is covering the calf. Pause for a second then push off heel of front foot back to starting position. Repeat. The challenge is to keep the sides of the wobbleboard from touching the ground.

Variations: sitfit split squats, wobbleboard/sitfit split squats with dumbbells (only when you are good enough at balancing) and split squats with low pulley cable for added resistance

Exercise #3- Sled Dragging

Sled dragging is a great way to increase functional strength if you don’t have a weightroom facility at your disposal. Mind you, SST does not advocate running with a sled behind you because it will alter your running form. The various sled exercises used by SST for speed training are too numerous to list in the article, thus we will focus on two of our most popular: walking backwards on the balls of your feet and walking lunges.

Results: Increase maximum speed and decrease ground contact time

Description: Walking Backwards – fasten harness around waist. Keep chest over feet. Maintain arched back. Bend hips and knees. Begin by taking slow, deliberate steps backwards. Move arms in a running motion. Word to the wise, this exercise will feel really easy for the first ten yards but by the time you reach forty yards, your quads (especially your VMO) will be screaming. Once you are able to cover 100 yds with ease slowly add weight to the sled.

Walking Lunges – fasten belt around waste and attach rope from harness to belt. With sled dragging behind, perform a lunge with front leg. Upon landing explode upwards and out. Do not just pop up, the key is to push up and forward. Coaching Tips: keep your front heel down, maintain an upright posture and EXPLODE!

Larry Jusdanis is the owner of Sports Specific Training (SST) the #1 rated speed program in Canada!

For more information about Sports Specific Training’s training programs please visit www.sstcanada.com

Recipe of the Day Almond Crusted Cauliflower

Almond Crusted Cauliflower

(almond cc

Makes approximately 4 servings)

Ingredients:

1 cup almond meal

1-3 teaspoons garlic powder

2 eggs

1 medium head cauliflower

Directions:

Wash the cauliflower and remove the stems. Break into small florets.

Break your eggs into a medium sized bowl and whisk until well beaten.

Pour the almond meal into another medium sized bowl and stir in the garlic powder and salt.

Set up an assembly line.

Dip the florets into the egg, being sure to coat them well.

Then roll in the almond meal and place on a parchment lined cookie sheet for baking.

Bake at 350 F for about 1 hour.

Even the kids will love this one!

Mercer T- CFL COMBINE Blog 2!

Mercer and Brett East west CIS football

 

I knew that the road to pro football would be full of sacrifices. That’s why I left home to play high school football in the States, then went to the U of C. I knew that I would have to push my personal limits, on and off the field. The next step is no different. I’ve chosen to work with one of the top trainers and have surrounded myself with people who will help me achieve my ultimate goal. This blog is my journey and I’m happy that you are following it with me. I felt that it was important to tell you where I was, before we go on this journey.

I know that training for the combine will be a gruelling test. It’s why I felt like I needed SST at my side.

Could I train on my own? Sure, but I’ve been working with Larry for several years and he’s proven to be one of the top strength coaches in North America. He gets it and he gets me. He knows the road I’ve travelled and where I want to be. Training for the combine is more than just getting bigger and faster – it’s about mastering the combine drills. I’ve got just over 2 months to prepare and I’m going to work every minute!

My first week back to training was a sore one, it was filled with drop sets of bench press and 10 sets of 8 second eccentric squats. On the running side I have been stressing the technique of my stance and start. There is no better person to be working with than Larry.

Mercer T

U of C

Goals vs New Years Resolution?? Really?

No-new-year-resolution-640x480

 

Just this morning a colleague of mine and I were discussing how we as gym owners don’t have a rush of fat loss New Year clients….one of the reasons is this…our clients are informed to set goals not New Years resolutions

What is the difference?  Here is some data:

62% of people make New Years resolutions

Only 8% of these people stick to their resolutions

A Harvard Study showed that people who write down their goals achieve 100% more!

Here is what we at SST do with our clients and athletes

We talk about RESULT and ACTION goals

What is the difference:

Result goal example- I want to lose 10 lbs or I want to be an NFL Player

That’s great as we all want to succeed and win but what will YOU DO to get there???

This is when Action goals are implemented

Result – “I want to lose 10lbs”

Action Goal- I want to lose 10lbs on 12 weeks (the timeline is set)

Action goal- week 1 – “  I will start walking for 20 minutes a day” – Make your action goals attainable

Action Goal week 2- “I will continue to walk and eat breakfast daily”- What you have done here is reinforced your week one action goal and added a slight modification

Action Goal week 3- “ I will continue with week 1 and 2 goals” and “I will not eat after 6pm”

This will continue for 12 weeks

Action goals MUST be simple and attainable and specific towards your goals

So instead of setting yourself up for failure with an unattainable resolution try setting a goal with a specific timeline that’s achievable

Larry Jusdanis

SST Founder