Qualities of a Good Quarterback Part 1

 

I know I’m going to restart the old debate with this question: “Why aren’t there any Canadian Quarterbacks in the CFL?” I’m sure you’ve heard a multitude of opinions on this issue; some you probably agree with, others just don’t ring true. I firmly believe there is more than one answer to the Canadian QB Question.

One thing I do know for sure is that we coaches need to do a better job of instructing our young Canadian Quarterbacks. I’m not just referring to high school athletes. I think good serious training can start as young as 8 to 13 years old. This is a great age, when kids are prime for both physical and mental development.

What can we do? Over the upcoming weeks this five-part series on Quarterback development will cover:

  1. Qualities of a good Quarterback, Part 1
  2. Qualities of a good Quarterback, Part 2
  3. Drops, drills and technique
  4. Throwing mechanics, Part 1
  5. Throwing mechanics, Part 2

Many people believe a good Quarterback is the player who can throw the furthest. Don’t laugh…I was at an all-star camp and was asked by the head coach to have the Quarterbacks just drop and throw as far as they could. They chose their starting Quarterback from this one drill!

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What are some things I look for when choosing a Quarterback?

Mental and Physical Toughness

QBs often get all the glory when things are going well, but they also take most of the grief when a team is not performing up to par. I want to see a QB’s reaction after he throws an interception or after he throws a few bad balls. How does he react and how does he try to overcome this bad bout? The great Quarterbacks are able to come right back to lead their team down the field, letting go of what just happened.

Can the Quarterback stand back there waiting to throw the perfect ball knowing, that because he has to hold on to the last second, he’s going to get hit hard? Over the years I have played with some great Quarterbacks and have had the opportunity to watch numerous others. One strong characteristic that is common to all the great ones is that they will take the hit for the team. There is no better way to gain the respect of teammates than this. Let’s be honest, football is a physical game but most Quarterbacks are untouchable during practice, while everyone else is suffering full contact! Not only is this a good way to gain the respect of your team but, at the same time, you let the opponent know that whatever they do, they cannot rattle this Quarterback.

What kind of athletic ability does he have?

There are going to be numerous times in a game when things breakdown, such as when the WRs fall down, or when someone doesn’t pick up that safety blitz. A QB needs to be able to improvise and create under pressure.

Seldom does a Quarterback just drop back and throw without having to deal with external factors, such as linemen in his face. This is why I have our young Quarterbacks practice throwing off-balance and from awkward positions. Don’t get me wrong, our athletes practice the proper mechanics of throwing at least 95% of the time during camps, but they need to be prepared to throw even when things breakdown.

Excellent Quarterback ability doesn’t mean just running a great 40-yard dash. I want to see a QB who can create more time in the pocket. Take a look at great Hall of Fame’s football great, Dan Marino. Marino could have used a sundial to time his forty, but, man, could he avoid rushes with little movements in the pocket, and then throw darts all over the field!

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Manage a Game

Quarterbacks such as Tom Brady are great game-managers on the football field. Good QBs take what the defense gives them; they rarely force throws and ultimately they make good decisions. Good game-managing Quarterbacks exude confidence, which will spill over to every other player on his team. More and more coaches understand that they can’t count on the Quarterback to win the game on his own. If they surround the QB with good talent they just need the QB to distribute the ball to the playmakers.

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In the coming weeks we will discuss one attribute that is MUST for all successful QBs!

Please visit www.qbcanada.com for additional information on our upcoming camps!!

Body Types and Fat Loss Part 3

In Body Types PART 2 we discussed the importance of interval training.

To review there are 4 body types we use SST use to identify fat storage:

· The apple

· The pear

· The banana

· SST Skinny Fat guy

The Apple

Walk down Bay Street or Wall Street and you will run in to many apple types, or what I call it the businessman’s disease. These people are typically overworked, overstressed people who and are probably insulin resistant as well. Their body composition will have upper back fat, love handles, and an excess amount of abdominal fat. Do you know anyone like this?

At SST we have found that up to 60% of people fit the businessman’s disease profile and cannot handle the excess insulin they produce. Upper back fat and love handles are indicators that an individual is insulin resistant. Insulin is the only hormone that you can control 100% of the time. If a client cheats I ask them if that donut was forced down their throat.

Let’s take a quick look at how excess insulin plays a role in the body. After eating a carbohydrate rich meal (donut for breakfast), blood sugar levels increase rapidly. In response, the body releases insulin, which acts by facilitating the movement of sugar into the muscle or fat for storage. Apple types are insulin resistant meaning that their cells are not responsive to high amounts of insulin. Thus, when an apple type of person consumes a food high on the glycemic index fat storage is increased.

What can be done to control insulin?

Well, let’s look at that professional football player I mentioned earlier. When tested, he was an apple. In fact he was a large Granny Smith! What did we recommend for him? He eliminated all refined carbs, increased his protein to 1.5 grams per pound of body weight and consumed 25 grams of fish oil each day. (Must be wild pacific salmon oil and not the cheap Costco brand.) He maintained this protocol for eight weeks with built in cheat days where he could eat pizza, ice cream, cookies and anything else his mouth could find. What person wouldn’t love being able to have a pizza once in a while and still make such excellent changes in his body composition?

Stubborn abdominal fat is linked to high amounts of the hormone cortisol. Cortisol is an energy hormone, which should be elevated when an individual wakes up and should decrease throughout the day. Unfortunately Apple types have a difficult time in a viscous cycle of yo-yo cortisol levels. Excess stress such as job, family, financial issues all contribute to an increase in cortisol. But, what I have found to be the main contributing factor to excess cortisol is what people put in their mouths on a daily basis. Yes, refined carbohydrates and any food that leads to an insulin spike will increase cortisol levels, which then leads to that stubborn abdominal fat.

We tell all of our ladies that everyone has abs; it’s just that some people have fat covering them! Increased cortisol not only leads to abdominal fat but also is linked to a decrease of up to 50% in free testosterone! The hormone testosterone is anabolic (meaning growth) while cortisol is catabolic (breaks down muscle tissue). Do you now know why I frown upon rhythmical cardio – it causes a break down of muscle tissue and decreases testosterone! Heck, we work too hard in the gym to let this to occur.

The problem with the stress hormones is that they follow the same path as testosterone. In fact when someone is too stressed the hormone pregnenolone is being stolen to produce cortisol and lowers the levels of testosterone.

WHAT TO DO?

When an Apple type comes to us for help we put them on a Paleolithic type nutritional system. Humans have been around for 2.5 million years and our DNA is 99% the same as our prehistoric ancestors. These hunters and gatherers consumed foods that were fresh and natural not processed or canned. They consumed organic types of meat, vegetables, nuts, seeds and some fruit. Only after the agricultural revolution did we start to eat foods such as cookies, chips and Coke. By consuming highly processed foods we are causing increased levels of insulin and robbing our raw resources to make more cortisol, which has led to our society being fatter than ever. Right now obesity is at epidemic proportions and is one of the most serious medical issues of our time.

Remember this: When you go grocery shopping, stick to the outside aisles and only go down another aisle to get your toilet paper.

All SST clients start on a similar type of protocol for 14 days. They consume large amounts of fish oil, a high quality multi vitamin, 1.5 grams of protein per pound of body weight and follow a strength training program to increase their cross sectional muscle fibers. What should be expected? We’ve seen menopausal women lose 3% body fat and 5-10lbs in only 2 weeks by following this protocol!

Next article, I will discuss the Pear and Banana body types and the appropriate protocol for these types. After that, I’ll tell you about the Skinny Fat Guy.

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Body Types and Fat Loss Part 2

In part one, we discussed how to increase GH and testosterone levels. Today we discuss the benefits of interval training.

SST athletes follow an interval-training program geared according to their sport needs, but the happy by-product is also a large amount of fat loss.

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Some quick notes on anaerobic training:

  • A person burns more calories than with aerobic training.
  • Metabolism remains elevated post anaerobic-workout unlike after a long cardio-based workout. This means that your metabolism is increased, dependent upon the intensity of your workout for up to 24 hours. Therefore, you are burning more calories even in your sleep!
  • I compare anaerobic training (non-rthymical) to the stock market. You put your money in and watch it grow! If you perform your intervals your metabolism will be elevated for the day. Whereas cardio is somewhat like working 24/7. Sure you’ll make some gains at the beginning but those gains will soon peter out.
  • Interval training will burn 75 more calories post-workout for the next 5 hours, and, don’t forget about the number of calories burned while performing these intervals. This equals at least 1 lb of fat lost in 10 weeks ONLY from the additional caloric expenditure at REST!! Yes, lose body fat while resting! How cool is that!

On the SST interval program each individual is given their personal dietary guidelines and a supplement protocol suited to their particular needs. I will go into more detail regarding each body type.

What did we learn at the conclusion of this 8-week Fit and Lean course? We proved that if people are provided muscle-building workouts and individualized nutrition protocols that are updated on an ongoing, as needed, basis the results are boundless. The 24 workouts these ladies performed were unique and were changed every day. We don’t repeat the same workout day after day. This challenges the body and keeps it interesting and fun. Doesn’t this sounds a of lot better than riding a bike watching TV day in and day out while actually increasing ratio of body fat to muscle due to the breakdown of muscle tissue.

At SST we have tested and trained thousands of athletes and many weekend warriors. Our research led us to define 4 different body types. Body types were determined by the individual’s body fat make up. Part of the Biosignature protocol is to measure 12 skin-fold sites with calipers. Each site is directly related to a hormone in the body. I will get into more detail regarding hormones in an upcoming article.

The four body types are:

  1. The apple
  2. The pear
  3. The banana
  4. SST Skinny Fat Guy

In part 3 we will discuss THE APPLE!

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Body Types and Fat Loss–Part I

Body Types and Fat Loss Part 1

Wow! What a response we received as a result of our last article, Fat Loss without Kardio”. We heard from a few naysayers who insisted that it is impossible to lose significant amounts of body fat without doing lots of cardio work. But, most people were relieved to know that weight loss doesn’t have to include long, boring sessions on the treadmill or stair-climber. Many people told us that they actually hate to do that kind of cardio work, and, that the results they are striving for are, to say the least, not evident.

For the people who have not read Fat Loss without Kardio please visit the link “Fat loss without Kardio” to get caught up. Just a quick note regarding this article: I stated that rhythmical cardio leads to an increase in the hormone cortisol, which research now links to an increase in abdominal fat. Remember, I am a strength coach who gets paid to train athletes to be faster and stronger, so rhythmical cardio would be detrimental to my athletes. For example, one of the professional football players who started at SST weighing 267 lbs and 21% body fat managed in only 8 WEEKS to weigh in at 276 lbs and had 11.3% body fat! Guess what, he did not do any KARDIO – just a proper strength training program and his my blueprint nutrition protocol.

I know what some of you are saying, “Yeah, that’s great for an athlete but what about the regular folks who want to lose 10 or 20 pounds?”

Well, ask the Fit and Lean women who participated in an 8-week class that consisted of a strength-training program with their Biosignature results in hand. Most of them lost 10 to 20lbs and some even lost 25 lbs of body fat! Now what woman wouldn’t want those results? Oh, did I neglect to state that they did NO KARDIO!

The best way to lose body fat is to increase growth hormone and testosterone. The method we like to use at SST is strength training with short rest period in between.

Just some quick notes on building muscle:

· Every additional pound of muscle burns roughly 50 calories extra per day.

· If one extra pound of muscle burns 50 calories a day X 365 days a year that adds up to 18,250 extra calories burnt per year, which would result in the loss of 5 pounds of body fat! And that’s just for one additional pound of muscle.

· Imagine if you gained 5 lbs of lean muscle in one year!! You could burn off 25 lbs of fat in one year!

· This does not take into account the huge caloric expenditure required to put on this muscle.

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Butts & Guts

For ladies and gents who desire a fitness program that gives you a firm buttock and a toned mid-section.

Fit & Lean

Helping ladies tackle weight gain and get in shape!

MaxFit

Men over 30? This program was created specifically for you!