So What Tests and Physical Performance Assessment Do We Conduct?

All athletes entering the In Joe We Trust Program will go through my world renowned Advanced Athletic Assessment. The unique testing process is one of the most comprehensive in the world. The testing process allows myself and my professional coaches to evaluate an athletes abilities and identify any weaknesses or potential areas for injury. Power, speed, agility, strength, flexibility, nutrition and body composition are all tested to give us a baseline of where the athlete is prior to beginning the program.

The data is then analysed by In Joe We Trust Strength and Conditioning Coaches and a individualised training and nutrition program is designed. Strength and speed programs are frequently changed during the course of the program to create continuous stress and demand on the athlete’s muscles, tendons, ligaments, bones and nervous system. In Joe We Trust advanced assessment, superior program design, individual attention and top level coaches guarantees each and every athlete will be given the opportunity to reach their full athletic potential. (more…)

It’s interesting listening to everyone talk about supplements and what they are taking and using.

“So what are you taking”?

“I’m taking mass gainer 2000″…

“What about you”?

“Yeh I’m on rez-v and tribulus and smell tech creatine blastoroid hogwash b.s, digestive enzymes, ashwaganda and caterpillar hairs, cordyceps sinestrus”!

“Wow man thats a lot of supplements”…..

I call this the shot gun approach to supplementation-take any and everything and hope that it works. (more…)

Q: Hi Joey, what diets or nutrition guidelines do you give to your athletes? Brendan

A: Brendan, great question. I very rarely give out diets or highly structured meal plans because in my experience they rarely work.

If you want to look like the food pyramid,

Wide at the Bottom and Skinny at the top!

Eat like the food pyramid!

This is for 4 Main Reasons:

1. They are usually very restrictive which means they are easy to break if the athlete isn’t prepared.
2. They’re not sustainable for the long term, eventually the athlete will break it.
3. They are time consuming to organise and arrange.
4. They do not educate or empower the athlete. (more…)

Q: Hi Joey, I’m a soccer player from the mid north coast and I’m looking at doing CROSSFIT to become a better soccer player. What do you think? Joel

A: Joel, for those that don’t know-CrossFit is a group exercise program that encompasses a broad range of fitness and training methods such as Strongman training, Olympic lifting, Power lifting, Sprints, Long distance runs, Body Weight calisthenics, Gymnastics basically a hundred different training modalities thrown together create what is known as CrossFit.

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Hi Joey, I seem to be constantly getting soft tissue injuries like hamstring, groin and quad strains. Have you got any suggestions to keep me healthy and injury free. I know that almost all of the athletes that are on your website have stayed injury free throughout their careers? Any advice would be much appreciated. Jimmy

G’day Jimmy, without knowing all the variables at play such as your training loads or injury history its challenging to provide an exact diagnosis or pin point the problem. Contrary to what most people inherently believe;

INJURIES SHOULD NEVER OCCUR!

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What I’m about to say will probably astonish you….

Many of the (self proclaimed gurus) world renowned internet coaches don’t actually train anyone. Yes you read correctly they don’t actually train anyone!

I often wondered how many of these guys would be able to write multiple articles every day and release new information and training products almost monthly!

Well on my travel to the USA I was able to find out why and how they did this…..

Many of these internet gurus didn’t actually have any clients. When I arranged to meet with them at their facility, watch them coach and pay them for their time they had to come clean…..and admit to the scam!

Unfortunately for you, there is no way of actually knowing that. Having travelled extensively around the globe meeting with and talking with numerous coaches I know who actually trains people and who doesn’t. (more…)

Having coached for more than a decade you notice certain personality traits and athletic characteristics that determine an athletes’ sporting success! But there is 1 crucial factor that has played a part in every single one of the elite footballers and world class athletes that I’ve coached.

Blue Chip Stock

They all had a phenomenal pre-season training with me in THE PIT, but they ALL continued with their strength and conditioning training with me during the competitive season. Their meteoric rise from ordinary stock to blue chip shares makes perfect sense!

In-Season Strength and Conditioning Training transformed PIT Athlete Kurt Tippett into Blue Chip Stock (more…)

Q: Hi, Joey who would you say are the coaches that have influenced you the most and why?  Sam

A: Sam this is a great question, when I meet and have young coaches that intern with me the first question I ask is who did they learn from, secondly where did they get their knowledge from and have they seen the coach in person actually coach, write and implement their training programs…because ultimately this will influence their program design and coaching.

The following is a list of the Most Influential Strength and Conditioning Coaches I have been exposed to during my coaching career:

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Does your warm up actually prepare you to train or play?

Visit any gym or local sporting club and you’ll usually see the stock standard traditional warm up.

Personal trainer greets client and the first thing they do is put them on the treadmill or bike for a warm up.

Or how about this one?

Team coach sends players on 2 laps of the field for a warm up.

Does this actually prepare you to train or play? (more…)

Is your Agility Training a Waste of Time?

Have you spent money on agility ladders, agility poles, agility dvd’s and resources only to end up with little if any results or direct on field agility improvements?

At almost every single training session, you see coaches running athletes through agility ladders, agility poles and cones in order to develop and enhance their athletes’ agility.

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“There is NO CORRELATION between the results of a teams physical performance tests and their on-field sports performance!”

Because an athlete has a good 3km time trial, beep test, vertical jump, bench press, or 20m score DOES NOT mean they will automatically dominate on the athletic arena.

In fact the opposite can be true-especially if coaches and teams focus on training for the performance tests instead of training for and improving actual on field sports performance (1).

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Q: Joey, my coach doesn’t believe in strength and conditioning or resistance training and says he tried resistance training and it made him slower and did not help his sports performance. What are your thoughts on this? Sam

A: Sam, thats interesting, I have met many coaches that hold that view point, however I’m going to dispel some of the biggest myths about resistance training. You can use this information to inform your coach about why strength and conditioning is neccessary to make you a better athlete. (more…)

Q: Hi Joey, what are your thoughts on Biosignature Modulation? I know you have attended Charles Poliquins Biosignature Course? Is it a SCAM?

A: Click here to find out exactly what Biosignature Modulation is? Biosignature uses the athletes skinfolds to determine their hormonal profile. Once the skinfold readings/measurements are taken, specific ratios are used to assess problem areas and hormonal imbalance.

The premise then is that the trainer can then prescribe an individualised training, nutrition, supplement and lifestyle modification program to help counteract the problem hormones. Once the hormones are optimised it becomes much easier to alter body composition and enhance sports performance. (more…)

Q: Hi Joey it seems like every man and his dog is now performing strongman training. You see them flipping their tires, dragging their chains and pulling sleds. Is it a more than a passing fad or is it just the return to the olden days of of the iron game or does it actually offer something more beneficial for coaches and athletes?

A: I have been experimentaing with Strongman Training both with myself and athletes for the past decade, so for me its not really a fad. As a coach you want have as many tools in your arsenal as possible. As they say the right tool for the right job. Strongman training offers many benefits some of which traditional resistance training with barbell and dumbbells do not. 

Lets examine the key Strongman Lifts to see the benefits they have to offer and how best to integrate them into your training.

Farmers Walk
Technique: Involves lifting 2 heavy weights off the ground and walking for distance or time.

Benefits: (4) The Farmers Walk Exercise strengthens and develops the often weak Vastus Medialis. By strengthening the VMO the athlete will increase their sprinting speed as the VMO is responsible for changing/transferring from the eccentric to concentric phase of the running stance/swing phase.

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Click here for Part 1 and Part 2

Ok, so what about some examples of these Skill and Games Based Fitness Drills?

Examples:

AFL Skill and Games Based Fitness Drills (3 & 4)

5 vs. 5 handball game with 2 corner goals each end 1 at the boundary line and 1 at the centre square at each end.

Ground dimensions: The width of the ground is centre square to boundary line and the length is the boundary line 50m to centre square at each end.

Goal: To score the players need to run the ball through 1 of the 2 designated goals at their oppositions end.

Rule Modifications: Game is continuous the players don’t have to bounce the ball. Quick change over rules apply. A change over occurs when the ball is dropped or a player is tackled and caught holding the ball.

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Click here for Part 1

Imagine a way to develop lung busting endurance, lightning speed, agility, acceleration, precise sporting skills and decision making ability under fatigue simultaneously.

The answer is Skill and Game Based Fitness Drills.

What are they?

Skill-based conditioning games are continuous games played with 2 or more teams, with equal or unequal numbers, in modified field, with modified rules, involving defence, passing, catching, multiple repeated sprints, and rapid changes in direction. With the purpose of enhancing ball control, defensive skills, decision making and strategic thinking, speed, agility, aerobic fitness and lactate tolerance. (more…)

Q: Hi Joey, what intervals and cardio/ energy system work do you use to condition your athletes? Michael

A: Unless you’ve been living under a rock I’m sure you’d be well aware that long slow distance cardiovascular training is mostly useless for conditioning elite athletes, unless in the very early stages of injury rehabilitation.

Traditional Cardiovascular methods:

1. Can develop non specific, non transferable fitness
2. Can cause over-use injuries
3. Do not develop sport specific skills
4. Can decrease flexibility
5. Can decrease speed, power, strength etc.
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It has been my experience that athletes rarely receive proper physical training. I’ve compiled a list of the most common mistakes that occur in the physical training process. An awareness of these mistakes will ensure you aren’t inadvertently decreasing your performance or contributing to injury:

1. The athletes’ physical abilities are NOT assessed.
This means the athlete’s physical abilities have not been tested. If there is no testing or assessment process, how does the coach or athlete know what their weaknesses are or if the training is actually improving their performance?_

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Q: Joey what are some business tips that you would give to aspiring strength and conditioning coaches?

1. Focus on being the BEST!
When you’re the BEST you have NO Competition! I do not know what my competitors charge or what services they offer. I learned from a young age, that my services are unique. If you look at what your competitors do, you become like them, ultimately losing your creativity and vision.

2. Get Amazing Results with Every Athlete you coach!
It goes without saying; great results will guarantee a long waiting list of athletes that are dying to train with you! Through my experience, the most dedicated athletes will travel to and train with whoever can get them the Best Results! (more…)

As an athlete or parent it can be a difficult decision when choosing to hire a coach or trainer. There are thousands of trainers out there, with varying levels of skills.

I’ve compiled a list of 6 Tips to help you know exactly what to look for.

1. Qualifications-anyone can call themselves a personal trainer or a coach. And some of the certifications only require a 2 day online internet course to become a personal trainer. I don’t know about you but as an athlete or a parent I wouldn’t feel comfortable having my son or daughters sports performance put in the hands of a person that has only completed a course that didn’t even administer a competency test. Heck some of these certifications allow you to keep repeating multiple answer questions and exams until you get it right! (more…)