Gain 31 Pounds Before Football Training Camp (Part 1)

Football season has just ended and you’ve quickly realized that your only half the man you were in August.  Losing 10 –20 pounds during the football season is typical for most high school and small college athletes.  But you’re not typical.

You’re done licking your wounds and are ready to get back in the weight room and being construction on the machine that will lead you to victory next season.  You’ve decided that football is the world to you and you’ve forgone all other “filler sports” during your off-season.  You will concentrate single mindedly on getting massive, strong and super fast. 

Next year you will be older, perhaps in a bigger program and twice the athlete you were last season.  You need to get bigger, you need to get stronger and you need to get faster… I am going to show you how.

This article is part 1 in my Gain 31 Pounds Before Football Training Camp series. 

Who is this series written for?

A)    High School and College football players who need to get massive and strong for next season.  If you are skinny and weak and would like to “strap up” and play nose guard next year, this series is for you. 

If you are a “Neon Deion” wanna-be and would rather stay skinny and avoid tackling your opponents so that you look good with all those wristbands around your puny arms…. This series is NOT for you.

B)    Athletes looking to play at the “Next Level”.  If you are a high school football player going to college or a JUCO player moving up to D1, this series will be your guide to your “Next Level” success.

The athletes at the “Next Level” are bigger than you meaner than you and faster than you.  Let this series be you’re slingshot against goliath.

C)    Football Coaches and parents who don’t know what the heck to do with the skinny, weak little punks.  You’ve tried sending them to the YMCA only to find that your membership dues have only given them a lesson on how to spot breast implants and tip over vending machines. 

You need a system and you need some guidance on how to squeeze every bit of potential out of your ‘Little Tigers’.  You can print this series, roll it up and use it as a “whacking paddle” when your athletes give you less than 100%.

Let’s rock!  - Part 1 - Stinkin’ Attitude

(This article is part 1 of the series.  I begin, not with training protocol or meal plans, because it is my firm conviction that if you don’t have the right attitude and mind –set nothing else matters.)

Attitude is the driving force behind this program.  The techniques contained in it come from a variety of sources but the only source that really matters is the one beating in your OWN chest.  No one can give this to you – YOU must seek and use it on your own.  I’ve trained several athletes who are physically gifted but never amount to very much because of a lack-luster attitude.  I have also worked with athletes who were not super strong or fast by nature but excelled in their sports due to a championship attitude.

Now, when I speak of attitude it is not in the same manner that your parents, teachers, church leaders or mentors may be referring to  - this generally conjures up ideas of a “nice-young man” with his hair neatly combed to the side sitting upright in a church pew.   When I speak about attitude I am referring to the rebel that spits in the face of convention because he’d rather die than to be average… he despises the mediocrity that he sees around him and is willing to stand out (if he must) to make sure that his life is different.

Most people you know are sheep and they are just following all of the other sheep off of the cliff.  They may look OK right now or even for a few years… perhaps well into adulthood, but they are going to fall and fall hard because most people follow each other rather than following their hearts. 

Most people are cowards. Notice that I didn’t say scared – everyone is scared at one time or another, but cowards run away from their fears – this is not for you, you do what your heart tells you to do NO MATTER WHAT or how crazy it may seem to others.

There is another word that I would like you to remember and it is the foundation on which your attitude stands, the word is…

 Responsibility

Again I warn you that I don’t mean this word in the conventional sense – such as making sure you take the trash out on time or being a snitch when your see some one cheating on a test.  When I use the word responsibility I am speaking about holding yourself 100% responsible for all of the results in your life.

We live in a time when everyone is looking to blame someone or something else… either your too black or your too white, too fast or too slow, your too short or too tall, your can blame your genetics, you can blame your parents, teachers, coaches, you can blame God.  Just watch the TV, fat people blame the fast food restaurants for their fatness, smokers blame the cigarette companies for their smoking, and people blame their kids and boss for their depression or even their so-called chemical imbalance.

I accept none of this. I believe that everything that happens to you – good or bad is a result of some choice that you have made in the past.   Sure, freak things happen like accidents but then too you have a choice about how you are going to react to it – you can fold up and get depressed, start drinking or doing drugs or you can “MAN UP” and turn your tragedy into triumph.  Join a wheelchair basketball or better yet doge ball team!  Just get up – its your choice – its your responsibility.

You want to be stronger, you want to win more games, you want your team to respect your wishes to “not party” during the in-season.   What ever it is that you want you can get – if and only if you take FULL responsibility for the results or your reaction to it.  “Within a desire is the seed for its creation” YOU create your life. 

Choose to be a victor not a victim.  And notice when those options are being presented.   Most people are not willing to take responsibility for themselves because of one simple and very sneaky behavior – LAZIENESS.  Most people are down right lazy and in various forms.  They would much rather be victims of their circumstances rather than taking the time to look at what they have done to create their situation or how they can change their behaviors to create a better future.

A beast in the weight room

I sum it up with on phrase – “Turn off your brain.”  I learned this trick when my college buddies used to come and train with me and my brother in our basement during the summers.  One day we were performing back squats for reps… and I told everyone that I had an idea “Lets continue to perform reps beyond what we were used to 8-12 and see how many we can do and the way we are going to make this happen is by reminding the guy performing the set to turn off his brain when he got tired.

The results were amazing!  What would normally be a 15 rep set turned into a 25-30 rep set!!!  Why did this happen?  Because when you remind yourself to Turn your brain off – you destroy 2 things, first is the ego, this little voice that tells you what you should or shouldn’t do or the remnants of your mommy’s voice saying “my poor baby is going to get hurt, come here let me kiss you.” The next is inhibition…. This again is a little voice that warns you ‘that you are getting out of your comfort zone’ and that it may be scary out there.  This voice is not you friend.  He aims to keep you mediocre, normal and sane.

Remember this “The Same old thing equals the same old thing”  - you’ve got to get uncomfortable if you want to be the best!  Discomfort will become your friend because it is a reminder that you are getting better.  And something new is on its way.  You’ve got to break a few eggs to make an omelet. 

Shut Your Brain Off whenever you hear a voice tell you that “you cant” or “that’s too dangerous” or “you’re not smart enough or good enough” in any fashion.  Sure, your body can get tired but a heart full of intensity of purpose never grows tired!!!

Scream & shout when you train!  I do, that why I train in a warehouse hidden deep in the Florida swamps.  When we train we make so much noise that alligators run scared!!! Why do you think Bruce Lee made all of those wild Kung Fu noises when he was kicking some poor guys butt? 

Don’t be afraid to make noise – literally and figuratively.  Shut your brain off and do what needs to be done.  Notice when the ego or mommas voice gets in your way, shut them out... fast. (sorry mom)  Know exactly what you want, keep your thoughts focused on it and be thankful for it as if it were already at hand.