Training Tips From Elite Athletes, Part 7

Golfers are athletes, just ask Natalie Gulbis! The following are excerpts from a Muscle & Fitness Hers interview in 2003:

She says, "women golfers have always been knocked a bit," says the 20-year-old phenom from Sacramento. "People didn't consider us athletes." But the next wave of female players, she says, will shatter those stereotypes.



Natalie is an elite athlete having been a gymnast before going full time with golf. She made the right choice! She finished second to Beth Bauer in the 2002 LPGA Rookie of the Year voting and had four top-10 finishes.

"I love the mental side of golf, dealing with pressure and different situations," she says. "I love the fact that, unlike team sports, everything comes back to me." At 14, she became the youngest person to play in an LPGA tournament.

"I have a real good work ethic," she says. "I like to work and I love to train, and I love to work out hard. It's great for discipline and confidence. It's also part of my personality. I have high energy, and I think it's probably because I always work out."

Gulbis trains for 60 to 90 minutes a day five days a week, usually first thing in the morning. Her two-days-on, one-day-off training split emphasizes explosiveness, flexibility and strength training. She does minimal cardio--maybe 15 to 30 minutes a couple days a week--because her current fitness goals involve building muscle.

It's been a concern for Gulbis since last year, when some golf-course chicken she ate left her with a case of salmonella. She lost about 20 pounds in a two-week span, leaving her a weak and frail 113 pounds. Besides that unfortunate event, Gulbis says she's been lucky.

"I've been mostly injury free for quite a few years, even through being a gymnast," she says. "I attribute a lot of that to nutrition and fitness."

Download your FREE 10-Minute Strength and Power Workouts now!

Other things being equal, a muscular, powerful athlete will outperform a fat, slower or skinny, weaker athlete. Sports Fitness Hut's Fat Blaster Athletic Power Training System will give you your "lean and mean" athletic machine!

Mark Dilworth, BA, PES
Your Fitness University
My Fitness Hut
Her Fitness Hut
Sports Fitness Hut
Rapid Fat Loss and Six Pack Abs

Training Tips From Elite Athletes, Part 6

No training tips article series would be complete without talking about the work ethic of legendary football player Jerry Rice! When you are the best, what else is there to do? If you're Jerry Rice, you just work even harder! That's almost not fair! Even his peers admit that Jerry worked harder than every one else. Here is an excerpt from a Men's Fitness interview:



MF: Your off-season training routine was the stuff of legend. What was the hardest thing about your workouts?

Rice: The hill sprints were about two-and-a-half miles up, and the last 800 meters were completely uphill. We ran it for time, and if you could get around that 15, 16 mark, that was excellent. A lot of guys came to train with me over the course of my career, and a lot of guys fell by the wayside.

You know your body is going to be sore, and you know there's going to be some days where you don't want to get out of bed, but still, you're obligated to do that, and that was my approach to the game. I enjoyed every second of it. A lot of guys dreaded going to training camp. I looked forward to it, because I had already prepared myself.

I was in top shape. Whenever I stepped into that stadium, I felt like I owed the people something. I wanted them to walk away with something special on that given day.

MF: How important was your weight while you played in the league?

Rice: One year I might come in weighing 189 or 190 pounds, so I really had to focus in on what I was putting in my body. Then, if I wanted to get a little bit heavier, I would start eating a little bit more protein to put me up in the 200-pound range.

A lot of my teammates thought I was crazy because during the season, if I didn't weigh 188, 189 pounds—under that 190-pound range—right before the game, I would go to the stadium early and do the stairclimber for 45 minutes or an hour or ride the bike.

I had to be at the weight that I felt comfortable at, and I think that was very important because when I stepped on the football field, I felt good. I was ready to go, I was at the weight that I wanted to be at, and then I just had to go out there and perform.

MF: What kind of supplements do you take?

Rice: I think the thing that really helped me is that I started using Elations during the off-season, and it really took me to the next level. It's a product that's good for your joints. If I wanted to play football all over again, I think I could do that. You can check out elations.com for more info.

MF: What do you remember about setting the all-time TD record against the Oakland Raiders on MNF?

Rice: Yeah, you know, they threw it up, and we just went up and fought for it. You know, it's funny, Bill Walsh taught me that. He would always say, "Look, you always want to attack the football at its highest peak."

So when the ball's up in the air, everything slows down. It was unbelievable. The ball slowed down, and I started thinking about what Bill Walsh said, to go up and attack the football at its highest peak, and I was able to catch it. I came down with it, and I had guys trying to wrestle me for it, but I was able to hold onto it.

MF: As someone who's been highly motivated for his whole career, what kind of tips can you offer our readers as to how they can stay motivated?

Rice: You just have to want to do it because you know it's going to benefit you. I feel so much better when I go to the gym. Even those days where I feel like I don't want to go, I still push myself to go and I feel so much better after. It puts a very positive spin on your day. That's going to help you in the long run.

Download your Free Book, "What to Never Eat After You Workout."

Mark Dilworth, BA, PES
Your Fitness University
My Fitness Hut
Her Fitness Hut
Sports Fitness Hut
Rapid Fat Loss and Six Pack Abs

Training Tips From Elite Athletes, Part 5

Sue Bird is an elite athlete by anyone's standard. She has been a champion at every level from high school to the UConn Huskies to the U.S. National Team to the WNBA's Seattle Storm! She has been a WNBA All-Star and All-WNBA in each of her four seasons! Sue is known as a fierce competitor. Following is an interview of Sue on the WNBA's website:



Q: What is your motivation when don't feel like working out, running that extra mile, or waking up early?

Sue: "My motivation is actually thinking about the feeling I get once working out is over. Working out can be hard sometimes. Especially if you're tired, your muscles are sore. But whenever you're done working out, there is always that relief that it's over, like ahhhhh, and you feel really good about yourself. And that helps me to get through it."

Q: Was there a time in your career or lifetime of playing basketball when you thought about giving up the game?

Sue: "No, never. I'm too young for that."

Q: How important is a healthy diet and good nutrition for your overall success?

Sue: "When I was in college, and even my first few years in the WNBA, I took nutrition for granted. I didn't pay attention. I ate McDonalds and stuff. But when I went to Russia this past offseason, I made a concerted effort to eat right. I made my own food, not just relying on fast food. Kamila actually helped me with that a lot. So when I came back, I was in the best shape of my life and I really felt the difference. So now I'm a big believer in watching what you eat."

Q: What are some snacks you like or favorite meals?

Sue: "As for snacks, I don't really snack as much as I used to. When I do, it's mostly things like cheese and crackers, fruit."

As I always tell my clients, YOU NEED TO EAT LIKE AN ATHLETE! Case closed!

Download your Free Book, "What to Never Eat After You Workout."

Mark Dilworth, BA, PES
Your Fitness University
My Fitness Hut
Her Fitness Hut
Sports Fitness Hut
Rapid Fat Loss and Six Pack Abs

Training Tips From Elite Athletes, Part 4

I hope you are beginning to see that the training methods of elite athletes are not that much different from yours! You just may have to work harder and smarter to reach your athletic goals. Don't let anyone outwork you! You don't need tons of talent to work hard!

Hope Solo is the goalie for the winning USA 2008 Olympic gold medal team. She was pulled from a game in the semifinal of the 2008 World Cup. The United States lost that game 4-0 to Brazil. After heavily criticizing coach Greg Ryan for replacing her, the team voted to not allow her to play in the 3rd place game (which USA won).

At some point, she and the team made up and she was the winning goalie on the gold medal Olympic team. Make no mistake---she is one of the best female goalies in the world!



In a July/August 2008 interview with Muscle & Fitness Hers magazine, Hope talks about her training regimen:

HERS: What is a typical training week like for you?

Hope: It really depends if I'm with the Olympic team or not. When I am with the team we do a ton of on the field, position-specific work. That means lots of diving, and getting up and diving again for me. It's exhausting. However when we have time off, I focus more on plyometrics, footwork, speed, agility, and endurance. I'm able to work on specific footwork that actually allows me to dive.

HERS: What specific weight training exercises do you do?

Hope: I'm a firm believer in bodyweight exercises and plyos. I lift weights, but minimally. I do a ton of pushups and sit-ups, both with stability balls. I also do pull-ups, lunge jumps, squat jumps, box jumps and jump rope work, which, surprisingly, really works my arms.

Download your FREE 10-Minute Strength and Power Workouts now!

Other things being equal, a muscular, powerful athlete will outperform a fat, slower or skinny, weaker athlete. Sports Fitness Hut's Fat Blaster Athletic Power Training System will give you your "lean and mean" athletic machine!

Mark Dilworth, BA, PES
Your Fitness University
My Fitness Hut
Her Fitness Hut
Sports Fitness Hut
Rapid Fat Loss and Six Pack Abs

Training Tips From Elite Athletes, Part 3

Derek Jeter, captain of the New York Yankees is a champion having won 4 baseball world series titles in his first 5 years in the major leagues (1996-2000)! He is also my favorite baseball player so I will listen to what he has to say about training for his sport. He is an admitted hard worker and plays the game hard every play, every day.



In the April 2008 issue of Men's Health, Jeter talks about his training regimen. He plays one of the most demanding positions in baseball (shortstop) so he must be in peak condition for the long season. He doesn't go into a lot of detail about his workouts but he does list some workout principles.

1. Do a thorough, dynamic warmup before each practice or game like jumping jacks, lunges, arm circles, pushups and bodyweight squats. Research has proven that a dynamic warmup will prepare your body best for competition.

2. Jeter does a balanced weight training workout in order to prevent injuries and muscle imbalances. Some examples are deadlifts, pullups, rows, squats, lunges, shoulder presses, bench presses and core training. Rotational core training is critical for baseball players.

3. For his explosive training, Jeter does sprints and jump training (plyometrics) to keep his fast twitch muscle fibers tuned and working at peak performance. Fast twitch muscle fibers are crucial for speed and power and also the ones you lose the quickest as you get older.

See this post that discusses other baseball training exercises.

Download your FREE 10-Minute Strength and Power Workouts now!

Other things being equal, a muscular, powerful athlete will outperform a fat, slower or skinny, weaker athlete. Sports Fitness Hut's Fat Blaster Athletic Power Training System will give you your "lean and mean" athletic machine!

Mark Dilworth, BA, PES
Your Fitness University
My Fitness Hut
Her Fitness Hut
Sports Fitness Hut
Rapid Fat Loss and Six Pack Abs

Training Tips From Elite Athletes, Part 2

I tell my athlete clients all the time: you need to eat like an athlete! I stress getting the nutrition you need mainly from food and not supplements!



All-American Ohio State linebacker, James Laurinaitis eats to fuel his body for peak performance. In the November 2007 issue of Men's Fitness magazine, Laurinaitis talks about how he eats on a daily basis. Here are some of the foods that he regularly eats:

oatmeal
Wheaties
red berries
chicken
eggs
veggies
bananas
grapes
strawberries
yogurt
cottage cheese

Sounds pretty healthy to me! And, at 6'3", 244 pounds, I'm sure he eats plenty and often! He's a top-flight performer and will play on Sundays next year.

Download your Free Book, "What to Never Eat After You Workout."

Mark Dilworth, BA, PES
Your Fitness University
My Fitness Hut
Her Fitness Hut
Sports Fitness Hut
Rapid Fat Loss and Six Pack Abs

Training Tips From Dwight Freeney

Dwight Freeney is an elite athlete and you should listen to his training tips!



Don't get me wrong, I was a very good athlete in my day (and still not bad now!) but I was never an elite athlete. My roommate in college was an elite athlete who went on to play in the National Football League for 5 years.

So, I know what an elite athlete looks like. They often have that "IT" quality that makes competition look easy. It's not easy, they are just elite athletes who make it look easy!

Anyway, I always seek to learn training tips from elite athletes. So, I decided to write an article series on this topic to pass along the information to you.

Dwight Freeney, defensive end for the Indianapolis Colts, is one of the best at his position. He is also freakishly fast for his size. At 6'1" and 268 pounds, he runs the forty yard dash in 4.4 seconds! That's running back speed (Adrian Peterson runs a 4.4 second forty)! Make no mistake about it, the NFL is a man's game that is fast and violent!

During a Men's Fitness magazine interview in the November 2007 issue, Dwight was asked to give a tip on improving speed. His response was, "When you work out, everything should be an explosive movement. It teaches your body to move quicker, your muscles to fire faster." That is correct sir!

Keep in mind that Dwight is a well-conditioned, strong, powerful professional athlete. You might have to work up to doing all exercises at full speed. Adequate overall body and core strength are needed to be able to train with explosive movements without injuring yourself.

THE TRAINING PRINCIPLE THAT DWIGHT MENTIONED COULD BE STATED THIS WAY: TO BECOME FASTER AND MORE EXPLOSIVE, YOU MUST TRAIN FAST AND EXPLOSIVE.

Download your Free Book, "What to Never Eat After You Workout."

Mark Dilworth, BA, PES
Your Fitness University
My Fitness Hut
Her Fitness Hut
Sports Fitness Hut
Rapid Fat Loss and Six Pack Abs