Renegade Rope Skip
Feb 9, 2009 Contributors, Training Tips
Opening my morning email I received a request from a major fitness group asking my opinion of the business’ “next big thing.” After going through a number of points including the deeply troubling world’s economy and the return to a notion of “value for service”, the conclusion was the “next big thing” was in-fact a return to tried and true methods and fun exercises that harken back to games of our youth.
While fitness professionals start to re-learn the “fun” side of exercise through the next decade, this is something that my group of training professionals embody, as we take what some consider drudgery and have turned it into a destination hobby. Although the notion of “fun” has long since been taken out of much of the industry whereby many are handcuffed to a treadmill, the newest craze is a step back in time and rope skip.
Tags: coach john davies, renegade rope jump, renegade training, skipping rope exercise
Upper Deck Power – Renegade Style
Jan 30, 2009 Contributors, Training Tips
By John Davies, Founder Renegade Training
Within the sporting world the notion of sport-specific training or training for sport is packed full of fallacies. Spread over rock-solid facts on how to train properly for sport is a vast array of clichés and slick marketing lines. Possibly the sport most plagued with highly questionable “training advice” is baseball.
Baseball, the grand old game, is a sport that I grew up on. The ball and glove were part of my make-up and rarely out of reach. The days and nights were filled with the game but the game was more than that, it was part of our heritage that connected with the past. I grew up hearing of stories of what it was like to dig into the batters box against a barnstorming tour of future legends pre-WWII. Regardless of how the game changed it, always maintains a brilliance that is challenging to describe.
Tags: baseball training, john davies, Renegade Style, renegade training, sports training, steroids baseball, Upper Deck Power
In Search of Power, Part 6
Jan 12, 2009 Training Tips
By John Davies, Founder Renegade Training
Continuing with the “In Search of Power” series part six, we’re about to take a leap forward with the start of a multi-stage transitional program. During this transitional segment we will begin merging some of the various movements from ground-based DMC™ with the upright RED2 system.
It is crucial that those attempting this segment have started with prior stages and I would not recommend trying to simply “jump into” this area given the enormous demands. For many the basic two starting holds will be challenging and further work in improving glute / hamstring strength, hip flexibility and lowering body fat (suggested article) will be needed.
Tags: DMC, in search of power, john davies, RED2 system, renegade training
In Search of Power, Part 2
Nov 20, 2008 General Health & Fitness, Training Tips
Within “In Search of Power, Part 1” I introduced a plan to improve strength and power, targeting the posterior chain via the use of basic static holds found in the preliminary work of my DMC™ system. In many ways the basic notion of this training system revolves around poor movement patterns and key structural problems that the overwhelming majority of the public is plagued with and results in the inability to maintain proper posture under duress. Running parallel to the nine-stage DMC™ system that I introduced in my book on middle-aged fitness “With Grace”, is another new system of mine, RED2.
RED2 will merge into DMC™ in the intermediate phase as the tempo and syncopation changes from slow, static holds to a rapidly changing dance-based environment. The upper stages of the program are some of the most challenging I have ever developed but like all things, a foundation must be built first before progressing. I have taught this program to a series of top-flight accredited fitness professionals who maintain that this is an enormously far-reaching program that will provide benefit for the elite athlete as well as to the everyday individual.
In the introduction of the RED2 system, the obvious difference from DMC™ is that it is simply an upright program with key emphasis once again on strength of the posterior chain although with extensive demands on flexibility and overall body control. However as you look deeper into the movements you’ll notice that once again it places enormous demands on the posterior chain, with heightened focus on glutes and hip flexibility. When performing this program, it is crucial to do the movements correctly, with particular emphasis on “stepping-out” when lunging (as opposed to sliding), and stressing the ability to maintain perfect body position whilst under duress. Per my experience, transition from movements from position five through six are extremely challenging with flexibility as the incumbent needs to powerfully straighten the lead leg and then generate power in a controlled fashion to rise into the final position.
For those following the DMC™, you have quickly noticed how “focus” needs to be intense through the long holds to avoid “mental failure.” This is equally the issue with the RED2 system as mental focus must not waiver through the holds and total foot control must be stressed. Those with background using the Rx Squat series will have a solid head start on the following developmental series. I would suggest all readers begin to make use of the following preliminary development program plan a minimum of five times per week at the start of training, in conjunction with my yoga series “Pink” and the program found in part 1 of this article series.
Users should make sure they are wearing comfortable clothing, with good supportive footwear and in a relaxed, peaceful setting in which they can devote complete attention to the program. In the event the holds are too long to start, roll them back to a 15 second start and repeat the circuit twice. When performed properly this will take roughly sixteen minutes. Each circuit starts with 30 second holds of the following positions and performed equally forwards AND backwards in alternating fashion:
 figure 1: Rx 1 |
 figure 2: Rx 2 |
 figure 2: fwd lunge |
 figure 3: fwd lunge (ss) |
 figure 4: fwd lunge (ws) |
 figure 5: fwd lunge reach |
 figure 6: standing lunge |
 figure 7: T |
Follow this program with diligence and you’ll notice your power and muscular gains will come with ease.
Tags: john davies, renegade training, search of power 1, search of power 2
