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THE COLE HARD TRUTH

Launching "Ever Stronger"

After 24 years in coaching, 18 as a collegiate head strength coach, I have launched my twofold "Ever Stronger!" consulting - personal workout programs, and clinics for school S&C programs. MORE

A football high: out-physical the opponent

Our six-man team, in its first two games, brought back memories of dominating wins over big powers in college football by demonstrating how an off-season strength and conditioning program pays off. Never mind it wasn't Nebraska or Texas; satisfaction still runs high over a job well done Feb-to-Aug leading to success in the fall. HERE'S HOW

Scant Equipment, Big-Time Workout for Kids

Details of the makeshift equipment and big-time football workout regimen, out behind a church....TUGGING STARTS HERE

You don't need fancy

A dozen youngsters, 11-18, a football/soccer field behind Steep Hollow Baptist Church, rigorous workouts. Not impressive. But the workouts are.....READ WHY

Please send questions, suggestions, or comments to WEBATT@coachrodcole.com

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Baby Charlsey arrives

İFlashback: Sunday, March 9th, 2 a.m. (which instantly became 3 a.m.)

Stacey, a few days overdue, was up, walking. I didn't know that until an hour and a half later when she woke me up with, "Do you want to get up and keep vigilance with me?" Can't believe she uses language like that at 3:30 in the morning. Always was much smarter than I am. But I know the word rhetorical, and knew that was a rhetorical question.

3:30 a.m.
I'm up, asking where "out here" is, where she is walking. "In the back yard?" I asked. "The front yard?" She said, "No, in the house." She's walking laps around the living room. The contractions are four minutes apart, and lasting about a minute.

Been there, know what that means. It's a Cole Super Bowl Sunday. Delivery day.

3:52 a.m.
I'm in the car. A contraction starts. Stacey prefers to walk through it. She's walking down the street. I'm following her in the stream of my headlights. Weird thought: wouldn't I feel stupid if I ran over her. Half a block, contraction stops, so does she. Hospital, here we come.

4ish a.m.
We live just four minutes from the hospital, give or take a red light. We're here, just before the next contraction. Stacey's walking back and forth in the emergency room while I check in. A nurse is here with a wheelchair. Stacey'll have none of that. She's walking. Thought: I'll ride the wheelchair. Afterthought: Nah.

4ish-plus a.m.
Third floor. New citizens floor. Stacey's hooked up to all the machines. Doc got an early wake-up call. My favorite machine uses a squiggly line to show the intensity of the contraction. It's my warning signal ñ be prepared for an extra-hard squeeze of the hand, a claw into my arm, or a real hard tug on my shirttail.

4:30 a.m.
Doctor arrives. I think I have the time right. Daylight Savings confused everything. The clocks were all wrong when we got here, but the staff changed them during Stacey's labor. I'm relying on my watch, which I changed before we went to sleep.

Time warp
You learn a lot about your wife when she's in labor. Six previous deliveries taught me long ago what one nurse kept repeating: "What a woman!" She was impressed with how Stacey handled intense contractions that came rapidfire. I've known for many years "what a woman" she is. And, once again Stacey handled the whole labor experience like the trooper she is.

5:49 a.m.
Charlsey Lydia is here! Pretty purplish for a few minutes, but pinking up rather quickly. Another volleyball player, surely ñ 21 æ inches, tall for her age. And second-heaviest of our seven at 9 pounds, 8 ounces.

6ish a.m., on
Sigh. We're delighted that Charlsey came early enough in the morning that Aubrey, her 17-year-old sister, got to hold her before taking off on a mission trip to Mexico later in the day.

Eventually all the brothers and sisters greeted her. Stacey commented, "I am so glad the delivery is behind us." She repeated that thought many times over the next 36 hours. Her prenatal anxiety had been stronger this time around. I tried to empathize.

"What a woman" doesn't even begin to do her justice. I'll put it this way, in a familiar analogy: I knew Stacey would shine on game day better than Eli Manning in Super Bowl XLII. (Does anybody know how many XLII is, really?) She certainly has the MVP award for the seven Super (Cole) Bowl Delivery Days that our team has been part of. Let's see Eli and Peyton combine for sevenÖ.

March 10, reflections on Mama's and Papa's Monday, Monday
The experience in the hospital was a little different from the other six. The woman who comes around to educate the mom on feeding readily admitted that Stacey could have written her materials for her. There are a few new twists, but for the most part it is been there and done that six times over.İ

We've always gone home within 36 hours of the birth. This time they want us to stay 48 hours. OK. Stacey gets a nursery and room service meals a little longer. We can roll with the punches. We've been making it up as we go in life for so many years now, it's just the norm. As soon as Charlsey gets home, it will be back to normal, making it up as we go.
İ
Stacey realized that this is the seventh time her parents will be coming to visit from Nebraska. This time it will be a little further, continuing to Texas instead of stopping in Kansas. My mom will most likely wait until Mayto see Charlsey, when we take a trip up north. Grandparents are wonderful.İ

Thought: How many times will we make treks to see newborn grandchildren? And where? It's funny, none of those thoughts were in my head when our oldest children were coming home from the hospital.

Time plays its tricks on the mind. But no need to turn the calendar ahead yet.

Ever Stronger,
Coach Rod Cole

THE TURKISH GET UP IS AN ASSESSMENT TOOL FOR FITNESS & WORKOUTS.

To add a new wrinkle for your workouts, I'd like to give you a quick and easy self- assessment. You don't need a workout gym for this, or a weight room. Just a little corner of any room, a book, and a few minutes of your time. You don't even have to put on workout clothes.

First position to start the Get Up exercise

Standing up to complete the Get Up drill

The photos with this article show my son Kade, who is 15, performing a Turkish Get Up with a 30-pound dumbbell. He has three years left to prepare for college, where he wants to play football or baseball, or possibly both. He did this demonstration when I consulted with a small college recently. (By the way, photo credits go Kade's sister, Kressyn, who is 13 Head shot of Kressyn the photographer and loves photography. This is Kressyn.)

Just follow these instructions carefully. A few minutes later you'll know all you need to know about your balance, coordination, flexibility, shoulder strength, and even your core strength.

Grab your Webster's Dictionary from the bookshelf, or any hardback book about that size.
Go to an open space in your house.
Hold the dictionary in one hand at arm's length while lying flat on your back on the floor.
Now, get up! And get up this way:

Keep the arm with the dictionary locked out.
Hold the book overhead as you work your way to a standing position.

Do this, then come back and read the rest....

* * *

OK, how'd you do? You've just performed an exercise called the "Get Up," or, more specifically, the "Turkish Get Up."

Many strength coaches or personal trainers would have given you significantly more instructions on how to get up. I refrained, because I like the problem-solving dimension of the drill. I feel it is important for you figure it out.

Had I been coaching you, I would have helped you along with tips whenever you struggled. For the most part, though, this drill can be figured out with a little persistence and practice.

I have used this drill many years as an assessment. It works not only for the average person, but for athletes. Big athletes, not so big athletes; elite athletes, average to middlin' athletes; all athletes. It's especially effective when they are just coming into a program, as a freshman or a transfer.

After administering five minutes of Turkish Get Ups, I can look at a group of newbies and tell who is the most flexible and coordinated, who has the best core strength, and who has the best shoulder strength and flexibility.

All from lifting a book with one hand. (Well, not quite. College athletes would perform Turkish Get Ups with a dumbbell, something between 30 and 60 pounds, not a dictionary.)

The mental side of the equation is always interesting, too. Some individuals take to new things and catch on quickly, while others fight it, complain, and are quick to give up. It's amazing what a few minutes of work can tell a coach.

If the Turkish Get Up with Noah Webster's masterpiece seemed fairly easy with your dominant hand:

Try it again with your other hand.

And then again with two hands on the book.

After that you are ready to try it again one-handed with the opposite hand not touching the floor as you get up! (That's the way my wife, Stacey, did it the first time she tried it.)

After all that, graduate upward. Make all the lifts all again with a 10-pound dumbbell or weight plate, and then continue working up in weight.

Special note to young athletes: If you are a scholastic athlete and aspire to compete in college, when you can do the Turkish Get Up with a 50- or 60-pound dumbbell, you might be ready. Keep practicing just in case.

In working with college athletes, our staff would revisit the Turkish Get Up every so often in workouts. That way we could measure the overall improvement that our program was giving us in functional movements.

I recommend this exercise once a week or so, just to see if it is getting easier as time goes on. If it's not getting easier, you may want to rethink your program.

At that point, I'd be pleased to help you do that.

The Turkish Get Up is just one minute tool in my kit of various methods as I work with athletic programs, and I thought you might enjoy giving it a try.

If you'd like some consulting for your personal workouts, just send me an email, webatt@coachrodcole.com and we'll set something up. Consulting can take place by telephone, by email, or in person.

My workout tool kit has a lot more tools to help you reach your goals, too. Let's work together on the central theme: Ever Stronger!