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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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No Tom Terrific,but terrific life in sports

March 25, 2008

Confession time. As a kid, I always wanted to be Tom Seaver, the Hall of Fame baseball pitcher for the New York Mets. I got jersey No. 41, and I dragged my right knee in the dirt as I delivered, just like "Tom Terrific." I was a decent Little League hurler, but I was no Tom Seaver. Not then. Not now. Not ever.

God gifted me with different and unique abilities. The same is true with you. You are gifted with unique abilities that must be mined from within you in order for you to fulfill the purposes divinely intended for your life.

During my college years, at a small Christian, liberal arts school in Kansas, Bethany College, I played football and competed on the track team as a thrower. I was a pretty fair small-college football player on defense, at what we called defensive end in our alignments and, my senior year, it became known as outside linebacker.

And, as a discus and hammer thrower I was, well, a pretty fair small-college football player. But I learned a ton by training for and competing in track and field and ended up becoming a better strength coach because of my experience in college track. Every experience we go through is designed to teach us a lesson in life.

What can I do for you? Does your business or organization need a speaker with insights learned from a lifetime of involvement in athletics, ranging from Little League to the College Football Bowl Championship Series?

Perhaps you, or someone you know need a Life Coach to help discover fulfillment?

How about personal training advice from a certified and award-winning Master Strength Coach? Could you use a strength and conditioning consultant for youth, high school, or college athletes?

My specialty is helping others become successful. I consider the title "Coach" as one that a physician might think of when using the moniker "Dr." My first coaching experience came coaching powder puff football in high school, then Little League baseball and junior high basketball while in college. My professional life spans 24 years of high school and college coaching.

"Coach" means more to me than just one who is charge of teaching a team certain skills. A true coach is part mentor, part surrogate parent, a partner, a leader, a listener, an organizer, a recruiter, a tactician, a psychologist, a counselor -- anything that is going to help team members achieve success, individually and collectively.

The coach personally has responsibility for the accomplishments of his charges. Really, all I have ever wanted was to be a coach (except for that Tom Seaver thing). Whether that involves taking a football team to a national championship or helping someone fulfill dreams doesn't matter.

Contact me, and let's see if I can help coach you to another level in an area of your life in which you need strong support and a blueprint for moving toward the top (read the link to WEBATT).

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!