About Me

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Huntersville, NC, United States
I have been a fitness enthusiast and athletic competitor my entire life. Studying and practicing ways to improve athletic performance has been a life-long passion for me. I have trained with kettlebells for over 3 years and have completed multiple CrossFit kettlebell certifications. In addition to kettlebells, I use olympic weights, sleds, sandbags, TRX suspension, medicine balls, plyo boxes, pull up bars, rings, dip stations and various other tools to optimize training effectiveness. I am well qualified to share my knowledge and experience to help other people achieve their fitness and athletic performance goals.

November 21, 2011

Mud Run Training

Muddy obstacle course races are popping up eveywhere.  Completing these races can be quite a physical challenge.  Executing these courses requires endurance, overall body strength, hand strength and mental toughness.  Mud runs typically require climbing over tall walls and cargo nets, crawling through mud, traversing monkey bars & hanging ropes, walking across very narrow beams or cables, running through creeks, swimming through muddy water, flipping tires and carrying team members.  All these obstacles are included in a running distance typically 3 - 12 miles long.

I've had the pleasure of training a group of mud runners for over 18 months.  These individuals come from a variety of athletic (swimmers, bikers, marathoners, tri-athletes) and non-athletic backgrounds.
Very nice testimonial from Amy Saunders...

 "I was a high school and college athlete and have competed in distance running over the last 20 years. Since working out with Scott over the last 18 months, I have seen a dramatic change in my strength and conditioning. I ran a PR in the Philadelphia Half Marathon and competed in five obstacle/mud runs during that time. Scott has helped me develop upper body and core strength that I was never able to achieve on my own. My functional level of fitness is at a new level. Scott does a great job of capitalizing on strengths and growing weaknesses into assets. The team work of his training cannot be overemphasized and translates into all areas of life." Amy Saunders, Huntersville, NC (age 43)

Very nice testimonial from Bert Ferraro...

Scott helped get our crew in tip top shape. We originally sought out Scott's help when we were looking to trAin for the USMC Mud Run in September 2010. We knew he trained high school athletes and were interested in his techniques. Scott took a keen interest in our endeavors and took it upon himself to become familiar with mud running. He researched, watched videos and even accompanied us to a "trial" run at the course before race day. By doing this, he was able to fine tune our training to prepare us to do our best at the race. He developed specific exercises in anticipation of the obstacles. Our group has been training with him for a year and a half and we all consider ourselves in the best shape of our lives. Specifically, he has helped me on my weakest areas- core and arms- and encouraged me to use my natural strength of agility to develop my overall fitness level. At 45 years old, it is great to be excited about competing in races, thanks to Scott.

I got so excited about mud runs while training this group, I decided to hit the mud run circuit with them.

What a great way to spend quality time with your daughter...



2 comments:

  1. Jail BreakDecember 14, 2011 at 6:40 AM

    I love those pics, that was an exciting and a great race too. Congratulations to all the participants for a great job well done and looking forward always.

    ReplyDelete
  2. Lauren CApril 24, 2012 at 12:08 PM

    This it great. I signed up for the tough mudder in Minnesota now that I found great chicago area movers

    ReplyDelete

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WHY USE KETTLEBELLS?

Check Out This Video From Dragon Door

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=iyN-zhmJPik

Improves Physical Performance

Whether you are a middle age weekend warrior, play football, basketball, soccer or practice mixed martial arts, adding kettlebell movements will improve your performance.

Promotes Total Body Flexibility

When performing the ballistic movements, you will improve range of motion, movement patterns and flexibility of the hips, back and shoulders.

Improves Functional Strength

All of the core kettlebell movements; swing, clean, snatch, press, deadlift, squat, renegade row and Turkish get-up are compound movements that require the body to work as a unit. The key to functional exercise is integration. It's about teaching all the muscles to work together rather than isolating them to work independently.

Improves Endurance

Kettlebells are frequently used in circuit training, high intensity interval training and for single sets that may exceed 10 minutes in duration.

Reduces Body Fat

It’s a proven fact that resistance training using explosive full body movements and high intensity is the most efficient fat burning protocol. In a recent issue of Health Magazine Jillian Michaels called kettlebells the "Ultimate Fat-Burner" She went on to say..."This workout is metabolic, so it burns a ton of calories." "It incorporates explosive movements. It's core based, so it will make you stronger. And it forces your body to use multiple muscle groups simultaneously, which burns more calories."

Rehabilitates and / or Prevents Injury

The acceleration/deceleration of kettlebell movements strengthens connective tissue (tendons, ligaments, cartilage) and increases shoulder mobility strength and flexibility. Many people have made huge improvements in their back strength and resiliency as a result of using kettlebells.

Convenient & Portable

All you need is a very small space about 4’ x 6’ and about 8’ high ceilings. I typically train in my garage, but when the weather is too hot or cold I can get a great workout in my bedroom. I take my kettlebells with me while on business trips and family vacations. I have trained in hotel rooms, local parks, on the beach and pretty much anywhere I can find a small patch of grass. I even keep a Kettlebell in my car so whenever I have the urge I can catch a spontaneous workout.

Time Efficient

You can get an amazing strength and cardio workout in 30 minutes. If you don’t believe me, let’s schedule 30 minutes together sometime soon.

Anyone Can Use Them

Most people think kettlebells are only for elite military forces, college and professional athletic teams and mixed martial arts fighters. Sure these people use kettlebells because their livelihood demands them to be in peak physical condition. I have taken Kettlebell classes in many major US cities and find that most of the class attendees are women. I will anticipate the next question from the ladies… no kettlebells won’t make you bulky. They will give you a very lean, tone and athletic look.

Check out this YouTube Video... http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=k-97pH9eBfw

Inexpensive

If you are interested in purchasing kettlebells, I recommend checking out Muscle Driver. Their Grey Version 2 kettlebells are high quality and the lowest price I have found anywhere. I have a link to their web site on the top of my blog.

Fun

Most people find Kettlebell training fun. You can use them for strength and power training. You can use them for long endurance or fast paced interval training. You can use one or two bells at a time. Some people throw them. Some people like to practice juggling them. Of course there are about 12 core exercises, but there are many more if you let your imagination take over.