King Sports International

Beverly International announced as sponsors of the KSI 2008 Athlete Training Camp!

We are proud and excited to announce that Beverly International have supported our upcoming KSI 2008 Athlete Training Camp & Challenge by sponsoring the event!

This is great news for all involved, especially those who will be joining us in this event next month!

We are honored to associated with great people, great companies, and great products - such as Sandy and Roger from Beverly International with their incredible range of protein supplements!

Beverly International
1-800-781-3475
Fax: (859) 781-7590
www.bodybuildingworld.com

In August 2008 in the US we will be running a 3 day athlete training camp and challenge. During these three days successful applicants will be given the opportunity to be trained by KSI coaches, and participate in a challenge to determine the 'KSI Champion Athlete 2008'. This will be determined on a holistic assessment, not simply a physical one.

Who should attend? If you answer YES to all the below questions you will find this experience invaluable!

1. Do you use the KSI way in your training and as result of the great results you have achieved become a strong advocate of our approach?
2. Do you train seriously with a specific training and or competitive goal in mind?
3. Do you see the value of being exposed to the top KSI coaches in the world all together in the one place?

Applications are invited from current KSI clients who train seriously in any physical sport or endeavor. You must have a strong commitment to training and achieving your goals. If you would like to be sent out an application form email us with a request to have one sent out to you via email. In this email please outline your involvement with KSI and how you have been implementing the KSI way in your training. The camp will be held between Mon 25 and Wed 27 August 2008 inclusive.

Look forward to working with some of you at this event!

Ian King

Time, money and training

by Ian King

As a young single person, with minimal financial responsibility and no mortgage, finding time to train was easy. Finding time to do anything else was the challenge!

If you are in this position and training is high on your priority list you can probably relate to this. But you might not relate to the next bit.

If you are married (young or otherwise!), have kids, financial responsibility including a (one or more) mortgage, finding time to train is not as easy. Sometimes you miss training because you either don't have the time or the energy, because of the other life commitments.

If you are in this position, you will really relate to this. Whether you are training to get buffed or for gold at the next Olympics, it's all the same. I have trained athletes at the elite level with and without families and kids, and they are no different than the person who seeks a PB in the gym or on the scales. It takes the edge off your energy, recovery and time.

So how do you manage the balance between training, money and family? I don't pretend to have all the answers, but I have found a reasonable solution, allowing me to train about 20 hrs a week (and yet still frustrate the 'boss' who I suspect feels I spend too much time in the solace of my private training facility).

Even without training, the challenge to balance family and finance is still a challenge. Even some of the greatest people in modern history struggled with this challenge. I read recently where personal development author Napoleon Hill (often described as the father of this industry) regretted the balance he had struck in his life between the two:

Q. What did he regret most about his career in life?
Answer : Being human, Dr. Hill did have regrets about his career in life, but he did not let these regrets deter him from his definite major purpose. Dr. Hill regretted that the research required for the philosophy of personal achievement kept him away from his family for long periods of time. His three sons were often without a father while he was on the road gathering information, presenting lectures, and attempting to share the philosophy with the world.

When you favor work, training and or family can suffer. When you favor training, finance and family can suffer. When you favor family, finance and family can suffer.

I'm proud to say that we not only teach this life balance in our KSI Coach Education programs (CIP, CMP etc) but our advanced coaches have developed an enviable balance in these areas - a balance that means no area suffers - they don't disadvantage their family, their finances or their health/training. I am really proud of these coaches.

One of the many benefits of joining us in August 08 at our 5th Annual International KSI Convention is that you get to interact with these coaches, and there is no better way to gain education and inspiration. If this life balance is not a challenge for you because you are young and have a low cost of living, trust me - it will be an issue one day. Either through gaining family or loosing your ability to generate the income needed to sustain your training.

Media - Fundamentals - and Responsibility

by Mike Pimentel, KING Coach

We are in the “information age”. It seems that the media hype has just what the advanced or experienced athlete is missing in their current training. The purveyors of the missing information present these secrets as “new”, “never before seen” and “recent discoveries”.

Such is the marketing industry, that in order to sell and therefore rationalize its existence, the information must be “sexy” and trend setting. Understand that trends follow very simple patterns. To use a popular real estate analogy, each trend carries these general characteristics; introduction, growth, prosperity, recession, depression (and dependent on the perceived value of the trend, the trend can drop from existence entirely).

Therefore, in order to continue the life of the marketing machine a number of scenarios are likely to occur:
1. the quest for “new information” to perpetuate the popularity of the existing trend – AND/OR
2. letting the trend run its life cycle and find/create “new information” to support a new trend

The experienced and committed athlete is in constant search of what it takes to become a champion. Their emotional desire for the edge over competition has them willing to take risks with their bodies and minds that the average individual would not……what better market population for “new information” than a committed and willing market?!!

My question to you is, what is new “cutting edge” information? Is it really the information itself? Allow me to offer this….. What if I told you that new information was actually your responsibility, not the media’s. That by your acceptance of responsibility you could yield an endless stream of information that would serve you 1000 times more effectively than anything offered through the machine. Let me explain.

Have you ever read a book, taken notes in a seminar, or been in a conversation where learning occurred. Then at some point in the future revisited that same information only to find it was as if the message had somehow changed? What really happened? The words on the page did not change, no one slipped in to your library in the middle of the night and rewrote the books or changed your notes. The reality is that YOU changed.

Similar to the cells in your body, your knowledge and experience changes and grows daily. Thus, affecting your perception of anything that touches your world and in this case, your training. This is the responsibility referred to earlier. It is your responsibility to learn, grow, receive and perceive. For the most part you choose what you are exposed to everyday and thereby are choosing what influences your perception. How you perceive information is your responsibility. Now before I go too far down this philosophical path, let’s come back to training.

Many experienced athletes would say they have an excellent grasp of the fundamentals or foundations of training. Some would even assume (also read as lacking the humility to understand differently) that the foundations of training were so ingrained in them, it would be a waste of time to revisit, and it would be “boring” and serve no purpose to view information they “already know”. To the contrary, it is your responsibility to grow and change, through experience and knowledge to achieve new levels of perception and understanding.

Fundamentals may not be sexy or trendy however they are the common denominator that permeates every aspect of the training continuum. When successful results are achieved, especially for long periods of time, it is guaranteed that deep appreciation of the foundations of training were consistently put in to action. Now if something carries with it the potential to affect every aspect of training is its value high enough to warrant revisiting? I would think so!

Now apply your earlier stated responsibility to the fundamentals. Provided you have the courage to apply your experience and knowledge to the fundamentals of training you will constantly yield new levels of fundamental understanding – i.e. new information! And perhaps of greater benefit – the fundamentals as they apply to you!

I am constantly and consistently amazed when I re-introduce fundamentals to experienced athletes. They are amazed by both their new found appreciation of something they thought they already knew and the fantastic results achieved.

Do an assessment of yourself and program by asking these simple questions?

1. What are the foundations of training? For an introduction to this see Ian’s Foundations of Physical Preparation http://www.kingsports.net/productsksi.htm#Foundations_of_Physical_Preparation_book or for a deeper appreciation of this concept applied to a balanced spectrum of life see the KSI CIP Theory Course
2. When was the last time you revisited these fundamentals?
3. Did your perspective of the fundamentals change as a result of your revisiting? Do you have a deeper or newer understanding of their meaning?
4. What was/is the impact of your understanding of fundamentals on your training?

Let us know the outcome!

Five Steps to Success Training the Young Athlete!

By Miguel Charles, KING Coach

Athletes are influenced by the environment, coaches and parents. The younger the athlete the more we can have a positive influence on them. This is especially true with the physical quality flexibility. If you begin a child stretching it is easier to maintain their original flexibility. On the other hand, if an athlete begins stretching as an adult their level of flexibility will be greatly diminished. The athlete will be playing catch up.

I find this concept also works in the mind. By talking to and observing young athletes, I have witnessed the more positive their influences and experiences are the more positive the outcome. The more negativity that surrounds them the more doubt they have. Therefore, we have to teach the athlete how to think for himself not what to think, helping them to rise above any less than optimal situation they find themselves in.

When you teach the young athlete how to make these decisions they take more responsibility for the outcome. Here’s five tips for those coaching kids:

1.Let the kids play!
Don't force children to play the sport. Let them play. If they like it they continue to play and improve.

2. Remember the Stages
Age 5 to 10 Fundamentals
Ages 10 to 14 Train to train
Ages 14 to 18 Train to compete
Ages 18 & over Train to win

Too many times you see coaches and parents focus on winning at the wrong time. For the fundamental stage the key is fun. During the train to train stage teach them how to train (flex and speed should be more of the priority generally speaking). At the train to compete stage competition is the focus; working hard and smart in preparation as well as during the game. In the final stage, train to win, winning should be the focus.

3. Create the athlete, then the player.
Early in the athlete/child's life expose them to play, run, & jump – before getting sport and / or position specific.

The best sports for them to get an exposure to so they develop athleticism include soccer, martial arts, gymnastics and track and field. This will help with their athletic ability.

If you expose them to a sport or position too early then that is all they can play. That athlete may not be suited for that sport or position as they mature. Example teaching a 6 foot 12 year old how to play only the center position in basketball. If at 18 years old he grows to be 6 foot 5 inches he is not tall enough to play center in college. Some colleges have guards 6
feet 5 inches. I'm sure you can think of other positions and sports as well.

4. Always and only positive, positive, positive!
Encourage all the children with positive feedback. Especially when they are not as developed as they can be in any given area - this is when they will need more positive reinforcement. There is always an opportunity to turn a negative to a positive.

When more athletes are exposed to the right stages at the right times as well as optimal flexibility training we will see an improvement in athletic performance. So where do we start? Start with every athlete you have influence over. And remember, the younger we start with flexibility the more injuries we prevent, which means less athletes out of games. The more games they play the better they will get at the sport. Less visits to the doctor or physical therapy.

5. Give the impression of increase!
For those without children you can still influence the children you come into contact with by the following:
1. Spread the knowledge to your circle of influence to anyone you care about that have children or are competing.
2.If you are still competing, whether its weekend warrior, office team, college team or high school. A little more stretching and recovery plan could be what will take your game to the next level.
3. And for all you coaches don't just do what your coach did to you many years ago. There is a smarter way. For all our kids' sake.

Coaching: A Short Course or Years of Development?

By Mitchell Kochonda, KING Coach

Coaching has become big business. Just ten years ago, the word coaching was associated solely with sport and limited income generally speaking. Today, the word coaching is not only applied to sport, but also business, life, etc, pays big dollars and all of a sudden everyone can be a coach in many life areas!

I was at a business seminar a few days ago and one of the presenters introduced herself as a coach. She was a ‘success coach’ (because she had done a short course, passed it and had some letters after her name). Unfortunately for her, she lost me and ninety nine percent of the audience in the first few minutes.

When Ian asked me what the seminar was like I said “the content was excellent, but the delivery wasn’t”.

As coaches (sports coaches, head coaches, assistant coaches, skills coaches, etc) there can be a perceived premium of what you ‘know’ and a fear of ‘not knowing enough’ particularly as letters after one’s name have become more and more exaggerated!

However the reality is very different.

Communication skills are vital and not just what you say (know), but how you say it and deliver the information – your body language – says far more than anything else.

We also need to identify the dominant learning modes the athletes you’re coaching. Different athletes are suited to verbal (what you say), visual (what they see) or kinesthetic (what they do/feel) learning. As Ian has shared in numerous books and seminars, we can pick up on what works by listening to the words the athlete uses. E.g. “I don’t see what you mean” (visually dominant).

For the sports coaches reading this, Ian’s book ‘Winning and Losing’ has over fifteen years of elite level lessons in the coaching process and an excellent chapter on working with ‘other support staff’ ensuring optimal integration of the training process. No where else have I seen such information.

For the physical preparation coaches reading wishing to learn more about working the coaches in various sports, ‘Winning and Losing’ is a must have! No question!

Then there are the practical environments King Sports offers via the KSI boot camps. The learning and lessons in this environment are unbelievable for the coach, physical preparation coach and athlete. In just a couple of months Ian will again create this environment and willing students will benefit bit time professionally, personally, financially, etc! There is still time for you to qualify for this rare learning experience and you not only get to watch the delivery of coaching, you’re part of it!

When the student is ready the teacher will appear…

Observations from Austria

by Andreas Scheicher, KSI CIP Coach, Austria

Since working in a commercial fitness club I have the chance to watch many people training. By doing this I noticed an interesting phenomenon: At a moment in training, a lot of people reach a certain point where the progress stops or even declines and injuries occur. Now, to reach a sticking point and to get injured is not a big surprise when watching them, because it is predictable when you know what to look at. But it's interesting that all this unwanted situations (stop in progress, injuries etc) seem always to occur SIMULTANEOUSLY!

I started working with some of them, analyzed their training and found a concept that I could explain to them in simple words as to what the problem might be. Here I share it with you too:

When building your body, compare it with building a house. The training you do are the bricks and the height of the house is your performance, level of hypertrophy, leanness... (whatever your goal is).

You have two ways of doing it: You either build a house that looks like a pyramid, with a broad base. This takes some time to do, since you put the first bricks side by side to each other and only when one floor is completed start building the next floor.

Or you build all your bricks on top of each other, like a thin, shaky tower. This is what I see most people doing, because it produces visible results faster.

Take as an example the loaded squat: the ‘tower’ would be to start with loaded squatting and instantly increase your load, even if form and squat depth decreases. It's the instant gratification way. Or you use your first bricks to build flexibility, technique and muscle recruitment. You see, there is not even a lot of squatting at this stage. But you build a foundation, and this foundation opens a potential to build a huge pyramid from!

Back to our phenomenon: My theory is that those people build towers. This wobbly building stands as long as everything is normal and as expected. As soon a there is an unforeseen challenging situation in the training career that breaks one brick somewhere, the whole tower comes down at once!

I suggest to build your house on a firm base, and if you already have a not optimal construction go back to rebuild the base NOW, because later might be either too late, or very hard on your ego since the higher you already are, the further you have to go down.

How long should you stay on each floor? I wouldn't orientate on time, but results. If you use the brick’ ’technique’ from the squatting example you work on that until you have it perfected. If you improve fast and/or have high quality coaching this might happen fast. But if you need more time then take your time. Staying healthy will still be less work than getting healthy!

Andreas will be travelling to the US in August 2008 to complete his KSI CIP coach education program.

Change - one of the great challenges we face

Change. I've learnt that at times change can be one of the hardest things for us humans to do. Homeostasis, the phenomenon of protecting the current status quo, can be a double aged sword. It can work for us and it can work against us. It can be our strength, but it can also be our weakness

During the last two and half decades I have learnt a lot about change in both athletes and coaches. Change is like maximal speed - it is capped when you stop accelerating. In athletes the absence of a desire to change, to do it better, is a sure sign of the peak and inevitable decline in the career. In coaches, the same. In physical preparation coaches in the KSI Coaching Program, it's the same. I can sense when the individual has said 'that's enough - I don't really want to change anymore'.

Rarely is it in the spoken word - more usual in the actions, often justified by rational reasons that are really just excuses.

The challenge is also knowing when to change and when to stay with what you are doing. The only judge is hindsight on the reality of the outcome. A judge not to fear, but to value, provided we are willing to objectively consider the feedback.

We ultimately decide which pain to choose - the pain of change or the pain of regret if we make a less than optimal decision. Sometimes you never know until you go! Until you try it out.

KSI is one of the longest existing, consistently serving the same focus, companies in the world of physical preparation. KSI is successful in serving up the same high quality service and products because we are willing to change. Change for improvement, not change for change sake. We train athletes and educate coaches. Trends come (and go) we don't jump on them for the sake of being part of the trend. We didn't blow our tops over swiss balls and we aren't going to hump the 'fat loss' guru trend. We are boring - at least that's the way it seems for few appear to be able to stay on the same path. We taught stuff in the 1980's when no-one could give a rat's arse about it, and we teach the same thing now despite some of these things not only become trendy to teach but begin taught in a totally f-up way.

Flexibility is a great example of this - but that's a discussion for another day!

The change we introduce to you today is the newsletter format. If you are currently a subscriber you may have noted the new format. If you are not currently receiving the KSI Between Sets Newsletter, you can register to receive it via the opt-in fields in the left margin.

Recovery in Perspective - How well you pull up or how well you perform?

by Mitchell Kochonda

The concept of recovery is widely known to athletes in all sports. As Ian wrote in Get buffed 1 (1999) “training plus recovery equals the training effect”.

Recovery methods come in many forms including, but not limited to, rest days and weeks, time, massage, stretching, heat, cold, water, salt water, electronic modalities, food, supplementation, escapism, the natural environment, recreation, etc to expedite the various systems in our bodies, including, but not limited to, nervous, metabolic, immune, hormonal, etc and all are of great value to the athlete.

But let’s put this in perspective, as there is no point recovering exceptionally well to an average or poor starting point! Let me explain…

Last week during a tele-conference seminar the question was asked in relation to supplements enhancing recovery. I replied the said supplements would have a very positive effect on recovery from training. But I asked the group the question “what’s more important, supplements after training to replace what’s been used or nutritional supplements consistently everyday to have the body in a permanently higher starting point – from a nervous, metabolic, immune and hormonal perspective - at all times?”

To put it another way, if you eat six times a day (one of these meals being a post training/competition meal) is there more value for your performance in an optimal recovery meal (16.6% of daily eating) okay nutrition the remainder of the day, or optimal daily nutrition for five meals a day (83.3% of daily eating)? I don’t care what you’re consuming post training/competition (high GI, low GI, protein, no protein, whatever) until we address the bigger picture! The Pareto principle at work again!

You can ask yourself the same question in all area’s of training. Let’s look at flexibility. “Is it better to train and compete with optimal tissue length everyday, or only train and compete with less than optimal tissue length - thus missing the injury prevention and performance enhancement benefits! - but spending time after training/competition to get back to an average state after the event?”

The trend of enhanced focus on post training/competition recovery (both physical, manual and nutritional) over the past decade is definitely a trend to support, but the value in heightening the bodies starting point in many areas is poorly exploited and misunderstood, and therefore is a huge opportunity for the committed athlete to take their training and performance to another level with the right guidance!

Mitchell Kochonda
KING Coach

What qualities comprise an athlete?

by Mike Pimentel

Another season comes to a close and you already begin to look forward to next season. Applying the lessons learned from the previous season, you vow next year that you will be even better. Its time to hit the weight room to begin your quest for next year’s championship.

Each year I’m introduced to young athletes with steeled determination to better themselves. They are enthusiastic, goal oriented and willing to do what it takes to achieve. In their minds they see images of themselves pushing their bodies to the limits in exhaustive workouts. The weights are banging, music blaring, sweat dripping, muscles burning, legs and arms shaking. Yeah, the kind of drama movies are made of.

I offer a perspective that enables the athlete to harness their emotion, its power, and focus it through the lens of common sense, intuition and logic. First by stepping back, looking at the larger picture of athletic development, and asking the question, “ What qualities comprise an athlete?”

We can divide the qualities in to four areas; technical, tactical, psychological and physical. Technical is their particular skill set in their given sport and position. In basketball an example would be dribbling, in hockey it may be skating. Tactical is their ability to make decisions in game play in addition to knowing specific preset “plays”. Psychological, as an example, may be their mental toughness. Their ability to maintain focus and discipline throughout the competition and season. Finally there is the physical quality which can be subdivided in to four sub-qualities - flexibility, strength, speed and endurance.

The reality is that these four athletic qualities exist with an interdependence on one another. In other words – each of qualities is affected by the growth or lack of growth in another quality. Some directly some indirectly but all are affected.

Now lets discuss how this concept may relate to the emotionally driven athlete. Lets do some simple math. For sake of argument, let’s say each of the four athletic qualities contributes equally to the athlete – 25% technical, 25% tactical, 25% psychological and 25% physical. There are many athletes who dedicate their entire off-season to the development of their physical qualities. But what about the other qualities?

Here is another question…. What if the physical quality is the area in least need of enhancement? What may be the actual contribution of a physical sub-quality? If each of the athletic qualities contributes equally (25% each) and the physical quality is comprised of four sub-qualities (flex, strength, speed, endurance) – the math shows us that the contribution of each physical sub-quality is only .0625%! (i.e. 25% / 4)

When you, the athlete, understand the above concept and the interaction between the qualities, it will enable you to give a new dimension and focus to your training that will have a massive effect on your result.

So how do you determine where to take your training? Start by having an honest discussion and evaluation of your athletic qualities. Reflect on each of the athletic qualities as they relate to you. Rate yourself on a scale of 1 to 10 (1 being very challenged and 10 being at your fullest potential). Your intuition will kick in as you arrive at a number. Recall specific instances in competition and/or practices to support your rating.

After completing all four qualities – interpret the data you have just created. This level of objectivity is an often overlooked component to training. What you find will help you determine where the area of greatest effect is for your training.

Whilst the drama of your physical training may be what you have expected for your off season perhaps the above concepts will take you in to areas you have not yet explored. Apply the tenacity, discipline and emotion you have as an athlete along with the objectivity and logic of these concepts to achieve the enhancements in your play for the next season.

Mike Pimentel
KING Coach, KSI Director of Education

The Training Triangle - a big picture for optimal results

by Miguel Charles

While some athletes focus soley or predominantly on training, great results actually require a careful balance of eating, sleeping and training. In order to achieve this, one must first assess, set goals, and allow for modification along the way. Any additional activity outside of this triangle; eating, sleeping and training- could potentially take away from your results.

Eating

As the old saying goes, you are what you eat. When considering how to maximize your eating, it is important to first understand what your options are. The basic building blocks of food include macro and micro-nutrients. Macro nutrients include; protein, carbohydrates and fat. While micro-nutrients are less thought of such as vitamins. Macro-nutrients are usually recommended to be consumed per unit of body weight or as a percentage of total calorie intake. By carefully monitoring the effect the portions have on your body you will be able to chose the best option for you. Lastly, vitamins are just as important, but are regularly forgotten. They are essential for injury prevention and the basic functions of the body.

Sleeping

Eating and sleeping work together to build our bodies back beyond its deprivation levels. Combined in the right ways you should feel stronger and more effective once you re-enter your workout this is referred to as providing your body with super-compensation because you are now able to outperform your previous self. When examining your sleeping you should look at the optimum amount to help you meet and exceed tour goals. Sleep is made up of both the quantity and quality of your sleep. The quantity of sleep required when in full training is 9-10 hours. The quality of sleep examines your sleep environment inclusive of noise, temperature, light, sleeping surface, pillows and even your bed partners. Ask yourself- did you go to sleep easily? did you sleep well? how did you feel when you woke up?

Inadequate sleeping and eating can fail to bring our bodies up beyond prior levels commencing a down-ward spiral characterized by feeling weaker, smaller and becoming more likely to incur illness and injuries.
Other recovery methods and some of my favorite include stretching, massaging, and meditating.

Training

The basic principles of training include active and conscientious participation in the training process. Most athletes are not involved in the decision making process let alone are allowed to help set their workouts. However, if you are not actively participating with your coach valuable insights could be lost. Each workout is specific to you and you only. By communicating with your coach you are allowing for the coach to develop a better understanding of your progress and needs as well as learning for yourself along the way.

The triangle is always a careful balance that requires constant monitoring. By recognizing that training is not the only activity that affects your performance you will be better prepared to enter the gym to achieve you best.

Miguel Charles
KING Coach