When training athletes in the gym, I teach athletes how to push beyond hurting in the pursuit of their goals. Most athletes that come through the door are stuck in a routine. They are comfortable with what they are used to. Some athletes use excuses for not reaching their goals (not enough time or sleep, need more practice in those situations, maxed out, bad nutrition, anxiety, and stress).  In the gym I try to expose their weaknesses and get them to fail, which in turn will help them grow. In other words, to get people to succeed I need to break them down before I can build them up.

When doing any sport for years and years, you will become efficient at it. Your body will develop muscle memory so you might still be performing well even in poor fitness or with extreme imbalances. You will train your strengths and do what you are good at. Without even knowing it, you will set limitations that will prevent you from taking the next step physically and mentally. I see this often with endurance athletes. For example, a cyclist may avoid fighting for that last lap because they tell themselves they are not a sprinter or fall back on a climb because they tell themselves they are not a climber (the opposite of Jens Voigt’s famous quote “Shut up legs!”). Another example is a triathlete may resort to walking during a race because their heart rate monitor tells them they are running too hard or they slow down their bike pace because it’s too windy and they tell themselves it will take too much. These types of athletes will certainly fail doing any sort of workout that is not specific to their sport because their training is too physically and mentally focused. By teaching them how to fail and hurt in the gym, they can deal with the unexpected physically and mentally on race day.

It is not easy to find a way to give one hundred percent – especially if you are in the habit of not. One suggestion would be to find the rare person who is willing to hurt and get out of their routine and work out with them. It is always easier to lay it on the line after watching someone give 100 percent. Surround yourself in an environment where people are willing to step out of the box and work on a weakness. By failing together you will all succeed.

Next time when the mind says quit, tell it to piss off.  Next time the body does not want to give anymore, take more. Next time you are not doing as well as you hoped, push on and work harder.  You must be willing to contest your training habits in order to take your game to the next level.

1. I guarantee someone has done it before so educate yourself and learn from the greats.
2. If it sounds too good to be true, it probably is.
3. Don’t take advice from someone who does not practice what they preach.
4. Keep a journal of some kind to track your progress, and don’t be afraid to review it to learn from your failure and strengths.
5. Failure and overcoming failure lead to goals and success.  Don’t be afraid to fail.
6. Never pass a pull up bar without doing some.  Unless you work in a gym and pass it every 5 minutes.
7. Ninety percent of the time success is just showing up.  Sometimes the hardest part is just showing up.
8. Be honest about your weaknesses and give yourself a true assessment. That is the only way you will fix them and they need to be given full attention.
9. You can’t do everything at once.  If you want to be great at something you will have to give up something.
10. Each day do something better than the last.

If you look at any athlete on the Olympic, professional, or collegiate level they all have one thing in common. They all have a coach. Why? They probably know enough to coach themselves… True but they need a coach because they need an outsider to hold them accountable, observe, guide, and instruct just as the rest of us do (except Bubba Watson who has never had a golf lesson in his life).

At Pat’s Gym there are two ways to get involved with coaching. The first way is to come to the gym for one-on-one or small group training. The second is through the website where you will find training programs, workouts, an exercise library, and nutrition tips.

The best option is the one that works for you. Take the time to invest in yourself and your health. So many people get caught up in their busy lives and put health on the backburner. Take action and get excited about working out. The hard part is lacing up your shoes and taking the first step.

Not only are pulling exercises good for protecting your shoulders but a strong back is excellent for posture and can be used for most lifts. You should be able to push as much as you can pull. 99% of the people I see for the first time can push way more than they can pull. Your back is one of the least sensitive areas so learning how to activate those muscles is part of the process. Learn how to pinch your scapula’s (shoulder blades) together as your pull. A good exercise for this is having someone stick their finger between your scapula’s and try and pinch their finger performing protraction and retraction.

For those of you doing enough pulling exercises (climbers) disregard this article but for the majority of people start adding pulling exercises to your program. Some great pulling exercises are pull ups, rows, 1 arm rows, high pulls, and lat pull downs.

So, once again Pat, your training has set me up beautifully to hit the ground running (…hit the ice, climbing?). Today I did more pitches than anyone. I felt strength in my grip, legs, glutes and core, as well as cardio fitness and balance. It makes such a difference.

It really is amazing to be the one of the strongest in the group as well as the oldest and the one who has the least time on ice this year — and lemme tell ya, some of these ladies are no slouches!

The second e-mail that I got was from one of Keith’s clients who has been training with him for 5 months.

I wanted to pass along that I ran to work this morning. I have never done that before. Actually, in the last 12 years (starting in college), I have set my alarm an hour early every morning to get up and workout before the day and I have only done it once. ONCE. Today, was the second day. I would have never done it before (as seen by my previously noted behaviors). So, thanks to all three of you for the motivation. Not only have you guys motivated me, but you have helped me to learn my personality/behaviors, and I know now that I need to be pushed (i.e., personal training with someone telling me what to do). So, the way the running into work happened: my normal ride drops me off halfway. I have to get to work and only have my feet to get me there, so one way or the other (i.e., either walking or running), I will get there.

Just wanted to share and say thanks for all the continued help.

When competing in a certain sport or activity, there are going to be certain factors that come up from time to time that will limit your participation. For me, this winter (here and across the country) has not been very cooperative in allowing me to snowboard as much as I should be.

Other factors besides weather, such as injury, sickness, date changes … you-name-it, can be discouraging and make it difficult to reach your goals. In any of these situations you can do one of two things. You can break down, feel bad for your self and think of how much it sucks that you are not participating in the sport you love. Or you can take a step back, evaluate your weaknesses, build on those and come back to your sport as a stronger person mentally and physically.

I have used this lack of snow to build up my strength and put on some mass (which usually drops for me from October-May) so when it comes time get on the snowmobile, hike miles through waist deep powder at 10,000 plus feet, or shovel snow to build a jump, I am not as tired and still have the strength to perform on my board.

Many times when we get caught up in our sport, we don’t realize what our weaknesses are or we put too much time on “the field” and not enough time in the gym to strengthen those weaknesses. Or maybe the weakness does not hail from the gym, maybe it is your eating or recovery methods.

Whatever it may be, the down time will open your eyes and allow you to fix the problem. If you stay positive, trust your ability within your sport, and spend time to get physically stronger–when the time is right you will return to the “field” ready to dominate.

~ Keith Kubiesa

I work with athletes in my gym to alter their diets based on their objectives, goals, sports, and the time of year. Athletes that do low-intensity endurance sports consume more fat, which fuels their bodies. Because of my Ironman training, I have been in the process of adding fats to my diet and tricking my body into favoring it as my fuel source. Throughout that process my body as become more efficient at using carbs when given in short supply.

I am not saying that you should replace carb intake with fats. You need some carbs for your brain and to achieve certain goals. I am only saying that as an endurance athlete, you should teach your body how to be efficient with carbs and rely on fats when the carbs are gone. High fat and low refined carb diets with protein are ideal for low-intensity, long-endurance sports.

So what can you add to your diet to get skinny by eating fat? Healthy fats. Here is a list of foods to shop for next time you are at the store. Additionally I should mention my wife and I eat as organic and natural as we possibly can. The fewer ingredients on the label, the better. If we can’t pronounce something, we don’t buy it – and that’s saying a lot because she was a Biology major.

Walnuts
Almonds
Coconut oil
Olive oil
Eggs
Avocado
Whole milk
4% or 5% milk fat cottage cheese

Bon appetite!