Well, on August 20th, this newsletter was officially "launched". I did a few posts on some message boards to spread the word of this newsletter. I sent out some personal emails too, to some coaches & friends I know, and told them about the newsletter. The response has been great so far. I even connected with a trainer in Detroit who is looking for a contribution to his newsletter as well, and I agreed to give him a weekly article update on training with GPS speed tracking monitors.
For those that don't know me, here's a bit about me:
I'm Rick Karboviak, a Certified Strength & Conditioning Specialist (CSCS) through the National Strength & Conditioning Association. Personally, I view this certification as the best of the best, as it has helped me land job interviews and immediately brings prestige in the eyes of many employers. Hey, it helped me land an internship interview with the Philadelphia Phillies minor league system, so I view it as a worthy certification. When the Phillies fly you down to Florida from ND in early January, primarily because you have a CSCS, that tells you a lot about it.
Anyway, my past experiences in coaching, personal training, and performance training have been centered in 3 locations: Cooperstown, ND, Columbus, Ohio, and Thief River Falls, MN, where I'm currently residing. Funny thing is within one year I was residing in all 3 places.It was a lot of moving, but a lot of experience came with it as well. Seeing how things operate in 3 states and 3 different sizes of cities (1100 people in Cooperstown, 1.5 million in the Columbus area, and 10,000 in "TRF"), I've had quite the exposure to how things operate in different environments.
The one constant though has been athletes who seek better information and guidance in their training. I was once this athlete, and still am that way as a competitive runner and newbie to triathlons. Whether as a coach or trainer, I always was asked questions that seemed to stem from the so-called 'fitness magazines' that are nothing but bodybuilding supplement ads and distasteful articles on having sex, and illogical workouts geared towards 20 somethings, when these editors KNOW that high school kids read these things, too. I remember searching for the same information on training as a HS kid and not knowing what the heck to do with my sand weight barbell & dumbbell set at home, because our weight room at the high school just had no direct leadership at the time.
So, I know the frustrations, and see it in today's young high school athlete. That's why I've started this newsletter: for today's young athlete who seeks real-world information and can take that information and instantly apply it to their training STRATEGY. That's the key word: Strategy. It is no longer about finding the 'magic program' to create you from a bench warmer to all-star, or all-star to all-state or beyond. Every successful athlete creates a Strategy that works for them. They learn how to workout RIGHT. How to eat well, how to get enough quality rest, and know when to say no to things that tempt them away from their goals. Yes, its true that some athletes get by without sticking to a plan or strategy, and get by on natural talent alone. But, they don't last in the long run. I know of one athlete who was so talented, he didn't lift weights throughout high school and got by without it in college. He ended up being a home run leader, setting national records in the process in college. But, he threw his back out after his last year in college, and part of me wonders how much better he could have been if he just simply added strength training to his training strategy, helping to prevent such a back injury from happening. Its hard for me to say if that could have prevented it, but I'm sure it wouldn't have hurt him any. I know it hurt his chances at a big league opportunity.
It is all about finding the right Strategy in the first place. Finding out when you can workout, what you can do with your available time for your workout, and doing the right kinds of things in your workouts. That's where our training methods, described in this newsletter, will come into play for you. We will have real-world trainers giving sample workouts of what has worked for their athletes. You can learn from this, and not just 'copy & paste' it into your training program, but maybe add something from those workouts to your own strategy to make it work even better.
Finally, learning how Christ can be your focus in training and in life, is the final mission of this newsletter. Every athlete has an EDGE, an edge that Christ has given you to use while you compete in his Glory. Focus on your Edge in Christ and the Edge that He has given you to compete with. Maybe your Edge is being the strongest guy on the team, or the girl with the most endurance. Maybe you're the one who guts it out for the rebound in a game, passing it to the teammate who then takes it down quickly to the hoop on a fast break. Maybe you're the fast player taking it to the hole on that fast break, and that is your Edge. Maybe you are the one who creates a wall that lets NO ONE with the ball get past you, as you tackle every on-coming running back who dares to get past you. That is your Edge.
Discover what your Edge is in competition, and Christ will give you an Edge in life, when you give your heart to Him and let Him shine the light on the way to a better, more fulfilling life.
A lot of athletes are missing out on the Edge that Christ can give you in athletics and in life. This newsletter will help you find that Edge and sharpen it.
Feel free to add any comments in this journal as we progress towards a new Edge in sports training & performance.
Rick Karboviak, CSCS
Editor of Total Trinity Training
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