BFS Magazine

One of the greatest marketing ideas in the fitness industry was the invention of the term “energy drink.” The word “energy” sounds much more positive than “sugary sweet,” the primary characteristic of those liquid formulas, which often cost several dollars and often have exactly the same content as soft drinks (with perhaps a bit more caffeine). Let’s take a closer look at the problematic ingredients of most energy drinks, and some healthy alternatives.

A major ingredient in many energy drinks is refined sugar; more specifically, high fructose corn syrup. While it’s true that carbohydrates are used as the primary energy source by athletes preparing for their sports, high fructose corn syrup raises insulin levels quickly and then causes a crash in energy shortly after. What’s more, this type of sugar is linked to type-II diabetes, obesity, cancer, and of course dental decay. 

Then there’s caffeine, another common ingredient in energy drinks. Because caffeine is found in sodas and coffee, it is unquestionably the most used drug in the world. Although there are benefits to taking caffeine before workouts, there are also some precautions to consider. First, some individuals cannot tolerate caffeine well, and any overuse may result in dramatic and undesirable side effects. What is overuse? Consider that while an average soft drink may have 45 mg of caffeine and a cup of coffee 85, some energy drinks that are sold in nationwide convenience stores have as much as 350 mg of caffeine!

While there is a high demand for pre-workout energy drinks, most products on the market are far from ideal. A Pre-Workout drink may be just the answer. Built By Strength Certified Clean - 3rd party certified for safety and quality, BuiltByStrength Pre-Workout is NSF Certified for Sport, meaning it is certified for safety and quality. This is true of less than 1% of all other options on the market today. 

Learn More about Built By Strength NSF Certified products HERE

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Jersey Shore High is a Class AAA school in North Central Pennsylvania. In 2012 the team was 0-10, and the season could not have been considered a rebuilding year, as the Bulldogs had only won a total of five games in the past five years and had not won a district title since 1997. However, Gravish believed his team had a shot at the district title because his team had many athletes returning from the previous team, possessed a good worth ethic, and were motivated by the fact that no one. except for the Bulldog coaching staff.

Coach Gravish, says that one aspect of the BFS program that he particularly likes is that it instills accountability among the players and helps them set performance goals every time they step foot in the weightroom. Jackson especially likes the BFS focus on striving to set personal records with every workout, as well as the fact that BFS is not a “football specific” workout but one that works for all types of athletes.

The BFS Solution

Rather than circuit training, athletes should perform all the sets of a core exercise before moving onto another exercise. This is technically referred to as “station training.” The key to getting athletes through all their exercises efficiently and safely is to develop a rotation system. Let’s go through two examples of athletes performing the squat, one station involving four athletes and another station involving five...

Practical guidelines on what to eat for peak performance

During the weekday, parents have considerable control over what their kids eat for breakfast and dinner. For lunch, there are three options: eat at school, brown bag it, or – and this is the worst decision – hold out for dinner. Let’s talk about it.

Although tightening school budgets make it a challenge, most schools take considerable effort, and expense, to serve hot meals for lunch. Some schools, however, simply do not have the resources, and compromises must be made.

The United States has not had an Olympic champion in men’s weightlifting since 1960, when Charles Vinci won gold in the 123-pound bodyweight class. In Toyoko, our medal drought may end when Clarence “CJ” Cummings steps on the platform.

Going into the Olympics, CJ Cummings is currently ranked fifth in the world, only 8 pounds off of the #2 ranking. On July 29^th, CJ will be showing America’s best at the Tokyo International Forum – be sure to tune in!

Many coaches and athletes know BFS because of our highest quality strength and conditioning equipment, and having the right tools to prepare athletes for competition is an essential aspect of athletic fitness. However, the heart of BFS is our clinics, seminars, and certifications, because having the right tools for a job is worthless if you don’t know how to use them.

Since our company was founded in 1976, BFS has been teaching BFS clinics to help athletes learn how to train effectively and efficiently.

The bench press is a BFS core lift that is unparalleled for developing strength in the triceps, chest, and shoulders. It has become such an important part of any athlete’s training that the most common question asked to those who lift weights is, “How much can you bench?” The right tools can accelerate your gains on this valuable lift!

Lifting Bands provide the most resistance at the end range of the lift, such that the athlete can apply more force during this portion of the lift. 

We begin junior high and high school athletes with lunges without any weight. We want to get the correct movement down. As in all lifts, the technique is vitally important with lunges. Start with a narrow stance and step out – the challenge is to see if the athlete can come back to the starting position smoothly without any false steps.

Power balance is important in football, basketball, volleyball, baseball, soccer, wrestling, and the following events in track: hurdles, high jump, long jump, pole vault, discus, shot put, javelin, and the hammer throw. Whenever an athlete needs to change direction explosively and transfer quickly from one leg to the other, power balance is required. Lunges are fantastic for that purpose.

One of the earliest references we could find about functional training was from the early 90s by Mel Siff and Yuri Verkhoshansky in their classic exercise science textbook, Supertraining. These respected sports scientist said there are two types of strength training, “structural resistance training” and “functional resistance training.” They said the primary goal of structural resistance training is to increase muscle mass – so, bodybuilding.

Functional resistance training, in contrast, refers to activities that will enhance your ability to perform daily tasks or sports. More specifically, Siff and Verkhoshansky said functional resistance training improves the following physical qualities:

Notes from the BFS Total Program Camps and Certifications

Don’t confuse strength training with weight lifting, bodybuilding or powerlifting. These activities are driven by competition, with participants vying to lift heavier weights or build bigger muscles.

For kids, light resistance and controlled movements are best, with emphasis on proper technique and safety. Your child can do many strength training exercises with his or her own body weight. Free weights and machine weights are other options.

Practical advice on the best way to get strong with this powerful exercise

There is absolutely no question about it: The deadlift is the most misunderstood lift in America today. Many coaches tell me they are concerned that it can cause lower back pain, and certainly there are several deadlifting mistakes that can cause this problem. Here are three valuable tips to help athletes deadlift more weight and perform the exercise safely:

Tip 1. Only perform low reps. To perform more than 5 reps in the deadlift, especially in the 10-rep category, is asking for serious trouble. The maximum number of heavy reps that should ever be attempted in the deadlift is 5.