Black Ox Spotlight: Brad

Name: Brad

Age: 18

Sport: Football, Track, Powerlifting

Height: 5'6

Weight: 195

Best Lifts

Bench: 405

Squat: 500

Deadlift: 500

Clean: 315

Ox: Alright Brad, from the beginning, what sports did you play growing up?

Brad: I played baseball from first grade to sixth grade. I started playing football in eighth grade. I ran track and won the city championships for 110 hurdles in the 8th grade.

Ox: About how big were you back then?

Brad: About 110lbs.

Ox: Did you play any sports in high school?

Brad: Yea, I played football in ninth grade and twelfth grade and ran the 4x100 and 4x200 in twelfth grade.

12th grade - 165lbs

Ox: When did you get serious about lifting?

Brad: Tenth grade. I started competing with my smaller friends and then every year I'd set the goals a little higher and started competing with my bigger friends. Every year I was beating who I wanted to compete with. Then in 10th grade we had to move and I was living by myself because my parents worked a lot and we had this 24 hour gym so I would go down there and lift at like midnight or one o' clock in the morning. That's how I took out my stress.

Brad glides to the gym

Ox: What else are you doing with yourself right now?

Brad: Nothing. Just eating, sleeping and playing video games [laughs].

Ox: What's your favorite game?

Brad: I've been playing a lot of Halo.

500lb wheels

Ox: Any future goals to compete?

Brad: Maybe bodybuilding in five or ten years. Right now I just like throwing around weights. I wouldn't mind bodybuilding but I don't want to diet [laughs]. I don't care what I'm doing as long as I'm making enough money to eat and have a gym membership.

Sounds good!

Brad doesn't like his "small arms"

___________________________

If you know a young athlete who should get a Black Ox Spotlight leave a comment or send an email to blackoxtraining@gmail.com

18 Years Old - Stronger Than You

Lately, I've seen a staggering amount of teenage boys come up with excuses for why they aren't bigger, stronger and better athletes. After 5 years of being around the young studs of the sports world, I'm calling this uptick in estrogen filled whining the 'twilight effect'.

It appears that some teenage boys get sucked into the mainstream media's ideal of athletism and think that if they are bigger than 5'10, 135lb Zac Efron then they are HYUUUGE!

Not making varsity at real world high schools.

Frankly, we here at Black Ox have heard enough and felt that some dedicated young athletes should be brought into the limelight. Starting this month Black Ox will be featuring real athletes - 18 years or younger - who take training seriously and have the physique and skills to show for it.

Our first spotlight will be Brad, an 18 year old from Columbus, Ohio.

Next week, we'll talk to Brad about his training, diet and motivation for getting so strong at such a young age.

If you know a young athlete who should be featured, shoot an email to blackoxtraining@gmail.com with a picture and a short explanation of what makes them special.

Ask the Ox: #1 - What is the best cardio for fat loss?

Q: For less conditioned people like myself, do you advise against doing "cardio" (such as a stupid machine) for 30- 40 min after weight training? It seems i've read quite often that one should keep them on separate sessions-or do some quick HIIT instead of long SS cardio.

A: Cardio is for your heart..sometimes we forget that. Cardio is great and important for heart health and conditioning.

Now using SS cardio for fat loss is inefficient for some people. These people would be athletes and people who are already lean and in good shape. If this is you, you would be correct to do HIIT/intervals or something similar.

Then again, writers and "experts" swing so far to one end following trends that they forget to whom they are speaking. The average person WILL lose fat on SS cardio. The average person can't put out the effort to do real HIGH INTENSITY interval training anyway. They can run intervals but they won't burn nearly as many calories as they would have if they had just done the stair climber for 45 minutes.

If you're unconditioned like you say then any kind of SS cardio would probably help you lose fat. Run 2 miles 3 times a week and tell me you're not going to lose fat..see what I'm saying?

PS. Swimming burns more calories than most other forms of cardio and is no/low impact = healthy joints!

3 Keys to a Diamond Back Athlete

A. High Trap Angle – The upper trapezius is responsible for stabilizing the head and neck. Athletes with higher trap angles tend to have thicker, stronger necks, therefore being less likely to incur cervical spine injuries. This is especially important in contact sports such as football, wrestling, martial arts and rugby.
Exercises: Deadlift and shrug variations.

B. Rear Delt Development – Solid rear deltoids are essential to strong rotator cuffs and keeping an athlete’s shoulders healthy. Many athletes tend to get over zealous on the bench press and will cause imbalances without proper rear delt work. Important for all athletes but especially overhead athletes like baseball, volleyball, water polo, tennis and basketball players.
Exercises: High rows, face pulls, rear delt raises.

C. High Shoulder to Waist Ratio – Known as a lat spread in bodybuilding this is the width of an athletes upper back in comparison to their waist. Athletes with higher shoulder to waist ratios tend to have better strength in relation to their body weight. Along with having less body fat, small waisted athletes also tend to be faster and have better endurance. A wide, strong back is also essential for balancing pressing strength, better grip and ball security.
Exercises: Pull ups and heavy row variations.

Black Ox One-on-One Athlete Training

Black Ox One-on-One Athlete Training will make your athlete better than they could ever be on their own. We turn bench warmers into starters and starters into scholarship-winning all-stars.

Athletes train with us in a variety of ways:

Off Season Strength
Usually done in 3-6 month blocks, athletes come to us to get stronger, gain weight if desired and prepare for the next sport or season. They also do sport specific drills, speed work and light conditioning to stay in shape.

Preseason Prep
4-8 weeks of conditioning, speed work and sport specific drills to have athletes on top of their game BEFORE team preseason training begins so they lead the pack instead of struggling to catch up.

Post Season Recovery
Back to back games can be brutal on an athlete's body. We repair inbalances and injuries accrued through the season through strength, flexibility and balance work to get athletes back to 100%. 2-8 weeks depending on the severity of wear and tear on the player.

Speed/Agility Step-Up
Serious speed training for athletes who are looking to go to the next level. The first few weeks work on form and technique and move into sprinting, power work and overspeed training as the athlete improves. They will also learn field vision and pro techniques to dominate in the game. 8-16 weeks.

Combine Prep
For high school Juniors, combine prep takes football athletes through the works of the combine and prepares them for each event individually with all the tips and tricks from those who have been there, done that. 2-4 weeks.

College Prep
For high school seniors who have already commited to a program, college prep will ramp the athlete up to the expectations of college coaches. The stress of college can be overwhelming for incoming freshmen who will struggle to keep up with the upperclassmen if they fail to prepare. This can lead to burn out and athletes struggling in other areas of school or giving up on the sport altogether. A college prep coach will not only put the athlete through the physical rigors of training but also tell them what they need to know to succeed, answer questions and help ease the anxiety of moving up.

Black Ox Team Speed Camps

Speed kills.

Black Ox Team Speed Camps will get your athletes in top shape for the coming season with the best equipment and experienced coaches.

We not only teach linear speed but also work with athletes on balance, hand-eye/hand-foot coordination, change of direction and reactions.

Your athletes will be:
FASTER
MORE CONFIDENT
and
EXCEPTIONALLY CONDITIONED

They will have:
BLINDING REACTION SPEED
SUPERIOR BODY CONTROL
and
DOMINATING SKILLS

We do boys and girls, 7th grade - Collegiate/club teams and have specialized coaches for:
Baseball
Basketball
Football
Lacross
Field Hockey
Rugby
Soccer
Softball
Volleyball

Please send an email to BlackOxTraining@gmail.com with your team and affiliation (coach, parent, player) to receive a brochure about our camps or call (419) 420-5255