In This Issue:

– Robertson Training Systems Updates
– Training Tip
– Nutrition Tip
– Exclusive Interview: Jeremy Hartman
– New Articles
– Schedule

Robertson Training Systems Updates:

No updates this time around – have a great holiday season and start gearing up for a great 2008!

Training Tip:

Checklist for 2008

– Find a gym that suits your needs

– Find a great training partner that will push you

– Develop a set of goals and an action plan to help you achieve those goals

– Make 2008 your best year ever, in and out of the gym

Nutrition Tip:

Increase NEPA
By Mike Roussell

NEPA stands for Non -Exercise Physical Activity. Examples of this are: walking to your car, playing with your children, fixing the car.

Studies have shown that people with higher levels of NEPA have less bodyfat when compared to people with lower amounts of NEPA. So park a little further away when you go to the mall, use the bathroom one floor up from your office, and whatever you do DON’T use the traveling sidewalks in the airports.

If you like this tip and want to learn more about Mike and his products, check out his Naked Nutrition website.

Exclusive Interview: JEremy Hartman

MR: Jeremy, chances are most of my readers haven’t heard of you before. Please introduce yourself.

JH: I am both a powerlifter and high school strength and conditioning coach…somebody who is always behind the scenes!

I’m a graduate of Bowling Green State University (BGSU) where I was a 4 time USAPL National Champion Powerlifter, and 2005 IPF Jr. World Powerlifting Bronze Medalist. During that time, I was a volunteer strength coach for athletes at BGSU and Otsego High School, where I completed my student teaching. I’m relatively new to the strength and conditioning field, but in my current teaching and coaching position, I have started to gain impressive results in the athletic programs.

MR: What got you into the strength and conditioning world? How did you get your start?

JH: Like most strength and conditioning coaches, I discovered the weight room at a young age which made a HUGE difference in my athletics. The first wrestling coach I ever had, Mr. Gary Congin, took me, along with a few other wrestlers, under his wing at a young age to train us to be the best athletes we could be. He volunteered his personal time and knowledge to develop and nurture our hidden talents, only asking in return for us to work hard. Every wrestler he trained attained a high level of success in the sport, and more importantly took those lessons beyond the sport as well.

At the time I had no idea why I was pushing and pulling a weighted sled up and down a hill, carrying wheel barrows full of weights (or another wrestler), or running up and down bleachers with another wrestler on my back, but now as a self-motivated strength coach I understand! From that point forward, I was addicted to pushing my body beyond its limits and always wanting to discover new ways to make myself stronger and in better shape to beat my opponents. I read an excerpt in the book called, “The Edge”, where the legendary Dan Gable said, “You could never wrestle enough, because you could always get better, and you could never lift enough weights, because you can always get stronger”. After adapting this philosophy, my life began to really change.

After high school, despite opportunities to pursue my wresting career, I chose to apply my attitude towards an un-familiar sport called powerlifting. I met Louie Simmons who assisted me with perusing this dream, again for no monetary reasons. I started to get involved with numerous college strength coaches, took their free advice, and headed towards the strength and conditioning field with a relentless attitude to succeed. I was so dedicated to fulfilling my dream, I even sacrificed my already planned vacation in Florida last year because I was presented with an opportunity to work with the Cleveland Brown’s and their Strength Coach, Tom Myslinski for an entire week. Iit was an easy choice to make and I was rewarded with more knowledge, a contact, and another opportunity to learn and brainstorm ideas with another great strength coach.

MR: You recently moved to my old stomping grounds, Ft. Wayne, Indiana (I can’t believe I just admitted to that!) Where are you working at up there?

JH: You are definitely right about a stomping ground…the only hills I’ve seen in Ft. Wayne are the man-made ones, not that Bowling Green was any more scenic. I think the joke in Ft. Wayne is that the ground is so flat you can see your dog run away for 3 days. Ever heard that one Mike? If not, I just made that up…

I’m currently working at Carroll High School as both a strength and conditioning teacher and the full-time head strength and conditioning coach. I work with all the athletic programs on a year round basis, so I don’t really have much of an off-season.

MR: You also mentioned you’ve had some great success in only one year.

JH: Being a first year teacher and the schools first ever full-time strength and conditioning coach, I’ve never experienced so many challenges in my entire life. The results I’ve gained are respectable and I told myself that I would never write an article or do an interview unless I had concrete results from the work I did. Not just theory written as what happens a lot in the strength and conditioning field.

THE 1ST YEAR AND BEGINNING 2ND YEAR RESULTS ARE AS FOLLOWS:

1. Most sectional titles ever won by male and female sports in school history
2. The first time female and male swim and dive teams ever won sectionals
3. Basketball went from losing their first round of sectionals the previous year to winning sectionals this year
4. Wrestling went from the previous record of 8-8 to the current record of 13-3
5. The J.V. football team set a school record by going 7-2
6. The male soccer team went from losing sectionals the previous year to winning sectionals this year
7. The female cross country team won the sectional, regional, semi-state, and finished 3rd in the state…also the first time in school history
8. The male cross country team qualified for state for the first time since 1986…they missed placing in the top 5 by 5 points

MR: Those are some awesome results – great work!

JH: I always give credit to the kids and the coaches first! I believe that I assisted by providing that extra part in their programs that they were missing or lacking. I am in a unique position with our athletes. I not only get to provide the physical training for their sports, but I also complete the package by also providing a lot of mental training as well. There are no state titles yet, but I’ve got the ball rolling and hopefully more sport coaches and athletes will support our program.

MR: Changing gears a little bit, you know a little bit about strength training yourself. How is the powerlifting thing going for you?

JH: Powerlifting is going great. I had some reservations when I started this job because of the long hours and no off-season, but thankfully I have some great training partners that are knowledgeable and as strong as they are committed. I thank Gabe Daniels and the rest of my training partners for helping me stay committed. I do not get to workout sometimes until 9 p.m. at night, but I absolutely refuse to not practice what I preach.

Now that I am in the Men’s Open and out of the College Nationals, I started stepping it up even more and proved that I can continue to train hard and set PR’s. At the 2007 USAPL Men’s Nationals in St. Louis, I finished 2nd with lifts of: 705lbs. squat, 507 lbs. bench press, and 755 lbs. deadlift all at 217 lbs. bodyweight. My total now qualifies me for the Arnold Classic this February in Columbus, Ohio. For your readers that don’t know the USAPL, it is a drug-tested organization and I am proud to say I am a life-time drug free lifter.

MR: I love talking shop with regards to getting stronger. How do you typically train, i.e., what kind of split do you use?

JH: I use so many variations of training; I don’t think there is a certain split. The strength and conditioning field is continuously evolving and I am always learning different ways to make my athletes, as well as myself, stronger. But my bread and butter are as follows:

I am a big believer in Louie Simmons and his system of training (conjugate method) for powerlifting and for the training of athletes. I am constantly rotating exercises in and out of my program through different mesocycles. Box squatting has always been a staple of mine and I continue to gain results from using it. I like to accommodate my resistance with the use of bands and chains, on a 3-4 week pendulum wave. I use some bodybuilding, athletic training, and strongman work to increase my squat, bench, and deadlift as well.

A favorite of mine is the strongman over-head log press, which has finally brought me over a 500lbs. bench. Pushing and pulling a weighted sled in all directions assists to further develop my hips and hamstrings for the squat and deadlift.

MR: Last question: What do you attribute your success to? In other words, what can my readers take away from this interview and start using themselves to improve their results?

JH: I attribute my success to the people around me and my choice to get involved with them! I am constantly reaching out to other strength coaches…whether it be Louie Simmons for powerlifting, Joe Kenn at Arizona State, Ethan Reeve at Wake Forrest, or even Dick Hartzell at Jump Stretch to develop ideas and methods for training my athletes and myself. I refuse to ever loose my positive attitude to be the best at whatever I want to do.

As far as for your readers, I would suggest they speak with a variety of individuals, especially people in their gyms, and utilize free advice when it comes to training. When I was young, I would ask the people working out in my gyms to show me some techniques and exercises. I would also inquire why they worked out in that manner or why they chose that particular exercise. Free advice is all around us… one of the reasons I choose to read your newsletter along with other good publications available.

MR: Thanks so much for the interview Jeremy! Where can my newsletter readers learn more about you?

JH: Since I just started a little over a year ago, I am in the process of developing a website and providing some of my information free to the public. I can be reached at [email protected] if anyone has any questions about training for themselves or athletes.

MR: Sounds great Jeremy – thanks again for coming on!