Bob's Corner
Bob Shaefer is a former power lifting coach, mentor, and life-long friend to T.J. Ball. Bob has acquired a wealth of knowledge in nutrition, fitness, and power lifting; and has trained several State, National, and World power lifting champions. Bob has been gracious enough to share some of his articles, tips, and techniques on tjball.com.
Wednesday, 18 November 2009 00:00
First we have to define the definition of the word “True”.
In my mind, as applied to a feat of physical strength, the definition would be simple. Unassisted, and solely performed by an individual without help from human, animal or mechanical trickery. One so called sport of strength falls short of these definitions in the worst way.
Can you guess which one?
Tuesday, 15 September 2009 00:00
Denial creates so many misconceptions. Eating healthy foods are one of life's positive decisions,but only if the complete story surfaces as this topic plays out in “The whole Truth”.
First and foremost, excessive body fat must be lost if health and nutrition are to be one's goal in life. So called “lean foods” will still add body weight if consumed in a caloric quantity above that burned in daily activity. Calories are calories. Some burn faster than others but they all amount to excess body weight if intake exceeds the ability to burn on an equal scale.
Nutritional diets are as different as night and day, in relation to weight loss diets. The term “Big is Beautiful” had to be coined by an obese individual in denial. In reality...it's a life shortening way of using food intake as a hobby. No one has ever eaten their way to to a leaner physique. Negative caloric intake is the only true way. The truth hurts only if we don't accept it.
- Bob Shaefer
Wednesday, 12 August 2009 00:00
Typically, in most sports, we tend to pick one aspect or one player's position to glorify, above any other player or position in the event. In football, it has to be the Quarterback. In the sport of Powerlifting, the Bench Press specialist seems to be pre-eminent in drawing the most attention from the media and stirring excitement from the fans.
Not too many years ago, an 800-pound deadlift or squat, would have us buzzing for weeks. Far too many beginners become so entrenched in the pursuit of their bench press progress, they sometimes sidestep exercises they consider unrelated to their bench training. Commonly, young benchers focus on triceps, pecs, and delts, figuring they play the major role so let's work them to death. I must tell you, without a decent set of lats, you'll never realize your full potential in the bench. I am constantly asked, "How many reps and how many sets should I do"? As years pass, reps and sets become less & less important to me. Nonetheless, it seems to be the never ending question. Many youngsters feel the current crop of top benchers have a secret, magical formula that they share only with each other, carefully guarding the numbers so the masses never get a clue. If, in fact there is a magical formula, I guarantee you it will be different numbers (sets & reps) for each individual. Herein, we find the truth. We are all individuals with totally different physiological blueprints. A wise man once said, One man's ceiling is another man's floor. Structure your own rep/set scheme to fit your specific needs. Ultimately, you really have no choice if you plan on benching at your maximum genetic potential.
Wednesday, 29 July 2009 15:01
It's the early 90s... 93 roughly. I had just opened for business in my small gym (The Underground).
In walked three young High School boys, roughly 17 years old. They were curious and the look on their faces did nothing to hide that fact. Of the three, T.J. Ball was one of those boys. With a bit of chit chat, we discovered their Football Coach was an old friend of mine. Soon all three were joining.
Monday, 03 August 2009 00:00
Despite the absurdity of this myth, it lives on.
What happens if you stop weight training? Your muscles will lose their attractive toned look. The benefits last only as long as you continue training.
Depending on eating habits, you may also gain fat due to the reduced caloric expenditure which will occur when you stop training. So the answer is simple. Keep training! That way, you’ll reap the healthy benefits of weight training, for life.
- Bob Shaefer
Sunday, 26 July 2009 11:21
Anyone with a keen eye for spotting the talent required of a Mixed Martial Arts Competitor will soon gain great respect for the hard work and time spent in preparation for even a rudimentary effort. To gain some semblance of success and satisfaction in this highly technical sport, the number of skills either standing, or on the ground, are vast and almost endless.
To say an individual could spend years evolving, learning, polishing and preparing, would not be embellishing or overstating the fact, by a long shot.
After many years as a strength coach, it became clear to me that a technically well trained fighter could easily dominate a stronger individual with lesser technical skills. I particularly noticed this among the Amateur ranks. But...with that said, my conversations with a number of fighters, along with overhearing statements from others in the game, my overall observations lead me to believe we are seeing too many fighters discounting strength training or minimizing it's importance in the big picture, so to speak. While technical skills may win out in the beginning, eventually a fighter is going to be matched with someone equal in the arts and their applications, but far superior in overall strength. So the point of this observation might lead a few young fighters to a career of longevity and more satisfying accomplishment, not to mention less injury.
Never discount strength when it comes to the battle of two human beings in the cage.Build overall physical strength along with the technical skills and you'll reap the rewards.
- Bob Shaefer
Wednesday, 04 March 2009 00:00
Walk into any Fitness club throughout the Country and you'll most likely see one or more members doing some sort of curl. Maybe dumbbell concentration, barbell curls, etc. Rarely do we see anyone working the muscle group located between the biceps and triceps, called “the brachialis muscles”.
Monday, 02 February 2009 00:00
Fast food is extremely unhealthy, specifically for a young, otherwise athletic child. Not only are the foods fried, homogenized, hydrogenated and otherwise altered, they’re also laced with chemical additives, taste enhancers, processed sugars, food coloring and other unhealthy substances. Oddly enough, many parents actually reward their children for good behavior by buying them unhealthy fast food meals, creating a psychological association between good feelings and junk food. Fast food restaurants often exploit this psychological link by building playgrounds and running feel-good advertisements that emphasize friends and fun, then link those good feelings to their food products. Not a way to prepare a future MMA Star by a long shot.
- Bob Shaefer
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