This interview was conducted between Craig Ballantyne and Kevin Levy as they discuss the getting in shape, losing fat and improving your lifestyle.

My good friend Ron Diviney (from Texas where football is BIG and officials wear spurs) sent me this PDF which goes into great detail on stretching. Stretching is a fundamental component of my workout regiment as well as my pregame preparation.

I keep a large resistance bandwhich is about 4 inches wide and about 6 feet long in my bag. I use it to assist in stretching my hamstrings and glutes, shoulders and chest. You can find one at Amazon.com and you should definitely have one in your gym bag. If you want to see the one I have…click here

I continue to see officials use stretching techniques without a proper warm-up period which can do more harm than good often leading or contributing to injury.

Check out this article which does a great job explaining the proper way to stretch.

http://www.iahsaa.org/officials/Officials_Warmup_&_Stretching_Handout.pdf

Here is to better health, better fitness and better football officiating!

Be the Best on the Field,

Todd

This is number 4   of 6 articles in the Fitness for Football Officials series.

The 3 Best Bodyweight Exercises

By: Craig Ballantyne, CSCS, MS
www.TurbulenceTraining.com
Here are 3 kick-butt bodyweight exercises you can do anytime, anywhere to burn fat, stay energized, and avoid overeating.

Bodyweight exercises help you burn fat shockingly fast, without any fancy equipment.

1) Any Single-Leg Exercise
The pistol (single-leg squat to the floor) is the most advanced
1-leg exercise. But you can also do assisted single-leg squats with a band, or onto a bench, or even with a Stability Ball between your back and the wall.

If you aren’t ready for single-leg squats, you can use Bulgarian Split Squats, Reverse Lunges, regular split squats, or lying 1-leg hip bridges if you are a beginner.

2) Decline Push-ups
These are harder than normal pushups, thanks to your elevated feet. And in this position, you can still use a close-grip to fatigue your triceps, a “piked-hip position” to build your shoulders, or even the Spiderman leg motion to work on your abs.

3) Bodyweight Inverted Rows
I choose these over chinups and pullups because bodyweight rows let your chest rest, while your back is strengthened. It’s the perfect compliment to a pushup.

Do 8-12 repetitions per exercise. Don’t rest between exercises. Go through the circuit up to 3 times, resting 1 minute after each circuit.

For a once-per-month challenge, do each exercise to failure in your final round through the circuit.

For a more detailed list of Advanced Bodyweight Exercises and a step-by-step routine to follow, click here  to download

Get in shape fast with Turbulence Training,

Craig Ballantyne, CSCS, MS
Author, Turbulence Training
About the Author


Craig Ballantyne is a Certified Strength & Conditioning Specialist and writes for Men’s Health, Men’s Fitness, Maximum Fitness, Muscle and Fitness Hers, and Oxygen magazines. His trademarked Turbulence Training fat loss workouts have been featured multiple times in Men’s Fitness and Maximum Fitness magazines, and have helped thousands of men and women around the world lose fat, gain muscle, and get lean in less than 45 minutes three times per week. For more information on the Turbulence Training workouts that will help you burn fat without long, slow cardio sessions or fancy equipment, visit www.TurbulenceTraining.com

Missed the other Fitness for Football Officials blog post? No worries. Click below:

Fitness for Football Officials #1
Fitness for Football Officials #2
Fitness for Football Officials #3
Fitness for Football Officials #4
Fitness for Football Officials #5
Fitness for Football Officials #6

Some of you may know in addition to my love for football officiating, I have recently become a high school basketball official. I’m in my rookie season as a JV official with the Kentuckiana Basketball Officials Association. I’m having a lot of fun and this experience reminds me of my rookie football season 7 years ago.

So I’ve been thinking about how to apply what I’ve learned from football to basketball, and there are definitely parallels. Let’s take mentoring for example. I want to move up to varsity in the quickest amount of time. There are some officials that are working JV for the 7 and 8th year.  While that may  be okay for some, its not how I’m built. I want to improve and advance. Just my nature.

Jim Augustyn, former Big Ten umpire and Arena League official is currently a regional supervisor of the Arena II Football League. Jim sheds some light on officiating Arena Football, how it prepares you for higher levels and what to do if you want to apply.