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Jamie Hale is one of the top strength and conditioning
coaches in the country. He recently released a new line
of solid steel sledge hammers in conjunction with Torque
Athletic. His forthcoming book is destined to be a hit.
You can find out more about Jamie Hale at his website,
www.maxcondition.com
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Jamie, how did you get started in strength
and conditioning as a trainer?
JH: I have been involved with the Sports and Fitness industry
for almost my entire life. Actually, physical activities have
been the only thing that has really interested me in my lifetime.
I participated in numerous sports as a youngster including martial
arts, baseball, boxing, basketball etc… At a young age I
was also very adventurous as I was a true stuntman. I liked to
jump off of houses into swimming pools, do crazy bike and skateboard
tricks and other things. Typical young boy stuff.
At a very early age my father purchased me a weight set and I
begin experimenting with that. I was also fascinated with nunchakus
and swords. Okay, time to get to what you asked me. I begin training
people when I was about 19yrs old. I started working with friends
on some techniques I had experimented with. The next thing I knew
these friends were referring other people to me and I started
developing a large clientele. In the past I have worked in typical
commercial gyms, martial arts studios, in home training services
and just about ever avenue of training people you can imagine.
I have been very lucky in my professional career, as I have had
the chance to work with the fields leading authorities such as
John Davies, Scott Sonnon, Mel Siff, etc…
I was also very fortunate to work with Hall Of Fame Weightlifting
Coach and athlete, Dr. David Pursley. This man opened up my eyes
to the importance of the Olympic lifts and their benefits to athletes.
I have applied what I have learned form these great minds and
combined it with my own techniques to devise MaxCondition Training.
The ultimate objective in my training programs is to tackle and
develop individual weaknesses, and optimize the development of
the specific motor qualities required to be successful in that
athletes particular endeavor. By the way I have many clients I
train for general fitness purposes as well as Competitive athletes
and coaches. My facility Total Body Fitness (General Fitness Facility
combined with Sports Conditioning facility) is probably one of
the few where you will see an 80-year-old female walking on a
treadmill in one room and at the same time a pro MMA competitor
choking someone in another room.
Tell us about your new book? Is it geared
towards any specific types of athletes or is it a general book
on training?
JH: It is geared towards athletes, coaches, trainers and anyone
interested in educating themselves in Sports Conditioning. The
book provides readers with an extensive list of exercises (Over
400 photos). The entire spectrum of athleticism is addressed including
dynamic range of motion, static range of motion, agility, quickness,
speed, strength, power, and work capacity. The book also includes
a chapter on Sports Skill and Education of a Sports Conditioning
Coach. The final chapter details programs for athletes from three
different sports. I think this book will be a great addition to
anyone’s library. The book presents a fair amount of scientific
research in combination with my practical research from years
of study an experimentation. I thank Rmax.Tv Productions for giving
me the chance to display my work to the world. Stay tuned for
release at www.rmax.tv.
You also recently released a line of deluxe
Steel Sledges? What role do they play in the training of your
athletes?
JH: They play a key role in most of my athletes program. If you
have never utilized this tool you will be amazed at the numerous
benefits that it promotes. Refer to my article INTRO TO SLEDGE
TRAINING at www.torqueathletic.com.
Sledge swinging for physical conditioning has existed for hundreds
of years. This was a stable of Old time strongmen and combat athletes.
It plays an invaluable role in the majority of my athletes programs.
I have pro boxers who train with the Steel Sledge as well as bodybuilders.
This tool offers something for everyone.
Recently I had a mountaineer travel to Eldorado Peak which is
a beautiful mountain located in Washington State. When she returned
from the trip she told me there were times when the climb was
very difficult, but she always thought to herself anything is
easy compared to the Sledge work we done. All of my combat athletes
are required to use the Steel Sledge as well as a number of my
other clients. Keep in mind the Steel Sledge in not like a sledgehammer
that you purchased from a hardware store. This device was invented
for Fitness purposes. The Steel Sledge will last for a lifetime;
it is indestructible. The initial test used to see how durable
the product would be was the destruction of a railroad tie. Guess
what? It passed with flying colors. The Steel Sledge also has
a 1-½ inch diameter handle, military crinkle black finish
for grip, an end cap on the handle that prevents slippage of grip,
and a constant center of mass. On top of it all this thing looks
awesome. Modern technology meets archaic strength and combat conditioning.
I am very excited as Odis (owner of Torque Athletic) and I put
forth a great deal of thought and research in designing this product.
The product can be purchased at www.torqueathletic.com.
Didn’t a lot of the boxers back in
the day chop wood as a form of general physical preparedness (GPP)?
JH: Yes they did. Jack Dempsey contributes a large part of his
success to wood chopping. De la Hoya and Foreman have also been
noted to utilize chopping and swinging exercises into their regimens.
I have spoken to numerous coaches’ form around the world
that incorporates this into their programs. In fact a boxing coach
introduced me to the idea of sledge work. He told me his athletes
had been using swinging and chopping methods for twenty years.
So as you can see this is not a new concept but a very successful
method that has been re-defined. Just last week I had a boxer
visit my facility and I put him through some intense Sledge work.
We just used a basic foot forward diagonal swing. He was exhausted
after 2 2m rds. Keep in mind he is a well-conditioned athlete.
I cannot stress enough how important this type of work is for
athletes.
Just out of curiosity, where would a person
find one of those huge tires for the tire slamming/wood chopping
exercises?
JH: Tractor supply or farm supply store. Tire or automotive shops.
They can also be found at junkyards. With any pick up purchase
of a Steel Sledge from Total Body Fitness I give away a free tire.
You were recently inducted into the World
Martial Arts Hall of Fame for your strength and conditioning work.
What is your martial arts background?
Jh: I have been involved with martial arts in some shape or form
the majority of my life.
When I was very young I was fascinated with martial arts movies
and Bruce Lee. I was also fascinated with Swords and nunchakus.
I studied a marital art called Seishin Kai when I was a kid. I
was a national kata and kumite champion at a young age. I watched
ever martial art movie and read ever martial book and magazine
I could get my hands on. As I got older I began studying MMA in
particular Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu and Thai Boxing.
When I was in college I was the founder and President of Eastern
Kentucky University’s Boxing team. I also competed in Golden
Gloves Boxing. I wrote an article and was interviewed by an International
Marital Arts Magazine called Razm Avar a couple of years ago.
I became good friends with Alireza Fadaie Khoi the man that set
me up with the interview and writing assignment. I was appointed
Honorary Member and Advisor to Karate International Council of
Kickboxing. I advise this organization on various aspects of Conditioning
and nutrition. I became a member of the World Marital Arts Hall
of Fame April the 4th 2003. Being inducted in the Hall of Fame
is a great honor for me.
Could you tell us a bit about some of the
combat athletes you worked with? What strengths and deficiencies
did you see? What type of training program did you set for them?
I have worked with various combat athletes including boxers,
jiu-jitsu players, judo players, wrestlers, MMA athletes etc….
My athletes include numerous amateur and pro athletes. I have
advised combat athletes and coaches from around the entire world.
The majority of combat athletes I have dealt with have been exposed
to hard training but not necessarily qualitative training. Almost
all of the athletes I have encountered have never paid any attention
to agility or quickness training. We know agility, and quickness
is key attributes in combat sports. They have also been mis-lead
to believe that if they do not look a specific way or squat heavy
loads they are mot in condition. These are problems that are encountered
in all athletic circles. Another problem is the excessive reliance
on running long distance. The abundant use of this type of training
is detrimental to their performance as athletes. Actually I could
write an entire book on this question but let me sum it up with
a few key points. 1) Do not neglect range of motion work 2) understand
the difference between strength and power 3) include sprint type
activities in training 4) Do not neglect sports skill training
5) perform your sports skill training and conditioning work in
separate sessions 6) minimize the use of machines 7) agility and
quickness are key attributes 8)there is no perfect program or
training tool
My programs are designed to develop the athlete in a very progressive
manner. In my programs the individual idosyncracies are addressed
as well at the particular needs of the sport. Keep in mind every
boxer is not the same or every judo player is not the same. I
prefer to develop programs on an individualized basis. At times
this may be impossible, but this is the ideal situation. When
you read my book you will see an outline of most of the methods
I incorporate with my athletes. I develop new ones on a daily
basis so it would be impossible to list them all of them. BTw
for anyone who doesn’t know I will be co promoting the Kentucky
Fighting Challenge 2 (mixed marital arts event in Lexington Ky
on October the 11th. Special guests for the event will be Carlson
Gracie Jr. and Senior (Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu legends) as well 2x
boxing World Champ Darrin Van Horn.
You include tumbling drills in a lot of
your programs, were you ever a gymnast? Which are your favorite
drills and what do they add to the overall training process?
JH: No I was not a gymnast, but I have great respect for these
athletes. I have worked with a few gymnasts and they have introduced
me to numerous tumbling drills. I really began to emphasize this
type of training when I began to see how much emphasis Coach Davies
placed on these drills. With further exploration I discovered
many coaches worldwide used this type of training. For the last
2 ½ years tumbling has became a very important part of
my training. My favorite tumbling drills are Backward extension
rolls, and hurdle dive rolls. These drills are great for body
awareness, agility, range of motion, balance, coordination, explosive
strength, teaching the body to fall and can be used for endurance
purposes once a sufficient level of skill is reached. I use the
basic forward roll as a test of general athleticism My rule is
that if a trainee cannot execute a basic forward roll in a smooth
coordinated fashion is two weeks they have limited athletdic abilitu.
I always preach this at my camps. When I first present this idea
people think I am crazy, but I have had numerous coaches contact
me after testing my theory and most of them agree with me completely.
In fact, Coach Dick Hartzell (inventor of Jumpstretch band) told
me recently he had come to the same conclusion.
Other than hammers, what types of other
training implements do you include in your programs?
JH: Other implements include agility ladders, jump ropes, cones,
barriers, hurdles, jumpstretch bands, Kettlebells, Clubbells,
barrels, dumbbells, barbells, tires, balance beams, stability
balls, rocks, The Wrecking Ball (new product invented by Paul
Smith and Torqueathletic- the product can purchased at www.torqueathletic.com).
I really emphasize the O lifts in my programs as well.
Lastly, could you tell us a little bit
about the way you personally train? Could you give us a blow-by-blow
account of one of your recent workouts?
JH: At the present time my emphasis changes often due to the
different teaching modes I use with athletes. Recently I have
spent a great deal of times working with Clubbells and Kettlebells.
I love both of these tools as they provide users with numerous
benefits that cannot be experienced with dbs or barbells. My training
is usually geared towards any up and coming events I have scheduled.
In my MaxCondition Training Camps I demonstrate hundreds of different
movements. I need to be able to demonstrate these with good form
so a few weeks before camp I work on the movements to be presented
in the camp exclusively. I have performed these exercises thousands
of times so it usually requires a low volume of rehearsal for
each movement. The workout I performed today is provided below.
Jump rope 3 2m rds
Dynamic Range of motion
Davies Hurdle drills
Tumbling drills low volume
High Hang Squat Snatch
High Hang clean and Jerk
Kb Power Snatch
Cb Split Style snatch w/ side bend
Steel Sledge w/ Forward Sled dragging
Figure 8 swings- 2o reps followed
by 200ft sled drag. Perform non-stop for 7 minutes. Rest
2 minutes and repeat.
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Thank you Tyler for your time.
Visit Coach Hale's site at www.maxcondition.com
