My Fitness Rushmore

No one is born knowing everything. John Locke would argue, in fact, that everyone is born knowing absolutely nothing. Like anyone, most of what I know has been passed down to me by a great teacher. I’d like to use this post to recognize the 4 most influential people on my fitness knowledge.

1. Kurt Hester -  Corporate Training Director, D1 Sports Training. Kurt has served as a strength coach at LSU, Tulane, and Southeastern Louisiana University. Kurt was my boss when I was with D1 Little Rock. His approach to  training an athlete is the best I’ve been around. He has trained several professional athletes, including Peyton and Eli Manning, Michael Oher (of The Blindside), and Matt Forte, just to name a few. He was featured in Clay Travis’ Fanhouse blog “Rough Draft,” where Travis trained side-by-side with former college standouts preparing for the NFL draft. While I learned a lot from Kurt, the most influential was his knowledge of speed training, citing force production into the ground as the single greatest effect. From training athletes using this approach, I concur.

2. Don Decker - Coach Decker is the head strength and conditioning coach at Ole Miss. He was previously the head strength coach at the U of A, where I was first introduced to a division 1 collegiate weight program. He was the first person to teach me what an Olympic lift was supposed to look like. Known for his intensity and constant use of the word “freak.” (Seriously - have never heard the man cuss, but have heard him say “freak” hundreds of times).

3. Carter Hays - This guy is more passionate about general fitness than anyone I’ve ever met. He totally revolutionized the way I train people and the way I trained. Many have heard of “Boot Camps”, but no one does them like Carter. A former Navy Seal and frequent trainer for “The Biggest Loser” contestants, he is the founder of W1, an off-shoot of D1, but aimed at the general population. He also trained the cast of the movie “300.”

4. Alwyn Cosgrove - Alwyn is a Scottish-turned-Southern California-based strength coach. He has done extensive research on fat burning, emphasizing the importance of intense weight training for fat reduction. Alwyn has written several books including “Afterburn,” which is all about fat-loss (who knew fish oil could actually burn fat?) If you ever have a chance to hear him speak, the only thing that will intrigue you more than his knowledge is his accent.