Renegade Training and the Xvest™- Part 1

Renegade Training and the Xvest — For the last few decades the exercise and health community has been in a peculiar state of flux. With the “evolution” of the fitness craze, the nation was cleverly marketed the widest variety of gadgetry, machinery and diet solutions that was sold to them as “fitness solutions”. Oddly enough as this occurred, the nation’s general heath slowly spun out of control, gaining speed to where it is now, a vicious downward spiral racing to unprecedented levels of obesity and health related issues. At this point it is clear, the evidence irrefutable – with more money being spent on health and fitness than ever in our nations history, there has equally never been a population as unhealthy. Quite obviously the verdict is in, the gavel has been struck what is being sold as healthy exercise choices are not working and the public is paying for it not only financially but with their health, their lives.

At the same time that this “evolution” was unfurling, I began the development of my training theories. For the most part they have been known as shockingly revolutionary and brutally demanding yet in-truth are a return to all-around athleticism. Through exhaustive practice, investigation and evaluation, these concepts would be time-tested, solidify and evolve into the foundation of the Renegade school of thought, a leader in sports performance enhancement and wellness all with a keen eye towards delivering a positive and ethical impact on society. Oddly these same concepts flew straight against the growing trends in the health and fitness industry and it is clear that to truly understand the success of Renegade Training is a route to understand what has went wrong in the health and fitness field.  

Sadly, much training today has departed from the functionality and purpose to improve performance, whether that is on the field of competition or the field of life. While it may seem trite, to achieve your fitness, health and performance goals you  need to abandon the images and exercise concepts and step forward with the idea that all exercise must create a great structure, impenetrable to injury and efficient in movement. Borrowing upon the great Frank Lloyd Wright’s axiom of ““form and function”, by creating a great powerful foundation in which other work can be laid upon, your goals can be within your reach. From this early understanding of “form and function” the basic, overriding physical concepts of exercise roll out and impact upon every facet of your training.

Renegade Concepts of Training

Ø      movements trained, not musculature

Ø      efficiencies of movement reinforced

Ø      motor patterning and grafting

Ø      postural alignment is perfected

Ø      stabilization in the most de-stabilized training environments

Ø      force developed such that is can be projected, accepted and redirected at maximal levels.

From these concepts more concrete outlines become obvious and sincere to the cause of improving performance. While most training, fitness environments spend time in one area, most typically weight room activities, little else is mentioned of the various attributes needed to maximize performance. Thus metaphorically speaking an athlete to truly excel must possess these far-reaching attributes each of equal strength and capability, (i) Drive, determination and dedication, (ii) Range of Motion, dynamic and static, (iii) Agility (iv) Linear Speed (v) Strength – various form (vi) Work Threshold and (vii) Sport Specific Skills.

Therefore it is clearly apparent that the Renegade process of development embraces overall athletic development and excellence with a unique understanding of the peculiar blend of explosive power and grace. Quite clearly the key to this delicate mix is the first concept – the training and perfection of seamless and efficient movement. With this concept firmly in-hand the pathway to greatness unfurls before you.

For the most part what has become confusing in the modern strength and conditioning community is the preponderance of different training systems. Inherently confusing to the reader is the volume of conflicting “scientific research” that can be used to either validate or discredit each of these methodologies. And yet as you review many of said philosophies, you will often find both a void of (a) goals of training beyond a simple agenda (b) conceptual themes to attain such goals in conjunction with a generalized use of certain pieces equipment that are unique to the style of training. Many training systems today espouse a piece of equipment as the sole choice, the panacea of training and forget that it is merely a medium to the goals. Yet what is truly extraordinary of the Xvest is that it goes beyond the role of equipment and truly fits within the proper achievement of training concepts and is adaptable and adds value to all training methodologies.

In future articles we will continue with an in-depth look at the secrets to the success of Renegade Training and how the Xvest can be used as one of the most devastating weapons in an athletes training protocols (see the Xvest here: http://www.renegadetraining.com/xvest.html).