Recently Red Bull asked me to write up a summary of training with 3x XXL of surfing champion Maya Gabeira.  Maya also won an ESPY for woman of the year and was recently won the teen choice awards.  Check out my outline below!

Maya Gabeira training program for Red Bull Media

Maya Gabeira is a world-class athlete with an amazing work ethic in and out of the gym, we have noted that she is extremely focused and doesn’t waiver from her plans.  In addition to what she is doing with us at EZIA Human Performance, her diet is impeccable and she is religious about yoga, biking and beach runs.  When there are no waves, Maya trains 3-4 hours a day.  Most importantly, Maya is learning the importance of full recovery to reach her highest level of performance, an aspect of training that is often overlooked by athletes who push themselves to the limit.

Maya has been training at EZIA Human Performance for the last 5 months when she is home from surf trips.  She trains at EZIA for 1-3 weeks at a time with 1-2 week trips.  Her basic athletic abilities have quantum leapt forward.  For example, when we met Maya, she could not perform basic jump rope or Olympic lifts properly (clean and jerk and snatch). She now excels at both, and can clean and jerk 20 kilos.  From a coordination, timing and power standpoint, this represents a huge achievement, and is only the beginning for her….

When Maya arrived at EZIA with Blair Marlin from Wasserman Media Group, her request was to focus on explosive power development.  Based on our assessment, she didn’t have any know injuries or limitations (except for some weakness in her left wrist) so we began with an EZIA- power-training cycle.  This is normally something that we progress clients into over time but Maya was able to handle the intensity without any complaints or issues (please see her customized program attached). As she began to plateau, we shifted her training focus to stability and endurance. When she plateaus in the future, we will shift the priority back to explosiveness and power.

On a side note, the difference between strength and power is time.  Maya wants to be faster at everything she does.  It doesn’t matter how much Maya can lift relatively; what’s important is how quickly she can move while maintaining impeccable form and technique.  This holds true in the surf and in the gym.

Maya’s EZIA program consists of extended dynamic warm-ups to develop her basic mobility, coordination and balance.  Often times the warm-up would last up to 30 minutes and include a variety of dynamic drills, moving stretches, body weight floor exercises, medicine ball, tubing, stability objects, light barbell, light kettle bell and other activities.  As her overall condition improved, the duration of the warm-ups became shorter. The intensity and complexity of the warm-up increased and we began to focus our time more on the workout itself.

For high-intensity Energy System Development (the anaerobic version of cardio, think sports conditioning), Maya engaged in a variety of drills including incline treadmill sprints (she can run at 10 miles an hour and 10 on the incline for almost a minute.  Try it yourself, it will kick your @$$), incline hill runs (10 blocks up hill, 2 minute runs), beach runs with stair runs throughout the run, 100 yard sprints and 300 yard shuttle runs, speed and agility ladder, cones and hurdles to name a few… 

Our focus here is to simulate a training experience for Maya’s heart that mimics her actual surfing. We spike Maya’s heart rate to the max, give her a big rest, only to repeat the process.  Keep in mind that when we spike the HR, we are using drills that require a lot of timing and focus, which increases the challenge and therefore the overall training effect.  This experience is similar to catching a big wave (timing) getting your butt kicked on the inside (HR spike), and getting a long break after the paddle out, only to repeat the process an insane amount of times.

In the strength component of Maya’s EZIA program, our focus initially was to learn the skill lifts (snatch, clean and jerk, dead lift, overhead squat and back squat) with barbells, dumb bells and kettle bells.  We also use explosive movements like box jumps, long jumps and triple jumps to increase her overall POWER.  This is not circuit training, usually we compound exercises (one lift, one jump) sometimes as many as 5 sets.  For her upper body strength training we have used bench press, step ups, push-ups, pull-ups, curl press, lunges, arm and leg curls and extensions.  Finally, we develop Maya’s already strong core with medicine ball throw exercises against a wall or while she is sitting or lying on the floor.  She has also learned how to perform hanging leg raises (one of the toughest core exercises in the book) and PNF cable wood chops with 30lbs. 

Maya is a tough Brazilian girl. She once told me she never gets nervous until at a least a few guns are pulled out. Obviously 50 foot waves don’t intimidate her either. She has a tough exterior shell, but inside she is a warm person and we really have some good laughs.  Maya Gabeira is one of the most prepared athletes that EZIA has ever known or worked with.  She will go far in whatever she chooses to do!

-          Isaiah Truyman, owner

EZIA Human Performance will be leading this FLASH MOB on October 2nd and 3rd at the Cardiff Surf Classic & Green Beach Fair 2010 at Cardiff Reef. We will be there with our tent doing demonstrations and getting the whole crowd in on the FLASH MOB! Practice will take place at the Movie Night at Cardiff Elementary on September 25th. They will be showing Chris Cutri’s new Hanging Five movie and will have food and deserts too! Get the kids practicing for the big day with this video and parents, don’t forget to join in too. The dance/fitness routine is really easy so make sure you get up and join the “movement!”

I personally wanted to give one of my clients, Nicole Keeton, some well deserved “kudos” for totally kicking butt! Nicole started training with me this past March, and over the last 6 months has transformed into an amazing athlete. I’m sure you all know who she is…jumping over plyo boxes, performing pistol squats like it’s no big deal, throwing barbells over her head like nobody’s business…I can’t say enough! I cannot wait to see her growth in the next 6 months. If it’s anything like the past 6, she will one dangerous woman!

If you’d like to transform your body and athletic ability like Nicole, come on in for a complimentary training session on me! I can guarantee if you sign up for a 3-day 90-day program and commit to it, you will feel like a brand new person in no time at all.

Activate your potential,

Katelyn

(Photo of Nicole to be posted shortly)

I love to climb rocks. I mean, I really love to climb rocks.

Sure I love the balance of
strength and flexibility in my body as I move across a naturally formed structure of beauty, the mental challenge of figuring out the proper sequence of movements as well as the sheer satisfaction of getting to the top of a rock!

But what I have really grown to love, is falling.

Well, okay, maybe I don’t LOVE to fall, but accepting the fall has intensified my love for climbing!

Going for a move!

Didn't make the move! Ouch!

First, I will explain to you a couple climbing terms. When climbing a rock, there is a way up the rock that requires a sequence of movements; albeit, it is unique to every climber.  In roped climbing, it is referred to as a route. In bouldering (without a rope), it is called a problem.  I am inclined to the latter.

In my earlier days of climbing, my reaction to attempting a problem and not finishing it would be UTTER frustration, even to the point of sometimes getting angry at myself! I would scoff at myself for even continuing! Many times, I wouldn’t.  When I would finish a problem seemingly effortlessly, my glee was immeasurable! What a contrast!  I am unable to pinpoint exactly what triggered the discernment, but all I can tell you is that one day, I realized how damaging those reactions were for my climbing. Climbing, dually, calms and energizes me and I was allowing my fluctuating reactions to mar my ‘journey of climbing’.
I no longer count falling as absolute failure nor do I beat myself up when it happens. I simply recognize it as another experience and I use it as a stepping stone and not a crutch. When I begin a climb, I do not have the expectation to fall; I have the expectation to persevere if I do.

Most of you reading this right now aren’t climbers, but you are on a unique journey that might include losing weight, changing dietary habits, perfecting an athletic skill or working to get out of pain. Have you ever reacted the way I have with climbing?  Have you ever gotten down on yourself or felt that your goal is simply too difficult to attain?
I encourage you to press on.  Your journey  can only be repressed by your own actions and reactions. We all have an inner voice of skepticism, take control of yours! The only failure is giving up, if you encounter a set back, embrace it and move forward.

Another aspect of climbing that fuels my passion for the sport, is the camaraderie. You see, I did not play competitive team sports as a child or teenager. In fact, I was first introduced to soccer at the age of 26! 2 years later, I am still working to perfect skills that most 13 year olds possess!  My discovery of bouldering seemed to fit me perfectly. It was just me and the rock and I didn’t need anybody! Oh how wrong I was. Sharing my passion with ‘newbies’, learning new skills from ‘veterans’, and working together with others at my own level has helped me grow more than anything else.  As I am climbing higher, somebody grounded behind me can point out footholds that I might otherwise miss. If I fall, they can and will guide me to the safety of a crashpad and encourage me to try again.
You need not be on your journey alone. Seek out a professional for safe and personalized guidance. Recruit friends and family to help keep you accountable. I promise you that successes become more enjoyable and setbacks become easier to overcome. Persevere my friends, persevere with friends my friends!

Teamwork! My spotter giving me great beta! (advice)

I encourage you to reap the benefits of these lessons that I am so thankful for!  Whether you are on a journey to lose weight, change dietary habits, follow an exercise schedule, or  get out of pain, hang in there! (pun totally intended)  COMMIT to your program! Sometimes the journey is difficult.  There may even be days that the temptation of an old habit takes over, but take heart, it is PART of your journey. Allow ALL of the experiences to give you strength to press on and to quiet that lying inner voice of failure.  Your journey began because you had a positive thought, perhaps it was faint, but it gave birth to action.

I climb because it de-stresses and calms me, it keeps me physically strong and fit, and it teaches me a heck of a lot about life! I am going to continue climbing the boulder problems that challenge me and I hope you continue to press on past any ‘problems’ in your journey! Please leave a comment, I would love to hear from you and know what keeps you pressing on!

P.S. In case you were wondering,  I did in fact make the move!

Cruz with Ball

Disclaimer: do not attempt the exercises in this video without an EZIA coach present.

THE EZIAN JOURNEY

Life is change and as we travel its path we grow and change and so often do things that are important to us.  There is no fixed road map or designer directions of life, our journey evolves based on the decisions we make on the way.  It is therefore really important that we take the time every now and again to re-evaluate ourselves and what we want from life in order to determine whether we are still on track and going where we want to be.  Ideal times to do this work is when you reach a life’s cross road or any time you feel your life is out of balance.

See you next time,

Coach John