Optimal Strongmen

This past weekend we had a few of our Strongman pros from OPTC compete at the national and world level! Big Gerard Benderoth trucked up to Mohegan Sun to take the stage against the top 12 world’s strongest men in a “World’s Strongest Man” qualifier.

Gerard was selected for this event with only 3 weeks’ notice so we didn’t have much time to prepare, but that didn’t matter for the big guy. He went balls to the wall for the past couple of weeks with his training and got ready in a hurry.

Although he didn’t place in the event, he went out there it gave it his best shot – AND did a GREAT JOB!!

Congrats to BIG G!!!

 

I gotta admit this experience was pretty cool. The sport of strongman isn’t the most popular, but as soon as Gerard was asked to compete in this thing, his celebrity status shot up a bit. The week before the event he was supposed to be on channel five news (his spot got cut due to more important news worthy issue)

what could be more important than Big G.

He was also featured in what I call my 2 seconds of fame. CBS came out to OPTC and did a cool spot about Gerard. Check it out here - (Note that little guy hanging around in the back is yours truly).

In addition to Gerard’s competition, 2 other OPTC members Ben Lambousis and SKEET Dunn went out to Michigan and competed in a National Qualifier, and I’m happy to say they both Qualified and are now getting ready for their National Event in about 8 weeks.

 

JZ

PS – Icheck out the Rockland County’s first Strongman Show – “Battle at the Rock”, hosted by Optimal Performance

click here –

Optimal Performance Football Combine – A Success!!!

On Sunday, May 10th (Mothers day) I’m proud to say that OPTC hosted Rockland’s County’s First ever high school football combine (Optimal Football combine).  I just want to extend a BIG Thank you to all parents and athletes that made this day possible!!!

To say the day was a success would be an understatement. We lucked out with (although somewhat windy early on) good weather and the turnout was great! We had Rockland County Football athletes representing Clarkstown North, Clarkstown South, Suffern, Nyack, Nanuet, and North Rockland, ranging from current 8th graders to High school juniors.

I really think that all the participants now have a great opportunity on their hands! They now know where they stand in terms of performance numbers, and can now laser in and focus their time on improving their weakest links.

The only thing left to do is get out and do it!!! The season is just around the corner.

I’m pleased to say that the day ran very smooth from start to finish!

Again, THANK YOU ALL FOR COMING OUT TO SUPPORT SUPPORT OUR FIRST OPTIMAL PERFORMANCE FOOTBALL COMBINE!!!

JZ

Ps – I almost forgot… to view the results of the day please visit www.opfootballcombine.com

Local Stongman Pro & Proud Member at Optimal Performance

Here is some press of local Strongman Pro and proud member of OPTC…

From New York’s Finest To New York’s StrongestVALLEY COTTAGE, N.Y. (CBS) ― For a decade he was one of New York’s Finest. Now, Gerard Benderoth is one of the country’s strongest – competing for a spot in the World’s Strongest Man competition.

He’s part Rocky, part Incredible Hulk – but in strongman circles, Benderoth is known as the White Rhino: New York’s only professional heavyweight strongman.

In a few days he competes on the national stage.

“This is it,” he says. “This is the big leagues.”

Benderoth began competing in strongman competitions in 2003. He liked catching the bad guys, but says he’d rather be lifting dead weight.

“It’s fun. It’s as much fun as you can have [while] not being able to breathe, with a 400-pound stone on your chest,” Benderoth says.

His equipment – giant stone balls, blocks of concrete, earth-moving tires – look like toys in a giant toddler’s playpen.

But training for these events isn’t child’s play.

Strongmen aren’t just good for lifting stones or flipping tires. If your car breaks down or you run out of gas, they can help you get to work – by pushing your car.

Benderoth stretches and works out every day. And he also eats – a lot.

“I eat breakfast twice, I eat two lunches, I eat dinner, and then I eat supper,” Benderoth says. “I always eat a snack before bed.”

Those meals total 8,000 calories a day, quadruple the amount that a regular guy eats.

“I really don’t care how good I look,” Benderoth says. “I want to be strong. That’s what I care about, being strong.”

The World’s Strongest Man Qualifier will determine if he’s strong enough, but if he doesn’t win, he’s got a nice consolation prize.

“I come in last place, and my son thinks I’m the strongest guy in the world,” he Benderoth says. ‘And I love it. I love it, it’s the best.”

After six years of training, eight orthopedic operations and thousands of tons carried, Benderoth is pumped.

In case you’re wondering, Benderoth has 23-inch biceps.

He’ll be put to the test this weekend at the Mohegan Sun Arena.

originally posted by www.CBSnews.com - see write up here -  http://www.facebook.com/ext/share.php?sid=79998714193&h=fcdo7&u=dzRrd&ref=mf

JZ

PS – also here is a link to our 2 minutes of fame from the publicity of Big G

http://wcbstv.com/services/popoff.aspx?categoryId=48&videoId=127764@wcbs.dayport.com&videoPlayStatus=false&videoStoryIds=127764@wcbs.dayport.com&videoTime

Optimal Perofmance Olympic weightlifting – Saturday mayham

Here is some quick footage of yours truly. Today I refined some technique on my cleans.

I hit some clean drops, then a nice muscle clean and Tall clean complex, followed by a 3 position clean. I then hit my only real work set of the day…

a Clean for a set of 6 at roughly 50% of my projected final lift for August.

check it out…

not bad for my first real week back.

FYI – all my O-lift training will be some what light as I’m nursinga slightly strained (was torn) bracial radialis. I strained it almost 7 weeks ago, but has been feeling pretty good just taking slow for the next 6 weeks. then it will be go time.

More to come next week

JZ

PS – a bonus clip of a couple of our BIG BOYS playing with the Axle…

Rockland County’s # 1 Sports Performance Training Center To host Rockland’s 1st High school Football Combine

PRESS RELEASE April, 20, 2009 For Immediate Release Contact: Jason Zaretzky 845.268.3494 Optimal Performance Training Center

Rockland County’s # 1 Sports Performance Training Center To host Rockland’s 1st High school Football Combine   Rockland County, 4/20/09: Jason Zaretzky, a local sports performance training expert and owner of Optimal Performance Training Center  located in Valley Cottage, NY will host Rockland County’s first and only high school football combine on the turf field at Clarkstown North High school.   The NFL Combine is a testing ground where top rated college players show off their strength and speed in a variety of tests, both physical and mental. Based on those tests, scouts and coaches from the NFL teams select who they think will best add to their team. It has become somewhat of a standard not just for NFL prospects, but now at the high school level as well. There are more and more high school football combines being run every year, and Zaretzky thought it was time for Rockland County and the surrounding areas high schools to get involved.   “Our football combine will be professionally run just the like the big show in Indianapolis. We will include all the big events like the 40 yard dash, Vertical jump, broad jump, 20 yard short shuttle, The 3 cone drill, bench press for reps test and the 60 yard long shuttle”, says Zaretzky.   Zaretzky states, We are hosting Rockland County’s first ever football combine for a couple of reasons;   1.)  To see what kind of results Rockland County football athletes off-season training has provided 2.)  To heighten the awareness of where football athletes compare to other football players in section 1   3.)  To give coaches a Benchmark of how their athletes are doing   4.)   Find Out the weak links athletes need to focus on this Summer in order to better prepare for the upcoming season   5.)  Provide a fun, competitive environment for your athletes   On Sunday May 10th, from 8:30 AM – 1:00 PM, Jason Zaretzky and the Optimal Performance Training Staff will conduct the “Optimal Football Combine”. The event will be held at Clarkstown North High School on the turf. The first 20 athletes to register by the  April 30th deadline will receive a FREE Optimal Football Combine t-shirt. The event is open to all incoming freshmen through seniors in high school. Cost is just $20 per athlete or $10 per athlete when 20 or more register together.   For more information or to register please contact Jason Zaretzky at 845.268.3494 or email him at jasonz@optcfitness.com   ###   Contact Info:   Email- jasonz@optcfitness.com Phone- 845-268-3494 Website- www.rocklandsportstraining.com

Optimal Football Combine

So I have been getting a lot of feedback on the upcoming highschool football combine We’ll be hosting.

My email box is pouring with some questions. Instead of answering them all individually I am posting them all up here.

Be sure to check back as I will be updating this page every day with more questions regarding the combine.

Guest Post By Kevin Gendron of Better Athletic Development – A-Rod – Steroids & Youth Sports

Here is my first guest blog from collegue, friend, and owner of Better Athletic Development (located in Shelton CT.) Kevin Gendron

 

It’s a Q & A he recently posted in his email newsletter. It’s about the whole steroid /A-Rod & Stroid problem we are seeing in youth, college, and pro sports sports

 

Guest Blog;

 

Hey Coach, did you hear about A-Rod?

 

The answer is yeah,unfortunately i did.

      On February 9, 2009, Alex Rodriguez (A-Rod) admitted to taking performance enhancing drugs from 2001 to 2003.  As any baseball fan would know, that period marked the start of his signing with the Texas Rangers, starting the longest contract in baseball history.  For days, all anyone saw when flipping through news stations or watching ESPN was ‘A-FRAUD ADMITS TO USING PERFORMANCE ENHANCING DRUGS’.  But what does a statement like that tell us?  What should we think about this kind of scandal?  In the search for opinions for comparison, I found that most people were extremely disappointed to find more PED use in a sport they love, but when I asked folks what substance he used, no one knew anything about the drugs, not even the names.  Everyone hid behind the scariest word in baseball history – STEROIDS.
      After doing a little digging, I found this quote: “Rodriguez reportedly tested positive for the banned substances Primobolan and testosterone in 2003″ -ABC News.  Testosterone is the human male sex hormone, which is made naturally by both genders but only in extremely low amounts in females, and when supplemented into the body is called a steroid.  It is responsible for causing secondary sex characteristics in males, production of sperm, hair growth, and increased muscular development.  Primobolan is a drug touted to stimulate production of testosterone.  Now testosterone is an anabolic steroid, anabolic meaning it stimulates growth of living tissue, which is why A-Rod was using it.  But again, what do steroids mean to us, our society, and our young athletes who are aspiring to be like their heroes?

 

      Last year, a movie came out which asked these types of questions, a movie called Bigger, Stronger, and Faster.  This Documentary, directed by and starring Christopher Bell, explains three brother’s struggle to find heroes, shows their battles with steroid use controversies, and the searches for information to help us better understand steroid scandals.  Bell visited politicians, medical experts, athletic trainers, professional athletes, and even gym rats, to find out the truth about steroids, their positive side effects, their negative side effects, and most of all, why we as Americans might be culturally pushed into using them.  The movie also talks about the misleading images of the supplement industry, and helps us see through some of the before and after photos.

 

In light of the A-Rod controversy, and in the quest for an entertaining way to educate our young athletes about steroids, I would fully recommend all of our athletes and their parents watch this amazing documentary!

 

Its reviews:
Bell’s documentary is an absolute must see for anyone taking part in any kind of debate about steroids. – Film Threat
This movie is remarkable in that it seems to be interested only in facts. – Chicago Sun-Times
Raucously funny and surprisingly insightful.- Los Angeles Times
Super Size Me on steroids! - Variety

 

Movie trailer:

http://www.biggerstrongerfastermovie.com/

 
Rated PG-13 Thematic material involving drugs, language, some sexual content and violent images.

Optimal Performance & Football Combine Training

Every year around this time I usually get pretty busy with football athletes. After all it is off season and the offseason is a really important time not just for football players, but all athletes.

I must say that this year is a bit different however. Different because I am actually dealing with a descent amount of football guys who are prepping for football combines.

The fun thing is I got the whole spectrum of football athletes this year   - Two professional hopefuls in Shawn Harris(Southern CT)  & Chenry Lewis (Rutgers/ Abilene Christian University). Shawn Recently completed a private Pro-day where he hit an unheard of 42″ vertical jump, While Chenry participated in Rutgers Pro- day last week where he also threw up some descent numbers.

Hopefully the made enough noise and the pro scout opened their eyes…In the mean time Chenry and Shawn are training hard every day as they prep for the Elite Combine coming up in May.

On the other side of the spectrum I have a soon to be High school upper classman and an 8th grader prepping for the National Underclassmen Combines coming up this spring as well. You may now these two as The Porcelli brothers! Vin who had a standout year as a sophomore will participate in this combine for the 2nd year in a row, while Guido is stepping up for the 1st time this year. I am sure I will report back to you with great results as these two have been at OPTC training their butts off getting ready for this thing.

I will keep you posted with their results.

In addition I have a special announcement coming your way later this week, so be sure to check back the blog frequently.

I will leave you with this – My special announcement will pertain to Combine training so check back!!!

 JZ

PS – Did you know we offer specialized training to all football athletes participating in combines or just getting ready for thier upcoming season? Check out details of our Optimal Combine Trianing Program here

 

 

 

Bathing Suit Season Nightmares?

It’s getting to be that time of year. Before you know it summer will be here. Heck, it’s already Spring Break  for some folks. Seems like just yesterday it was January 1st and everyone was making their New Year’s Resolution. Well, hopefully YOU didn’t because you know a flimsy “resolution” doesn’t get you anywhere.

You know it takes much more than that. You know you need:

Written  goals

A solid exercise program

Social support

Discipline

Patience

Sacrifice

A burning desire to succeed

Changes in your lifestyle

Education

Proper nutrition

In other words, you know you need to GET REAL about fat loss. You know  it makes no sense to fall for the same old miracle promise or “easy” solution. Whether it’s January 1st or Bathing Suit season doesn’t matter. The proven approach to looking great on the beach is good old fashioned effort.

Look, in one way my life would be a LOT easier if I just lied to you and sold you a bunch of empty promises. Sure, it would make earning a living super easy. Most people are happy to spend their hard earned money on the latest miracle pill or potion. But I wouldn’t be able to look at myself in a mirror. I wouldn’t be able to sleep at night. And that’s why I’ll never be the one to lie to you about what it takes to transform your body.

Do the right thing this Bathing Suit Season. Use it as a catalyst to really change your life. I’d be thrilled to help you. I’d love it if you’d place your trust in me and let me show you the right way to do things.

If you arm yourself with the right knowledge and approach this with a great attitude you’ll NEVER have another Bathing Suit Season nightmare again.

JZ

PS – If you want to make the nutrition aspect of fat loss simple then you need to get on board with my friends at Prograde Nutrition & Advocare. They’re like me; they don’t sell miracles in a bottle. They sell real nutrition that supports your fitness and fat loss goals. The Best Part about both companies is – You can save a lot of loot!!!

Prograde offers great combo packs Check out Prograde Nutrition here.

Advoare offers a unique opportunity where you can not only save 20% – 40% off products – But you can also earn Big $$$ Too – Click here to check em out

Why Train At Optimal Performance?

So I was at the gym in Jersey (yes I’m a member at a health club by my house in NJ) this past weekend and ran into a trainer my wife used to work with.

We hadn’t seen him in a long time (before I opened up Optimal Performance).

anyway, we got into talking for a bit and he asked what I was up to…

So I went onto tell him about Optimal Performance and What it is we actually do in terms of Athletic Performance.

I then found myself thinking about a phone call I had with a parent and prospective student athlete. During that conversation he asked ,

” Why Should my son Train at Optimal Performance?”

I then went onto explain my top 4  reasons YOU should train with us at Optimal Performance.

1. Get Stronger, Get Faster, Get That advantage Only Training Here can give you!
   When you join Optimal Performance, YOU WILL get stronger and faster Guaranteed.  In fact, we are so confidant about your sports and fitness success that  if you are not completely satisfied, we will give you 100% of your money back within the first month of joining. A matter of fact we also offer a “try before You Buy” week membership, so you can see for your self!  
2. Fluff Free – Hard Core Training – Backed by Proven & Scientific Programming – That Get you the Result you want – The RESULTS that reward you in your Sport not just in the gym
3. High Performance & Corrective Exercise Specialists – The areas best Strength Coaches -
   Our coaches are the most qualified in the field of sports science, speed and strength development.  We are certified by the most stringent and prestigious organizations in the Strength & Conditioning field including NSCA/ CSCS, NASM and, The CHEK Institute.  We also pride ourselves on our ability to motivate and demand only the best efforts from our athletes.
4. College Scholarships & Professional Contracts
   Everyone knows that in order to get a scholarships (especially today), you have to be‘Cream of The Crop’. In your sport. At Optimal Performance it is our mission to give every athlete the tools they need in order to achieve all of their sports and life goals and purpose. “We Motivate – Inspire – & – Educate”  You to be the best you possibly can be!

 So if  you’re an athlete (or you have a child that’s an athlete) and  think;

You’re Strong enough

You’re Fast enough

You don’t think you need a competitive edge

You can do it yourself without EXPERT Coaching

Improving your sports performance won’t help you get that athletic Scholarship

OR if YOUR Gym has an atmosphere like this;

THEN OPTIMAL PERFORMANCE IS NOT FOR YOU!!!

If you would like a free week trial membership – click here!!!

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