Rylie Miller | Athlete of the Week

Rylie joined the TCBB family last fall and is the youngest female athlete in the gym. Although she is a multi-sport, multi-talented young lady, softball is her passion. Working with Rylie is a joy and she stretches our coaching skills by asking no less than 20 questions in a 60 minute session. Every week Rylie works toward strengthening her mental competiveness along with gaining more physical strength and power. Rylie looks at softball not only as a means to her college and competitive dreams, but also as a platform to inspire younger female athletes in the future.

School: Wichita Collegiate School
Grade: 5th
Favorite Subject: Math
Club Team: Cure Softball
Achievements: 5x MVP during 2015-2016 season
Hobbies: Playing softball with her "softball sisters"
Future Goals: Play softball for the USSSA All American Team and compete at the Division I Level

Since starting her journey at Top Crop Barbell, Rylie says she's learned a lot about herself. "I have to tell myself that I have to do this no matter how hard it is and remember when I'm done that I'll be proud of myself." "Hard work pays off and it's worth it in the end," she says.

Cammie Davis | Athlete of the Week

If you're unfortunate enough to be on the receiving end of Cammie's competitiveness, sorry we're not sorry. Last outdoor season, she scored 29 goals and had 12 assists. Cammie is an absolute powerhouse and will push her skills, strength, and mind to ensure success on the soccer field and classroom. She empowers and pushes others on her team and does so with grace and a smile. Since starting her training with Top Crop Barbell trainers 1 year ago, Cammie says, "I have learned so much, but the biggest thing I learned is the importance of having good form when exercising. Also I have learned a ton about nutrition and how I should fuel my body."

School: Maize High School
Grade: 9th
GPA: 4.125
Club Team: SC Cosmos
Hobbies:

• Photography
• Cooking
• Running

Future Goals: Play soccer at the intercollegiate level.

We are so proud to hear that she is doing an amazing job contributing to her high school soccer team, and we can't wait to see what the next 4 years (and beyond) hold for her.

Road to the Record | 6 & 5 Weeks Out

I've been thinking about competing in a powerlifting meet for the past year. The last 6 months was used to gain strength and get back into a consistent workout routine (after my college graduation and founding Top Crop Barbell). The past 6 weeks were used to hone in my technique and start cutting a little weight by massively increasing my protein intake and making sure I'm getting enough sleep.

Week 6 was the halfway point of my focused meet prep and was a deload week in my programming. A deload week isn't a complete week off from training. I trained 3 days that week but with a huge decrease in training volume. All I did was build up to 70% of my max in each lift (squat, bench, deadlift) and repped it for 2. Then I dropped the weight down to 30% of my max and did it for a quick set of 10. I warmly welcomed this deload week because a few of my joints were aching during and after training sessions.

Now I'm 5 weeks out from the AAU Oklahoma Women's Powerlifting Championships and I can't believe the time has almost come for me to attempt to break the squat, bench, deadlift, and 3 lift total in my weight class. My confidence is growing, but I'm training as the underdog. My programming has gotten a lot more powerlifting specific and I'm not straying too much away from the primary lifts. I can't complain, I love pushing heavy weight. I'm excited for the next 3 weeks of training and playing with heavy ass weight!!!

My goals for this next phase of training are:

1. Stay confident under the bar.
2. Stay consistent with my eating and hydrating plan.
3. Get enough sleep.
4. Gain confidence in every other area of my life.

Skylar Goering | Athlete of the Week

Skylar is a dedicated player for her school's varsity and club volleyball teams. Over the past several months, she has made incredible progress toward jumping higher, blocking quicker, and hitting harder. Skylar works hard on the court, in the gym, and in the classroom and one of the most coachable athletes we work with at Top Crop Barbell. Since she began training with Top Crop Barbell trainers, Skylar says, "I've learned good form and now I'm jumping higher!" When she isn't at a volleyball tournament or training in the gym, you can find her hanging out with her friends.

School: Maize South High School
Grade: 9th
GPA: 4.0
Club Team: Wichita Volleyball Academy 15-1
Future Goals: Play volleyball in college

Sydni Hawkins | Athlete of the Week

Sydni has been training hard this offseason and has built greater power, speed, and strength.  Last season she hit a .545, had 36 hits in 22 games, and had 38 runs scored. Did we mention she's only a sophomore?! If you've never seen Sydni run the bases, it's hardly running...she's lightening fast, especially in the first 5 steps.We're excited to see how much she grows and improves during her first year of sport performance training and we feel confident she'll be even more difficult to catch when stealing 2nd base. Sydni says that since starting her journey with Top Crop Barbell, she's learned "I'm capable of a lot more than I thought."

School: Southeast High School
Grade: 10th
GPA: 3.6
Club Team: Renegades 16U Gold
Hobbies: Hanging out with friends and family
Future Goals: Play softball in college

Road to the Record | 7 Weeks Out

snapchat: samschaefer.now

I came into week 7 with fire and determination in my eyes, but by the end of the week all I could do was try my best to not eat every Reece's Easter egg and all the strawberry shortcake. I didn't eat all of them, but I did my share of damage. The past couple days have been spent eating a ton of protein and limiting my carbs to help eliminate some water weight I accumulated over the weekend. So far, I'm back down to where I was before, but still need to lose 7lbs in the next 7 weeks to make weight on May 15th.

Admittedly, I haven't been doing my mobility work like I should, and soreness has been creeping into my muscles and joints. I'm pushing more weight than ever, but I absolutely have to get my act together in this department. Its imperative. My stress level rises when I'm sore too. Coincidence? I don't think so. When I'm sore, I'm tense. When I'm tense, I feel stressed. There is a reason people do yoga and meditation, and I would love to make the time to do yoga on a regular basis. Until that happens, I have to commit to the lacrosse ball and foam roller daily.

On a high note, I box squatted 265lb for 8 and this is now the most weight I've ever had on my back. I also did my banded bench press max for reps, and can (for the first time in my life) do pull ups unassisted. I also saw this amazingly awkward "crazy cat lady" singlet that is one of the most hilarious things I've ever seen! I've had several requests by friends and clients to wear this to the meet.

Oh, and I had a birthday! I'm 28 years old now and excited about my journey to 30!

Joe Prichard | Athlete of the Week

If the last time you saw Joe Prichard was last summer, he will be unrecognizable to you this baseball season. Joe has been training with Top Crop Barbell trainers since late last summer and his results have been undeniable in the gym, on the pitching mound, catching, and at the plate. Joe thinks the biggest thing he's learned since starting his sport performance training is "hard work pays off." We are so proud of his journey and can't wait to watch him sprint around the bases this baseball season.

Favorite Subjects:
--History
--Math

Club Team:
--Derby Twins Baseball
--Wichita Grizzlies Football

Hobbies:
--Making war models
--Collecting NERF guns

Congrats to Joe and the Derby Twins in the latest tournament championship win!

Halle Wilson | Athlete of the Week

Halle is the "Silent Assassin" during training never showing pain or elation, but her love of volleyball is clear for everyone to see. Over the course of the last 6 months, we've watched Halle grow inches taller, but also more confident in the gym. Since training at Top Crop Barbell, Halle says her biggest take-away has been "always make sure you give full effort in everything you do."

School: Andover Middle School
GPA: 3.8
Club Team: Shockwave Volleyball Academy
Hobbies:

• Hanging out with friends.
• Reading

Future Goals: Playing volleyball in college.

The past weekend ended with good news from Halle when she informed us that her team is going to compete at the national tournament! Go get 'em Halle!

Road to the Record | 8 Weeks Out

This past week was a total gut check. My newest training phase left me sore and tired, but luckily I was able to sleep more than usual because of the Spring Break lull at work. The new increase in volume (overall sets, reps, and weight used) sent my body into shock and survival mode and my bodyweight didn't budge. Not to fret, I still have two months to make weight. I downed my calories another 200 calories a day, nothing drastic, and we'll see what happens this week. I'm starting to get close to my body's natural set point and I feel like these last few pounds are going to be a bit of a challenge to lose. I haven't been under 150lb in 5 years.

This past week I also received two packages in the mail...one was my AAU member shirt (who doesn't like t-shirts?) and the other was my new weightlifting belt. This is the nicest belt I've ever owned and was put to the test last leg day when I did 3x3 heavy pause squats and 4x8 high box squats. Its kind of comical to see me get in and out of this new belt because I can't buckle it (or unbuckle it) without help. Hopefully this will change as it gets more broken in.

A few small victories for this past week is that I had the most weight on my back than I ever have before, 255lb, and didn't feel like breaking in half! Also, my bench press set up (staying tight and using good leg drive) is getting better and better, and my wrists have been holding up despite the increase in overall pressing movements. So far, I haven't felt the need to have to wear wrist wraps.

Time is ticking and May will be here before I know it!

5 Things You MUST Do Before Starting Your Diet

You've already fallen off the New Years Resolution bandwagon. Now you're really ready to make lasting change toward your health, fitness, and aesthetic goals by changing your eating habits. Before googling "best nutrition plans of 2016," follow these 5 steps to ensure you get started on the right foot.

1. Don't change anything, yet.
There is no need to start exercising and changing your eating habits all at once. (Seems kind of weird for personal trainers to say this, right? Trust us.) Trying to workout 4x a week and cutting carbs both in the beginning of your new lifestyle change will drive you crazy. Change one thing at a time. If you want to keep up with your social eating and drinking, then try to make it to the gym more often. If you find it more difficult to make it to the gym, then be more diligent with your eating habits. Don't change your entire lifestyle all at once.

2. Track your current diet.
You can't manipulate your eating habits safely and effectively unless you know how crappy you currently eat. Many people eat too much, but just as many eat too little. Yes, it is possible to eat too few of carbs, calories, fat, protein, and overall calories. Use a diet tracking app (myfitnesspal or mynetdiary) to track everything you eat and drink for at least 2 weeks...don't lie to yourself and don't change anything. Seriously, track everything. This will give you an accurate representation of how you eat and will guide you to deciding the best way to manipulate your diet.

3. Buy a food scale.
Having trouble figuring out exactly how much you're eating? Use a food/kitchen scale to learn how much a serving of almonds really looks like. Over time, you'll be able to "eye ball" how much a serving size is of your favorite snacks and foods.

4. Don't follow trends.
Trendy diet plans do work, but they aren't meant for lasting change. Sure, you might know people who lost a ton of weight doing the Adkins or South Beach diets, but there are exponentially more people who have lost and gained back even more weight. These types of diets can absolutely ruin your metabolism and hinder the effectiveness of your weekly workouts.

5. Ask a professional.
NEWS FLASH! Most doctors are not trained in nutrition, and the honest ones will tell you that. Also, anyone can call themselves a "nutritionist" and prescribe you a generic diet plan. However, take your health into your own hands and do your research (or reach out to us for more insight) and check the credentials of several nutritionists and dieticians in your area. Forewarning, if anyone tells you to cut 1,000 calories out of your diet the first month of your new plan...RUN AWAY! This is an unhealthy and unrealistic approach to nutrition and should be avoided at all costs.

Please reach out to us in the comments below if you would like for us to expand on any of these issues.