BEST JUMPER ALIVE

RISK, REWARD, & SACRIFICE

2011-08-04T12:27:00.006-04:00

Today I want to share some thing that I have learned in my career about Risk and Reward. At the most elite level in order to be extremely successful an individual is often going to have to make some extreme sacrifices and take some unbelievable risk in order to put himself/herself in a position to be rewarded. Im not talking about hunches or blindfolded guesses, but more of calculated risk based upon solid firm data. In this particular instance I'm speaking of training intensity and demands that are required to be successful in competition. Far to often have I witnessed extremely talented and gifted individuals in competition who haven't done the proper due diligence in training try to call on their bodies to do more than its prepared to and come up injured in the quest for reward. Although many would like to think so, there are no shortcuts to being successful. The first requirement is to have a solid plan based on reasonable logic and literature. I've always followed the rule of the 6 P's (proper, planning, prevents, piss, poor,performance.) Secondly, what you dislike the most or find most difficult a is often times what we need most. For the largest majority that comes in the form of Fall base training and general prep. That particular phase can be best described as "like watching paint dry." The common mistake the average athlete makes in this particular phase is not challenging themselves on a daily basis to do something greater than. Most people try doing the bare minimum, just enough to get through the workouts and get it over. The self-disciplined overachiever knows that by laying the proper foundation in this phase it will unleash opportunity for never before seen growth and accomplishment later in the main competitive and Championship portion of the annual cycle.

This is where I truly lead into risk and reward. Training in my opinion as an elite athlete has to be treated much different than that of a collegiate athlete who is never more than 6 days removed from competition. Training should be specific and intense. Training should be at or above task pace and intensity. This means that when the said individual gets into competitive environment and drops into his or her relaxed comfort zone they are right where they need to be in order to be successful. As an elite jumper I've found the most success when my jumping in training is at 80-85% of my full runs or competitive distance. In my opinion short run jumps only make you a good short run jumper. I share the same sentiment for athletes who do more drills than the actual competitive movement. Good sprints drills don't make good fast sprinters. You already know how to to run slow so why practice. it. By training at this intensity and pace your body learns and programs the frequency and force response of these types of activities. Thus when you get into highly competitive situations there becomes a programmed training response. I prefer to think of myself on a daily basis of twisting small pieces of thread or twine together. Each day I continue to wrap and twist these pieces atop of the previous layer until one day I have a solid thick cord or rope. Another component of this is understanding the concept of training to take a hostile situation and put it into a controlled environment. This very concept is the reason our U.S. Air force pilots use flight battle simulators. For the professional elite athlete those battle simulators are small competitions that are designed to test and model effectiveness and efficiency of training.I was always taught that the best form of training is competition. The athlete should schedule himself or herself several small meets or challenges throughout the competitive season where the focus isn't on big jumps, fast time, or huge throws, but simple evaluations in a controlled aggressive competitive opportunity. By doing this the athlete not only develops a very refined and defined specific set of skills, they also develop confidence in his or her ability to execute under any set of circumstances. Thus when he or she get into a stress or pressed situation injury and defeat will be avoided and proper planning and preparation rewarded.

In closing thought. Be patient. Be diligent. Be resourceful, but most of all be specific. There is no such thing as overtraining, we typically under rest. When hungry eat; when tired sleep. Fools will laugh but wise men will understand.

Total Gym - More than a machine, It's a solution

2011-07-31T21:49:00.004-04:00

I would like to take a moment to introduce you guys to my newest sponsor. I have been lucky enough to join alliances with the Total Gym Company. Anybody who knows me would know that this is not just a useless plug for a piece if equipment that I've never seen or used. I've used the totalgym system as part of my training since 2002. I will be constantly updating with tons of training tips and videos of the things that i am doing on the machine. I'll demonstrate everything from bodybuilding circuits to plyometric depth reactive jumps. I encourage all to stay tuned and take a look at the Total Gym website for yourself. You can easily get there by clicking the Total Gym logo on the right side of the page.

Europe Update

2011-02-06T16:55:00.002-05:00

I just arrived in Lille, France today via train from London. Im competing in Lievin, france on the Tuesday the 8th in a very good triple jump field. I've spent the week training at Lee valley. Located in Enfield this is one of the UK premiere training facilities. I must admit that I was more than impressed with this facility. Not only did it have a spacious 200m banked track it also boasted a 6 lane 130m straight. Three of the lanes having the 2012 Olympic Stadium Surface. While there I had a chance to hook up with one of my former coaches Dan Pfaff and we had some wonderful training session together. I really feel like we got some of the technical glitches ironed out in my approach run and phases. I'm really looking forward to Tuesdays competition as well as the remainder of my indoor campaign. On the 13th I'm in Germany and the 19th Birmingham, England. I've put together a short video to let you get a glimpse of the facility and some of my training. Hope you enjoy!!

TRAINING VIDEO - Part Of The "Thinking Feet System"

2011-01-16T13:40:00.003-05:00

These drills are all part of the Thinking Feet System and video that I am currently working on. If you're interested in acquiring this video or any other custom training videos drills for purchase please feel free to contact me.

UK Follow Up.......Answering Some Questions

2011-01-16T12:35:00.003-05:00

Well you know the first thing I did when I arrived at the stadium yesterday morning was check to see if I took the win in the TJ the night before. Luckily my jump stood up and I was victorious. The long jump, not so good. Making my return as a long jumper isn't going to be as easy as I had envisioned in my mind. Seems this return is going to take the long road back. To top it all off I landed a little funny and my knee is sore and stiff today. Thee crazy thing is most people would call the landing ideal. I say ideal in a fantasy league world with virtual players who don't have pre-exsisting issues. However at the end of the day I know I'll be okay. In my mind I have super healing X-Man powers. On the lighter side of thing I'm going to answer a few questions for some of the readers who have asked questions in the comment sections.

Q:Do you have a philosophy on your arm action running off the board? It looks as if you really start aggressive arm work going into your second phase, as opposed to someone like Christian Olsson who starts his double arm block while running off the board.

A: My Philosophy to arms in the triple jump are based upon sprinting off the board with as little setup as possible to maintain horizontal velocity. I often tell people that it should be called the double jump and not the triple jump. It just makes more sense to think sprint off the board then jump & jump. The most demanding issue most have with the triple jump is summating the forces 3x, as opposed to an event like the long jump or high jump where there is only one summation. When you look at great performances and athletes across the board in track and field and more specifically the ballistic events like the LJ, TJ, HJ, PV, and all of the throws you find that there is a seamless transition from run to take-off or point of release with all the greats. Great Hurdling isn't about hurdling as much as it is sprinting interrupted by the presence of a hurdle. At the end of the day your legs mimmic your arm movements wether passive or aggressive.

Q:why can't i float like this -.-...

A: In my opinion most people cant float because the spend to much time on the ground. I constantly observe young jumpers who appear to be trying to torture the ground on their contacts. Most try to attack the triple jump from top to bottom, when in turn it should be addressed from the ground up. Thus getting more spring, bounce, and amplitude within each of the phases. Think tap and go, light and bouncy, feathering the ground with a gentle roll from heel to toe. I'm going to add a video to this post of a drill that I use in training that teaches and reinforces getting up and out on the phases.

University Of Kentucky TJ Review

2011-01-15T00:03:00.002-05:00

Thank God for another day of competition and another chance to improve on my work in progress. I think I may have gotten beaten today, but I'm not quite sure. I say this because I left before the competition was over. I never take all of my jumps unless its a really big meet or there's something on the line. Typically once I accomplish whatever the objective was for the day I shut it down. Today was a really good day. I accomplished almost everything on my list and definitely made some progress. In my opinion I'm way ahead of the curve right now in terms of my preparations for the Outdoor World Championships at the end of August. My speed, running mechanics, and positioning on the board are better than ever. My speed through the phases is excellent as well. Everything from this point on is a matter of timing and repetition. A lot of people ask me why do i jump so early in the year and I tell them that this is my only jumping practice. In my opinion the best form of training is competition. I know it may sound a little strange to people, but I don't take jumps in training. I had several fouls today and a blown attempt at a safe jump. At this point I'm looking for the perfect take-off in the optimal take-off position. That comes with a certain amount of risk, but we all know that optimal reward often comes along with optimal risk. lets not confuse risk with gamble. Fools gamble hoping for luck not knowing whats to come of it. A risk is a very well calculated plan based upon solid hard research and preparation. I'm going to give you a look at my best and worst today. I've got a long jump competition in the morning that I'm kinda Crunk about. Be looking for that result and video tomorrow.

Ed Temple Meet Review

2011-01-09T16:03:00.002-05:00

The Ed Temple Classic was awesome. I was able to walk away with another victory. Kind of upset that I couldn't get one of the trophies because I was competing unattached. Its amazing the energy, buzz and instant rise in crunk level you get when you drive up to the facility and see the statue at the head of the track of Wilma Rudolph. The competition for me wasn't about distances or winning really. My main goal was to get back in the track and field frame of mind. The last month and few weeks for me has been a whirl of emotion and stressors. On December 28th my wife and I had our first Child. We had a beautiful young lady named Kerrington Blakely Bell. Now you can see where my objective was to go out and get back in the swing of things. However with that being said, I did some things really well that are showing tremendous signs of progression moving in the right direction. I say the right direction meaning the Outdoor World Championships. Indoors can only really show you what you need to be doing for outdoors. I think to many people get caught up in the numbers of indoors. That trap will have you aborting plans early and making knee jerk reactions to skew the numbers. Im being extremely patient here and trusting the process. you can peep the video of my performance.

TSU 11th Annual Ed Temple Classic

2011-01-06T09:19:00.002-05:00

This is One of the meets that I am thrilled to compete in. It has nothing to do with large appearance fees, load packed facilities or prize money. In fact there is none of the above. In this particular instance I'm actually signing myself up and paying an individual entry fee. The reason I am so excited about is because I'm a firm believer that you cant know where you're going until you first know your history. Ed Temple, Tennessee State University, Tigerbelle Lean. Tennessee States impact on track and field is legendary. One of the things that makes it more important is that it's an Historic Black University where all this was done. Lets step back and take a look at this famed historic program.

In four decades, 40 TSU athletes have competed in the Olympic Games, winning 29 medals -- 16 Gold, eight silver and five bronze. During its heyday, Coach Ed Temple fashioned the Tigerbelles into an unprecedented assembly line of national champions, Olympic champions and world record-setters. Wilma Rudolph, Wyomia Tyus, Edith McGuire Duvall, Madeline Manning Mims and Mae Faggs Starr, all former Tigerbelles, are legends of the sport. Although much success was garnered by the womens program there were many great men who came along as well. Greats such as the legendary Ralph Boston. Boston, a TSU graduate and one-time world-record holder in the long jump, won the gold medal in the long jump at the 1960 Games and went on to medal again in the 1964 Games (silver) and 1968 Games (bronze). The Tigerbelles haven't had an Olympian since Chandra Cheeseborough won two gold medals in both sprint relays and a silver medal in the 400-yard race at the 1984 Olympics in Los Angeles.

The current program is guided by Chandra Cheesbourough. "Cheese" as I call her is doing a phenomenal job a guiding this program back to the levels of its storied and historic past. I encourage all that follow to take a few moments of their time and do some personal research. As an added incentive I'm throwing in a pair of Swifwick compression socks to the first 3 people that contact me and name 3 additional Olympians from this legacy other than the ones named in this short post. If you're not familiar with the Swiftiwck Comprssion socks click on the logo on the right side sidebar and learn more.

THE PURSUIT OF PERFECTION:

2010-12-26T19:00:00.002-05:00

I guess the question should be what is perfection? Who sets or defines the standards of PERFECT? As an athlete I think we all begin innocently enough loving and appreciating the games we play. Initially I think we all began just striving to win and do whatever it takes to better our last performance. Somewhere along the line we lose scope of the simplicity and joy of self creativity and become seekers of perfection. We stop training to win and start working towards the perfect run, hit, catch, jump or throw. Unfortunately, somewhere in that quest the chase turns into a self-defeating prophecy. Sometimes as coaches and athletes we lose sight of the big picture. We begin to train for the highlight reel segment and clips and totally lose sight of training the whole body for the whole game. In short we lose sight of progression and throw all rationale out of the window looking for the perfect conditions. Far to often have I sadly seen an athlete become so mechanical or over coached that they lose all grasp of their natural gifts and athletic abilities.

In my career I've been blessed to meet and become acquaintances with some of the greatest athletes to ever play sports. Athletes who at their prime were considered the pinnacle of their events or sports. Men and women who were and are world record holders or were deemed as achieving performances called perfection. In all of these conversations have I ever had any of these individuals tell me they felt their performance was perfect. Nor Perfectly executed according to their training plan and specific skill levels. There are however strong underlying currents, trends of regularity to all of the great conversations and even greater performances. They all expressed that they were well trained and prepared for any and all conditions. Likewise, they all expressed that their biggest training goals were on taking the basic and common things and doing them uncommonly well. What you find here is a recipe for extraordinarily gifted and talent individuals to perform well on a consistent basis. I once remember Brooks Johnson telling me that I had to train with the mindset that " on my bad days I win, on my good days I break the World Record" what he was telling me is that you're only as good as you are on your off day. Tom Tellez coach of Carl Lewis the greatest pressure performer ever echoed the same sentiment. You consistently and repetitively do the same thing well and when the big meet comes you execute and let adrenaline take care of everything else.
Another of the more strangely significant things I noticed was that most if not all shared characteristics of being exhibitionist. That meaning they had the tendency to look at their competitions more as performance than competitions against a group of competitors. They viewed competitions as an opportunity to perform, show the world how well they could perform a task and skill. Something to be viewed in awe and amazement.

Being a huge fan of all the arts I'm constantly in search of that intersection between athletics and art vice-versa. Looking for the common ground an overlaying epitome. Picasso and the evolution of his simplicity through time. Salsa music and its staccato have a strong resemblance to rhythm of the hurdles. The syncopation of Jazz greats like Errol Garner and the rhythmic clapping and phases of the triple jump. To say that Athletics and Art don't replicate and emulate would be a grave misconception. With this understanding and appreciation of Art I'm forced to look at this thing we call " The Pursuit of Perfection." Great artist are never thinking of perfect in the eyes or comparison to anybody else. In most cases their creativity is precipitated in a quest to be wildly and dramatically different. When painters, sculptors and musicians create great bodies of works its an outer manifestation of an idea and vision created internally. These great works are never created with you or I in mind and definitely not with the thought of perfection. However, what happens as an end result is some critic or fan deems its perfection and we thus begin to define anything in the same category by that standard.

At the end of the day I suggest doing what you do simply and uncommonly well. Compete with a passion and reckless abandon. Let the critics and cynics judge after you've won.

Will you be a creator or a replicator?

2010-12-20T14:16:00.002-05:00

INTEGRITY: "DOING WHAT NEEDS TO BE DONE WHEN NOBODY IS LOOKING." Kenta' Bell

DAILY QUOTE

2010-12-09T09:44:00.001-05:00

"SIMPLICITY IS THE ULTIMATE SOPHISTICATION." LEONARDO DA VINCI

2010-11-10T12:58:00.002-05:00

“If you’re not failing every now and again, it’s a sign you’re not doing anything very innovative.”
-Woody Allen

2010-11-08T21:29:00.002-05:00

“Champions know there are no shortcuts to the top. They climb the mountain one step at a time. They have no use for helicopters!”
-Judi Adler

2010-11-04T14:02:00.002-04:00

Winners compare their achievements with their goals, while losers compare their achievements with those of other people”
-Nido Qubein

DAILY QUOTE

2010-11-01T12:19:00.001-04:00

You cannot open a book without learning something.
Confucius

THE ANSWER

2010-10-28T10:02:00.001-04:00

"The answer is never the answer. What's really interesting is the mystery. If you seek the mystery instead of the answer, you'll always be seeking. I've never seen anybody really find the answer -- they think they have, so they stop thinking. But the job is to seek mystery, evoke mystery, plant a garden in which strange plants grow and mysteries bloom. The need for mystery is greater than the need for an answer."

Ken Kesey

DAILY QUOTE

2010-10-28T09:57:00.002-04:00

If I am walking with two other men, each of them will serve as my teacher. I will pick out the good points of the one and imitate them, and the bad points of the other and correct them in myself.
Confucius

The Functional Path To Training

2010-10-28T09:53:00.001-04:00

The Performance Paradigm is the foundation for training and rehab. If you break down movement to it’s essential components you arrive at the performance paradigm. Every movement has a force reduction phase that leads to a force production phase. The glue that holds it all together is the proprioception. Each phase of the movement is highly trainable and adaptable, efficiency of movement is the result when the three phases time up and coordinate. Over the years I have learned to use this paradigm to analyze the movements that I am training and then determine the composition and direction of the training. It is easy to get stuck on the force production phase because that is most visible and measureable, but the limiting factor in performance and the major cause of injuries is what happens in the force reduction phase. It is force reduction that the highest loads occur; it is during this phase that gravity wins. Last but not least is the proprioception/stabilization component, this is easy to overlook until there is an injury or performance error. This is highly trainable but is best trained in conjunction with the other two components. This is a simple paradigm with complex implications. Take another look at what you are doing from the perspective of the performance paradigm. Use the Perfromance Pradigm to guide your training and your athletes will be ready for anything that will occur in a game.

DAILY QUOTE

2010-10-27T20:54:00.002-04:00

"DOING A COMMON THING UNCOMMONLY WELL OFTEN BRINGS SUCCESS."
AUTHOR UNKNOWN

Shout Out To My New Sponsor

2010-10-26T12:48:00.003-04:00

I wanna say thanks to my newest sponsor. I've joined teams with Swiftwick Compression socks. Swiftwick makes an unbelievable product of the highest quality for athletes. Not only do they make full length above the calf compression socks, they also make no show 1, 4, & 7 inch compression cuff socks. This is a product that I use and fully support. As you know at the highest level of athletic performance the smallest changes can make the largest differences. When you're trying to get that extra inch or shave that 100th of a second. I recommend you go to the site for yourself to learn more about the company and technology behind Swiftwick. the site address is: http://swiftwick.com/

COMMON SENSE MAKES SENSE

2010-10-12T23:49:00.003-04:00

DOING A COMMON THING UNCOMMONLY WELL OFTEN BRINGS SUCCESS!!!!!

This is my anthem for the year and the basis of who I am and how I train.

Take a Step Back

Look at movement, open your eyes, listen for rhythms, and engage all your senses. Heighten your awareness, get rid of your biases and see movemnt with a child’s eyes. Don’t look at the parts, look at the whole, the flow of the movement. Look at the connections, that is where it is happening.

PLUGGED IN

2010-10-05T10:44:00.003-04:00

Well ladies and Gentlemen I'm back on the grind again. I've been back training for two weeks now working on three. I must say that this has so far been one of the most difficult Fall Trainings that I've been through in a while. I'm not going into a long drawn out explanation of what the whole program looks like, but I will say that there are a couple days where I run 6x300m and 6x400m. Aside of being back on the track I've also been very Blessed to be part of some new projects. This past weekend I shot down to Orlando, FL to do some research and development with Sketcher on a new training version of the Shape-ups called the Resistance Runner. Its designed to simulate training in the sand all while giving you that rounded rocker bottom for improved bio-mechanical efficiency and postural alignment. I've put a quick glimpse of the testing in the video just below this post. As of that I'm working on some media projects and training videos for the triple jump and several other events that will be launching soon. Other than that I have a few camps and clinics coming up soon, but I'm definitely most excited and focused on having a great Fall preparatory period.

Research and Development

2010-10-05T10:35:00.002-04:00

Pulling The Plug.

2010-08-26T14:18:00.003-04:00

I've officially decided to pull the plug and call it a season. Decisions like this are typically difficult and hard to call for an athlete, but this has been one of the easiest decisions I've made in a while. Overall I'm extremely pleased with the results of this season and how things turned out as a whole. There are a few things on the business management side of things that weren't up to par, but those things will be corrected in due time. I guess you can say the highlight of it all was winning another National Championship after not winning for so long. Going into this season with it being an off year I knew it would give me a chance to make some vital and important changes for the future. My biggest change was moving to Tennessee and changing coaches. As we all know coaching changes can be difficult and they often click on their own time. The general rule is that it take about 18 months for it all to come together. Well within 6 months of my change and not having a chance to go through my coaches fall preparation period which is really the most important part I won a National title. Our goals for the year were for me to first get healthy and secondly learn the new system. So for the greater aspect of it all this year has been an extreme success. I'm back on top, healthy, and become very well adjusted in my understanding of doing things very differently. Based on facts like that you can see why pulling the plug wasn't that difficult. Now its all about getting very well rested and recovered and having not only a very strong fall training period, but also my first with my coach. In closing, pulling the plus isn't about killing the power. Its more about fully charging the system for better play and performance.

Pre Meet Jitters

2010-08-24T09:02:00.003-04:00

I'm sitting here in Lilli, France a few hours away from the start of my competition and I definitely have pre meet jitters. Its not a scared or nervous thing its more of an anticipation or expectation for the unknown. I just really want to get out there and get this thing started and see what happens in the end. Typically I don't speak in terms of my expectations going into a meet other than I want to do well or technically execute this or that. However today is totally different. I definitely have a number in my head and a quite large one to say the least. I just feel that with the quality of training I've been having in the last 4-5 weeks that my body is primed and all the signs are there. Im by far leaps and bounds ahead of where I was back in June when I won the National Championships. Where most people are broken down and extremely fatigued at this point of the season I'm feeling stronger than Lysol. The most important thing for me today is not to try to hard. Technical events like the triple jump do not go very well when you try over power them. My objective is to be relaxed but aggressive, float like a butterfly sting like a bee.. Okay I'll stop right there with that, but the point of it all is to to have great expectation and goals, but pursue them wisely in my plan of attack and execution. In the purest essence of "THINKING FEET" I really have to go out there today and just let my feet go. Much like a well rehearsed choreographed dance; once the music starts you just gotta let yourself do the steps. By letting my mind try to control the movements would only be inhibiting that which I have rehearsed and trained long and hard for. As you can see below I'm up against avery good field today and many have performed far better than me this season. Only with the exception of one individual none have lifetime best beyond my personal best of 17.76m. Therefore, I'm assured that If I go out and do what I'm capable of or anything remotely close to it I will be in great shape.

"WE ARE WHAT WE REPEATEDLY DO. EXCELLENCE THEREFORE IS NOT AN ACT, BUT A HABIT."

SPECIAL SHOUT OUT

2010-08-23T08:38:00.004-04:00

I WOULD LIKE TO GIVE A SPECIAL SHOUT OUT TO MY SUPPLEMENT SPONSOR AT http://rivalus.net/ THANKS TO THESE GUYS MY BODY STAYS WELL TUNED AND NUTRITIONALLY PRIMED.

CLINIC PHOTOS

2010-08-23T08:25:00.002-04:00

CLINIC FOOTAGE

2010-08-23T07:27:00.002-04:00

Sittard, Netherlands

2010-08-21T16:25:00.002-04:00

Its been a minute since I last checked in. I'm currently in the the city of Sittard located in the Netherlands. I want be here very long, but i'm doing a clinic here tomorrow with a group of junior athletes at the training center. Really looking forward to working with this group of young jumpers. I'm going to introduce them to the "Thinking Feet System" of benches for the long & triple jump. I'm going to be shooting video of the before and afters so you all can get a chance to see how awesome this system is. I'm currently working on the the "Thinking Feet" dvd & blu-ray. This is truly a system within a system of training for the horizontal jumps. I'll be posting previews of the video very soon on this site as well as a few other track and field related sites and blogs. Previews and purchases will also be available on the website thinkingfeet.com If youre interested in learning more about the city or visiting the training center here I'm including the web link:

http://www.rbf-abc.nl/index.php?option=com_content&view=article&id=5&Itemid=6

New Product "The MuscleGlide"

2010-08-03T16:49:00.002-04:00

I recently came into this product back in June at the U.S. National Championships. I met a wonderful guy named Bret Daves at muscleglide.com who shared this product with me. I'm sure most of you are already familiar with "the stick" pictured left. Well if you're an avid user and fan of the stick as I am you're going to absolutely love the muscle glide. Not only does it do all the things the stick does, but it also doubles as a really good foam-roller type device. Most of us probably couldn't make it through a training week without the need to need to roll out our Quads and IT-Bands on the foam roller. However, they're rather big and difficult to travel with. The muscle glide solves all of those problems. The best of both worlds and fits into your backpack for easy travel and mobility. I definitely give this product a 5 STAR Rating. You can find this product at muscleglide.com

State of Jumps with Kenta Bell | Adventures in Europe 2010 on Flotrack

2010-08-01T19:05:00.000-04:00

Check out this most recent interview I did with flotrack while over in Italy during the 1st half of the European Season. Feel free to publish any comments, thoughts, or feedback you have this interview.

State of Jumps with Kenta Bell | Adventures in Europe 2010 on Flotrack

NEW TOY - FLIP CAM ULTRA WIDE ANGLE LENS MOD

2010-07-28T12:14:00.004-04:00

I'm coming to the realization that I'm addicted to electronics and gadgets. Not only am I happy to get a new gadget, I'm even more excited when I can find a cool new use, app, or modification to improve or enhance the use and functionality. I'm really into cameras, camcorders and etc.. I typically film all of my training session and random other things that may be of some relevance to myself or someone else later down the line. I typically go through video cameras quite often. Aside of the daily usage of wear and tear my cameras have to endure other obstacles. Quite often falling off of tripods, bouncing around in backpacks, and the occasional sand. I recently purchased a Flip Ultra cam and I absolutely love the quality, portability, and ease of use. This little thing is super user friendly and comes at an unbelievable cost. When I began using it to record my training sessions I found that in an effort to keep the camera compact the diameter of the lens isn't as large as the typical video camera. This means that I don't get as wide an angle as i typically do in the recording frame. Thanks to youtube and a little bit of Southern Ingenuity I've devised a way to attach a wide angle camera lens onto the flip cam. This now gives me the ability to to get big camera function with little camera portability and ease. The best thing about it is that I can detach the lens and still have an ultra portable quick pocket camera when I travel or I'm out and about. If you're a bargain shopper you can purchase all the parts you need online at amazon.com for around $20 bucks. Attaching the lens ring took less time than it did for me to open the package it came in. This is definitely high on my list of recommendable add-ons.

2010-07-21T11:20:00.002-04:00

I'm back home in Nashville for a few weeks and I so needed to get back into the weight room. My first stop this morning was at BOOST FIT CLUB. Along with the owners being super cool and cooperative with me, this gym has everything that the elite athlete needs. Unlike a lot of gyms I'm able to do all my Olympic lifts here. They also have lots of specific isolation equipment for the glutes, abductors/adductors, and etc.. I'm sure this sounds minimal to a lot of people, but these are the little muscles that drive the whole machine. To be able to effectively and efficiently hit these muscle groups is really important. Just as important to training and getting stronger I'm also able to recover and restore my body there as well. They have excellent dry and steam sauna facilities that are great in conjunction with cold showers and baths for recovery. I f you're ever in the Nashville/Bellvue, TN area look up BOOST FIT CLUB. Ask for owner Tarik Ramusovic. He 's a wonderful personal trainer for all those looking to shed a few bounds or put on a little muscle mass. I cant mention strength training without giving a shout out to my strength coach Randy Hadley at rhfitpro.com or rhfitpro@hotmail.com Randy has been instrumental with my success, as well as that of American Record Holder David Oliver and many other Olympic and World Class Athletes.

Kenta Bell LJ attempt 4 | 2010 Lignano Athletics Meeting on Flotrack

2010-07-20T13:40:00.000-04:00

Kenta Bell LJ attempt 4 | 2010 Lignano Athletics Meeting on Flotrack

COMPETITION TODAY - LIGNANO ITALY

2010-07-18T10:23:00.002-04:00

I'm competing again this afternoon in Lignano, Italy. Todays competition is going to be a long jump. This will be my 2nd this week in Italy. I jumped back on the 14th in Nuoro, Italy. I had a season best mark by 20cm for a 4th place finish. Although I have no major expectations I would be really pleased to go over 8m. I know it sounds crazy to many people, but the long jump is so much more difficult that the triple jump to me. Not to mention the aches and pains that go along with it. I know you're thinking triple jump 3 contacts vs. the long jumps 1 contact. In the triple jump if done properly you sort of roll through the phases and bounce like flubber. on the other hand the long jump is much like the pole vault. The long jumper accelerates his or her body as fast as possible down the runway and plants the leg and foot on the board much like that of the pole vaulter planting the pole and allowing his/her body to become a projectile. Bottom line is when I long jump I feel all of those forces from the take-off go right up through my ankle-knee-hip-back-etc... I'll probably only take 2-3 jumps today I'm really working on managing my jump much better this summer in an effort to maintain and preserve my health and the elasticity in my connective tissues. I'll definitely be keeping you posted with the results. Likewise, Im in the process of editing a few new videos.

TRILL KINGZ "CONGRATS D.O. THE KING"

2010-07-17T03:43:00.002-04:00

I'M GOING TO SPEAK ON THE SUBJECT KINGS FOR A MINUTE. A LOT OF YOU GUYS OUT THERE ARENT GOING TO UNDERSTAND WHERE THIS IS COMING FROM BUT THATS COOL. WHAT I'M ABOUT TO DO IS PUT YOU UP ON GAME. ITS A LOT OF PEOPLE OUT THERE CALLING THEMSELVES KING. KING OF RAP, KING OF POP, KING OF TRACK, ETC.... THIS OFTEN OFFENDS A LOT OF PEOLPE WHO DONT UNDERSTAND THAT THERE CAN BE MORE THAN ONE KING. MANY OF YOU LOOK AT THIS BLOG OFTEN AND I CALL MYSELF "THE BEST JUMPER ALIVE". NOW THIS STATEMENT TO A LOT OF PEOPLE SEEMS WAY OVER THE TOP SELF-MOTIVATED AND SELF INFLATED. HOWEVER, UNTIL YOU DO IT THE WAY I HAVE AS LONG AS I HAVE YOU WON'T UNDERSTAND HOW I MADE THAT STATEMENT; UNLESS YOURE AMONGST THE ALLEGIANCE OF TRILL KINGZ. CONTINUING TO SPEAK ON THE SUBJECT AND GETTING TO THE HIGHLIGHT OF THIS TITLE I WANT TO CONGRATULATE MY FRIEND, MY HOMIE, MY PATNA DAVID OLIVER ON ALL OF HIS SUCCESS AND ACCOMPLISHMENTS ON AND OFF THE TRACK. LIKE KINGS PAST AND PRESENT WE UNDERSTAND THAT RECORDS WRERE MEANT TO BE BROKEN AND THRONES WILL BE OVERTAKEN. GREAT RULERS ARE GREAT PLANNERS OF THOUGHTS AND PERCEPTION. THEY UNDERSTAND THAT DIFFICULT TAKES A DAY AND IMPOSSIBLE TAKES A WEEK. KINGS UNDERSTAND THE DIFFERENCE BETWEEN BATLES AND WARS. WHERE PEASANTS FIGHT JUST TO BE FIGHTING. KINGS UNDERSTAND THAT WINNERS FIND A WAY TO WIN AND LOSERS FIND A WAY TO LOSE!!!! TRILL KINGS WILL UNDERSTAND THE STATEMENT THAT "ON YOUR GOOD DAY YOU BREAK THE WORLD RECORD, AND YOUR BAD DAY YOU WIN" I CANT WAIT TO SEE YOUR GOOD DAY HOMIE.

ITS' FUNNY THAT WHEN HE CAME INTO THE GAME AND WE BECAME FRIENDS AND TRAINING PARTNERS BACK IN 2005 THAT HE CALLED HIMSELF "D.O. THE KING". A LOT OF PEOPLE COULDN'T UNDERSTAND OR COMPREHEND THIS KIND OF TALK. I HEARD HIM CALLED STATEMENTS SUCH AS YOUNG, ARROGANT, COCKY, POMPUS AND ETC.... WHAT THEY SHOULD HAVE BEEN DOING WAS TRYING TO GET CLOSER AND UNDERSTAND WHERE HE WAS COMING FROM.DEVELOP AN UNDERSTANDING OF THE TYPE OF KNOWLEDGE HE WAS TRYING TO SPIT. ME MYSELF I UNDERSTOOD WHERE THE YOUNG HOMIE WAS COMNG FROM AND STARTED TRYING TO HIP HIM TO THE GAME. KINGZ AMONGST KINGZ. NOW TOGETHER OOOOH THEY HATED. WE'VE BEEN CALLED ARROGANT. FLASHY, FLY, CONSCEITED, JUDGEMENTAL, CRITICAL AND ALL OF THE ABOVE. HOWEVER, TRUE KINGZ JUST LOOKED AT IT AS KEEPING IT REAL AND DOING WHAT KINGZ DO. NOW DONT GET THIS MISUNDERSTOOD THAT EVERYBODY CALLING THEMSELVES KING THIS AND KING THAT ARE TRULY KINGZ. A LOT OF THEM ARE FAKE, THEY AIN'T DOING NOTHING. THEY AREN'T UP ON THEIR BUSINESS. I SEE EM IN THE STREETS AND ON THE TRACK AND THEY DONT HAVE THEIR STUFF TOGETHER. THEY FLABBY, THEY OUTTA SHAPE, THEY PAPER AIN'T RIGHT. THEY WALKING AROUND IN ALL THIS FAKE JEWELRY THEIR DIAMONDS ALL CHIPPED UP AND CLOUDY. I WATCHED DAVID GROW FROMA BOY TO A MAN AND NOW TO TAKE OVER THE WORLD. ITS FUNNY SOMETIMES TO HEAR SOME OF THE STATEMENTS THAT PEOPLE MAKE AND HOW JUDGMENTAL CRITICS ARE ABOUT WHAT SOMEBODY ELSE IS DOING. THEY SIT BEHIND THE INTERNET SCREENS AND WRITE ALL KINDS OF GOSSIP, POST, THREADS, AND ARTICLES. TWO YEARS AGO HE RAN THIS VERY SAME TIME WINDY AT THE OLYMPIC TRIALS AND NOW EVERYBODY ACTS LIKE ITS THE MOST AMAZING THING EVER. I SEET THE ARTICLES AND HEAR THE QUESTIONS ASKED HOW DOES IT FEEL TO BE BACK AND ETC.. WE ALWAYS LAUGH AND ASK THE QUESTION " WELL WHERE DID I GO?" LAST SEASON HE HAD A SET BACK FOR A MAJOR COMEBACK AND A LOT OF PEOPLE EITHER TRIED TO WRITE HIM OFF AND/OR CELEBRATED IN HIS ABSENCE. ALL OF YA'LL OUGHTA BE ASHAMED. NOT FOR WHAT YOU SAID OR DID, BUT FOR WHAT YOU DIDNT DO. YOU HAD ALMOST 365DAYS TO GET YOUR STUFF TOGETHER AND YOU STILL COULDN'T GET AHEAD OF THE GAME. ONE THING TRILL KINGS REALIZE AND UNDERSTAND IS THAT THE THRONE ISN'T SUITED FOR EVERYBODY AND ALL CROWNS DONT FIT. I SAY THIIS FROM A POSITION OF SITTING ON MY THROWN FOR OVER 12 YEARS T&F NEWS MAGAZINE RANKED. I"VE HAD MY SETBACKS AND ETC, BUT HERE I SIT. ITS AMAZING HOW HATERS TRY TO WISH YOU AWAY. I GUESS EVERY KING DOES HAVE HIS ROYAL JESTER!!!!!!!

Out On The Town Nuoro, Italy

2010-07-13T05:13:00.002-04:00

Yesterday I got out on the Town and did a little sightseeing and shopping. These are a few of the shots I took that I decided to share with you guys. This is a very beautiful city with Old Town Italian charm.

travel/Meet Video (A Day In The Life)

2010-07-12T06:39:00.002-04:00

Gateshead,England Meet Update

2010-07-11T10:54:00.002-04:00

Sorry for not getting this to you guys sooner, but internet cost 20pounds per day. If you're not familiar with the currency conversion thats roughly $40 U.S. per day for internet. In regards to the competition things didn't go so well. I finished 7th place with a very performance of 16.58m.Not ever one for making a bunch of excuses I was simply very tired and jet lagged. My legs had absolutely no pop in them at all. I previously told you guys about my travel experience From Nashville to Greece and how long it took me to get there and etc. Well the trip from Greece to England was about the same. I had to catch a shuttle to the airport at 4am for a 7 0'clock flight from Crete to Athens. The drive to the airport was give or take an hour. Made the flight to Athens smooth sailing no problems at all, then things hit the fan. If you've been following world News you've seen that the entire country of Greece is in severe financial crisis. Well on this day the decided to have a workers strike in Greece. This means that all the air traffic control and transportation employees went on strike and quit working. This caused me to be stuck in the Athens airport for 9hrs before departing for London Heathrow. Because of the late departure in Athens I missed my original connection in London and had another 2hr layover there before flying into Newcastle. Thus placing me at my Hotel at approximately 11:30 pm something like 19hrs later. I tried to rest for a day and had to compete yesterday. I did the best I could with what I had and I make no excuses. I'm Now resting In Nuoro, Italy for a few days and I have a long jump competition on Wednesday the 14th. As promised I've put the video together of my travel from Nashville to Greece and some shots of the Hotel, Track, Dining, shuttle to comp and etc.

MEET VIDEO

2010-07-07T17:54:00.002-04:00

COMPETITION UPDATE

2010-07-07T17:28:00.003-04:00

Things went really well today. I finished up in 2nd place with a jump of 16.90m which happens to be my second best performance of the season. Not bad considering I was about less than 20 hours off the plane from 24 hours travel. My legs were so tired and flat from the travel. Overall I'm pleased with my performance. I beat the people I needed beat and got the plane ride out of my legs. Most importantly I didn't take all of my jumps to get that performance. We all know i'm not a spring chicken anymore. I'm really trying to manage jumps this summer stay healthy and consistent. Im really feeling good about where I am and my potential to jump really well this summer. I'm off Tomorrow morning to Gateshead, England. Gotta catch the shuttle to the airport in the morning at 4am to top it all off.

Rethymno Pre-Meet

2010-07-07T05:19:00.003-04:00

Its been an unbelievable last 30hrs or so getting here. Im sitting at my house monday morning and something tells me to get up and start washing clothes and preparing a bag for Europe in the event that my manager calls me with something. Within 10 minutes of having this thought and putting a load of laundry into the machine I get an e-mail that ask me can I make this flight. At this time its 11:15am and the flight is for 1:50pm. In a mad dash i throw some things into the bag and make it to the airline just in time to board the plane for one of the longest traveling experiences of my life. I traveled from Nashville(1:50 june 5th) -> Phillidelphia ->Paris(6hr layover) -> Athens -> Rethymno (10:33pm arrival June 6th). Upon arrival extremely exhausted, hungry, and sleepy I find out that the competition is today June 7th. In the past I probably wold have been overwhelmed and panicked at the notion of traveling for 24hrs and having to compete less than 20hrs after arriving. However, being the realist I am I understand that the facts of the circumstance are what I have been given to deal with. I get paid to do a job and complaining or whining want change my pay or improve my circumstances. Regardless of how I feel at 7:05pm the triple jump is going to start with or without me. Looking at the facts and knowing that some of my competition are probably gloating and laughing at how late I arrived last night from the States I feel even more motivated to go out and have a good showing. My motto has always been "Go Hard or Go Home" so you best believe that I'm going HARD. I feel like Young Jeezy right now I can hear em saying lets get it from another planet!!!!

I'll be updating later with video from travel and competition. I'm going let everyone know what its like in the day-2-day life on the international circuit. Be looking for that footage soon,

ALL I DO IS WIN!!!!!!!!!

2010-06-26T12:57:00.003-04:00

I guess you can say I'm feeling good about my victory yesterday. 2010 U.S. National Triple Jump Champion. Its crazy thats its been 7 years since I won my first title back in 2003. As much as I'd like to take all the credit for what happened yesterday that would be selfish and foolish of me. First and foremost I'd like to thank God. Secondly, I'd like to than My wife who has been there every step of the way in her support and patience. From there My coach Dean Hayes, strength and conditioning coach Randy Hadley, Brooks Johnson, all the chiropractors and therapist who have helped out along the way, and my training partners. Once again I'd like to thank my supplement sponsor rivalus.net

SPECIAL THANKS TO MY SPONSOR

2010-06-24T12:48:00.003-04:00

I would Like to give a special Thanks to my friend Darren Burke and everyone at RIVAL-US . I joined forces with them a while back and I am overwhelmed daily by how well their product works. In my 12+ years of competing at an Elite level never have I had a product line that i felt so strongly about. From looking at the packaging details you can see that things are clean and simple. This product is just that Pure, clean, Quality, and simple. With this line you don't get lots of fluff and artificial fillers. There are no overwhelming false claims and photoshop advertisements. As an added incentive you also get the benefit of knowing that the products are designed and built around updated USADA and WADA prohibited substance list.

As a Veteran of the sport I learned very early on about the necessities you must have in order to be prepared and successful. Whenever I travel I always pack two bags. Bag 1) is the bag that gets checked, the one for the long haul. This bag contains all my clothes training gear and etc. Bag 2) I always carry this bag on it typically has a pair of competition spikes a uniform and a training outfit along with a few other toiletries. I do this because in the event that Bag 1) doesn't arrive I have what I need to go in and get the job done. Bag 2) is kinda like a tool box no professional goes to a job site without his tools in hand and ready to work. I say this because since partnering with RIVAL-US, they have become an essential necessity to my tool box. Just as important to my job as my uniform and my shoes are my supplements to my work bag. They are one of the first things to be packed and unpacked and are always at arms reach.

In closing I would like to thank my friends at RIVAL-US. At RIVAL-US its all about owning your performance.

CHAMPIONSHIP TIME

2010-06-24T12:11:00.002-04:00

I absolutely Love this time of the year. If you're a true gamer this time of the year is to be embraced. There's no greater feeling that than pre-meet anxiety when you know you're primed and ready to go. I'm not just talking about that regular hesitant I hope I do okay kind of anxiety. I'm talking of the kind where your crunk level starts to rise weeks in advance. Your practice intensity rises and your sharpness level is razor sharp and execution is clean and crisp. The kind of nervousness that want let you eat the day of competition and you have that unsettled feeling in your stomach that make you wanna puke. This is what I call Championship Season. Some individuals are absolutely terrified and petrified by this time of the year and the exact feeling i just described. However, your true Gamers, the individuals who knows how to go in and get it done under pressure wouldn't know how to do it any other way. These very exact feelings are like highway markers on the road to success. These are the signs and landmarks that let them know they are headed the right direction and making good time. In my opinion the gamer embraces this because he knows that he's done all the work. He knows that he laid down a well thought plan than now only needs reasonable to modest execution to be successful. He knows that if its a good day things like World and American Records are possible, and if its a bad day he still takes the win!!! This type of preparation has nothing to do with your over-rated and inflated feelings and thoughts about confidence. This is all about his/her competence. The ability to do a task or skill and do it well. In my simple little brain I don't consider myself to be in any type of competition with the individuals who entered themselves in this glorious event to compete against the best. For me its an exhibition. An opportunity to display and exhibit how well I do my skill to the paying fans who come to see us compete in the stadiums and arenas around the world. This time of the year that I call Championship season, is all about embracing the unknown and challenging your fight or flight mechanisms. Fear mixed with preparation and an overwhelming desire to win and be successful make for a pretty good cocktail that I like to call CHAMPION.

California Invitational Relays

2010-05-30T12:38:00.002-04:00

California Invitational Relays
(LINK TO VIDEO)

Finished up here in Cali and getting ready to take it back to Nashville. The link above takes you right to the video of my performance. Things didn't go as well as planned yesterday, but I survived. I've been dealing with a strained ligament on the inside of my right ankle for weeks now. Coming in I hadn't had many symptoms, but of course i hadn't tried anything radical to test it either. Going into the warm-up and the competition my body felt great. I had hooked up with an old friend of mine Dr. Peter Grimes who always gets me right. I don't know of a better Chiropractor on the whole West Coast. Unfortunately after my 1st jump the ankle started really bothering me. I had it taped for the 2nd attempt and that didn't make much of a difference as well. I decided that I would pass the 3rd attempt and adjust my run to a short approach and see if i could press through the rest of the meet. It wasn't sitting to well with me that I was going to fly all the way out to Cali and not get in some jump reps. Unfortunately making up a run on the fly mid competition doesn't set you up to be the most consistent jumper at the board, but at least it let me get a few more jumps in. The link that I posted above is of one of those attempts that would have been very good had had it not been a foul attempt. Most importantly at the end of the day I got to work on some timing and rhythm as well as have fun with the crowd and fans. I met some really cool kids that David and I worked with on the days we worked out with who came out and showed their support for us as well. I had the opportunity to work with a young man a couple of days before the competition that I met about 8 years, whom of course is grown now. Thanks to the meet director Gregg Miller I was able to get him into the triple jump competition and he had +1ft improvement over his previous personal best. We also met and extremely talent and motivated young lady name Tori Mason who I think is going to be a great talent in the near future. She's currently going into her c year of high school here in Sacramento area. Be looking out for this one and I'm definitely going to say I told you so. For the video of my jump just click the California Relays link at the top of the post.

Its Been To Long

2010-05-24T20:16:00.004-04:00

The reason people find it so hard to be happy is that they always see the past better than it was, the present worse than it is, and the future less resolved than it will be ~ M. Pagnol

That quote was borrowed from the blog of a good friend of mine. (imperfectlyperfectemh) This quote explains the complications people have when they're living three different lives divided. My advice is live and Love Life. Embrace who you are and where you are right now. Carrying around a bag full of old random this and random that leaves no room for new stuff. Spend more time enjoying the journey and expanding throughout the process.

Moving on with that being said and done. I apologize for my brief absence. Nothing much has been going on in the last month or so. A lot of training, a lot of living, and very little competing. Training has been going well. I got a little banged up for a second, but I'm much better and past that. Sometimes I forget I'm 33 years old and start training like I'm 23. I get consumed in working harder and pushing for more and completely ignore the warning signs when my body says rest. I'll be competing this weekend in Sacramento, CA. I flew out to San Francisco this morning and met up with the big fell (David Oliver) when he flew in from Shanghai. We got a rental and headed on up to Sacramento. We'll be posted here for the week getting ready to do work and lay hands this weekend. Based on my training and where I started with my first two competitions I'm right on schedule for things to start popping. I made this observation with D.O. a while back that my first 2 meets were almost identical to where Christian Olsson started his season and yet nobody has bothered to mention a word of it. This guy jumped the same numbers and the internet was going nuts. It amazes me how minimally the media has a tendency to play down certain things. All around things are going really well and I'm enjoying life one day at a time.

UTEP UPDATE

2010-04-11T21:56:00.002-04:00

Things are looking good!! I jumped a season best 16.85m which is 55ft and some change. I'm definitely pleased with several aspects of my weekend. I was able to get some direct feedback as to where I am at with my train. As we all know there is a big difference between training and competition. Just as there is a difference between a game and a scrimmag; a scrimmage and practice. This meet showed me that my training is headed in the right direction and my ability to execute the aspects of training are on pace. There are several things that I will get to move from wish list over to the "I Know" list. Having that "I Know" list in order by the time I reach Championships is very vital and critical to be consistently successful. In my opinion the most important part of any jumping event is the approach run. Much too often I see jumpers making a competition of getting on the board when the focus should be on jumping far. This weekend I went 6 of 6 with no fouls. Anybody who has ever participated in either of the horizontal jumping events knows how difficult that is. I can't wait to get back to training this week and work on the things that were discovered from this competition as areas of emphasis and get back on the track to compete again. I'll be competing again this upcoming weekend in California at the Mt. Sac Relays.

Numbers Don't Lie

2010-04-10T14:24:00.002-04:00

Sitting here in my room looking over the heat sheets and jumping order before hitting the track i couldn't help but notice. Its' funny how the smallest of things can stir up some of the strongest of emotions. Being that this is my first outdoor meet of the season there's a small bit of anxiety that goes with it. Its the eagerness of getting the first one out of the way, and the anticipation of not knowing and finding out where you are in your training. Although I've been doing this for a very long time and I first came to this meet a decade ago I still have my bouts of fear and doubt. The internal battles of negative and positive self talk. Its funny because when I looked at this number and record it was all the talk I needed. It said to me that Kenta' just go do what you do. I verbally told the voices in my head to shut the hell up because the numbers are in front of me and they ain't lying.

Ringing the Bell on another outdoor season...

2010-04-09T17:52:00.002-04:00

I Just arrived in El Paso TX, today. I'm competing tomorrow in what will be my season opener. I love competing here at this facility. I first competed here in 2001 and have had very good result every time I've come. The coaches and staff here are exceptional host and very accommodating to the elite and emerging elite athlete. In my last few visits to El Paso I have done extremely well. I am the facility record holder at 17.76m 58'3". In my last visit which was also my season opener just as this will be I produced a mark of 17.48m which also stands as my best season opener ever. Guess I don't have to say that I'm expecting good results from myself this weekend. My training has been going well, coach and I have had some really good technical breakthroughs. Im really eager to get out there tomorrow and see where I am on the path that leads to the pursuit of perfection. Coach Hayes is teaching me a much different way of doing things. Ways in which I feel will produce phenomenal results by seasons end if I remain patient, consistent, and dilligent in my preparations. I will definitely give you an update tomorrrow afternoon.

SPIRITUAL EXERCISE

2010-03-28T21:35:00.003-04:00

When we think about keys to athletic success and achievement, we typically think of all the physical, mental, and nutritional things we do. Most times we think about having the right trainer. The best shoes. The complete nutritional and supplemental plans. Throughout my journey of life on and off the track, I've come to find that my spiritual preparation has been just as, or even more important than all of my physical training. When I speak of spiritual training I'm referring to my spiritual workout with Christ. Most athletes get so consumed in worrying about being well rounded athletes, that they forget about being well rounded individuals. Metaphorically through scripture I'm going to attempt to shine greater light and understanding on what I mean:

1 TIMOTHY 4:7-9
7)Do not waste time arguing over godless ideas and old wives tales. Spend your time and energy in training yourself for spiritual fitness. 8)Physical exercise has some value, but spiritual exercise is much more important, for it promises a reward in both this life and he next. 9) this is true and everyone should accept it.

When I think of spiritual training in relation to physical exercise, I like to think of two fundamental lifts that we use in all sports. The 1st would be the Squat and the 2nd would be the Bench Press. Typically when doing the Squat we put a given or set amount of weights on our backs and we squat down and raise up. This is then repeatedly done for several more repetitions and sets. The designed purpose for this exercise is to strengthen the legs for preparation to handle more weight and load in the future. It creates a higher working capacity. When doing Spiritual Squats we bend down to our knees and dialogue with God. When we stand from bending we are stronger to deal with weight and burdens that the world and society has placed on our backs. The second of these lifts is called the Bench press. When performing this lift it is typically recommended that he/she has a spotter. The sole and primary responsibility of this person is to aid and assist the individual pressing the weight. To remove the load from his or chest when the weight becomes more than they can handle to press on their on anymore. In Spiritual exercise the spotter that I talk about is Jesus. He's always there right above you to lift the load when we feel that we can no longer press on.

My training also calls on me to mediate, but not meditation as you may typically think of it. There is also a form of spiritual meditation that is mentioned in JOSHUA 1:8 the text reads "this book of the law(bible) shall not depart out of thy mouth: but thou shalt meditate therein day and night, that thou(we) may observe to do according to all that is written therein: for then thou shalt make thy way prosperous, and then thou shalt have good success."

9) goes on to say "I command you- be strong and courageous! Do not be afraid or discouraged. For the Lord your God is with you wherever you go."

I'm writing this post not to push my spiritual beliefs or opinions on you. This is another opportunity for me to reflect and expand on how I made it over. A deeper look into me Kenta' Bell, and the things that I feel have allowed me to be successful in achieving all that have in my career. My mother taught me the 121st Psalm as a very young boy . This is a scripture that I still repeat every time I get on the runway. I want go into full detail or explanation of the verse but it begins like this: "I will lift up my eyes to the hills, from which forth cometh my help. My help cometh from the Lord, which made Heaven and earth." As always I hope this Blog is able to reach and help someone in achieving all they aspire to be. I strive to provide pertinent and relevant social commentary to those who seek.

2010-03-19T17:57:00.001-04:00

Quote Of The Day: "The keys to being successful are easy to do, but they're also easy not to do, and that's what gets most people."

SUCCESS' SECRET FORMULA....

2010-03-17T21:26:00.004-04:00

Honestly, there is no secret formula, no magic wand that gives you a warm tingling feeling. There is no 15 or 30 minute "do-it all"workout exercise or machine; nor is there any amplified or condensed short form way of being successful. I'm fairly sure that if you asked anyone who has achieved success in their given fields of expertise how they did it; all of them will tell you hard work. When I'm doing speeches and lectures I always get asked two questions: How did I get to such a high level of success that I have had for so long? Does it come easy for me to do what I do because I'm so good at it? My answer is always the same. I accomplished everything I have in life as a result of good ol fashion backwood Texas work ethic. Secondly, I follow up with the statement that if it was easy everybody would be doing it. For even the most talented of athletes there's still a fair amount of hard work that has to be put in.

I've always trained under the philosophy instilled in me by my college coach, Dean Johnson. He would always say ask yourself this question "did I out-train everybody in the world today?" He would tell me that if the answer was "no" that I wasted a day of training and a day of my time. Hard work has a soulmate named integrity I like to define integrity as doing what needs to be done when nobody is looking. It amazes me today the number of athletes that I meet who want it all but don't want to pay the price. When I was living at the U.S. Olympic training center I had a roommate name Jim Bob who had a slogan that eventually became a motto of ours about hard work and paying the price. He would always say "everybody wants to go to Heaven, but nobody wants to die" At some point if you wanna achieve above average success in life, sport, or business, you're going to have to be willing to sacrifice and pay the price. For the majority of my career I've been self coached in one of the most technically difficult events to coach, learn and execute. In saying and understanding that you would think that I have to be some type of triple jump savant or bio-mechanical genius. I declare myself neither of the two. Although I have given myself a PHD in barn-yard physics. I basically stuck to what my coach taught me in college and stayed with it. See, when you train that hard it doesn't really matter if you're technically sound and perfect, nor does it matter if you're the smartest or fastest. When you're training that hard who has time to compare apples to oranges or the advantages and disadvantages of your training environment as compared to anyone else. For me that was getting fitter than fit and stronger than Lysol. Whenever I go to practice I like to think that I have my hard hat and my lunch box, because I'm about to punch in for a day of work and leave it all on the track. After I left it there, my goal is to go in the weight room and try to put the whole place on my back. Not just lift the weights, but the building too. One thing you find when you push yourself to those types of limits and work that hard is that when you get to a competition you don't lose easy and you never give up. I like to refer to it as "fighting like a broke leg dog" We've all seen a dog hobbling with a bad leg trying to make it across a busy street, he's fighting like a m.f.

Secondly, I learned that there is no such thing as perfect. You're only as good as you are on your bad day. You have to be able to go out and get the job done under less than favourable conditions or circumstances. Brooks taught me a very valuable lesson about 7 years ago that tied in perfectly with what Dean taught me about how hard I had to work daily. He told me that I had to train in such a way that on a good day I would break the World record, and on a bad day I would still win!!!! Feel free to take a moment and go back to read over that last line again. If you're having trouble rationalizing such a process take for example, Michael Johnson. In 1999, Michael won the 400m at the Outdoor world Championships with a new W.R. which goes to say that he had a fairly good day. However, the following year he wins the Olympic title in Sydney, Australia with a performance less than his world record. What this goes to show is that on a bad day at the Olympic Games with a performance less than we know he was capable of, he was still able to win.

In closing, at the end of the day when you look that person in the mirror standing in front of you ask yourself, "did you outwork everybody in the world today?" It all boils down to doing what you have to do in order to put yourself in position to do what you want to do!

STILL ON THE GRIND

2010-03-05T23:52:00.003-05:00

EVERYBODY'S BEEN ASKING ME WHATS NEXT SINCE I DIDN'T MAKE THIS WORLD INDOOR TEAM. I FIGURED I COULD SHOW YOU BETTER THAN I COULD TELL YOU. WHAT YOU SAW FROM MY RESULT WAS NOT A LOSS, BUT A SACRIFICE IN THE PURSUIT OF PERFECTION. LIKE TIGER WOODS CHANGING HIS SWING TO GO FROM GOOD TO GREAT. GREAT REWARD COMES FROM GREAT SACRIFICE. I LOOK AT IT AS A MINOR SETBACK FOR A MAJOR COMEBACK. FOR EVERYBODY WHO WAS SMILING, GIGGLING, AND SNEAK DISSIN YOU BETTER WATCH OUT BECAUSE I'M COMING TO A TRACK NEAR YOU.... GLADIATORS COME TO YOUR HOUSE; GOONS CATCH YOU IN THE STREET!!!

TRAINING AND OVERTRAINING; THE BALANCING ACT.

2010-02-23T11:43:00.005-05:00

I was recently forwarded an article by a good friend of mine and strength coach Randy Hadley (rhfitpro.com). The article was written by Vern Gambetta and it really addressed some of the issues athletes face when dealing with training, planning training, and long term success. Along with reading the article I was also motivated to put something out that dealt with and looks at some of the causes and issues of overtraining, symptoms a treatments for dealing with the issues. What you will find here is a collage of pertinent and relative information for the masses of training athletes.

Training - It's More Than a Workout (Vern Gambetta)

Training is a cumulative process. The workout is one piece of a much bigger picture. Training is not one spectacular or particularly tough workout, rather it is a succession of workouts designed to fit into the overall plan in pursuit of specific training objectives. Anyone can make a workout hard, but the essential element is context. Where does it fit? One workout cannot stand alone. One great workout does not necessarily lead to a great competition result. In fact it can be detrimental. To achieve an outstanding workout the athlete may have to dig deep into physiological, psychological, and emotional reserves to achieve that result. That potentially may detract from competition performance. The concept that has stood the test of time for me is Bill Bowernan’s concept of hard easy rhythm of training days. As the athlete progresses in their career and you can assess their adaptability you can progress to a hard day, followed by a medium day, followed by an easy day. Too many hard days without easy days to balance them out will result in failing adaptation. Ideally we want to achieve continual adaptation as a consequence of supercompensation. You achieve this by having clearly defined training goals, a sound plan to achieve those goals, a thorough knowledge of the athletes physical capabilities and specific competitive goals. Remember one workout cannot make an athlete, but one workout can break an athlete.

IDENTIFYING AND OVERCOMING OVERTRAINING :

OVERTRAINING IS A PATHOLOGICAL STATE OF TRAINING. IT IS THE RESULT OF OVERLOOKING THE WORK-RECOVERY RATIO, AND EXPOSING THE ATHLETE TO HIGH INTENSITY TRAINING WHEN HE/SHE IS IN A STATE OF FATIGUE. THE RECOVERY RATE IS A FUNCTION OF THE INTENSITY OF TRAINING. AS OPPOSED TO SUBMAXIMUM OR MEDIUM, HIGH INTENSITY TRAINING REQUIRES LONGER REGENERATION PHASE.

AN ATHLETE IS EXPOSED TO A HIGH VARIETY OF STRESSORS, AND TRAINING IS NOT ALWAYS THE MOST HARMFUL. WHEN ALL STRESSORS TO WHICH THE ATHLETE IS EXPOSED (WORK, FAMILY, PEERS) ALONG WITH HEAVY TRAINING LOADS SURPASS HIS/HER CAPACITITES HE/SHE THEN REACHES THE OVERTRAINING STATE.

THE OUTCOME OF OVERTRAINING IS THE DECREASE IN WORKING CAPACITY AND PERFORMANCE. HOWEVER, SUCH SYMPTOMS ARE USUALLY PRECEEDED BY INSOMNIA, POOR APETITE, HEAVY SWEAT, RESTLESS LEGS, AND EVEN NIGHT SWEAT.

WHEN THE OVERTRAINING STATE IS IDENTIFIED, TRAINING HAS TO BE REDUCED OR STOPPED IMMEDIATELY, IRRESPECTIVE OF THE CAUSE. IF THE STATE OF OVERTRAINING IS VERY SEVERE, IN ADDITION TO A COMPLE TRAING ABSTINENCE , THE ATHLETE SHOULD ALSO BE SHELTERED FROM STIMULATIONS AND EXCITEMENT OF SOCIAL NATURE. IN THE CASE OF MILD OVERTRAINING STATE, WHEN TRAINING HAS ONLY TO BE REDUCED, THE COACH SHOULD NOT EXPOSE THE ATHLETE TO ANY TESTING OR COMPETITIONS. CONSEQUENTLY, HIGH INTENSITY STIMULI SHOULD BE ELIMINATED FROM BOTH TRAINING AND LIFESTYLE. AN ACTIVE REST (MILD EXERCISE IN A COMPLETELY DIFFERENT ENVIRONMENT) HAS TO BE CONSIDERED EVEN FOR AN ATHLETE WHO IS IN SEVERE OVERTRAINING STATE SINCE THE ABRUPT INTERRUPTION OF TRAINING MAY BE HARMFUL TO AN ATHLETE ACCUSTOMED TO EXTENSIVE PHYSICAL INVOLVEMENT.

TWO TYPES OF OVERTRAINING: SYMPATHETIC & PARSYMPATHETIC

I.) SYMPATHETIC OVERTRAINING:
ISRAEL(1963) IDENTIFIES TWO TYPES OF OVERTRAINING. THE FIRST ONE IS SYMPATHETIC OVERTRAINING, IS THE RESULT OF OVER EXCITATION OR OVER STRESS THE EMOTIONAL PROCESS. CHARACTERIZED BY AN INCREASED METABOLIC RATE (PHYSICAL AND CHEMICAL PROCESSES OF THE BODY), ACCELERATED HEART RATE, SWEATING, NERVOUS SYMPTOMS, IRRITABILITY, RESTLESSNESS, AND PSYCHIC DISTURBANCES. THIS TYPE OF OVERTRAINING OCCURS MOSTLY AS A RESULT OF OVEREMPHASIZING HIGH INTENSITY STIMULI ON TRAINING AND THE POWERS OF CONCENTRATION.

TO OVERCOME THE EXCITATION PROCESS (SYMPATHETIC OVERTRAINIG)

A. SPECIAL DIET
- STIMULATE APPETITE THROUGH ALKALINE FOODS (MILF, FRUIT, FRESH VEGETABLES,)
- AVOID STIMULATORY SUBSTANCES (COFFEE, ENERGY DRINKS), SMALL QUANITIES OF ALCOHOL PERMITTED
- INCREASED QUANITIES OF VITAMINS (B-GROUP)
B. PHYSIO-THERAPY
- INDOOR/OUTDOOR SWIMMING
- BATHING 15-20MIN. AT A TEMPERATURE OF 95-98.6 DEGREE FARENHEIGHT (EPSOM SALT) NO SAUNA
- COLD SHOWERS IN THE MORNING BRISK TOWELING
- MASSAGE
- LIGHT AND RHYTHMICAL EXCERSISES (DYNAMIC WARM-UPS, ROPE SKIPPING, ETC.)
C. CLIMATIC THERAPY
- MODERATE ULTRA-VIOLET IRRADIATIONS, BUT AVOID INTENSE SUN RADIATIONS
- CHANGE THE ENVIRONMENT, IF POSSIBLE ALTERNATE AREAS OF VARIOUS ALTITUDES

II.) PARASYMPATHETIC OVERTRAINING (NERVOUS SYSTEM)
THE RESULT IN AN INCREASE IN INHIBITION PROCESSES AND IS THE RESULT OF AN EXCESSSIVELY HIGH VOULME OF TRAINING.OFTEN REFERRRED TO AS ADDISINOID SYNDROME BOROWED FROM THE TERM ADDISON DISEASE, HARACTERIZED BY PROGRESIVE ANEMIA(LOW IRON), LOW BLOOD PRESSURE, AND DIGESTIVE DISTURBANCES. EITHER TYPE OF OVERTRAINIG MAY OCCCUR WHEN THE LOAD IN TRAINING IS ABRUPTLY INCREASED, MARKED BY SURPASSING WORKING AND ADAPTATION CAPACITIES.

TO OVERCOME THE INHIBITION PROCESS (PARASYMPATHETIC OVERTRAINING)

A. SPECIAL DIET
- FAVOUR ACIDIFYING FOODS (CHEESE, MEAT, CAKE, EGGS)
- VITAMINS B-GROUP AND C-GROUP
B. PHYSIO-THERAPY
- ALTERNATE HOT-COLD SHOWERS
- SAUNA AT MEDIUM TEMPERATURE ALTERNATED WITH COLD SHOWERS
- INTENSIVE MASSAGE
- ACTIVE MOVEMENTS
C. CLIMATE THERAPY
- SEA AND SEA LEVEL ALTITUDE
- PREFERRED BRACING CLIMATE

PREVENTING THE STATE OF OVERTRAINIG OCCURS BY MAKING SURE THAT CERTAIN PRINCIPLES (I.E. PROGRESSIVE INCREASE OF LOAD IN TRAINING), AND A CORRECT ALTERNATION OF WORK WITH REGENERATION, ARE PROPERLY FOLLOWED. IN ORDER TO ENHANCE THE RATE OF RECOVERY BETWEEN TRAINING LESSONS AND FOLLOWINF COMPETITIONSS THE INDIVIDUAL HAS TO CONTINUALLY EMPLOY RECOVERY TECHNIQUES.

INSPIRED BY MY OWN ACTIONS

2010-01-20T12:22:00.002-05:00

I think like most people sometimes we do and say thing because its the inner core of who we are. In my case as a result of my personal battles and struggles throughout my career I very often try to lend a personal word or throw in a tip here and there when I can. In this particular instance when I was living at the Olympic Training Center I spoke to a group of young athletes back in 2003 on a whim. I just recently heard back from one of those individuals via email in regards to that talk and was floored by the impact it made. This is a portion of the message that was sent to me:

Mr.Bell,
You probably don't remember me but in 2003 I went to an Elite Junior Development Track Camp at the OTC in San Diego. You were a resident there, and I approached you because my uncle Dave Simmons was the basketball coach at Northwestern State. You gave all the athletes in the camp a speech and called me out and teased me a little bit hahaha. But the speech you gave,I wish I would have had it on tape because it was the best speech ive ever heard in my life hands down. I am glad that a person of your caliber has made it and had success in your track career. You truly are a great person..I hope you know that.

Dancing Mind; Thinking Feet!

2009-12-30T21:51:00.002-05:00

DANCING MIND!

In this post I want to draw everyone closer to where art and athletics merge. I've often referred to the relationship before, but have never gone into great depth about the role in my life and what I do as athlete. More specifically the triple jump. I can clearly recall the first time that the triple jump was related to an art form to me in explanation. I was 20 years old at Last chance qualification meet at LSU indoors 1998 my junior year in college. My lifetime best at that point was only 50 ft 10 inches and I needed another 12 inches to get a qualifier to get me into the NCAA Championships. I'm in the meet about 3 or 4 jumps down and wasn't even remotely close to getting where I needed to be when Dean Johnson my college came to me and explained the triple jump as a power ballet. His analogy was of floating gracefully as though defying gravity then coming down and immediately springing back into the air to defy gravity once aging just a little bit longer than the time before. Then he says son do you understand what I'm saying? I reply yes with this quirky little grin in my face thinking that's pretty cool what he just said. He then goes further into saying that I need to float like a butterfly and sting like a bee. I've come to find that good artist borrow and great artist steal. He then directed me to get on the runway and look up at the NCAA logo on the wall at the back of the pit and try to jump to it because that's where I was trying to go. I'm happy to say that on that following jump I twinkle toed my way down that runway to a new personal best at a distance of 52 ft 2 in. Needles to say that lesson still remains fresh in my mind today.

With that being my introduction to the concept of athletics and art. Brooks Johnson has been a professor of sorts in my post graduate education into the concept. When I arrived in San Diego in the fall of 2002 we quickly formed a very close relationship that still stands firm today. His lessons of music, art, and history through our daily post breakfast pre-training chats quickly helped me to become a better athlete. During that time I was formally introduced to Jazz. How this happens is a story that many of you will get a laugh a lough from. For those who know Brooks will definitely know that I'm not making this up based purely on the verbiage. One day I'm walking down the hill to the track and I hear this loud Jazz music blasting out of the building and echoing across the track. When I turn the corner to enter into the building there Brooks sits in the chair rared back with his feet atop the desk and his straw hat over his face. My first question was man what's going on what's up? His response was hey little n***a come in here and sit yo a** down and learn something. That day he explained to me the fundamentals of how Jazz was played and how it directly correlated with what we do on the track and specifically in the jumps for my particular interest. He recently describes this in his blog and I will let you hear it from his mouth as his quote reads as:

"Right now I am listening to Errol Garner's CONCERT BY THE SEA recording. In many ways it represents the best example of what I mean when I say there is a direct connection between jazz music and coaching. The kind of jazz I prefer is relatively direct and basic. Typically and traditionally, a composer of a song will sit at a piano and work out the righthand melody and then backfill with lefthand chords that are in harmony with, and complement, the melody. The jazz musician reverses this process. He plays the lefthand chord changes and develops a new right hand melody to fit the chord changes. For me the left hand chord changes represent the basic science, knowledge, experience and expertise that a coach must possess as regards the sport in question. It is basic and constant and provides a foundation for the right hand to improvise and create, while at the same time remaining consistent with the chord changes. In a typical jazz trio the bass player also works within the harmonc structure of the chord patterns and lays down a deep and harmonic anchor for the group. The drummer, is responsible for keeping the time and tempo accents,......rhythm. The bass player also works this area as well keeping both rhythm and harmonic chord structure in play. The drummer and the rhythm represent for me the tempo at which both coaching and conditioning must be based. The actual track and field event itself must take on some sort of rhythmic relevance as well as harmonious movement. There are times when the emphasis has to be deep and syncopated and there are times when it needs to be subordinated to the melody and get out of the way of what the right hand is trying to do. The various interchanges between the soloist's drive and creativity with the bass and drums make for a very interesting and intriguing mix that can inspire, motivate, and elevate." Brooks Johnson

That particular day I started developing my concept of dancing mind. He went further into depth about melodies and introductions. About how they related to athletes standing at the rear of the runway gathering themselves before the jump... to the synchronized rhythmic clapping of the crowd as a build up followed by the smooth melody of the jumper running down the runway and later to the syncopation and punctuation of hitting the board and the foot contacts of the ground transitioned into arms swings punctuating what the artist was trying to drive home with his art and skill. I can say that since then I have been a fan of Jazz . Of late I have developed a fondness for earl Garner and the album "Concert By The Sea". If you're interested in listening to Errol go onto YouTube and search "I'll Remember April" Brooks favorite and "Mambo Caramel" my growing favorite. Most times when you see me standing at the back of the runway and I'm moving my body in the technical positions that I'd like to achieve with my eyes closed just know that my mind Is dancing.

THINKING FEET!

Thinking feet is a concept that I recently began to develop and the theme is borrowed or derived from a set of drills that my new coach Dean Hayes developed. The Irony of this is that coach Hayes and Brooks were once teammates and passed the stick to each other on the relay. We've all at some point heard someone refer to a dancer as having good foot work or sweet feet. I here the term often in track and field as related hurdlers footwork and rhythm in between the hurdles. Great triple jumping has a lot to do with your feet. In particular the relationship to your foot placement and you center of gravity, being light on your feet, and how your toes and feet spread when you contact the ground. Jumping is part balletic, part ballistic and another part athletic. All controlled by balance and rhythm. However, what you don't want to be doing while jumping is be thinking about all of this. Ideally you'd like for your feet to do the thinking while your mind does the dancing. Ultimately performing and exhibiting an artistic athletic performance.A skill trained to precision, perfection, and reflection. The Particular set of drills that Coach Hayes has developed force you to concentrate on what you're doing with you feet and how they hit the ground and how your body leaves the ground segueing into the next phase. They challenge balance, coordination, and rhythm all while performing a specific athletic task. To a certain degree forcing you to stop thinking with your mind and body and function with your feet. This particular task is often repeated a couple of times within the training week and several times within the cycle of the training month. Brooks often says that repetition is a form of emphasis. In this case by repeatedly performing this task over and again its signaling a strong emphasis to the brain that this must be important maybe I need to retain this. If you can understand this and follow where I'm going you"ll definitely understand why I have such a fondness for "Mambo Carmel" by Errol Garner.

The picture that I'm painting here is one a very strong relationship between athletic grace, skill, art and beautiful masterpieces. Sometimes opening your mind and seeing beyond the boundaries of your immediate environment, atmosphere, or cultural prejudices can expose you to a new world of possibilities. What I'm laying down here is my approach to seeing two different skills with one mind cerebrally and viscerally. Sometimes seeing isn't believing. Can you find your rhythm to life?

CHRISTMAS GIFT GUIDE!!!!!

2009-12-02T23:34:00.002-05:00

I KNOW MANY OF YOU ARE THINKING WHAT DOES THIS HAVE TO WITH THE TRIPLE JUMP. ABSOLUTELY NOTHING. THESE ARE JUST SOME THINGS I THINK ARE REALLY COOL. SOME OF THESE ITEMS, WELL MOST OF THEM I OWN AND USE REGULARLY. THEREFORE I AM CONFIDENT IN RECOMMENDING THEM AS GIFT IDEAS TO YOU.

2009-12-02T23:21:00.002-05:00

Levis 505 - perfect straight slim jean. Looks great dressed up or down

2009-12-02T23:19:00.001-05:00

Tweed Sportcoat - stay warm and look sharp

2009-12-02T23:18:00.002-05:00

Adidas Samba - perfect with levis or Khakis and sport coat

2009-12-02T23:16:00.001-05:00

Record Player (Nostalgia- best sound quality possible and super cool)

2009-12-02T23:15:00.002-05:00

Moleskine Notebooks (perfect for the next revolutionary idea)

2009-12-02T23:14:00.002-05:00

Levis Trucker Jacket

2009-12-02T23:12:00.002-05:00

Holga Toy Camera (low cost and phenomenal photo quality)

2009-12-02T23:11:00.001-05:00

G-Shock watch is back

2009-12-02T23:10:00.002-05:00

Fixed Gear Bike (low maintenance, Fun, Great fitness tool)

2009-12-02T23:08:00.001-05:00

Blackberry keyboard perfect for lightweight business travel

2009-12-02T23:07:00.001-05:00

Beats by Dre headphones

CRITICALLY ACCLAIMED- RESPECT BEING WON

2009-09-06T09:44:00.002-04:00

Being critical…. Majority of the time I have to say that I am my toughest critic by far. The self -imposed question is whether or not that criticism is driven by a character trait call perfectionism. Likewise, on the flips side I have the ability to be overly optimistic about things and situations. This whole thought process has been driven through question and conversation. In the past few months I have been asked several thought provoking questions with insight of my career longevity and consistency. For the majority of my career I’ve primarily focused on win/loss and measured things by the meter and centimeter. However, I’m finding now that as I’m aging in the sport in a career that’s had over a 10yr span at the elite level that people are beginning to evaluate my career by a different set of standards. I’m not quite sure how knowledgeable my reading audience is with the triple jump, but it’s an extremely brutal event on the body that doesn’t have an extremely long career life. Most often you get individuals who are really good for a year or two, but are not able to maintain career consistency and longevity. In form the questions that were posed to me are along the lines of: What’s the secret? How have you managed to be so consistent at such a high level for so long in an event that so physically unforgiving? Also what has been the secret to my success in making every team in the last 9yrs? One would assume that these are all things that I’ve thought about or pondered in some fashion or form or at some point in time? Not at all, until recently. Like the length of my career, there is no short form one or two sentence explanation. There are sequence of things that I feel have allowed me to be so fortunate. First and foremost I would have to acknowledge God for giving me a talent and mental aptitude to grossly ingest vast amounts of knowledge. With that being said much has to be attributed to being knowledgeable and well studied and submersed into the scientific, biomechanical, and historical aspects of my sport and all sports. This knowledge has allowed me to avoid many costly mistakes and a lot of pseudo-science that different coaches and athletes are throwing around. People speaking in useless jargon in an attempt to either impress or masquerade what they really don’t know. Then there’s good old-fashioned hard work. I don’t think there is any substitute for hard. Many would say that I’ve probably over-trained for the majority of my career, but many have come and gone as well. By being more than absolutely certain about my preparation that I’ve dotted all my (I)’s and crossed all the (T)’s I never go in acting on false confidence. Just as important as having worked hard is having hard detailed evidence and records of the work done. Very Detailed pre and post training analysis of each and every workout. This type of detailed has allowed me to develop a very honest and reliable map. It’s kind of like having a career never lost GPS system. Even when I get slightly off track I’m never lost or that far away from directions to getting back on course. Inside of those journals and calendars lye everything you possibly need to know. The key is in understanding and cracking the code of what worked. That detailed knowledge of when, how, and why will always get you back in the vicinity of where you need to be. Probably, most importantly is understanding that what I do is just as much an Art as it is a Science. You must have a creative temperament that at times will allow you to go with the flow and deviate from the standard plan and protocol. Simplified it like this “when hungry eat. When tired sleep. Fools may laugh but wise men will understand.” Or “Its always better to do one rep to few than one to many” If you find yourself in question about something. I follow the rule of “if in doubt don’t”

In respecting my talent as a skill and an art I’m aware that you must constantly train and nurture that skill or talent. I also acknowledge that you are never free to create and freestyle until you’ve learned the fundamental mechanics. The keys and chords of music. The colors of paints and brushes in art. Only when you have learned and mastered those fundamentals can you then exploit yourself and abilities within those fundamentals. Last but not least surround yourself with good company. Watch, listen, and learn. That way when you do ask a question it’s always the right question and it will be highly regarded and esteemed by the individual in question. Making him or her more susceptible to giving you the answers and knowledge you desire

MADE MY DAY!!!

2009-08-10T20:33:00.002-04:00

Sometimes I do things because it's just what I Love to do. Triple jump happens to be one of those things. You get me to talking or teaching and I can do it all day long. Unlike many I don't mind sharing what I know. I have the belief that one learns from teaching. Back in the early spring while in Orlando training I had an opportunity to work with some very talented young athletes from Nova Scotia. Among them was talented young man that had interest in the triple jump and felt that he had much more room for improvement with a little help and/or guidance. That day I spent a bit of time with him taking a look at him jumping and making some suggestions while explaining the cause and affect of using different body parts. Recently I received the following email from this young man and i must say it made my day. Things like this put certain kinda smile on your face and feeling thats just hard to explain. This is that email:

Hello Kenta,

My name is Brett Myketyn and we meet in March while my track team from Nova Scotia, Canada was down training at the Walt Disney World Track Complex. During my stay in Florida I had the privilege to spend an hour or so with you while you shared your feedback on my technique in the triple jump. Before having that experience I wasn't aware of the little things that were holding me back. Your teachings on properly holding my knee up and how to correctly use my arms assisted me in learning how to train better and jump farther. Since your guidence I have added a meter onto my jump and was selected to represent Team Nova Scotia at the 2009 Canada Summer Games. As well I recently placed fourth and jumped a seasonal best and personal best of 14.14m at the Canadian outdoor Junior Championships. After reviewing the video of this jump I see there are still lots of areas that need improvement, I am going to continue working hard at my triple jump.

I enjoy reading your blogs and hope you are having a great summer and still training hard. Thank you for all you taught me.

Thank You,

ASSERTIVENESS

2009-07-22T20:13:00.002-04:00

Assertiveness is a subtle power. In being assertive you produce but do not possess. Advance without dominating. Assertiveness is a controlled chaos. Grace under fire. We often confuse winning with aggressively dominating and bashing our opponents or foes. We have a traditional way of thinking that we must run up the score, physically intimidate and embarrass. Unfortunately aggression produces a corresponding aggression. You can learn to shape the course of an event not with power, but with direct, assertive behavior. I've found in my life that I can achieve greater levels of performance when I simply assert myself and my power. Aggressiveness includes a sense of ruthlessness, cruelty, or pitilessness toward the competitor. Coincidentally this negative external orientation focuses on your energy outward onto the opponent rather than concentrating your inner energy on you own performance or task at hand. This external focus generates extreme tension, fatigue, and distraction and ultimately your performance. Intimidation may work for one set, one round or even one argument. However, you will eventually realize a swift decline in keeping that intensity going.

I found that I am much better when I focus on asserting my strengths and exploiting my talents. In my opinion harsh aggressive behavior of my opponents suggest that you are uncertain about your abilities. Even if your aggression brings you short-terms success, it could fail you in the long run by setting up for aggression from your competition in the future.

Assertion is a more relaxed mindset toward performance. The assertive individual exhibits determination, with clarity of intent. Assertiveness can be employed with greater consistency than aggressiveness; it is subtler and therefore more effective. Assertive is not an attack technique--it want feed into your opponents negative behavior or energy. Assertion is more powerful in helping you achieve the original objective of your aggression.

I like to think of assertion as an external display of inner control that showcases your preparation and competence rather than macho bravado masqueraded as confidence. Its a refusal to waste valuable energy on dominating my opponent. Assertive individuals never see themselves as being in a competition. The assertive athlete sees' himself/herself as more of an exhibitionist who desire is to showcase how well he or she can perform a specific task. keep in mind,"I don't dominate-I demonstrate"

IMPERFECTLY PERFECT

2009-07-21T12:33:00.002-04:00

PERFECTIONISM!

Imperfectlyperfecte, is the name of a close friends Blog site and the topic of today's thought and discussion. Perfectionism can often result in personal catastrophe. Some athletes miss the perfect score and are severely disappointed; others achieve it but its not good enough. I've come to find that efforts to be perfect are actually limits that we put on ourselves. The search for perfection is an inflexible attitude, am attempt to force what can't be. Why not strive for excellence rather than perfection? Striving for excellence requires a strong internal reward system that focuses on the pursuit of satisfaction, pride, peace, joy, and fun.

In the words of psychologist Carl Jung, "Perfection belongs to the Gods; the most we can hope for is excellence.

I've come to find that success is a roller coaster. It is impossible to be "right on" every day. We have to learn to expect ups and downs. No one escapes setbacks. I've come to understand fluctuations in performance on the road to excellence. I've even embraced that setbacks in my performance are springboards for improvement.

Thus in understanding the concept of being imperfectly perfect you therefore free yourself of the rigid adherence of being perfect. This freedom will not only allow you to pursue excellence it will allow your natural abilities to flow. Of all the performance in my career that were excellent and monumental in shaping my legacy none were perfect. In fact I could go through a long list of of the imperfections. However, on that given day I was imperfectly perfect. I often refer to my imperfectness on the runway in the heat of battle as " out athlete-ing the competition" in doing so you have to forgo skill and perfection and tap into the will and desire to risk it all to win. Its saying that I'm a little bit better than him and I've got more talent and today I'm going to whip him on athleticism and heart.

perfection is an illusion - performance is never perfect - I may not be perfect, but I perform like a champion.

A LAZY SUNDAY!!!

2009-07-12T17:38:00.002-04:00

What goes on in the mind of a person on a lazy Sunday. Don't think that lazy Sunday means I didn't go to Church this morning. And yes I did to answer your question. Todays message was really insightful. It was based on the topic of " Everybody Has a Story" I know it sounds really simple to you, but everybody has a story from the richest of the rich,to the poorest of the poor. From the greatest athlete in the world to the bum on the corner. One thing about stories is that every one has a beginning and end, but we're all in the middle of something or in the middle of going somewhere. Most importantly how your story ends to a certain degree is determined by how you live and what you do with your middle. How will your story be told. I'm a believer that being in the middle isn't quite that bad. The calmest place in the midst of a tornado is in the middle. The question that I pose to you is this, are you in the middle on your way up? Or in the middle and headed down? If you think that just because things are looking good and you're on the up and up you can afford to frown on the man thats at the bottom, think again because he has a story to. As I sit here on this lazy Sunday I keep finding myself thinking about my story. How it reads up to this point and how will I make changes now in the middle to affect the way the rest of my story is told.

Championship Season

2009-06-22T18:39:00.002-04:00

2009 USA Outdoor Track & Field Championships

Championship season is upon us again. It seems like just yesterday I was heading to Eugene, Oregon for the Olympic Trials. Well tomorrow I'm headed back for the World Championship Team Trials. If I'm fortunate enough to come out in the top 3 I'll be headed for Berlin, Germany where the great Jesse Owens redefined Hitlers thought about racial supremacy. Not to get ahead of myself the first thing I have to do is take care of my business Thursday @ 5:15p.m. and get myself on this team. Although I hadn't had the opportunity to jump much this season thanks to USATF and our wonderful horizontal jumps developmental chair. I feel really strong about my potential to go in and do something special. I've been preparing really well for this meet and this outdoor season. I've spent a lot of time recreating my technique and perfecting my skill. I'm always under the impression that if you train intelligently and hard at perfecting your skill, that all you have to do is go in with a desiring Will. My old coach used to say "Its' not the skill of a man Its' the will of a man." My motto is hit the board and throw your soul into the pit, your body will follow. I'm not much on throwing the word confidence around because much of my success has ben a direct result of my fear and competence. However, I will freely use the word Arrogant in regards to my training, technique, and tactical planning. At this point I am arrogant in the fact that if I'm honest with myself when I look in the mirror and if I go out and compete with Integrity, Discipline and great Tenacity on that given day I will be the best. I feel free to say this because at the beginning of my fall preparation I made a list of goals and a commitment myself. I've diligently gone about that list checking things off to the point where my "I Know" list is much longer than my "I Wish List" As we enter into Championship Season I'm eagerly anticipating my chance to perform and display triple jumping at its finest.

BACK IN O- TOWN

2009-06-04T18:59:00.002-04:00

Back in Orlando, FL. Just got Back to the O last night. I'm staying with my boy D.O. through next weekend. I'm competing on Sunday at Clermont and agin there the following weekend. These will more than likely be my last 2 tune-ups before the National Championships on June 25th. I've been back at home training really hard this past month or so, as we country people like to call it wood-shedding. I've made some slight technical adjustments, but more or less I've stuck to the script that I had planned out since before the season started in the fall. My training all year has been set up for a later peak and a longer season. So if all goes as planned I should start jumping really well mid to latter part of this month and continue to improve through the World Championships and the World Athletic Finals. Overall I'm really pleased with where I am right now and feeling optimistic about the next two weekends.

COMMERCIAL SHOOT PHOTOS

2009-05-27T22:40:00.002-04:00

2009-05-27T22:36:00.000-04:00

LIGHTS, CAMERA, ACTION.........

2009-05-21T08:53:00.002-04:00

New things!!!! The thing I love so much about life and the reason that I always look forward to another day is because life is full of the unexpected. I am currently at my first television commercial shoot. I went to the casting call on Monday, received the call on Tuesday that I got the job and I'm shooting today. Its so amazing to be here doing this because God is definitely opening up opportunities in my life. This is something that I definitely wasn't pursuing but by grace and opportunity fell into my lap. The company that I am shooting for today is Georgia Pacific. they have a new line of hand soap dispensers that are supposed to be the fastest in the world. If you're not familiar with Georgia Pacific their dispensers are a commercial product that are found in most major office restrooms, arenas, and airports. The theme of the shoot is the soap will be falling from above as I run down the track in an attempt to beat the falling soap on my way to the finish line. Included in the commercial will be versions using a cheetah, sports car, and a lizard of some sorts. I can truly say that my legs have been good to me. They have put me into some wonderful places around the world and provided me with some amazing opportunities. The first of such like this was a 2004 Olympic Games version f the show called Monster Garage. In honor of the games they did a version called Monster Games that put Man vs. Machine. Never really thought of myself as an actor or model, but I may have to see what else this industry has to offer. I'll definitely keep you updated either later today or tomorrow with pictures and hopefully a video.

DEVELOPMENT????????

2009-05-08T16:14:00.003-04:00

WHEN THE SYSTEM THAT SERVES YOU FAILS!

This is a topic thats been weighing heavy on me for a while, but I never felt it necessary to verbally air out my personal feelings. Well I've finally decided to purge my mind of this issue and free my soul and move on. USATF loves to use this word development. Both during and after the Olympics they heavily threw the word around in relationship to the failure of the horizontal jumps. Jokingly they took it a step further this fall when the laid out there plan for project 30 that detailed the plan for the development of the sport and some particular events for London 2012. The Joke is that there is no development and has never been since I've been in the sport and yet we have a developmental horizontal jumps chair person who has a budget for this so called development. I've been competing at the highest level of professional track and field in the U.S. since 1998 and in that time I've only ever been to one developmental clinic or camp in 1999 where the emphasis wasn't about learning or development but more of a motivational per-rally. The center of my laughter is also the basis of my frustration with the federation and individuals that serve to develop and provide opportunities for growth and development. In those 11+ years where I have been at the elite level of the sport I can count on one hand the number of opportunities that I've had to compete for money in this country and earn a living. There was the development of the Visa Championship series that was designed to bring the professionalism of this sport back to our country so that we wouldn't be forced to travel to Europe and abroad for elite level competition, yet the triple jump has only been on this series once outdoors and zero times indoors. What this all means it that unless we the triple jumper can find ourselves a competition in the U.S. in a local college competition we have no chance of getting competition and especially not elite level competition. In the past 10 years I've never competed against my primary American foes or rivals before the Outdoor championships. this is due primarily to the fact that we haven't had an opportunity to compete against each other. Yet they question why it is we don't do as well as they think we should when we get to major competitions. Maybe, just maybe if we had a chance to compete in that environment or caliber level of competition prior to getting there we would be better adapted to perform well in that situation. On the average if I go to any local collegiate competition around the country I'll win the event by 5ft or more and most often thats on the first attempt. Its amazing that the relay pool came under such scrutiny at the Olympic games over its failure to Medal, yet this system had been proven to be more than successful at accomplishing its primary goal of serving the very individuals it was developed to help and picked up quite a few medals in the process. All of this comes on the heels of being frustrated and let down once again because there are no plane or organized competitions for the triple jump this year in the United States. All of which has made the process of my preparations for Berlin extremely difficult. I received a phone call from a friend and fan of the sport today that asked me was I still jumping. I can't begin to explain sinking feeling that came in the pit of my stomach. How can we have a system so elaborate and be so successful but yet fail so poorly? For the majority of my career I've been self-coached.I know many of you are thinking yeah right he as somebody who's sending him the workouts or reviewing the video etc... When I say self coached I mean self coached I write the workouts record and analyze my own video. Develop and write my strength training programs. To top it all off I have to hop the fence at the facility where I train daily and I lifts weight in my garage in the cold of Georgia winters and the heat of its summers. All of this has been done with no funding or development at all and yet I've been able to be at the top of this country for the past 11 years be ranked as high as #3 in the world by the IAAF, and make 2 Olympic teams without development. Does this mean that I'm that much better than every coach in U.S. and on a given year or two was better than every jumper and coach in the world with the exception of one or two. I seriously doubt it. What that means is that the system has tremendously failed both me and you. Some days I sit and wonder how different my career could have been or would have been if I had the necessary support or help. This doesn't even begin to scrape the surface of the number of drug cheats that I beat and the number of jumpers that I have seen come and go. I can remember at the end of one season reading the quote of a British jumps coach that said I was the best clean triple jumper in the world. That kinda makes me smile and gives a good feeling about why I do what I do. However, getting back to my main topic of development. I challenge anybody who reads this post to tell me who was the last break through triple jumper that we've had in the past 10yr in this country besides Walter Davis and myself that sustained more than a year or two??? With that being said we have some phenomenal young talent in this country ranging from the high school ranks to the elite level. Yet without the proper support and development 4yrs from now you'll never know who they were. So to the powers that be and those that wave the magical wand of development and funding lets not drop the ball on the next generation.

Post Competition Update

2009-04-21T16:45:00.002-04:00

This weekend was good depending on what scale you're weighing it on. In terms of win/loss I walked away a winner so in that respect I took care of that business. However, that win came on the 1st jump which wasn't very impressive at all and yet was still enough to win by nearly 2meters. After that jump I came down and through a pretty good effort into jumping far on my 2nd attempt and fouled. After that I had no motivation to jump again. It was one of the most uninspired competitions of my career. Its getting really frustrating going to meets with little to no competition at all. I work so hard in training a specific skills and task that I expect to go to the meet and exhibit with the right adrenaline and competition, but then get there and not have it. Most times I'm running into bad competition management with the time schedule and inadequate competition to challenge performance. I know most of you are probably thinking what does your competition have to do with how you jump. When was the last time you saw someone set a new personal best or world record alone? Never. So as the scale teeters I'll let you be the judge.

On The Road Again

2009-04-16T21:12:00.002-04:00

INTERNATIONAL FRIENDSHIP FREEDOM GAMES!

That's the name of the meet that I will be competing at this weekend in Greensboro, NC. I made the drive down today from Atlanta in order to get myself a good nights sleep and be able to sleep in tomorrow without having to worry about waking up early to travel. I'm feeling really good and well rested coming into this competition. I've trained well, analyzed the videos from my last competition and made the appropriate adjustments. Although I've never competed here before I have very high expectations based on the results of David and the rest of the Disney training group over the previous years. I'm feeling really assured that if I keep it simple and execute the things that I have been doing in training at least 80% I will be very pleased with my performance. Stay tuned for tomorrows training update and Saturdays meet results.

Florida Relays Jumps

2009-04-12T11:27:00.002-04:00

These are a couple of my foul attempts from the FL Relays. Initially I wasn't going to post them, but once they hit YouTube I figured oh well. Although I've spoken about my fitness level a few times I was still trying to keep things under wraps until I hit the big one. Sometimes you wanna catch em off guard when they're least expecting you. Oh well for the surprise attack, I guess I gotta bully and strong arm em now. LOL!!!

2009-04-12T11:23:00.001-04:00

2009-04-12T11:19:00.001-04:00

Florida Relays Update

2009-04-05T22:42:00.003-04:00

Well..... Turns out that on paper things didn't go as well as I'd like, but that's only because I had 3 fouls on 4 attempts. Overall I'm ecstatic about my performance and my jumping. As you know from the last post that I was wavering on how to approach this competition. In the end I decided to focus on executing the technical skills that I had been working on and let the rest take care of itself. In doing so I was really able to get assessment of where I am and what I need to work on to get to where I wanna go. Aside of the problems at the board I would probably rate my technical execution at a 7 out of 10. Right now it looks like I'll be doing it again in Greensboro on the 18Th. Stay tuned.

2009-04-05T22:38:00.001-04:00

LETS GET IT STARTED!!!!!!

2009-04-02T21:51:00.003-04:00

Lets get it started. This weekend kicks off the official start to my 2009 season. I arrived in Gainesville, FL today for the Florida Relays which begin tomorrow. Although I don't compete until Saturday I rolled up with the rest of the crew all of whom compete both days. At this point its really hard to say how I feel about this competition. Right before I got in the car today in Orlando my overall crunk level rose a little bit, but I'm having mixed emotions between my anxiety levels and my expectation level. In one way I have a number in my head that is really big that I would ultimately love to hit, but I also don't think thats its wise to put myself in a position where I could come away extremely disappointed. I'm constantly reminding myself that this is only the first meet and essentially a gauge to see where my training and preparation is at this point. In the end I think I'm going to lean in favor of the expectations and number in my mind. I feel that to stop challenging myself and to quit raising my level of expectations means that its time for me to stop doing what I'm doing. With the time and energy that I've put in this Fall and the sacrifices that I've made being here in Orlando for this time period. I find it only fair that I trust my training and preparation and take some risk. Don't confuse risk with Gambling. The risk that I speak of is the kind that involves inherited enlightened reward for personal satisfaction and gratification. Only by taking these risk will I be able to get a true measure of my skill and preparation up to this point and where it needs to go for the future. Now that I've gotten myself a plan the only thing left to do is get the physical and emotional rest that I need to go in and execute my plan. Lets see how it goes.

One Learns From Teaching.

2009-03-28T19:34:00.005-04:00

What a week. I know its been a while since I last checked in with an update but things have been busy for me. Aside of going to Orlando for training one of my other purposes for this trip was to work with a wonderful group of young high school athletes from Nova Scotia. Over the past few weeks I spent quite a bit of time around these athletes sharing my years of experience in several different clinics. All of which in my opinion went really well and were very successful. Not only was I able to teach I was also able to learn as well. I have found that spending time around younger athletes has a unique way of recharging my batteries with their energy, attitudes, and determination to be successful. I like to think that one learns from teaching. Of all the athletes that I worked with I most proud of the accomplishments made by a young lady named Maia in the triple jump. Maia was able to have a 40cm personal record this past weekend at the Disney meet. In translation thats roughly 1 foot 4 inches. I think I may have been more excited than she was because I was able to see the excitement in her breakthrough and see that she got it. Later during the week before they left for home I was invited to have lunch with one of the groups as a show of thanks and appreciation for the time I spent with them which was really cool. As one group left I had someone else coming into town for some technical assistance. This particular young lady is a 5x Olympian and I am thrilled and excited at the opportunity to work with her and see if I can get the same results that I could with a 16 year old. Although it has only been about a week so far the results have been stellar. There's a sense of accomplishment that comes with being able to get someone closer to their dreams when they've been searching for so long without getting closer to that picture in their mind. I've been in denial for a really long time that I wasn't going to be a coach when I'm done with my athletic career, but day by day and experience by experience I'm coming to the realization that God has given me a gift to see, feel, teach and reach. I think I was fighting it for so long because coaching was never a passion that I had. The things that I learned were out of necessity to maintain and further my athletic career. Somewhere in that process of adaptation and assimilation I think I found my niche. I'm really looking forward to doing more camps and clinics in the future. If there's anybody interested in scheduling for for camps, clinics or speaking engagements feel free to contact me.

Training Update!!!!

2009-03-19T14:34:00.002-04:00

Still kicking it down in Florida and my training is going phenomenal. I couldn't be more pleased with my training than where I'm at right now. Not only am I getting extremely good internal feedback, all of my physical numbers and measurements are off the charts as well. I've planned my official opener for the Florida Relays which will be the first weekend in April. I don't wanna Jinx myself by throwing any numbers out there on how far I think I'm ready to go, but for anybody whose familiar with my career openers I think I'm on pace to having a best opener ever. If you know the history you know what kind of numbers I'm speaking of. In passing conversation with D.O. after realizing I desperately need a haircut I've decided that I'm not cutting my hair until I jump 59 feet. Lord knows that I hope this comes sooner than later because I really don't wanna be walking around with an afro. I guess I'll take some weekly or biweekly head-shots to track the progression of this hair growth thing. Who knows my true strength may come from my hair. Aside of that there's not much else happening around here besides eating and sleeping.

A STAR WAS BORN!!!!!

2009-03-16T07:53:00.003-04:00

On this day 32 years ago a child was made a star was born. A special child unlike not others. His parents decided to name him Kenta' Bell as legends say and the story goes: Alright that enough with that but it was a tight intro. As you can see I'm feeling myself today, but hey why not it my Birthday. I don't really have anything serious planned for today other than this killa workout I got on the track but it should be a really good day. I'll probably go out for dinner later this afternoon or something. I've had a really good weekend of celebration leading up to today. Saturday night myself David, Aub's, Randy and the rest of the crew went out and hit this spot called Tavern on the Lake. It was my first time going there I really enjoyed myself and will definitely have to hit it up again. Then yesterday I spent the day on the beach down in Clearwater, FL. Thats one of the beaches I had been wanting to go to for a while and if you're ever down in the Tampa area I highly recommend that you go there. So from going hard all night Saturday to recovering and relaxing on the beach on Sunday I can say it was pretty cool weekend. So with only about 16 hours to go before my day is over I gotta go. HOLLA!!

SPRING TRAINING!!!

2009-03-11T08:55:00.003-04:00

As winter departs and spring arrives so does the most amazing and natural sporting event in the world begin. Track and Field, running. The first athletic thing that we all did with little to no training at all. With that being said, I recently arrived in Orlando earlier this week for some early spring preparation before I get this season kicked off. I'm staying with my boys David, Aub's and the rest of the crew. Yesterday was my first day of training since I arrived in town. I'm training at Disney's Wide World of Sports which is a phenomenal facility that is maintained and managed to perfection with the athletes needs in mind. One of my main areas of emphasis for coming down was the weather and boy was it different than what I've been in all Winter long in Atlanta. Yesterdays 85 degrees was a scorcher for me if you keep in mind that last sunday in atlanta we got several inches of snow. On the average this Fall my training temperature was probably in the mid 50's which makes this about a instant 25-30 degree temperature change. This change had me sweating and spitting mucus as though it was my first day of Fall training and I had no previous conditioning. Not only will this environmental change be beneficial to my fitness it will also be great in helping me get sharp in some of my technical skills before I kick off the season next month. I'm really excited and looking forward to having a good training camp and will definitely keep you updated on my progression.

MARDI GRAS!!!!!

2009-02-21T12:51:00.003-05:00

From the title I guess you can assume what I've got going on this weekend. My wife and I hit the Big Easy yesterday for the Mardi Gras festivities. Although we have lots of activities planned ranging from the 100th Celebration of the Zulu Ball to numerous parades and other activities. Not forgetting the traditional New Orleans cuisine. With that in mind my first stop yesterday was at Cafe Du Monde for some fresh hot beignets and Chicory coffee. If you've never had the pleasure of tasting these warm sugary deserts I highly recommend them, but there's nothing like the original. Although often imitated Cafe Du Monde can never be duplicated and that one of the reasons it was my first stop. Last night we attended the Zulu Ball which I mentioned earlier and it was an unbelievable experience. Approximately 5,000 beautiful people formally dressed in their in finest enjoying great food, drinks, and music. The headline performer of the night was Babyface who had a headline worthy performance. It seems at though he performed every song he had ever performed or written for himself and the many other Grammy winning artist he had written for. In the following days I will be sure to upload the all the best photos from this exciting weekend

CAFE DU MONDE

2009-02-21T12:50:00.003-05:00

Fresh Beignets

2009-02-21T12:48:00.002-05:00

FALLEN STARS....

2009-02-06T13:38:00.003-05:00

Michael Phelps.... my initial thought and reactions were to completely stay away from this story but i couldn't help myself. In this past week I've had some mixed thoughts and emotions about how this story began and has now started to shake loose. At first all I could do was look at the television and shout STUPID, STUPID, STUPID. Then I began getting really upset about how light hearted everyone was handling the situation especially the USOC. Based upon some past dealings that I've previously had with them I was blown away with the I'm sorry. Thank you. Forgiven. Its all good!However as the week has passed I've come to feel much different about the situation and the pedestal the media has put him on. Still stupid? Yes. At the end of the day he never asked to be a role model or an inspiration to anybody's kid. He's just a guy who can swim a heck of a lot better than anybody we've ever seen. Much to often I think we as a society expect to much out of ordinary people with a talent. The people who we should be making the role-models we shun as just being ordinary people. Better yet why not spend some time with your kid and have them look up to you as a figure of motivation and inspiration. In todays interview this point was deifenitely driven home. As Phelps spoke and was apologetic for the mistake he made he commented about being back in the pool where he feels most comfortable and mentioned it again as the place that has always given him joy and calm. At the end of the day he's really just an ordinary kid with an exceptional gift and feel for the water. Lets all take a look back at our twenties now imagine being a billionaire who just recently graced the world with one of the greatest Olympic and athletic performance ever. What would you be doing or not doing with yourself right now?

1-2-3 Sweep In Gothenburg for Disney Elite!!!!

2009-01-29T21:17:00.003-05:00

I'd like to send a big shout out and Congrats to my boys D.O., Joel, and Aubrey. They trio swept the hurdles today in Gothenburg in the above listed order. In my opinion thats the way a training camp should represent. If the group is cohesive and train with the right respect for each other and at high intensity the competitions should be no more than a glorified training session. Once again guys congrats on the performance and keep up the good work. You can follow them and learn more about the group @ davidoliverhurdles.blogspot.com and follow their coach Brooks Johnson @ blog.spkiesandflats.com

Inauguration Photos

2009-01-27T20:38:00.010-05:00

WE'RE ON THE ROCK

2009-01-20T21:14:00.004-05:00

What an amazing day in Washington! Today had to be one of the most exciting experiences of my life. Coming here to Washington I didn't have any tickets to the Inauguration and I was really planning on just spending time with my wife and being in the crowd. However, I received a call from a family friend Erin and got hooked up with some amazing tickets to the ceremony. Not only were they tickets, but they were really good tickets. We were positioned at the front of the Lawn near the Capital with a great view of the podium. As I stood on the lawn and listened to President Obama speak I definitely felt the weight of history upon me. Looking forward I felt the magnitude of what was before me. In the terms of history being made today this event will never be forgotten. While looking back over my shoulder towards the Washington Monument I could definitely feel the history of Dr. King. It was definitely a dynamic and exciting event with a tremendous energy and buzz around it. This was one of the days where nobody really minded be congested on the metro rail or waiting in the freezing weather. Hopefully this camaraderie and patriotism last and we can all continue to bond and work together. Aside of my two Olympic Games experiences, I have never seem this kind of unity, peace, and enthusiasm for one cause. Looking over todays events and reflecting on the speech of President Obama I'm left to think how can I help? What can I do different?

OBAMA!!! When We Have the Audacity to Believe

2009-01-19T10:01:00.002-05:00

Obama is official. I just arrived in D.C. for the Presidential Inauguration this morning. My excitement level is definitely up now that I'm here in Washington. After eating breakfast my wife and I took a walk down by the White House. There we passed a building that had a very large picture of Mr. Obama on it that put the largest smile on my face. That picture on the building was a sign of hope and arrival to me. It goes to show that with Time and Hope all things are possible. A sign that we as a people have come a long way in our acceptance to change and difference. I'm definitely looking forward to having this experience with my wife. Likewise I'm truly grateful and thankful for being here today. In time for celebration of Martin Luther King Day, and being able see the site where he delivered his great speech just one day before President elect Barack Obama become El Presidente Obama. I'll definitely keep you posted with news and pictures as the week progresses.