Under Armour Training Council member Steve Hess has hopped a plain with his Denver Nuggets for a brief exhibition tour in China. Here were his thoughts before leaving the States:

"About to go to China for pre-season; what an incredible opportunity to travel the world! I love my life; I get to experience the greatest places on Earth, training some of the greatest athletes around! We have to adapt and create every day, so on this trip we will create some of the greatest workouts going. I'll keep my Under Armour family updated throughout the trip with our experiences and workouts.

Working out and getting better are two things that wait for none of us. We have to take the opportunity every day! Take this example: as we're at the airport, we've been delayed for an hour. Instead of sitting around and waiting, I took one of my players on a brisk 45 minute walk in the terminal. Now that's how to fit your cardio in for the day!

Checking out and heading to China. Live and train the Under Armour way, baby, its the truth!"

Each day I wake up totally pumped to help train athletes get better, Taking pro athletes to the next level-that's what I attempt to do. Its serious work which includes pushing individuals to their limits, coming up with recovery workouts, adapting and creating while constantly improving!!! PHEW! What a great gig.

Guess what? Life teaches me every day! I have just had the privilege of spending some time with my wife and kids. Getting to watch them run, jump, surf, swim, ride and all that other fun stuff; pushing their little bodies to the max but never once with a hint of pain, but instead filled with total 100 percent joy, What?! Hard work being enjoyed?!

I wanted to follow thier lead, so I rode a bike on the beach fast, learned how to surf, did core work while parasailing and nearly killed my quads while stabilizing a jet ski  with my kid on the back for 2hrs!!!

Loved every single second of every single day and felt muscles I didn't know I had!

Lesson learned:

I found the kid inside of me and had the best time ever gettingt better every day. Gotta thank my little dudes for teaching me how to truly enjoy killing myself-thanks fellas!!!

Here we are...opening night of the Western Conference Finals and we are still playing! I'm telling you this is one of the greatest feelings I've ever had. The Denver Nuggets were not on the radar in the pre-season rankings, I mean, nobody picked us to be here. But, through hard work and incredible talent all being guided by the best coaching staff I've worked with, we are here in Los Angeles to battle for a spot in the NBA Finals. We've done a great job thus far, but we still have work to do!

Through the years I continue to learn and evolve as a strength coach. I am blessed to live in a country which allows you to do whatever you chose for a career. I am constantly exposed to people, places and things which allow me to progress as a trainer. As I mature I learn more and more, all while getting more excited as I realize that I'm doing exactly what I was meant to be doing in this world: helping athletes get better everyday!

What is my point here? Nothing comes for free. I know the harder you train the luckier you get. In my 12-year tenure with the Nuggets, my training life has been a longitudinal study where I have seen a lot. The one thing I know for a fact is I have never seen a player, or a group of players, succeed when thy don't train their butts off all year. They either get injured or fatigued, stopping them from finishing strong.

I've also seen athletes kill it in the gym and still not succeed, so understand that training hard is imperative, but it is not a guarantee for success. I am now of the school of thought that if you do not train hard, eat correctly and rest you will absolutely, undoubtedly not achieve your full potential!

Every single player on this Nuggets roster killed their training in the off-season, pre-season and regular season. Everyone worked hard with a common goal and they have put this team in a position it has not been in for a quarter-century: 4 wins from the NBA Finals, and 8 wins from an NBA CHAMPIONSHIP!

All you athletes out there: train smart, train often and follow this simple rule: if its easy its not worth it!

Your life is what you do with it. Every morning when I wake up I make 2 choices: live in the moment and always give everything you have. Love life always!

Recently a reader wrote in asking how to shift the weight he's gained since an accident because running and active sports, such as his beloved rugby, are now out of his daily routine. TNP Council Member Steve Hess was happy to answer:

Hey brother lots of suggestions come to mind! Never fear there is always a way. Small world...I lived in Zimbabe, Bulawayo, and played rugby for Milton.

Diet is huge, first off. You need to modify what you eat and how you eat. Think more, smaller meals through the day using a great balance of carbs, proteins, fats, eating often and eating well.

Other ideas include whole nutrient dense foods, a ton of veggies, and I could bore you with more examples but I know you get the idea!

Try eating complex and simple carbs both pre and post workout, adding protein later in the day. Remember, water is your friend...drink it all day!

As far as exercise, maybe cut your running to twice a week if you can.  Include some elliptical work, some bike work and even running in the pool, although you're going to have to work harder in the pool to get same caloric expenditure. However, it feels brilliant on the joints.

I'm an every day guy so I would do cardiovascular work every day. I don't know your fitness levels but would build to an hour a day if you can, varying intensities and may actually use the pool running as a recovery day.

When it comes to training, flexibility training is hhhhuuuuge!! Do your strength work 5 days a week, but flexibility work every day is a great idea to get the muscles in your core and legs firing before you run.

Phew...this seems like a lot, I'm sure, but take a piece of each section, do it every day and you may help yourself find the fountain of youth! As a rule keep it simple have fun, keep moving, live long! Until next time...

Steve
 

Sometimes I lose sight of the most important things in life. I find myself going a million miles a minute trying to help train all those athletes that want to get better.  My ultimate goal is to help the Denver Nuggets reach the pinnacle of an NBA Championship. Being so focused on this goal and my athletes makes it all to easy to lose sight of what's most important in my life: Jordan and Korey, my two boys.

Because of work and travel, sometimes the boys suffer without me there. NO MORE! They are the most important little dudes on the planet and everyday I work to lead by example, teaching them by actions, not just words. Here is the point of my rant: working out works! It is as important as knowledge. It is one of the keys that help a person live longer and better. It is an imperative foundation to a successful life blueprint.

With that, here is the Hess Boys' Workout. Try it out:

1) 10 push-ups

2) 20 crunches

3) 10 resistance band wide-rows

4) 10 resistance band narrow-rows

5) 10 reverse resistance band flies

6) 10 resistance band bicep curls

7) 10 body weight tricep dips

8) 10 body weight squats

9) 20 jumping jacks

10) 1 minute wall-sit with arms extended

Run this circuit through 3 times.

Live life your way...DICTATE THE TEMPO! Help your kids live it their way, leading by example.

All the best,

Steve

What inspires me is the extraordinary. It is an individual who does the impossible, sometimes near-impossible, and achieves a goal even when hurt. It is a person who digs so deep; who comes up so big that I sit back and can merely say, "WOW!".

I got to witness the extraordinary last week when one of my players, Carmelo Anthony, scored 33 points during one quarter of our game to tie an NBA record. While this was inpressive on its own, the fact that he did this with tendons in both elbows so inflamed that he couldn't even extend his arms made it a truly extraordinary effort. How did he do it? I don't know, you'll have to ask him!

Here is what I know: Melo never misses practice. He WILL NOT miss a practice. We continually change his preparation to improve his game, and he makes a conscious effort to help our plan. Whether its eating correctly, listening to coaches, taking advise, he always aspires to be better. Most of all, he loves life! He is the only NBA player I have worked with who has a smile on his face at least 90% of the time.

He has taught me that nothing is impossible. It is inspiring that my student has at times become my teacher as well. Life is brilliant, isn't it?!

Denver Nuggets Strength Coach Steve Hess sends along a message about what it takes to be a Champion. This is something he sent as motivation to one of his players before they headed off to the Olympics this past Summer, and continues to use as motivation during the Nuggets hot start this season:

What makes a champion?
Is it his genetic blueprint? Yes!
Is it his work ethic? Yes!
Is it his mind? Yes!
It is also an intrinsic knowingness? ABSOLUTELY!
Does training help? More than you can ever imagine!

Training provides the tools to allow you to function beyond your blueprint it becomes a partner with your mind to crush any doubt and lead you to greatness!

As I upgrade in my training techniques and methodologies
I realize that how you train is what defines you! No crowds, no cheerleaders just you with you, going through the challenges just because! Sounds corny but it is when other men brake and you don't that you find that extra something that makes you a Champion. That little extra is strentgh!

The great thing about change it means risk!  I love change as it forces me to think, to take a risk to put my butt on the line.

For 11 years I have been running my warm ups for training camp a certain way and this year i changed it up, while this was the best training camp i have ever been a part of i like to think the innevative warm ups play a role.

We split the fellas up into 2 groups 1 group would participate in a true functonal workout that is basketball drills at 50 % of max effort and the other half would be with me yeah baby time would vary from 8 to 12 minutes i had a blast thinking up ways to get my guys ready every day.

Mon half the group in the weight room would be on cardio equipment at 60% of max heart rate the other half with yours truly for a functional warm up 6 min each.
 Tues 8 station cicuit which included jump rope, drop back squats, power plate squats, speed flex push press, band reverse flies on pads, top end leg press, quad sets, med ball abds 30sec stations 2 times through no rest
Weds candle in the middle of the floor yoga 12 minutes

and so it goes every day we have done something different yet well thought out with a goal to get every guy physically and mentally.
We had no injuries during training camp i honestly believed that we would win 82 regular season games i was wrong but every day i wake up and say what can i do today to help the Denver Nuggets win it all what a great way to wake up.  In my heart i believe i believe i believe!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

My name is Steve Hess. and I was the first full time strength and conditioning coach for the Denver Nuggets. I am now an assistant coach blessed enough to have been in Denver for 12 years, training some of the best athletes in the NBA.

I been featured in magazines and TV but my greatest achievement is the honor to share my knowledge with any athlete trying to attain their goals for sports and for life. Under Armour has the vision to allow competent performance specialists like myself to help every athlete on the planet get better. They have created a training dream team where we all have specialties to create a top-tier knowledge base and I am proud to represent basketball on the Under Armour TNP Training Council.

Together we are creating The New Prototype for performance training. Under Armour and the Training Council are about to revolutionize how athletes train!

My programs incorporate many concepts with one idea in mind: the need to make an athlete better on the basketball court.  Basketball is a running and jumping sport where the first three steps, changes in pace and overall cardiovascular levels have to be high. I will always be adaptive and creative because as training evolves so do I.

There are tools in basketball that make you better. To be strong you have to get strong, to be fast you have to get fast, to be explosive you have to get explosive and the list goes on. We will break it down to your sport, your position, and through training and nutrition you will attain your goals.
I look forward to helping you get better everyday!

THE FUTURE IS OURS!

Steve

UA took NYC by storm last month with their Elite 24 event. They came into the city with one mission and one goal: help the athletes get better! No excuses, get it done and the only thing that matters is results.

Our specialized training staff with TD at the lead are the best in the world. What makes us the best is we are a family constructed to help you. There are no egos; we do it from the heart; we are real.

Back to NYC, 24 of the greatest high school Basketball players were training in the same place prior to an incredible game at the heart of where balling began: Rucker Park. It does not get better than that.

The UA message was to create the greatest workout for these young gentlemen. We had 1 day to help them get better and it can be done once we help them make the connection that the mind, “the big dog”, runs the body, “the little dog”, we carried the message and these men got better.

The workout included 24 stations designed to improve strength speed, agility, flexibility and power all designed around the aerobic running component. Basketball is a run and jump sport with your change in pace and first three steps being imperative. The super circuit included all components necessary to help in the areas necessary to succeed. 

Each station within the circuit is 1 min long with a change at 30 sec if it is a single appendage station or a change in pace station. Each station was followed by running the width of the basketball court 6 times.  We used resistance bands, kettle bells, dumbbells, swiss balls, med balls, and balance pads just to name a few and with the help of a great staff we helped these men accomplish an incredible workout.  Every man checked their ego’s at the door and reminded me why I do what I do!

I do it so I can witness 24 young men truly train like men with 1 goal: to get better today.

I truly felt a lump in my throat, as I honestly believe we helped young men change their lives.  So thank you, gentlemen for reassuring me of the importance of training.

THE FUTURE IS OURS!

Steve