JEFF LAM:
“DON’T BE UPSET BY THE RESULT YOU DIDN’T GET, FOR THE EFFORT YOU DIDN’T GIVE”
Jeff Lam has been working as a strength and conditioning coach for almost 11 years. He began his career at APC gym as an intern and has been working there for the past 8 years. Jeff has a background in soccer and played competitively in college until he suffered a career-ending injury, tearing his ACL and meniscus. Following this injury, he decided to become a strength coach focusing on helping athletes avoid similar injuries.
Jeff’s academic background includes a Bachelor’s in Sport Management from Concordia University. He has also traveled the world, learning various techniques from many world-renowned strength and conditioning coaches.
INTERVIEW WITH JEFF LAM
What is your go-to workout playlist?
My music will vary from the 90s to Hip-Hop, House, or Reggaeton. I don’t have a go-to playlist, but I usually start by putting on some old-school hip-hop and let the body flow with the tunes (if that makes sense). I usually put any good mixes on Mixcloud and it usually fires up the people in the gym.
What’s your training philosophy?
I am a big advocate of progressive overload. In my experience, I see a lot of trainers try to complicate things in regard to programming; always trying “cool” new movements they see on social media, but that isn’t beneficial to the client.
My goal as a coach is to prevent my athletes from getting injured and get them stronger, and more explosive while keeping them as agile and mobile as possible for their respective sports. As for the general population that trains with me, we have fun but work extremely hard.
Tell us about your current projects.
I have a unique and loyal clientele with whom I have been working for several years. Every year or so, we set new objectives, whether they are short-term or long-term goals. Recently, I have been traveling to train clients and learn new methodologies.
I also plan to work alongside Tonic Performance to share new, fun movements and training tips, and advice that have proven effective with my clients and athletes.
Tell us about your soccer activation exercises and drills.
Anyone that trains with me, athlete or beginner, will do some of these exercises to get the body warmed up:
foam rolling
band activation (glutes, hamstrings, back, core)
skips (A-skip, frontal plane)
mobility
power
strength
conditioning
Single Leg Lateral Hops
Bulgarian Split Squat
Agility Ladder Drills
ACTIVATION &DRILLS
Activation
Prepare for your workout by foam rolling the legs. Focus on the posterior chain including your IT bands, quadriceps, hamstrings, glutes, and back.
Stand to one side of the hurdle with your feet together and your weight on your left foot. Proceed to balance on the left foot and hop laterally over the hurdles in one direction and then return to the starting position by hopping back on the same foot in the opposite direction. Switch feet and repeat the movement. Beginners may opt to rest both feet down between hurdles for added balance and to reset the movement.
Start by standing with your feet shoulder-width apart, holding a medicine ball with both hands at chest height. Pivot the feet to the left and rotate your torso to the left, while simultaneously extending your arms up over your head and slamming the medicine ball just outside of the left foot. Catching the ball on the rebound, or squatting down to reset the exercise, repeat the movement on the alternate side by pivoting the feet and hip to the right and carrying the ball from your left hip, overhead, slamming it into the ground just outside your right foot.
Begin standing hip-width apart, holding a kettlebell in each hand. Keeping your back straight, shoulder blades pulled back and down, and knees slightly bent, begin to walk forward as you try to hold the kettlebells as far from your body as you can. Take small, controlled steps and focus on keeping your core tight and engaged to stabilize your body. Walk for time or for distance, resting if desired before you walk back.
Select a pair of gliders that will slide on the surface you’re training on. Lie flat on your back placing your heels on each glider. Tilt your hips inward by contracting your abs and begin to slide your heels toward your glutes while simultaneously raising your hips as high as you can. Remember to avoid arching your back. Release the legs with control and lower the hips back down to the ground.
Advanced option: With one heel on the glider and one leg bent at 90 degrees, slide the foot toward the glutes keeping your back on the ground. Lift the hips as high as possible by driving the heel into the ground. Focus on the eccentric movement by sliding the leg back into extension with control as you lower the hip back to the ground. Aim to control the eccentric movement for a count of 6 seconds.
8-10 reps (advanced) Ab wheel + Medicine ball Video & instructions
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=f5tHoRtXvAc
Begin the exercise by placing a medicine ball behind your knees and holding it in place by bending your knees, keeping your hamstrings in contraction. Proceed to do an ab rollout with the ab wheel by extending your arms away from you and keeping the upper body in a solid plank position. Reverse the movement by bringing the ab roller back toward your body, managing the hamstring hold and upper solid body plank position.
Tabata: 20 secs work:10 secs rest or 8-10 lengths) Lebert Equalizers Video & instructions
Set up the Equalizers at equal distances apart. Standing at one end, begin to side-shuffle your way to the other side by driving your knees toward your chest to clear the bars. Once you’ve reached one side, side shuffles your way back with the opposite leg leading the way.
Stand in a lunge position with one foot about two to three feet in front of the other. Raise the back foot onto a stable surface, in this case, the split squat roller. Lower the body by bending the front knee and hip, keeping the back leg straight. Pause briefly at the bottom of the movement, then push through the front heel to return to the starting position. Repeat for the prescribed number of repetitions before switching sides.
If you want to focus more on your glutes, lean the chest forward, and if you want a quadricep focus stay more upright.
When performing agility ladder drills, make sure to stay light on your feet, landing softly and quickly moving onto the next square. To help maintain balance and control, try to land on the ball of your foot rather than your heels. Keep your knees slightly bent to absorb impact and maintain good posture. Keep your footwork quick and precise, focusing on moving through the ladder as quickly and efficiently as possible.
Complete each variation of agility drills for 2-4 lengths of the ladder on each side of the body where applicable. You may also choose to perform each exercise for a desired length of time.
Begin standing 1-2 feet beside a single hurdle. Propelling off the outside foot, hop over the hurdle laterally and rebounding back before taking off explosively into a sprint for 15-20 ft. Repeat starting from the opposite side of the hurdle.
