“Eclipse does not believe in a ‘one-size-fits-all’ cookie cutter program, as much as our rivals would like you to believe in effort to further their holier-than-thou agendas in a bizarre attempt make themselves appear smarter than they really are.”

-Coach Jason, 2006

Eclipse 24/7 Fitness Center has a system of training.  There is no denying that we favor some methods over others and tend to prescribe certain patterns of training for our new trainees.  But at the same time, like tailored clothing, all of our methods must be customized for the individual.  We must assess and make modifications based on just a few of the following criteria:

  1. Goals (fat loss, muscle gain, strength, professional, etc)
  2. Male or female
  3. Training experience (beginner, intermediate, competitive)
  4. Age (younger trainees recover faster than older trainees)
  5. Off-season, pre-season, regular season, or playoff athlete
  6. Physical imbalances or weaknesses (ankles, hips, back, etc)
  7. Current or previous injuries that must be addressed
  8. Other physical or mental limitations
  9. Occupation and relative stress levels of daily life
  10. Muscle fiber type
  11. Limb length
  12. Other training experience

The above 12 criteria represents a mere fraction of all of the variables that we must consider when deciding which of our methods are best for you but also how to tailor them to fit your strengths and weaknesses.

Eclipse 24/7 Fitness Center believes that all training should revolve around free weights.  The reason machines have become popular is because they make for “fool-proof” training meaning that any “fool” can use them without supervision or guidance.  But herein lies the rub and it is that while machines require minimal effort to use, they also produce directly proportional (minimal) results.  While machines have their purpose (for photo shoots and for gym aesthetics), the primary reason that veteran strength and conditioning specialists do not put their athletes on machines is because free weights are vastly superior in every way.  No matter what machine manufacturers would like you to believe, free weights beat machines hands-down.  Always have, always will.

In short, the system of Eclipse 24/7 Fitness Center revolves around free weights that include barbells, dumbbells, and kettle bells of the highest quality.  Based on the trainee and their training experience and goals we will then increase both their aerobic and anaerobic capacity while increasing muscle, decreasing fat, or both.

To describe some of the systems that you might commonly hear is as follows:

Escalating Density Training (EDT) – EDT is one of the best all around training systems for fat loss, muscle and/or strength gain, drastically increasing endurance (ideal for competitive athletes who require endurance) while minimizing wear and tear on the body.  EDT is what we use to get our competitive athletes into game-day shape when they’ve otherwise plateaued from just running alone.  Contrary to what you might have seen in movies such as “Coach Carter”, it doesn’t matter how many sprints aka “suicides” you run, your endurance quickly plateaus and you will end up in an overtrained state with even lower endurance.  In other words, what you see on TV and in the movies is not how elite athletes train in real life.  Even when you see your favorite boxer eating fatty food on TV for the camera, I’ll be the first one to wager that he spits it out once the tapes stop rolling.

Other ideal uses for EDT is for competitive runners and for people trying to lose weight, especially for women who are less interested in muscle gain.  Depending on your level of training, EDT is the most intense form of training that you can pack into an hour or less.  In fact, I have yet to see a more demanding system of training where burning over 1000 calories during the workout with another 500 to be burned post workout (due to an elevated metabolic state) are not uncommon for even intermediate trainees.

The 5×5 and the Progression:  The 5×5 and the progression training systems are what we most often use for beginning athletes who are attempting to “bulk up” or gain muscle as their primary goal.  Technically the “progression” is just a more advanced version of the 5×5 training system.  We have several variants for those who are trying to increase their vertical jump height, for women who are trying to add a round shape to their rear ends, and for all athletes in-between.  This is primarily used during the off-season when increasing endurance is of lesser importance.

The Eclipse interpretation of the 5×5 by Coach Bill Starr

Plyometrics and Jump Training:  This is probably one of our most popular requests since so many of our athletes play basketball.  The truth is, plyometrics are of very little use to anyone other than the most advanced athletes who already have at least a 40″ vertical jump.  Even then, plyometrics can only add maybe 1-2″ to that 40″ vertical.  The problem is that the way these “magical” training programs are pitched, packaged, and sold online for a $99 download, you get what you pay for.  In other words, strength coaches who typically charge up to $500 per hour are not going to give away their secrets for $99.  If anything, not only did you throw away your money but you probably will overtrain or hurt yourself doing these silly programs so that you actually lose 6″ from your vertical jump after you recovery from said injury.

The bottom line is this:  If you can squat double your bodyweight (common in 6 months of training) and can power/hang clean at least your bodyweight, you’ll find that your vertical jump will increase 6″-12″ as a minimum.  The best part is that your risk of injury from training with free weights is slim or none as long as you follow proper safety guidelines.  Do the research yourself by asking athletes who have tried plyometrics (and swore that they’d never do them again due to nagging injuries and pain) as well as ask people who are not trying to sell you something.  As always, keep in mind that just because you see people doing it on TV, especially on the news, doesn’t mean that it is what they do in real life.

I’ll let you in on a little secret:  If I was ever being filmed with one of my elite professional athletes, we already have worked out a “script” where we would do the exact opposite of how we would train in real life, simply to throw off the competition.

While we may actually perform the real exercises for the camera, the “how’s and why’s” will be censored from view.  There are some secrets, i.e. those most important secrets, that the best coaches will never reveal to anyone other than their athletes.  Think about it – if titles and big money contracts were on the line would you give away your secrets or want your coach to let your competitors know exactly what you are doing?  Of course not.  If anything, the more confused that your competitors are, the better.  In fact, a training system that might be the “magic bullet” for one athlete is the “Achilles heel” of another athlete due to the stage and timing of their competitive schedule.

So trust the wisdom of your coach, always ask questions, and be patient.  With discipline, you will achieve results that will exceed your expectations.  We are so confident of this we offer the following guarantee: “If, after 8 weeks of consistent training on one of our programs where you are not satisfied with your results, we will cancel your membership and refund your money.” After 5 years of operation, we still have yet to find one member who was not satisfied if they followed our systems and advice.  So in short, our systems do not fail to produce results as long as you are consistent and you work with us to help us to help you.  As our member, you are our “walking billboards” for other prospective members who want to share in your success!