Welcome

Welcome. Allow me to introduce myself, my name is Samantha Robbins. I am a Certified Athletic Trainer (ATC) and a Certified Strength and Conditioning Specialist (CSCS) through the NSCA.  I would sincerely like to thank you for dropping in to read my blog. I wanted to talk about few things before I really get started into the meat and potatoes of this blog.

First, the name. A few people have asked me why ‘Design Yourself Strong’ and I’d like to give you a little back story.  In a song titled  ‘A Dream’,  featuring the late Biggie Smalls, Jay-Z wrote “Hov’ remind yourself, Nobody built like you, you designed yourself.” That song was on repeat on my ipod before every basketball game I ever played in college. What it said to me was, you get out of life, what you put into it and the only one that can control your destiny is you. Life truly is what you make of it and I choose to be extremely passionate about not only my health and my fitness, but of the health and well being of others as well. I named this blog ‘Design Yourself Strong’, because without any form of strength we would not be able to survive. Strength comes in all shapes and sizes, and it’s not just physical strength it’s mental strength as well. We have the ability to design our lives anyway we want, so why not make a strength a priority.

My story isn’t about an incredible body transformation or that strength training got me out of a bad place, my story is about loving what I do and helping others. Like everyone other human being, I have been tested and I have been pushed to my limits, but what always kept me going was my ability to help others. And that is what I aim to do with this blog. Whether it’s helping a high school strength coach improve his athletes 40 times, or help that mother of 3 take the first step in believing in herself to lose weight, I just hope to influence lives in a positive manner.

Lastly, I want to touch on exactly what kind of information you can expect from this blog.

Lets start with what you WON’T get:

1. Crossfit information. Sorry guys crossfit is not my thing, for many reasons that will be discussed in a later post. Although, I will reference Kelly Starret and MobilityWOD frequently.
2. Bodybuilding programs. Again, not my thing, my programs and philosophies are based on functional anatomy. I will give credit where credit is due however, body builders are dedicated and have their nutrition dialed in at all times. We all like to look good in the mirror, but my programs are not based on aesthetics, will it make your ass look better absolutely, but that is not my ultimate goal.
3. Individual meal plans. I am not a Registered Dietitian or Certified Nutritionist, so I will not be making individual meal plans for anyone except myself. I believe there are too many unqualified individuals selling themselves as nutrition experts or specialists. Do me a favor and check credentials before you take nutritional advice from anyone.
4. Medical Advice. I am not a doctor, a health professional, but not a Medical Doctor. Do not take any of this information as medical advice.
5. BS. I promise you that 95% of the material I present will be backed by science, research, and proven methods. I can’t promise I won’t input my personal opinion here and there, but I will tell you what is opinion or fact.

What you CAN expect:

1. Athletic training information. The topics of information will include but not limited to the evaluation process, injury treatment and rehabilitation, and the dreaded administration aspects of athletic training.
2. Injury Prevention. While injury prevention is among the athletic trainers scope of practice, I believe it deserves it’s own category, because many things play a role in maintaining a healthy athlete and client.
3. Functional anatomy and functional movement. This is huge and I could dedicate an entire blog to just functional movement. Functional movement includes corrective exercises, mobility drills and soft tissue work, movement patterns, and even breathing techniques
4. Strength and conditioning/performance enhancement. I believe the category should explain itself, but I aim to provide proven methods and exercises that are based on science and research.
5. Weight loss guidance and strategies. I hope to open a few eyes on traditional weight loss programs.
6. Nutritional information. I won’t provide meal plans, but I will deliver interesting information on various foods and diets.
7. Motivation and life. I may dive into topics on how to live your life better and to find what drives you to succeed, but I’ll try to skip the mushy stuff.
8. Recipes. People often say eating healthy is so boring, so I’d like to present recipes that are healthy and taste delicious.

by