SNI: What motivated you to become a strength and conditioning professional?
Alejo: I walked by the track coach’s office one year out of college and he called me in to look at the then “National Strength Coaches Journal” (later the NSCA) and thought it would be a good idea to look into. I then went to a SF 49er practice and spent the day with Al Vermeil and after that I knew I wanted to be a strength and conditioning coach.
SNI: When working with strength-power athletes, do you think there is any validity to ‘building an aerobic base?’
Alejo: No. It is against the tenets of strength physiology. Why waste your time building an aerobic base (completely opposite of the strength spectrum) when you can focus on just getting strong! I do believe there is such a thing as “weight training fitness” but that comes from higher volume weight training.
SNI: For developing power, such as in hitting a baseball/softball, what key exercises would you recommend?
Alejo: Any biomechanist worth his weight in pennies will tell you that no one exercise will be able to develop baseball power; not any two, three or four exercises for that matter. The entire body produces power so total body emphasis would be the key. David Szymanski has some research that illustrates just that- total body training is the way to go.
SNI: What are the top 3 myths associated with weight training?
Alejo: 1) Weight training makes you inflexible; 2) Weight training will decrease your speed;and 3) Weight training does not work for everyone—- Weight training has never hurt or hindered an athlete’s development. Poorly designed, implemented and supervised weight training has!
SNI: What sports supplements would you recommend for strength-power athletes?
Alejo: Glutamine, creatine, beta-alanine, Omega-3’s (fish oils), whey and casein protein.
Bob Alejo is the Assistant Athletics Director for Strength and Conditioning/Head Strength and Conditioning Coach at NC State. Alejo, who has approximately 30 years of experience working with a variety of sports on the professional and collegiate levels, will oversee the strength and conditioning unit for all 23 Wolfpack varsity teams, and will manage personally the day-to-day strength program for the men’s basketball team. Since 2009, Alejo has served as the director of strength and conditioning for the Oakland A’s Major League baseball team, a position he also held from 1993-2001. In that role, he was responsible for all aspects of the organization’s year-round physical preparation at both the major league and minor league levels. From 1984-93, Alejo served as strength and conditioning coach at UCLA, where he worked with 23 men’s and women’s teams, including the men’s basketball squad, which won the 1995 NCAA Championship. During his tenure in Westwood, the Bruins racked up 25 national championships and produced more than 100 All-Americans.
