An open letter to the world of OutFit...

As I continue to work out I try and pick the brains of everyone around me for tips and techniques they use and find effective. I've heard changing your workout routine every 3 weeks is a must for anyone interested in TRAININGSMART. I've heard you should eat your weight in grams of protein while working out. I've heard alternating hands on dead lifts is better and I've heard that keeping them the same way is better. What I've come to realize is that everyone knows their own body. Although there are general health guidelines that more or less work for the masses, everyone knows what works for them through trial and error (although hopefully not too much error).

So I come to OutFit nation with a few questions...

I am looking to increase my initial speed, or explosiveness. While playing hockey I beat almost anyone to a puck 200 feet down the ice but i consistently lost the short battles. Now I am looking to gain explosiveness for hockey and for basketball (to increase my vertical). I assume training my Fast twitch muscle fibers (more specifically my Type IIB) is the way to go. Am I way off track? Do you have any exercise suggestions?

Strength training is also an interest of mine right now but I am hearing conflicting methods. Before this year when I would work out I would do 3 sets of 10-12 of increasing weight. This was fine but I have recently been trying starting with a heavier weight and consistently getting 8 reps per set. I have only been doing this for about a week so I have not seen any different results I just want to see if I'm on the right track.

As always, consider yourself a student of the game. You will only get better if you are willing to learn.