Archive for July, 2008
« Previous EntriesImprove Your Running Speed During Team Practices
Thursday, July 31st, 2008A middle school athlete and I were talking about football practice and improving running speed. He asked me about ways to improve his speed and I replied to him to sprint 50 yards with each handoff to him as a running back. That way he gets in speed work during practice and not after practice.
For example, if a coach had players doing speed work at the end of practice, general conditioning would probably be achieved rather than the desired increase in optimum speed development. You must train fast to get faster.
Running backs, defensive backs and receivers should do all speed and agility drills at full speed. That way, you train your body to play the game as fast as possible (maximum speed is rarely reached during a game). The body and the central nervous system adapts to the way you practice. So, if you practice slow, you will play the game slow!
Here is a real life example. Hall of Fame wide receiver Jerry Rice is legendary for his work ethic and practice habits. During practice, he would sprint all the way to the end zone after each catch. The San Francisco 49ers used a lot of short passes in their west coast offense. Guess what? Jerry Rice turned many short receptions into long gains or touchdowns. I never saw anyone “run him down” during a game and Jerry was not a 4.3 second 40 yard dash guy. But, he played the game faster than the opponents. Why? Because he practiced fast! Yards-after-catch (YAC) became a popular statistic because of guys like Jerry Rice.
You definitely play the game the way you practice it!
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Ankle Sprains Weaken The Athlete’s Power Center
Wednesday, July 30th, 2008Great athletes dominate dynamic movements with the hips, glutes, quadriceps and hamstrings. Lateral speed is particularly created and maintained by the strength of the glutes and hips.
An athlete won’t compete at a high level when the butt (mainly gluteus maximus) isn’t working properly?! It is almost impossible to have a good game when “your butt just isn’t in it!” Research has proven that ankle sprains weaken the neural drive to your gluteus maximus and gluteus medius! Who would have thunk it! Also, the gluteus maximus is the largest muscle in the body, so take care of it!
When it comes to exercise injuries, prevention is critical. And, when injuries can’t be prevented, treatment of any soft tissue (tendons, ligaments, muscles) injury during the first 24-72 hours is important to offset any further injury and inflammation. The general rule of thumb is to use the R.I.C.E.R. principle (REST, ICE, COMPRESSION, ELEVATION, REFERRAL FOR MEDICAL ASSISTANCE).
Ankle sprains can be avoided by learning proper landing/jumping techniques and correct running mechanics.
Faulty footwork used during deceleration (such as coming to a sudden stop) also causes many ankle sprains. If you are moving to your left during a lateral shuffle, the left leg must be in a position wide enough to stop momentum (just wider than the hips). This is commonly known as the athletic position. The left foot should also be pointed straight ahead and the ankle should be pointed upward (with weight on balls of feet). Pointing the ankle upward will help avoid sprained/rolled ankles and make the push off powerful. The knee should also be aligned inside the plant foot to avoid ankle rolls and to take pressure off the hip.
“Cover your butt” by not spraining your ankles!
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Michael Wardian Continues USATF Champion Streak with Win at White River 50m
Tuesday, July 29th, 2008Dangers of Being a Desk Jockey
Tuesday, July 29th, 2008 photo credit: webg33k
Many of us sit in front of a computer all day and unfortunately, these types of jobs also cause many of us to pack on extra pounds. Our bodies were not meant to sit for 8 or more hours a day but that is what many of us do on a [...]
Many Athletes Suffer From Shin Splints
Monday, July 28th, 2008Shin splints are much more than shin soreness. Shin soreness happens through overuse of your shins during training. Soreness can be treated with the R.I.C.E.R. principle (REST, ICE, COMPRESSION, ELEVATION, REFERRAL FOR MEDICAL ASSISTANCE). Shin splints refer to a medical condition called Medial Tibial Stress Syndrome (MTSS).
Problems with your tibia (shin bone), fibula and the many muscles that attach to them cause shin splints. There are two main causes of shin splints:
1. Overloading - Exercising on hard or uneven surfaces bring on shin splints. Other common causes of shin splints are exercising with cheap shoes, exercising after a long layoff, a sudden increase in exercise intensity/duration and excessive uphill or downhill running.
2. Biomechanical Problems - The most common biomechanical problem is running with flat feet which lead to over-pronation (foot and ankle roll excessively inward). Poor running mechanics can also lead to shin splints. And, finally tight lower leg muscles contribute to shin splints.
Prevention of shin splints includes the following:
1. Quality footwear is a must. You may need the recommendation of a podiatrist and/or expert footwear salesman.
2. Proper warmup of your lower leg muscles and tendons before your activity.
3. Proper running mechanics will help prevent shin splints.
Treatment of shin splints include:
1. R.I.C.E.R. application during the first 24-72 hours of injury.
2. After 72 hours of ice treatment, use heat and deep tissue massage. You can also massage the shin area before and after exercise activity.
Prevention of shin splints is the best policy!
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Nike’s Human Race 10k - One Million iPod-Deafened Runners At Once
Monday, July 28th, 2008I’m Starting To See More Hip And Glute Injuries
Monday, July 28th, 2008I was at a track meet the other day and it happened again: a runner pulled up with a hip flexor injury. The injury was because of tight hip flexor muscles. Great athletes dominate athletic movements with the hips, glutes, quadriceps and hamstrings. All of these muscle regions need to work properly or you will not compete on a high level.
The gluteus maximus is the largest muscle in the body. The anatomy of the gluteal region (gluteus maximus, gluteus medius, gluteus minimus) is shown below:
The glutes don’t fire properly when the hip flexors (psoas, iliacus, tensor fascia latae, etc.) are overactive or tight. This can happen due to poor flexibility or prolonged sitting. When the hip flexors don’t work properly, its antagonist (mainly the gluteus maximus) becomes weak. This is known as reciprocal inhibition (when muscles on one side of a joint become tight or overactive, it shuts down the muscles on the other side of the joint). When a prime mover (such as the gluteus maximus) becomes weak, other muscles (synergists) take over the function that the prime mover should be doing. Some injuries that occur because of inactive glutes are hamstring injuries, piriformis syndrome, knee ACL tears and low back injuries. Okay, enough of the technical stuff!
So, what do you need to do to fire up your glutes?! First, you need to understand why your glutes are not firing properly. They are probably not receiving the neural drive from your central nervous system. So, it is probably not an issue of strength. Their are some exercises you can do to correct this problem. First, you need to lengthen tight muscles. The stretches are listed as follows (use self myofascial release with foam roller before doing these stretches):
1. Hip Flexor Stretch
2. Quadriceps Stretch
3. Bodyweight Lateral Lunges (for adductors)
Then, you need to activate (fire up) your glutes with these exercises:
1. Glute Bridge
2. Opposite Leg Opposite Arm Raise
3. Glute Kickbacks
Lastly, exercise the fired up glutes with these exercises:
1. Bodyweight squats
2. Lateral tube walks
3. Walking Lunges
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Client Sports Fitness Question Of The Week, 4
Friday, July 25th, 2008As a personal trainer, I always look to protect young athletes from injuries! So, this client question is geared toward youth:
Client Q: What is “too young” when it comes to lifting weights?
Mark’s A: Some type of resistance training can be started as early as 5-6 years old. The National Strength and Conditioning
Association (NSCA) gives the following general guidelines:
1. If your child is apparently healthy, a medical exam is not
mandatory. An exam is recommended for kids with known or
suspected health problems.
2. The child should be ready to follow instructions and training
guidelines.
3. The exercise environment should be safe and free of hazards.
4. The child should warm-up for 5 to 10 minutes before resistance
training.
5. Children should be encouraged to ask questions about training
and praised for participation.
Bodyweight exercises like squats, crunches, pullups, pushups, reverse crunches, lunges and step ups are safe and build muscle strength and endurance. I would recommend bodyweight exercises for young athletes ages 5-9. Light dumbbell exercises can be done with athletes ages 10-12. At about age
13, young athletes are ready for heavier workloads. YOUNG ATHLETES SHOULD NOT DO MAXIMUM LIFTS! CORE STRENGTHING SHOULD ALSO BE STRESSED FOR ALL YOUNG ATHLETES!
On a related subject, A YOUNG ATHLETE SHOULD NOT START A SPORTSTRAINING PROGRAM WITH PLYOMETRICS AND RESISTED SPEED TRAINING TECHNIQUES (WEIGHTED VESTS, SLEDS, ETC.)! FOUNDATIONAL STRENGTH, CORE STRENGTH AND RUNNING/LANDING/JUMPING MECHANICS SHOULD BE MASTERED FIRST. FAILURE TO FOLLOW THESE PROGRESSIONS WILL SUBJECT THE YOUNG ATHLETE TO POSTURAL DYSFUNCTIONS AND INJURIES!
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Sports Fitness Hut Featured On Stanford Wellsphere
Thursday, July 24th, 2008Wellsphere.com is a leading health and wellness site that focuses on total health and fitness. As I have mentioned before many times—-IF YOUR BODY IS A TOTAL WRECK, IT DOESN’T MATTER IF YOU “LOOK HOT” FOR A WHILE! Wellsphere.com seeks to help people achieve great health and great looks! That’s why I highly endorse this site!
I am honored to be a featured blogger on Wellsphere.com and Stanford.Wellsphere.com in the sports and exercise communities!
This is a quote by Dr. Geoff Rutledge at Stanford Medical School:
“I was searching for the best medical bloggers when I discovered your blog at sportsfitnesshut.blogspot.com. I want to tell you I think your writing is fantastic — I really liked your post on vision performance, “Athletes Need Excellent Vision Performance”. My name is Dr. Geoff Rutledge, and I’ve taught and practiced Internal and Emergency Medicine for over 25 years at Harvard and Stanford medical schools. I’m also the Chief Medical Information Officer at Wellsphere, where we are building a network of the web’s leading health bloggers, and I think you would be a great addition.”
Folks, Wellsphere.com and Stanford.Wellsphere.com make up one of the finest sites out there! Bookmark it and visit it often!
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One Of The Best Exercises: Mountain Climbers
Tuesday, July 22nd, 2008Do you need to be challenged more during your workouts? Add the mountain climber exercise to your exercise routine. It is one of the best and toughest exercises out there. Do this exercise full speed for 3 sets of 25 repetitions (each leg). It is a compound exercise in that it works the calves, quadriceps, glutes, back, chest, triceps, abdominals and shoulders. You will need high levels of core strength to do this exercise the right way for each set.
From a push-up position, keep your back flat (do not let your back bow) and pump your legs as fast as possible like you are running in place. Don’t scrape the ground with your shoes as they run forward. And, don’t let your glutes “sag to the ground” when you are fatigued.
There it is! Try it the next time you work out!
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