Archive for August, 2008
« Previous EntriesClient Sports Fitness Question Of The Week, 9
Friday, August 29th, 2008Speed kills! Speed never has a bad ballgame! There are other speed sayings……This client Q & A has a little different twist on speed.
Client Q: I’m not a “speed demon.” What can I do to get faster for football?
Mark’s A: The speed secret for any athlete is this: PLAY THE GAME FAST! Players rarely reach or need maximum speed during the game. Don’t get me wrong, try to become as fast as you can. Straight-ahead (or linear) speed is great. But, other aspects of speed will allow you to PLAY THE GAME FASTER such as closing speed, acceleration speed, stopping speed, reaction time, quickness, agility, proper footwork, etc. Mastering these aspects of speed will give you an advantage on the playing field. Read my posts on speed development. And, download my eBook on “Speed Training For Athletes.”
Work hard, master the speed mechanics and you WILL PLAY THE GAME FASTER!
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What Is An Electrolyte Anyway?
Friday, August 29th, 2008Sports Performance and Your Fitness University!
Thursday, August 28th, 2008
Your Fitness University (YFU) will be live in 1 week! YFU is a site dedicated to providing reliable health and fitness information. There is alot of bad information and useless products out there regarding health and fitness and many times its driving force are those seeking quick profits.
THERE ARE NO QUICK SOLUTIONS FOR SHAPING THE ATHLETIC BODY YOU NEED TO COMPETE AT A HIGH LEVEL!
Like any educational setting, YFU will help you find the answers to your sports fitness questions. Every one wants to know the answers to your questions!
One of the features of YFU is a page where you can SEE SPORTS TRAINING EXERCISES AND GET MY EXPERT TRAINING TIPS! You can’t do what you need to do unless you know what to do! Another feature the site will have is registered dietician nutritional information. If you want to be successful, YOU MUST EAT LIKE AN ATHLETE!
Look for Your Fitness University in 1 week!
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Strengthening And Conditioning The Rotator Cuff
Tuesday, August 26th, 2008The rotator cuff needs to be carefully trained to avoid injuries. The rotator cuff is the main stabilizer of the shoulder joint during movement of the shoulder.
Rotator cuff injury can be a muscle strain or tear due to heavy lifting or excessive force being placed on the shoulder (such as wear and tear from throwing a ball). If you lift weights, play a racquet sport, throwing sport or swim, you need to do balanced strengthening of these muscles (supraspinatus, infraspinatus, subscapularis and teres minor). For example, if you over-strengthen your internal rotators relative to the external rotators, you will set yourself up for shoulder injury.
The larger the tear, the harder it is to lift or extend the arm. As with tendonitis, pain, weakness and inflammation accompany rotator cuff injuries. This condition does not affect the joint capsule but does affect the muscles and tendons of the shoulder joint. Rotator cuff injuries can sometimes take months to heal because of the lack of blood supply to this area. Massage will increase blood flow and oxygen to this area.
Some good rotator cuff exercises are: internal rotations, external rotations, 90 degree rotations and lateral raises. Don’t use heavy weights. Five or 10 pound dumbbells are sufficient. General shoulder and back strength exercises should also be a part of your program.
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Hip Flexions and Extensions Will Improve Sports Performance
Monday, August 25th, 2008If you want to improve your athleticism, then never forget this: your hips must be flexible! The hips (along with the glutes, quads and hamstrings) are involved in powerful athletic movements. A great dynamic flexibility exercise is the hip flexion and extension:
Do the exercise this way:
1) Lean forward, with your hands on a wall.
2) Keep your toes dorsiflexed (pointed up) and swing (with control) the right knee up to the chest.
3) Pause and extend (kick) the right hip and leg back as far as possible. Perform 10 repetitions with each leg.
Dynamic flexibility exercises have been proven to prepare the body best for practice or games. Add this flexibility exercise to your daily routine!
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Team Warmup After Halftime Break
Monday, August 25th, 2008Its that time of year again! Football season! Love it! The popcorn will be poppin’, the bands playin’, cheerleaders cheerin’ and players playin’! The beginning of the third quarter is always a key part of the game. One team can gain an advantage and carry that momentum through the end of the game.
Its important for a team to fully warmup after halftime break (especially long high school and college game halftimes of 25-30 minutes)! Static stretches and a little jogging after halftime is not an adequate warmup for the team. This type of inadequate warmup can lead to injuries and a slow start for your team in the second half!
A better dynamic team warmup after halftime break would be:
1) light jogging to
2) half speed sprints to
3) 3/4 speed sprints to
4) full speed sprints to
5) side shuffles, back pedals, cariocas, turn-and-runs, etc.
This ten minute warmup after halftime break will give your team a better chance of starting out fast and furious! Now let’s play some football!
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Client Sports Fitness Question Of The Week, 8
Friday, August 22nd, 2008Listen up young athletes! Read this client Q & A to learn about developing lower body leg power, speed and dynamic balance for your sport! Actually, this info will apply to any athlete.
Client Q: What are some good leg exercises to help me improve my strength and speed?
Mark’s A: First, don’t worry about “maxing out” on leg exercises! Functional strength and dynamic balance are more important than absolute strength. You don’t even need weights (use bodyweight). Since this workout is circuit-style, you also get the benefit of a great cardio workout. Do each exercise (10-12 repetitions) one after the other with little or no rest between exercises. Rest 2-3 minutes and do the circuit again. Here is a representative leg circuit program:
–Walking Lunges
–Bodyweight Squats
–1 Legged Glute Bridge
–Dumbbell Deadlift
–Reverse Lunges
–1 Legged Split Squats
–Front Step Ups
–Side Lunges
–Lateral Step Ups
–Transverse Lunges
–Leg Curls
–Calf Raises
Do less heavy weight leg work and add leg circuits to your overall athletic exercise program! It will make you a better athlete!
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Spread the Word!
Focus On Your Sports Performance And Not Your Opponent
Thursday, August 21st, 2008There’s a saying that goes like this “that’s why they play the game……” You still have to win the game, match or race even if you are a heavy favorite! We saw this happen repeatedly in this summer’s Olympics.
American Lolo Jones, the heavy favorite in the women’s 100 meter hurdles, tripped over a hurdle and finished in last place. She would normally win this race 10 out of 10 times. She was very courageous and truthful in defeat. In my opinion, Lolo is a champion no matter what happened.
The 26-year-old hurdler was quoted after the race as saying, “you hit a hurdle about twice a year where it affects your race,” said Jones, tears welling up in her eyes. “It’s just a shame that it was on the biggest race of my life.
The hurdles were just coming up very fast and I just told myself what I always tell myself, ‘keep things tight’.”
“But it’s kind of like when you are racing a car and going max velocity and you hit a curve, either you can maintain control or you can crash and burn. Today I crashed and burned.” What a courageous and truthful response by Lolo! Its not like the summer Olympics are held every year!
The unexpected winner, Dawn Harper, had this to say, “you have certain people that are supposed to be the favorites,” she said. “On this particular day, and at this time, you have to run your best race.”
The 24-year-old Harper said three-times Olympic champion Jackie Joyner-Kersee had given her this advice: “She sent me an email telling me ‘You can do it, stay focused, it’s about you. When you race on that day and that time, focus on you’,” she said.
Well said Jackie! That’s one of the main reasons why I only do 1 on 1 training of clients. You can only do your best and that has nothing to do with your opponent! There are no two people who are trained the same way. Focus on your training and your confidence. Trust your athletic skills and preparation when its time to “put it on the line.”
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Sneak Peak at What Inov-8 Has In Store for 2009
Wednesday, August 20th, 2008Use Weighted Squat Jumps To Improve Acceleration Speed
Wednesday, August 20th, 2008As a kid, I remember playing “street ball” (football) with my friends. The “playing field” was very narrow! The key to being a good player in “street ball” is to be able to accelerate quickly when you catch the ball. If you can make it to the sideline without your opponents two-hand touch, you have a good chance for a long gainer or even a touchdown. In sports competition, it is not always the fastest player who makes the play. Players rarely reach maximum speed during a play or sequence of plays because it takes 4-5 seconds to reach maximum speed. Many times, the player who accelerates faster is the one who usually makes the play.
You can train to improve your acceleration speed. One great exercise to do is weighted squat jumps (bodyweight squat jumps should be mastered first).
While sport-specific plyometric training improves power, non-specific power training should not be ignored. Researchers from Canada found that athletes who performed better with weighted squat jumps were the best accelerators at 10 meters. Therefore, concentric force development (jumping power) is critical to improve sprint acceleration. The first step from a stand-still (or near stand-still) position requires concentric muscle power.
It is important to learn proper jumping and landing techniques before doing weighted squat jumps. Read this post about jumping and landing techniques.
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