Archive for September, 2008
« Previous EntriesStrength And Power Training Makes A Difference During The Football Game
Tuesday, September 30th, 2008I was watching a middle school client play his football game last night. This kid never came off the field—he played offense (running back), defense (linebacker) and special teams! When I trained him this summer, I told him that he would be stronger and faster for the entire game than his opponents. I saw it in person last night! After talking to him, he feels the difference too. I still train him once a week so he will maintain his strength and power during the season.
Because of the positions he plays, he has to run fast most of the game. Putting on the extra 10 pounds of muscle and decreasing his 40 yard dash time by 2 tenths of a second this summer has elevated his performance to a higher level. Everyone sees it. Sports fitness training done right always works for the athlete!
Read a similar post about another one of my clients whose sports fitness training made a huge difference in his play on the baseball field.
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Acceleration Speed On Sunday In The NFL
Tuesday, September 30th, 2008Like you, I watched some National Footall League (NFL) action this past Sunday…..I saw acceleration speed personified. You see, a running back in the NFL is not supposed to be able to “turn the corner” on the defense (because defenders are too fast)! Well, I saw a running back “turn the corner,” outrun pursuit angles and score on a play. How? His acceleration speed is “off the charts!” In case you don’t know who I’m talking about—check out Adrian Peterson’s 28 yard touchdown run against the vaunted Tennessee Titans defense.
Researchers from New Zealand found that athletes with quicker ground contacts produced better acceleration speed. If you get there quicker, you don’t necessarily have to be the fastest on the field. See my blog post on acceleration speed.
Do you want to train like a champion? Check out my new site, Your Fitness University, and become a Sports Fitness Hut Member!
Need more sports training tips? Subscribe to my weekly Sports Performance Tips eNewsletter23 and get a FREE 4-week sports power workout and 2 Speed and Power training ebooks!
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Improve Your Quickness With Ladder and Dot Drills
Monday, September 29th, 2008In many ways, quickness and agility are more important than straight-ahead speed. A player rarely reaches maximum speed during game competition. Having great change-of-direction speed (agility with quickness) allows you to beat your opponent “to the spot” or recover from mistakes in positioning. How many times have you seen a player with “not great speed” repeatedly make plays to help the team win. This is not an accident. You can improve your change-of-direction speed with proper training. Read my post that discusses change-of-direction speed in detail.
You can also improve quickness by improving your reaction time. You do this by training to make the right choices as quickly as possible. You can practice reacting to sight or sound cues.
To physically improve your quickness, ladder drills and dot drills are great for improving footwork. The drills should be done with maximum effort to mimic game-time situations.
Do you want to train like a champion? Check out my new site, Your Fitness University, and become a Sports Fitness Hut Member!
Need more sports training tips? Subscribe to my weekly Sports Performance Tips eNewsletter23 and get a FREE 4-week sports power workout and 2 Speed and Power training ebooks!
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Client Sports Fitness Question Of The Week, 13
Friday, September 26th, 2008If you are in a sport that involves running, read this Q & A:
Client Q: I have had problems with hamstring pulls and strains for a long time. What can I do to fix this problem?
Mark’s A: Hamstring injuries are bothersome because they are so hard to recover from! It is better to prevent hamstring injuries if possible. The problem I see most is inadequate flexibility and strength in the hamstrings. Also, when the hamstrings are significantly weaker than the quadriceps, you are susceptible to knee ACL injuries.
Improve your hamstring flexibility with these exercises:
walking lunges, resistance band eccentric stretch (pictured above) and static stretch (static stretch should be done after workout or game).
Improve your hamstring strength with these exercises:
lying or standing hamstring machine curl, deadlift, good morning exercise (with or without weights) and glute ham raises.
Do you want to train like a champion? Check out my new site, Your Fitness University, and become a Sports Fitness Hut Member!
Need more sports training tips? Subscribe to my weekly Sports Performance Tips eNewsletter23 and get a FREE 4-week sports power workout and 2 Speed and Power training ebooks!
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What’s Next? – An Interview with Erik Skaden and Graham Cooper
Friday, September 26th, 2008How Important Is Pre-Workout Nutrition?
Thursday, September 25th, 2008I was training a client the other day and he couldn’t finish his workout. My sports fitness workouts are tough but he usually does just fine. The problem? He had not eaten in the six hours before his workout! No fuel, no running motor!
Pre-workout nutrition is critical and should mainly include carbohydrates and proteins. During intense physical activity, your body depends on fuel from glycogen made from the carbohydrates that you eat. The body can’t use fat for fuel during high intensity exercise because there is not enough oxygen available. Eating fruits, vegetables, smoothies and simple sugars 1-2 hours before a workout will build up your glycogen stores. Glycogen is stored in your liver and muscles and it is broken down into glucose. Glucose is then used by your body to make energy. As a result, when your glycogen stores are low, your performance will suffer.
Research has shown the effectiveness of pre-workout protein drinks (such as whey and casein). These drinks will make enough amino acids available to take advantage of the increased blood flow to your working muscles. Also, your muscles get 2 times as much benefit from a pre-workout protein drink compared to having just a post-workout protein drink.
Endurance athletes can also benefit from consuming moderate amounts of fat (such as flax oil and omega 3s) because of the availability of oxygen during exercise or competition.
Do you want to train like a champion? Check out my new site, Your Fitness University, to see the sports exercise of the week!
Need more sports training tips? Subscribe to my weekly Sports Performance Tips eNewsletter23 and get a FREE 4-week sports power workout!
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Improve Your Vertical Jump To Improve Speed
Wednesday, September 24th, 2008Your vertical jump height is an indication of the power in your lower body and an indication of your speed. You need a comprehensive training program to improve your vertical leap.
Many times, plyometrics is over-emphasized and other aspects of training are not adequately done by the athlete. A certain amount of strength (core and overall) is needed to enhance your jumping power. Quadriceps, hamstrings, hips, glutes and calves are targets for improvement if you want your vertical leap to improve. Squats, lunges, leg presses, step ups, hip abductors and calf raises are all good exercises to improve lower body strength. Also, the hang clean is a great exercise because you execute the exercise from the same position that you jump from (or the power position).
How much lower body strength do you need to develop optimum power? A male should be able to squat his body weight 8-10 times and a female should be able to squat about 75% of her body weight 8-10 times. If you are not able to squat, then you should be able to leg press about 1.5 times your body weight 8-10 times. When performing depth jumps, a safe rule to follow is never jump off a box that is higher than your vertical.
It doesn’t help you to continually get stronger if power development is not there also. Power, or speed strength (how fast your muscles can produce force) is one of the best physical predictors of success in sports.
This is where plyometrics would come into play. Plyometrics is jump training and is definitely sport specific. Squat jumps (bodyweight and resisted), which are pictured above, are great for plyometric work. When performing depth jumps, never jump off a box that is higher than your vertical leap. Read my post on plyometrics.
I recommend doing plyometric work 2 times a week and speed work 2 times a week. Strength work can be done 3 times a week. You should do your plyometric work on the same day that you do lower body strength training. Plyometrics would be done before your leg strength work because plyometrics are done with maximum effort. Therefore, you need to be fresh. A more advanced technique would be to immediately follow a strength exercise with a plyometric exercise. An example would be to do a set of squats at 85% of one rep maximum followed by a set of squat jumps. This method has been proven to develop optimum power but it should only be used by advanced athletes.
Do you want to train like a champion? Check out my new site, Your Fitness University, to see the sports exercise of the week!
Need more sports training tips? Subscribe to my weekly Sports Performance Tips eNewsletter23 and get a FREE 4-week sports power workout!
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Eat and Train Like An Athlete And You Will See Your Body Change
Tuesday, September 23rd, 2008By far, I see one common improvement that most athletes need to make—EAT LIKE AN ATHLETE! If you put garbage in your body, don’t expect your body to perform at its peak!
And, you know my take on supplements: try to get the nutrition you need from food. Save your money! Don’t depend on supplements to significantly build your body up! More than anyone, athletes physically depend on their bodies to succeed. And, its been proven that you won’t be mentally sharp if your nutrition is lacking.
Also, pre- and post-workout meals are just as critical to your muscle growth (hypertrophy) as the training. These two processes work together to make your training program successful. The rigors of training breaks down your body and you need proper nutrition and rest to rebuild your body bigger and better.
Ever wonder why your body fat won’t decrease? Its mainly due to poor nutrition! If you are fat, don’t expect to compete at a very high level! Here’s an example of what and what not to eat:
Cut out these foods: sodas, sugary fruit juice drinks, candy, cookies, donuts, fried meats and fried foods, fast foods, ketchup and mayonnaise
Add these foods: whole grain breads, whole grain cereals, oatmeal, almonds, nuts, low-fat dairy products, low-fat yogurt, fruits, veggies, unsweetened tea, water, lean meats (baked, broiled or grilled), olive oil, cinnamon, mustard. You get the idea! EAT WITH A PURPOSE—THE PURPOSE OF BEING ABLE TO PERFORM AT A HIGH LEVEL!
Do you want to train like a champion? Check out my new site, Your Fitness University, to see the sports exercise of the week!
Need more sports training tips? Subscribe to my weekly Sports Performance Tips eNewsletter23!
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Improve Your Speed With This Simple Change
Monday, September 22nd, 2008One of the biggest barriers to athletes improving their speed is: rigid, inflexible running/movements. Matter of fact, you will have a hard time being any good in sports if you are not relaxed during movements. “Clutch performers” like Derek Jeter, Tom Brady, Josh Beckett and Lisa Leslie have learned how to relax when the pressure is greatest!
I was training a middle school athlete this summer and he was trying to improve his 40 yard dash time. His running style was a little rigid so I had him work on his flexibility between training sessions. Also, before I timed him, I had him do leg swings (front-to-back and side-to-side) to loosen his tight hip flexors. By summer’s end, he had reduced his time by 2 tenths of a second! That is a HUGE IMPROVEMENT in any sprint time! Although the strength exercises and other running mechanics were also factors, the biggest factor was that this kid relaxed his running style by improving his dynamic flexibility!
You can see many of these training techniques in my new eBook:
Sports Fitness Hut’s Hips and Glutes Training Guide for Athletes
Do you want to train like a champion? Check out my new site, Your Fitness University, to see the sports exercise of the week!
Need more sports training tips? Subscribe to my weekly Sports Performance Tips eNewsletter23!
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Skyline to the Sea 50k - California Dreamin’
Sunday, September 21st, 2008« Previous Entries