Sportsmanship and recent ridiculousness

Because of events in the news the last couple of weeks I think it's about time some of us coaches start talking about sportsmanship.

It's been a couple weeks now, but this guy really should be ashamed of himself. Parents out there should feel lucky that he choose to coach pro athletes instead of your kids cause this is NOT the kind of person that should be in the position of "role model". But he made his statement, and as far as his press conference....give me a break.

Personally I find it hard to go to a youth football game at all b/c of what I see from the crowd. But to a point, I can empathize w/ a parent or fan disagreeing w/ calls from coaches and referees.

However, I still strongly hold the general opinion that parents and fans are not on the field so they should keep their mouths shut.

But this guy is a coach, and a strength coach on top of that. A strength coach sees athletes more than any other coach, all year long, up close and personal. Your strength coach should be like a mentor (I know that is what I hold myself to as my athletes' coach), a person that our kids should be able to look up to and come to when they need advise or w/e else.

And then we have players fighting each other. Yeah, a team should be like a family and my brother and sister and I used to have epic battles where we beat the hell out of each other, but this stuff, in a public place. These guys need more pride in their school and themselves along w/ more character than to throw a fit like this. It doesn't take a man to throw a fit or a punch. A 2 year old can do that. It takes a man to compose himself and resolve matters his own way, even if it does mean punches at the very least take it outside.

When some of the dolphins players were interviewed about the jets strength coach, what they said that stuck w/ me was that behaviors and actions roll downhill. The were attempting to say how Coach Rex is dirty and that attitude is infectious and affects the other coaches and pretty soon affects all the players.

We as coaches are in an incredible position and we have not only an opportunity but a responsibility to be the best PEOPLE and COACHES that we can be in order to provide a model that our athletes can learn from. I don't mean that to seem like I'm saying we have to be goodies that tow the line all the time, that's far from what I think kids need.

The right role model isn't always what you think

If we are the best people that we can be that will trickle down. Our kids will learn from our best qualities if we let them show through. The really amazing part that I've found is how much I end up learning from them.

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What's w/ all the baby makin?

On to a subject I definitely do not consider myself an expert in. For some reason lately I've noticed an influx of pregnant women. Maybe I'm just getting to "that age", but the last time I remember noticing this many pregnant women I was 5 and my mom, 2 aunts and some family friends were all pregnant at approximately the same time. Scary stuff. But non the less I've always found this subject interesting in terms of exercise. How much should a woman workout while pregnant? How intense? What exercises? Etc....

In all actuality the exercise game is in infant stages in comparison to other activities human beings have been doing throughout our existence, so no matter who you are, exercise during pregnancy is almost completely uncharted territory.

A few of the things I know, is that:

1. men envy women because we cannot give life, and that's a pretty amazing deal.

We'll also never have to go through labor, so when it comes to talking about our "tough glory days" of football and wrestling, we might as well just shut up when the moms walk in the room.

2. Pregnant women are not to be messed w/.

Right now happens to be my older sisters third pregnancy and I don't know if it's hormones, entitlement, or stress but holding my tongue is an almost constant activity.

3. Pregnancies are nothing to mess w/ in general.

That's some precious cargo and it's fragile so this subject should be taken very seriously and given tons of thought and research.

Cassandra Forsythe is doing an interesting deal on her website right now though, in regard to exercising preggers, and these are her first two interviews.

Fit Pregnancy Interview Part 1

Fit Pregnancy Interview Part 2

Some of the stuff I read today

Typically when we feel relaxation is the last thing we need it's actually the time we need it the most. This is especially true during the holidays and I doubt very many people feel like dropping any more cash but a massage would probably go a long way on your way to the hap hap happiest christmas since...

But if you're not willing to get a massage this was a decent read.

Holiday Stress

I realize how lots of this stuff sounds and it's magical hocus pocus feel, but I have a hard time hearing an argument against MINDSET and BELIEF.

Dr. Bowden also posted Top 10 Tips for Jump Starting Weightloss that was a very quick, easy and informative read.

There are all kinds of parasympathetic activity options.

1. I do think massage is the healthiest and most beneficial/effective option

2. Meditation

3. Naps/sleep

4. (I hate to say it) but yoga and/or pilates.

Anything you can do to unwind and get your head in a positive, solution based position.

Yeah, I suppose I did feel like a vampire drinking my pomegranate juice out of a wine glass this morning. What can I say?

Point: Get real pomegranate juice everyday. Best suited for the morning obviously (the carbs in liquid calories get absorbed too quickly to be ingested any other time of the day.)

A simple lower body break down

Your "core" muscles resist movement and stabilize every thing in the trunk. They are not designed to produce movement. Otherwise we'd have two hamstring like muscles in place of that sexy, rippled, 6 (sometime 8)pack deal.

The glutes make you move fast. Especially forward and laterally.

They also seem to be eye catching.

And according to the discover channel women prefer men w/ a nicer set of glutes as well (sorry could not find the study online). But this would make sense that through millions of years of evolution it is in our very nature to be attracted to traits linked to survival, like strength, speed and intelligence. Just saying, a guy w/ a big ass is probably going to be faster and stronger.

Could this give rise to saying "His brains are in his butt"? I wish, but I highly doubt it.

The hip flexors produce knee drive which is what it sounds like, driving your knee fwd to increase stride length and move faster.

This picture may help a bit more. They pick up your leg so you can move it fwd, a job often given credit to the quads......nnnnnot totally true, but the rectus femoris does flex the hip up to around 30 degrees so I guess you could say "kinda"....

The hamstrings help the glutes make you move fast, as well as keep your knee where it should be.

They're also one of the most blamed muscles for injuries in athletes when it's really not all their fault. Typically if the hip flexors wouldn't have been so tight, pulling the pelvis into anterior tilt, putting the hamstring in a tight elongated position and compromising the glutes ability to extend the hip the hamstring would've been just fine.

The quads help you decelerate and also help keep your knee from doing abnormal things. I should mention that although deceleration is extremely underrated it still doesn't justify direct, isolated quad work.

On a side note they are also the culprit of "thunder thighs". Not to get all body builder on you however the glutes grow posteriorly, and so do the hamstrings for the most part, but the quads grow the whole way around. So there's another reason to hate leg extensions, besides that they are worthless.

BTW you should've seen some of the pictures I just saw looking up that quad. Gross, ridiculous, and hilarious, like I'm laughing at you not w/ you kind of hilarious, all rolled into one).

The calves help us absorb initial force and vice versa promote turnover and propulsion during running and jumping. It's also the place of my favorite name of any muscle in the body (but not favorite muscle): The Gastrocnemius.

W/o these we'd be bouncing around a lot more.

This is vastly over simplified but my clients tell me all the time that I need to shut up and pretend I'm explaining things to my 5 year old niece, so there you go.

No equipment needed

It sounds like southeast Iowa is about to get snowed in........imagine that.

Anyway, since I'm a slightly cynical, realist that happens to also be optimistic, I like to think that people will still get a workout in even if they're stuck at home. So, I put this together for a friend that is stuck at home tonight.

1a) Pushups 4x10

1b) lateral lunge 4x12/side

1c) 1leg RDL's 4x10/leg

2a) Lunge hops 4x10/leg (get off the ground w/ each lunge) (or you can do jumps w/ 2 feet 4x6)

2b) renegade rows w/ no weight 4x40 total

3a) lateral Plank 3x30s/side (only your feet and one elbow touch the ground while your laying laterally to the ground)

3b) Prone Y super man holds 3x15 (basically just do Y's w/ your chest on the ground and your feet off the ground and emphasis the glutes w/ the hold)

3c) Prisoner squats 3x15 (its a bodyweight squat w/ your hands behind your head)

This workout could also be used by frequent travelers that don't always stay where there's a nice workout area. Although if it's snowing you might as well get your ass outside and start shoveling.

Just don't end up like this

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Get your athletes moving

Different athletes have different needs. Some athletes need more activation than others, some are tight as drums and need to work on mobility, some are biomechanic train wrecks and need an overhaul, there are even kids that have grown too fast and forgotten that their hands are connected to the rest of their body. This is where a strength and conditioning and playing multiple sports throughout the year becomes pivotal in the development of an athlete.

We know that specialization at an early age is detrimental to long term performance and health. Athlete's simply break down when they pitch too much. The best player on the team pitches the most innings and games during the year and gets ruined before his time.

Until 15-16 years old kids need to be exposed to as many sports and physical activities as possible, especially before the age of 12. The need to wrestle, play baseball and football, ride a bike, ski/snowboard, skateboard, roller skate and/or rollerblade, play basketball (although I hate to admit it), go swimming and learn to do a flip, they need to run around, climb trees, get hurt, have a physically demanding job like construction or landscaping, etc...

They need to be active and it doesn't have to be competition or even organized. Play catch in the backyard, hang a rope from a tree, sneak onto a driving range at night w/ a baseball bat steal some balls and see how far you can hit them. Obviously the last one is a stretch.

But in all honesty I grew up where every time you stayed at a friends house you had wrestling matches after dinner every night. Why do you think Iowa is so good at wrestling. This was great for our coordination, body positioning, and all around real world strength, the basis of any great athlete.

Get your kids moving.

I've changed my mind again.

Weighted balls for pitchers:

I used to think what's the point, you throw a ball and catch a ball who cares what it weighs, don't mess w/ it. I also used to feel like swinging a heavy bat a few times before I went up to the plate helped me swing a little better. Although it may have psychologically made the bat feel a little lighter and more comfortable in my hands (increasing my ever expanding ego at the time) we now know that it did little to nothing for my actual hand and bat speed.

We know this w/ training as well. Taking BP w/ a heavy bat isn't going to help bat speed. And really I think it's probably going to mess w/ your mechanics a little bit and/or throw off your timing when you get in the game.

On the other hand, research shows that throwing w/ balls slightly above and below the standard weight of a baseball can improve arm speed. Weird. I made fun of those weighted ball sets when the first showed up in catalogs years ago.

Little side note for overbearing parents, not every kid needs to be using weighted balls. For some pitchers it's useful once in awhile but only when it's necessary. And it's not something you do everyday, nor is it something you start doing w/ everyone of your little leaguers. Be smart. These are people you're dealing w/ and you can screw them up way easier than you can help them.

Weighted balls have their place, but wont replace a solid strength and conditioning program or proper mechanics. Just one more tool.

Beyond conventional upper body work

There’s something to be said for doing upper body closed chain exercises. Beyond Pullups and pushups.

Football players, wrestlers and sports that involve your eyes listen up. The two sports where I see athletes getting the greatest gain from this are the previously mentioned sports but from an experiential standpoint walking on your hands, standing on your head, doing wheel barrels are invaluable to performance and under appreciated.

I’m not saying it needs to be a cornerstone of your programming but an athlete that can walk on his hands is going to have excellent shoulder stability, incredible core and upper body strength, as well as amazing overall proprioception an kinesthetic awareness and in the case I mean his/her awareness of and body control. It also has huge ability to increase hand eye coordination and reactive ability.

When I was a freshman in high school I dislocated my shoulder and cracked the growth plate. It was a bad deal. My scapular stabilizers were terribly weak, and I had horrible scapular winging. Eventually physical therapists made me crawl w/ my hands on a treadmill to work on this. Does this sound like a wheel barrow race?

Think about, what do we do before we walk? We crawl, there is a physiological reason for this. For one we don’t have the balance, strength and coordination to walk yet, but that is the point. Our bodies must learn to move and react in a complete different fashion than we are used to.

Now think of grappling and pumbling. Both are mainstays in wrestling and football (blocking). Both are affective for a reason, much like walking on your hands can be.

Try it out w/ your athletes. Pick one day and do it for 4 weeks, make a competition out of it. Let me know how it goes.

Tip of the day

Tell yourself you're a BAD-ASS constantly.

There is NOT a successful athlete that has a defeated attitude.

Get your head right, step up to the challenge, and always move forward.