More Benefits Of Weight Training Show It Isn't Just For Athletes

This week's informative newsletter was suggested by one of my long standing wellness clients, Connie Waite. After my information on osteoporosis, she thought this topic might be interesting to some of my older subscribers. She belongs to the Mayo Clinic Health Letter and showed me an article to read about even more benefits of weight training for the older population.

The first thing that caught my eye was this. Studies have shown that only about 30 percent of the difference between young and old adults is related to aging. That means that the remaining 70 percent is due to other factors, mainly a lack of physical activity. What this suggests is that doesn't have to be the case.

As we get older things seem to get harder to do. Mowing the lawn is tough, let me hire the neighborhood kid. Playing with the grandkids is hard work, I'm going to have to tell them no. Lifting that box off the ground and putting it on the shelf will be a struggle, I'll wait until my kid comes over. You don't have to be relegated to this individual.

Older adults experience a remarkable increase in strength gain when starting an exercise program. It might take a little longer to get to that strength, but you can get there. I had an 85 year old client who was able to show me her bicep muscle after a few months of training. I have another client who owns a shop and has to lift bulky, heavy items all the time because she doesn't trust the somewhat feeble staff half her age to do it.

Once you get that strength, maintaining it is easy with a consistent weight program. Here are some of the benefits the Mayo newsletter stated:

• Improve bone health - I discussed this in an earlier newsletter.
• Promote weight control and reduce body fat - This can be done irregardless of age.
• Reduce your risk of injury - It helps strengthen the joints to stabilize them better. Also, weight training helps keep your fast twitch fibers sharp which helps your reaction time. This is why older people stumble a lot is because their reaction time is shot.
• Alleviate back and arthritis pain - Strengthening the muscles in these areas really helps to alleviate pain in the joints.
• Helps control diabetes - Keeps the sugar level in check.
• Helps with your cognition - The exercise helps improve the blood flow throughout your body and to your brain. Keeping your wits is nice when your older.

You know I'm a big believer in strength training the right way. It's not all about getting big muscles. It is about staying healthy. Weight training isn't just for my athletes, it is for everyone including YOU. A lot of you have heard these same benefits come out of my mouth through the years. If the Mayo Clinic is saying the same exact things then you know I'm not blowing smoke up your a$$. Start conservatively, but just get started and reap the benefits of strength training.

A Simple Exercise To Improve Your Running Speed

As some of you know, I've had an intern this summer and it has been working out pretty good for me. This has been my first intern and some of you are taking advantage of our "summer intern special" and working with him. One of his assignments with me has been to research speed drills on websites that I'm a member of.

There are a lot of great resources out there for speed development, but I usually don't have the time to meticulously go through them all and find what is useful. Derek, my intern, was told to do just that. After he had a feel for our program, I told him to go and find some new drills and exercises that we can use to help you run faster.

Here is one he came up with that I like. I've already started implementing it with some of our clients. Just like the subject title says, I feel it is a very simple exercise you can use to improve your running speed.

So here it is - a 10 yard sprint, but you're hopping on one leg instead of running.

This is really great. I do hops with a lot of my younger athletes and a more advanced version of it with my older ones as a plyometric movement. With this 10 yard sprint, now it is taking it a step further.

You have to work on your arm swing as well to get you going fast. It helps develop that coordination of the opposite arm, opposite leg mechanism. Plus, the hop is on the balls of your feet, to develop the kind of powerful movement you need to run faster.

I do 3-4 of these per leg. I just started using this drill so I can't tell you definitive results from it, but I think it is a pretty great drill. All you need is about 15 yards of space and you are good to go. The extra 5 is so you can slow down. Try it out and let me know what you think.

Speed & Conditioning Training For Field Hockey

I've had the pleasure to work with my fair share of field hockey players. And not just good players, great players. Some of the best of the best in the Central Ohio area who have gone on to compete in the Division One ranks of college. I was also lucky enough to have watched two field hockey teams win state titles when I was the head strength coach at Columbus Academy. Needless to say, my knowledge about what a field hockey player needs has really expanded in the last 10 years.

Just like any other sport, you can improve your speed to be faster on the field, but it starts with running mechanics. If those aren't corrected, then everything else I'm going to talk about is null and void. I always discuss mechanics in my newsletters, to the point of nausea for some people, so I am going to assume that you are working on mechanics and get to the meat and potatoes of this newsletter.

Field hockey is a game similar to soccer or lacrosse. There is constant movement in the game with some players continually moving on the field. So endurance is key to being fast. Meaning, if your endurance stinks, then your running mechanics will break down. When that happens, you are working that much harder to get from point A to point B thus wearing you out even more.

But, to really improve your speed, you also have to understand that this game is a game of full out, short sprints. Thus, you must train like that. Meaning, you have to improve your speed for 5 - 15 yard sprints. Traditional speed work will help with that, plyometrics, resistance training, and overspeed training.

Once that is developed, you have to work on your agility training, or your ability to cut quick. You could be sprinting fast, then all of a sudden the ball moves in the other direction. You have to be able to stop and change direction as fast as possible. Traditional speed work helps with the power, but it is the constant agility training that will make this happen. Cone drills and change of direction drills will be most beneficial.

Unlike most sports, you have to run while holding a hockey stick. This will hinder your ability to hit maximum speed as often as possible. So, when you can you want to pump your arms as efficiently as possible, but so often that is tough to do. You must develop the leg strength to power through these runs and get as fast as you can just by using your leg strength. Basic strength training will be helpful in this area.

Lastly, let me get back to endurance. Endurance training is not running 2 miles in a certain amount of time. That is important at the very beginning of off-season training. As you progress through the off-season and get closer to the pre-season, you will want to do more interval or pattern running. This is more sport specific to a field hockey player's needs.

Basically, you run short patterns that mimic how you move in the game. For example, you have a cone that marks your starting point. You would then run a 10 yard sprint, jog back to the cone, do a 10 yard back pedal fast, jog to the cone, run out 5 yards then cut left for 5, jog to the cone, so forth and so on. You would do 10 of these for 1 set, have them walk back to the cone after the last one, then start another set. Do this for a duration of time and you will be in great shape for the season.

More coaches are starting to get on board with this style of training and I'm telling you, it is the most effective way to get in shape for a sport such as field hockey.

If you play field hockey or know someone who does, we are running a Field Hockey Speed/Agility Conditioning Camp in July. Basically a 3.5 week short boot camp for field hockey athletes starting July 6. All the details are at our website, so click here at http://fitnessplanning.com/fieldhockey.htm and I hope to see you there.

You Must Do This Before You Start Your Workout

I hope you enjoyed your weekend. Mine wasn't bad. I went to a high school graduation party on Saturday, and then my family celebrated Father's day with me, getting me a couple nice shirts and some new boxers. I guess the holes in my underwear were becoming a little too revealing for the likes of my family.

Anyways, in this newsletter I talk about an activity that you need to start doing right away. More and more professionals are using this tool for their clients, no matter if they are an athlete or a wellness client. This activity is the use of the foam roller.

Maybe you have seen it at the gym but it is a 2 or 3 foot tube made of dense foam. I originally purchased this foam roller as a balance tool for my clients. It has progressed into basically a self massage tool.

Before you start your workout, you take the foam roller and then lay on it in various positions to hit your legs, lower back, and some of your upper body. Lie on it for the desired limb you want to hit. Balance yourself accordingly with your arms and try to put all your weight on the foam roller. Slide up and down on the foam roller for about 10 repetitions. You should be hitting some tender/tight areas that are pretty deep down. Some areas will really hurt, some will feel good to just move on it.

Once you hit your body, you will hopefully have broken up some of the tight muscle tissue you have. Maybe you will have worked out some kinks or soreness from an earlier session. Either way you should now be ready to put your body through a more thorough warm-up and then begin your training session. If you want, you can perform this after your workout as well.

The foam roller has become a big part of my own personal workouts. I do it as often as I can, but especially before lower body workouts because that is where I have some tightness. I will soon start incorporating it into some of my athlete's workouts as well. If you want to see a few demonstrations of the foam roller, I just placed a video on Youtube showing this. Click here to watch the video.

The BEST Running Form I've Seen From A Baseball Player

Yes, a lot of my newsletters talk about the atrocious running form I see from a lot of athletes and celebrities. Recently, I've bashed Albert Pujols, Steven Seagal in one of my videos, and Sylvester Stallone. So, I thought I would talk about two baseball players I've watched who I think have great running form. Maybe not the best as my title illustrates, but really good form.

The first baseball player is someone you might not have heard of, but I think he is a potential rising star in the league. Plus, I'm a Reds fan so I've watched this guy a lot, but it is their leadoff hitter Drew Stubbs. Stubbs has been talked about as a possible 5 tool player (hits for power, hits for average, has a good throwing arm, great speed, and is a great defensive player). He is currently tied for third in the National League for stolen bases and if he would cut down on his strikeouts, could really be a threat at the plate all the time.

His speed is what is always noticed by the announcers. He can get infield hits because of his speed. He tracks down a lot of fly balls in centerfield and thus shores that area up. When he is on first, he can be a real distraction to the pitcher because of his threat to steal. Plus, if there is a hit, he can take it first to third in no time flat, possibly home.

Watch him run when you get a chance. It is very good form on the basepaths. I critique these athletes like they should be world class sprinters, which I understand they can't and won't, but Stubbs applies proper technique with his speed to baseball and makes it a real weapon. His arms flow correctly, he lands on the balls of his feet, and has a great leg turnover and stride. Add all this up and you get a fast baseball player.

The other athlete I think you should watch is A-Rod. Say what you will about his steroid abuse, I think the guy is a natural athlete and in his prime was a true 5 tool player. One year he hit 40-40 (homeruns and steals). He has over 300 stolen bases in his career and although he doesn't steal that much anymore, watch this guy run. He really is smooth when he is out there.

Just like Stubbs, he has great form and technique. He has the same technique as Stubbs - balls of the feet, great turnover, and his arms are pumping in L shapes. No wasted motion whatsoever.

So, when you watch highlights these next few days, pay attention to those two ball players. We get you running like them from a technique standpoint, then all we have to do is develop the power in your legs to generate the speed you need. Obviously, easier said than done, but very possible.

Sylvester Stallone's "New" Physique Can't Help Him Run

This weekend, I finally got to watch the movie, The Expendables. A movie that I received as a Christmas gift, but haven't had a chance to watch it yet. It isn't the greatest movie in the world, but it had enough of a plot to keep me interested and plenty of violence and action, so I liked it.

Sylvester Stallone, at age 103 (I think 61 I guess), looks more jacked than someone age 25. He is pretty pumped and has veins showing all up and down his arms. It is no secret that he has been using HGH for some of his more recent movie roles (Rocky 22, Rambo). I think HGH use (prescribed use) will become more prevalent among baby boomers in the next 5-10 years, but that is a topic for another day.

You hear me talk a lot about running form, probably because I'm a speed coach and that is my job, but I look at everybody and anybody's running form. This movie and Sylvester Stallone was no different.

The scene was Sly running after his water-plane that was already taking off. People were shooting at him and he was running in a dead sprint for the plane. That HGH can make him look like a 25 year old, but his running form really shows his age. He was running as fast as he could, but his hamstrings just weren't firing right, that or he has some flexibility issues. His stride length was really cut short because he couldn't muster the proper power from his legs and he was taking a lot of short steps at full speed. It looked rough.

He was never the greatest runner. I was watching Rocky 2 recently and the scene where he is running through the city with the kids following him, his technique could be worked on. His arms are crossing somewhat across his body. He is so on his heels, I'm surprised he didn't really screw up his knees at some point. His hamstrings were firing a lot better in that movie.

Anyways, just another actor that probably could have used my help to make him look half way decent running on the screen. A few corrections and he could have really sold it that he was supposed to be 20 years younger than what he actually is. Unfortunately, you can't buy running form with that HGH.

You Can't Be Scared Of Your Competition

I was a senior in college on spring break at South Padre Island. I had just survived my car crashing by flipping four times and looking like a crumpled tin can (my roommate was driving, but that is a story for another day). Everyday at the hotel we were staying at, they held a 3 on 3 basketball tournament and my buddies and I would sign up each day to see how we would fare against all the other spring breakers out there. One of the days, we did end up getting runner-up in the tourney for that day, but this story is about a loss we had on a different day.

My buddy, Ted, and I still talk about this game to this day. We were winning games and proceeding through the tournament when we were pitted against three football players from Texas. Athletic dudes ranging from 6' to 6'2" and all about 200 pounds. They tried to pound you and bang on you to intimidate you, using their athleticism to score.

Ted and I were amped, ready to play these clowns. Ted and I ran the pick and roll to perfection, he was always the picker and I never seemed to pass him the ball, but we were scoring. He was getting brutalized by these guys, but before you knew it we were up 6-4 and needed to get to 10. Well, our third member wasn't as gung-ho for this game. He was obviously intimidated by these guys and at one point they blocked his shot and sent this ball over a 10 foot high gated fence. That was it for him. He would be useless the rest of the game. We had a pretty big crowd for this game, but unfortunately we lost.

Ted and I are still pissed about it to this day. This was something we enjoyed. Taking on guys who thought they were the best players out there and hoping their stigma of being "Texas football players" would carry them to the promised land. Well, it intimidated our buddy, but not Ted and I. I always had the mentality, if you are so good, you're going to have to prove it to me because I'm giving you my best shot whether you like it or not.

You can't be scared of your competition. If you are, then you've already lost and don't bother playing the game. I've played in many games in my life of all different sports and seen it happen constantly. I loved it. I loved beating some guys who were supposedly this awesome team and then have them bicker amongst themselves.

Now there were times when I knew we were probably out-manned, but I wasn't going to back down. You still had to go out there and fight. You have no clue what is going to happen and maybe it is your day and you win. But, you won't know unless you try. And, if you go out thinking, "I want no piece of that person tonight," then I tell you what, that person is going to own you and you might as well not show up.

Trust your abilities and give it your all. It still might not be enough, but at least you're going to show that you aren't backing down. Make them prove to you that they are better than you. A lot of times, you will be surprised at the outcome.

Distance Runners Are Running Like Sprinters

This weekend I started watching some of the Prefontaine Classic that is held in Oregon. Some of America's best track and field athletes were competing. I saw local Columbus athlete, Ryan Wilson from Westerville North, compete in the 110 high hurdles and get a sixth place. Ryan is someone I personally know and it is always neat watching someone on national television that you have a personal relationship with.

I then started watching the 2 mile race. I was a sprinter when I ran track and the 2 mile was usually a race I used to warm-up during before I ran the mile relay. Basically, I never paid much attention to it. So, I started watching this event, hoping it would pass by quick. You run 8 laps in the 2 mile.

As I started watching this race, I actually became intrigued with their strategy, but more importantly their running form. Way back when, the prevailing wisdom was that sprinters ran on the balls of their feet, while distance runners ran on their heels or at least a more flat foot and didn't really pump their arms that hard. The reason was that type of running form conserved more energy and was more efficient.

Watching this 2 mile race, clearly that philosophy is thrown out the window. Nowadays, no one who wants to run well, will run on their heels. It causes too much shock through the body for possible injury, whereas the ball of the foot is designed better for shock absorption and generate power. These distance runners now are so fine-tuned that they are pretty much running fast the entire race (or fast compared to us non-distance folk).

So, after the sixth lap, the leaders were 3 Kenyons, someone else, and an American, Bernard Lagat. Their running form was awesome. Landing nice and soft on the balls of their feet, great leg stride, and an awesome turnover or leg rate. Their arms were pumping, but at an efficient pace.

Then, they rang the bell for the last lap and the leaders kicked it into a higher gear. Around the 200 mark, Lagat broke to the outside and positioned himself so that when he rounded the turn for the homestretch, he would be in the lead and that is exactly what happened. At the 100 mark, he took off, arms pumping furiously and legs churning. If you had put 30 pounds of muscle on the guy, you would have thought he was a world class sprinter. It was awesome!! Lagat won by about 10 yards.

I guess the point is that speed training and mechanical work isn't just for sprinters. If you are a distance runner, you have to know how to sprint and sprint well. You have to be able to get those legs going fast and the greatest range of motion possible to help with that leg stride. If you can't sprint well, your kick towards the end will stink and that will cost you the race.

So congrats to Bernard Lagat for winning the race Saturday. And opening my eyes to a distance event, that I didn't particularly pay too much attention to back in the day. It will help me out more with future distance runners that I have to work with.

Appreciating The Abilities Of Older Athletes

Do you remember when Jerry Rice was still playing his last few productive years in the NFL when he was an Oakland Raider? The guy was 38, 39 years old and still catching a lot of balls and burning defensive backs. Or how about John Stockton who was playing at a high level at the point guard position (a position where you have to be quick and fast) at age 40. When you were watching those older athletes, did you ever marvel at how they were staying in such great shape?

When I was in college I used to play pick-up basketball all the time. We'd play for 4 or 5 hours non-stop, go home shower, and then be ready to go out for the evening. Sure we were tired, but you usually were ready to go after resting for an hour, showering, and getting a quick bite to eat. Those were the days when the body was just indestructible.

I continued to play sports throughout my 20's and started noticing it taking longer and longer to recover from whatever I was doing. In my 30's, I got married and started a family, thus my commitment to playing sports consistently, started dwindling. My body wasn't recovering like it used to because I wasn't playing nearly as often.

Let's flash forward to present day. I'm basically at the wrong side of my 30's, looking very close to that 4-0 number and now my sport activity is reduced to playing some flag football once a week and basketball once or twice a year. Here is how my body responds at my current age.

It takes a little longer for me to get warmed up than when I was younger. If I have to rest during any of these activities, I kinda have to keep moving around a little bit, so I don't stiffen up, otherwise, I might have to re-warm myself up. When I play basketball, I no longer can play for 4-5 hours. I probably have a window of 1.5 hours and then my body is telling me I'm done. I can still run as fast, I just can't jump as high and now when I jump around and make the short, quick movements, my body can't handle it for long durations.

The flag football is the same way. You play your game of short quick bursts every 60 seconds and by the time it is all said and done, my body has had enough.

So, now I feel more aches and pains in my body. Stuff that wasn't creeping in before and I have to do more preparation to try and offset those pains. If you follow my tweets, a lot of my workouts are trying to prep my body for some of this activity. I do a lot of sprints for my cardio because I feel that is the best for conditioning and burning fat, but I also want my body to continue to feel how it is to sprint so it's not thrown for a loop when I play these sports.

The recovery for me is what has really changed in the last 10-15 years and this is what I am astounded to see with these older professional athletes. If I play basketball or my flag football (which consists of 2 games for a little over an hour), there is no way I would be able to play again the next day. I'm just too sore. I might have to alter my workouts a little bit if I'm lifting the next day to go for more recovery rather than strength. I would say I'm close to normal about 3 days later and can resume my sprinting and lifting at full go.

So, imagine someone like Jerry Rice playing a speedy position in football. The banging and punishment he has to take and then bounce back through practices to be ready to play a week later. I'm just playing flag football and I'm sore. Forget about someone trying to take my head off.

Or John Stockton playing an 82 regular season schedule in basketball. A much quicker recovery time because sometimes games are played back to back. It is incredible he was able to maintain his high level at age 40 throughout the whole season.

Basically, this is a testament to their off-season training. The prep work they go through, plus the in-season maintenance to keep their bodies at that high level consistently and keep up with the younger guys. The younger you can start to understand this, the better you will be in the long run.

So, next time you try to go out and play that pick-up game of basketball and you are laid up on the couch afterwards for days because you are sore, appreciate these professional athletes. Especially, the older ones. Think about what they do to prepare their bodies so they can continue to shine and entertain you with their incredible athleticism.