kw_fitness

Train to Take a Hit

wheeler.kimb@gmail.com (Kimberly Wheeler) — Tue, 23 Apr 2024 01:47:04 GMT

Become so stable you never go down

You’re speeding around the track, dodging blockers and feeling successful! But next lap, you get rocked. You saw it coming, you braced, and still, the hit knocked you out and down. Slowly getting up, you skate back onto the track, a little more wary this time around. What can you do differently to not go flying next lap? Avoiding being hit altogether is the best option, but not always doable. The good news is that a combination of off and on skates training will help you stay up and skating after taking a hit.

On skates training is going to be beneficial when you see the hit coming and can’t dodge it. Seeing the opposing skater coming in gives you time to react and adjust your position. When I work with new skaters and see them brace for impact, they often tighten up their muscles and hope that by being a rock they will be too dense to knock over. In actuality, you want to be relaxed and fluid. The fluidity of your body will allow you to change your center of gravity to compensate for the impact. Imagine you are catching a fly ball in baseball, you don’t leave your arm fully extended out and tighten all your muscles. You keep your arm relaxed and allow it to cushion the ball’s momentum as you catch. While a person coming to hit you is much larger than a baseball, the same idea applies. So when you see that skater coming in to hit you, relax. To practice this, partner up and skate around the track hitting each other. Work on staying relaxed and allow your body to move with the hit. Start slow and really take note and feel how your body is moving. Even better, discuss it with your partner or team after to hear how everyone is experiencing the movements.

The next thing you can do to help you stay up against a hit, especially the big ones where the opposing skater comes rocketing across the track at you, is to take away their control. We aren’t all physicists on the track, but we subconsciously know what is going on. That opposing skater has calculated and determined exactly when and how they will hit you. Their body is responding based on their movement and yours. You can take that control away by moving towards them. Surprise! You will still hit each other, but now the timing they were using is all off. Essentially you are moving to hit them first.

Off skates training comes in when you are surprised by the hit and you don’t see it coming. Above, I talked about staying relaxed and allowing your center of gravity to move with the impact. This is much more effective with the right off skates training. You need a strong core, but more precisely a stable core. The difference? A strong core would be holding a plank position nice and straight for a really long time. A stable core would be holding that same plank position while moving a leg or an arm. Stability is what you want in athletics. This is the ability to engage and use your core while under motion.

If you are new to training, start by building a strong core. You need to have the basic holds mastered before you move to stability training. Work with a partner (or you can hire me!) to watch your form and help you. A few goals are to hold a plank perfectly straight for 15 seconds and to get up from a half kneeling position while keeping your torso straight.

Once you’ve got that strong core built up, you can start to train your core stability. This is where things can get fun! Balance boards and BOSU balls (a domed yoga ball with a large flat face) are great tools to easily train stability. You can do pretty much any exercise on them and it forces your core to work on stabilizing you. It’s great for combo training and saving time. For example squats, shoulder press, and push ups can all be done with a BOSU ball. Your goal when adding in an unstable surface is to not fall off and stay as in control as possible. Engage your core and shift your weight as you need to stay on and steady.

Sample Workout

Recommended 3-5 sets, rest between exercises. Stop if you are feeling fatigued and no longer engaging the core. The main goal is to build stability in the core.

Ready to hit the next level and build your core stability? Check out my Off Skates Training Offers HERE

Exercises for New Skaters

wheeler.kimb@gmail.com (Kimberly Wheeler) — Thu, 24 Aug 2023 15:33:43 GMT

Build up your strength, stability, and confidence on skates

Welcome to roller derby! Many people who join have little to no skating experience and certainly no roller derby specific skills. This can make learning challenging, and you might feel like your body just isn’t “getting it.” If you are one of those people, this is the right place! I’m going to help you navigate off skates exercises that’ll improve your skating from a basic level, with no prior roller derby or gym experience necessary.

The first key is muscles. Roller derby uses a lot of different muscles, some which may feel like they have never been used before, or at least not this much. The biggest and most obvious muscles used are your legs. As a new skater, you are likely being put through a vigorous training plan, including lots of falls and your legs will feel it. Specifically the quads (front of the thigh) are engaged constantly in getting you back up from the ground. With that in mind, you need to add some leg training to your workouts.

Your glutes (butt) will also be engaged during skating, this one you might not feel as much since they are large muscles that are used daily for walking and regular activity. Keep in mind the skating stride uses the side of the glutes more than running. Still, they remain a muscle you will want to train to ensure they remain strong and build up to more challenging skate moves.

Your abductors (hips) and adductors (inner thighs) are likely a big surprise, especially with all those plow stops. Skating is actually a hip driven movement, pushing out to the side gives you the most efficient skate style. Developing these muscles will add a big benefit to your skating.

Finally, the classic core! If you are feeling off balance, flail a lot, can’t get up off the ground without placing your hands down, or your lower back starts to ache after skating, your core needs strengthening. Even if you don’t feel all those things, core is still vital to training and comes into play once you are making contact hits.

You’ll notice upper body muscle groups haven’t been included. While they are all still important, and the importance increases with contact hitting (especially game time), this post is focused on beginning skating, so I will leave them out. You can always add in upper body exercises to your routine. For roller derby specific, aim for the muscles that stabilize your shoulders and collarbone, as those are likely impact points for hits.

If you are new to working out, start with simple moves and little to no weight. If possible, have someone check your form. You want to make sure you have the basic movement and form mastered before you get more complicated, such as heavy weights or jumping.

With every exercise, ensure you are bracing your core. Pull your belly button in and tighten your muscles as if someone is going to poke you in the gut. When doing core moves while laying on your back, push your spine into the ground and try to flatten your lower back as much as possible.

Exercise List

Squats (Glutes, Quads)

Leg Curl Machine (Quads)

Side Lunge (Glutes, Quads, Adductors)

Reverse Lunge (Glutes, Quads)

Glute Bridge (Glutes)

Clam Shell (Abductors)

Hip Abductions - Machine or Side Lying (Abductors)

Hip Adductions - Machine or Side Lying (Adductors)

Single Leg Balance (Core, Calves, Ankles)

Dead Bug (Core)

Plank Hold (Core)

Bench Leg Raise (Core)

Toe Reaches (Core)

Heel Taps (Core)

Sample Workout

In order to build muscular endurance as well as strength, complete all exercises then rest before starting another set.
As a beginner, do 3 sets of everything. You can increase it to 5 as you become more comfortable with the exercises.

Training Intensity for Roller Derby Round 2

wheeler.kimb@gmail.com (Kimberly Wheeler) — Thu, 24 Jun 2021 14:32:00 GMT

How to split your training intensity throughout the year

In my last blog post , we went over how to judge the training intensity of a specific workout. But that’s not the only intensity you should track for your training. Your entire training schedule should have a cadence to it, and if rests aren’t built in, your body will begin to feel the fatigue of constant training.

For athletes, periodization training is the go-to method to schedule long term training. Periodization training works by breaking down your year into different sections, aiming to be in peak condition for a specific major event or events. Periodization training is divided into cycles, to better plan your time. These are called Macrocycles, Mesocycles, and Microcycles.

The Macrocycle covers your full year, it will show all the training plans you have. The Mesocycle is a specific training block; often designed around a training period, like pre-season, or a training goal, like endurance training. Each Mesocycle is typically 3-6 weeks. The amount of weeks will depend on the individual workout intensities of your plan. For example, if you are training for increased power and doing a lot of plyometric workouts, you will likely only be able to do those for 3 weeks before needing a rest. Finally, the Microcycle is a single week of training. This is where you will break down your daily activities and add in your active rest days.

So what’s the training intensity you should follow for roller derby? Roller Derby is a longer season sport, starting in February and going until Aug or Nov depending on your post-season. Most leagues/teams build in a break part way through the year to help athletes recover from months of playing and training. So knowing that, I believe Block Periodization is the way to go!

In-Season training should focus mostly on strength training that will complement your game. Endurance, power and speed should be reserved for on skates practices. However, as the season progresses you may find yourself lacking in one of those areas. Block training will allow you to switch up from strength training to power training as you need. Just be careful and avoid any super high intensity training the month leading into a major competition. You will have multiple post-seasons, especially if your team competes almost year round. Utilize these breaks to work on injury recovery and strengthening specific weak spots. This will be a larger recovery break in your Macrocycle. Ramping back up into pre-season, you want to ramp back up your endurance, power, and agility to get back into your training season at a good level of fitness.

Combining this theory and Part 1 of the Intensity Training series, you should be prepared to create a great Periodization plan to help maximize your performance and compete at your peak!

References

https://www.trainingpeaks.com/blog/macrocycles-mesocycles-and-microcycles-understanding-the-3-cycles-of-periodization/

https://sportmedbc.com/article/periodization-phases-success

https://barbend.com/3-most-common-types-periodization-when-to-use-them/

Training Intensity for Roller Derby Part 1

wheeler.kimb@gmail.com (Kimberly Wheeler) — Wed, 14 Apr 2021 14:43:07 GMT

Maximize your training by matching the correct intensity to the workout

You have a training plan. Maybe you made it yourself, found something online, or purchased it. Regardless, now you have a plan and you are seeing it through. However, an often missed component with most workout plans is the lack of direction regarding intensity. If you are looking for that kind of direction, you’ve come to the right place.

Intensity is measured via your heart rate zone and your perceived level of work. For this blog I’m going to break intensity down into Low, Medium, and High:

Low Intensity will be defined as being able to easily maintain a conversation while doing an activity. Stretching is a great example of low intensity.

Medium Intensity is being able to have short exchanges during activity. Jogging for many people falls under medium intensity.

High Intensity will be impossible to have a conversation during activity and only being able to say a few words during your rest.

One last definition I want to give is Training. Training is doing an activity/workout that directly relates to your sport and goals. Cleaning your house is an example of activity that is not training, whereas sprinting is an activity that is more often training.

Now that the definitions are all squared away, let’s get you to the right intensity. Does all training need to be high intensity? No! Absolutely not, and it shouldn’t be. Instead, the important thing is to match the correct intensity to the workout.

A few things to consider as you assign intensity to your workouts.

Don’t rush through low intensity workouts. These workouts are designed to help you recover and move better. Going slow and really connecting with how your body feels is important.
Most of your workouts should be medium intensity, about 60%. Your body is able to handle it better and recover from it better. Back-to-back training days of medium intensity are much more doable.
Make sure you are still getting a little bit out of breath during medium intensity. Remember the goal is to improve cardiovascular performance, so if you aren’t getting out of breath, you aren’t improving.
High intensity workouts should be hard! You should be out of energy by the time you finish and CRAVE that rest.
High intensity workouts should be done at the same intensity every time. Take that full rest! The point of high intensity workouts is to do it at 100% every time. Doing a high intensity workout at medium intensity is not giving you the proper benefits.
If you can’t complete a high intensity workout at 100% anymore, then you are done. If your workout says to do 6 reps of a 20 m sprint and you start drastically losing performance during the 5th sprint, then stop. Your body is out of short term energy, anything you do from here on is a medium intensity workout. Aim for the full 6 next time and track your improvement

Now that you know how to match intensity to each workout you are ready for the next step. Determining your training plan intensity. In Part 2 , you will learn how to balance out your training weeks and months to maximize your results without burning out.

Transitions and Spins at the Gym

wheeler.kimb@gmail.com (Kimberly Wheeler) — Thu, 11 Mar 2021 17:58:40 GMT

Balance, weight transition, and being able to take a hit are all needed for spins.

Being able to transition (switch between skating forward and backwards) on roller skates is a fundamental skating skill. But how you learn as a rookie skater does not exactly transfer to what you do on the track. A casual transition is smooth and often you are standing fairly upright, with perhaps some dramatic arm-twirly flare! In a game your transition becomes more of a spin, you use it to get around an opponent, dodge a hit, or to catch up and get back in front of an opponent. In all of these scenarios, you want to be stable and low so no one knocks you off your feet as you turn.

The fundamentals of transitions involves shifting your weight from foot to foot while also turning. It sounds simple enough, but where most people struggle with this skill is the weight shift. As we all have a dominant hand, we also all have a preferred leg and putting all of your weight on the other leg feels wrong and uncomfortable. So a big skill you will want to work on while off skates is balance and comfort level being on each leg individually. Any and all single leg exercises will help with your balance and ability to shift your weight between legs. Bringing the transition over to an in-game spin will add on height changes, ie getting low, as well as center of balance. Remember, in-game you are often spinning to avoid being hit, so stability is key for spin moves.

If you have any questions about these moves I have a video tutorial on each available to my members. Sign in or sign up to learn more.

Stronger Backwards Skating Off Skates

wheeler.kimb@gmail.com (Kimberly Wheeler) — Thu, 11 Feb 2021 18:36:54 GMT

Backwards skating is best improved with practice, but you can give yourself an advantage
with off skates training too!

Although the majority of roller derby is played in a forward motion, backwards skating is critical for pushing your game to the next level. Backwards skating can be used by blockers to catch a jammer or support a team mate. Jammers will use backwards skating to escape a hit after spinning around an opponent. No matter what position you play on the team, you will find yourself skating backwards at some point.

Practicing the technique and working on skating backwards is your best bet for training, but you will also need to train on your backwards skating and balance off skates during the off-season or because you don’t get much on skate time to work on it. The main focus areas for off skates training will be on muscle building, balance and movement in a backwards direction. We live our lives facing forward, which can make moving backwards feel uncomfortable. So let’s get uncomfortable!

Simply put, being able to balance while moving backwards is what prevents you from falling over, allows you to take hits and helps with changing direction quickly. A good way to practice this is one foot backwards jumps. If one foot is too difficult for you to start, start with both feet, which is basically a backwards jump squat. Some other less jump-intensive options are reverse backwards walking, backwards running, backwards shuffle or sled pull, and reverse lunges.

The last exercise point we want to tackle is backwards movement. While some of the above mentioned moves do involve backwards motion, they are not the same motion as backwards skating. As previously stated, backwards skating involves the C-Cut, so let’s focus on working on those. The first move you can do is Alligator Steps, while it doesn’t involve you moving backwards it does prime your feet and legs for the proper positioning. Now you can add a Toe Flick. Complete the same motion for Alligator Steps, but flick your toe from pointing inside to pointing outside. Finally, complete the full C-Cut and walk/slide backwards!

Play around and be inventive with your exercises, motion, and balance. Take care to notice exactly where you are putting pressure on your feet. Think about how that will translate to being on skates, especially considering where your wheels are set. So even though I can walk backwards on my heels, my wheels are a bit farther forward so that weight balance would tip me onto my back!

Backwards Skating Focus Sample Workout

This sample workout provides exercises targeting balance and moving backwards. Take rests as needed. Personally, I like to go through each move once then repeat, but mix it up to match your training style! Do 3 - 5 sets of each move, adding weight if you can.

If you have any questions about these moves I have a video tutorial on each available to my members. Sign in or sign up to learn more.

How to Improve Your Balance and Stability

wheeler.kimb@gmail.com (Kimberly Wheeler) — Mon, 07 Dec 2020 23:15:36 GMT

Train your balance and stability and stay on your skates!

Remember watching that amazing game and seeing that great skater take a huge hit and lose their balance? But the REALLY amazing part was that they didn’t even fall! They were able to take that hit and recover so fast the opposing blocker didn’t have time to reset.

In order to understand how they were able to stay up, let’s take a look at the physical aspects, specifically balance and stability. While linked, they are not the same thing. Balance is your core ability to maintain equilibrium against outside forces. Stability is the ability to maintain or return to a desired position when hit with oncoming forces. To give some examples specific to roller derby, the skater staying on the track while riding the curve on one leg is balanced. The blocker skating backwards with their feet staggered when they get hit is stable, whereas the blocker skating backwards with their feet together will get knocked over.

How do you train balance and stability? To start off with success, you want to have a strong core and good posture. Balance is about making sure your body is perfectly aligned. Take a moment to try the following exercise: Stand up and hunch over, have a friend push you from behind. Notice how you felt and how you absorbed that push. Next do the same thing but stand with proper posture. You should be able to feel the difference in your stability between the two. To train better posture, you need to find your weak points. There are professionals that can give you an assessment. Main areas most people need to focus on are: increased abdominal strength, less reliance on their lower back, and stronger shoulders. Some great exercises for these are Planks, Plated Twists, Scapula Push Ups, and Back Flys.

Sample Workout

This sample workout provides exercises targeting balance and stability for roller derby. Take rests as needed. The focus on a lot of these moves should be to stick/hold the landing. Personally, I like to go through each move once then repeat, but mix it up to match your training style! Do 3 - 5 sets of each move, adding weight if you can.

Returning to Roller Derby

wheeler.kimb@gmail.com (Kimberly Wheeler) — Tue, 30 Jun 2020 17:41:22 GMT

Returning to roller derby post COVID-19 should be treated the same as returning from injury

As COVID-19 restrictions are starting to be lifted, a lot of us are excited about returning to roller derby practices. However, before we can dive head first back into practices it’s important to review what that means for your body.

You, and your entire team have been away from practices for 3 or more months. That’s the same as being off skates for a minor injury. So what could this mean for your return? Injury risk is going to be higher. While you may have been doing some home training during the break and may even feel fit, you should still consider:

Were you consistent with your training each week
Did your training start to dwindle in the last few weeks
Was your training as intense as a full 2 hour practice or scrimmage
Was your entire team training as hard as you

One of the leading factors to injury is fatigue. We have all been in those practices where near the end the coach calls the drill off because everyone is getting sloppy. That sloppiness is the fatigue built up over practice and can lead to foggy heads, slower reaction time, mistakes and ultimately injury. Taking fatigue into consideration, when you are returning to practices with your league consider making them shorter or keep the overall intensity low. It will take weeks of consistent practices for you and your team to return to the intensity level you were at pre-COVID-19.

Good luck to everyone returning to the track! Hopefully we can face each other across the jammer line in 2021.

Additional Resources

https://velocityspusa.com/injury-risk-from-returning-to-sports-too-fast/

https://simplifaster.com/articles/sports-return-performance-vs-injury/

What Your Coach Really Means When They Say "Get Low"

wheeler.kimb@gmail.com (Kimberly Wheeler) — Mon, 01 Jun 2020 21:25:42 GMT

"Get low" is a quick reminder coaches can shout during practice, but they don't really mean get low

We’ve all heard it before: “Get lower,” “You’re standing too tall,” “Bend your knees!” So you bend down and squat as low as you can and your muscles start to burn. Your skate strides become short and awkward, so you stand back up. But here’s the secret: your coach doesn’t want you to squat as low as you can. So what do they really want from you?

The simple answer is that they want you to have more power in your legs. This does come from a lower stance, but not the LOWEST possible stance. Think of your leg muscles like springs. When you’re standing straight up the spring is at rest. When you get lower, the spring is compressed, ready to snap back once you let go. If you get too low the spring is crushed too far and can no longer snap back into shape.

Body focus and awareness exercises are a perfect way to get to know your body and your muscles. It’s simple and doesn’t take that long either. Lie down somewhere, a harder surface is better. Close your eyes and start from your toes. Think about and focus on each area of your body at a time. Relax the muscles and flex the muscles. Acknowledge the different feelings.

You are comfortable with your body awareness, on to the next step! You need to improve your power in your legs to get those fast reaction times your coach is really asking for. Find your sweet spot, try doing a lateral push on skates at varying height levels. Notice the difference in distance and time. If you aren’t on skates do lateral bounds (skater jumps). Now let’s train that power!

Sample Workout

This sample workout will improve your power. Take rests as needed. Personally, I like to go through each move once then repeat, but mix it up to match your training style! Do 3 -5 sets of each move, adding weight if you can.

If you have any questions about these moves I have a video tutorial on each available to my members. Sign in or sign up here to learn more.

Workout Your Plow Stops

Fri, 17 Apr 2020 19:23:33 GMT

How to improve your plow stops without doing them!

The plow stop is one of the two basic stops you learn to pass minimum skills. But just because it’s learned right away doesn’t mean it’s not important! If you can’t stop in front of a jammer, how do you expect to stop them?

Here is the WFTDA Minimum Skills video showing the plow stop. In this video they show a one footed plow stop, and how that is advantageous when blocking with a teammate. Skaters should be able to do a plow stop with either foot forward and entirely even, because sometimes you don’t have a friend to block with.

How can you improve your plow stops? First and foremost, is to keep practicing them on skates. But what can you do off skates?

Getting low! In practice, we are told it time and time again. GET LOWER! But that doesn’t really mean get your butt inches from the floor. It means get into a powerful stance. Glutes and quads are the muscles to focus on here. If you are too quad dominant, you will feel unstable (too much weight forward) or feel some pain in your lower back. Work on your squat form, because that’s what you want to be doing. Keep your butt back, but not sticking out - don’t try to be Kim Kardashian. Perform squat holds as if you are blocking.

If you have any questions about these moves, I have a video tutorial on each available to my members. Sign In or Sign Up here to learn more.

Sprint Training and Skating Starts

Thu, 12 Dec 2019 18:26:46 GMT

Dryland sprint training focusing on starting form can improve on skates starts

In order to improve performance. all athletes should be focusing their training to specifically enhance motions utilized in their sport or competition. With regards to Short Track Speed Skating, race times are heavily affected by a skaters start. Ice skating sprints starts have a similar motion and acceleration as dry land sprint starts. It is therefore surmised that training dry land starts will benefit on ice starts. Researchers from Australia worked with nine elite and trained short track speed skaters utilizing a four week dry land starts training program to test on ice start improvement.

Athletes completed both dry land and on ice sprints to gain a control number followed by specific sprint start training and then re-doing the dry land and on ice sprints. Figure 3 below shows a comparison of an athlete’s dry land sprint time, to on ice sprint time. Both sprints were measured at time to cross 14.43m. The open circles and dashed line show the results during the control period and the black circles and solid line show the results after specific training.

Velocity Based Training

Thu, 10 Oct 2019 17:17:58 GMT

Advancements in technology mean advancements in fitness tracking

Resistance training is a key part of every workout program, regardless of your goals. It is important in weight loss, muscle gain, and explosive strength. The two main focuses of resistance training are Intensity and Volume.

Intensity is the amount of weight you are lifting, or your load, whereas volume is the number of repetitions and sets you complete. The balance between the intensity and the volume of your resistance training will depend on your goal. I have already covered weight training and reps in this Blog Post .

For any regime, you need to determine the proper intensity for that volume. Typically, this is down by determining your One Repetition Maximum (1RM). 1RM is the maximum weight you can lift properly once. Your 1RM should be tested for multiple lifts, since the weight will be different for each major muscle group. Once you’ve determined your 1RM, your program design will be based on a percentage of that weight, matched to that volume.

Science for Sport has an article explaining how to the 1RM test.

Downsides to keep in mind with the 1RM test method are:

First time lifters may not have proper form to complete the test
It is time consuming
Your 1RM changes as you grow stronger, requiring frequent re-testing
You 1RM can change on a daily basis depending on your fatigue and hormonal balance that day

An alternative to the 1RM method of resistance training is Velocity Based Training (VBT). Velocity based training uses technology to measure the movement velocity of a lift. For example, you could measure the speed it takes to press a bar from your chest to fully extended (a bench press). The resulting data would give you the movement velocity is m/s. Your maximum movement velocity is known as movement velocity threshold (MVT). In order to determine your MVT you should complete the same test as the 1RM but with your VBT gadget .

The benefits of VBT immediately counter the downsides of 1RM.

You don’t need to complete the VBT test as often as the 1RM. You’ll notice the MVT is given in meters per second, not as a weight like the 1RM. What this means is that as you grow stronger and increase your weight, the speed at which you complete your maximum weight lift should remain the same.
The MVT is easily adjustable for your daily training readiness (i.e. fatigue and other changes that affect your strength). When using the %1RM method, you are scheduled to lift 80% of your 1RM for that day. You load on the selected weight and complete your workout, but maybe don’t get as many repetitions before failure. With the %MVT method you can immediately see the inability to reach the desired velocity and adjust the weights to make your repetitions for that workout.

The downsides to MVT training are

It is individual and exercise dependent, so more initial tests may be required
The technology is pricey

Velocity based training paired with the improvements in technology is making it a more viable resistance training tool. It is a great tool to maximize workouts while allowing for day-to-day training fluctuations. Before jumping on the latest technology train make sure you check out the different devices and choose the one that is right for your workout. As always, make sure you have the basic movements of your workout down before adding in new technology, VBT is useless if you aren’t doing the lift correctly to begin with.

References

https://www.verywellfit.com/understanding-volume-and-intensity-in-weight-training-3498252

https://www.scienceforsport.com/1rm-testing/

https://www.scienceforsport.com/velocity-based-training/

https://journals.lww.com/nsca-scj/Fulltext/2019/08000/Autoregulated_Resistance_Training__Does.3.aspx

Activating Muscles for Increased Speed

Thu, 05 Sep 2019 17:10:39 GMT

Can you engage your muscles to work harder?

What happens after you use (contract) a muscle? The quick answer is fatigue! Your muscle gets tired and your performance will slowly decrease. However, that is not always the case. Postactivation Potentiation (PAP) is the exact opposite, where after contracting a muscle, the same muscle sees an increase in performance. In order to achieve a PAP response, a strength exercise is done at or above 85% of a single repetition maximum weight, after which an increase in power/velocity is seen for 5 - 20 minutes after the strength exercise. How PAP can affect velocity is divided into two types of speed for this review: linear and change of direction.

Linear velocity is moving in a straight line, typically tested as speed in a forward motion. A couple studies have linked performing a back squat to increase sprint speed. Performing a heavy loaded back squat, of 2 sets of 4 repetitions at 85% maximum weight showed an increase in sprint speed by 3% after 4 minutes of rest. Studies using Deadlift and Power Clean did not show any improvement in sprint speed. The reason for this is that the back squat exercise provides a loaded force, pushing into the ground in order to return to standing, which activates the same muscles used to push into the ground while sprinting. It is noted that PAP is linked to individual reaction, and therefore some people may not find the back squat to increase linear speed. In that case, athlete should try unilateral (single leg) exercises that activates either the pushing force of the run or the forward force.

Change of Direction velocity is the speed in which an individual can move in a new direction, typically tested in a full 180° turn. The two studies reviewed involved a back squat followed by a shuttle run, meaning the change of direction was 180°. Performing a heavy loaded back squat, of 5 sets of 1 repetition at 90% maximum weight showed an increase in shuttle run performance of 1.5%. Results from these studies determined less of an increase in Change of Direction velocity versus the studies done with Linear velocity. A reason for this difference could be the more complicated technique of slowing down and turning involved in performing a shuttle run..

In order to use PAP in your training, you first need to test if it will work for you and which exercises. Engage with your coach or a partner and test out different exercises paired with sprinting. In order to avoid fatigue bias in your results, make sure you test each set of exercises 2-3 days apart.

References

https://journals.lww.com/nsca-scj/Fulltext/2018/02000/Effects_of_Postactivation_Potentiation_on_Linear.9.aspx

Pre-Game Training

Fri, 14 Jun 2019 17:06:39 GMT

What is the best training you can do the day before a game?

It’s the day before a game. What kind of training should you be doing to maximize your effectiveness? Are you resting, doing some light movement like yoga or walking, or continuing with your normal scheduled training session? The answer, according to one study, is a low volume power resistance training session!

The study involved 17 national level male athletes tested on countermovement jump (CMJ), reactive strength index (RSI) in the form of a drop jump, and the rate of force development (RFD) for maximum leg press, measured over 100, 200, and 300 seconds. Participants performed two control sessions, testing explosive power before and after 24 hours and 48 hours of rest; as well as two experimental sessions, testing explosive power before and after 24 hours and 48 hours of resistance training. The resistance training was 5 sets of 4 jump squats.

Results showed an improvement in all test exercises after completing the resistance training. Maximum results were seen after 24 hours versus 48 hours from the initial test. The countermovement jump had the lowest increase in performance with only 5% increase in jump height. The reactive strength index, or drop jump had over 10% improvement in drop rate (height x ground contact time). Finally the rate of force development, tested with a leg press saw a large increase in power within the first 100 seconds of the press at an 18% increase, meaning participants were able to push harder in the first 100 seconds of the leg press.

The results 24 hours after the control (resting) sessions had no significant increases in performance, being only 2% or less from the base test.

48 hours after the base test still showed some improvements for the resistance training session. Specifically the rate of force development still had a large increase of 10% in the first 100 seconds.

Additional studies have found similar results, with improvements starting 6 hours post exercise but peaking at 24 hours. It is important to note that many studies found decreased performance with the first 15 to 30 minutes immediately after resistance training. Athletes involved in explosive sports should incorporate a low volume resistance training workout the day before major events. The focus of the training should be related to power type moves, such as a jump squat, focusing on the muscle group that will be primarily used in the sport.

References

https://journals.lww.com/nsca-jscr/Abstract/2018/03000/Delayed_Effects_of_a_Low_Volume,_Power_Type.8.aspx

How to do a Countermovement Jump: https://www.topendsports.com/testing/tests/bosco-counter-movement-jump.htm

How to do a Drop Jump: https://www.peakendurancesport.com/endurance-training/techniques/drop-depth-jump-plyometric-exercise-increase-vertical-leap-improve-jumping-ability/

Foam Rolling and Shoulder Range of Motion

Fri, 17 May 2019 17:00:18 GMT

Can foam rolling your hamstring help with your shoulder range of motion?

Foam rolling is the use of a cylindrical or round object to apply pressure to a specific muscle. In recent years, it has grown in popularity due to its ability to be self administered. It makes sense that rolling out a muscle would increase ROM in associated joints and many studies have proven its ability to increase ankle, knee, and hip Range of Motion (ROM). The following study instead reviewed the ability of foam rolling the hamstring to increase shoulder range of motion, almost as far away as major muscle groups can be.

The study was completed on 12 recreationally active women. Participants were tested on baseline Passive Range of Motion (PROM) in the shoulder in flexion and extension positions, forward and backward. Foam rolling was done for 60 seconds on the hamstring, then retesting PROM immediately, after 10 minutes, 20 minutes, 30 minutes, 24 hours, and 48 hours. PROM is someone else moving your joint.

Check out This Article on the basics of foam rolling and This Video going over six different foam rolling movements you can do pre and post workout!

References

https://journals.lww.com/nsca-jscr/pages/articleviewer.aspx?year=2019&issue=04000&article=00010&type=Abstract&sessionEnd=true

Single Leg vs Double Leg Jumps

Wed, 27 Mar 2019 16:52:19 GMT

Do single leg jump moves improve your double leg jumps?

Plyometrics are explosive workouts aimed to improve power and burst force. These types of exercises are typically given to athletes in sports that require quick power or movement. Plyometrics for athletes are used to improve an athlete’s Rate of Force Development (RFD). The RFD is essentially how quickly an athlete can load up (i.e contract) their muscle for use. For explosive power, you are looking at muscle loading taking place within 250 milliseconds.

Previous studies have reviewed strength generated between one leg and both leg activiations. The findings determined that one legged exercises produced more strength in that leg than the same exercises done with both legs. These studies were solely done on strength moves and not explosive moves.

A study was done at the University of Athens to specifically look at explosive power between single and double leg exercises. The study used 15 physically active participants between the ages of 18 and 26. All participants completed a test on single leg jumping and double legged jumping before and after the study. Participants were split into two groups, one for single leg and one for double leg exercises. Each group completed 8 exercises twice a week for 6 weeks.

After the 6 week training session the participants all completed the same single leg and double leg jumps as they did at the start.

Figure 1 shows the initial results for each group and the percent change for each group at the end of the study. The white bars are the bilateral or the double leg group. The black bars are the unilateral or single leg group. The first graph shows the average results for each jump and each group followed by the percent increase for each jump and each group. Both groups saw a similar increase in their double legged jump performance. However, the single leg group saw a 15.6% larger improvement for the single leg jumps on average, which is 5 times more improvement!

These results can conclude that single leg plyometrics is great for increasing single leg jump performance as well as double leg jump performance. Double leg plyometrics is great for increasing double leg jump performance, but less effective at improving single leg jump performance.

A possible explanation for the greater improvement in single leg jumps is due to the nature of the movement. It has been observed that single leg movements are slower than double leg movements. The slower speed allows more of the muscle to contract, which leads to a greater force during the movement. This could explain why the single leg group performed better in the single leg jump test, since they were training more of the maximum force in their legs.

The take away from this study is that athletes should be incorporating single leg plyometrics in their training to improve lower body explosive power.

References

https://journals.lww.com/nsca-jscr/Fulltext/2019/03000/Comparison_Between_Unilateral_and_Bilateral.5.aspx

https://www.scienceforsport.com/rate-of-force-development-rfd-2/

Calories and Macronutrients

Wed, 07 Sep 2016 17:13:30 GMT

Breakdown of the three macronutrients you need

Calories and macronutrients play an important part of any fitness goal, as they are required to fuel your body and nourish your muscles. So what are they? Which ones and how much should you be eating? I’ll start off going over what calories and macronutrients are, then give some tips to determine how much of each you need.

Calories are, scientifically, a unit of energy. In the nutrition sense, a calorie is the amount of energy you will get from food. Over the course of a day, you will burn a certain number of calories just for your body to survive, this is your Basal Metabolic Rate . This means that, even if you slept all day long, you still burn calories. Moving around and doing your daily activities will burn even more calories. So, you burn calories on a daily basis, and just like a fire, you need fuel to sustain this burn. That is where food comes in. The calories listed on nutrition labels are the estimated amount of calories you will gain from consuming that food. I say estimated because the amount is calculated in a lab, and the human body is more complicated than a controlled experiment. That being said, it’s still a good estimate to use the nutrition labels on food. The basic breakdown of how many calories you should eat is dependent on your goal. To lose weight you need to consume fewer calories than you burn. To maintain weight you should consume the same amount of calories that you burn. Similarly, to gain weight you need to consume more calories than you burn. Each person burns a different amount of calories depending on their metabolism, gender, age, weight, and other factors.

The calories in your food can be broken down into three macronutrients; carbohydrates, protein, and fat. The primary purpose of any macronutrient is to provide energy. The breakdown calories into grams for the macronutrients is as follows

Macronutrient (1 g) Calories

Carbohydrates 4

Protein 4

Fat 9

Let’s take a closer look at each macronutrient.

Carbohydrates bring to mind starchy food, like bread and potatoes; but they are actually defined as sugars. Aside from bread and potatoes, carbohydrates are also in fruit, milk, and anything sweetened. Carbohydrates are used for long term energy and for fueling your brain. Due to the use of carbohydrates throughout the day, a person should typically consume a lot of them. The recommended amount of carbohydrates in a person's diet is 45 - 64 % of total calories.

When you picture protein you will often think of meats, but nuts, beans, and dairy are also high in protein. Protein is used as the building blocks of our body and are broken down into amino acids for use in growth and repair. If you don’t have enough carbohydrates to fuel your day, protein will step in and be used to sustain you. It is not ideal to have your body run off of protein since it is needed elsewhere. The general recommendation for protein intake is 0.8 g for every kilogram of body mass. This number will change depending on your fitness and dietary restrictions. For example, someone who is looking to build muscle and lifting a lot of weights may need as much as 1.7 g for each kg of body mass.

The third macronutrient is fats.Fats are in pretty much everything and, despite their bad reputation,are an essential part of your body’s metabolism. Fats are your energy reserve. While you burn carbohydrates throughout the day and protein goes to repairing your body, fat gets stored for future energy burns and are essential during hard and long exercise sessions. Fat does not immediately get stored as body fat. An excess of calories, regardless of the macronutrient, is what causes body fat storage. Fats also are a source of fatty acids which are important in transporting nutrients throughout your body. The tricky part with meeting your fat intake is ensuring you choose good fats. Fats are divided into trans, saturated, and unsaturated fats. Unsaturated fats are the ideal fats and can be found in avocado, nuts, seeds, and cooking oils. The recommended intake of fats is 20 - 35% of your daily calorie intake.

Your required calorie intake will be unique. Work with a nutritionist to accurately determine your calorie intake and macronutrient amounts. The following two links can be used to get an idea of your calorie intake and macronutrient breakdown.

http://www.bodybuilding.com/fun/macronutcal.htm

http://www.bodybuilding.com/fun/macronutrients_calculator.htm

References

http://www.livescience.com/52802-what-is-a-calorie.html

http://www.innerbody.com/nutrition/macronutrients

Weight Training: High vs Low Reps

Fri, 05 Aug 2016 16:34:48 GMT

No matter your fitness goal, you need to be lifting weights!

Let’s talk weight training. If you aren’t doing it, you should! Weight training is an important part of any healthy lifestyle. There are typically two types of weight training people think of: heavy weights with low repetitions or light weights with high repetitions. Which should you be doing to meet your goals? Unfortunately it’s not that clear cut.

Weight lifting can be broken down into three zones: high reps, mid reps, and low reps. Using the below chart, we can talk about what type of weight lifting you should do to meet your goals.

Weight Training Type Training Effect Reps per Set % 1RM

Low Reps Strength 1-5 80-90

Mid Reps Hypertrophy 6-12 60-80

High Reps Endurance 15+ 40-60

Strength Continuum

1RM stands for 1 Repetition Maximum, or the amount of weight you can lift once. It is the basic unit used to determine strength. Here’s an online tool to help you calculate your 1RM ( http://www.bodybuilding.com/fun/other7.htm ).

First, weightlifting and losing fat. In a previous post, I talked about cardio for fat loss and the link to heart rate. The ideal range of your heart rate to maximize fat loss is 70% - 85% of your maximum heart rate. While that article was about cardio, The same principle applies to weight training for fat loss as well. How does that translate to high vs low reps? The truth is, it doesn’t matter. The important thing to do is get your heart rate up. My personal suggestion is to do mid to high reps in a circuit of 4-6 moves, taking little to no rest between sets. That being said, the exertion it takes to do heavy weights will also bring your heart rate up. It is harder to maintain a higher heart rate, but the benefit is still there.

Next, what if your goal is to build muscle? It’s commonly thought that lifting heavy weight with low reps is the only way to build muscle? Studies on the best way to build muscle do not all point to low reps. It seems the most benefit comes from lifting weights until failure or fatigue. So how do you decide which is right for you? It’s going to depend on your experience and time. Doing a low rep workout until failure will be a shorter workout than a high rep workout until failure. The best way to maximize your muscle growth is to mix it up every few weeks. Lift big for a week or two, then switch to low weights.

If your goal is to improve your athletic performance, weight lifting should be an important part of your workout routine. As with cardio, you want to mimic your sport and target the muscles you will be using. If you are in a sport that requires you to be a brick house, like football or rugby, you want to work on muscle growth and strength, so stick to the high weight with low to mid reps. If you are in a long distance endurance sport, such as running or cycling, stick to low weight with high reps. Weight training for endurance sports doesn’t give the body the same simulation as the actual sport itself, but it’s important to have the increased lean muscle to get full power in each stride or push. And lastly, if you are in a power sport that requires you to do quick bursts of action, such as hockey, sprinting or roller derby, you will want to do explosive training. For explosive training, I recommend being in the mid to high reps range, do your movements quickly to simulate the sudden energy you will require in sport.

One last tip. If you are new to weightlifting, start in the high reps range with light weights. Have a friend or a trainer spot you to make sure you are using proper form.

Happy lifting!

References

http://www.builtlean.com/2012/07/19/high-reps-vs-low-reps/

http://www.bodybuilding.com/content/high-reps-low-reps-which-rep-scheme-is-best.html

http://www.trainingscience.net/?page_id=301

http://www.sport-fitness-advisor.com/strengthtraining.html

Post Workout Nutrients

Sat, 16 Jul 2016 16:28:08 GMT

Replenish your energy and help your body grow

Your workout doesn’t end when you hit the showers, recovery time and nutrients are important factors to help you grow. Your workout is putting stress on your body, and fatiguing your muscles. Post workout, you want to replenish all the energy you used. You will also need nutrients to help your body repair any damage that was done to it during your workout. The two main nutrients you want to consume after a workout are carbohydrates and protein.

Carbohydrates are what you use to fuel your body, so during a workout you deplete your carbohydrate storage. The amount of carbohydrates you need to refuel depend on the intensity of your workout. The general recommendation is to consume 30 g of carbohydrates per hour of exercise immediately following your workout. If you are doing an intense or long endurance session, you can get more specific with the amount, 0.6-1.0 g of carbohydrates for each kilogram of your body mass. After an intense weight lifting workout, with muscle growth in mind, 1 g of carbohydrates for each kilogram of your body mass is a good guideline.

Protein stimulates muscle growth and repair, which is important after an intense workout that damages your muscles. Again, the amount of protein will vary depending on the intensity of your workout. In general, 15 g of protein per hour of exercise will be all you need. For a more intense or long endurance workout, aim for 1 g of protein per 3 g of carbohydrates. If muscle building is your goal, aim for 20-30 g of protein.

The easiest way to replenish these nutrients immediately after a workout is using a shake. After drinking the shake, plan to eat a regular meal within two hours. If your primary goal is weight loss, then you can skip the shake, to maintain your planned caloric deficit, and just eat a regular meal within two hours after your workout.

One more important thing to consume post workout is water! You want to drink enough to replenish the water you lost from sweating. If you are looking for exact numbers, weigh yourself before and after your workout; the weight lost is the amount of water you want to drink. If you don’t want to go through the steps of constantly weighing yourself, just keep drinking water. Water is good for you, so don’t worry too much about figuring out an exact amount.

References

http://easacademy.org/trainer-resources/article/endurance-exercise-fatigue-recovery

http://easacademy.org/trainer-resources/article/resistance-exercise-fatigue-and-recovery

http://www.precisionnutrition.com/about-post-workout-nutrition

Recovery Time

Mon, 04 Jul 2016 16:21:45 GMT

Rest time is when your body grows

Your body needs time to heal! The entire premise of working out is to exhaust and tear your muscles so they can recover stronger and better. In this post I’m specifically going to write about recovery time, assuming you don’t do any special recovery treatments. Recovery and rest time are unfortunately not so cut and dry. There are a few factors you need to take into consideration when resting, the big one is how hard and long your workout was. I’m going to simplify the types of workouts into two categories; low impact (easy) and high impact (hard).

Low impact workouts are going to be steady state cardio, light weight lifting, etc. With low impact workouts, you aren’t pushing your body to a breaking point, so the recovery should be faster. A general recommendation is to give yourself at least 24 hours before working that part of the body again. This doesn’t mean you need to rest every other day, it just means you should change up your routine so you aren’t working the same body part over and over.

High impact workouts are going to be high intensity cardio, heavy weights lifting, etc. High impact workouts are pushing your body harder, so you will need more recovery time. The recommended recovery time is 48 to 72 hours before working out that part of the body again. Similarly to the low impact rest time, you can use these days to workout other areas of your body.

Whether you are doing low impact or high impact weight lifting, you will need a rest day from weight lifting. When you need the rest day is going to depend on how hard you are working, and how quickly your body can recover, among a few other factors. Some rest day options are:

3 days of weights, 1 day of rest
4 days of weights, 1 day of rest
6 days of weights, 1 day of rest

You should play around with your schedule until you find the one that works best for you.

The final step to recovery is the rest week. Unlike all the recovery days, the rest week is a full week away from the gym. This week is to give your body a full reset on your system. You don’t need to become a couch potato during this week, but keep any activity you do light and easy, remember you are taking a week off so your muscles and body can fully repair. Like the full rest day, the rest week schedule will vary depending on the person and the training. Some examples are:

4 weeks training, 1 week rest
9 weeks training, 1 week rest
12 weeks training, 1 week rest

Pick and choose the training schedule that works best for you. You can try to schedule them around events, like vacations. It is important to note that the training program should not go more than 12 weeks, it becomes physically and mentally exhausting at that point.

Remember, every person is different, so listen to your body and find the right recovery schedule for you!

References

https://www.acefitness.org/blog/3565/recovery-redefined-how-much-rest-you-actually-need

http://www.bodybuilding.com/fun/randy3.htm

The Importance of Warm Up

Mon, 27 Jun 2016 16:09:20 GMT

Prep your body, mind, and reduce injury with a proper warm up

Earlier this summer, a close friend of mine organized a Gutsy Walk. Gutsy Walks take place across Canada, and are a fundraiser for Crohn’s and Colitis (check it out here http://www.gutsywalk.ca/Home.aspx ). She asked me to help lead the warm-up for this 5 km walk, and I of course agreed! Now take a moment to think, when was the last time you warmed up for a walk, a jog, or even weight lifting? Now I’m not talking about doing a few arm circles, cracking your neck, and starting your workout. I’m talking about a good 5 to 10 minute warm up. If you don’t warm up for your workouts, it’s time to start. Warming up helps you reduce injury, “wake up” your muscles, and mentally prepare.

Reducing injury is the reason most people know to warm up. But how does it work? Warming up increases your body temperature. At a higher body temperature, your muscles can contract and relax faster, which reduces the chance of injury. You might argue that your body will warm up as you do the workout. Let’s use an extreme example to show the importance of warming up. Imagine that you want to sprint right now. You stand up and just sprint as fast as you can. Does that sound appealing to you? I cringe at the idea and can feel my hamstrings instantly giving out. Now imagine you had a good warm up, you are already breathing a bit heavy and sweat is starting to form on your body. Now you sprint! That scenario sounds much better right? The importance of the warm up is to gradually increase your body temperature. The gradual increase of your heart rate will also reduce the chance of exercise-induced cardiac abnormalities. So warming up will help reduce heart and muscle injuries!

Next, warming up will also “wake up” your muscles. Before a workout you want to prepare your muscles for the activity and movement that will be involved. The gradual heart rate increase has more benefits than just injury prevention; it also increases blood flow to your muscles. Why is this good? Blood brings oxygen and nutrients to your muscles, which is used to create energy. By doing a proper warm up, you are ensuring your muscles are getting all the nutrients they need for your workout. Additionally, your warm up should incorporate movements that you will be doing in your actual workout. This will prepare your muscles for the proper movement, and increase your flexibility range during your workout. Use your warm up to make sure your muscles are ready to perform for you when you need them most.

Finally, use your warm up for some mental preparation. I know I've sluggishly started a workout before, not really feeling it but still committing to the workout. Taking the time to do a proper warm up will help you focus your mind to the task at hand. While going through your warm up, take time to think about each movement you are making, mentally connect with your body. Take some time to think and visualize your workout for the day. Your mind should be just as warmed up as your body for your workout.

By taking time to warm up and mentally prepare, you will reduce chances of injury and increase your performance during your workout. Do a good 5 to 10 minute warm up that focuses on the range of motion you will be doing during the workout. Check out the reference links below for some warm up ideas.

References

http://www.24hourfitness.com/resources/fitness/articles/warm_up.html

http://www.active.com/triathlon/articles/the-real-reason-you-should-warm-up

http://www.bodybuilding.com/fun/topicoftheweek32.htm

https://runnersconnect.net/running-training-articles/common-misconceptions-about-warm-ups/

Your Body's Fuel

Thu, 16 Jun 2016 15:53:23 GMT

How your body utilizes fuel while exercising

Have you ever wondered what your body is doing while you workout? Where does the food you eat go? Your body takes the food you eat and breaks it down into a usable fuel source. Let’s go over a quick and basic overview of what your body is doing while you exercise!

The food you eat can be broken down into three macronutrients: protein, carbohydrates, and fat. Your body will convert carbohydrates and fats into adenosine triphosphate (ATP), and proteins will be broken down for use in tissue repair and the synthesizing of enzymes and hormones. ATP is what your body is using as fuel, and it has three different ways to get it which can be broken down into immediate, quick, and long lasting.

The immediate source of ATP is known phosphocreatine. Phosphocreatine is stored in your muscles and can quickly convert over to ATP as you begin your workout. This conversion happens right away, and very quick. The downside of the immediate source of ATP is storage. Your muscles cannot store an unlimited supply of phosphocreatine to fuel your workout, on average you will only have a few seconds of ATP usage from this path.

Next, your body will start using the quick source of ATP known as glycogen. This source of ATP works primarily from the carbohydrates you eat. The carbohydrates are converted to glycogen or glucose, which is turn converts into ATP. This process is relatively quick and will kick in about the time the phosphocreatine runs out. As with the first source, this source is also limited. Glycogen conversion will last about 2 min, and will also create lactic acid (lactate) which is a waste product that will fatigue your muscles.

That brings us to the final source of ATP, the long term respiration source called breathing! The oxygen brought in from breathing works with the waste from the glycogen conversion to create more ATP. At this point, your body will start using the fats from your diet to create ATP. Breathing also helps the first two sources to replenish, which is why you continue to breathe heavy once you finish your workout. This source will kick in after the glycogen has been depleted, but unlike the other two sources, it can last for a very long time. The amount of time you can use respiration as your ATP source depends on your cardiovascular fitness. That means you can train to improve your body’s usage of fuel!

If you are pushing your training too far and have pushed yourself past your respiratory limits or used up all your carbohydrates and fats, you will begin to use protein as a fuel source. You want to avoid getting into this state, since it will start to use the protein saved in your muscles for tissue repair. This will negatively impact your muscle recovery and muscle building.

As a closing note, eating more macronutrients than you need, like more carbohydrates, will result in the excess carbohydrates being stored as body fat. More nutrients does not mean more ATP! ATP will only be converted as you require it.

References

http://ironman.memorialhermann.org/performance-improvement/sports-science/nutrition/how-the-body-uses-energy/

http://www.humankinetics.com/excerpts/excerpts/the-bodyrsquos-fuel-sources

My Shoulder Injury

Thu, 09 Jun 2016 15:50:16 GMT

This is a subtitle for your new post

Just a little under a week ago, June 4th, I was doing some 100 m sprint runs as part of my athletic power training. I went out with the goal of doing 6 to 10 runs, taking about a 3 minute rest between each run. I had just completed my 6th run and was definitely feeling it, this was the first time I had done sprint runs, so I wasn’t surprised. As I rested for my 3 minutes I thought “I’ll do one more, just push myself to get in 7 runs.” Seemed reasonable, I was huffing and puffing, but my time for each run was only 1 or 2 seconds off, so I figured I could get one more in. Well, it turns out I was wrong! Right at the end of my 7th sprint a sharp pain shot through my right arm. The pain almost immediately subsided, but arm felt weak for some time after. So I stopped my sprints and took it easy for the rest of the day.

The next day my arm was feeling better, didn’t feel weak at all! However… certain positions and usage of my right arm caused that pain to quickly shoot into my arm again. I did my own Google search, as one does, and figured I probably pinched a nerve in my shoulder. A personal Google search is obviously not the best way to get diagnosed, and I don’t recommend people do that. However, it’s a nice way to get a bit of a base before seeing a professional. I luckily already had a physio appointment booked for later that week, so I just waited it out until then.

The physio appointment was 4 days away, and I didn’t want to just sit around and get lazy. I knew what kind of motion caused the pain, anything where my arm was pulled back, so I had a good starting point! I did some lower body and some core workouts that didn’t put any stress on my arm. I also did some low impact cardio, aerobics really, that didn’t require me to swing my arms aggressively.

Adding in the lower body, core, and aerobics has held me over for a bit, but I’m feeling a bit imbalanced with the loss of my upper body workouts. Luckily I have seen a professional and been diagnosed with the cause; I strained my rotator cuff. Another lucky thing for me is it seems to be quite minor. I have a full range of motion, and only specific actions will cause pain. Armed with this knowledge I can add some upper body workouts to my routine that don’t aggravate my rotator cuff. Also, as a good precaution to my health, if I don’t have any improvements in 1 month, I will make an appointment with my Doctor!

Check out this article for some exercise ideas to strengthen your rotator cuff!

http://www.bodybuilding.com/fun/sclark71.htm

Cardio for Sports Training

Mon, 06 Jun 2016 00:00:00 GMT

Improve your athletic performance with the proper cardio

The type of cardio training you want to do to improve sports and athletic performance will vary depending on the sport, your goals, and your fitness. For this article, I will break down the different types of cardio and why you would or wouldn’t want to do them. In general, you want to train to mimic the requirements of your sport.

First to consider is steady state or continuous cardio. Steady state cardio is moving at a constant pace that you can maintain. The pace will be dependent on the duration you are doing. Let’s look at why you would want to do steady state cardio training. The most obvious reason for doing this type of cardio is because you are training for a marathon or another type of event that will require you to move for a long period of time. Steady state cardio is also a great training tool to improve your lung and heart capacity, which is a good base to have for any sport. Additional, this is the type of training you want to do if you are just getting into cardio. Next, let’s look over the reasons why you wouldn’t want to do this type of training. Athletics require a lot of strength and power, as well as endurance and because of this, too much steady state training can actually reduce your strength and power. If you already have a good cardiovascular base and you require bursts of speed and power for your chosen sport, then this training is not for you.

The next type of cardio training is aerobic intervals. Aerobic intervals require doing a movement at a higher intensity followed by a lower intensity. Typically you will go at a higher intensity for 1 - 3 minutes, followed by 1 - 3 minutes at a lower intensity. This type of training is great for any sport that is interval based, where you will be performing for a short period of time, followed by a short rest; hockey is an excellent example. This type of training can also be adapted for non-interval sports by having a longer rest period between high intensity intervals. Interval training helps your body adapt to increases in energy requirements that many sports need. Do not do this type of training if you are just starting out. Work your way up to interval training.

Finally, anaerobic interval training. Anaerobic interval training is doing an activity for a short duration at maximum effort, followed by a long rest. A good example is sprinting for 100 m, then resting for 3 to 4 minutes. This training is obviously very good for short distance sprinters, but it can help almost any athlete. In most sports, a short burst of maximum energy is required to get that goal or push yourself into a better position. Anaerobic intervals will help condition your body for these events. This training has the added benefit of working your muscles for power as well. This training is very intense, so definitely do not start with anaerobic intervals. This training has little benefit to long distance runners, or any other sport that requires you to move at a relatively constant pace for a long period of time.

To summarize, all three types of cardio can have a benefit to your athletic improvement, you just need to review your goals and your current physical condition. No matter the cardio type you choose, an important thing to consider is over training! Over training will negatively impact your improvement, and can cause you to become exhausted and under perform during your practices or games. Go over with a trainer the amount and types of exercises you are doing as you might only need to add in 1 cardio session a week.

References
https://www.athletestrengthandperformance.com/cardio-vs-conditioning/
http://www.stack.com/a/the-best-cardio-exercises-for-athletes

kw_fitness

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Exercises for New Skaters

Build up your strength, stability, and confidence on skates

Training Intensity for Roller Derby Round 2

How to split your training intensity throughout the year

Training Intensity for Roller Derby Part 1

Maximize your training by matching the correct intensity to the workout

Transitions and Spins at the Gym

Balance, weight transition, and being able to take a hit are all needed for spins.

Stronger Backwards Skating Off Skates

Backwards skating is best improved with practice, but you can give yourself an advantage with off skates training too!

How to Improve Your Balance and Stability

Train your balance and stability and stay on your skates!

Returning to Roller Derby

Returning to roller derby post COVID-19 should be treated the same as returning from injury

What Your Coach Really Means When They Say "Get Low"

"Get low" is a quick reminder coaches can shout during practice, but they don't really mean get low

Workout Your Plow Stops

How to improve your plow stops without doing them!

Sprint Training and Skating Starts

Dryland sprint training focusing on starting form can improve on skates starts

Velocity Based Training

Advancements in technology mean advancements in fitness tracking

Activating Muscles for Increased Speed

Can you engage your muscles to work harder?

Pre-Game Training

What is the best training you can do the day before a game?

Foam Rolling and Shoulder Range of Motion

Can foam rolling your hamstring help with your shoulder range of motion?

Single Leg vs Double Leg Jumps

Do single leg jump moves improve your double leg jumps?

Calories and Macronutrients

Breakdown of the three macronutrients you need

Weight Training: High vs Low Reps

No matter your fitness goal, you need to be lifting weights!

Post Workout Nutrients

Replenish your energy and help your body grow

Recovery Time

Rest time is when your body grows

The Importance of Warm Up

Prep your body, mind, and reduce injury with a proper warm up

Your Body's Fuel

How your body utilizes fuel while exercising

My Shoulder Injury

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Cardio for Sports Training

Improve your athletic performance with the proper cardio

Backwards skating is best improved with practice, but you can give yourself an advantage
with off skates training too!