The Problem with Traction

  If you're a field sport athlete, think baseball, lacrosse, soccer and the like, then one of the issues for you is the proper footwear to use when playing your sport. You have to balance fit, comfort and function/performance and those factors can be impacted by the surface you play on whether it is turf or natural grass.
    There was a recent Phys Ed column in the NY Times by Gretchen Reynolds that addressed this very issue.
  Essentially, one has to balance the shoe's traction with the fact that too much traction esp. in rotational or cutting movements can be hazardous to your joints.
  A 2009 study on soccer players compared their traction amongst 3 versions of their soccer cleats: the regular length cleat, one where the cleats were 50% shorter and one where essentially there was no cleat...a flat in other words. The results showed that the longer, regular cleats offered the most traction but this study and other like it ignored the fact of how much is too much traction and thus more likely to lead to injury.
  There are essentially two types of traction a shoe can offer: linear traction (forward/backward) and rotational traction (lateral, cutting and rotational).  These factors are in turn impacted by the shoe's outsole material, whether it has cleats and what type, how many cleats and their arrangement, etc.
   A running robotic tester at the University of Calgary allows scientists to study how various shoes impact forward and rotational traction.
  The scientists there, led by John Wannop, studied hundreds of high school football players shoes for forward and rotational traction and then returned the shoes to the players. The trainers for each of the teams were asked to report any non-contact leg injuries throughout the season and the experiment was repeated for 2 more seasons. During this time the playing fields were switched from grass to artificial turf.
   Many players experienced non-contact leg injuries but the highest incidence of injury was amongst those athletes whose shoes had the most rotational traction while the athletes whose shoes had the best forward traction experienced the least injuries. It was previously thought that shoes that had the highest forward traction also had the highest rotational traction but evidently this is not the case. The bottom line is that shoes with good forward traction don't necessarily have good rotational traction and thus are safer as far as non-contact leg injuries are concerned.
  Interestingly, playing surface had little apparent impact on injury risk.
    The problem in the real world is getting this information as far as a shoe's forward vs. rotational traction values. Shoe companies don't provide this information and even if they could there are so many variables that go into such values that makes it almost meaningless: height, weight, movement patterns, speed, power as well as field conditions on any given day.
   But here are some general tips from Dr. Wannop on picking a good, safe shoe for you:

• Avoid models with multiple large, toothy cleats or rubbery nodules around the perimeter of the shoe as these tend to create too much rotational traction
• Look for shoes with groupings of smaller cleats in forefoot
• If you can try the shoes on and do some running and cutting in them. If they "stick" when cutting try another shoe

Train hard and train smart!

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Olympic sports upping fund raising game as team cuts continue | Inside Higher Ed

Olympic sports upping fund raising game as team cuts continue | Inside Higher Ed Could mean fundamental changes in how we develop/train athletes in these sports.

Today's Training: Sprints, sled Work, med Ball...POWER!

  Today was a power oriented day with sled work, sprints and med ball work.

Warmup: Leg swings, arm circles, high knees, butt kickers, jumping jacks, skip series

Workout:

• Med ball circuit: wall dribbles-2 x 15 @ 4 lbs; Med ball "quick" chest "pops"-2 x 12 @ 12 lbs; med ball side toss-2 x 8 @ 12 lbs; Med ball soccer throw-2 x 8 @ 12 lbs.
• Sled pulls: 2 x 15 yds., backwards, crossover both sides @ 180 lbs.
• Sled sprints w/release into contrast sprints: 6 x 20 yds. @ 180 lbs./6 x 30 yds.
• Sled pull: 1 x 50 yds. @ 180 lbs.

Comments: One of best training sessions in a while...lots of work done, focused, felt good. 

Work hard and train smart!

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The Talent Code

The Talent Code Importance of keystone skills in everything we practice or want to improve.

Sleep: Key to Performance and Wellness

   Sleep is obviously an issue close to the heart of most Masters athletes as it becomes more of an issue for many of us as we get older. It is part of the aging process for us.
   First, we will talk about why sleep is so important. Too many people in our culture give sleep short shrift and there is even an element of "toughness" to those who brag about how little sleep they get by on a regularly.
   But there are very few true "short" sleepers who can get by on 4-5 hours of sleep a night. And the health repercussions of chronic lack of sleep are many:

• Lack of sleep or poor sleep leads to impaired recovery
• Cognitive ability and mood is profoundly impacted by poor sleep
• Your immune system will be compromised by poor sleep
• It will be virtually impossible to have good hormone regulation without good, sound sleep

Together those 4 factors are a perfect storm to create havoc with your health and wellness let alone trying to perform optimally.

   So what are some easy to implement steps to improve your own sleep? Try implementing some of these if you haven't already:

• Black out the room. Light stimulates the retina and thus the brain. We are talking as close to pitch black as possible.
• Cool off the room...think primal. Somewhere in the range of 67-70 degrees seems optimal.
• Set a cut off time for all electronics...TV, music, smart phone, etc. At least 30-60 minutes before your planned bed time. Again, these devices stimulate the brain and thus are detrimental to getting to sleep.
• Calm your mind and body. They are linked, integrated and don't work in isolation from one another. So whether that means yoga, TM, deep breathing, whatever works for you to allow you to relax.
• Cut off time for Food: hard to sleep well if your digestive system is working overtime to digest a big meal. Again, it's highly individual but somewhere between 1-2 hours before bed time is a good start.

     What can we do in terms of food and supplements to enhance our sleep in a non-narcotic, drug way?

• First and foremost is good, clean nutrition and good hydration. That means if it doesn't have a Mother or come from the Earth think twice about eating it as far as food goes. And 70-80% of your hydration should be water. The rest should be unsweetened teas (perhaps coffee).
• Magnesium: it's a mineral that many people are deficient in and it's impact ranges from workout recovery to better sleep. It can be taken in capsule, powder or applied topically.
• Melatonin: again, a natural, non-narcotic supplement that is a good sleep aid.

   So I hope this post helps you out in an area, sleep, that is often taken for granted by many people and not given it's proper place in optimal wellness and performance. Next to nutrition it is the most important thing you can do to live better and function at your best. 

Work hard and train smart!

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Today's Training: Sled Work, Contrast sprints, and a Training Partner

  Today's training centered around med ball work(vertical plane), sled sprints, and contrast sprints.

Warmup: Quad rocks, 1/2 kneeling adductor, Baby roll series, Archers, alt. scissors, Cobra, Creeping, crawling

Workout:

• Med ball circuit: med ball ricochets/wall dribbles-2 x 15 sec.; Ball slams-2 x 10 @ 10 lbs; Scoop toss- 2 x 6 @ 10 lbs;
• Sled sprint(w/Carpet sled)-8 x 20 yds. w/180 lbs., followed by Contrast sprints
• Contrast sprints- 8 x 30 yds.

Comments: For the first time in many a training session I had a training partner. My schedule is so fluid and unpredictable and my workouts too challenging for most that I usually train alone. But today I was fortunate enough to have a client, some 30 years my junior, actually join me. It was a lot of fun and made the session go by quickly. 

Work hard and train smart!

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Sleep: What the Research Actually Says | Eric Cressey | High Performance Training, Personal Training

Sleep: What the Research Actually Says | Eric Cressey | High Performance Training, Personal Training So more good info on sleep and it's importance.

Today's Training: Strength Training

  Today's training was a short, intense session as I was pressed for time. So I combined some bodyweight, kettlebell and suspension trainer movements.

Warmup: Cobra, Quad rocks, 1/2 kneeling adductor, 1/2 kneeling hip flexor, Bent knee scissors, Archer, ankle mobs

Workout:

• Goblet squat holds: 3 x 45 sec. @ 24 kg.
• Ring pushups (ft. on box): 3 x 25
• TRX suspended lunge: 3 x 12 ea.
• TRX inverted row(ft. on box): 3 x 15
• KB Swing: 3 x 12 @ 40 kg.
• Val slide rollouts: 3 x 10
• Rip Trainer: 3 x 8 ea.

Comments: Good training session in short time allotment I had today. Covered all of the major movements: upper body push and pull, quad dominant, hip dominant power, mid line stabilization/anti-extension and rotational power.

Train hard and train smart!

http://fitnesstogether.com/media for our website and all of our links. 

Seth's Blog: Avoiding fear by indulging in our fear of fear

Seth's Blog: Avoiding fear by indulging in our fear of fear This applies to all aspects of life including training and nutrition.