@FitnessHeroics.

Beyond sport practice though, there are 7 movement categories that are present in the training of all my speed/power athletes including non-strength athletes. Movement is universal. Along with the premise of CrossFit, you need to be proficient in all domains and not be specialized in any.  If you want to become a better athlete that is well rounded then you should incorporate these things into your training protocol !

Sprints

-Sprints are the highest velocity movement you can perform and will have great transfer to any land based sport, because sprinting is ‘sport specific’ to them all. Even aquatic athletes, like swimmers and water polo players, will benefit from sprint based drills to improve their lower body power.

Jumps

-Improved jumping ability both horizontal and vertical will improve sprinting acceleration and explosive lower body power across the board, plus it is simple to teach to athletes. Jumping is also of great benefit as it will teach the athlete not just to produce force, but the landing phase will also help them learn how to properly absorb forces.Jumps though can run a wide gamut from extensive low amplitude hops to depth jumps from a 1m box.

Throws

-Throws of any form, whether you’re throwing a medicine ball, shot put, keg, pud or any other weighted object is a great way to develop total body explosive power and coordination in multiple directions. There is no deceleration phase in a throw as the implement will accelerate out of your hands, making it a much more true explosive movement than DE lifting or weightlifting movement alternatives. Throws are also simple to learn, can be done in multiple planes of motion and by utilizing different weight implements, can attack different parts of the force-velocity curve. The bigger variable to manipulate with throws for athletes of different levels and at different phases of the training is the weight of the implement being thrown, but some more complex variations such as jumps + throws should be reserved for more advanced athletes.

Squats

-When you think of squats, you more than likely thinking a front or back squat. The type of squat will depend on the athlete that is training. You might have to alter the movement pattern to get a more effective squat progression such as a box squat or goblet squat. You should choose exercises for athletes based upon 3 factors, can the athlete do them safely and with good technique, can the athlete produce some good output on the movement meaning they can  move some weight  and does it fit within the context of the athlete’s plan at that point.

Upper body Push

-Pressing strength in the upper body is going to help athletes improve pushing/punching strength in their sport, add muscle mass and perhaps most importantly, help protect them from injuries in the shoulder girdle.A barbell bench press is a great exercise to develop strength in the chest, shoulders and arms, but for an athlete like a pitcher or quarterback who doesn’t do any direct pushing as part of their sport performance, they may be better served to use a neutral grip bar or dumbbells that allow them to find a more natural/comfortable position to press in.

Hip Extension

-Powerful hip extension through the glutes and hamstrings will help an athlete sprint faster, jump higher, hit harder and a range of other important qualities. The exercises you choose to strengthen the hamstrings, glutes and low back for improved hip extension need to also be chosen appropriately for the athlete’s and their preparedness. The snatch is certainly a powerful exercise to build explosive extension abilities but many athletes will not have the requisite movement abilities or relative strength to perform the movement safely and effectively.

Upper Body Pull

-Everything you do, you must undo inherently sports are internal rotation dominant for the shoulders so whether athletes are pushing, throwing or swimming, they’ve almost always become internal rotation biased in their shoulders and need appropriate volumes of upper back training to restore balance and maintain health.Movement progressions and regressions aren’t quite as significant for upper body pulling movements as they are all fairly remedial and will mostly be progressed or regressed by load.

These 7 simple movement categories are the foundation for nearly all of my athlete’s training and will help you create powerful, well-rounded and healthy athletes. Think critically about what your athletes are ready for within these categories and their results and health will be improved.

References

http://www.jtsstrength.com/articles/2015/09/20/7-things-all-athletes-need-to-do/

Did you ever ask yourself why it’s important to train with odd objects? Well for starters, in life everything is an odd object. From the groceries, your children, and even boxes you need to move. How are you supposed to know how to maneuver them if you have never trained in this domain?

Once we get to standing from all of the fundamental postures (lying, quadruped, and kneeling)we have three options:

1. A bilateral stance (squats and deadlifts)
2. A split stance (lunges)
3. A single leg stance (kicking and running)

If you spend most of your training time in a bilateral stance, which most of us do, you will miss out on about 70 percent of the options available to you that your body needs to train. And when it comes to increasing athleticism, you’ll find far more activities are dependent on a split or single-leg stance than they are on a bilateral one. his is where loaded carries came in. They encompass all possible foot patterns.

Carries exist in a variety of forms. Here is a guide on how to squeeze the most athletic benefit from them:

Farmers Carry

-The simplest carry is the farmer’s carry, or farmer’s walk. Simply begin by grabbing two objects of the same size and weight and carry them for distance or time.

–  In terms of challenging the body, the farmer position is the easiest. Just like with foot positions, there are three possible hand positions  such as hands down, in the rack position, and overhead. These other positions are by far more challenging from a stability point of view.

Suitcase Carry

-A suitcase carry may be described most easily as a single-sided farmer’s carry.

-The reality of a single-sided carry is that it just doesn’t work well. If you use a moderately heavy kettlebell or dumbbell the weight will hit your leg and make it difficult to maintain posture. Your options are either to reduce the weight or choose a different variation, such as the rack or overhead carry.

Rack Carry

-The rack carry is perhaps the best combination of all for loaded carries. Keep in mind, the weight on your chest will make breathing difficult. The reason this is so important is that good breath function dictates how well you can do just about everything.

-The first variation to attempt is the bottom up kettlebell carry. This is where you flip the kettlebell over and have it balance with the bell side up as you hold your forearm against your chest.

Overhead Carry

-Holding something heavy overhead while maintaining good posture is hard. Even if you have decent pressing abilities many struggle when they have to hold load overhead for any period of time. Even the smallest glitches in their abilities will be highlighted.

As a CrossFitter, it’s so common to preach about being mobile and stable. However, you need both of these movements when trying to train your body to move as a unit. You need to train movement. Mobility and stability, which are also know as motor control units, are important concepts to understand and work with. You need to take these two small components and focus on the BIG picture of movement.

So which side are you on? There is one group of people who live and breathe mobility exercises: rolling, smashing, and stretching. Then there is the stability group, whose proponents feel everything can be fixed with stability work by using different motor control techniques to strengthen the muscles. Each group has amazing benefits but just think if you combined them as a unit and worked them together.  The one thing you have to understand is the direct correlation between mobility work and stability. You can foam roll some painful spot but until you address the body part that is lagging, your efforts in mobility is just covering it up and not fixing the underlying issue.

So what do you need to do ?  You need to create a program that has both mobility and stability work in it for you to function without stiffness, soreness or pain. Just think of this example. If your lower back hurts, you need to think of areas above and below that can also be causing this issue. Perhaps it’s your hamstrings that are super tight and that is causing the lower back pain. By combining a massage technique along with using stabilizing exercises, you can now teach more movement which will result in less pain overall.

But why does our motor control become poor overtime?

• Sedentary or deconditioned state (if you don’t use it, you lose it)
• Previous injury, instability, or structural deformity
• Predisposition to hypermobility (the joints don’t communicate as tightly with the muscles)

These things lead to poor movement and poor motor programming. This is why we need to intervene and train proper motor control to stay injury resilient and to rehab from any current injuries .Strength training your stabilizing muscles is a waste of time and energy. These muscles aren’t strong to begin with which is why you need to add in movements like overhead carries, farmer carries, turkish get ups and overhead holds into programming. They are anticipatory and reflex driven and need to be trained as such. Proper movement and motor programming is key and will make the difference that allows you to be an injury-resilient athlete in the gym.

If ask you what you use baking soda for what would you think of? Most of us would answer with laundry detergent, cleaning supplies, and the stuff you put in refrigerators so they don’t smell bad. But did you know that baking soda has other uses as well, even in the health and fitness aspect ? Well it does !!!

Here are some facts !

• Baking soda is also known as sodium bicarbonate
• This is written as NaHCO₃ chemically.
• Baking soda is alkaline, or basic.

So what does this have to do with performance or recovery? Baking soda contains buffers. Buffers resist pH change by neutralizing added acid or added base. Buffers contain significant amounts of both a weak acid and its conjugate base. Aconjugate base is part of a reaction where one part of the compound transforms into the other by gaining or losing a proton. The conjugate base gains or absorbs a proton in this chemical reaction. Ok so what does all this mean??

You know how your body produces that burning sensation in your muscles when you workout? Well thats something called lactic acid.  It’s a build-up of acid inside the muscle cell is a factor responsible for muscular fatigue. Thus, the total muscular capacity is limited by the progressive increase in acidity within the muscles caused by an accumulation of lactate and H⁺ions. This inhibits energy transfer and the ability of muscles to contract. The body’s defense against this is bicarbonate buffers, which help neutralize the acid produced by intense exercise. What helps to neutralize acids? Baking soda 🙂

Since baking soda is an alkalizing agent, it reduces the acidity of the blood (the buffering action). This action may be able to draw more of the acid within the muscle cells out into the bloodstream, and thus reduce the level of acidity within the muscle cells. This in turn can delay the onset of fatigue. People who need this the most are those who regularly stress the anaerobic glycolysis system, which produces a lot of acidity. So, think of sprinters ,swimming, cycling, or running, CrossFitters, Olympic lifters, and even those who do high intensity interval training on a different platform.

So what do you do with it and how do you use it ? The normal recommendation is that you need one liter of water when ingesting 0.3 grams per kilogram of body mass. The water will help with absorption and decrease your chances of GI distress. Baking soda does not linger around the body, so it’s important to take it and work out about an hour or so later. Don’t take it and then train five hours later.Ingesting too much baking soda can cause unpleasant side effects such as vomiting, gastrointestinal discomfort, bloating, and diarrhea. The benefit of being able to push through that last bit of a workout and the decreased recovery time may be worth it for you.Plus, baking soda is rather cheap compared to some of the other supplements out there that claim the same effects. Just take a trip to your primary care manager first to clear yourself to introduce this supplementation into your life.

References:

1. Wu, CL., et. al. “Sodium Bicarbonate Supplementation Prevents Skilled Tennis Performance Decline After a Simulated Match.” Journal of the International Society of Sports Nutrition (2010): 33, accessed October 24, 2014. DOI: 10.1186/1550-2783-7-33

2. Shelton, J., et. al. “Sodium Bicarbonate – A Potent Erogoenic Aid?” Food and Nutrition Sciences (2010): 1-4, accessed October 24, 2014. DOI: 10.4236/fns.2010.11001

3. Lavender, G. et al. “Effect of Sodium Bicarbonate Ingestion Upon Repeated Sprints.” British Journal of Sports Medicine (1989): 41-45, accessed October 24, 2014. PMCID: PMC1478644

4. Tro, NJ. Principles of Chemistry, A Molecular Approach. (New Jersey: Prentice Hall, 2010), 80, 598-599

5. Baechle, T. and Earle, R., Essentials of Strength Training and Conditioning, Third Edition. (Illinois: Human Kinetics, 2008), 29-30