Under The Gun

The first month of the year has already sped by. It's crazy to think that it is already February but it is. This also means that roller derby is beginning to hit it's stride for the season and girls will be fighting more and more to find their niche on a team; to preform at their very best. For my end, this has been a hell of a start to a year and it is showing no signs of letting up (Thank God!). In short, this is the part of the year where the pressure, be it subtle or overt, is definitely mounting and as well it should be. The bright side to dealing with chaos early in the year is that a person is able to develop a certain grace under fire that will no doubt pay dividends later on. Let me take a second and digress. For many of you , regular practices have only recently gotten started back up. Roller derby has some fresh meat and most players are freshly falling back in love with the reasons they skate. Generally speaking, life on the track is good, but...are you making the gains that you should be as a player and are you approaching this season with the outlook of beginning to climb toward your peak performance? My single biggest gripe with roller derby (in my experience at least) is that there is very little forethought put forth in planning out a season as far as how and when to be at your peak performance at the most crucial of times. This is a matter that I have often talked about and has seemed to fall on deaf ears based on looking at performances that I have witnessed. Rather than bitch about it, or preach it to people who don't care to hear, I will share it openly for everyone in the coming days, as well as the theory behind the madness for anyone who would care to implement this in their workouts. Today I will leave it at this: you cannot overestimate the importance of this single element when it comes to the point that you are under the gun with the game on the line. The best prepared will win.

J

5 min warm up
Stretch
3x 15 single arm stab ball chest presses
3x 15 squat jumps
3x 15 step up to single arm overhead press
3x 15 inverted rows
90 sec plank
30 sec floor bridge
25 reg crunches
5 min cool down
Stretch

All Too Often Overlooked

The timing seems all to appropriate for this one with the new year being in it's infancy but that isn't necessarily the reason why I am writing. Let me be candid with you. I just left a meeting with a friend of mine who is an incredible writer/director/producer of theatrical production. The conversation started off simple enough with a few pleasantries and some small talk but took on a much more serious tone when I began to ask him how he has become a master at his craft. His answer shocked me a bit as he simply put it as "Discipline". Over the years this is a word that I have both embraced and loathed simultaneously. By nature I am not a structured human being. Sure, I have my routines and my idiosyncrasies but on the whole there has been very little method and a large serving of madness. The one area of my life that does not follow this rule is in the gym. There may also be a direct correlation between that and the success that I have found, but I can't be totally certain. I digress. My friend explained to me what discipline meant to him in his work down to the details of always writing with the same pen at the same time of day and for the same amount of time. I remember similar being said by Coach Lou Holtz when he discussed his coaching success. He referred to The details of how his players huddled before a play rather than the play call or execution being the thing that made all of the difference. So maybe it's good advise to pay attention to details but what does that have to do with this blog or working out for roller derby? Quite a bit actually. When it comes to strength and conditioning for a sport, especially in a gym type setting, clearly set expectations and the discipline to meet them is paramount. I had one coach that literally had a soundtrack of music to keep the pace of our workouts, and though to this day I cannot listen to most of the songs on that mix, I received
the best results of my life while working with him. All of this is to say that the discipline to make it in to a gym (or wherever you train) at a set time each day, for a set amount of time each day, and to not get caught up in conversation or distraction while you are there is the fundamentals of achieving the success that you seek. If you can master only this, I promise that you will get the results that you want. Now I am going to try and apply this to the rest of my life...

Jon

5 min warm up
Stretch
3x 8 step up to overhead presses (each leg)
3x 8 Squat jumps for distance
3x 8 Push ups to row
3x 8 med ball soccer throws
2x 60 sec planks
2x 20 floor bridges
2x 25 reg crunches
5 min cool down
Stretch