Continuity

I have take the past few days and spent some time considering what really goes into the make up of a good workout, specifically for athletes like roller girls. One thing that stood out to me is the idea that while training for athletics is a process, most athletes don't approach it that way. Admittedly I am guilty of this as well in some cases but when I am at my most effective I am working within a process for sure. By process I mean a progression of exercise, one that moves from easy to difficult, stable to unstable. The difficulty is that many of the popular workouts (specifically crossfit) do not have programs that are designed this way. They, rather, use buzz words like "high intensity training" and "max VO2 output" that sound fancy and make us think that they are really good for us. What these types of workouts don't take into mind is progression ( or the fact that we may need our joints in the future. I'm just saying.) I was talking to a new client of mine this weekend when she told me that she does workouts that make her hurt. That is how she measures whether a workout is effective or not. While there is about a 10% validity to this mentality, it is an incomplete way to judge a fitness regimen. When examining a routine that you will follow make sure that it allows you to progress and is designed to get you where you are going, not just put you in pain because someone told you some bullshit about how pain is weakness leaving the body. That only applies to marines. For the rest of us pain is a warning that we may be harming ourselves. That said...lets get to work!

5 min warm up
Stretch
4-2-1 tempo
2x 20 push ups
2x 20 squats to overhead presses
2x 20 inverted rows
2x 20 step ups ( step up onto an elevated surface, balance on one foot, and step down)

1-1-1 tempo
2x 25 straight arm twists(each direction)
4x 30 sec planks
2x 25 oblique crunches( each side)
5 min cool down
Stretch

Enjoy!

J

The Twist

Much to my surprise, I took a hit from a roller girl as I was watching a game Saturday evening. I must admit that there was quite a bit more velocity behind the impact than I expected and it has left a cute little bruise tattooed onto my thigh. Not to minimize this at all, the hit could have been a lot more devastating, specifically from my position. I was lucky enough to be almost square at impact and absorbed most of the force with little issue. Most of you as athletes do not share in the luxury of my situation however. When you are trading blows with each other, many times at top speed, it is almost always at an awkward angle because the track is an ellipse. This causes many of the hits that your body takes to be in some manner of twisting motion or properly called, the transverse plane. The transverse plane of motion is basically any twisting motion that your body can move through. much different from the transcendental plane where according to one of my clients you can speak with aliens. Twisting motions are very likely to be a source of injury if your body is not properly conditioned for them and in traditional training techniques ( most of the meat heads workouts) generally not addressed. Today is dedicated to these motions and reducing roller girl injuries.

Enjoy!

J

5 min warm up
Stretch
3x 10 straight arm twist
3x 10 single leg squats
3x 10 speed skaters( each side)
3x 10 single arm stab ball chest presses
3x 10 overhead presses with rotation ( start like you are covering your ears, finish like you are high fiving)
4x 15 quadruped (each side0
2x 25 bicycle crunches
5 min cool down
Stretch

Notes: specific tempo is not important today but all motions should be controlled and fluid. Rest between sets should be no more than 30 sec.

Singing In The Weekend

Today is a cardio day. 45 min of consistent movement at a moderate pace will do. I know that it is the beginning of a holiday weekend but that does not mean that we can just lay around and let the diet go all to hell. Keep conscious of what you are eating and drinking this weekend because you will end up paying for it one way or another! Here is a playlist of Friday songs I will be listening to fo my cardio today.

Enjoy!

J

Friday I'm In Love- The Cure
Cadillac- Mest
Friday- Sunny Day Real Estate
This Is How We Do It- Montell Jordan
Working For The Weekend- Loverboy
Today Was A Good Day- Ice Cube
I Don't Like Mondays- The Boomtown Rats
Friday On My Mind- The Easybeats
Friday Night, Saturday Morning- The Specials
Rip It Up- Little Richard

Back Home

5 min warm up
Stretch
4-2-1 tempo
3x 15 chest press on stab ball
3x 15 squat to overhead press
3x 15 bent rows
2x 50 meter lunges


2-0-2 tempo
4x 10 rockstar jumps
3x 30 sec mountain climbers
2x 10 single leg tuck jumps (each side)

No tempo
4x 60 sec sec plank
2x 25 neg crunches
2x 15 straight arm twists
2x 10 quadruped (each side)
5 min cool down
Stretch

This has been a bizarre week to say the least. Today I am just getting my bearings and some sleep so lets get this workout out of the way!

J

Change Of Plans

Yesterday plans changed quickly and quite drastically. I was headed for Denver and ended up in New Orleans. 85 degrees and sunny is hard to argue with and the local flavor is out in droves so whatever. Work will have to wait for another trip,especially since there is something to be said for being shipwrecked. last night I was in a bar with as many dogs on the bar stools as there were human patrons as well as a man with pink hair, a three point hat, and no shirt who referred to himself as a pirate who ran aground. A bit bizarre to say the least. The two points I make today are these: 1. You never know what you will see if you take the time to look and 2. Flexibility in all areas of life can be beneficial if you don't want to lose your mind. Speaking of flexibility, don't forget to stretch before you get 30 min of consistent, moderate cardio in today. If you happen to find yourself in the garden district of NOLA, I strongly recommend grabbing some oysters at Cochon.

Enjoy!

J

The Boulevard

5 min warm up
Stretch
4-2-1 tempo
3x 15 chest press on stab ball
3x 15 squat to overhead press
3x 15 bent rows
2x 50 meter lunges


2-0-2 tempo
4x 10 rockstar jumps
3x 30 sec mountain climbers
2x 10 single leg tuck jumps (each side)

No tempo
4x 60 sec sec plank
2x 25 neg crunches
2x 15 straight arm twists
2x 10 quadruped (each side)
5 min cool down
Stretch

This morning I am sitting in an airport on my way to Denver and I can't help reflecting on the early morning workout. I went for a run before the city woke up and opted for a route different than normal. Upon hitting the street I headed down past Boulevard Brewing Company, a local brewer with a phenomenal selection of incredible beers. The area around the brewery is packed full of Mexican restaurants with their lights off and warehouses that rest a few hours before their workers show up and wake the forklifts from their slumber. The streetlights line the deserted street and the city skyline illuminates the rest. As I was running, I was surprised by an overpowering scent of jasmine and lilac from some landscaping above a graffiti mural along the road. Admittedly I despise running but for a moment this morning I was in pure bliss with my lungs opened up and a sweet smell in my nostrils. It was both a strange juxtaposition in an urban setting and a slice of heaven at the same time. Now I have to board and then get to work but I hope Monday is a good one for you.

Enjoy!

J

Sprints

There are two different types of muscle responsible for performance as it relates to roller derby and many other sports for that matter. The first is slow twitch muscle, muscles responsible for helping with endurance. The second is fast twitch muscle, the ones that control bursts of speed, quick deceleration, and hare like side to side movements. Fast twitch muscles are what we are focusing on today.

5 min warm up
Stretch (this is really important)
4x 50 meter sprints
4x 100 meter sprints
4x 200 meter sprints
4x 400 meter sprints
2x 60 sec planks
2x 25 crunches of your choosing
5 mincool down
Stretch

Enjoy!

J

Lite Day

5 min warm up
Stretch
2x 20 push ups
2x 20 upright rows
2x 20 inverted rows
2x 50 meter lunges
4x 30 sec planks
2x 25 reg crunches
5 min cool down
Stretch

Finish this week off with a good, quick workout just to keep the continuity. For the record, I sometimes enjoy words like continuity. I'm just saying. Hope that the week has been a good one and that you have a good Friday!

J

Sorry To Disappoint

Cardio for today. get a good stretch in and the go for 30 min of good consistent movement at a moderate pace. When I say moderate pace I mean one that will raise your heart rate and respiration (breathing) above normal, but not through the roof. The easiest way to tell this is to try to talk while you are moving. If you can rattle off a paragraph without taking a breath, you are not working hard enough. If, however, you can't get a single word in without gasping, you are working too hard. This is one of those workouts where we are just making our bones. Let me tell you a little secret about fitness in general. There is no one secret, no magic pill, no shrine or stone to kiss for instant results. If you are a beginner (less than 1 year of daily activity) or a veteran (multiple years of fitness pursuit), there will be days that you just don't want t go and do anything. I experience those days to and I don't always make the right choice either. Even though these days happen, you should know that you will pay a price for bad decisions and time off. One of the common myths I hear about is the concept of muscle memory. Muscle memory does exist but it doesn't work quite the way that we would all hope it does. Some people are of the belief that if you have a consistent routine for a period of time and then break that routine for a matter of weeks/months/years, your muscles will come back to where they were nearly overnight because they have their own internal memory. I am sorry to tell you, this is false propaganda. The truth is that while your body may still be able to go through the movements and have some strength retained, this is more habit than memory. If you break your routine (and I don't mean rest because your body needs it. That is something entirely different) you will begin to lose your level of fitness and have to struggle some to get back to where you left off. Your body is either improving or deteriorating all of the time, even when you are in a so-called maintenance phase. Your body is never truly standing still.

While I am on the subject of news that may disappoint you, keep in mind that this is work. There is some degree of pain involved, whether it is sore muscles or the feeling of hunger when you begin improving your calorie intake. Achieving your desired fitness level can be a daily struggle but it is one that is certainly worth fighting. Today is just another step toward a notch in the belt, another day of punching the clock and paying the dues for success. Enjoy it the best you can!

J

A Little Less Than Fun

5 min warm up
Stretch
4-2-1 tempo
3x 15 push ups
3x 15 upright rows
3x 15 back flys
4x 50 meter lunges


2-0-2 tempo
4x 10 rockstar jumps
3x 30 sec mountain climbers
2x 10 single leg tuck jumps (each side)

No tempo
4x 60 sec sec plank
2x 15 neg crunches
2x 15 straight arm twists
2x 10 quadruped (each side)
5 min cool down
Stretch

This one is a bit of a bugger but it will feel good to have the nastiest workout of the week behind you. If your heart feels like it's about to explode, take a second to rest. otherwise do your best to recover while you are still under stress. This is the way games work, not to mention life so you might as well train the same way. Have a great day!!!

J

Hard To Find

The workout for the day is cardio, preferably 20 min of interval training (3min moderate intensity, 2 min high intensity). Anything over the 20 minutes is considered extra credit and for some of you may feel necessary to get a good sweat broken. I have to be honest, right now cardio is the furthest thing from my mind. I am however swimming in thoughts of scheduling clients, cracking diets, finding pressure points to motivate, and keeping track of all of the congratulations necessary upon successes hard won. All of these seem, as I list them anyway, to be somewhat noble aims as well as in the best interest of those that I care about. Why then, I wonder, is it so difficult to feel as though I am in touch with reality and the people I deal with each day? I say this because yesterday I heard some bad news, a great misfortune to an acquaintance, and was left laughing and joking harshly on the matter. Some of that, I guess, is my semi-dark sense of humor coupled with the fact that I am blunt enough to make a spoon seem a dagger. Whatever the exact reason I was a little unnerved by my reaction and the succeeding thoughts. Somewhere along the way in the busyness of the weeks compiling atop each other I seem to have misplaced my heart a bit. The difficulty is that hearts are typically not wherever you lost them and their condition tends to deteriorate quickly when not attended to. The heart of a matter is most times elusive at best and requires constant checking upon in order to maintain and grow. For the record I have no aim in all of this rambling other than to deconstruct my head a bit, a caveat offered a bit to late for you who is reading I fear. my only encouragement is that you take the time today to engage yourself to those around you, to bear your heart a bit and get to know your friends, family's and teammates mettle at the same time. Hope the day is great!

J

Back To The Grind

5 min warm up
Stretch
4-2-1 tempo
3x 15 push ups
3x 15 squat to overhead press
3x 15 bent rows
4x 50 meter lunges


2-0-2 tempo
4x 50 meters skipping for distance
3x 30 sec mountain climbers

No tempo
2x 60 sec sec plank
2x 15 single leg floor bridges
2x 15 straight arm twists
2x 25 wood chops (each side)
5 min cool down
Stretch

It's another Monday and the season is in full swing for most. Congratulations to KCRW on their latest wins as well as to all of the other winners for the weekend. Some great derby to be sure. I am personally dead tired this morning, as are many of you no doubt, and am going to need some decent music to pull this day off. Here is the playlist for my workout! Feel free to use it or let me know what you prefer,

Pumped Up Kicks- Foster The People
Finale- Funeral Party
Take On Me- A Ha
A O.K.- Social Distortion
Come Go With Me- The Beach Boys
Rush- Big Audio Dynamite
Road To Joy- Brighteyes
Pacific Coast Eyes- Graham Colton Band
Surrender- Cheap Trick
Not In Love- Crystal Castles
Tomorrow Wendy- Concrete Blonde
Modern Love- David Bowie
Central Standard Time- The Get Up Kids
Nice Guys Finish Last- Green Day

Enjoy!

J

The Weekend Is Here

The week has finally ended and it was a crazy one. This weekend should be a great one in the derby world with some nice match-ups across the country that you should be able to keep up with at www.derbynewsnetwork.com. Best of luck to all of the ladies!

5 min warm up
Stretch
4-2-1 tempo
3x 15 chest fly on stab ball
3x 15 squat to overhead press
3x 15 back flys
4x 50 meter lunges


2-0-2 tempo
4x 6 single leg tuck jump
4x 50 meters skipping for distance
3x 30 sec mountain climbers

No tempo
2x 60 sec sec plank
2x 15 single leg floor bridges
2x 25 wood chops (each side)
5 min cool down
Stretch


Enjoy!

J

Mid-week

5 min warm up
Stretch
4-2-1 tempo
3x 15 chest fly on stab ball
3x 15 squat to overhead press
3x 15 inverted rows
3x 15 45 deg. burpees


2-0-2 tempo
4x 6 single leg tuck jump
4x 50 meters skipping for height
3x 30 sec mountain climbers

No tempo
2x 60 sec sec plank
2x 25 straight leg crunch crunch
2x 25 straight arm twists (each side)
5 min cool down
Stretch

Far from an easy day but it should help us get through the middle of the week and into the downhill slide!

Have a great day!

J

For Crying Out Loud

I am finding out that roller derby is a bit different than any other sport that I have worked with up to this point. Mind blowing right? What I mean is that it is both refreshing and frustrating to deal with athletes who live there sport from the time they wake to the time they sleep. More often than not, at the highest level of a sport, there is a hierarchy that sets up guidelines for when an athlete can compete or when they are to injured to play. Many times this adds up to a bureaucracy of bullshit but it also can help athletes heal and be at their very best for game times. Roller derby is not the same this way. The sport is demanding, and I get it, but sometimes you have to take the time to let your body heal. Derby schedules are not terribly conducive for this, not to mention that these are some of the most rabid players I have ever seen and are nearly impossible to keep off of skates. Please, if you are injured, for the sake of your bodies and in the long run your team, let your bodies heal! You don't have to do nothing to improve... you just shouldn't go through two hours of intense scrimmage followed by conditioning.

The workout today is cardio and we are going to go for 60 min of moderate intensity movement. Keep in mind that this doesn't have to be running or elliptical training. Break dance fighting, deep house cleaning, or anything else that will raise your heart rate and make you break a sweat still counts!

Have a great day!

J

HTFU

5 min warm up
Stretch
4-2-1 tempo
3x 15 single arm chest press on stab ball
3x 15 squat to overhead press
3x 15 back flys
3x 50 meters lunge with a hop


2-0-2 tempo
4x 6 single leg tuck jump
4x 50 meters skipping for distance
3x 10 squatthrust (burpee)

No tempo
2x 30 sec plank
2x 25 neg. crunch
2x 25 straight arm twists
5 min cool down
Stretch


I must admit that I am not typically a fan of acronyms in any form. I prefer not to speak, or listen to for that matter, in anyway that originated with a text message or instant messenger. There is this just one exception to this and it is the letters HTFU, standing for Harden The Fuck Up. I am not positive of this phrases origin but I can certainly say that I ran across it in a conversation with Roller Warrior Annie Maul awhile back as she was describing her approach to both life and sport. I remember her telling me that she though the world had gone soft, that we acted weaker than we actually were because we were sometimes afraid of the discomfort of work. "I just want to tell people to Harden The Fuck Up!" she explained. For the record this is a woman that lives what she believes. This weekend, in watching some great bouts, I would say that the play was anything but soft. I saw people play through discomfort, through injury, through pressure, and most certainly through pain. This is what I connect with and I believe all of the other fans do as well, whether they know it or not. We all want to see people excel, see people push through to success in the face of adversity. We all want to see people do this because it is those glimpses that allow us to believe that we can succeed as well. Rather than talk about it or hold someone's hand through ever lowering standards, derby girls seem to set there feet, accept the challenge, and charge in headlong.

One other reason that I have come to accept this acronym is it's use of the word Fuck! Truth be told, I don't know that any other word could add the proper amount of emphasis for this statement or for roller girls. I recently heard in a brief speech "Alright ladies, let's go out there and fuck some shit up!" Absolutely brilliant and to the point! If your offended, HTFU

Enjoy

J

Pre-Game

5 min warm up
Stretch
3x 12 straight arm twists
3x 12 single leg floor bridges (each leg)
3x 12 inverted rows
2x 60 sec. planks
2x 10 supermans
3x 12 quadruped (each side)
2x 10 single leg tuck jumps
5 min cool down
Stretch

It's well before dawn on Friday morning, the day before a bout here in Kansas City. The air is cold enough for me to see my breath, unseasonably so for this time of year. While admittedly I despise the cold this morning I am embracing it. The damp air shrouds me in memories like a warm blanket. I am leaving my apartment headed for a run to clear my head. Though I haven't truly set foot on the pitch in more days than I can count, the routine remains. I jog up a long steady grade and right into the heart of the city. I pass many buildings, most with their lights still out because my city still sleeps. After a mile or so I pass the venue for tomorrow nights bout, the same way I would if I were still the athlete preparing to step into the arena. Today I am not and the venue is peaceful, as if it has no idea the madness that some of my favorite women on skates will unleash within it's walls tomorrow night. The funny part is that this does nothing to calm my nerves. All I have to do is show up, help some women stretch, tape, and prepare to do battle with each other but nonetheless I feel the pregame butterflies beginning to flutter already. I can't explain how strange an experience this is knowing that my role will be minimal, and honestly I don't care who wins. I am looking for performance, for warriors to don skates like goddesses with bloodthirst in their eyes and deliver their best blows when the whistle sounds. As I make my way back home for scrambled eggs and a stack of pancakes, as though I need to be prepared for a hard fought competition myself, my mind wanders over how I see each jam unfolding. This is simply another ghost of a pregame habit that still haunts the recesses of my mind when any competition is at stake. I am excited for these women and for the crowd that will get to share their pursuit in sport at it's purest. I need to move on with my day now but let me say if I haven't said it before, ladies I am proud of you; the way you play and the things that you stand for by doing so. Best of luck to all!

J

Happy Cinco De Mayo

This has absolutely nothing to do with a Mexican holiday but it's whats on my mind so whatever. Recently I have been watching a lot more skating and have found it interesting all of the different skating styles that you come across. Jammers, blockers, even refs all have a style all their own. The part that intrigues me the most is the amount of individuality that comes with each stride of a skater. Some have long, drawn out lines while others have a more choppy stride, but each is just a little different from the next. Here is simply my humble theory on the matter. I believe that each skater has a natural stride that is entirely and uniquely individual, a stride that you were born with and makes you feel completely at home while on skates. Romanticized, this is the idea that it is your expression of your truest self, your zone and potentially your zen. For the record, this applies to a lot more than just the track. The concept transcends into the rest of your life as well. Today as you are doing 30 min of light cardio see if you can find this stride and keep it for the rest of the week!

Enjoy!

J

Seriously????

5 min warm up
Stretch
4-2-1 tempo
3x 12 single arm chest press on stab ball
3x 12 squat to overhead press
3x 12 back flys
3x 50 meters lunge with a hop

2-0-2 tempo
4x 6 single leg tuck jump
4x 10 quadruped (each side)

No tempo
2x 30 sec plank
2x 25 neg. crunch

Upon waking up this morning I realized that yesterday I rambled on about sweat for what would seem like more than a little too long. Don't get me wrong, it is important to understand and probably needed to be said, but really? I would much rather talk about something that mattered in the world,,, like ice cream or bacon. O.k. maybe a little more relevant. To put a point on it, I learned two things this morning. 1. You shouldn't write blogs when you are half asleep and 2. Do what you really want to do and fuck the rest. Life is too short to worry over some things and i suck at worrying anyway. I'm going to get a workout now and then play disc golf with a hippie friend of mine.

Have a great day!!!!

J

Sweat

Sweat is a natural byproduct of physical exertion. It is also a very good indicator of the health and condition of your body, not to mention a phenomenal aid in exfoliation. I know, crazy big words for it's good for your skin. Here is the breakdown. If you are sweating profusely with little actual exertion, you may not have enough electrolytes (good sodium) in your body or you may be over hydrated. Some of this will vary with individual body chemistry, but generally more sweat is the best case scenario. If you don't sweat at all your body may be overheating, under-hydrated, or you may have a diet that is way to salt intensive. There are the facts, now why does this matter? The reason that this is important info to pay attention to is that your body is roughly 75 percent water. How much of this water you lose through your skin by sweating will go a long way in determining both performance and weight management. Finding the balance in your individual body chemistry will help you be at you very best all of the time. As a general rule, most of us do not drink enough water or break a good sweat often enough so today we are going to address that with cardio. 60 min is the goal and I would recommend doing at least some of it on a row machine or in a kayak if you have one. If you do have a kayak, don't forget to put it in the water before you begin. I'm just saying!

Enjoy!

J

Eternal Flame

5 min warm up
Stretch
4-2-1 tempo
3x 12 push ups
3x 12 squat to overhead presses
3x 12 bent rows
3x 50 meter lunges

1-1-1 tempo
2x 10 rockstar scissor jumps
2x 10 45 deg. squatthrusts(burpees)
2x 25 reg crunches
2x 25 neg crunches
2x 25 jackknifes

It is Sunday evening as I am writing this because I am too tired to function, never mind wake up and write a coherent workout. Last week was intense to say the very least. One of the highlights was moving to a different place in Kansas City. Currently I am sitting on the back patio, surrounded with a cute little urban glow, the sounds of a city at night and a train bound for God knows where in the background. I just finished a dinner, linguini with a good Italian gravy and spicy meatballs, and have retired outside to take in the cool spring night. I go into these details only to make the point that sometimes the little things in life remind us how incredible it be. Yesterday morning I got to workout with my roller girls, a group of women that I have come to adore and count myself lucky to know. These girls bring it with more heart and intensity than I can quantify and are beginning to leave a mark on the city they compete in. In my wanderings over the past three days I have seen numerous posters and bout schedules around, not to mention the girls that have approached me asking how they can get involved in a sport that has changed forever my view of femininity. In short ladies, keep being everything that you are because the rest of us truly do appreciate it and would love to continue supporting you!

Have a great day!

J