Insert Cliche Here

Championships is upon us and with that every cliche in the book (not to mention a few that don't even exist yet) will be beaten like a dead horse. Some "clutch " players will be "in the zone" when it all comes "down to the wire". Some players will "psyche themselves out" by letting other skaters "knock them off there game" or will just get "stuck in their own head" and thus never make it out of "the pack".  That won't even begin to cover the cliche abuse but it's a start and, for that matter, the end for me (I hope).

So... to skip right ahead of all of the chatter i have three questions and then a brief workout that will not over stress you (after all it is either tournament time or off-season time depending on how things went for you this year) and then I'm out til next Monday.

1. Who do you think will win this years championships?
2. Who is your favorite skater of all time?
3. Are you doing these workouts and if so for how long have you been doing them?

5 min warm up
Stretch
3x 10 pushups
3x 10 meters of lunges                                     
3x 10 curl to overhead presses
3x 15 sec planks
2x 10 jackknifes
5 min cooldown
Stretch

First and Last

It is the first day of the last week before the WFTDA Championships and we are kicking ass. Still plenty of time to gain some ground before the bell tolls on the season. If you are not playing this coming weekend, you should definitely get to the tournament because roller derby is still awesome and this is roller derby at it's best. Enough promotion. Let's get to work.

5 min warm up
Stretch
3x 10 chest presses o stab ball
3x 10 burpees
2x 50 meters of lunges
3x 10 front squat to overhead press
3x 10 bent flys
2x 25 neg crunches
2x 25 reg crunches
5 min cool down
Stretch

Enjoy

 J

Learning To Adjust

Let me be candid here for a moment. This morning I woke up in a small house less than two blocks from a Target store. I made some coffee, took a shower, and tried to bring myself into the land of the living. I was already running late and there was someone waiting for me. As I pulled out of the driveway and turned around the corner of the sleepy street that is now my home I couldn't help but think of the difference the past year made in my life. Last year at this time I had nothing to do with sleepy streets in the burbs next to box stores. For that matter, I didn't have anything to do with a car as I had sold mine and was solely relying on a bicycle to get myself around. This was not an issue because I was living right in the heart of my city and everything was a few blocks away. A year ago I was pretty happy with the way things were going.

As I sipped my coffee and wound through the suburban streets, constantly on the lookout for lazy cops with nothing better to do than pull people over for speeding, I realized  that I am very happy today as well. There was a point in my I didn't think this would be possible; stuck in suburban hell with a family that is looking to you to be responsible and hold to your word. I found out How wrong I was as everything began to change around me. The only thing that has stayed the same in the past year is me and even that isn't entirely true. I am a much better version of myself today than I was a year ago. I can still have a nasty disposition and no reservations about telling you exactly what is on my mind (whether you are asking or not) but I have mellowed quite a bit in the process. I laugh more than I used to and it is a good thing.

This may seem like mindless rambling to you (as it kind of does to me) but there is a point here. The point is that no matter what's going on in your life you need to have two things. The first is a game plan. This doesn't have to have all of the answers to every possible question, but rather a general sense of where your headed and a few of the markers along the way.  The second thing you need is the ability to adjust, to be flexible, in order to achieve what you are truly after.  This is not very easy, especially when the things that you are doing feel very counter-intuitive to reaching your goals. Roller derby workouts that are not on skates can feel a little off, as though they are not honing the skills that you need on skates, but this is not the case. Having you body in the best possible shape will always yield the highest results. That said, let's go to work!

J

5 min warm up
Stretch
3x 8 Straight leg deadlifts to bicep curls
3x 8 Chest press on stab ball
3x 8 overhead presses
3x 8 inverted rows
2x 10 speed skater jumps (each side)
2x 10 full sit ups
5min cooldown
Stretch

P.S. You may want to check out this site if you haven't already. Great free info for Derby Girls!
http://www.allderbydrills.com/

Here We Go Again

WFTDA Championships are around the corner and I believe everyone is excited. For one team this will mean being given The Hydra, as well as the title of Roller Derby Champion of the World. Best of luck to all teams competing and congratulations to whichever team ends up winning.

That being said, lets get back to the point today. I have been working with Roller Girls for almost 5 years now and along the way have experienced some amazing things. Like many of the skaters there have been times that I have hated roller derby; the politics, the difficulty in getting anything done, the conflicts of personality, and in my case the overwhelming resistance that I have experienced in convincing skaters in the need for cross training. However, like most skaters that I know, this is all far outweighed by my love for the sport, the competition, and the women who play. I personally have never met a skater that was not somehow pushing the envelope of women's sports to a better place. I believe that tearing away the stigma of women's sports being far less exciting than men's is vital and derby girls do that with style. A few years ago when I began writing this blog and posting highly effective workouts for skaters (along with some of my less than worthwhile opinions) to assist in the best way that I know how toward bringing Roller Derby to the mainstream. I feel that to further legitimize the sport in the eyes of the public a greater focus needs to be placed on athleticism in this game we hold so dearly.

Roller derby is no longer one dimensional. It has been constantly evolving into a much more strategic sport that requires it's players to be far more dynamic in their abilities. In short, being able to skate fast and turn left is not enough to truly excel anymore.

Now, to stop rambling and put a point on this, this blog will be proceeding from here(finally) to give tips that can be effective for all skaters in helping their game step up to the next level. Many of the previous workouts posted here have been focused on core stabilization, which is absolutely necessary. Moving forward, we will be focusing on building from that platform to increase strength, speed, agility, dynamic flexibility, and overall awesomeness. This will make you a better skater as well less prone to injury, which are awesome things to be. So without further adieu, lets get back to work with the task for the day!


5 min warm up
Stretch
3x 12 spiderman pushups
3x 12 front squat to overhead press
3x 12 inverted rows
3x 15 meters lunges with med ball twist to the outside
2x 25 ball crunches
2x 10 jackknifes
5 min cooldown
Stretch

Cheers,

J

For more about building up your speed, Click Here

Breaking The Rules

This morning I was training a few roller girls and was reminded of why I began working with these athletes (derby girls in general) to begin with. They were recounting the previous weekends bout and all the glory that it entailed. They talked about the scores, the penalties, the hits, and how in the end none of this mattered because they were having a good time. Fuck the rules, fuck the refs, just play. I appreciated this mentality because, while I can't say that I completely agree with discarding the rules (maybe the refs), that is why we started in the first place. Sports came about to replace war, not to start it. The bickering over who did or didn't cut track or back block seems a little dumb for a sport that started with people trying to race each other and knock them around a track for as long as they could. Sounds like the antithesis of structured and rule bound, but a hell of a lot of fun. Do with it what you will but I am just happy to say that I still know girls that are giddy every time they skate and love to hit and hit hard while skating as fast as they can, rules be damned.

J

5 min warm up
Stretch
3x 15 burpees
3x 15 lame duck push ups
3x 15 box jumps
3x 15 inverted rows
3x 15 front squat to overhead presses
4x 15 med ball twists
5 min cool down
Stretch

Beating The Heat

It's hot outside for most of the country and, while I love the heat, it poses a few issues to your body. The most common of theseissues is dehydration. I can not stress enough the importance of being properly hydrated when it comes to anything involving your bodies performance. When you face enough fluids everything is better including your endurance, recovery time, muscle performance, and mental state. If you are not properly hydrated your risk of injury goes through the roof. The point is stay hydrated. How do you know if you are drinking enough? In this heat you should be taking in about a gallon and a half of water per day. This will ensure that even with excess sweating you are still appropriately hydrated. If you begin feeling light headed, stop sweating, or find that your skin is dry and bright red you need to stop immediately and get some fluids because these are signs of heat stroke and dehydration both and neither is pleasant. Other than that, have fun and good luck to all of those playing games tonight!

Enjoy,

J

5 min warm up
Stretch
3x 25 meters lunging
3x 10 lame duck push ups
3x 10 inverted rows
3x 10 squat to overhead press
5 min. agility ladders
5 min. plyo drills
2x 30 plank
2x 25 neg. crunches
5 min cool down
Stretch

Off Skates Challenge Week 1

Great day today for first official week of the off skates challenge. The
workout went as follow:

400 meter jog for warm up
Stretch
2x 10 squat to over head swing with med ball
2x 10 inverted rows
2x 10 push ups
15 reps of agility ladders
50 meters skipping for distance
50 meters skipping for height
10 min. Team keep away
3x 25 sec planks
4x 15 sec iso crunches
Stretch

Enjoy!

J