Kicking It Up

So here we are, at the end of another month, 1/3 of the way through the calendar year and time doesn't seem to be slowing down anytime soon. For me, the end of the month is a time where I evaluate my performance against my goals and then either re-adjust time frames for achieving them or set new ones because the objective has been reached. This is something that one of my favorite coaches had do a long time ago and it stuck. The reason that I bring this concept up is because at one point it was so foreign to me but has yielded great dividends through practice. Here are a few tips to think about:

1. Keep good records/ stats- There is no other way to objectively look at your performance than to do the math, whether you want to believe it or not
2. Write Things Down- There is something about writing things that makes them stick differently. I am not going to get into the science behind that today but it works
3. Don't be too hard on yourself- We are typically our own worst critics, at least those of us that are trying to improve. Derby will beat you up bad enough that you probably don't need to kick yourself.
4. Learn from your mistakes, but keep moving forward- It is very easy to get caught up in analyzing a situation that didn't go your way and forget that you are still living a different situation. Learn enough to not repeat it but don't bother looking back.
5. Do what you Love- Time is by far the most precious commodity that we possess. it is not worth wasting it on something that you are not passionate about. If anything you are doing is not in some way contributing to the passions of your life, cut that shit. You will be happier, trust me.

That said, let's work out!

5 min warm up
Stretch
2x 20 burpee push ups
2x 20 squat to overhead press
2x 20 inverted rows
2x 25 meters of lunges
4x 45 sec planks
2x 20 single leg floor bridges(each leg)
2x 25 jackknifes
5 min cooldown
Stretch

Cheers!

J

Focus

Recently many of my daily conversations have been centered around the difficulty of executing actions that would be beneficial to my clients based on their inability to mentally stick with it. Lets face it, it is easy to lose your head from time to time. The trouble is that a head is much more difficult to find once it is lost than it is to lose in the first place. This phenomenon poses a very real problem for many people, including myself. The first word that comes to mind as a primary combatant against this problem is focus. How can we reduce such a complex problem as cranial chaos down to a single word answer? As is true more often than not, our best answers are the simplest. By definition, focus is a condition in which something can be clearly apprehended or perceived. What this suggests to me is that focus is a state of mind or being and does not allow chaos to coexist simultaneously. Now let's cut the cute bullshit of wordy language and break this down. I was speaking with a derby girl the other day who is having some very specific problems with her game and in the process has begun to question all of her other abilities. In our discussion it became clear that her focus was on what was not going well rather than where she was excelling and this was causing chaos like quicksand, rendering all of her best honed skills useless as well. Her lack of focus on what mattered; her strengths in skating, pack awareness, and overall concept of the game, were paralyzing her and causing her to make mistakes that she knew were wrong and would not normally make. The only solution that I could offer was to change her focus back to what she was capable of rather than the few, and for that matter sleight, weaknesses in her game. I recommended that she remember why she played in the first place, what drove her to want to excel, and then focus on those things and only on those things.

This may seem a little counter intuitive, focusing only on strengths and ignoring weaknesses, but it is my philosophy on performance when it comes to team sports. I believe that in assembling a team you want each member to focus on what they are the best at. It is then the coach or captains job to bring all of these incredible skills together in a way that all of the weaknesses are covered by overlapping skill sets without taking away from promoting individual strengths. This also allows for a very positive environment and a tightness of camaraderie amongst players. I digress... To put a point on it, if you are losing your head find your focus and put it on taking positive action towards what you want. It really is that simple*.
Now lets get to work!


Enjoy!

J

*simple and easy are not the same thing whatsoever.

5 min warm up
Stretch
3x 12 alternating db chest press
3x 12 alternating front raises
3x 20 meters of lunges
2x 10 straight arm twists
2x 25 bicycle crunches
5 min cool down
Stretch

Hydrate

The weather is warming up and derby is in full swing. With practice schedules and games coming about it is important to remember to stay hydrated. Daily recommendation for adult females is at least 3/4 of a gallon not taking in to consideration exercise or extra stress on your body. As an athlete you need to be taking in more than average, say a gallon at least spread out throughout your day. This will ensure that your body is always ready to handle whatever stress you need to put it under and still thrive. That said, lets get some work done!

Enjoy,

J

5 min warm up
Stretch
3x 12 alternating db chest press/ on stab ball
3x 12 alternating side raises
3x 12 bent rows
3x 20 back squats
2x 10 straight arm twists
2x 25 bicycle crunches
5 min cool down
Stretch

Deal With It

I was having a conversation with a friend the other day who is going through a rough time and it got me thinking about a lot of different things. She made one statement that stuck out above the rest and it was this: "The opposite of love is not hate, but rather fear". To me, this was news. I much prefer the idea of being able to write things off as hate rather than deal with the fears that the hate stems from. With that said, let me bring it back toward the track. What are your greatest fears on the track and how do you deal with them? First off, to all of those of you that are like me and whose gut reaction was "I am not afraid of anything there because I am in my element", I am calling BULLSHIT! We all have fears and insecurities, whether our egos will show them outright or not. For myself, I was never very naturally athletically gifted and that was an issue for me that I would cover with the largest doses of bravado that I could muster which, for the record, was extensive. To compensate for this shortfall, I was reckless with my body and generally mad in every sense of the word. The truth is that I was afraid of losing my position to someone more talented so I tried harder and then I was afraid that my body wouldn't hold up so I began to subtly hold back. If I am to speak plainly, most of my career was riddled with fear that nearly destroyed me. In my case, it has taken me many years to come back to the love that I felt for the game that I once lived for and even watch it again. To put a point on it, deal with your fucking fears because the alternative is not pretty for anyone. How do you deal with your fears? Well we all have a slightly different method for this but, in short, the best way is to deal with them is to face them until they are beaten into submission. My friend mentioned that this is easier when you focus on the love you feel for something that you fear and apply your energy into growing that love until the fear seems small and manageable compared to your love. I find myself laughing, whether s a defense mechanism or a sign that I've rounded the bend, whenever fear shows up and that works for me. All I can tell you with any certainty is that living paralyzed with fear rather than relishing in your love is not worth it. Deal with it as soon as you are aware of it and if you have any advice on dealing with fear then share it.


Cheers,

J

5 min warm up
Stretch
2x 12 pushups
2x 10 DB chest press
2x 12 inverted rows
2x 10 bent flys
2x 12 step up to over head presses
2x 10 single leg squats
2x 12 upright rows
2x 10 lateral raises
2x 25 reg crunches
2x 25 straight arm twists
5 min cool down
Stretch

On A Dime

Most of the time in life you can at least attempt to plan and prepare for what is coming. Not much different than a derby bout, situations typically unravel in a certain fashion or follow a certain pattern that can be taken into account and responded to. In short, you can usually approach life with a strategy and manage pretty well basing your actions around these plans. But what about the the times when things don't follow the rules? What about the surprises that you just couldn't account for? What do you do when someone flips the script on you so fast that you don't realize what has happened, let alone what your next course of action is? The truth is that these things do take place and there is never any specific plan that you can run that will handle the situation cleanly. Every now and then things just change on a dime and leave you wondering what happened. Rather than stay vague, I will tell you the root of my line of thought is in a relationship but the principle applies to every situation, especially in athletics. Injuries, discord among teammates, or a good beating in a game that you should have won are all examples of this. So how do you survive and regain your clarity of thought to make it out of whatever the situation is? First off, you get to your feet. You cannot come back if you refuse to get up. The only way to ensure that you will fail when surprised is to stay down. Wallowing and worrying about what has just transpired will not do you any good and the longer you stay down the worse off you will be. After your on your feet, control your emotions!!! This is the biggest key to all of it. There will always be an emotional response but that is seldom the best course of action as far as righting the ship goes. Rather than going with the pain or surprise that accompanies an emotional response, look to get your bearings quickly and figure out how bad of shape you are really in, no matter how bad of shape feel you are in. This is possibly the hardest thing to do but it is what separates the the amateurs from the professionals. Lastly, when you have realized that you are backed into a corner, get out of the corner by the cleanest method possible and regroup in the process. In life times are transition are the biggest areas of vulnerability but the are also the greatest opportunities to capitalize on. You always want to come out better than you went in, even if that just means lesson learned and not repeated. Hopefully this make some sense. My head is still spinning a bit but I think you'll get the gist.

Cheers,

J

5 min warm up
2x 20 squat jumps
2x 20 burpee push ups
2x 20 box jumps
100 jump ropes
2x 20 step up to overhead presses
2x 20 back flys
4x 100 meter sprints
4x 30 sec planks
5 min cool down
Stretch

Too Long Away

You may have noticed that my posts have become less and less frequent as of recently. This can be attributed to many different things, some more desirable than others, but none of them valid enough to qualify as an excuse. Though it has been good to step away for a bit, it is time to tighten things back up and get on track. One thing that I have noticed through this process is how easy it is to continue growing when you are practicing good habits and how quickly things will fade when you step away from them. Over the past few months I have had a number of my favorite roller girls remind me that no matter what is going on in your life, you are still in control of your own reaction and preparation. In short, everything in life is a choice. I have seen this in my own life many times and am excited about the implications that this holds for all of us. Just for a brief update as far as my end goes: I will be focusing more on injury prevention and rehab in the coming months as it has become one of the most blatant issues in the derby community as well as in my own life (torn ligaments in my knee) and the competitive spirit that drives us all in sport. I am in the middle of launching several ventures back into the realm of athletics, specifically soccer, and it feels good to be back on the pitch. Overall the whole mess is a pleasant reminder no to take too much time away from that which you love, the things in life that strike up the passion within.


Cheers,

J

5 min warm up
Stretch
2x 20 narrow grip push ups
2x 20 lateral raises
2x 20 high rows or chin ups (either or will work)
2x 20 rockstar jumps
4x 60 sec planks
2x 25 straight leg crunches
2x 25 frog kicks
5 min cool down
Stretch

The Base

Derby season is continuing to gain momentum as we move forward and with it the excitement in the air is building. What to do with all of this nervous energy? I say make it work for you. This is the best point in the season for us to focus on the things that will set us up for success the rest of the year. The first thing to focus on is going to be endurance because it takes the longest to build properly. The point of this phase of training is to set a base or jumping off point for the rest of the things necessary to crush it the rest of the year. A few details: 1. This is the phase where we focus on fundamentals IN EVERYTHING (skating form, hitting form, lifting form, and cardio conditioning) 2. This is the phase that can be the most boring so keep that in mind going in because it is absolutely necessary.

Now to the meat of it. The reasoning behind approaching endurance training first is both biological and psychological. Putting in the time up front will certainly build a toughness that will come in very handy as the season begins to try to grind you down, not to mention help you avoid injury. Rather than continue rambling, here is your workout. Fell free to ask any questions you may have

Enjoy!

J

5 min. warm up
Stretch
3x 20 chest presses on ball
3x 50 skier squats
3x 20 over head presses
3x 20 back flys
4x plank to failure
20 min cardio (preferably running, miserable as it may be)
5 min cool down
Stretch