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Do The Unexpected!

Monday, August 2nd, 2010

Thanks for stopping back by my blog.  I know I was a day late in getting this up; thanks for your patience.  On that note, I’m going to take a break from my weekly blogging.  I’ll still be writing an occasional post, but at least for the time being it won’t be on a weekly basis.  Please, sign up to follow me on twitter so you can receive a tweet any time a new post is available, or check back periodically to see the most current posts. 

Now, without further ado….. this weeks post.

Try This At Home………………….. 

Play rock, paper, scissors with your child.  For ten games in a row choose to be the same thing.  After a few games your child will figure out that you are playing in a predictable fashion.  Then on the 11th game switch your item of choice.  Afterward, explain to your child that having a wide variety of tools and skills will make him more unpredictable and versatile, allowing him to gain the upper hand on his opponent or make an extra good impression at school or work.

There are times in life when being predictable is important, but when you child is trying to out whit his opponent, the last thing he wants is for his opponent to know exactly what he is going to do.  The concept transfers to other areas of his life as well.  Your child’s teachers and future bosses will value your child’s consistency, but it is when your child goes above and beyond their expectations that he will really get noticed. 

I specialized in track cycling, and while the match sprint event wasn’t the race I specialized in, I did race it occasionally and I always enjoyed watching it.  The sprints are probably the most well known track event.  Based on the rider’s 200 meter time trial time, a bracket is made and riders compete in several rounds of racing.  Each race is three laps and is generally raced between two or three riders.  The first rider across the finish line wins.  Riders generally do not go all out for the entire race; riders most often employ cat and mouse tactics to gain the upper hand.  The race is very short, fast and explosive.  Because it generally is a race between two people,  it is very important to know your opponent’s strength and weaknesses.   The best way to win the race is to force your opponent to race in a manner that doesn’t allow him to use his strenths, allowing you to gain the upper hand and win the race. 

I heard many of the United States sprinters talk about the tactics they planned to emply against their opponent. Many of them had to resisit the temepation to be predictible themselves; it was very tempting for them to revert to their own “bread and butter” tactics, because it was what they were most comfortable with.  By having a wide variaty of tools and strengths the sprinters made themselves more versitle, less predictable and thereby tougher competition.

As I said before, it is good for your child to have a standard that they hold themselves to and in that sense be predictable.  In some situations though your child will gain the upper hand by doing the unexpected.  Talk with your child about times in his life when being unexpected would be benefiicail.  He should be able to come up with several examples on the sports field, but encourage him to think outside the box as well.  For example, if he suddenly does a big, unexpected , extra chore at home, maybe he’ll gain your favor and trust and have the opportunity to earn extra allowance.

Thank you again for being a loyal visitor to my site.  Please check back occasionally for new posts.

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Posted in Opportunities, Strengths and Weaknesses, Uncategorized, competition | 1 Comment »

Maintaining Focus in a multi-competition event

Monday, July 5th, 2010

While all the fans were out partying during the FIFA Soccer World Cup, the teams had to stay focused for their next game .  One of the hardest parts of a multi-competition event is the challenge of staying mentally and physically sharp and focused.  Here are five tips to help your child stay focused the next time he has multiple games or races on his schedule.

Five Tips To Help Your Child Stay Focused.

Keep The Celebrating Brief 

You and your child can be thrilled with each win of the event, but the ultimate goal isn’t accomplished until the final match has been played.  It’s important to acknowledge the success and use it as positive momentum for the next game, but don’t dwell on it and become lackadaisical.  In the midst of celebrating it is easy to cut a cool down short or forget to re-hydrate; these mistakes could be costly during the next competition.

Get Healthy

If your child has a nagging injury or soreness from his previous competition he needs to address it immediately after the competition.  Whether it be taping his ankle, seeing his chiropractor, getting a massage, stretching or icing down his sore muscles, he needs to address his physical condition promptly. 

  • He won’t always feel one hundred percent for his next game; he’ll likely feel some fatigue from his previous competitions, but staying on top of his physical condition will help him feel as  close to it as possible.

 Asses His Next Opponent

  • The first thing your child needs to do after a victory in a tournament is get mentally ready for what comes next. He needs to know when his next competition is and who he is competing against. 

This is the time for him, his team and coach to asses the new opponent and learn his or her strengths and weaknesses.  Not every opponent is the same and your child may need to change his strategy for the new opponent.

Keep A Routine

Throughout your child’s competitions you want to encourage him to be a little self absorbed.  While he should enjoy the friends and family who are there to support him, it isn’t the time for him to be accommodating everyone else’s schedule. 

  • He needs to get plenty of rest; that means going to bed at a reasonable hour and getting naps if at all possible.
  • He should eat familiar and healthy meals; during a tournament isn’t the time for him to try Thai for the first time or to be eating a lot of greasy fast food.
  • Your child shouldn’t feel obligated to play host to his family and friends.  He need to be at his practices and team meetings prepared and on time.

Enjoy The Festivities With Care

Some Competitions may be a once in a life time opportunity and I encourage your child to enjoy it as long as it doesn’t interfere with or sacrifice his preparation for his next competition.

At the 2000 Olympic Games I was strongly discouraged from participating in the Opening Ceremonies because I competed just two days later.  I knew another athlete who had been discouraged from participating in the 1996 Opening Ceremonies.  He had figured he’d just do it at his next Olympics, but he didn’t make the team four years later.  He never got a chance to experience Opening Ceremonies and he really regretted it.  So, in 2000, despite intense pressure not to, I decided to go.  I took some precautions to make sure the experience wasn’t too taxing; I sat down as much as possible, even on the field during the ceremony, I ditched the official shoes high heals and wore comfy tennis shoes instead, I made sure I stayed hydrated and I went to bed immediately following the ceremonies.  Opening Ceremonies was a phenomenal experience and I have no regrets in my decision, and in case your wondering, I had a personal best two days later.  I was so pumped up from the Ceremonies that it helped motivate and focus me.

  • Your child is there to compete, and win, and that should be his main priority, but despite what some people say, sometimes there is a lot more to a competition than just winning!

These five tips will help your child stay focused on the ultimate goal.  .

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Posted in Focus, Peak Performance, Uncategorized, competition, motivation | 1 Comment »

Muscles, Tendons and ART

Monday, June 28th, 2010

Try This At Home……………………………………..

Have your child think about what parts of her body she uses when she plays her sport.  Next follow the links below to see the skeletal and muscular systems.  Have her write down on flash cards some of the muscles she uses while she is playing.  She can also write down some of the bones the muscles attach too.  Have her practice them until she knows them well.  This is a great opportunity for her to start learning some anatomy.

 http://www.innerbody.com/image/skelfov.html 

http://www.innerbody.com/image/musfov.html

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Last week I wrote about the importance and benefits of your child being in tune with her body.  One important step to being aware, is knowing how her body works and what muscles are involved.  The more your child knows about her body the more she’ll understand why she does what she does for training and recovery and how and why specific training, stretching and types of recovery help her. 

Since I was fourteen years old I’ve been worked on by massage therapists and chiropractors, and while I am far from an expert on the human body I have learned a few things from them about muscles, tendons, ligaments, and the systems of the body.  I have a pretty good idea about what muscles are involved in the sports I do, especially the names of those muscles that are always sore.    I’ve also found a handful of things that help me keep my body in top physical shape; the most important of these is Active Release Technique (ART).  The abbreviation is not pronounced art, as in painting and drawing, but is pronounced A.R.T. 

The person who has taught me the most is my husband Chris.  He was a Greco Roman wrestler training at the Olympic Training Center, and is now a chiropractor who specializes in Active Release Technique.   He decided to go into that field because of how Active Release Technique helped both of us in our careers.   If I ever came across anything that seemed like a miracle to my cycling career, it is ART.

Chris was first introduced to Active Release Technique after one of his shoulder surgeries.  He had been rehabbing it for months and still had poor range of motion.  He heard about Dr. Leahy, the inventor of Active Release Technique, who generously treated the athletes at the training center for free.  Chris went to his office and after the first fifteen minute treatment saw drastic improvement in his range of motion; something all those months of rehab had been unable to accomplish.  From that day on Chris was hooked, and he intern made me a believer.  Both of us went to Champion Health and were treated by Dr. Leahy and Dr. Wood for years.  I haven’t found anything more effective than ART.

At the 2004 Olympics I, as usual, was feeling pretty lousy after traveling.  For some reason every time I pushed my body to its limit in training in order to peak for an important event and then sat on a plane for eight hours, my body locked up.  It was torture because I could feel it happening as I sat there, but no matter what I tried it still happened.  There was nothing I could do to stop it.  So, for nearly three weeks before the Olympic Games I did everything in my power to unlock my body.  I felt lousy, my power was off, and I was sore; I just wasn’t firing on all cylinders.  I got massages daily and spent hours in the sports medicine clinic at the Olympic Village icing, heating, stimming, ultra sounding, stretching, etc.  Unfortunately I didn’t have access to a doctor who did ART.  Finally, my husband arrived three days before my competition, and although he wasn’t finished with Chiropractic school yet, he had already been certified in Active Release Technique.  His primary motivation in doing so was to help me in this exact situation.    He arrived and a buddy of ours who worked in Sports Medicine said to him, “I sure hope you can help her because we can’t.”  I’m not knocking sports medicine, they do amazing things and the folks at the Olympic Training Center and the best; They  always took very good care of me.  I’m just simply telling my story and it really shows how effective ART is.

So, on the couch at the house Chris and my family were renting while they were in Greece, Chris assessed my issues and used Active Release Technique to release my adhesions.  I was a bit sore from some of the work the next day, but I suddenly had my body back.  I felt powerful.  I went on to have a pretty darn good pursuit race and the best  points race of my life.

Now that I’ve gone on and on about ART, I guess I should explain what it is.  Below is some information from the Active Release website.  www.activerelease.com.  On the site you can find a provider near you.  If you happen to live in Teller County, Colorado, give my husband a call at his office.  (Dr. Chris Mirabella, Teller County Chiropractic, 719-687-1881 www.tellercountychiropractic.com )

Active Release can help with so many things, including some things that people often resort to drugs or invasive treatment to resolve.  If you or your child have a nagging injury, you really should give active release a try.  It is non-evasive, and will get results in a much shorter amount of time then other treatments from a physical therapists, or even a traditional chiropractor.  Believe me; it is worth giving it a try.

What is Active Release Technique (ART)?

ART is a patented, state-of-the-art soft tissue system that treats problems with muscles, tendons, ligaments, fascia and nerves.  Headaches, back pain, carpal tunnel syndrome, shin splints, shoulder pain, sciatica, plantar fasciitis, knee problems, and tennis elbow are just a few of the many conditions that can be resolved quickly and permanently with ART. These conditions all have one important thing in common: they are often
a result of overused muscles.

How do overuse conditions occur?

Overuse of a muscle can occur from sporting activities, work related activities, accidents and other kinds of trauma.

Over-used muscles (and other soft tissues) change in three important ways:

    * acute conditions (pulls, tears, collisions, etc.)
     * accumulation of small tears (micro-trauma)
     * not getting enough oxygen (hypoxia)

Each of these factors can cause your body to produce tough, dense scar tissue in the affected area.  This scar tissue binds up and ties down tissues that need to move freely.  As scar tissue builds up, muscles become shorter
and weaker, tension on tendons causes tendonitis, and nerves can become trapped.  This can cause reduced range of motion, loss of strength, and pain.  If a nerve is trapped, you may also feel tingling, numbness, and weakness.

What is an ART treatment like?

Every ART session is actually a combination of examination and treatment.  The doctor uses his hands to evaluate the texture, tightness and movement of muscles, fascia, tendons, ligaments and nerves.  Abnormal tissues are treated by combining precisely directed tension with very specific patient movements.

For more information about me or my children’s books please visit www.erinmirabella.com.  Remember you can get an autographed, personalized book as a gift for the favorite kids in your life.  Also, don’t forget to tell your friends about my blog.  I appreciate your help spreading the word.

 

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New post will be up Monday evening.

Monday, June 21st, 2010

Thanks for stopping by my blog.  Come back Monday evening for the next post.

Erin

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Plyometrics 2

Monday, June 14th, 2010

Last week I introduced you and your child to some low level plyometrics.  This week I’ll focus on higher intensity plyometrics.  I failed to mention last week that I am focusing on lower body plyometrics, since that is what I know.  There are upper body plyometrics for sports like volleyball and baseball, but I’m not going to address those here.

The Age Debate

Once again I’m referring you to the following website for more in-depth information.  One of the things addressed in the link is the debate about at what age kids should start doing plyometrics. As it discusses in the link, kids do plyometrics in their every day play.  My two year old son jumps off the couch, the slide, and pretty much anything else he can jump off of. If you chose to do plyometrics with your child or your child’s team, make sure to start off very easy and build up.  Also, make sure it is fun.  Plyometrics are a great way to enhance a workout, but keep it fun.  http://www.sport-fitness-advisor.com/plyometric-training.html

Contact with the Ground

In running and cycling athletes determine their workouts by time or distance, in weight lifting workouts are determined by weight and repetitions, and in plyometrics workouts are determined by how many times you child makes contact with the ground. 

As I mentioned in my last post, plyometrics are very intense and will make your child very sore.  The workouts I suggest below are simply suggestions; you will need to adjust them to your child’s age and fitness level.  The first time you and your child try it, start off with just a few jumps and build from there.  You can add a few jumps (contact with the ground) every week.  I’d start off with intense plyometrics once a week and you can build up to two times a week.  Make sure to get enough rest in-between.

Plyometric boxes

You can build plywood boxes, buy boxes, use the aerobic steps at the gym, if the gym Okays it, or use park benches and other things at your local park.

To start with I’d use 2-3 12 or 18 inch boxes.  Typical size boxes are 12, 18, 24, 30, 36 and 42 inches.

Work out 1

Start off with one box.

1. Jump up on the box 10 times.  Step off in-between jumps and reset.

2. Jump up on one side of the box and then off the other side.  Repeat ten times.  Your child shouldn’t rest on top of the box; have your child pretend she has springs on her feet and have her jump again immediately after she lands.

3. Choose a box that allows your child’s leg to be at 90 degrees or less when her foot is resting on top of the box.  Step up on the box with one foot, instead of stopping after stepping up; follow through with a high hop. Land on one foot. Do each leg 10 times.

When your child lands encourage her to land softly and quietly.  Have her practice making as little noise as possible when she lands.  Have her think about having quiet feet.

As your child gets used to work out 1, she can make it more difficult by increasing the box size.  She can also do each exercise fifteen times instead of ten.

Work out 2

This can be done once your child has done work out 1 for several weeks. 

 1. To begin, place 2 or 3 boxes in a row about 3 feet apart.  (or whatever distance gives your child enough space to jump off one box and on to the next. )

face box one and jump on the first box, then off, on the second, then off, on the third box, then off.  Repeat this five times.  Your child shouldn’t rest on top of the box; have your child pretend she has springs on her feet and have her jump again immediately after she lands.

2. Jump up on and then off the box on the other side.  After landing, immediately dip down and jump up high again.  Repeat ten times.  Don’t have her rest on top of the box, or after your child has landed on the other side.  Have your child pretend she  has springs on her feet and have her jump again immediately after she lands.

3. Chose an item to jump over.  A painted line, cone, water bottle or something similar will work just fine.  Stand next to it with it immediately to your right.  Then jump sideways over it, side to side ten times.  Have your child pretend she  has springs on her feet and have her jump again immediately after she lands.

When your child lands encourage her to land softly and quietly.  Have her practice making as little noise as possible when she lands.  Have her think about having quiet feet.

As your child gets used to work out 2 she can make it more difficult by increasing the box size.  She can also increase the number of times she does each exercise.

Happy Jumping.  Next week I’ll talk about treating your child’s sore muscles.  It will come in handy after she tries plyos.

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New Cross Training Post will be up late today!

Monday, May 31st, 2010

Happy Memorial Day!

A new post about Cross Training will be up late today. 

Thanks,

Erin

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Check Back Next Week

Monday, May 17th, 2010

Hi,

There isn’t a post this week.  Check back next Monday for a new post.

Take care,

Erin

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Goal Setting, Part 2

Monday, January 25th, 2010

 Try This At Home……………..

Next time your child fails at achieving her goal, have her make a list of everything that she did well and a list of all the things that did not go well.  Then have her analyze the second list and come up with ways to fix or improve upon them.   Once those things are fixed, have her try again.

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We’ve all failed to accomplish a goal at one time or another.  It’s normal to feel lousy when it happens, but the more productive response would be to figure out why it happened.  Cavett Robert said, “Life is a grindstone, and whether it grinds you down or polishes you up, is for you and you alone to decide.”  You can let your failures control and define you, or you can learn from them and use them to your advantage.  The choice is yours.

Fear of failure was the thing that I struggled most with during my cycling career.  I was so afraid of not being perfect that I would agonize over the possibility of failure.  Like everything in life, the thing that you dwell on is what comes to be, and left unchecked my fear became a self fulfilling prophesy.  Fear of failure is a separate post all to itself, but I mention it because in learning to deal with my fear, I learned an important lesson about failure…….While failure is unpleasant, it doesn’t make you a failure and it isn’t the end of the world.  It’s simply a step toward becoming successful.  You won’t find a successful person out there who hasn’t failed a few times in the process. 
                                                           
We all want to protect our kids and hate to see them fail, but as I’ve said over and over again in my blog posts, your child will learn far more from failing than they will from success.  Sure, failure isn’t any fun, but it can teach a valuable lesson. 

                                                                                    Reasons Why We Fail

We Went About It Wrong

Most likely the reason your child failed is because she went about it the wrong way.  This is the most valuable lesson in failing.  If she can realize where she went wrong and fix it, then the next time she’ll be successful. Help her analyze the situation and figure how she can improve.  

Lack of Motivation/ Follow Through

If your child seems unmotivated to do what is necessary to accomplish her goal, then it might be time for her to access if the goal is still important to her.  Sometimes priorities change.  My husband quit his wrestling career in the middle of a tournament.  In the middle of a match, he decided it just wasn’t fun anymore.

The other option may be that she just doesn’t want to put in the work.  She wants the reward that comes with accomplishing her goal, but she isn’t willing to do what it takes to get there.  In the end if she fails at her goal because of her work ethic then she’ll learn an important life lesson.  Letting her learn this lesson the hard way, while she is young, is the best gift you can give her.

Lack of focus

Your child may fail to accomplish her goals, because she isn’t focused enough at the task at hand.  She needs to choose which goal is most important and give that the most attention.  She may not know how to focus.  Focusing is a learned thing and is something that is crucial to success in all aspects of life.  Check out my previous prioritization blog for tips on teaching your child to prioritize and stay tuned in a few weeks for my post on the art of focusing. 

Unrealistic Expectations

Your child’s goals may be unrealistic.  If she fails to meet her goal it’s a great opportunity for her to be completely honest about why it happened.  She may have inadvertently set herself up for failure by setting an unrealistic goal.  Help her learn to set realistic goals.  This doesn’t mean that she can’t dream big, it just means she has to be realistic about things like her timetable, talents, abilities, etc.  Some goals take a long time to reach, and some people are better suited at achieving some goals than others.  

If she has failed to reach her goal the first thing she should look at is her timetable.  Maybe her goal would be more achievable if she gave herself more time.  She may also need to add in some additional sub-goals.  Maybe her plan is missing a few steps.

The harder thing for her to do will be to access her abilities. She may find her talents lend themselves better to a new and different goal. She may find she has more to lose by continuing her pursuit than she does by throwing in the towel.  The choice is never an easy one, but this too is an important lesson to learn. 

Part of learning to set goals, is learning what to do when it doesn’t work out.  It is an important skill set for your child to develop.  Learning from their failure will make them successful.

For more information on myself or my children’s books please visit www.erinmirabella.com  My book, Gracie Goat’s Big Bike Race, is an excellent way to talk about overcoming fears with your child.

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One more week delay

Wednesday, January 6th, 2010

I apologize for the inconvenience, but due to a family illness the new blog has to be postponed for one more week.  I will have a new post up on January 11th. 

Thanks for stopping by the sight.

Erin

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Happy Holidays

Monday, December 21st, 2009

Hi,

I’m taking a break from blogging over the holidays, but please check back for a new post on January 5th, 2010.

Have a Merry Chritmas and Happy New Year!

Erin

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