Posts Tagged ‘Training’

What’s Your Body Telling You! Sports Teach Self Awareness.

Tuesday, June 22nd, 2010

Try This At Home…………………………

Have your child keep a training journal and write down his workouts each day, including specifics like number of repetitions, length of time, etc.  Have him write down how he felt, what he ate before hand and during, how much sleep he got the night before and what kind of recovery he did afterward.  It doesn’t have to be in complete sentences, but it is helpful if he follows the same format every day.  That way he can easily go back and skim it to find the information he needs.  After a few weeks of keeping a journal sit down with him and look for patterns and places where he can make some improvements.

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Sports make young athletes in tune with their bodies.  They learn the difference between good hurt, like pushing yourself to go a little bit harder, and bad hurt, like an injury.  They learn what different heart rates feel like and approximately how long they can go at that heart rate.   They know what it feels like when they are dehydrated or about to bonk from lack of food, and female athletes learn how their body changes with their menstrual cycle. 

Everyone’s different, and while there are some general rules, the best way for your child to learn about his body is to work out a lot and practice paying attention.  Keeping a journal will help, but your child should start putting a few things together even if he isn’t paying close attention. 

We’re starting potty training with our son and we have him watch Elmo Potty Time.  In the video there is a little cartoon about a large gorilla that listens to what his body tells him and acts accordingly.  He’s hungry so he eats, he’s thirsty so he drinks and well, he has to go to the bathroom too.  It’s kind of funny, but it’s a good reminder for all of us, even if we are potty trained.  As an athlete I learned to listen to my body and how to get the most out of my body.  I also developed ways to proactively stave off and deal with fatigue, cramping, muscle soreness, saddle sores, etc.

Here are a few of my rules and favorite tricks that helped me perform at my best. 

Eat Every Hour

If your son participates in an endurance sport or has games or tournaments that last for a prolonged period of time, he needs to eat before he gets hungry.  If he’s hungry, it’s too late.  He should eat something every hour; even if it is just a gel or something else small.  It’s best your child try out the particular food in training so he knows if he will have an adverse reaction to it.  Never have your child try anything for the first time the day of a competition.

Drink at least a bottle an hour

Just like with food, if your child is feeling thirsty, he has waited too long to drink.  Staying hydrated is vital.  During intense, constant exercise your child should drink approximately a water bottle an hour.  (Electrolyte drinks are ideal) If the workout or competition is an hour or less, consuming less water isn’t nearly as big of a deal.  Many athletes compete for an hour or less with no water; your child just needs to make sure he is hydrated when he starts out and be vigilant about replacing lost fluids afterward.

You make good gains when you train tired. 

If your child is always waiting until he feels good to train hard he won’t see big gains, and training by how he feels on any given day won’t give him big gains either.  Having an educated and knowledgeable coach lay out a very specific, day by day training plan and sticking to it, is how gains are made.  (You may find some decent free programs on line depending on your child’s specific sport.)  If your child can push through and train hard even when he is tired, he’ll make big physical gains once he’s gotten the appropriate rest.

Rest is really important

Some coaches get over zealous and drive their athletes into the ground.  Every athlete is different; some need more rest than others.  As noted above, your child has to learn to push through being tired, but getting good quality rest is vital to making gains as well.  Rest includes, time/days off from working out, naps and a good nights sleep.

Deal with an injury right away, don’t wait.

If something is hurting or nagging your child, get it checked out and taken care of right away.  If your child takes care of it quickly he may not even miss a practice, but if he waits the odds are it will become more serious and require time off.  Finding a chiropractor who specializes in Active Release Technique (ART), is what kept me healthy. 

Train with a heart rate monitor

It will help your child become very in tune with his body!  I’ll write a post on heart rate training in the next few weeks.

Be proactive with recovery

If your child is training right, he is going to be sore.  Taking an ice bath, getting regular chiropractic care from an Active Release Provider, getting or giving himself a light massage, getting proper nutrition and taking a natural anti-inflammatory like fish oil will help.  I’m not going to go into great detail on any of these, because most of these are their own blog post.  My pervious blog, Eating to Maximize Performance, touches on some of the nutritional aspects.  I’ll talk about Active Release Technique next week, and an ice bath, is just what it sounds like.

Fill the tub with cold water and dump in some ice, quite a lot.  Go ahead and sit in it or submerge you arm, shoulder etc. and stay there for fifteen to twenty minutes.  The first few minutes are a bit painful, but after that you’re child will go numb and when he’s done he’ll feel much better.  I love my ice baths!!!!!  I used to take ice baths every night I could during my stage races.  (A stage race is a multiple day bike road race.) Be aware, your child’s body temperature will drop significantly from the bath.  If he is only soaking his lower body, have him wear a sweatshirt and winter hat.  Drinking a warm drink afterward will also help him stop shivering. 

Being in tune with his body is a great asset for your child in and out of sport.  The sports and life style benefits are obvious, but it may also help him notice non sports related disease and illness early and allow him to effectively communicate all the potentially related issues or causes with you and his doctor, etc. 

Try doing the journal with your child for the next few weeks.  Maybe you’ll learn something new about yourself too!

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Plyometrics

Monday, June 7th, 2010

Try This At Home…………………………

Ask your child if he can think of any exercises that he can do without any equipment, just his own body.  He will probably come up with sit ups, push ups, etc.  Ask him if he has ever heard about plyometrics.  Share the following post with him and have him try it out for himself.

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Last week I talked about cross training and why it is so important and effective both mentally and physically.   This week I’m going to focus on my personal favorite cross training workout, Plyometrics and other strength building exercises.  In this post I’ll talk about simple plyometrics and strength building exercises and next week I’ll talk about more complex and traditional plyo’s. 

A plyometric exercise is one in which your child, using his own body weight, forces his muscles to contract forcefully and quickly.  Plyometrics help increase speed and power.  Since I’m not an expert in the science of it, I’m going to refer you to a website which describes in detail what a plyometric is.  http://www.sport-fitness-advisor.com/plyometrics.html. I don’t know much about the website, but I thought it had a good explanation.

No matter what your child decides to focus on there is almost always something that, although not directly related to the activity, can make him better.  Plyometrics is one of those things and is ideal for any sport that requires speed, strength and power.  In most sports you don’t bound across a field or jump like a frog, but doing those things will improve your child’s explosive speed and power.  Granted, he may look a little silly doing them, but even the coolest kid will have a good time, even if he won’t admit it. 

When I was in middle school we did a unit of relay races and games in gym class.  It was the most fun I ever remember having in gym class.  We had skipping races, crab walk races; the list goes on and on.  I also remember being unbelievable sore the next day.  I was flabbergasted and quite frankly a little embarrassed that I was that sore from kids games.  What I didn’t know at the time was that a lot of the races we did were plyometrics, and as I would find out later on in my career they always made me unbelievably sore.

I don’t suggest starting off with the kind of plyometrics that involves jumping onto and off of boxes. If your child has never done this kind of thing before have him ease into it with some other plyometrics and strength building exercises.  Below is a sample of some of my personal favorites. 

The following exercises can be done in the following order up to two or three times a week. (three is a lot.) Make sure there is at least one day off in-between plyometric days, in most cases more is ideal.   I suggest starting with once a week and building from there.  You can alternate this set of exercises with the hill running workout, which I explain at the end of this post.   The best thing about all of the following exercises is that they are effective and free.  You don’t need to join a fancy gym; you can do them in your local park or incorporate them into your practices.   I suggest doing them on grass.

Make sure your child warms up before he gets started.

Hopping

Have your child pace off 30-40 long strides.  He can mark the beginning and end with his water bottle, jacket, cones, or whatever he has handy.  Once he’s used to it he can increase the distance to 70 paces.  Then have him hop the distance in one direction on his right foot and in the other direction with his left foot.  Initially have him do this only once or twice and from there he can build up to three or four times.  Tell him to focus on making each hop as high and far as he can.  He can take a short rest between sets.

Skipping

Have your child pace off 30-40 long strides.  He can mark the beginning and end with his water bottle, jacket, cones, or whatever he has handy.  Once he’s used to it he can increase the distance to 70 paces.  Then have him skip the distance focusing on skipping as fast as he can in contrast with bouncing high.  Initially have him do this only once or twice and from there he can build up to four or five times.  He can take a short rest between sets.

Bounding

Have your child pace off 30-40 long strides.  He can mark the beginning and end with his water bottle and jacket, cones, or whatever he has handy.  Once he’s used to it he can increase the distance to 70 paces.  Bounding is a lot like skipping, but instead of focusing on a fast forward movement have your child focusing on skipping as high as he can with as much force as he can.  Initially have him do this only once or twice and from there he can build up to four or five times.  He can take a short rest between sets.  Have him think about exploding off the ground every time he pushes off.

Duck Walks 

Have your child pace off 10-15 long strides.  He can mark the beginning and end with his water bottle, jacket, cones, or whatever he has handy.  Once he’s used to it he can increase the distance. Have him squat down in a low squat.  Then without standing, have him walk forward.  His legs will swing forward out to the side resembling a duck walk.  Make sure he keeps his back straight.  Have him walk the distance two or three times.  As he gets stronger he can add weight; a weight vest is a good way to accomplish this.  An economical way is to fill a car inner tube with sand and drape it around his neck.  That is what my first coach, Rich, had me do.  He can take a short rest between sets.

Standing Jumps

Standing on a level surface have your child squat down and then jump up as high as he can.  Encourage him to squat down and then jump up in one fluid motion.  Remind him to use his arms by throwing them up over his head while he jumps.  Have him start off with three jumps and he can increase it to as many as ten.  He can take a short rest between sets.

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Running Hills

Running hills was a staple off season work out during my cycling career and had I been a rider who focused on the sprint events on the velodrome I’m sure I would have done it year round. Running hills will build your child’s leg strength and power.    Have your child find a hill that is fairly steep and takes about 20 -30 seconds to run up.  To start have your child run up the hill ten times, running up the hill and walking quickly down.  As he gets used to it he can increase the amount of times and the intensity, eventually he’ll be sprinting up the hill.   He can build up to as many as thirty times up the hill.    I sometimes mix things up by repeating the following set over and over again: Hill one, run up at a fast pace, but not sprinting.  Hill two, bound up, and hill three, sprints up. It helps keep things interesting.

These exercises are a lot of fun and will be a huge benefit to your child.

I’d like to give a special shout out to my first coach, Rich, who taught me a great deal, including introducing me to plyometrics.  He made me understand what sore was!  Thanks Rich!!!!!!!!!!!

For more information about me and my children’s books please visit www.erinmirabella.com.

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Cross Training

Tuesday, June 1st, 2010

Try This At Home……………………

Sit down with your child and help her make a list of all of the abilities and skills that are required to be successful in her sport.  For example, for track cycling I’d have listed endurance, fast sprint, power, and maybe a few more.  Next to each one have her write down which specific drills or workouts she does within her sport to address each item listed.  For example, on my list I’d put long, easy five hour rides next to endurance.  Next, for each item on her list, have her think of an alternative activity she could do to achieve the same goal.  For example instead of doing sprints maybe she would do plyometrics.  If she isn’t already doing some kind of cross training for her sport, have her choose one thing to try either during her upcoming season or off season. 

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Practice makes perfect, and in most cases the best way for your child to become good at something is to do it a lot.  Sometimes however your child may benefit from cross training, doing another activity that compliments her usual activity.   For example a wrestler may run cross country to improve his endurance or lift weights to increase his speed and power.  Cross training can be highly effective in helping your child achieve her full potential in sport; the benefits are both physical and mental.

Most sports are relatively unique and require a specific set of skills and abilities, but there are some basic, fundamental requirements that many sports share, and that is where cross training can be beneficial.  For example, having good endurance and stamina is helpful in wrestling, cycling, running, swimming and cross country skiing.  Likewise, strength and speed are required in weightlifting, wrestling and track sprinting.  There is more than one way to improve your endurance, strength and speed and that is why athletes find cross training so beneficial.  

Most people think about cross training as doing a different sport entirely, but your child may also be able to cross train within her sport.  During my racing career I specialized in track cycling, which is bike racing done on a special bike track called a velodrome.  (To read more about track racing visit http://momsteam.com/sports/cycling-track/-sport.)    My events on the track were the points race and pursuit, the first being a half hour event with multiple sprints throughout and the second an approximately three and a half minute time trail against the clock.  Neither were very long, but I spent most of my time cross training on the roads and road racing.  I found that my endurance and ability to race well on the road directly correlated with my success on the track.  What I gained from road racing enhanced my abilities on the track and helped me raise my game. 

Cross Training is also a healthy mental break.  Doing the same thing day in and day out is monotonous and boring.  It is hard for your child to perform at her best when she is burnt out and sick of it.  Cross training will allow your child to take a break from her sport without losing anything in the process.  In fact, she may be making valuable gains.

Every sport is different and has different ideal cross training.  Talk to other athletes and coaches within your child’s sport to find out what is the best cross training option for her.  In the off season it’s okay for your child to do some cross training because it’s fun, not because it directly correlates to her sport.  Swimming may not be the best cross training for a runner, but if she loves it, it won’t hurt her to do a little bit of it during her off season.

There is a time and place for cross training, but it isn’t always appropriate.  There are certain times during a sport’s season when it is crucial for your child to be doing her sport.  How much cross training your child does will depend on which sport she is focused on.  Some sports allow for more of it than others.  Cross training was one of my favorite parts of training.  It was a nice break from my routine and good for me mentally and physically.   Do the Try This At Home activity with your child and encourage her to talk with other athletes and coaches to find the best cross training for her sport.  Next week I’ll blog about one of my personal favorite cross training workouts, Plyometrics.  Stay tuned and tell a friend.

For more information on me or my children’s books please visit www.erinmirabella.com.  Don’t forget, you can sign up to follow me and twitter and receive a message each time I update my blog.  Click on the green twitter box on the right to follow me.

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