March 2014 issue

The Performance Training and Conditioning E-Magazine of

Athletes, Coaches and Fitness Enthusiasts

PREVIEW ISSUE March 2014

Cross Train for Great Workouts

Athletes, injuries and alternative therapy

How to use foam rolling to improve your training

Benefits of Olympic lifts for performance

in this issue:

Editorial: The evolution of sports

performance training

ProPowerMag.com features: core

training, weighted vests and sports

nutrition practices

Training Tech: the gadgets that

make training fun

Training Tidbits 1: agility ladder, ro-

tating and change of direction 5 effect Sandbag Training exercises

and how to perform them

Training Tidbits 2: the push press,

benefits of Olympic lifting and cross

training video tip

Athletes, injuries and alternative

therapy

How to use foam rolling to im-prove your training

Use sports psychology for the devel-opment of mental toughness

Plyometrics for powering up your

performance Training Video Session of the Week for

Athletes: SAQ/Power

Train on One Leg to Maximize Sports Performance

Pro Power Workout

Should you participate in the tough murder or warrior dash?

The Tao of Belly Breathing

Sport Teas for Athletes

I have a huge passion for sports performance training, fitness, conditioning——the whole nine.

When I was a teenager back in the late 80’s I remember working out for sports and always

looking for the latest and greatest ways to train. This was before the advent of the internet,

DVD’s, etc, so access to top training information was limited and you had to really DIG for it.

Sure there was Muscle and Fitness and Flex magazines for the body builders, but finding top

quality training information for athletes was tough.

Then one day in a book store I ran across a book that changed everything in the training world

for me—-Eric Dickersons Secrets of Pro Power. For those of you who may not remember

Dickerson, he was one of the NFL’s best running back of all time, and in the 80’s he was the

man. Explosive, fast, strong—-he was a human gazelle. These attributes helped him to become

the first running back to ever eclipse 2,000 yards rushing in a season. And I was a HUGE fan.

But what impressed me more then his football prowess was the dedication he had towards training. Here was a professional

athlete who was constantly in pursuit of a competitive edge by finding the most innovative ways to train. In his book, he de-

tailed training techniques from explosive movements and quickness drills to strength and power exercises. This book became

my foundation for sports performance training and started my pursuit of better and better ways of training and conditioning.

Fast forward to today; training methods have evolved for sure. With the internet there is now a vast highway of training

information via videos, blogs, PDF’s, etc. And information is king.

There is a lot of good, a lot of bad and a lot of ugly when it comes to training information out there today. One mans innova-

tive training technique/method is another mans fodder for his blog. Main stream non-competitive athletes have now jumped

in the mix by scrapping the aerobic classes for intense workouts via cross fit or P90X. The evolution of training is ongoing

and fascinating.

I created this Pro Power E-Mag as a way to put out information about sports performance training, fitness and conditioning

for the masses. Not necessarily endorsing one form over another, one method over another, but rather a way to help to con-

tinue the conversation about training and how its not something that you have to DO, but more it becomes something that is

part of WHAT you are.

I still have that copy of Eric Dickersons Secrets of Pro Power. It’s pages are yellowed and worn, it’s binding has considera-

ble wear. It sits on my bookshelf next to Robert Dos Remedios’s fantastic book “Power Training” and Todd Durkins “The

IMPACT! Body Plan”. And every now and then ill pick it up an revisit it’s pages and think about how the evolution of sports

performance training and conditioning has moved forward. And I smile.

I hope you enjoy this premier issue of the Pro Power E-Mag and stay tuned for monthly issues to come. My goal is to help

pass on some great training information, and help the evolution of training for all of us!

Enjoy!

Daimond Dixon

Pro Power E-Mag

“Do or Do Not.

There is no try.”

-Yoda

The evolution of Sports Performance Training From the Editor

Here are a few topics we are currently featuring on our website online:

The Ultimate Core Training Exercise

ProPowerMag.com

Want to enhance your current agility or con-

ditioning? Use a weighted vest for great

results. Weighted vests adds an entirely new

dimension to your workouts! See how this

one vest can change the way your workouts

produce results!

(click here to see the video)

Agility Drills combined with weighted vest

How to Practice Good Sports Nutrition

Sports nutrition is defined as the study and practice of nutrition

and dieting as it relates to athletes and their performance. Check

out this great article on how to practice good sports nutrition for

you body’s needs.

(click here to read in full)

Enhancing core strength reduces posterior

weakness, injuries and deficiencies.

Weakness in your abdominals and hip

flexors can contribute to these problems,

and the one exercise that can target your

entire core is the Plank.

(click here to read in full)

With this app you can turn your

phone into a personal coach. Uses

GPS and real-time voice coaching in

your ear to pace you through workout

zones as you run. You can choose a

training plan tuned for your sport to

build speed and endurance. Track and

share your accomplishments with the

app or at miCoach.com. Available for

iphone or Android

Tech that adds variety to sports performance and fitness training

Adidas MiCoach app

Training Tech

With this app, in-run audio feedback lets you know metrics at every

mile, so you can stay focused on your run. No sensor or additional

products needed, just grab your phone and go. Tag the friends you ran

with and share a map of your route with friends and family.

Set up “Power Songs” to give yourself a boost with the tap of a button.

Add a widget to your phone’s home screen to show when you ran last,

display your total mileage, and for even quicker access into a run.

Available for iPhone or Android

Nike+ app

My Fitness Pal App

Lose weight with MyFitnessPal, the fastest and easiest to use calorie counter for Android. With the

largest food database of any Android calorie counter (over 2,000,000 foods), and amazingly fast food

and exercise entry, we’ll help you take those extra pounds off! Customized goals based on your

specific diet profile – age, gender, activity level, etc. Enter your own goals if you’ve gotten specific

recommendations from a doctor, nutritionist, etc. (also available for iPhone)

■ Track your weight, measurements and more

■ View charts of your progress over time for motivation

■ Daily nutritional summary with all major nutrients

■ View more detailed reports online at www.myfitnesspal.com

Nike BOOM syncs your music to your

dynamic training workouts, with the

world’s most elite athletes and coaches

motivating you along the way. Choose

your type of workout, length of training,

best workout music and favorite Nike

athletes—then get to work.

throws and rotational cable

movements helps the body learn

to more balance in more than

one plane. Training in one dimension is not

enough to help gain that compet-

itive edge! Training the body to

be strong while pushing and

pulling is one thing, but take it

the extra step and make it

stronger as you rotate as well!

Most sports and athletic activi-

ties involve moving in more then

one plane; by using rotational

drills such as medicine ball

Did you know that

using the agility

ladder is one of the

best ways to

increase an

athletes speed,

agility and quick-

ness?

The agility ladder uses

its rungs to step, hop

and jump through vari-

ous drills.

Grab a ladder today

and create sport spe-

cific drills!

plant, get your head and eyes around to where you

want to go. When creating your own C.O.D. drills,

follows these simple tips:

Keep distances short to emphasize explosive-

ness over endurance

Combine moving forward with a plant then

going the opposite direction, or to the left or to the right

Combine the C.O.D. drills with plyometric and

ladder drills (ex: high knee or jump through agility

ladder, then sprint to cone, plant and sprint back

towards ladder

Most sports require changes of direction that have to happen in order to create great plays. C.O.D. (change of direction) takes place best when you factor in a couple of things:

Foot Plant: Land on your power pad (forefoot)

and push off when changing directions, do not be

FLAT FOOTED.

Arm Action: Get your arms moving, pumping

your elbows as you make the C.O.D. The more active

your arms are, the more active your feet are!

Head Turn: Athletes go in the direction that

they can visually see FASTER. After your power pad

Don’t forget to rotate!

Using the Agility Ladder to increase foot speed

COD (Change of Direction) Training For Sports Performance

S EE THE VIDEO

Click here for ladder drill video

Click here for rotational video

as if you were putting a box on a shelf. Press the sandbag overhead, back down to chest height, and back to the starting position. Repeat for

as many repetitions as necessary.

3. Sandbag Ruck- Pick up the sand-bag, place it on a shoulder, or behind the head on both shoulders. Now simply walk or jog. This is a torturous exercise, depending on the weight or size of your sandbag. A treadmill can be

used to monitor distance, or to increase the incline for added difficulty.

4. Sandbag Push-Presses- Pick the sandbag up to waist level, and maneuver the sandbag to chest height as in

a sandbag burpee press. Bend the knees and come back up as if to do a small jump while pressing the sandbag over-head and back down to chest height. The up-ward momentum of your body will assist in press-

ing the sandbag overhead. Repeat for the desired amount of repetitions.

5. Sandbag Get-Ups- Place the sandbag on one shoulder, while carefully lowering your-self into a seated, then lying position. While holding the

sandbag on your shoulder, post the other hand on the ground as well as the opposite leg. Now get up! This is supposed to be difficult, and you will very off balanced as you try to stand. Once you reach stating position, you have completed a sandbag get-up.

There are many more sandbag exer-cises that are very simple and highly effective. Fireman, military personnel, cross trainers, strongman, and com-bat athletes all use sandbag training as part of their exercise programs to achieve a high level of strength and fitness. For a free .pdf of many more exercises or information on sand-bags, send an email to: [email protected]

Keith, Brute Force Sandbags,

bruteforcesandbags.com

A sandbag is a highly versatile

training tool that can be used to get a full body workout in a short amount of time. With a few simple exercises, you can be guaranteed to get a highly effective, head to toe workout.

1. Sandbag Squats- Exactly the same as a squat with a bar-bell, but using a sandbag. Lift the sandbag to one shoulder, or position on both shoulders behind the head. Keeping the toes pointed slightly for-ward, bend down until your knees are parallel to the ground, and return to the starting position. You may be able to squat lower; do what feels comfortable to you.

2. Sandbag Burpee Presses- Holding the sandbag at waist height, drop down with the sandbag with your knees almost touch-ing your el-bows. Extend out to a push-up po-sition in one fluid motion, per-form a push-up, and return to the crouching position. Care-fully stand up while bringing the sandbag back to waist level. Bend slightly while thrusting the sandbag to chest height, elbows down,

5 effect Sandbag Training exercises and

how to perform them

Caption describing picture or graphic.

Click here Find a sand bag for your

training needs here at SKLZ!

marily upon power produc-

ing type II muscle fibers and

improved activation of type

II fibers improves power

output and

continued

exposure

leads to

power

gains. In-

crease

speed and

strength with loads at high

velocities, with movements

such as the clean, snatch,

and the jerk.

Complete power output in

the weight room is a prime

example of what the Olym-

pic lifts can do for increas-

ing your athleticism. It has

been noted that the power

output of a power clean is

triple that of the bench

press, squat, or dead lift.

High resistance and high

speed Olympic lifts rely pri-

Grasp barbell with over-hand grip, slightly wider than shoulder width.

Position bar chest high

with torso tight. Retract head back.

Dip body by bending

knees, hips and ankles slightly.

Explosively drive upward with legs, driving barbell up , vigorously extending arms overhead.

split, and in are

complexes and

plyos. Take a look

at the athlete in this

video using differ-

ent strength training

exercises combined

together to make a

great workout!

Today’s athlete trains very

different than their contempo-

rary’s did in the last decade.

The cross over appeal of dif-

ferent training modalities has

opened up big avenues into

the realm training possibili-

ties. Gone is the old school

“upper body/lower body”

Benefits of Olympic lifts for performance

Exercise Focus: The overhead push press

“Cross Training” for great workouts

Push presses are performed by holding a

barbell at shoulder height, bending your

knees slightly, then simultaneously straight-

ening your legs, while forcefully pushing the

bar overhead, until your arms are fully ex-

tended.

The push press involves the movement of

more than one joint, and works multiple mus-

cle groups. Push presses work your quads,

glutes and hamstrings as well as shoulder and

triceps. Your abdominals and lower back

muscles also work to keep your torso stable.

Quick, explosive movements like push press-

es activates your central nervous system, and

this primes your body to begin to physically

training

Sport Teas for Athletes We all want to be healthy. We all want to be active. We all want to have energy. We want our kids

be successful and achieve their goals in sport. As a parents we are trying our best to support our

kids providing good sport equipment, nutritional food, caring environment... Considering all these

factors we've moved further. We did research and find out that a lot of athletes in Europe and South

Africa drink tea as a sport drink. We've worked closely with nutritionists, herbalists, sport profes-

sionals and as a result we've brought on the North America market healthy and natural alternative

to commercial sport drinks - special blends of Sport Teas.

When we exercise our body looses water through perspiration and with it salts. Salts are combina-

tions of electrolytes such as sodium, potassium, chloride, and bicarbonate. They are critical for the functions of cells and a

proper balance of electrolytes is necessary for proper performance of the heart, muscles and other organs. It is important

to replace salts as well as water for healthy rehydration.

Sport drinks for athletes that are available on the market offer you electrolytes and carbohydrates.

Sport drinks commonly contain lots of sugar and sometimes more than necessary. Also there are

lots of artificial flavors and dyes to provide color to colorless beverages, or to mask unpleasant

colors. Many vitamins, minerals and electrolytes are added in synthetic form.

We believe that nature provides a better solution for athletes and the body responds best to nutri-

ents obtained from natural food sources, and is well designed to respond to and utilize nutrients

present in plants. We help athletes of all ages to RECOVER faster and have more ENERGY with our range of specially

blended SPORT TEAS. Our carefully selected ingredients maintain ENDURANCE and HYDRATE adults and kids in a

safe and natural way. Now we have the opportunity in North America to benefit from this product!

Why Sport Tea for Athletes?

Tea is very beneficial beverage for athletes of all ages due to the high content of antioxidants and potential to hydrate and

support energy and endurance. Antioxidants, minerals and vitamins in teas help your body to protect itself from the dam-

age during intense training and workout and recover more quickly after. Healthy Fluid and Electrolyte Replacement are

necessary for all athletes during workouts. It is best to consume 3 - 4 cups of Sport Tea for Athletes a day to improve the

endurance, keep up your energy, hydrate properly and increase the metabolism in your body.

For an athlete to really benefit from daily sport tea drinking, it is best to brew your own sport tea with real tea leaves. This

way there are no additives that may hinder your performance, and you will know exactly what is in your cup. We offer

special Sport Tea blends of high quality teas full of vitamins and minerals with most benefits for athletes. The best way to

enjoy your sport tea is straight up, with no sweeteners. But if you must, using stevia or even honey will be your best bet.

Sport Tea for Athletes is a healthy, natural, gluten-free solution as a

Sport Drink!

Get Kupa Tea HERE

Athletes, injuries and alternative therapy

One of the most important lessons I can impart to you regarding the use of electromagnetic therapies, is to clearly understand the actions they have in the body. These actions happen in all bodies every time PEMFs are used. This is regardless of the underlying causes or conditions a person has. Most diseases or health conditions have very common components to them.

The body has a somewhat limited repertoire of reacting to damage, injury or illness. The most commonly de-scribed actions of PEMF's include: pain reduction, reduction of swelling, decreasing the irritability of nerves, relaxing muscles, improving circulation, various metabolic effects, detoxification, cell membrane charge bal-ancing and stimulation of repair by stimulating RNA and DNA. PEMF's also have reflexology and acupuncture like actions in the body.

I always ask myself for any given condition what components of these actions of magnetic fields exist in that condition or body. Of course we don't always know completely what may be going on. But, you can bet that there are many of these components present. You can't tune the specific actions using the kinds of magnetic fields I usually recommend. There are research devices available that will create changes in some of these individual actions while providing less change to other actions. In the medical model, you would have a specif-ic device for each specific action. This clearly becomes impractical and way too expensive. For this reason I prefer devices that have general responses in the body and let the body decide what he needs and how it will respond.

Using these concepts, you can begin to think about how athletes might benefit from PEMF's. At the very least ath-letes need to have their muscles working in an optimal fashion. This is important to maintain structural integrity and maximize performance of the body for their particular sport. Maximizing performance decreases the risk of injury, never mind winning a competition. The biggest health risk to the athlete is injury. So, PEMF's would be used by athletes to maximize function of the body and at the same time reduce the risk of injury and to help the body recov-er faster from any injuries. With these ideas, athletes should be using whole body magnetic stimulation before and after workouts, tryouts, and any level of competition. Using PEMFs before competition causes the body to be opti-mized in its function. This will produce better performance.

It's been found that muscles work harder, longer and recover faster with magnetic stimulation. Also once used, muscles become sore and often tense or have spasm. A classic action of magnetic fields is to reduce muscle con-traction. Athletes often have to compete and work out despite their injuries, large and small. This is why regular use of magnetic fields is so important to any high level, or even weekend, athletes.

I know of one athlete who is still functioning into his 40s at a world-class level because of his continuing use of PEMF's. I was also told a story by a physician friend who was a team doctor for a US Olympic team. He said it would typically take our athletes 2 to 3 days to recover from competitions. He noticed that the then East Germans and Russians would be back the next day like robots without showing any of the effects of wearing out. When he went past their camp he no-

ticed that they were all using some sort of stimulation devices, most likely barrel type coils. These were not illegal and were not considered to be doping. Essentially they were therapeutic systems that help to wash the stress out of the body and reduce swelling and muscles and remove lactic acid.

I have personally experienced similar sorts of results whenever I've had to work hard in my yard. Usually the next day my muscles are sore and stiff. I have started using magnetic therapy right after I finish my yard work. Virtually every time, the next morning my muscles are not stiff or sore.

Research shows that PEMFs stimulate a process called myosin phosphorylation. This is the process of energy pro-duction in muscle. Phosphorylation produces ATP. ATP is essential for cell energy. Depleted ATP creates weak mus-cles. Workouts and a lot of strenuous muscle activity, deplete ATP. Rest restores ATP, assuming the body has the building blocks necessary to replenish it. PEMFs restore ATP by stimulating myosin phosphorylation.

( c ontinued Next Page )

Elevation Training Mask is a patent pending "Resistance Training Device" that helps condition the lungs by creat-ing pulmonary resistance and strength-ening the diaphragm.

Elevation Training Mask will help you regulate your breathing, increase lung stamina, oxygen efficiency and increase overall mental focus. Training Mask can help your over all per-formance in all sports and daily living.

See the Training

Mask Here!

Caption describing picture or

graphic.

Caption describing picture or

graphic.

(continued from previous page)

Another aspect of muscle injury and tissue damage from exercise or athletics, is a protein called variably, heat stress or heat shock protein. Mus-cles that are very active are stressed and therefore need higher levels of heat stress protein. Heat stress protein is not just for heat. It was discov-ered that when you damage a cell by heating it, heat shock protein is produced. It was also discovered that if you induce heat shock proteins in advance of potential damage, using stimulation techniques that are very gentle, you will reduce tissue damage. There is now research going on to use magnetic devices to stimulate heat shock proteins in heart muscles prior to open-heart surgery. Open-heart surgery obviously causes heart muscle damage. Preliminary research indicates that stimulating heat shock proteins decreases muscle damage from open-heart surgery, improv-ing results and postoperative recovery.

Pulsed electromagnetic fields can also increase the uptake of oxygen into muscle. Research I've done with the MagnoPro shows at least a 1% increase in local tissue oxygen uptake. A 1% increase in oxygen uptake can significantly enhance muscle performance and endurance. In com-petitive sports a 1% edge may be all that is needed to win.

With any injury, the body will take its usual time to repair. We know from the use of FDA approved devices, that fractures will heal in approximate-ly half the time - so will open wounds, including surgical wounds. Even in massive trauma, animals exposed to PEMF's will often survive, versus those that don't get PEMF treatment. I have personally seen many times, that large bruises disappear rapidly with the use of pulsed magnetic fields. All injuries produce swelling in the tissues, as does exercise on its own. Swelling delays the ability of the tissues to be nourished with oxy-gen and nutrients. This is why you see athletes frequently being treated with ice packs. Ice packs reduce superficial swelling. Swelling or bruising deep in a quadriceps muscle will not respond as well to ice. To effectively ice tissues deep in muscle you would cause freezing of the muscle on

the outside thus causing harm to those tissues. The risk versus benefit isn't acceptable. PEMFs on the other hand penetrate tissues deeply with-

out risk to the superficial tissues to create their benefits. The PEMF's reduce swelling and speed removal of the blood in a bruise, leading to faster recovery and return to activity, competition or training. Obviously, if treatment is applied early in the injury, recovery will be much faster. Once a lot of the effects of damage are settled into the tissue it takes more energy and longer to heal the tissues.

So, to conclude, I believe all athletes, professional, amateur or "weekend warriors" should be using daily whole body PEMF stimulation. In addi-tion, the treatment of any injuries with PEMF's accelerates even subtle healing healing, allowing the athlete to be healthier, stronger and perform better.

Dr. Pawluk invites you to view his website, http://www.drpawluk.com to learn more about pulsed electromagnetic field therapy, as

well as other holistic and alternative medicines. You can also research product reviews, schedule a phone consult with Dr. Pawluk

himself, and purchase the PEMF system that will best serve your needs. Blog: http://www.drpawluk.com/category/blog/

Visit our official site at ProPowerMag.com

For the more training info,

articles and videos, check out

our E-Mag website which is

updated regularly!

How to use foam rolling to improve your training

A foam roller is an incredible tool for anyone who is engaging in intense training and workouts. Whether you are an avid runner, are involved in a regular strength training pro-gram, or a competitive athlete; foam rolling is a great technique to improve performance.

First let me describe how and why the foam roller works. Everyone has what is called superfi-cial fascia, which is connective tissue located just below the skin. This is the stuff that con-nects muscles, blood vessels, bones and nerves in the body. Together with the muscles this creates the myofascia system.

When people are training hard, have had injuries, or do not stretch enough, the fascia can become tight and bundled together. What this means in the real world is that everything feels tight and restricted, usually causing some discomfort or even a reduction in overall training performance.

The work on a foam roller will actually release the tension and create space in the fascia, giving the area more movement.

The foam roller can be used on most major muscle areas including the quadriceps, hamstrings, IT band, upper and lower back, and the shoulder girdle. When using the foam roller, the individual will place the area they want to work on the roller and roll slowly, even-tually moving through the entire muscle area, concentrating on the "tight" areas. When doing this, the individual will likely feel knots or a "pins and needles" type of a feeling. This is normal and regular foam rolling will reduce pain and discomfort.

This self myofascial release technique is important for anyone with any training background and will improve performance, reduce the risk of injury, reduce chronic and acute pain, improve joint mobility, and improve overall movement quality. A foam roller is an incredible tool for anyone who is engaging in intense training and workouts. Whether you are an avid runner, are involved in a regular strength training program, or a competitive athlete; foam rolling is a great technique to improve performance.

First let me describe how and why the foam roller works. Everyone has what is called superficial fascia, which is connective tissue located just below the skin. This is the stuff that connects muscles, blood vessels, bones and nerves in the body. Together with the muscles this creates the myofascia system.

When people are training hard, have had injuries, or do not stretch enough, the fascia can become tight and bundled together. What this means in the real world is that everything feels tight and restricted, usually causing some discomfort or even a reduction in overall training performance.

The work on a foam roller will actually release the tension and create space in the fascia, giving the area more movement.

The foam roller can be used on most major muscle areas including the quadriceps, hamstrings, IT band, upper and lower back, and

the shoulder girdle. When using the foam roller, the individual will place the area they want to work on the roller and roll slowly, even-

tually moving through the entire muscle area, concentrating on the "tight" areas. When doing this, the individual will likely feel knots or a "pins and needles" type of a feeling. This is normal and regular foam rolling will reduce pain and discomfort.

This self myofascial release technique is important for anyone with any training background and will improve performance, reduce the risk of injury, reduce chronic and acute pain, improve joint mobility, and improve overall movement quality.

Callie Durbrow is the owner of Durbrow Performance Personal Training in Cambridge, Massachusetts. Her program provides fat loss training for busy women in Cambridge and Boston. Callie is a certified strength and conditioning specialist with dis-tinction and a USAW Sports Performance Coach. Her personal interests include training, snowboarding, basketball and read-ing. Blog: http://www.ultimateathleticfitness.com. Personal: http://www.durbrowperformance.com

See the Training

Mask Here!

Elevation Training Mask is a patent pending "Resistance Training Device" that helps condi-tion the lungs by creating pulmonary re-sistance and strengthening the diaphragm.

Elevation Training Mask will help you regulate your breathing, increase lung stamina, oxy-gen efficiency and increase overall mental fo-cus. Training Mask can help your over all per-

formance in all sports and daily living.

Plyometric training is designed to enable a muscle

to reach maximum strength in a short amount of

time. This in turn leads to muscles that propel

athletes faster, higher and more explosive.

There are several types of plyometric training

drills-or jumps-which are useful for developing

athletic explosiveness. The following are some of

the most widely used:

* Jumps in place-a jump completed by landing in

the same spot where the jump started. Low in

intensity, yet it provides stimulus by requiring

athletes to rebound quickly, jump after jump

* Standing Jumps---stresses single maximum

effort, horizontal or vertical with recovery time

between each, and repeated

* Multiple Hops & Jumps---combination of the

above, yet are done one after anoth-

er

* Bounding---exaggerated normal

running, focusing on lifting and

"floating" as you run

* Box Drills-combines multiple

hops and jumps with depth jumps

using boxes to land on

* Depth Jumps---uses athletes body

weight and gravity to exert force

against ground. Performed by step-

ping out from box and dropping to ground, then

jumping back up to the height of the box

Each type of jump is useful for developing explo-

siveness in all sports. Add the

use of barriers such as cones and

hurdles to increase training

variety and intensity. Also, add a

5-10 yard sprint after each jump,

or the use of a ball (catching,

dribbling) to make it more sports

specific.

Boxes/steps Use a

mini box (6") or step to

perform single leg hops

both sideways and forward

Jump rope This is

one of the best: put that

single foot in motion as you

spin the rope for quickness

Medicine

Ball Perform standing

medicine balls drills throw-

YES, two legs are better than one, but if you would like to increase the effectiveness of both of them performing together, train them with single leg drills!

Try these athletic drills and exercises below on one leg:

Lifting Stand on one leg as you perform

any type of lifting such as curls, presses and

pulls

Ladder/Hurdle Drills Perform various

drills on one foot hoping forward, laterally and

backwards

ing and tossing the ball from a single leg as

your body balances and stabilizes throughout

the entire motion

There a dozens more ways you can make

single leg training effective. The more innovat-

ing and creative you are, the more efficient

your athletic movements become. Plus, throw

in the use of athletic actions such as throwing

or catching a ball or other sport related item.

Be creative and make it sport specific

Training Video Session of the Week for Athletes: SAQ/Power

Plyometrics for powering up your performance

Train on One Leg to Maximize Sports Performance

Should you participate in the Tough Mudder or Warrior Dash?

While you will find conventional athletic challenges such as running a marathon that numerous competi-tive athletes take pleasure in, you might not find this very exciting. You may want to engage in a high energy and extreme challenge which involves multiple athletic capabilities. There tend to be this kind of challenges that you could be part of such as the Warrior Dash or even the Tough Mudder. These 2 activi-ties are serious challenges that involve going long distances via challenging obstacles that really must be climbed over and pushed through in order to succeed. What's the difference between these events?

Challenges of Each Event:

The Tough Mudder as well as the Warrior Dash are both tough to finish. The Tough Mudder is really a much longer race in terms of miles with relatively equivalent obstacles. If you want to try out one for the first time the Warrior Dash is smaller is length which makes it an easier challenge to accomplish.

Levels of competition: The Warrior Dash is really a competitive occasion. You possess a monitor which you bring along with you which measures the amount time it will take you to finish the entire course. There are winners as well as those that lose. In the Tough Mudder, time just isn't extremely important. There is much more of a focus on getting the challenge completed as well as helping those who might be having difficulties. Group effort is encouraged and is a component of the overall viewpoint of the occasion. If you want an individual task, the Warrior Dash far better suits you.

Destinations: The Warrior Dash isn't quite as well-known so the majority of the events outside of just one in Australia take place in the united states. The Tough Mudder has a number of events all across numerous nations around the world although most are nevertheless in Canada And America.

Charities: Both events have a preferred charity that they aid; the Warrior Dash supports Green Sneakers, which gives organizations environmentally friendly fundraising opportunities, and the Tough Mudder supports the Wounded Warrior Project, which gives assistance to U.S. war veterans past what the federal government can provide.

Unique Qualities: While there might be some that do this at both events, you will observe many at the Warrior Dash that dress up in outfits for the race. This is not imple-mented to take it all less seriously but to include a bit of pizazz to the entire challenge. The Tough Mudder has a promise and mentality that you're to agree to before the race. This pledge and overall competition philosophy is something that you have to keep in mind the whole time.

Roderick Meadows is actually a first generation nerd that enjoys to read and is a student of all the things dealing with technology, business, blogging, lifestyle design, and minimalism. To discover more in regards to the Tough Mudder event and the Warrior Dash, pay a visit to Ro-derickMeadows.com.

Drop your hips BUT

only take the

DB/KB to eye level

NOT overhead

Keep foot on box

and drive into box

until your on top;

drive up the knee of

the opposite leg

Feet square, bent

at waist with your

back flat; good

extension as you

pull the DB to

you side

Quick dip your

hips about 6

inches then

stand up

straight and

press DB's over

head; lower

and repeat

Use the incline an-

gle of the utility

bench; keep feet flat

into the ground as

you drive up DB's

over your chest

Drop your hips BUT

only take the DB to

eye level NOT over-

head

Pro Power Workout

Try this simple Total Body Trainer to add some variety to your training! Perform 4 sets of each with 8 reps per

Plate Lunge Rotation Incline DB Bench DB/KB Swing DB Step Up DB Bench Row

DB Squat ‘n

Press

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The Tao of Belly Breathing

We do it every day, all day and night and we do not even think about it, should we? Air is pulled into our

lungs, effortlessly bonding to our blood and replenishing our muscles with oxygen. Better breathing could lead

to better health. The big question is: How are you breathing?

Proper breathing can change how your body feels and can help prevent injury. There are two ways to breathe:

belly breathing and chest breathing. Our bodies were made to belly breathe, as our diaphragm is the principle

muscle for respiration and a secondary muscle for the core.

The diaphragm is a dome shaped muscle and separates our upper and lower trunk cavities. When we inhale, the diaphragm ascends and pulls air into the

lungs and forces our belly to expand. The diaphragm is also part of our core. The core activates with any movement as it stabilizes our trunk and upper body.

When our obliques (primary core muscles) are weak, we tend to use our diaphragm to force pressure into the abdominal cavity, pushing the abdominal walls

out. This leads to shallow breathing and increased possibility of injury.

When we get in the habit of holding our breath to perform physical activity, the diaphragm is no longer acting as the main force of our core. The result is we

unconsciously use our neck muscles for breathing which can cause them to be over worked and painful.

Bad habits can be corrected; the first step is to determine whether you are a belly or upper chest breather. This can be accomplished by sitting and placing one

hand on your belly, and the other on your chest. Try to relax and breathe normally (not focusing on your diaphragm) and see which hand moves more. If your

top hand is rising and falling more than your bottom hand, there is some work to be done.

Next, see if you hold your breath while physically exercising. This could be as simple as getting up from the couch. Do you have a forceful release of air

when you stand? Do you bend over to pick something up and find that you are holding your breath until you are upright?

The key is to be conscious of this and after 3-4 days, you should be able to remind yourself to belly breathe before performing one of those activities. The

trick is to take an easy, deep breath from your diaphragm and calmly exhale while you are getting up from the couch, lifting a heavy object and any other

similar movements.

By being aware of how you breathe and remembering to use your diaphragm, you can prevent a potential imbalance in your neck and shoulders which will

keep you pain free. If you are experiencing difficulty with the aforementioned tips, you may need additional assistance with lengthening your diaphragm to

retrain your muscle potential.

Dave Asselin received his Doctorate in Physical Therapy from Grand Valley State University in 2007. Owner and licensed physical therapist, Dave

has extensive post-graduate training in manual therapy and consults exclusively with the Grand Rapids Ballet. He was All Big Ten 1991-1994 Michi-

gan State University Water Polo and 1990 All American at East Kentwood High School in Water Polo. Dave is a native of Grand Rapids and served

two years in the Peace Corps in Tonga. He and his wife Jen reside in Grand Rapids and have a son, Luke.