Sports Training
Strengthen Your Back and Glutes with the Bird Dog Exercise
Although Bird Dog is an excellent exercise for strengthening the back and glutes, most people do it wrong. I counted three people performing the movement incorrectly during my short one-hour gym workout last week! Thus, I was inspired to write this blog. The Problem...
What’s your wellness breakthrough goal for 2019?
“If I [fill in the blank], my wellness would skyrocket, positively impacting several aspects of my health and life.” Breakthrough goals are common in the business world. However, I had never heard the term until working with my coach on my goals for the new year. It...
A Better Way to Band Walk
Band walking is a good exercise to strengthen your hips. Unfortunately, many people do it wrong. The problem is that the hip is not positioned correctly when performing the exercise. Additionally, people often don’t take into consideration muscle coordination during...
The Best Exercise You Can do for Running Efficiency
In last month’s blog, Improve Your Running Form: Align Your Core, I discussed the importance of aligning your core to allow for counter-rotation between the upper and lower body, specifically between the rib cage and the pelvis. Keep in mind that the hip sits within...
Improve Your Running Form: Align Your Core
While I was on my recent book tour, I stopped at Fusion Multisport in Los Alamos, NM. There, I gave a talk on Core Running Posture. This blog re-caps some of the information that I shared. Running requires a transfer of power between your upper and lower body....
The Secret to Peak Performance: Total Alignment
Please enjoy an excerpt from my book, Winning the Injury Game, available on Amazon. The best athlete is in alignment—physically, mentally, emotionally, and, spiritually. This athlete is aligned not just in body as discussed previously, but also in mind and soul. I...
Train Movements, Not Individual Muscles
Please enjoy an excerpt from my book, Winning the Injury Game, available on Amazon. Sports performance is the result of coordinated movements. Casting a fly rod, spiking a volleyball, paddling a boat, skiing moguls, and hiking up a mountain all require multiple...
Alignment is the Foundation of Strength and Athletics
Please enjoy an excerpt from my book, Winning the Injury Game, available on Amazon. Gray Cook, MSPT, OCS, CSCS, researcher, national lecturer, and author, developed the “Optimum Performance Pyramid” as a model to understand movement. It is a three-tier pyramid;...
Defining the Core
Please enjoy an excerpt from my book, Winning the Injury Game, available on Amazon. What is your core? And how does it relate to your posture? Although we hear a lot about “the core” and have been told we need a strong one from various sources—doctors, fitness...
9 Reasons to Support Local Athletic Events
Earlier this month my husband and I rode the Moab Century, a 100-mile bike tour, on our tandem. During our ride, we enjoyed the beautiful scenery, well-stocked aid stations, and camaraderie of being out on the roads with several other cyclists from around the country....
Age is Not To Blame for Your Sports Injuries
Many people blame injuries and pain on their age. However, I'm here to tell you that you don't need to give up sports just because you're growing older. Sports themselves do not cause your injuries, either. Sports are not bad! We are designed to move and play for all...
What is Athletic Toughness?
Is athletic toughness pushing through the pain and possibly compromising your body for future sports participation to compete in a race? OR Is athletic toughness having the integrity to listen to your body, make self-respecting choices and think beyond today’s game?...
Many Athletes are Dysfunctional!
Did you see it? Professional golfer Tiger Woods pulled out of the first round of the Farmers Open last month due to back pain. Why? Because of a lack of glute activation. In an interview, he actually acknowledged it. “My glutes are shutting off and they they...
Four Reasons You Don’t Want to Get Hurt
“An ounce of prevention is worth a pound of cure.” Ben Franklin said these famous words in 1736 in reference to fire prevention. You can apply the same philosophy, however, to sports injuries. For several reasons--beyond the obvious--we want to avoid any initial...
Knowing When to Let Go of a Sports Goal
Balloon Letting go is hard. In my experience, it is much more difficult to coach someone to postpone participation in an event than to continue ahead with strenuous training. I've also struggled with this personally. Consider this . . . July 15, 2011 - It is...
Meet Jessica!
I believe we are designed to move and play throughout our entire lives. I don’t buy into the idea that we should slow down with age, or that pain, injury and physical restrictions are unavoidable aspects of growing older. So, here’s my philosophy. Our mental mindset, combined with the physical position and condition of the body that we bring into any activity (from walking to skiing to everything in between), determines our chance of hurting when we move. If we have a positive mindset, and if we have proper positioning and move with correct body biomechanics, all activities should be possible.
This is the goal I have for everyone: to overcome pain and limitations so you can Stay in the Game for Life!
Visit The Pain Free Athlete website for additional resources and opportunities.
