My favorite upper body exercise is the punching matrix. It is a multi-directional, multi-functional exercise. We have rehabilitated shoulders and alleviated pain with this unique exercise. It will be part of my strength training 3 times a week this summer even as I am on the road racing 3 times a week.
Have fun punching your way to power!
Category Archives: Topic – Training
Balance Reaches
The third exercise that I have in my workout regime is the balance reach. Balance reaches are wonderful for mobilizing your joints and stabilizing your muscles. The balance reach is an example of how to pick up something properly while on one leg. When done correctly, the balance reach keeps you back in neutral and avoids back pain.
I have a client who is a professional golfer and we discuss in great length about the problems with back pain on the tour. Golfers have a difficult time with back pain due to rotation on their golf swing or to flexion when picking up the ball or tee. Just watch pro golfers on TV pick up the ball incorrectly each time they put the ball in the hole. This video on how to perform a balance reach while keeping your back in neutral has become an integral part of my pro client’s training.
No matter what sport you play, the balance reach is a great addition to your exercise program.
Squats
A great leg workout is a functional squat. In this video, Juan and I demonstrate how to do a proper squat. We will also show you some of the pitfalls of doing a proper squat and how to protect your lower back at all times. I do my squat routine after my lunge matrix. This is part of my warm-up program and strength program. A special thank you to Kevin Freeland at Body Focus Fitness based in Tempe,AZ for providing me a place to train when I am in Arizona and supplying the equipment for these videos. In this video, I use the medicine ball in my power fast squats.
I hope you can add a squat routine to your workouts. This will help you gain speed and power.
Lunge Matrix
How do I begin and end my workouts? I use the lunge matrix. It is a multi- directional exercise that I use for my warm-up, for strengthening, for power, and for my cool down. It is a multi-purpose exercise that strengthens your legs and core, opens up your hips, and protects your back. My trainer, Juan Ruiz-Tagle, and I take you through the lunge matrix in the video below. I look forward to your comments after you have tried this starting routine.
How Do You Strengthen Your Abs Without Injuring Your Back?
We are 9 weeks away from the New England Marathon…One Mile At A Time beginning on July 1st! We are going to run a new blog every Monday evening until the start of the event. We will be sharing all the parts of my new training program.
My new trainer and www.OneMileRunner.com Consultant, Juan Ruiz-Tagle, explains what I needed to add to my training, how to properly work your core and abs, how to avoid serious back pain and how to workout your arms and legs in muti-directions. I hope you enjoy this eye opening interview and the subsequent videos that follow every week showing some of the foundational moves of the training. Next week I will be posting my new lunge matrix video. I look forward to receiving your comments and feedback.
How Metrics Killed The Mile
Roger Bannister, who is the first man to break 4 minutes for the mile, spoke about the beauty of running 4 laps in under 4 minutes. Bannister broke the 4 minute barrier on May 6, 1954. At that time, the mile was a huge international event as he and John Landy from Australia were trying to become the first man to break 4 minutes in the mile. 46 days after Bannister broke the record, Landy broke Bannister’s record.
Today almost all of the tracks in the USA are on the metric scale. No longer can we talk about “the beauty of running 4 laps in under 4 minutes” as Bannister did for the mile. It takes 4 laps and another 9 meters to run the mile now on the metric track. It is all fairly confusing now as we have the 1500 meters (100 meters less than 4 laps = metric mile), high schoolers running 1600 meters and thinking that they ran a mile, and then the full mile.
I know the world uses the metric system and we in the United States are following the international standard in track and field. But as long as I can buy a gallon of milk or drive on our roads measured in miles, I want to promote the idea of the mile race. Americans can relate to the mile. They all have a feeling for what it is. Try to mention 5 kilometers or 10 kilometers to a non-runner and they do not really know how far that is. And even the people and runners who do know the distance, they say that is 3.1 miles or 6.2 miles. It always comes back to miles. The 5K and 10K races that are run in the USA are still marked in miles. Runners often ask me in a 5K race, “What did you run the first mile in?” It always comes back to the mile in the USA. We are familiar with it.
The metric system killed the international popularity of the mile, but that does not mean it is totally dead. I have been traveling around North America since May running mile road races. It is a wonderful event that takes speed and strength. And if you run it to do your best, it is a painful event. The lactic acid builds in your muscles, your lungs burn with every breath, and your heart pumps faster and faster. From a fitness perspective, it is a wonderful addition to the many aerobic exercises that are propagated in the health field today. If people, who are able and healthy enough, could run one mile twice a week in addition to their normal exercises, the benefits of this workout would be amazing. I met a ultramarathoner at a recent mile race and he was saying how much more he was hurting after the mile race than after a long marathon run. If you treat the mile as a speed workout, it is one of the best workouts you can do. I have people commenting to me, “It is only a mile race?” Referring that it is not that long (as most people are accustomed to more distance in road racing), but if you really go for it…it is plenty long enough.
One of the frequent readers at www.OneMileRunner.com and staunch advocate of the mile, David Wrenn, voices many of the same feelings that I have for the mile event. Now that the 5K is taking over the 10K in running popularity due to more people being able to run the distance while avoiding the injuries and illnesses of the marathon and is less complicated to conduct a 5K event than a 10K. Why is the mile not the next natural progression? It is even easier to arrange a one mile race for every race director and even more people are attracted to the mile as they are able to run the distance. And as David points out, “Who envies the physique of an elite marathoner?”
The one mile race today is still as majestic as Bannister mused about the mile back in the 50s. Try one out and tell me what you think.
45th Birthday Time trial
A few of my friends got together to celebrate my 45th birthday on April 10, 2008. We started the morning at the Booker High School track doing a 1200 meter time trial trying to establish the rhythm I need for the mile. You will hear from a couple of my training partners who are turning 50 in 2008, Wayne Lee Johnson and David Putnam. Also, you will hear fom the Training Consultant, Ray Helsing, and watch Kim Sheffield, 40-44 Indoor National Champ in the 800 and mile, perform a few medicine ball exercises.
Why is proper training important to athletes over 30 years of age?
For runners who are 30+, a little different approach is needed in their training. First of all, my advice is to take good care of your legs. They are the only two legs you have. With that in mind, running should be varied with one easy day then a hard day throughout your weekly program. Soft surfaces are a must for older runners as the pounding of the pavement can take its toll in the long run. Emphasis should be on the quality of your workout, not the quantity.
Begin each workout with a proper 15 -20 minute warm- up period. Movement, drills, stretching are great to warm up your muscles. After your workout, a warm-down period is required with easy moving, stretching, and recovery for 20 minutes.
Listen to your body, if you need rest, take it. However, do not take off two consecutive days as your body gets lazy and tight. I wish you the best in your training as you become quicker, faster, and more relaxed in your striding.