On My Mind

1. One of SAPT’s long-term clients, Conrad, is having knee replacement surgery tomorrow morning. Through his dedication to total body strength training, Conrad has effectively managed to push this surgery off by at least 7-years beyond what his doctor originally predicted. That really goes to show you how important strength training is for the body in ways that extend well beyond superficial goals like looking good. There is no doubt in my mind that his recovery will be swift and smooth. Here is a video of 61-year old Conrad doing a 110-lb pull-up:
2. I’ve been thinking a lot lately of the validity of a general dynamic warm-up prior to competition for certain sports. Think about it, the general dynamic warm-up is designed to 1. elevate the heart-rate, 2. address muscular imbalances, 3. improve ROM and flexibility, and 4. can be used as an opportunity to work on body weight strength exercises. I actually wrote a post touting the benefits of general dynamic warm-ups for practices a few weeks ago. But, why do athletes need to work on numbers 2-4 before a game or match? They don’t. Instead, I suggest a specific dynamic warm-up in which the goal would be to elevate the heart rate and thoroughly warm-up the entire body by gradually progressing the team through sport specific drills that still take the body through all three planes of motion and important ranges of motion.
3. I achieved a bit of a personal milestone on Sunday. For the first time SAPT is able to act as a sponsor for George Mason University athletics. It was pretty cool listening to our promotional piece read over the loud speaker! Please consider supporting Mason athletics, too, this academic year. Our sponsorship money goes directly to the general athletic scholarship fund to directly help the hard-working student-athletes. SAPT signs and banners will be present all year long at: men’s and women’s basketball, women’s lacrosse, women’s soccer, women’s volleyball, and baseball.
4. Fooducate Blog is one of my new “faves” check it out.
5. Keep your eyes peeled for my two new articles out in the September issues of Experience Life magazine and Volleyball magazine.