Former UConn Star Andre Dixon

I am happy to announce that former UConn running back Andre Dixon will be doing FLSP training for the next 7 weeks as he gets ready for the NFL regional combine on February 24th in New York City.  I will be working with Andre three days a week beginning next week.   This is a big opportunity for Andre to make it to the NFL.  It will be a dream come true for him.  I met him yesterday and I was impressed.  A great person who is very committed to succeed in his opportunity.  I am going to do everything I can to prepare him for his big day.  Many of you UConn fans may remember Andre Dixon.  He was UConn's star running back and had a great career there.  Continue to follow my blog as updates on his training will be posted.

"When you get to the point when you want to succeed as bad as you need to breathe, then you will be successful."

High School Girls Basketball

Its good to read the Hartford Courant this morning and find pictures of two FLSP athletes in the sports page.  FLSP athletes Alyssa Reaves and Haley Gacia both had pictures in the Courant this morning.  They both play for Northwest Catholic as they beat Avon last night.  Also the SMSA girls basketball made the FoxCT highlight clip as they beat Classical Magnet last night and they are off to a 6-1 start this year.  Congratulations to both athletes and the SMSA Girls Basketball team for their great start to the season.

Tempo Endurance Running Important for Sprinters

So many times I hear sprinters telling me, " I don't need to do any distance running because I only run the 100m and/or the 200m.  Well the truth is that sprinters cannot neglect Aerobic training or what I call "Tempo" runs.  The objective is to build a sound base on which specific quality work can be done.  The term Tempo training refers not only to the intensity of the running, which is lower than in anaerobic components of running, but also to the smoothness and control which are striven for even at quite high percentages of maximum effort.  Three kinds of Tempo training are identified:

1. Continuous
2. Extensive
3. Intensive

Tempo work follows a progression through all three levels of increasing intensity and lays the base for the anaerobic and Special Endurance sessions which follow. 

Continuous Tempo - The concentration of lactate in the blood starts to increase at low levels when workloads exceed 60% intensity, depending on the condition of the athlete.  Easy continuous runs help to improve recovery and to lower the athlete's fatugue levels.  The cardiovascular and cardiorespiratory systems of a highly trained athlete in some respects will show physiological characteristics above the norm.  For example, blood volume is larger in a trained athlete.  In addition, the body's capability of oxygen absorption depends upon the size and strength of the heart, the extensive network of capillary blood vessels and above all, the quality and amount of blood.  The most important part of the blood with the respect to oygen uptake is the red blood cell, specifically the iron-containing hemoglobin (Hb) molecule which readily combines with oxygen.  Therefore, the higher concentration of hemoglobin, the more oxygen it will be able to carry from the lungs to the working muscles.  All these characteristics are improved with the general endurance runs, defined as continuous runs at 40 to 60% intensity such as long slow distance runs.  400 meter sprinters are more likely to use variations of this type of preparation than the short sprint colleagues.  Workouts should be done with a minimum  heart rate of 150 beats per minute for a minimum of 18 minutes. 
Examples:
25 to 30 minutes of steady-state running
30 to 40 minutes of steady-state running
30 to 50 minutes of fartlek work
long intervals of 1000m runs followed by a 200m jog recovery. 

Extensive Tempo (Recovery)

When running at 60-80% intensity the trained athlete will experience lactic acid formation.  Lactic acid at these submaximal levels forms in larger amounts when the oxidative system is insufficient to meet the demands of the muscle, namely at the point where a temporary state of oxygen shortage or "oxygen debt" is encountered.  Continuous running at "extensive tempo" levels assists in the removal of the lactic acid.   Extensive tempo is defined as relaxed and smooth repetition running at 60-80% intensity to assist recovery. This form of recovery is done at a "talk" pace.  Extensive tempo enhances the oxidative apparatus and lays a base for higher intensity work when lactate levels are higher. 

Intensive Tempo

Intensive Tempo work borders on Speed endurance and Special Endurance and therefore is an anaerobic/aerobic system.  Lactate levels become quite high.  Intensive Tempo, however, concentrates on the quantity and control of the running and the avoidance of undue stress. 

To run at 80 to 90% intenstiy, a relaxed, smooth and controlled pace is required.  Stress develops from running too tight with poor relaxation resulting in fatigue.  The athlete may not necessarily get tired from running fast but from straining to work harder.  In sufficient oxygen and the build-up of lactic acid combine to bring the muscle activity to stop.  The onset of this fatigue is determined to a large extent by the physiological changes begun as a result of continuous and extensive tempo preparation and further developed with intensive tempo.  6 to 12 repetitions can be done when a recovery pulse rate of 100-115 is reached.  Runs may be up to 600m. 

These different types of tempo is critical in developing short and long sprinters for their season.  Coaches need to plan properly and also add variety to the training to make it interesting and productive.  This way sprinters will not get bored to do repetitive work and they will find it beneficial to their training as the season approaches. 

Explosive Training

Tune in to the NFL or NBA draft or read the scouting reports and you would be surprised how many times the commentators use the word "explosive".  If you happen to catch a track and field meet on television, you'll hear the announcers talk about how explosive sprinters are out of the blocks.  Athletes and strength coaches talk about explosiveness, too-and better ways to train and develop it.  As a speed and agility coach I use explosive strength training to the athletes I work with at the Sports and Medical Sciences Academy and in my private training with Fast Lane Sports Performance.  I call it speed in the lift.  Explosive training simply means the intent to produce maximal force or effort in a given skill, exercise, or drill.  In explosive training the athlete is training the central nervous system, muscular system, and skill system to move fast.  When doing explosive training it is important that the athlete is recovered and well rested so the volume of the exercise should be low with plenty of rest in between sets.  Exercises like Olympic lifts, plyometrics, throwing, and short sprint training are the best ways to increase an athlete's fast twitch muscle fibers, and have the fibers fire fast behind a lot of strength. 

Most explosive exercise are very difficult and it takes strength, flexibility, coordination, and balance.  For most of the athletes I train, I start them with the simplest form of an explosive exercise then build up from there.  This way the athlete will have a chance to improve their strength, coordination, and their flexibilty before going into more difficult explosive exercises.   When doing explosive training along with sped training and athlete has to beware of their recovery in between workouts.  It is important to do explosive movements exercises and speed training well rested to maximize movement and velocity. 

For Young Athletes, Knee Surgery Opens Door To Pain

I've spoken to horribly disabled old football players who told me they'd do it all again, whatever life's sacrifice, just to have played the game. How many players have taken performance-enhancing drugs without any concern about the possible side effects? So many athletes will do almost anything to compete.

But now, in an ironic twist, some surgeons have come to feel terribly conflicted about their part in salvaging an athlete's career.

Injury to the ACL — the anterior cruciate ligament — is a well-known athletic wound, as famous as rotator cuffs or concussions. And orthopedic surgeons can repair a damaged ACL.

Ah, but here's the rub. Doctors know that because the surgery allows young athletes to continue to compete aggressively and put stress on that damaged knee, a significant number will, in as few as 10 years, suffer degenerative osteoarthritis. That is so much more debilitating and painful — and must be endured for the rest of one's life. Some may even require knee replacement.

Yet, Dr. Robert Stanton, the president of the American Orthopaedic Society for Sports Medicine, told me that even when this grim reality is carefully explained to young athletes, they almost all opt for the ACL operation. "They're young; they're invulnerable. Above all, they just want to keep playing."

I told Dr. Stanton that it sounds like some fairy tale where the evil wizard promises to make you the most beautiful woman in the world, only in 15 years you'll turn into an ugly toad.

The specialists are so troubled that last month they held a think tank in New Orleans to discuss post-traumatic osteoarthritis.  But, when it came to the effect of the ACL operation, the physicians left with no new answers.

The basic problem is that when the ACL — which goes down the center of the knee, helping attach the shinbone to the thighbone — is torn, it damages both bone structure and cartilage. But cartilage doesn't heal. It just doesn't. And eventually, as the young athlete grows to middle age, the arthritic problems appear.

What makes ACL injuries even more dramatic is that they're much more common with females. No one knows why for sure. It may be because the female pelvis is wider, putting a greater angle of pressure on the knee. It may be hormonal. It may be that girls — at least until recently — have not been as well-conditioned as boys. So in sports like basketball, volleyball and skiing, ACL injury is a special blight for girls and young women.

But then, athletes are cursed with the desire to do anything to keep playing, so sports surgeons are more and more distressed that they're being forced to be the devil's instrument, to enable a young passion that will result, later, in years, even decades, of pain and disability.

It's a cruel moral dilemma for the doctors, as the youthful sweet seduction of sport trumps the everyday grace of a healthy middle age.