Training Basics

The purity of sport: Shinny hockey

No positions, no rules, no tactics, no strategy, no faceoff for the puck. The other team skated tentatively toward us with the puck. “Ready?”. I looked at our players. “Yup”. And the game began. It was an absolute rush.

Low back, Training Basics

Shoveling as a workout?

For many, shoveling is the big frustration. It’s hard work if you have a big driveway. I’m not sure if this is a surprise to anyone, but emergency rooms fill up after big snow falls. Okay, I’m sure that doesn’t surprise anyone. Many of the visits are from falling injuries – slippery sidewalks, ski or snowboard tumbles, and of course toboggan injuries. But did you know there is also an increase in cardiac incidents? It turns out that shoveling is both frustrating and dangerous.

Training Basics

Introducing your new best friend, Foam Roll

Like a massage, foam rolling is based on the concept of addressing trigger points in your muscles that can interfere with the muscles ability to relax and lengthen. It is a great option for anyone who consistently has tight muscles. If you are a runner or any athlete involved in running sports, I am going to venture a guess that you will want to roll your IT bands (the outside of your thigh) and gluteals. If you are a runner or any athlete involved in running sports, I am going to venture a guess that you will find these trigger points your IT bands (the outside of your thigh) and gluteals. Skiers and hockey players will likely feel it most in their adductors, gluteals and quads. Office workers?

Nutrition

The One True Diet: Does it Include Donuts?

I think there are some people who eat well all the time. They don’t crave anything, and they generally don’t snack. I am not one of those people. I suspect most of you are not those people either. One of the best lessons I have learned is how to judge junk, or the Four Laws of Junk Food Efficiency.

Golf and Skiing, Training Basics, Training for sports

Training for skiing

You book a great week-long ski vacation somewhere out west. You can’t stop thinking about knee deep powder, and 3,000+ vertical feet, and runs that take half an hour to ski down. Then you start thinking about that, and you remember how bad your legs felt during your last ski vacation. The good thing is that there is a solution. Now the real question: what do you do to prepare for a ski trip – or for ski season for those that hit the slopes locally?

Low back, Training Basics

Lessons about low back pain (part 2)

This week’s post is a follow on to last week’s post with some basic information about low-back pain, covering some slightly different topics and getting into a bit more detail. The post will primarily address whether and how much we should bend, extend and rotate our backs.