Take a few minutes and watch this “full ice” video from USA Hockey before you demand that your kid play in a “real game”.
Full Ice?
Parents hate cross ice hockey. It’s not a “real game”. The kids don’t follow the rules ( no icing, no off sides ) etc. etc. Guess what, parents are not very smart. Every good coach I know is a cross ice fan ( I know that list does not necessarily include your sons current full ice coach).
You know what happens in cross ice hockey? Kids touch the puck ( a lot), kids score goals. kids have fun.
Here’s a great read from Ferris State Coach Bob Daniels on Cross Ice Hockey
PS- If you are not a cross ice fan, just imagine having a conversation with another parent about your current field of expertise ( accounting, law, medicine, manufacturing) and that parent acting like they knew all about your field. Guess what, that’s what you sound like when you talk to a real hockey coach about hockey. Watching your local pro team does not make you a hockey expert any more than shopping at CVS makes you an expert on medicine.
I’ve written previously about running cadence and the use of digital metronomes in helping to coach subtle increases in stride frequency at a given speed, and this improve stride length. This primarily helps to stop a runner from over striding, as well as gently improving limb stiffness.
Working on cadence where appropriate provides a simple cue for a runner to practice as ‘homework’ in between technique coaching sessions!
In the video above, we can clearly see the immediate effect an increase in cadence has on an over striding triathlete…
For more information on the research surrounding running cadence read this:
Also, be sure to read this short piece on heel striking, and why it’s not all bad!:
The post Running Cadence: Using a Metronome to Improve Technique appeared first on Run Coaching, Ironman and Triathlon Specialists - Kinetic Revolution.
A recent NSCA Journal article was summarized in Science Daily
Through Four Years Training College Football Players Gain Strength and Size
The gist of the article was that strength and size increased while speed and power did not?
Two questions for anyone familiar with the study or, the Oklahoma State S+C program.
1- What type of training was done?
2- Did the study look at power just by VJ and 40 time or, did they look at relative power via Sayers/ Lewis formula.
I believe that an athlete who gains size and maintains speed and VJ gains power?
Feedback would be appreciated.
I strongly agree... http://t.co/tIriZbrfQn
http://t.co/fGs0jlWbc7
— Marilyn Kaminski (@MarilynKaminski) December 16, 2014
Nice reminder from the Mercola site.
Are You Drinking Enough Water?
Excellent Core Exercises I highly recommend http://t.co/BudxWX2FkK
http://t.co/fGs0jlWbc7
— Marilyn Kaminski (@MarilynKaminski) December 15, 2014
There are significant education benefits for girls who play sports http://t.co/0N0nwiEE7q pic.twitter.com/FUazBqP89c
ScottsdaleSportsMed...
— Marilyn Kaminski (@MarilynKaminski) December 15, 2014
Excellent core exercise to do that I highly recommend! http://t.co/wqiD4YsNFu
— Marilyn Kaminski (@MarilynKaminski) December 15, 2014
This is an area we focus on quite often with our patients and athletes and get substantial results! http://t.co/Ct3NYW5O0h
ScottsdaleS...
— Marilyn Kaminski (@MarilynKaminski) December 12, 2014
I just got this question in a private Facebook group so I’d though I’d post the link here also.
When people used to ask me to explain the difference between a squat and a deadlift, I’d always give a simple, straightforward answer: In the deadlift, the weight is in your hands.
I want to briefly introduce a simple concept I refer to as: Minimum Effective Change .
Recently I’ve been involved in a number of exchanges on Twitter with coaches, physios and others discussing Running Gait Re-Education, a topic I’m particularly passionate about. The conversations usually start in the context of injury rehab, and often turn to discuss running efficiency. I thought I’d take to the blog to share my thoughts…
The way I see it, each and every one of us runs with our own particular style for good reason.
Your running gait (walking gait and any other movement pattern for that matter) is a dynamic expression of your combined:
Not to mention the habits we pick up along the way through pain (current or previous) and daily postures we hold ourselves in.
Taking all the above factors into account: as we run, your body will try to follow the path of least resistance. For example in terms of mobility, finding movement from the areas most willing, or strength-endurance, often emphasising imbalances…
As coaches, therapists and athletes let’s not get too hung-up on subtle changes in efficiency (real or perceived) that come with changing an athlete’s running gait…
The sparse research I’m aware of that investigates the effects of ‘x’ vs ‘y’ technique, footstrike pattern, footwear etc… in terms of running efficiency, suggests that changes in efficiency for given conditions are fairly minimal. Some examples here and here.
There are plenty of fast and theoretically ‘inefficient’ distance runners. Biomechanical efficiency doesn’t make a given runner faster… CONSISTENT TRAINING DOES
Thus we should be more concerned about what we can do to affect a positive change to the factor that normally most limits an athlete’s training consistency: INJURY & PAIN
Firstly, consider these points in combination:
We have to ask ourselves not just why we’re coaching each athlete to make any given change, but perhaps most importantly to what extent we need the given change to occur to see a change in their symptoms…
If we take a given athlete, understand their current and historical injury status and individual biomechanics, then work towards the concept of Minimum Effective Change to elicit a desired outcome, we can reduce stress / strain on a given tissue while achieving a modified running style that they can sustain effectively.
Take a Patellofemoral Pain suffering marathon runner for example:
Once we manage to get them pain free, I’m not overly interested in how ‘pretty’ their gait can look for for 400m on the track*, or a ten minute trial on the treadmill in the lab. Instead I want to see how well they maintain form sufficiently across 26.2 miles on race day, or an 18 miles long Sunday run to be able to run pain free!
*That said, if interval sessions were the aggravating factor for their pain, then of course I want to work on form in this state as another primary focus.
In fact in such an example as this marathon runner above, if sacrificing a little bit of running efficiency is required to run pain free and achieve their goal, then so be it. They will be able to train, and fitness will come… More on this here.
For me, the sweet spot is the change we can make to an athlete’s gait which does enough to reduce stress and strain on their ‘weak link’, yet is subtle enough to sustain on a long run… after a bit of practice, of course 
The post Running Form: ‘Minimum Effective Change’ appeared first on Run Coaching, Ironman and Triathlon Specialists - Kinetic Revolution.
I realized that this post is number 1000 for me. Amazing. Anthony Renna ( www.strengthcoachpodcast.com) talked me into blogging four or five years ago and now we have 1000 posts and are approaching 2 million views ( about 1.8 million as of today). Just wanted to take a minute to thank everyone who has read and subscribed.
I got an email the other day asking if I could provide a “philosophy” for a class. I remembered I had posted this a few years ago.
1- First we will do no harm.
As strength coaches and personal trainers our athletes and clients trust us to make decisions for them. Much like Hippocrates in early Greece we must first agree to not intentionally or unintentionally harm them.
2- We will train no further than technical failure.
There is a difference between training to failure and training to technical failure. In truth even training to technical failure may be more intensity than an athlete or client needs. However, no client needs to train beyond the point of technical failure. After technique has failed the potential for injury rises drastically. Reps done after technique has failed are simply asking for trouble. You may not trouble right away but it will find you eventually.
3- We will deliver the minimal effective dose
The minimal effective dose is a medical term but, the implication is fairly obvious. If one aspirin is needed, take just one aspirin. Don’t encourage someone to take the whole bottle. The key to delivering exercise is knowing how much is needed to create a training effect. Any more is wasted and, potentially dangerous.
As you can see, two of these concepts come from the world of medicine. I think we are the greatest medical society in the world and have more power to heal than any drug company or hospital. Unfortunately much like Superheros we must learn to use our power wisely.
Hydration is just as important as breathing! Be sure to educate yourself on importance if water!
http://www.scottsdalesportsmedicine.net
Do you know that quite often joint pain can be caused by dehydration?
http://t.co/fGs0jlWbc7
— Marilyn Kaminski (@MarilynKaminski) December 2, 2014
5 exercise moves you should avoid at the gym http://t.co/Gpr8g3dzCk
http://t.co/fGs0jlWbc7
— Marilyn Kaminski (@MarilynKaminski) December 1, 2014
Why are high school football players dying? http://t.co/NwXzdQBvsW via @USATODAY
http://t.co/fGs0jlWbc7
— Marilyn Kaminski (@MarilynKaminski) December 1, 2014
A forum post on my StrengthCoach.com site got me thinking about this article
so I thought I’d add it to the free articles section. I think it will make you laugh and/ or think. Take a second and click.
