A few weeks ago I posted a video of Andrea doing double-banded pull-ups. Now, after hitting sets of 15 reps with the double,  she is progressing to using a single band.
 
 
Should I Skate More to Get Better at Roller Derby?
Thoughts on Devoting Time to Developing General Athleticism and All-around Physical Development

The best way to get better at roller derby is to practice and compete in roller derby. To a point this makes sense. Roller derby-specific training sessions are the best way to learn the specific skills of your sport (and your position). And, good roller derby training will serve as the basic method to condition you in the specific ways that your sport demands.

The Perils of Too Much Specificity (or too much skating)

This specific training, however, ought to be done in moderation, and it ought to be accompanied by more general athletic training. The reason I want to stress this is because too much specific training for a particular sport engenders imbalance. And in skating sports such as roller derby this can be very pronounced. Hockey players (who, as a group, are much more well-studied than derby competitors) are generally known to have major imbalances between the vastus medialis and the vastus lateralis (crudely the inside and the outside musculature of the thigh) due to the strong strong lateral push of the skating movement. Don't make the same mistake. Perhaps the number one point to take away from this article is that a derby competitor generally shouldn't spend a lot of time skating or reproducing skating-like movements during the off-season and in your non-practice workouts (those done without your team). You will get plenty of skating in during the season as your team practices. Variety in your training will help to build a foundation of general physical development and therefore temper the dangers of too much specificity before it becomes a problem.

Being able to perform a particular sport at a high level does not mean that one has a body in balance. The body may be beat up after a hard season of collisions, lack of proper recovery, and repetitive strain. Certain desirable physical qualities may be lagging behind. It is likely that your strength is down after so much skating and conditioning work. At the end of the season a more general approach to training is called for: pare things down, renew the foundation of strength, and then add on to that foundation before the next season begins. This is also an opportunity to develop and restore your overall heath. Specialization does not make for a healthy individual. Extended periods of hard training along with the stresses of competition, especially when not addressed with plenty of rest and active restoration, can also be detrimental to overall health and well-being.

General Training Phase

General training is done particularly in the off-season and trains your body more generally in broader athleticism, strength,and fitness. It is not geared specifically towards the qualities needed for a specific sport but instead seeks to make the athlete more well-rounded, broadly conditioned, more resistant to injury and more mobile with fewer of the imbalances or gaps that sport-specialized training can open up if trained too much.

This approach to training can help relieve over-training, and both emotional and physical stresses involved in training and competing for a particular set of demands. It is a time to develop general athleticism, meaning that you are developing yourself into a better all-around physical being, who is stronger, faster, more powerful, resilient and with better movement skills than you had last season. Training can include diligent attention to:

-rest & recovery
-addressing imbalance/ restoring balance
-respecting and healing current injuries and attending to those that may be brewing
-strength
-work capacity (this allows you to do more work during a training session or a competition)
-general athleticism
-your weak points as an individual
-variety and fun

I cannot emphasize enough the importance of developing overall strength at this time. Big multi-joint movements such as the squat, deadlift, various forms of pressing and pull-up progressions will go far to getting you ready for your rough sport and will also make the most economical use of your time in the gym. Spend time playing other sports or recreational activities that are far removed from skating. Develop new physical fluencies. Train with athletes from other sports. The point is that you are renewing and developing yourself and also building a strong foundation for more specialized, sport-specific, training.  This foundation should be renewed regularly, and shouldn't be rushed. Training guru Gray Cook states things nice and clearly, "The biggest mistake made in sports medicine and sports conditioning today is moving to sport-specific movements too quickly."

In closing I would like to mention that general training is not only for the off-season. During the season too it is important to prevent muscle imbalances and maintain work capacity. This is more difficult to achieve during the demands of frequent practices but as you garner more experience in structuring your off-season training the more successfully you will be able to fit it in during the season.

 
 
One way to progress towards unassisted pull-ups is to use Jump Stretch type bands. Double bands or single bands can be used. As the bands come in various levels of resistance there is a natural progression there, but even if one has only a single band  it is possible to progress by several methods, including:
-putting only one foot in the band instead of both feet
-switching from easier to more difficult variations of the pull-up movement itself. For example one could start with chin-ups (which are generally considered less difficult than pull-ups because the biceps contribute more to the movement) and then employ pull-ups with the thumb wrapped around the bar. To make the pull-up more difficult one can refrain from wrapping the thumb around the bar in an opposing manner to the rest of the fingers and instead have the thumbs go over the top of the bar only just as the other fingers do. Apparently this will employ less bicep than the conventional pull-up and will thereofre isolate the back a little bit more.
 
 
Jamie's first day back after football season. Back squat 220# 3x5. Taking it kinda easy and trying to find the groove again.
 
 
Injury Prevention for Older Weekend Warriors

My friend (and brilliant writer) Robert Anasi asked me to include some information here on keeping the body together as we get older. Some of us still feel drawn to proving and improving upon our athleticism (in Robert's case his bad-ass-ness too). Well, I am 37 and feel alot younger than that (like a kid much of the time) but truth be told I am older than alot of the people whom I follow in the world of strength and performance. Bob is a handful of years my senior and has a background as a very serious amateur boxer. He also likes to party and I am not much of a social or party-going dude. But I will do what I can for him and for my other readers.

nutrition- I will keep this really simple. One of my heroes in the strength sports world, Dan John, has recently taken to saying things like: if you are not eating breakfast, and eating within two hours before working out, then do not ask me anything about supplements. He also advocates flossing twice daily and taking a good quality fish oil. I couldn't agree more.

partying - you will pay for partying. Not saying you should stop but realize the price you will pay. Partying affects sleep, nutrition and mental clarity. All three are clearly of importance when carrying out weekend warrior activity.

foam rolling and myofascial release - learn how to do it. There are great resources available on the internet and on this blog there are some links. Buy a  firm foam roller and a tennis ball/ baseball (that one hurts)/ lacrosse ball (also hurts but at least there are no seams). Use them a lot. Email me if you want recommendations for free web-resources on this stuff. And check the sidebar on the Terminal City Training blog.

sleep - just do it. frequently. for long periods. and take naps.

water - just drink it. lots of it. even if you aren't thirsty.

more recovery time - you will eventually need more recovery time as you get older. Accept this and embrace it. More recovery might mean longer rest periods between sets, less volume when training, taking easy days when you really need them. You can still train really hard. But sometimes less is more. And you gotta get smarter about it.

strength train- of course I say that. It will help prevent injuries and can significantly prevent or slow down typical effects of aging. And who says that an oldster can't also be a badass.

active recovery- here are a few more tips to help you recover from exercise/training/practice/competition more fully: 

1) Eat something, preferably a mix of carbohydrates and protein, within 15-45 minutes upon finishing your session. The sooner the better! An do it more than once if possible. Continue to eat, even in small bouts, for a couple of hours. This may help to replenish muscle glycogen more quickly and efficiently. Your muscles will then have a better chance at returning to the optimum state sooner. 


2) When in doubt use ice on any sore areas. Especially good for the first 48 hours after the pain begins. Put a cloth or some other barrier between the ice and your skin. Try 20 minutes on followed by 20 minutes off as many times as you can. 

3) This is uncomfortable but makes you feel alive: try contrast showers or contrast baths. Really cold water followed by really hot followed by cold and keep going with it. End with warm so that you don't leave the shower/bath really cold! 

4) Maintain range of motion with dynamic mobility drills, such as lunges, mountain climbers, sprinter drills and the like. 
5) Visit a good massage therapist as often as you can swing it.
  


These are all things which are easy to do (okay, contrast baths take some willpower). Try to do these often and make your recovery and health a priority.

P.S.  Read Robert's book!
 
 
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Sandbags make for fantastic training tools. No facility necessary, no expensive stuff. You've got to fight the bag for control. And, your grip strength will be worked hard. I've just been asked what to do with one once you've made it. Well, here is a short and far from exhaustive list of ideas.
Basic compound exercises can include:
zercher squats, shoulder squats, bearhug squats, overhead squats
zercher lunges, shoulder lunges, bearhug lunges, overhead lunges
rows of various sorts
deadlifts
step-ups (zercher, shoulder carry, bearhug... you get the drift)
cleans of all sorts
overhead presses
floor presses
sandbag shouldering
good mornings
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for  variety and conditioning:

burpee with sandbag
farmer's carries of various sorts including standard, one-handed, overhead, cross-loaded
hill sprints
bouncer throws
pull like a sled on smooth floor
push along smooth floor like a prowler
heavy sandbag carry for time or distance or as long as possible
sandbag loading onto a high platform

some sandbag conditioning circuits that I use which I got from people smarter than myself:

 1)Throw and Go (from Ross Enamait of rosstraining.com. This one comes from Full Throttle Conditioning. Buy his excellent books)
sprint 25 metres out
sprint 25 metres back
walking lunges with sandbag 25 metres out
throw sandbag 25 metres back. Vary throwing style (overhead, side toss, from chest, etc) and sprint after the bag.
Continue for 10, 15, or 20 minutes.

2)Sandbag Circuit from Zach Even-Esh (you can buy his Underground Training Manual here). He recommends using sandbags ranging from 40% of bodyweight for beginners to this type of training while advanced trainees use 60-70% of bodyweight. Use your discretion.

Clean and Catch 25 reps. rest when necessary. Don't dump the bag. Squat it down nicely.

Push Press 10 reps. Hold lockout for 1 second and rest as necessary.

Carry & Squat. 10 steps ------>1 deep squat
                      10 steps ------>2 deep squats
                      10 steps ------>3 deep squats
               work up to 5 squats and then work your way back down the pyramid. Place bag down as necessary.

I have used both of these workouts many times and they are a staple in the training at Terminal City.

Resources:
Bull Strength Manual by Joe Hashey
Underground Training Manual by Zach Even-Esh. My review of this e-book is here.
rosstraining.com
 
 
Hey check out my new article at Straight to the Bar. It's  about grip training without the special (and expensive) equipment. And it's stuff you can do in a commercial gym:
http://www.straighttothebar.com/v2/blog.php?b=165
 
 
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I had my eye on this system for ages and finally ordered it after watching Zach Even-Esh's videos and following his blog closely for a year. Coach Zach really got it right with his Underground Strength System. The man has experimented upon, revised and proven his methods by working with football players, wrestlers and other combat athletes in his home state of New Jersey. He has sought out mentorship from some of the best names in the strength and conditioning field. This manual is full of everything: explanations, programming, and photos. Zach offers an outstanding system that will work well in the gym but even better it is geared towards all kinds of training modalities including gym lifts, sandbags, sled-dragging, gruelling park sessions on the monkeybars, kettlebells and more. Kind of a bodybuilding meets strongman meets powerlifting meets gymnastics meets gladiator training sort of thing. If you are trying to develop rugged athleticism in yourself or your athletes or clients then the Underground Strength System is well-worth your time.
 
 
More and more women are embracing athletic-style training, "strongman," powerlfiting and other fun and highly effective forms of strength & conditioning training. This stuff is outside of the mainstream for men, not to mention women. I am psyched that more and more women are getting past the fear of "looking like men" and building the determination to get strong and athletic. 

Here is a cool video I stumbled across tonight and wanted to share with y'all.