I am going to piggy back on David’s topic earlier this month.
Dr. Hughston stated “As long as you’re still green, you’re growing. Once you’re ripe, you’re next to rotten.” Although David was speaking about an educational opportunity for those that are in the profession of bettering the overall performance of athletes, you might want to ponder this statement. Think about it for a minute.
As a professional, I live by this statement. As a quasi-athlete (I use the term lightly when I refer to myself as an athlete) I still live by this statement. As a husband, friend, etc. . . . . well, you get the point.
As an athletic trainer, continuing education is extremely important to our day to day activity. If anyone in the medical profession tells you that they have it all figured out – laugh at them, and then listen to what they have to say. I don’t have all the answers, and never intend to have all the answers, but I bet you I can find someone who has a good idea how to help out. I ask my officemate thousands of questions. That being said, I get asked a lot of different questions – a lot of random questions. Every morning that I come to the office, I make sure that I read something that could benefit me as an athletic trainer. I will read journal articles, blog posts, textbooks, etc. You can sort out the B.S. once you finish reading. If something happened at practice or a game the night before and I need to brush up on something – I grab one of my resources on the bookshelf and dive in. I am not ashamed to say that I go back and look to see what the literature says – physicians do the same thing.
As the quasi-athlete, I am the same way. I have been intrigued by triathlons ever since I can remember watching the Ironman World Championship in Hawaii. With the help of a buddy that has completed an ironman himself – yes that is the race that starts with a 2.4 mile swim, 120 mile bike, and a 26.2 mile jog (no big deal) - I am trying to absorb as much information that I can. What kind of training plans do they use? How do they fuel their bodies during their everyday training? How do they fuel their body during a 10 plus hour race? How many days do they train multiple times a day? What do I wear? When do I use the bathroom? When can I re-apply my sunscreen? Alright, it is a little bit of a system overload, but I have enjoyed trying to make myself better. I have a lot to learn when it comes to becoming a triathlete.
The best line that I have heard lately about being a good person - If you surround yourself with dogs, you’re going to end up with fleas.
As an athlete this is easy to do. Ask your coach, ask your teammates, ask those old alumni that come around. Read a book – I know it sounds bad – it’s not the worst thing in the world. I had a professional baseball player tell me that one of the best books he read about hitting was “The Inner Game of Tennis.” Although it was the first couple chapters he was speaking of – they got into more tennis based information later. Write things down – I have worked for the same coaching staff for just about five years now. I carry around a small notebook and take notes when I see fit – always a student. Don Meyer, an NCAA coach amongst the top in his profession before he retired, made his athletes a binder. It contained notes from team meetings, motivational quotes, articles, plays, and anything that Coach Meyer felt they needed to have at their disposal.
There are plenty of people to talk to – don’t be afraid to ask questions and be a sponge to soak up as much information (and double check it) so you can to become better at what you want to do.
Chris Ham, MSA, ATC, CES
Athletic Trainer
Vanderbilt University Baseball
Monday, January 31, 2011
Thursday, January 27, 2011
Building a Base.
When training young athletes, where do we start the training? Sometimes it is easy to try to tackle easiest problem or the easiest part to improve to see results, but if we don’t start with the base we may never get results to really stick. What do I mean by the base, I consider the base to be the athletic stance, or in many marshal arts schools the horse stance. This position is the feet shoulder width or slightly wider, and pointed straight ahead, the knees bent to a partial squatted position. The butt is out and the back is straight to slightly arched. The shoulders are back and the head is in a neutral position. In most cases the weight is balanced in the feet meaning weight is distributed evenly from front to back. In some cases the weight can be on the balls of the feet, but this would be used in only specific drills. This position brings the center of gravity into a power position slightly in front of the belly button. This gives the player better control of their body and balances the body for efficient movement. To see how truly strong a player is put them in this position and see how long they can hold it. You might be surprised to see the compensations made to hold this position. In developing this base we will also start to train the athlete from the feet and move up the body to the head. When looking at the feet, take a look at what the body wants to do and then correct the issues. How do the feet lay, do they pronate, suppinate, how is the arch, is it high, low, no arch. How is the instep, is it high, long, do they have funny wear patterns on their feet. Strengthen the feet and you can strengthen the whole body. From the feet move to the ankles, this is the next link in the chain. Strength in the ankle does not just come from the back side; the front of the ankle has to be addressed as well. Start to think strength in 360 degrees. Take the time to start with the base and results will show themselves. I will continue this progression in future blogs.
Brian Niswender
Co Founder BaseballStregthCoaching.com
Brian Niswender
Co Founder BaseballStregthCoaching.com
Monday, January 17, 2011
Creatine: A Muscle Builder?
Last night I was talking with a high school baseball player and he asked me several questions about a popular supplement out there called creatine. He told me that many football players he knows use it, as well as other friends who just want to “get ripped.” It is tempting, to be sure, to take something that claims to amp up the size and strength of muscles after training beyond what a hard workout and good recovery nutrition will do.
Fact of the matter is many athletes, no matter what the sport, seek out risky ways to increase muscle and enhance performance, as well as appearance. The increasing pressure in our sports society today to succeed—at a younger age and in more competitive arenas, fuels the interest and drives competitive athletes to throw caution to the wind. Trying to gain that competitive edge encourages athletes of all ages to try anything to stake their place in the sport of their choice. The risks and dangers that come along with this type of attitude in athletics “success at any cost”-- has now become a huge concern. High school use of creatine and supplements that contain performance
enhancing drugs is on the rise." Unfortunately, these products saturate the market today, are easily available and not tested for safety, potency or purity. They also come without clear instructions for safe use, precautions to help in preventing abuse and without any long term studies demonstrating safety. Buyer beware—what you don’t know could hurt you!
So what exactly is creatine? Creatine (creatine monohydrate) is a popular supplement because it has been deemed safe with short term use by many studies, though it is not effective for every athlete. Creatine helps fuel muscles in short duration, high intensity activities like sprinting and strength training by enhancing anaerobic power and anaerobic endurance. This might help some athletes push themselves harder and longer, which may lead to greater gains in muscle size and strength. Once the muscle is saturated with creatine the rest is excreted from the body, so more is not better. And a significant down side to creatine is it causes the muscle cell to hold water. Large amounts of creatine will increase fluid in the cells, resulting in a puffiness that contributes to the over-all muscle “gain” that occurs. The weight gain that happens with creatine use negatively affects speed, agility, and balance needed for peak sports performance. Some athletes also experience digestive distress and stomach upset when taking creatine.
An easy way to stock muscles with creatine and avoid all the nasty side effects is to include foods high in creatine like lamb, beef, pork, veal and fish in the daily diet. Just don’t overcook them—you’ll lose the creatine! Eating just 16 oz. of a variety of these high protein foods throughout the day will help provide the creatine needed to saturate the muscles. Good recovery, with enough carbohydrate and protein, is also a very effective muscle builder. So ditch the supplements! Food works better than supplements, so include these foods as a part of your muscle building routine, along with good recovery nutrition.
Warning: The American Academy of Sports Medicine, along with the American Academy of Pediatrics clearly states that creatine, though a legal supplement today, should not be used by anyone less than 18 years of age. Long term effects have not been studied and are not known. Collegiate teams, trainers and coaches are strictly prohibited from supplying it or any other supplements to their student athletes.
Kim Larson, RD, CD
Total Health
Sports Nutrition Consultant
BaseballStrengthCoaching.com
Fact of the matter is many athletes, no matter what the sport, seek out risky ways to increase muscle and enhance performance, as well as appearance. The increasing pressure in our sports society today to succeed—at a younger age and in more competitive arenas, fuels the interest and drives competitive athletes to throw caution to the wind. Trying to gain that competitive edge encourages athletes of all ages to try anything to stake their place in the sport of their choice. The risks and dangers that come along with this type of attitude in athletics “success at any cost”-- has now become a huge concern. High school use of creatine and supplements that contain performance
enhancing drugs is on the rise." Unfortunately, these products saturate the market today, are easily available and not tested for safety, potency or purity. They also come without clear instructions for safe use, precautions to help in preventing abuse and without any long term studies demonstrating safety. Buyer beware—what you don’t know could hurt you!
So what exactly is creatine? Creatine (creatine monohydrate) is a popular supplement because it has been deemed safe with short term use by many studies, though it is not effective for every athlete. Creatine helps fuel muscles in short duration, high intensity activities like sprinting and strength training by enhancing anaerobic power and anaerobic endurance. This might help some athletes push themselves harder and longer, which may lead to greater gains in muscle size and strength. Once the muscle is saturated with creatine the rest is excreted from the body, so more is not better. And a significant down side to creatine is it causes the muscle cell to hold water. Large amounts of creatine will increase fluid in the cells, resulting in a puffiness that contributes to the over-all muscle “gain” that occurs. The weight gain that happens with creatine use negatively affects speed, agility, and balance needed for peak sports performance. Some athletes also experience digestive distress and stomach upset when taking creatine.
An easy way to stock muscles with creatine and avoid all the nasty side effects is to include foods high in creatine like lamb, beef, pork, veal and fish in the daily diet. Just don’t overcook them—you’ll lose the creatine! Eating just 16 oz. of a variety of these high protein foods throughout the day will help provide the creatine needed to saturate the muscles. Good recovery, with enough carbohydrate and protein, is also a very effective muscle builder. So ditch the supplements! Food works better than supplements, so include these foods as a part of your muscle building routine, along with good recovery nutrition.
Warning: The American Academy of Sports Medicine, along with the American Academy of Pediatrics clearly states that creatine, though a legal supplement today, should not be used by anyone less than 18 years of age. Long term effects have not been studied and are not known. Collegiate teams, trainers and coaches are strictly prohibited from supplying it or any other supplements to their student athletes.
Kim Larson, RD, CD
Total Health
Sports Nutrition Consultant
BaseballStrengthCoaching.com
Sunday, January 9, 2011
"It Ain't Easy Being Green" - Kermit The Frog
As a student-athlete, it helps to have mentors that can provide you with guidance along your path through developmental milestones and athletic achievements. For me, one of those mentors was Dr. Jack Hughston. Considered by most as a pioneer in the field of sports medicine, he was among the first to provide medical coverage to collegiate athletic programs.
When I arrived for my freshman year of college on the campus of Auburn University, I was fortunate enough to receive a scholarship as a student athletic trainer and Dr. Hughston was the university’s Team Physician. As a student, it didn’t take me long to be introduced to his favorite saying:
“As long as you’re green, you’re still growing. Once you’re ripe, you’re next to rotten.”
This saying has stayed with me throughout my entire career as an athletic trainer and strength and conditioning coach. It has reminded me that once, I think that I know everything that there is to know about my profession, then I’ve missed out on a lot of new information. The sports medicine and sports performance fields are always changing and evolving and it is important to continue to grow a base of knowledge, develop new concepts, and fine tune my training philosophies and programs. It is also important to pass on that knowledge to others.
David Yeager, ATC, CSCS
Co-Founder
BaseballStrengthCoaching.com
WEBINAR PRESENTATION: Functional Training and Progressions of the Shoulder and Upper Extremity in the Overhead Athlete
January 11, 2011 (8:00PM - 9:00PM Central Time)
Featured Speaker: David Yeager, ATC, CSCS Co-Founder, BaseballStrengthCoaching.com Certified Strength & Conditioning Specialist and professional baseball Athletic Trainer
Course Objectives:
- Define function, functional training, and the components of sport-specific training in baseball.
- Describe the criteria for beginning or advancing exercise / activity progressions.
- Describe the general characteristics and key components of the overhand throwing motion.
- Explain the Kinetic Chain Concept as it relates to exercise training in baseball.
- Define the goal and key components of sport-specific shoulder girdle training.
- Illustrate sample exercise progressions for the overhead throwing athlete.
To Register and receive an email with the link to the presentation, log on to www.baseballstrengthcoaching.com.
When I arrived for my freshman year of college on the campus of Auburn University, I was fortunate enough to receive a scholarship as a student athletic trainer and Dr. Hughston was the university’s Team Physician. As a student, it didn’t take me long to be introduced to his favorite saying:
“As long as you’re green, you’re still growing. Once you’re ripe, you’re next to rotten.”
This saying has stayed with me throughout my entire career as an athletic trainer and strength and conditioning coach. It has reminded me that once, I think that I know everything that there is to know about my profession, then I’ve missed out on a lot of new information. The sports medicine and sports performance fields are always changing and evolving and it is important to continue to grow a base of knowledge, develop new concepts, and fine tune my training philosophies and programs. It is also important to pass on that knowledge to others.
David Yeager, ATC, CSCS
Co-Founder
BaseballStrengthCoaching.com
WEBINAR PRESENTATION: Functional Training and Progressions of the Shoulder and Upper Extremity in the Overhead Athlete
January 11, 2011 (8:00PM - 9:00PM Central Time)
Featured Speaker: David Yeager, ATC, CSCS Co-Founder, BaseballStrengthCoaching.com Certified Strength & Conditioning Specialist and professional baseball Athletic Trainer
Course Objectives:
- Define function, functional training, and the components of sport-specific training in baseball.
- Describe the criteria for beginning or advancing exercise / activity progressions.
- Describe the general characteristics and key components of the overhand throwing motion.
- Explain the Kinetic Chain Concept as it relates to exercise training in baseball.
- Define the goal and key components of sport-specific shoulder girdle training.
- Illustrate sample exercise progressions for the overhead throwing athlete.
To Register and receive an email with the link to the presentation, log on to www.baseballstrengthcoaching.com.
Wednesday, January 5, 2011
Webinar Presentation (January 11, 2011)
Name: Functional Training and Progressions of the Shoulder and Upper Extremity in the Overhead Athlete
Featured Speaker: David Yeager, ATC, CSCS Co-Founder, BaseballStrengthCoaching.com Certified Strength & Conditioning Specialist and professional baseball Athletic Trainer
Course Objectives:
- Define function, functional training, and the components of sport-specific training in baseball.
- Describe the criteria for beginning or advancing exercise / activity progressions.
- Describe the general characteristics and key components of the overhand throwing motion.
- Explain the Kinetic Chain Concept as it relates to exercise training in baseball.
- Define the goal and key components of sport-specific shoulder girdle training.
- Illustrate sample exercise progressions for the overhead throwing athlete.
When: 01/11/2011 8:00 PM - 9:00 PM
Time Zone: (GMT-06:00) Central Time (US and Canada)
Be sure to log on to www.baseballstrengthcoaching.com in order to register and receive an email containing the session link.
Hope to see you there!
BaseballStrengthCoaching.com
Featured Speaker: David Yeager, ATC, CSCS Co-Founder, BaseballStrengthCoaching.com Certified Strength & Conditioning Specialist and professional baseball Athletic Trainer
Course Objectives:
- Define function, functional training, and the components of sport-specific training in baseball.
- Describe the criteria for beginning or advancing exercise / activity progressions.
- Describe the general characteristics and key components of the overhand throwing motion.
- Explain the Kinetic Chain Concept as it relates to exercise training in baseball.
- Define the goal and key components of sport-specific shoulder girdle training.
- Illustrate sample exercise progressions for the overhead throwing athlete.
When: 01/11/2011 8:00 PM - 9:00 PM
Time Zone: (GMT-06:00) Central Time (US and Canada)
Be sure to log on to www.baseballstrengthcoaching.com in order to register and receive an email containing the session link.
Hope to see you there!
BaseballStrengthCoaching.com
Monday, January 3, 2011
New Year’s Resolutions (Recommendations)
Welcome back and happy New Year!
Every year we all make New Year’s resolutions or try to make personal goals leading into the new year or the new season. At this point I am hoping it’s not to start training for the season sooner – because you are getting ready to report back to class much quicker than you think. I will make a couple suggestions if you are looking for a couple goals for the upcoming year and season.
• Have a mental routine prior to your baseball activity – there are very few good athletes that just show up to the ballpark and turn it on. Most of them are preparing hours before they show up to the ballpark – mental preparation can help in many aspects of the game.
• Have a physical routine for your baseball activity – I know most people think runners and track athletes are pretty much crazy, but they have a set routine before they line up for a race.
• Get a massage – most parents are going to kill me for suggesting this, but soft tissue quality has an effect on your overall performance. There is a reason that massage and other soft tissue treatments are so successful and popular. Self-massage can be very beneficial – a golf ball, tennis ball, baseball, PVC pipe, and foam roller can help your legs out in the long run and can be an aid in the recovery process.
• Stretch your arm when you get done throwing – the benefits and effects of stretching have been debated and argued for as long as I have been around this profession. When, How long, mobility work, PNF stretching, etc, etc etc. Studies have documented the range of motion lost during an outing that a pitcher puts together. If you neglect to take care of this before you throw again, you are putting your shoulder in an awful position – a simple way to put it is to take care of your assets.
I can’t say that these things will give you the ability to throw 96 mph with sink, or give you the ability to hit .400 over the course of the season. It will help you feel better in the long run. Good luck this season it’s right around the corner.
Chris Ham, MSA, ATC, CES
Athletic Trainer
Vanderbilt University Baseball
Every year we all make New Year’s resolutions or try to make personal goals leading into the new year or the new season. At this point I am hoping it’s not to start training for the season sooner – because you are getting ready to report back to class much quicker than you think. I will make a couple suggestions if you are looking for a couple goals for the upcoming year and season.
• Have a mental routine prior to your baseball activity – there are very few good athletes that just show up to the ballpark and turn it on. Most of them are preparing hours before they show up to the ballpark – mental preparation can help in many aspects of the game.
• Have a physical routine for your baseball activity – I know most people think runners and track athletes are pretty much crazy, but they have a set routine before they line up for a race.
• Get a massage – most parents are going to kill me for suggesting this, but soft tissue quality has an effect on your overall performance. There is a reason that massage and other soft tissue treatments are so successful and popular. Self-massage can be very beneficial – a golf ball, tennis ball, baseball, PVC pipe, and foam roller can help your legs out in the long run and can be an aid in the recovery process.
• Stretch your arm when you get done throwing – the benefits and effects of stretching have been debated and argued for as long as I have been around this profession. When, How long, mobility work, PNF stretching, etc, etc etc. Studies have documented the range of motion lost during an outing that a pitcher puts together. If you neglect to take care of this before you throw again, you are putting your shoulder in an awful position – a simple way to put it is to take care of your assets.
I can’t say that these things will give you the ability to throw 96 mph with sink, or give you the ability to hit .400 over the course of the season. It will help you feel better in the long run. Good luck this season it’s right around the corner.
Chris Ham, MSA, ATC, CES
Athletic Trainer
Vanderbilt University Baseball
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