Fitness For Sports And Athletes

Keeping fit is all about remaining healthy, free of any disease or ailment and not getting disabilities in the pursuit of one’s daily routine for making a living. Sports Athletes in all fields of activity are prone to injuries, which may affect them temporarily in the physical aspect but may do permanent damage to the professional careers as a sports athlete.

Traveling, different types of food at different places and climate changes may affect their general health also. Of course, these days all sports athlete are advised a particular diet and regimen of exercises to keep themselves competition fit.

Their sporting and the resulting earning careers are of short duration ranging from 5 to a maximum of 15 years, in a few rare cases. So, they are usually careful in these matters and keep themselves in a physically fit condition.

The recommended diet varies from person to person and activity to activity. But, generally it is a high carbohydrate diet, which is considered most suitable for athletes supplemented by plenty of fluids. It depends on the body weight also.

For a person with a body weight of 60 kgs, 360-600 gms of carbohydrates are required. A fluid requirement of 400-600 2hrs before an event and 150-350 ml whenever possible has to be met. Minerals, vitamins and fibers are to be taken as per the advice of doctor or dietician. Proteins are required for building of muscles but carbohydrates and fluids are the most important aspects of a sports persons diet.

Plenty of cereals sports drinks, fruits have to be taken. A non-vegetarian food like beef is a good source of protein and vitamins but the high fat content is taken into account. Fish and chicken are also high in protein content. An average of 12 – 14 gms per 30 kg body weight is recommended. Lean meat, fish and poultry and low fat milk are part of the diet.

Regular exercises as per the regimen must be done to keep fit. The purpose is to build up strength, stamina and suppleness. Arm circles, trunk twists, leg flexes, basic and advanced push-ups, squat jumps, sit up, walking and jogging etc have to be done under supervision and watchful eyes of the trainer.

Injuries vary from muscle cramps to fracture depending on the sport. Some may need hospitalization also. An athlete or sports person who leads a disciplined life with proper diet and exercise can hope to last long in the field.

Staying in the Game – Throwing Sports and Athletes

Terms like “injury prevention” and “sport specific” get tossed around in the fitness and coaching community too often. Fact is, even the best trainers and strength coaches can’t “prevent” injury. Proper training serves a critical component in helping athletes and clients compete and stay active, while reducing the occurrence & severity of injury–IF a balanced program is followed. But we can’t “prevent” the possibility of someone getting injured while practicing or competing.

Unfortunately, people overusing these terms just don’t take a look at what really needs to be focused on in a strength training routine. This leads young athletes and adults as well to think they should only train the movements most involved in their sport/activities of interest. What’s the problem with that? This training approach often relates to higher injury increase by developing muscle imbalances.

Let’s take a look at one part of the training puzzle: mid-upper torso & limb strength, mobility.

Take for example an overhead throwing sport athlete–baseball, softball–or an overhead hitting sport athlete like a volleyball player… If they only train movements primarily for the anterior body (mirror muscles) on the front of the body, they are missing out on important movements & musculature that contribute to torso and limb deceleration. Training movements that focus on muscles on the back of the body (posterior) trapezius, rhomboids, posterior deltoids and latissimus dorsi, serve to not only assist in the desired sport action (throwing/hitting) but also play an important role in slowing down the torso and upper limb after throwing, hitting or batting.

Simply put, include movements with medicine balls, bands, free weight and body weight to train the posterior mid and upper torso & limb. I’m a BIG fan of using bands with athletes I work with. They’re extremely versatile and help put the athlete in position to react to the desired training focus.

Exercises may include: Standing face pull with cables/bands, Horizontal rowing, shoulder specific exercises for the rotator cuff-internal & external rotation (which are too difficult to explain in a blog post without pictures/video), pull-ups with varying grips, bent over d-bell/barbell rows, band pull-apart, are just a few of important movements that will train the above mentioned.

It is important to include training prior to the season. Waiting for in-season programs without having previously prepared your body often leads to less than desirable performance or worse yet, injury; which sets you on the bench to rehab.

A well rounded program is key to successful sport and activity. Since this post focused more on upper torso and limb, it’s not to forget the importance of lower body, legs and core strength & stability training. I’ll cover more of that in another post. Pre-hab is the best plan to staying in the game.

Train hard, play harder!

Hollister Struck, CSCS is Owner if StrengthByStruck Athletic Development & sports performance training in Minneapolis, MN. Hollister serves as a highly sought after strength coach, soccer coach and sport movement coach, helping athletes and youth learn stronger training methods to keep them in the game and excelling in athletics and life.

Real Estate Tips – Choosing the Right House For Your Needs

House hunting is more than just finding a house you like. There are a lot of factors to consider when shopping for real estate to make sure you choose the right house for you and your family. Buying a house is a huge investment and you don’t want to regret your choice. Here are some questions to ask as you walk through each prospective home:* Is it big enough? This is basic-are there enough rooms for now and for you to grow? Make sure the rooms and your living areas are big enough as well.* Is the lot big enough or too big? If you have kids and pets, a nice sized back yard is important. But, if you are not a fan of yard work, you want to make sure the lot is not bigger than you are willing to maintain. It may be a great house, but if aren’t going to maintain the landscaping, the investment doesn’t make sense.* Does the layout make sense? Some people like to get cute with the design of their house and it makes sense to them, but not to others. What’s that wall for and what in the world can you do with this tiny room? You need to make sure you can work with the space inside and utilize as much of it as you can.* Can you see your stuff in the house? This works best in an empty house, but visual your furniture in each room. Will your things fit? For instance, you don’t want your king size bed to take up all the space in the master bedroom.* Is the location desirable? If you have children, you need to know what school district the house is in. Find out how long the commute is for you to get to work. Are you going to spend a lot of time in the car?If the home is near a body of water or at a low elevation, are you going to have to worry about flooding? This can increase your insurance rates a significant amount. On the other hand, being close to a fire station is good for your rates. Think about the places you like to frequent. Will you have to travel far to get to them?* Can you afford it? Think about the future as well. Maybe you can afford the home right now, but do you have job security? You need to make sure you can still afford the payments in case your situation changes. Also, you need to understand the terms of your mortgage. Is it a fixed rate or variable meaning your payments can go up in the future? Just because you can afford the teaser rate payment doesn’t mean you can afford future payments.* How long will you be in it? When you buy real estate, you may think the last thing you should think about is selling it, but you should. A home’s resale value is important if you aren’t going to stay in it forever or if you want to get a line of credit to fix it up. Consider these factors while shopping and you should get a piece of real estate that you can be happy with for years to come.