A short week and a long walk

This week has been go, go and more go. While most people don't think about it, the amount of hours we spend walking and climbing stairs is burning calories. These calories are usually replaced in our daily meals. But if you are trying to drop weight, you can make these hours of normal movement more like a workout. This workout is dependant on your forcefulness when you walk, how you climb the stairs and the general pace that you use.

In cities where there are large hills, you can walk these hills with all due speed and effort making the time much more worth while. Seattle and San Francisco have some of the best hills. But be prepared with your deodorant and water.

Shortcuts

Over the years, many athletes have tried to take shortcuts to get to their best performances. I am talking about the problem of steroids in sport. While steroids may seem like an easy to gain muscle and strength, the long term effects on the human body are not exactly pleasant.

First, there is the rejection once people are caught. While Ben Johnson was one of the first people to be stripped of a medal due to cheating, he was not the last. In spite of better testing methods, people are still trying to cheat the system

Second, steroids can cause many adverse conditions such as brain disease, kidney failure, cataracts, and many other problems. When I was a young college athlete, a friend of mine who had been a discus and shot putter on the 1980 olympic team told me he was heading for surgery. He had several issues and was all of 32 years old at that time. Not long after that, Lyle Alzado of the Oakland Raiders football organization died of brain cancer due to long term use of steroids.

There some supplements which are borderline, but as an athlete who has always been leery of taking anything other than the occasional aspirin, I can tell you there are no shortcuts. The only way to performance is hard work.

New World Marathon Record!!!

Haile Gebrselassie set a new mark in the Marathon running 2:04:29 in the Berlin Marathon. This record was Haile Gebrselassie's 25th world record in a running event. The only question remaining in this event is will anyone ever run below 2:00:00 for the 26.2 mile distance.

The Swim Workout

Almost anyone who grew up around the water knows how great it feels to swim in the lakes during the hot summer days. But come fall, we once again migrate back to the swimming pools and the chlorine to get our swimming fix.

Here is a nice little swim workout that will let you get in shape and build your endurance for the other sports.

Stretch -- 15 minutes
10 x 25 (5 x 50 in the 50 meter pools)
5 x 100 with the kick board
5 x 100 with fins and kick board
500M Swim (20 laps)
Stretch -- 15 Minutes
Total Swim: 1750 Meters

One warning about this workout. You will feel a bit tired afterwards but it can definitely enhance your output with other sports. it can also be adjusted for those who are either more advanced or not quite as advanced.

Sports Equipment -- Where to buy?

Over the years I have found that many shops have very limited equipment shelves when it comes to specialty equipment. This includes items for field events in Track and Field, Football, and any other sport you participate in. While places like Big 5 and The Sports Authority claim to have almost anything you could ever want, if you really want something like throwers shows or Discuses or Injury Pads for football or Kick boards for swimming, you have to go to a specialist.

For Track and field, there is Everything Track and Field.
http://www.everythingtrackandfield.com/default.aspx

For Football, the best place online to order equipment is Football America:
http://www.footballamerica.com/football/home.do

For Swimming, You can try the folks at Swim 2000:
http://www.swim2000.com

Running through an Injury

When I was a college athlete, I had an injury which sidelined me for about 8 weeks. The injury to the knee, specifically a collateral ligament tear, was caused by running a 400 meter race on a flat 160 meter track. This type of track was something my body was not used to, thus it was not prepared for the stress caused by running on a flat short track.

What ensued for me was two months of sheer hell, having to give up everything that I had worked for through the winter. But this doesn't have to be. One of the greatest training methods we have is resistance training. What is resistance training one may ask?

It is the ability to put stress on a muscle by pushing or pulling against the motion that it is taking. In the case of a leg or knee injury, we can achieve this type of resistance training by walking or running in the pool. The water provides the resistance, while the entire exercise is low to no impact on the body. The muscles still get worked but the lack of impact protect the injury allowing the leg to become stronger while the injured area heals.

I have since used this methodology when ever I have had a leg injury and each time, I have usually come out stronger than before I injured the leg or knee.

Recent Injuries in Pro Footbal

Over the past several weeks, we have seen a number of major injuries in Pro Football. I have always wondered why these injuries become so prevalent during short spans of time. And then it dawned on me, it was because we look at the injuries with a microscope after one major accident.

The recent neck injury of Kevin Everett of the Buffalo Bills has not only put the scare in everyone, but it has made trainers, coaches and athletes alike re-evaluate their position in football. I even have had my own injury which has put a damper on my training schedule.

Keeping in mind that it is early in the season and many players have not yet gotten to 100 percent fitness which lends itself to injuries. But we continue on and keep looking at ways to make the equipment and the rules safer in turn protecting the athletes that take part in the sport. But as we always say in sport, where there is physical aggression, there will be the occasional injury.

The only way to prevent injuries is to train and to make yourself stronger, faster and more flexible.