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Fitness for Soccer
The dictionary defines fitness as "good phyiscal condition, being in shape or condition. It can be either health related or performance related. Health related insures your body will be at it's best, so you can live every day life. Performance related fitness for soccer on the other hand, is a measure of an athletes power, agility and speed. For soccer, it is best described as the 5 S's: speed, strength, stamina, suppleness and skill. This it can be inferred if you focus on those five things you can becom fit to play soccer. Over the next few weeks, I will add posts focusing on those specific areas as they relate to the sport of soccer and what you can do as a soccer player to improve each area and become as fit as needed to be the best player you can be.
A Soplight Guide to Suppliments
By Dev K. Mishra, M.D. A "supplement" by definition is something you would take in addition to whatever you would eat or drink in the course of your normal diet. Examples of supplements can range from commonly used and safe substances such as multivitamins, to generally safe performance improving substances such as creatine, and then to unsafe items such as ephedrine and pseudoephedrine. There is another class of substances beyond these called Performance Enhancing Drugs, which include anabolic steroids and human growth hormone. And yet another type of abused drug would include medications that are prescribed for proper medical reasons but are then abused and used in inappropriate ways. Ritalin, commonly used for attention deficit hyperactivity disorder, is reported to improve focus or cope with jet lag in athletes. For the purposes of this post I would like to focus on substances that typically would not require a prescription. Unfortunately, that does not mean they are all safe, and in fact the most dangerous substances are surprisingly easy to obtain in your local community or on the Internet. One of the biggest problems is that the supplement industry is unregulated so it is very difficult for the person using the supplement to be sure of the quality. Some supplements can contain a number of very unsafe ingredients. Many young athletes are using and experimenting with substances supposedly useful to increase strength and muscle mass, improve endurance, and give them an edge on the competition. The pressures to use measures to improve sports performance are significant, and I expect these pressures only to increase as the years go by. So let’s take a practical approach to supplements and let me provide a very simple “stoplight” guide to common supplements. Generally Safe Supplements Used For Dietary and Nutritional Support Most of these items would be safe for young athletes to use but there may be some instances where it would be wise to check first with your physician before use. For example, it’s possible to take too many multivitamins, too much protein powder, or eat a protein bar containing nuts when you have a peanut allergy. There’s evidence that taking a daily children’s multivitamin is a good idea for most kids. * Daily multivitamin.* Calcium.* Sports drinks containing protein and multivitamins. * Protein powders (obtain from a nationally reputable supplier).* Fruit smoothies with protein boost or vitamin supplementProbably Safe Supplements For Muscle Recovery and Increased Energy In this category I would include creatine, used for muscle recovery and muscle mass gains; and naturally occurring stimulants such as caffeine, guarana, some B-vitamins, and kola nut. Let me first be clear on one thing: there is no published credible research on the safety of creatine in adolescents or teens. Having said that, most trainers and physicians who take care of young athletes generally report that there are no “serious” side effects from creatine use, but stomach upset, dehydration, and muscle cramping are fairly common. Creatine use is probably fine, but check with your child’s physician before starting use.Caffeine is another substance that falls into this intermediate category. Caffeine is found naturally in more than 60 plants and of course it’s found in coffee and sodas. For adults there is an upper limit on the amount of caffeine legally allowed in competitions such as the Olympics but again, we have no established limits for caffeine use in adolescents or teenagers. Caffeine is a tough substance to avoid because it’s found in so many things so the best you can do is to read labels and use as little as possible. Unsafe Supplements - Definitely Avoid This category includes substances for which we have solid medical evidence of potential harm from use. I would also place prescription medications being used for reasons other than they were prescribed here. For example, using Ritalin to improve focus or concentration in an adolescent without ADHD, or using an asthma inhaler to improve airway opening in a teen without asthma could lead to very serious health consequences. What follows is just a tiny list of the most commonly abused substances. Literally hundreds of “performance enhancing drugs” and other substances are on banned substance list of most organized competitions. Most professional sports league, the Olympics, and the NCAA have strict screening and penalties for illegal substance use, and some state High School associations are also starting random drug screening. If you have any question at all check with your physician but you should avoid all of these: * Anabolic steroids.* Human Growth Hormone.* Androstenedione (Andro).* Ephedrine, pseudoephedrine (Sudafed), ephedra (Ma Huang).* 19-norandrostenedione (19-Nor).* DHEA (dihydroepiandrostenedione).* Ritalin for use in individuals without Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder.* Asthma inhalers in non-asthmatics.(Dev K. Mishra is the creator of the SidelineSportsDoc.com injury management program for coaches. He is an orthopedic surgeon in private practice in Burlingame, Calif. He is a member of the team physician pool with the U.S. Soccer Federation and has served as team physician at the University of California, Berkeley. This article first appeared on SidelineSportsDoc.com.)
Methods for maximizing flexibility
By Dev K. Mishra, M.D. We tend to think of young athletes as naturally flexible but in truth athletes of all ages can improve performance for sports by maximizing flexibility. In very simplistic terms, think of your muscles and tendons as elastic structures like rubber bands. A stretchy rubber band is generally capable of greater motion and power than a cold, stiff rubber band. You want your muscles and tendons to be as long and flexible as possible, which usually leads to better strength, power, speed, agility, and even lower injury rates. But there is considerable debate about what the “best” and safest method is to improve flexibility for young athletes. Back in the 1960s and 1970s we started every practice session with a series of stretch-and-hold moves (called “static stretches”), and then went on to activities involving movement. But over the past several years the pendulum has moved the other way. It’s now known that “flexibility” is much better and safer through exercises done with movement, called “dynamic stretching.” We also know that it’s harmful to stretch a cold muscle. Here are some general guidelines for dynamic stretching that can be useful in most sports and age groups: 1. Start with a 3-5 minute easy jog. The purpose of this part of your activity is to get the body warmed up and reduce risk of injury. As I said above, don’t move to stretches without doing a warm-up first. Depending on the sport and your environment you could also do a line-to-line jog, a lateral shuttle run, and backward running. 1. Move next into dynamic stretching. There are many, many different types of dynamic stretches. Coaches of different sports will have their favorites for their sport, so what is outlined here is a very general guideline:A. Straight-leg marching -- for hamstrings and glutes.B. Butt-kicks -- for quadriceps.C. Forward shuffle with hip rotation -- for groin/adductors.D. Scorpion cross-over stretch lying on your back -- for lower back and hip abductors.E. Handwalks -- for shoulders, core abdominals. If you’d like to see some photos of a simple version of dynamic stretching for adults take a look at the Core Performance website. The folks at Core Performance refer to this phase as Movement Preparation and you can get a good idea of the types of movements we’re talking about above. (I have no relationship with Core Performance, I just really like what they do.) For soccer players, I highly recommend the Santa Monica Sports Medicine PEP program. And finally, old-fashioned static (stretch and hold position) stretches can be done as part of the cool-down after activity. Static stretches haven’t disappeared completely, they just come at the end of the training session rather than right at the beginning. There are literally hundreds of ways to do static stretching, and many sport-specific stretches. Here’s a bare minimum of stretches that target most of the muscle groups. For each of these you want the kids to hold for about 30 seconds and do 2 or 3 repetitions of each stretch. 1. Upper-body stretchesA. Across body shoulder stretchB. Triceps back-scratcher stretchC. Lower back stretchi. Rocking on all foursD. Lower body stretchesi. Calf/Achilles stretchii. Quadriceps stretch -- standingiii. Figure four hamstring stretchiv. Inner thigh/adductor stretchv. Hip flexor stretchRight now you might be saying “this would be a lot better with pictures and more detailed descriptions …” And you're right! So I encourage you to take a look at Core Performance and the PEP program. (Dev K. Mishra is the creator of the SidelineSportsDoc.com injury management program for coaches. He is an orthopedic surgeon in private practice in Burlingame, Calif. He is a member of the team physician pool with the U.S. Soccer Federation and has served as team physician at the University of California, Berkeley. This article first appeared on SidelineSportsDoc.com.)
Article Posted for Female Athletes: Top 10 Reasons Heavy Weights Don’t Bulk Up the Female Athlete
Top 10 Reasons Heavy Weights Don’t Bulk Up the Female Athlete By Tim Kontos, David Adamson, and Sarah Walls For www.EliteFTS.com David Adamson and I were driving to the IPA Nationals this past weekend talking training (yeah we’re pretty passionate about what we do) when the subject of training women with heavy weights came up. I’m in my ninth year at Virginia Commonwealth University (VCU) as the head strength and conditioning coach, and David has been in strength and conditioning for three years. This is a subject we deal with every year regardless of how much training information is available to the public. The best way to get information is to go to the source. So we asked Sarah Walls, another strength and conditioning coach at VCU. Sarah is also a writer for Muscle and Fitness Hers, a former figure competitor, and a women’s tri-fitness competitor—not to mention a strong female athlete who isn’t bulked up. Therefore, she has a great perspective on the subject. We, being a good team, put our heads together to find a way to combat this never-ending dilemma. Our way of doing that is through education. And, only one answer to a question is never enough. If you know your job well, then you know that there is more than one way to skin a cat. So we came up with the following list: 1. Women do not have nearly as much testosterone as men. In fact, according to Bill Kreamer in Essentials of Strength Training and Conditioning, women have about 15 to 20 times less testosterone than men. Testosterone is the reason men are men and women are women. After men hit puberty, they grow facial hair, their voice deepens, and they develop muscle mass. Because men have more testosterone, they are much more equipped to gain muscle. Because women do not have very much testosterone in their bodies, they will never be able to get as big as men. 2. The perception that women will bulk up when they begin a strength training program comes from the chemically-altered women on the covers of bodybuilding magazines. These “grocery stand models” are most likely pumped full of some extra juice. This is why they look like men. If you take the missing link that separates men from women and add it back in, what do you have? A man! 3. For women, toning is what happens when the muscle is developed through training. This is essentially bodybuilding without testosterone. Since the testosterone is not present in sufficient amounts, the muscle will develop, but it won’t gain a large amount of mass. The “toned” appearance comes from removing the fat that is covering a well-developed muscle. 4. Muscle bulk comes from a high volume of work. The repetition range that most women would prefer to do (8–20 reps) promotes hypertrophy (muscle growth). For example, a bodybuilding program will have three exercises per body part. For the chest, they will do flat bench for three sets of 12, incline for three sets of 12, and decline bench for three sets of 12. This adds up to 108 total repetitions. A program geared towards strength will have one exercise for the chest—flat bench for six sets of three with progressively heavier weight. This equals 18 total repetitions. High volume (108 reps) causes considerable muscle damage, which in turn, results in hypertrophy. The considerably lower volume (18 reps) will build more strength and cause minimal bulking. 5. Heavy weights will promote strength not size. This has been proven time and time again. When lifting weights over 85 percent, the primary stress imposed upon the body is placed on the nervous system, not on the muscles. Therefore, strength will improve by a neurological effect while not increasing the size of the muscles. And, according to Zatsiorsky and Kreamer in Science and Practice of Strength Training, women need to train with heavy weights not only to strengthen the muscles but also to cause positive adaptations in the bones and connective tissues. 6. Bulking up is not an overnight process. Many women think they will start lifting weights, wake up one morning, and say “Holy shi_! I’m huge!” This doesn’t happen. The men that you see who have more muscle than the average person have worked hard for a long time (years) to get that way. If you bulk up overnight, contact us because we want to do what you’re doing. 7. What the personal trainer is prescribing is not working. Many female athletes come into a new program and say they want to do body weight step-ups, body weight lunges, and leg extensions because it’s what their personal trainer back home had them do. However, many of these girls need to look in a mirror and have a reality check because their trainer’s so-called magical toning exercises are not working. Trainers will hand out easy workouts and tell people they work because they know that if they make the program too hard the client will complain. And, if the client is complaining, there’s a good chance the trainer might lose that client (a client to a trainer equals money). 8. Bulking up is calorie dependant. This means if you eat more than you are burning, you will gain weight. If you eat less than you are burning, you will lose weight. Unfortunately, most female athletes perceive any weight gain as “bulking up” and do not give attention to the fact that they are simply getting fatter. As Todd Hamer, a strength and conditioning coach at George Mason University said, “Squats don’t bulk you up. It’s the ten beers a night that bulk you up.” This cannot be emphasized enough. If you’re a female athlete and training with heavy weights (or not), you need to watch what you eat. Let’s be real—the main concern that female athletes have when coming to their coach about gaining weight is not their performance but aesthetics. If you choose to ignore this fact as a coach, you will lose your athletes! 9. The freshman 15 is not caused by strength training. It is physiologically impossible to gain 15 lbs of muscle in only a few weeks unless you are on performance enhancing drugs. Yes the freshman 15 can come on in only a few weeks. This becomes more complex when an athlete comes to a new school, starts a new training program, and also has a considerable change in her diet (i.e. only eating one or two times per day in addition to adding 6–8 beers per evening for 2–4 evenings per week). They gain fat weight, get slower, and then blame the strength program. Of course, strength training being the underlying cause is the only reasonable answer for weight gain. The fact that two meals per day has slowed the athlete’s metabolism down to almost zero and then the multiple beers added on top of that couldn’t have anything to do with weight gain...it must be the lifting. 10. Most of the so-called experts are only experts on how to sound like they know what they are talking about. The people who “educate” female athletes on training and nutrition have no idea what they’re talking about. Let’s face it—how many people do you know who claim to “know a thing or two about lifting and nutrition?” Now, how many people do you know who actually know what they’re talking about, have lived the life, dieted down to make a weight class requirement, or got on stage at single digit body fat? Invariably, these so-called experts are also the people who blame their gut on poor genetics. These so-called experts are the reason you see so many women doing sets of 10 with a weight they could do 20 or 30 times. They are being told by the experts that this is what it takes to “tone” the muscles. Instead, they are only wasting their time doing an exercise with a weight that is making no contribution to the fitness levels or the development of the muscle. In case you haven’t figured it out by this point in the article, what is currently being done in fitness clubs to help female athletes tone their bodies is not working. It’s not helping these women get toned, and it is definitely not helping improve athletic performance. Maybe it’s time for a change. Contrary to the ineffective light weights currently being used, heavy weights offer many benefits for women including improved body composition, stronger muscles, decreased injury rate, and stronger bones (which helps prevent osteoporosis). Let’s try lifting some heavy weights and controlling our diet and watch this logical, science-based solution make the difference we’ve been looking for. Tim Kontos is in his ninth year as the strength and conditioning coach for Virginia Commonwealth University athletes. A certified strength and conditioning specialist with the National Strength and Conditioning Association, Kontos designs, implements, and supervises all strength, speed, and agility programs for all the VCU athletic programs. David Adamson is in his second year as an assistant strength and conditioning coach for VCU. He is directly responsible for program design and implementation for men’s and women’s track and field, women’s cross country, and field hockey. Prior to coming to VCU, David worked at the University of Wisconsin-La Crosse, Arizona State University, and Winona State University. In 2003, he graduated from the University of Wisconsin-La Crosse, and in 2006, he received his masters in sport leadership from VCU. Sarah Walls is in her first year with the Rams’ strength and conditioning staff as a graduate assistant working with men’s and women’s soccer, golf, and men’s cross-country. Graduating magna c** laude, she earned a bachelor’s of science degree from Virginia Tech in 2003. Since graduation, she has spent time working at George Mason University in Fairfax, Virginia in the strength department. While there, Sarah worked with women’s tennis, men’s tennis, men’s volleyball, and men’s soccer. At the same time, she also worked for LifeTime Fitness and helped manage and develop innovative training programs. In addition, she is a contributing writer for the magazine, Muscle and Fitness HERS. Elite Fitness Systems strives to be a recognized leader in the strength training industry by providing the highest quality strength training products and services while providing the highest level of customer service in the industry. For the best training equipment, information, and accessories, visit us at www.EliteFTS.com.
Fueling the young athlete
Fueling the young athlete: How much water and when to drink it By Dev K. Mishra, M.D. Water seems to have gotten a bad rap lately. It used to be perfectly acceptable to drink water during sports events, but nowadays it seems that there is a big push toward flavored waters and so-called "sports drinks."Human bodies are about 60% water. Drinking water is critical for all human beings to stay healthy, and water overall is probably more important than food for survival. In average conditions an adult human being can go without water for about 3 to 5 days but can survive without food for much longer. The need for water consumption goes up with exercise and also increases with hot or cold climates. Every part of the human body is dependent on water for proper function.Sports drinks and juices do provide hydration, but water is still generally the healthiest option for exercise lasting less than 60 to 90 minutes because it lacks the calories and additives of the other drinks. Sports drinks* may be more effective for longer duration exercise because they contain electrolytes that are lost with intense sweating.Research shows that adolescents and teenagers get less water than any other age group. A good portion of an adolescent’s "diet" consists of soda and foods containing a large amount of processed sugars, fat or salt, which have little if any nutritional value. Drinking water before a meal can curb the desire to overeat, and by substituting water for empty-calorie soda will literally save hundreds of useless calories in the overweight child or adolescent's diet. Young athletes face the risk of dehydration and heat related illness if they do not replace the water that is lost through sweat. Many pediatricians recommend that every child should drink half of their total body weight in ounces of water each day. For instance, the average 6-year-old weighing 46 pounds should drink about 3 cups of water or 23 ounces in the course of the day. Sports participation increases the body’s need to consume water. For athletes, one of the keys is to begin hydrating well before your planned exercise or game session. There is yet another formula for hydrating before exercise. The general recommendation is for young athletes to begin hydrating themselves about two hours before exercise by having 1 ounce of water for every 10 pounds of their body weight. This can all get very confusing. So here are some practical tips about drinking water that should be a bit easier to remember. * The young athlete should have 12-16 ounces of fluid up until about 30 minutes before a game or practice (remember that most water and sports drinks come in 20-ounce bottles). * Keep sipping water during the practice or match. * Start re-hydrating within 20 minutes of the conclusion of the practice or game. Research shows that the first 20 minutes are the most efficient time to start refueling. Try to take in 20 ounces within this window of time. There are also many excellent sports drinks available that will provide hydration. Some advantages of sports drinks are better taste, and also the ability to replace electrolytes that are lost during sweat. But for most shorter duration sports events water will do just fine. Water is cheaper than a sports drink, and it has proved effective literally for millions of years.
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Soccer, Coaches
I have spent the last sixteen years of my professional career as a collegiate coach. My…MORE
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How do you respond when your athletes ask you what to consume for rehydration during workouts and competitions?
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