Category: Uncategorized

No Bake Cinnamon Protein Bites Recipe

Ashley Drummonds shares her recipe for how to make simple all natural Cinnamon Oatmeal Protein Bites.  Listen to the video to follow her step-by-step instructions.

Ingredients you will need:

1/2 c cocoa nibs

1 cup whole oats

1/4 cup coconut oil

1.5 scoops ABS cinnamon swirl

1/2 cup natural nut butter

drizzle honey

You can purchase Ashley’s Abs protein powder at http://abspancakes.com/ 

5 Things that Make Mature Clients Different Than Personal Training Clients

Dr. Cody Sipe talks about the 5 characteristics that make training the mature client different from the regular personal training client.  Mature clients are typically more affluent, have more life experiences, generosity, loyalty, attitude, and complexity in their lives.  Listen to hear the whole story about how each of these characteristics make training mature clients different than training the typical personal training client.  To learn more about how to train the mature client, click on the certifications tab above to begin today.

 

The Three Things Every Beer League Hockey Player Wants…

The Three Things Every Beer League Hockey Player Wants…

There are three things you can give a beer league hockey player that will make them your friend for life – and no, it isn’t BEER.

Beer league hockey players are some of the most passionate recreational athletes you will ever find – they know they are not going to the NHL (well most of them know anyway), but they still dream of winning their version of the Stanley Cup and many of them are prepared to do what it takes.

So, the next time you are training with your favorite beer leaguer -give them the gifts of mobility, stability and functional strength with these three simple exercises, that they can even do at home if they have resistance band.

Mobility
You might be surprised that it is not some sort of hip stretch, but I know if you are reading Dan’s blog that you are quite a few notches above ‘average’ so I trust that you have already looked after that.

Let’s look up the chain a bit to their thoracic spine. Most hockey players are stiff in their thoracic spine in part due to the position on the ice and in part due to poor posture the other 15 waking hours of the day.

Hockey demands a good amount trunk rotation, not just when shooting, but also when skating and looking for your winger or keeping an eye out for the D-man just hoping to catch you with your head down.

So let’s make sure you are getting most of that from the portion of you spine that is designed for nice rotation – the thoracic spine, this will help spare your lumbar spine the added wear and tear.

Quadruped T-Spine Rotation is a great exercise to start with, but I want you to do something a little different. I want you to add a breathing component to it.

So as the player rotates his thoracic spine, get him to breathe in all the way up – breathe in and rotate to a count of four. Cue them to take in as much air as possible, expanding the rib cage and abdomen. As they rotate back down to the starting position, have them exhale to the count of 6. Have them do 6 reps on each side.

VIDEO LINK –

So now they are actually experiencing a full breath, you will be surprised at how difficult it will be for some of them to stick with the tempo. That expansion of the rib cage upon inhalation will further improve the thoracic spine mobility.

Stability
I know you have already looked after static stability with planks and their variations, so now try integrating the hips and torso to stabilize against dynamic movements with the upper body? Why the heck not?

That is exactly what the Inline 1/2 Kneeling Chop delivers to a hockey player (and this is one I routinely use with the Junior and Pro players I train as well).

VIDEO LINK –

When the player gets into the 1/2 kneeling position, make sure their front foot and back foot are directly inline – that means one is directly in front of the other. Your players will cheat on this big time and then look at you like ‘Uh, YOU said this was hard. This is easy for ME’.

Once they have the inline position, cue them to stay tall in their torso. They will grab either a resistance band or cable column just above shoulder height. The foot closest to the cable or anchor point of the resistance band will be forward.

Using both hands, have them chop from just above shoulder height on one side to hip level on the opposite side, so it will be a down and across pattern. Make sure they pause at the top and bottom to establish stability before making the next movement.
Start with 2-3 sets of 8 reps each way.

Strength
Of the hundreds of strengthening exercises you can use to help hockey players get the powerful skating legs of a Sidney Crosby, I love this one for the beer leaguers because it helps them get the feel of using their glutes, of pushing through a full stride, while keeping them in a low skating position.

Just like the AAA players, once a beer leaguer gets some burning in their legs, they are going to want to stand up, thus giving up their power (and speed) potential.

I haven’t even mentioned the great hip stabilization workout that the ‘non-working’ leg is going to get.

The Low Strider can be done with a simple resistance band or low cable column. The player will position himself at about a 20 degree angle to the line of pull (the video shows it well), to more closely mimic the direction of push and so the band or cable are not sawing across their leg with each rep.

If the cable or resistance band is attached to the left leg, the weight stack or attachment point should be on the player’s right. Have them get low in the legs and stay there; they will not pop up and down with each rep. My goal is to have the player hold a 70-90 degree angle at the knee (I might let the beer leaguers creep up toward the 70 degree position).

VIDEO LINK –

The knee on the ‘non-working’ side should stay pointing straight ahead, it should not be wiggling in and out with each rep as the player strides. Make sure they are getting a full push with each rep.

Start with 3 sets of 12 reps on each side, but adjust that based on what the player needs – muscular endurance, stability or strength.

So, now that you have a friend for life – count yourself very lucky because I have worked with hundreds if not thousands of hockey players over the years and you will not find a more loyal friend than a hockey player.

Whether she’s training Olympic Gold Medalists, kids at hockey camps, or Stanley Cup champs, Maria Mountain has one goal: to help athletes live their dreams. At her gym, Revolution Sport Conditioning in London, Ontario, Maria designs quality training programs for pro athletes and weekend warriors alike. Online, Maria helps hockey players around the world win more games with fewer injuries at HockeyTrainingPro.com.

The Age Performance Blog: The Ballet Bar

Screen shot 2014-11-18 at 12.42.17 PM

When you think of someone who has a perfect squat pattern, can touch her toes (palms to floor actually) with straight legs and scores in the 90th percentile for women in the 65 age group on the Rikli Jones Senior Fitness Assessment, you probably don’t think of a 97 year old.  She’s a 97 year old that we will keep anonymous, but will be named Jodie for the purpose of this article. She catches us all by surprise in a very good way.

In a recent training session, Jodie mentioned that she had installed a “bar” in her bathroom. Stunned, many different thoughts came to my mind. “Oh no, Jodie, not the dreaded grab bar” that many older adults will install to reduce the risk of falls. I thought “oh no, Jodie is finally having difficulties, “and oh no, not you Jodie, you’re everyone’s pinnacle picture of performance in later years.” After a few moments of confusion, Jodie seemed concerned for my state and I finally I was able to speak, so I asked her if she has been having difficulties getting out of the tub or bathroom. The look on her face was priceless. She responded proudly, “No, it’s not a GRAB bar, it’s a BALLET bar.” She had this ballet bar installed to do stretches, body weight squats, etc. I was relieved to hear the news that our poster child was more than fine, and still surprising me.

Seventeen years ago, Jodie came to us in great shape of years of constantly moving, stretching and being physically active through skiing, tennis, golf, and other activities. Because of her diligence to remain physically active, she has lost very little during that seventeen-year time span. Jodie has always been proactive about her health and physical function, so it’s amazing she is still finding ways to stay mobile in any way she can by simply putting a ballet bar in her bathroom. This determination and focused attention to staying mobile has served her so well in her late 90’s. There may be a time when Jodie does need a grab bar, and if she ever does it will be well deserved at that point. But as for now, she will keep it at a ballet bar, and because of Jodie, I too, may install a ballet bar in my bathroom.

Can You Really Put The Horse Back In The Barn?

Dr. Cody Sipe shares the myth behind the saying “The horse is out of the barn.”  This refers to the myth that once you are old it’s too late to do anything about it.  This could not be further from the truth as Cody talks about the plasticity of aging.  This means that even as we get older our bodies can still adapt and respond to stimuli like exercise.  We can still improve our strength and balance well into our 70’s and beyond.  Many components of fitness can be improved as we age.  Listen to the video to hear more about how these components can improve with exercise.  Please check out the Certifications tab above to get started today.

 

 

Partners

Become a Member

Join FAI to take advantage of exclusive benefits and discounts.

Scroll to Top