Sunday, September 9, 2012

The Forgotten  Muscles


After two players going down in college football with serious neck injuries, I'm reminded of the importance of strengthening neck muscles.  As Strength & Conditioning Coaches it is easy to overlook this.  We can focus on power, speed, squat, and bench press but we forget to train the neck.  Just like people take aspirin to reduce the risk of heart attack, we must strengthen our football player's necks to reduce the risk of serious injury.  Im not saying that strengthening neck muscles will prevent freak accidents on the field.  This should especially be a priority in middle school & high school athletes as they develop proper hitting technique & player awareness.

I pray for all the injured athletes & the Coaches tasked with developing our football players.

Friday, February 3, 2012

Complaints & Excuses

If this offends you then there's probably truth in what you are about to read. There are two types of people: complainers and survivors. Complainers complain to survive. Survivors do what it takes so he and the complainers can survive.

I watched a TV show about cheetahs & they showed a mother cheetah that was beat to hell & back. She had been hunting for days & either the prey got away or the kill was high jacked/stolen. With dramatic music playing in the background, the camera pans to a cheetah cub. Then the camera pans back to the busted up cheetah, who by that time had her head down, tail down, & limping. She looks up to find a herd of gazelle. The camera focuses in on the cheetah & you can see the intensity in her eyes grow. She's not thinking about her last failed hunts or whatever is causing her to limp. She has one goal and that's the survival of her cub and herself. The show ended with the cheetah killing the gazelle & feeding her cub. I remember watching the show & narrating the cheetah..."I'm tired & my leg hurts.". I'm sure she was thinking it, but she wasn't going to let her complaints get in the way of her & her cub's survival. That is something that I've noticed when I talk to people about training. They complain so much that they let their complaints get in the way of their goals & dreams. If I offer up 101 ways to improve their fitness level, they will give me 102 complaints & excuses (I'm too tired, this hurts, that hurts, I'm too busy, I have so much going on in my life right now). Your complaints may be valid but where do you draw the line? When can you cutout your nightly tv show to workout? Why can't you go to the gym & use that time as a getaway from the things that are going on in your life? Why haven't you got the professional help if your are hurt? I've heard it & I've lived it. If you don't want to do something then say you don't want to do it or quit. This is your survival (your health & performance) but don't make excuses.

When my first child was born I had a lot going on in my life. For almost a year it was hit & miss at the gym for me. When I went to the gym my workouts were halfhearted to say the least. I can give excuses for not working out but that's all it will be are excuses. The truth is that I wanted to spend every waking moment with my first born. I finally got to a point where I had to saddle up & get to work. I wanted to be that physically imposing figure that I used to be & run around with my child without sucking wind.

Don't believe your complaints. Don't make excuses. If you want to be the best you can be then do it. There is always someone that has it worse than you do. SUCK IT UP!