Soccer is a very popular sport for kids and parents alike, and some teams can start up as young as the age of five or six years old. For soccer coaches (and parents) of younger children, there are a few important tips to remember when training the kids for their games. The fitness drills you implement should be fairly easy and not too rigorous, at least until the age of eleven. At that age, the difficulty can gradually be increased.

Think about the kids’ speed, endurance, and agility, but do not work them too hard. It is important to try and get the most ball touches out of every single practice and every single game. Even if no goals or very few goals are scored kids need to feel as if they are accomplishing something, so by encouraging them to kick the ball is important.

A good chunk of time should be dedicated to getting the kids to kick the ball around on the field. Encourage them to have fun with it, and remind them that right now at practice, there is no pressure to score. It’s more important to just be able to visualize and then kick the ball.

The combination of both fitness and ball training should be emphasized. If the kids are physically fit and agile, they should be able to play well. The goalies should also be encouraged to try and block and/or catch the ball as it comes their way. A few simple goalie tests or practice tactics are good to try here to get them involved. Remind the goalies that their role is also very important for the entire team.

If all of the kids are physically fit, you will be able to move onto focusing on the actual game of soccer. A quick run around the field (or half of the field if the children are really small) is a good way to watch and spot check different team members to make sure they are able to run without too many issues.

Encourage all of the kids to try their best without putting too much pressure on them. As long as they understand the concept of soccer and how the game is played, they should do fine. Keep in mind that especially at a younger age, soccer and other sports are meant to be a fun way to work and play together as a team.

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Tags: goalie, soccer

Carbohydrate loading is a method that has been used for at least 20 years now by marathon runners and other endurance athletes. The idea behind carb loading is that you would eat a huge amount of carbohydrates, usually complex carbohydrates in the 12-18 hours before competition. The Mayo Clinic came up with this great primer on the how, what and why of Carb loading.

Carbohydrate loading can improve your performance during high-intensity endurance exercise. Use this strategy to prepare for a marathon, triathlon or another endurance event.

Perhaps you’re training for a marathon or triathlon. Or maybe you’re a long-distance swimmer or cyclist. Whatever your sport, if you plan to complete 90 minutes or more of high-intensity exercise, carbo-loading (carbohydrate loading) may improve your performance.

Carbohydrates: The body’s fuel

The food you eat contains carbohydrates, protein and fat. These nutrients supply the calories your body uses for energy. Although your body needs all three nutrients, carbohydrates are your body’s primary source of energy.
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Tags: athlete, average athlete, bloating, carbohydrate-containing sports, cramps, cyclist, dairy products, diabetes, energy, food, Loading Carbohydrate, long-distance swimmer, Mayo Clinic, registered dietitian, soccer, Sports Medicine, Swimming, triathlon, weightlifting

I was listening into a conversation going on around me yesterday about whether it is worth it to work out. I am sure that my workplace is no different then any other where we talk ourselves into and out of things through conversation with others.

Martin and Christina where talking about whether to work out or not. Christina has not used her treadmill since she got it and Martin said that it is tough and boring to use equipment and that there is so much more to do in life then to walk or run on a treadmill.

Neither Christina nor Martin need to lose weight, I have no idea about their fitness level but if you feel OK when you look in the mirror it is hard to workout or rather easy to make an excuse not to workout.

So here goes the rant.

I know that working out is tough, I know that working out takes time and I know that it can be boring or inconvenient so why not hit all of these factors head-on. Read the rest of this entry »

Tags: accomplishment, Christina, doing weights, excuse, Fitness Equipment, health benefits, hockey, Martin, soccer, treadmill, unused fitness equipment, workout

Soccer has always been known as a great alternative to jogging as a great form of exercise but a new study seems to show that Soccer is actually much better as a form of exercise than jogging.

University of Copenhagen sports scientist Peter Krustrup and his colleagues conducted their research on 37 men. The researchers strapped heart monitors to their chests and compared blood samples and muscle tissue before and after matches and jogging sessions. The men were split into groups of soccer players, joggers, and couch potatoes.

After 12 weeks, researchers found that the body fat percentage in the soccer players dropped by 3.7 percent, compared to about 2 percent for the joggers. The soccer players also increased their muscle mass by almost 4.5 pounds, whereas the joggers didn’t have any significant change

So why these results? Well I think that the excitement that people feel when playing a team sport helps but more importnantly to play soccer means to jog around some and sprint some and the faster-slower type exercise confuses you muscles and helps you get in a much better workout.

Do you agree? Now that winter is coming it would be a great time to look into one of those fun indoor soccer leagues.

Tags: joggers, muscle_mass, muscle_tissue, Peter Krustrup, soccer, soccer_players, sports scientist, Uncategorized, University of Copenhagen

Everyone wants better abs and here is a bunch of great info on getting better abs now. I have just got this interview that Tom Venuto of Burn the fat feed the muscle fame, did with David Grisaffi. David Grisaffi has just created a kick ass workout system called flatten your abs that is designed to give you much better abs and I thought I would share this with you now to learn more about ab training.

The Abdominal Training Secrets Interview
With Tom Venuto, NSCA-CPT, CSCS
www.BurnTheFat.com
And David Grisaffi, CHEK, CFT, PN
www.FlattenYourAbs.net

TV: Hi David, thanks for taking the time for this interview because I know how busy you are and that, among other projects, you run a training studio in Tacoma, you’re a wrestling coach and you keep a full client load. I’ve known you for a couple years now through the Internet and the emails we’ve sent to each other and you’re very well known within the fitness industry – especially in the sports training field. But on the off chance that some of the people listening to this interview don’t know who you are, would you give us a quick introduction and tell us little bit about your background, how you got started in this field and how you spend your time now?

DG: Well I was always a sports enthusiast my entire life. I can remember I was the only 9-year-old watching Monday night football and taking stats. I did all the usual sports – football, soccer, wrestling, swimming, baseball and tennis. Never did much with basketball. Being a genetically “blessed” Italian, I didn’t think the height requirement was going to be on my side. I excelled at wrestling. That sport alone taught me about nutrition, supplements, work ethic etc. I really have to thank wrestling for getting me into this field. I now coach high school wrestling, baseball and youth football. I keep really busy with my 3 children, Addision (13) Garrison (10) and my little man Carson (7). I taught school for a couple of years and then decided to go into personal training.

TV: You have quite a few certifications, one of them is certified personal trainer, one is certified golf trainer  or golf biomechanic to be exact – but what is a Corrective High Performance Exercise Kinesiologist?

DG: That’s an intense certification program where you learn from one of the foremost experts in the conditioning field, Paul Chek, who personally developed and cultivated the program. The certification revolves around the dynamics of kinesiology, physiology, functional anatomy and mind  body – spirit relationships. The program has four levels and I’m currently a level II, where we learn physical assessment, posture analysis, gait analysis, primal movement patterns, length-tension testing and range of motion testing. My Golf biomechanic certification is also from the CHEK institute. This is where we learn how the relationship between muscles and muscle groups affect the golf swing and how to improve it. In the winter of 2002 I also became one of the first Nutrition and Lifestyle Coaches from the CHEK institute. This program was developed to help practitioners deal with nutritional and lifestyle needs of their clients. The certification teaches how symptoms of disease and stress can be prevented through diet, exercise and stress management. I’m currently a level II Nutrition and lifestyle coach.I can’t say enough about how Paul has helped me become a better trainer and person. There is more to this than just exercise.

TV: And I understand that there’s only a small handful of people who have those credentials, is that right?

DG: Yes, I think, at last count about 1000 have received a CHEK certification but there are only about 35 in the world with all three certifications including the level two’s. So it all costs time, energy and brain work Tom, but for someone who wants something different and out of the box thinking, it’s great. Not to take away from any other certification programs; heck, I love the ISSA, Ian King, Charles Poliquin and many others

TV: That’s impressive, congratulations. So if I understand your philosophy correctly, the big difference between you and other trainers and especially trainers who only do bodybuilding and nothing else, is that you help your clients not only look good, but also with functionality, performance and correcting existing injuries or potential problem areas or imbalances that could lead to injuries in the future. Did I miss anything or would you say that’s a pretty good description?

DG: That’s right you have to evaluate your client thoroughly for strengths and weaknesses to get the best results. Sometimes without a good evaluation you can miss something that could help prevent or fix an injury or cause someone not to excel.

TV:I think it’s really important what you’re teaching people because as a bodybuilder myself, when I first started many years ago, the ONLY thing I cared about was looking good and having muscles and abs and low body fat, but true fitness is a lot more than just looking good. For one thing it’s health above all else. In addition to that, if you don’t have strong, flexible and balanced development, then sooner or later, you’re going to get injured or you’re going to find that you can’t enjoy the sports or recreation activities you want to, and ultimately you might even find yourself restricted from normal daily activities like squatting, bending and lifting things around the house, which is exactly what happens to most people when then get older. But still, the fact is, everyone wants to look good, they want the six pack; they want muscle definition. So how do you balance the form aspect  the looking good part  with the function aspect  which is the strength, flexibility, balance and performance part?

DG: I believe we develop from the inside out. If you have good insides, you will have a good outside. What I mean is that diet, nutrition and water intake have a great deal to do with how good you look on the outside. So to look good – the form part – I start with overseeing my client’s dietary intake. I don’t go as far as telling them exactly what to eat, but I give a lot of suggestions. As for the function, I always think of the body as a whole, not as parts. Yes, if you’re a bodybuilder and that is your gig, then heck yes, think in parts. This really depends on the client and their goals, but you always need proper flexibility, strength and balance in the whole body as a unit.

TV: You train regular people and you also train professional athletes, especially boxers and golfers. Is there a big difference in how athletes and regular people should train?

DG: Each of them has distinct differences. So to plop down a canned program for everyone would lead to failure and would reflect poorly on me. I take each client one at a time. In my Flatten Your Abs e-book, I provide many different levels so each individual can pick the level that fits them best when they start out. Everyone is not equal. The boxers in general, are more athletic, so one big difference is that I change their program more often to keep them fresh. Let’s say I have 6 weeks before a tough fight, I may change the workout 3 – 4 times. Their nervous systems are highly adaptable and need the change. Someone who just wants to start a basic weight-training program could stay on the same program for the entire 6 weeks and get results. This is because their nervous systems are not as highly developed.

Read the rest of this interview on my next Ab workout interview post!

Click here to visit David Grisaffi.s Flatten Your Abs Website to see what this great program has to offer you this year.

Tags: Addision, baseball, basketball, Carson, Charles Poliquin, coach, David Grisaffi, David Grisaffi.s Flatten, e-book, energy, existing injuries, football, Golf, Ian King, King, nervous systems, Paul Chek, personal trainer, soccer, sports enthusiast, sports training field, Swimming, Tennis, tom venuto, usual sports, wrestling, wrestling coach, www.burnthefat.com, www.flattenyourabs.net

How you view exercise is a very important idicator of how often and how hard you will work out. I know that most of the time I really enjoy getting exercise. Of course the fact that I exercise outdoors most of the time is a very important part of the way that I feel about exercise. Recently I had some problems with my bike and with the weather. The weather up here in Calgary is very cold and my rear tire on my bike is broken so I have had to exercise on our elliptical trainer. I like the elliptical trainer but not nearly as much as a few years ago when we got the thing. I will get on the elliptical trainer and turn up the tension and go as hard as I can for 30 minutes while watching soccer on the TV.

You know what? I will tend to watch the time on the machine when working out indoors. When I am on a bike or working out doing something where physical movement is involved then the only thing I care about with time is when my next meal will be but when I am in the bedroom on gym equipment I only wonder if I will be done soon. The problem is that indoor exercise to me is just an interuption in the rest of my day instead of being a fulfilling part of the day.

How do you feel when you work out? Do your watch the clock or live in the moment of the exercise?

There is a great thing that you can do to make the exercise go a bit better when you are working out and having a bit of trouble like I am. The first thing is to visualize yourself being outside and actually riding a bike or running. See very clearly where you are going what kinds of sounds and smells are around and keep the pace in your head that you are doing on the equipment. The creative effect of this in itself is worth it and will make you feel a lot better about your workout.

This method is great because it actually breaks up your day and allows you to be in a kind of dreamtime for that short period so you get exercise and actually get to play with your mind while doing it.

Tags: calgary, gym equipment, soccer