Friday's Thoughts

 Athletic Training, Coaching, Motivation/Inspiration, Physical Therapy, Recovery, Strength and Conditioning  1 Response »
Oct 302009
 

I’ve decided to get on the bandwagon of posting some of the things I have been thinking about and have done during the past week in addition to my coaching responsibilities.  I will try and update every Friday.  So here it goes:

1-      The P90X may be the best workout system that I have seen advertised on television (Perfect Pull Up is second).  A few of my friends have started the program.   What I like about it is the organization of the program and most importantly, you are required to move.  Although, I don’t think I would use it with my athletes, I think it is great for people who need a regimented routine. 

2-      I read the book  Crush It- Why Now is the time to cash in on your Passion, by Gary Vaynerchuck.  I actually finished it in a day.  I really like the concepts described in the book to help utilize social media.  What I also really like is the fact that the author explains that by having a passion for something and applying hard work, you can see positive results.   Kind of a breath of fresh air to read a book where they promote hard work.   I’ve actually taken action on a few of the tips in the book. 

3-      Strength Coach and friend, Mike Boyle, has released his Functional Strength Coach 3.0.  I got mine yesterday and watched the first dvd last night.  As usual, Mike has done it again by releasing a great product.  It seems like Mike is always one step ahead when it comes down to program design implementation and progression.  I look forward to watching the rest of them. 

4-      On T-muscle this week, there was another great article called “Bigger, Better, Faster, Longer” featuring an interview with Dan John.  Dan is a really good writer and seems to be an even better coach. 

5-      Speaking of Mike Boyle, check out this funny video Anthony Renna put together.   

http://www.xtranormal.com/watch/5543021/

That’s it.  Let me know what you think.  Have a great weekend.

Strength Coach Podcast

 Athletic Training, Coaching, Recovery, Strength and Conditioning  No Responses »
Oct 282009
 

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My good friend Anthony Renna has done an unbelievable job with the Strengthcoach Podcast. To me, it has been a great educational resource. I usually try to listen to it on my ipod or I will put them on cd’s for my car.  I was very fortunate to be interviewed on episode 1 back in September of 2007. You can access my interview and all of the episodes of the StrengthCoach Podcast at http://www.strengthcoachpodcast.typepad.com/

Perform Bettter 3-Day Functional Training Summit

 Athletic Training, Coaching, Motivation/Inspiration, Physical Therapy, Recovery, Strength and Conditioning  No Responses »
Aug 052009
 

Wow, what a great weekend I just had at this year’s Functional Training Summit on Long Beach, CA.  Chris Porier and his staff at Perform Better know how to get it done!  You can’t beat 3 days of seeing some great presentations while also getting to hang out with may colleagues and friends and also meeting a lot more. Here is my top 6 presentations that I saw based on how good it was and what I learned and will apply with my athletes (I couldn’t get it down to 5 as it was tough to pick as I saw 14 presentation and learned something in all of them:

1- Vern Gambetta- Foundational Legs- Building the Athlete from the Ground Up.  What I really like about Vern is that he is a coach.  He tells it like it is all the time.  Like Al Vermeil, when he speaks, you should write what he says down.

2- Todd Wright- Vertical Core.  Todd is a pretty funny guy who shows his passion for helping his guys get better every time he speaks.  He is definitely a guy who has figured out a way to use Gary Gray’s information and break it down to a system that works for him and his athletes.

3- Todd Durkin- Going for Greatness.  This lecture was very motivational and it was something I needed to hear (especially with training camp only weeks away).

4- Thomas Plummer- The 7 Habits of a Financially Successful Trainer. Like Todd Durkin’s, this was something I needed to hear.  Thomas has obviously been doing this a while and knows what he is talking about.

5- Alwyn Cosgrove- The Evolution of Personal Training. I always have to see Alwyn speak.  Very entertaining and a great guy.  Always tells it how it its.

6- Robert Dos Remedios-  Building Better Athletes: Getting Stronger and More Powerful Outside the Weightroom.  I love seeing real coaches talk about what they do. Dos was awesome.

Besides seeing those guys and others speak, I also got to meet up with some other people such as Mike Boyle, Anthony Renna, Mike Potenza from the San Jose Sharks, and Pete Friesen from the Carolina Hurricanes.

Great Weekend

 Athletic Training, Coaching, Hockey, Physical Therapy, Recovery, Strength and Conditioning  No Responses »
Jun 082009
 

This past week, I made my annual summer trip back home to Boston where I was able to see some of my family and friends.  I was also able to get in some good continuing education and networking.  On Thursday afternoon, my wife and I were able to get a training session in at the Boston University Weight room.  I was able to hook up  and catch up with Head Strength and Conditioning Coach, Glenn Harris.  Glenn has now been at BU for 12 years as the Head Strength and Conditioning Coach.  He is a great guy and I will always be thankful to him for giving me an opportunity back in 1998 to do an internship.  Friday morning, I was able to observe a Boston University Hockey training session.  I try to make it over to watch these guys train every time I get back home.  Mike Boyle is the Strength and Conditioning for hockey at BU.  Also joining me to observe were 3 strength coaches from other college hockey programs.  Mike is another friend/mentor to me who is always doing something new with his guys.  I always learn something new when i visit with Mike.  Friday afternoon was the 3rd Annual distinguished lecture series in sports medicine at Northeastern University.  Art Horne, Strength Coach/Athletic Trainer for Men’s Basketball at NU helped put on an outstanding lineup of speakers.  Some of the best speakers/clinicians in the industry including Mike Boyle, Dave Tiberio, Eric Cressey, Dr. Mark Phillipon, and Stuart McGill gave some great presentations.   What I really liked about is that there were several presentations given on common areas that I am constantly trying to learn more information about. I picked up a lot of new information that I am really looking forward to implementing with our athletes.  In my opinion, whenever I go and attend seminars and visit with coaches, I always judge it upon how excited I am to try new ideas when I get back to training on Monday.  This trip didn’t disappoint.

Active Release Technique

 Recovery  No Responses »
Feb 042009
 

I went to see my friend Dr. Ron Higuera, an A.R.Timages-21. practitioner yesterday in Anaheim.  Ron is one of the best in the business.  He has an unbelievable passion for helping people get better.  I have learned a lot from him since I’ve been seeing him as well as referring close to 50 hockey players to see him.  Everyone of them has seen positive results. For me, I usually get him to help my low back pain by releasing my psoas, hip rotators, rectus femoris, multifidus, and back extensors.  He’s always learning and coming up with ways to help his clients.  I highly recommend A.R.T. for any nagging soft tissue injuries that won’t go away with traditional rest and treatment.

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