Month: September 2009

The Importance of Functional Anatomy

In a recent newsletter I talked about how important it is to understand functional anatomy and human movement.

I gave the example of a D1 hockey player I worked with over the summer that “tweaked his hamstring”.

After he answered a barrage of my questions and I analyzed his movement a bit, I was able to determine that it was the short head (SH) of his biceps femoris (one of the 4 “hamstring” muscles).

Who cares?

This is actually really important because the SH is the only hamstring muscle that isn’t a hip extensor. This means I could still have him load a hip extension pattern (think stiff-legged deadlift) without further aggravating his “tweak”.

The outcome?

Continued progress despite a minor injury.

I don’t know about you, but I’d rather have my athletes continue to develop despite having a minor injury than have them sit out completely or just push through it and delay healing.

-Kevin Neeld

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Kim McCullough’s Hockey Training Resource

The other day I mentioned a list of great resources.

I’m embarrassed to say I left one out that would greatly benefit my hockey audience.

Those of you that have been long-time readers know I’ve spoken highly of Kim McCullough before.

She’s the ONLY resource I can rely on to consistently put out great hockey-specific information.

I regularly read her blogs and subscribed to her newsletter so I can stay current on everything.

If you’re involved with the game of ice hockey at all, click here to visit Kim’s site. Get all the free information from her you can and definitely sign up for her newsletter.

I promise you’ll benefit from her material. I know I have.

Click here to take the first step toward fulfilling your ice hockey potential!

-Kevin Neeld

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Stronger, Faster, Smarter…Guaranteed!

I recently got an awesome email from an old student of mine at UMass Amherst, thanking me for recommending Cressey Performance as a place to intern.

It was great to hear how much he learned there and how it ignited his passion for strength and conditioning.

I think finding the right resources (whether they’re books, seminars, videos, or people) is essential to being successful. I know my life has changed significantly since I went out and bought all the books that Michael Boyle recommended in his 10-DVD set “Functional Strength Coach”.

With that said, I want to forward along a few internet resources that continue to have a positive impact on my training and coaching.

All of these are INCREDIBLE investments. I’ve learned more applied training information from these resources than I have in 6 years of undergraduate and graduate studies (which makes me wonder why these sites are so cheap and college is so expensive!)

In no particular order:

StrengthCoach.com: Still the best training site on the internet. In addition to the cutting-edge articles and constant video updates, some of the greatest minds in the training and rehabilitation industry are available to answer your questions in multiple open forums.

StrengthandConditioningWebinars.com: Presentations from the best in the performance training industry, available to you without leaving your home. It’s a brilliant site and the presentations are incredible. This site eats up more of my free time than I’m comfortable admitting.

Precision Nutrition.com: Still the best nutrition resource (EVER!) for athletes and non-athletes alike. I recommend this to EVERY single person I talk to about nutrition. At the risk of offending many of you, you’d have to be stupid not to own this.

SportsRehabExpert.com: The best site on the internet for injury prevention and rehabilitation information. I go to here to learn more about how to prevent injuries.

MyFitTube.com: Thousands of exercise videos from some of the most creative experts in the industry. It’s like YouTube for people with unhealthy fascinations with human movement and performance (e.g. me…and hopefully you).

Regardless of whether you’re a player or a coach, if you’re truly committed to fulfilling your potential, you truly owe it to yourself to check out these sites.

They’ve changed my life. I’m confident they’ll change yours too.

-Kevin Neeld

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Bike Ride for Multiple Sclerosis. A Chance to Give Back

As I’ve spoken about before, I’m big on giving back to the community in any way possible.

Being a science nerd, I’m especially interested in helping the science community shed light on various disease states. This was one of the main reasons I volunteered hundreds of hours at the University of Delaware assisting with research on individuals with cerebral palsy and multiple sclerosis (MS).

Last weekend my Dad told me about a bike ride he’s doing in October to help raise money for MS. I was really excited to hear that he was doing the ride, and impressed that he’d volunteer his weekend for two 75-mile bike rides

In an effort to support my Dad’s fund raising, I have a bribe for you.

Bribe Below!

If you donate anything over $25, I will send you a copy of my “Off-Ice Performance Training Course”, which includes over 100 exercises with detailed descriptions, more than 200 exercise pictures, and over a dozen sample training programs. I’ll also throw in all the bonuses (“Complete Hockey Nutrition and Supplementation”, “The Secret to Team Success Guide”, and “ 1-Week Pre-Season Training Guide”.

If you donate over $50, I’ll throw in 3 3-month training programs.

Lastly, if you donate over $100, I’ll design a 4-week customized training program to meet your individual training needs (Value: $200).

All you need to do to donate is click the link below and it should take you right to my Dad’s website. If it doesn’t, you just need to enter his name (Ken Neeld) to get there

Click here to Donate Money for Multiple Sclerosis Research!

Remember that donations for causes like this are tax deductable too!

Click here to Donate Money for Multiple Sclerosis Research!

Thanks in advance for supporting this great cause!

-Kevin Neeld

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A Fun Strategy to Keep you on Track

A great post from John Berardi on how pictures/photoshoots can help keep you motivated and on-track.
If you’re skeptical, read the article to see how this strategy was effective for Precision Nutrition’s Amanda Graydon!

Click here to read the article now!

-Kevin Neeld

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