Month: March 2010

High Load/Low Load Programming

A quick reminder that today is THE LAST DAY to get access to all the incredible hockey training information at HockeyStrengthandConditioning.com for $1!

Everyday at Endeavor I see people doing “rotator cuff” exercises. I’m not against doing some cuff work, but people often make a fatal mistake-they load too heavily!

Your body has amazing adaptive powers. If you use heavier weights, you’ll recruit larger muscles often at the expense of the muscles you’re targeting. Consider these two examples:

1) Exercises involving glenohumeral (“shoulder”) external rotation are usually performed to the rotator cuff muscles that assist in external rotation (teres minor, infraspinatus). If the load is too heavy your posterior deltoid will take over and imbalances around your shoulder are exacerbated.

2) High load core exercises (e.g. rollouts) can become very rectus abdominis (the “6-pack” muscle) dominant, sometimes at the expense of the transverse abdominis. The same is true for teaching people to “fill up their belly” with air to stabilize their spine without teaching them to pre-tension their core first. The problem with this is that the rectus doesn’t attach to the spine or share the lumbodorsal fascia connections that the transverse abdominis and obliques do, meaning your core strength may not create the spinal stability you’re looking for.

One of the things I’m starting to include in more programs these days is intentional low load exercises like:

-Alternate DB Row (intention: stimulate spinal stabilizers)
-Standing Belly Press (intention: stimulate “inner core” in anti-rotation pattern)
-Alligator Breathing (intention: teach diaphragm breathing)

I love helping people get strong, but I think low load training is necessary to improve stability and overall movement quality. After all, if stabilizers aren’t doing their jobs the larger surrounding muscles need to split attention between creating stability and demonstrating strength/power. The key to strong, powerful, efficient movement is appropriate joint stability.

Keep training smart!

Kevin Neeld

Please enter your first name and email below to sign up for my FREE Athletic Development and Hockey Training Newsletter!

Birthday Sale: 25% Off All Ice Hockey Training Products!

Tuesday, March 30th, is my 25th birthday. It seems like just yesterday I was stickhandling and playing one on one with my brother in my garage for hours everyday. How times flies.

Anyway, I can’t think of a better way to celebrate a birthday than giving you some presents to help fulfill your hockey potential!

I’ve made a special coupon for you so you can get 25% off EVERYTHING at my hockey training website.

Until Friday, April 2nd, you can save 25% on:

Hockey Training U’s Off-Ice Performance Training Course

Hockey Training U’s Hockey Training Programs

Breakaway Hockey Speed

Hockey Training Exercise Videos Membership

Just enter the coupon code “25bday” at checkout and the savings will pop right up.

…I know what you’re thinking, but I wouldn’t recommend waiting until my 100th birthday.

To another great year of hockey training!

Kevin Neeld

P.S. Don’t forget, you only have until March 31st to get access to all incredible information at HockeyStrengthandConditioning.com for $1!

Please enter your first name and email below to sign up for my FREE Athletic Development and Hockey Training Newsletter!

Savings on Supplements

I get questions almost daily about what supplements I think people should be taking. Realistically, the complexity of someone’s supplementation depends on a number of things:

Training Goals
Diet
Training History
Supplement History
Age/Development

Having said that, I generally think everyone should be taking a fish oil supplement and a greens supplement. I think it’s pretty hard to argue against the long list of benefits of fish oils at this point (increases everything that’s awesome, decreases everything else…I read that in a research paper). Greens supplements aren’t as well-supported because people say, correctly, that it’s better to get all your nutrients from real food like fruits and vegetables.

I agree. Unfortunately, whether the barrier is finance- or lethargy-based, the truth is that people AREN’T eating fruits and vegetables (many people aren’t eating ANY on a regular basis).

With that understood, no one likes spending unneccessary money on supplements. I’ve done a ton of research on these two supplements and have found two resources (one that most people don’t know about!) consistently come up with the lowest prices.

You can get Greens+ (the Wild Berry Burst flavor…the other stuff is gross) at Amazon.com for around $27. It’s well worth it and significantly cheaper than other retailers, which sell it for around $40. I’ve included a link to Amazon’s page for your convenience. Just click the image below.

Carlson Lab’s Fish Oil (my go-to brand) is available in capsule and liquid form at Vitacost.com at around 50% off. I go for the liquid stuff (they have lemon and orange flavor that tastes like a fruity syrup…not as bad as you think!) because it’s easier to get high doses in without popping a ton of capsules. Currently Vitacost is listing Carlson Lab’s Liquid Fish Oil for around $22! I don’t know how they do it, but I’m glad they do. Image linked below.

Hope this helps you save a few bucks! With the $20+ you save on fish oils every month or so, now you can afford the $9.95/month it takes to get a membership to the GREATEST HOCKEY TRAINING SITE EVER! Yes, it’s that incredible. And you still have a few days until the $1 30-day trial ends! Click the image below to get instant access to the world’s largest collection of hockey training expertise!

To your continued success,

Kevin Neeld

P.S. Please forward this along to anyone that likes saving a few bucks on great supplements!

Please enter your first name and email below to sign up for my FREE Athletic Development and Hockey Training Newsletter!

Foam Rolling Science Made Simple

On Monday I mentioned that myofascial restrictions may prevent your stretching from being effective. If you missed the post, check it out here:

3 Reasons Not to Stretch Tight Muscles

Through my work at Endeavor, I’ve found that most people still aren’t familiar with foam rolling.

When they ask me what it does, I use the same explanation I’ve heard Michael Boyle use:

Your muscles have similar elastic properties as a rubber band. Think about tying a knot in a rubber band. What happens when you pull it from both sides (stretch it)? If you actually take a rubber band and do this, you’ll notice that the knot will get tighter and the areas on both sides of the knot will become thinner/weaker. In other words, the whole thing will elongate, but the knot gets worse and the areas on both sides of the knot become damaged.

If you simply remove the knot (untie the band), the overall length of the band will increase and it will extend much more efficiently. This is a more desirable alternative, and the reason we foam roll.

Rolling out knots/myofascial restrictions will improve the length and extensibility of the muscle without stretching it in the traditional sense. It will also cause you to respond better to stretching.

Seems like a win-win to me!

To your success,

Kevin Neeld

P.S. Are you still not a member to HockeyStrengthandConditioning.com? What are you waiting for! The 30-day trial offer for $1 ends March 31st! If you’re serious about training for hockey, you NEED
to be a part of the site!

P.S.S. Please forward this along to anyone you know that will
benefit from better hockey speed training information!

Please enter your first name and email below to sign up for my FREE Athletic Development and Hockey Training Newsletter!

3 Reasons Not to Stretch Tight Muscles

Our interns at Endeavor have been firing questions at me the last couple weeks. They’re definitely keeping the gears grinding as I try to think back to all the things I read as a student, and explain why so much of the information we’re taught in school is only partially true (at least in my setting).

Recently, one of my interns brought up when it is and isn’t appropriate to stretch muscles that feel tight. As I mentioned in my presentation “Innovative Practices in Strength and Conditioning” for SCWebinars.com, I think static stretch has some validity in training programs and is necessary for almost all athletes. Having said that, it’s not always the best solution for “tightness”.

Consider these examples:

Muscular Deficiency
Psoas deficiency will increase the workload of other hip flexors (e.g. tensor fascia lata and rectus femoris) to flex the hip past 90°. Because these muscles are required to perform extra work while they’re in a shortened position, it’s likely they’ll feel tight afterwards. Stretching may help short-term, but if the psoas deficiency isn’t addressed, you’ll keep stretching/tightening yourself in circles. Address the cause, not the symptom.

Sub-Threshold Injury
All of us suffer bumps, bruises, aches, and pains throughout the course of our lifetimes. Some of these injuries necessitate medical attention, others may be “sub-threshold”, meaning they aren’t severe enough to require medical attention, and will hopefully resolve on their own.

As a hypothetical example, consider an athlete with a very slight medial meniscus tear. The body could naturally compensate by shifting weight off of this meniscus. As a result, muscles that cross the lateral aspect of the knee (e.g. TFL-> IT Band) and prevent genu varum may feel tight. Stretching could alleviate this tightness, increase the load to the medial meniscus, and increase the severity of the tear. Oops.

Myofascial Restriction
Some people just don’t respond to stretching. They stretch and stretch, but always feel tight and the muscle never seems to improve its extensibility. Many times, this has to do with myofascial restrictions that are better addressed through soft-tissue manipulation through foam rolling, Active Release (A.R.T.) or graston. On a personal note, I’ve gained more range of motion from a single A.R.T. session that I have from hours of stretching.

Stretching can help, but it’s not always the BEST solution. If you aren’t responding well to stretching, consider looking into some of the other possibilities presented here.

To your success,

Kevin Neeld

P.S. The 30-day trial offer for $1 at HockeyStrengthandConditioning.com ends March 31st! The feedback we’ve gotten about the site has been incredible. Don’t drag your feet on this. If you’re serious about training for hockey, you NEED to be a part of the site!

P.S.S. Please forward this along to anyone you know that will benefit from better hockey speed training information!

Follow me on Twitter!
Follow me on Facebook!
Follow me on YouTube!
Connect with me on LinkedIn!

Please enter your first name and email below to sign up for my FREE Athletic Development and Hockey Training Newsletter!