Tag: sue falsone

Body By Boyle Online (New and Improved)

I’m breaking my usual Monday-Wednesday-Friday update routine because I wanted to let you know about something I’m really excited about. As you know, I’ve been a huge promoter of Body By Boyle Online since it was first launched several months ago.

Mike Boyle’s work has had a profound impact on my training philosophies and methodologies. I’ve been fortunate to have had the opportunity to read his books, watch his DVDs, attend his seminars, and visit his facilities at BU and MBSC. He’s also been an incredible mentor, always making himself available to me if I have questions about anything from sports hernia referrals to running a private training facility. Moreover, I’ve learned and continue to learn a lot from his disciples (Sean Skahan, Mike Potenza, Darryl Nelson, Devan McConnell, Kim McCullough, and Jaime Rodriguez…to name a few).

In short, Boyle has had a remarkable impact on the hockey training and development industry as well as strength and conditioning as a whole. This is, in large part, a result of his dedication to continuing education. In fact, if there’s one thing that he taught me that I had to highlight as THE most important thing, it’s that I should never stop learning. In this way, I’ll always stay on top of my game, be aware of new information, and put my athletes in the best environment to succeed.

It is for that reason that I place so much value in Body By Boyle Online and why I know you’ll benefit so much from it as well. That brings us to today’s exciting announcement.

A couple weeks ago, I got an email from Boyle and Kevin Larrabee about them relaunching their site in a way that makes the content more easily accessible and costs less. Instead of having me try to describe all the changes to you, I thought it would be easier if I had Kevin (the other Kevin) come on and do a quick interview about it.

Enter Kevin:

Me: First off, congratulations to you and the rest of the Michael Boyle Strength and Conditioning staff for being ranked the #1 Gym in America. That’s quite an honor! As you know, I’ve been a huge supporter of BodyByBoyleOnline since you guys first launched it. Looking through the programs provides invaluable insight into Coach Boyle’s underlying philosophies and methodologies, and the constant content updates are outstanding. In fact, we use many of the presentations as continuing education for our staff during our weekly meetings. Can you talk a bit about what changes you’re making to the subscription options with this “re-launch” and what lead you to make these changes?

KL: Thank Kevin! We are bringing everything that has helped make MBSC the #1 Gym in America to BodyByBoyle Online. With the relaunch we had two major goals. First off we wanted to make the content as easy to assess as possible. For us, that meant duplicating all of our content for a website, and in doing so offering multiple qualities of the videos for those with fast or slow connections.

Second, we wanted to created a second membership level for those that might not want to do online training and just want the rich educational content that we have put together. To be honest over half of our members simply come to watch the staff meeting videos as well as the exclusive seminars that we film. For example we just filmed the 2011 MBSC Winter Seminar that featured Dan John as well as Mike. We understand that many people want to go to more seminars, but the time and cost of travel is just too high. So for those people, we now offer a standard version of BodyByBoyle Online at a reduced rate of $39.97/month (for now). Of course all of our current members will also be given access to the website as part of their Platinum membership ($59.97/month).

Me: Although the site is “Body By Boyle”, he’s not the only content contributor to the site. Can you provide some insight into some of the other guests you have add content?

KL: I think that is what makes BodyByBoyle Online so great and a pleasure to produce. We have had speakers come in to the facility to do private seminars for our staff. In the last couple months we have had Sue Falsone form Athlete’s Performance present and do a hands on about the thoracic spine, Nick Tumminello came in to talk rotary training, Chris Frankel did a lecture and hands on about suspension training, and always have guests stopping by, especially when the Perform Better Circuit is coming through town. This just goes to show you how much Mike values continuing education and how important it is for you to be one of the best in this field.

Me: I think one of the things that causes people to hesitate sign up for sites/services with monthly memberships is a fear that the information will stagnate. Can you talk about what plans you guys have for the site in the future and what members have to look forward to?

KL: Trust me when I say you have an ongoing stream of new content. We film our staff meetings each week, our guest speakers, F.A.Q. with Mike where he goes in depth on subjects and answers questions from the members, and we are even dipping into the vault with some classic Boyle videos. All you need to do is take a look at Mike’s shorts to see the videos are 15 years old or so. But the best part, is that the videos from the past are even more relevant now than they were then. One of the VHSs that Mike has converted to digital video is his olympic lift video where he goes through the various lifts. Guess what, we still use the same coaching steps as he did back then.

We have also made digital versions of Mike’s current DVD offerings such as the three DVD set he just produced and released a few months ago.

Me: Thanks Kevin. I appreciate you taking the time to be with us today. I look forward to seeing the content additions over the upcoming months!

To your success,

Kevin Neeld

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2011 Sports Rehab to Sports Performance Teleseminar

It’s that time again. Last year my friend Joe Heiler (the brains behind SportsRehabExpert.com) hosted the best free sports performance teleseminar series I’ve ever heard of. It was loaded with great, usable information from some of the world’s top professionals in strength and conditioning, physical therapy and athletic training. Now he’s back, with a better line-up than ever.

Check out this list of presenters:

Sue Falsone – PT Athletes’ Performance
Ron Hruska – PT, Postural Restoration Institute
Dr. Mike Leahy – Sports Chiropractor and inventor of ART
Thomas Myers – ‘Anatomy Trains’ author
Brian Grasso – IYCA
Greg Roskopf – Muscle Activation Technique
Brian Mulligan – PT – Mulligan Technique/Joint Mobilizations with Movement
Dr. Warren Hammer – Chiropractor, Graston Technique Instructor, Fascial Manipulation
Dan John – Strength Coach, author ‘Never Let Go’
Gray Cook – PT, FMS

I’ve personally learned a ton from Sue Falsone, Ron Hruska, Thomas Myers, Brian Grasso, and Gray Cook so I always enjoy hearing them speak and picking up some new info. The other presenters I’m not as familiar with, but am equally as interested in their talks. Many of these presenters are inventors or instructors of manual therapy techniques that I fully support. I’ve found professionals with that type of background tend to have a profound understanding of how the body works and how to manipulate it to optimize performance. This always makes for an interesting discussion.

Having heard every second of last year’s interviews, I would have gladly paid $100+ to listen to all of them…but I didn’t have to.

You will survive another day…

Like last year, Joe is allowing you to register to listen to all the interviews for absolutely free. Joe’s a great guy, but that’s not the only reason why he gives away all this great info. Many times, people go over to the site to register for the teleseminar, realize how much other incredible info is at SportsRehabExpert.com and end up signing up for a membership. It’s a win-win.

I’ve known Joe and been a member at SportsRehabExpert.com for a little over two years at this point and have really enjoyed the content he’s put together. Here’s what I want you to do:

Go to this link and register for the 2011 Sports Rehab to Sports Performance Teleseminar
While you’re there, peruse around the site for a bit and check out some of the stuff he has to offer. If you think there’s some good stuff that you can integrate into your training programs, then register for a trial membership (it’s only $1 for 14 days!)

To your success,

Kevin Neeld

P.S. Go register! It’s completely free. If you can’t make some of the calls, no biggie. There’s nothing to lose, but a ton of great information to gain! Register here now >> 2011 Sports Rehab to Sports Performance Teleseminar

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The Truth About Breathing Exercises

About a year ago I started incorporating more breathing exercises into the training programs of our athletes. One of the major goals of these exercises is to facilitate proper diaphragm function.

Chicks dig guys with proper diaphragm function.

Specific to breathing, the diaphragm allows for more complete lung expansion. If you look at the image above, you can see that the diaphragm moving downward and the chest expanding upward and outward both allow for lung expansion. If the diaphragm isn’t functioning correctly (insufficient magnitude or unideal timing of contraction, restricted length or poor positioning, etc.), you can imagine that the body would naturally attempt to compensate by elevating the ribs to a greater extent to allow more room for the lungs to expand and ultimately for oxygen to be inhaled. In this regard, restoring proper diaphragm function can take some stress off of these muscles, which become overworked/stressed as they’re under more constant tension to elevate the rib cage.

The theory is that activating the diaphragm in a controlled environment will translate to improved activation/performance of the muscle in more dynamic situations. This is similar to the concept of activating the glutes during isolated/controlled movements such as glute bridges or wall march holds with the intention of restoring proper firing patterns during more dynamic movements like doing sprints or deadlifts. While this transfer can be questioned, I don’t see how including these exercises (in either example) can hurt, and believe that teaching the body how to activate specific muscles in a conscious, isolated fashion will improve the likelihood that the muscle will function properly in more integrated situations.

Last week I had an opportunity to watch Sue Falsone’s presentation on the thoracic spine that’s available at Body By Boyle Online (click this link or the image below for more information on the site!).

Sue is the Director of Physical Therapy for Athletes Performance and was the first ever female physical therapist for a major league baseball team (Los Angelas Dodgers). In her presentation, she brought up a great point about the purpose and function of diaphragm breathing exercises.

Check out a sample breathing exercise from my friend Carson Boddicker:

As you know, if there is some limitation in a joint the surrounding muscles will necessarily be affected. Charlie Weingroff talks a lot about this. Joints must have mobility before they can have stability. To expand on that idea slightly, joints must have mobility before the surrounding muscles can function properly. In this regard, Sue mentioned that one of the major purposes of diaphragm breathing exercises is to improve the mobility of the lower ribs. If the lower ribs can’t expand laterally, it’s improbable that the diaphragm will function ideally. Viewed this way, diaphragm breathing is just another mobility exercise, ensuring proper range of motion and giving the surrounding muscles the best opportunity to function optimally.

To your success,

Kevin Neeld

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