3 Things you NEED to know about core training...

Often times we read things and get so excited about them that we forget where we are reading them. We forget that Men's Health needs to ultimately sell magazines to stay in business. So they are going to print things that people like.

I used to subscribe to Men's Health. But then I started noticing a lot of similar articles popping up and also a lot of filler and fluff.

In each issue they do have a few well put together articles. Many having to do with grooming, sex and then of course getting ripped in 15 minutes a day. In fact I remember one issue had what was called the "Ripped in the Shower." It consisted of stretching your chest, some body weight squats, calf stretching and some isometrics for the biceps and triceps.

One of the guys that Men's Health looks to for information on back fitness is Dr. Stuart McGill. We at Pair & Marotta Physical Therapy also look to him (and a few others) when we want to see what the newest research in back health is saying.

Dr. McGill has a book out titled "Ultimate Back Fitness and Performance." I've been using the information provided in it with clients and patients for a little over a year now and the results are amazing!

So here are 3 things that we've gotten from "Ultimate Back Fitness and Performance":

1. You have to control the spine before you can hope to unleash its ability. Too many coaches are busy doing exercises that create motion at the lower spine instead of teaching athletes how to control the spine. Without control, power is useless!
2. The spine is not meant to bend and twist. Yes it can bend and twist. But look at its anatomy and you see that the joints of the spine are not like any other joint in the body. They are not a ball and socket, not a hinge, not a saddle, and not condylar. If anything it is a gliding joint. However the muscles connecting each joint are very intricate and stiff. The spine is there as a center stabilizing column for the rest of the body to move around, rather than itself moving in all directions.
3. Shoulder and knee injuries are highly correlated with poor spine health and stability. We see a lot of baseball pitchers who have shoulder injuries and basketball players who have knee injuries and time and time again the same trend is seen: poor postural control and stabilization. As I stated in the point above the spine is meant to be stable. If the spine is not stable then the arms and legs have nothing to anchor too. If there is nothing to anchor too its like hitching your horse to a log lying on the ground: sure its attached, but there is not security/stability.

Lucky for the baseball and softball coaches here in Bakersfield, Pair & Marotta Peak Performance is hosting a 2-hour workshop titled "On-Field Core Training for Baseball/Softball" where we will discuss how to implement a core training program into your practices. The workshop will demonstrate field tests to use, core training sequencing and ultimately power training for the core using just a baseball bat and a partner.

This is a free workshop that will take place on Saturday January 22nd from 10am-noon at our Peak Performance facility at 5337 Truxtun Ave. 

For more information or to register contact Aaron@pairmarotta.com

Another success story of a Peak Performance athlete...

Over the course of the year I get quite a few updates about the players that we have trained. This year has been exceptionally well as we have had 4 of our seniors accept offers to play their respective sport in college.

However, today's update is about a high school softball player who will be playing for the Central Cal Intensity club softball team this summer. Cheyenne Rodriguez has been coming to us for a year and a half now. I first met Cheyenne at a New Year's Baseball/Softball Camp that we co-hosted at the end of 2008.

She signed up for our In-Season Baseball/Softball Program in January of 2009. She continued into the fall of 2009 and trained all the up to the start of softball season. Cheyenne has been one of the hardest working PLAYERS in our program! She has become one of the more explosive hitters on her team, consistently hitting the ball hard in every time she is up to bat.

We have worked to develop the connection between the amazing rotational power of Cheyenne's hips and the limitless potential of a strong core, to develop an amazing swing. This has been a work in progress. It wasn't a weekend camp, it wasn't hitting balls in practice over and over. It was teaching Cheyenne how to develop power and transfer through her core to her arms using medicine ball rotational hip throws, cable chops and single leg pushup's. Then those movement skills were carried into her sport skills.

So how well is she doing?

Cheyenne LAUNCHED a massive HOME RUN this weekend in an NSA tournament up in Madera, which saw CCI take the 18u championship!

Cheyenne and the rest of the CCI 18u team will be training at Pair & Marotta Peak Performance this summer to continue to develop every part of their athleticism. Most of the team was able to make it in for the past 3 months of our In-Season Baseball/Softball training program and we saw an amazing change in their leg strength, core strength and foot speed. But it must be learned over period of time.

Our Speed, Strength & Power (SSP) Camp can do just that for your players this summer. Speed and power training is a must in the competitive sports of today. Great players will only get by on talent for so long. But a combination of talent and movement skill training at our SSP camp will ensure a better athlete that has fewer injuries and better outcomes in competition.

This years SSP Camp starts NEXT MONDAY, June 7th. It's not too late to register! Sign up today and make sure you are one of the 20 athletes that invests 48 hours this summer training to be a Peak Performer!

SAVE YOUR SEASON!!

Sports these days are the most intense they've ever been. That is until next year roll's around.

However, there are ways to prevent fatigue, acute injuries and overuse injuries over the course of the season. Research on strength training in youth athletes improves strength, balance, coordination: all of which combine to improve sports performance.

As muscles fatigue and breakdown over the course of a season, the potential for disastrous injuries such as ACL tears, meniscus tears, ankle sprains and ROTATOR CUFF strains. An in season strength program serves to strengthen the muscles and nervous systems, that are stressed during the course of a season.

Exercises such as a Single Leg Squat, Plank to Pushup and Dumbbell chest press, strengthen muscles that act on key joints (knee, core, shoulders, respectively) and help protect those joints from the injuries stated above.

Aside from preventing physiological fatigue, strength training also has the potential to reduce psychological burnout by incorporating a new stimulus into the "everyday" routine of playing baseball or softball.

So perhaps the question is not why SHOULD you enroll your child in our In-Season Baseball/Softball strength program, but rather why WOULD you not?