Ensuring you have an appropriate warm up is essential to any successful program. Warm ups prior to exercise are important to prepare your circulatory system and muscles for exertion and reduce the chance of injury. Unfortunately, traditional stretching routines are ineffective. The most potent way to warm up for an athletic activity is by performing the same movements you will … [Read more...]
Out of the Training Room, into the Kitchen
Major league baseball training rooms are a popular spot for guys looking to get their daily drug fix. The drug of choice? Advil. Over the course of 162 games, plus spring training, plus the post season, an inflamed muscle here and there is impossible to avoid.I have clear recollections of taking 12 Advil a day for weeks at a time. Hundreds of throws, swings of the bat, face … [Read more...]
When Less is More
In 1999, I was a rookie with the Detroit Tigers. After a game, I strode confidently into the Kansas City Royals’ weight room, rested the weight bar on my shoulders and settled in for some heavy squats. I rocked my hips back and dropped into my form, feeling totally in control. On the way back up, I got stuck. I leaned forward and the bar spilled over my neck. More than 500 … [Read more...]