ATHLETIC STRENGTH AND POWER

The ASAP Shopping Cart.... Part 1

Today, ASAP Athletic Strength And Power will be launching a new segment called: "The Shopping Cart". Our panel of experts (Medical Doctors, PhD's, Registered Dieticians and long time coaches) will make suggestions and recommendations for you. All you have to do is head down to your local grocery store and fill the cart!

First things first....and that means Breakfast. When asked, many high school athletes admit that they skipped breakfast. For an athlete in training, this is no way to start the day. Many nutritionists consider breakfast as The Most Important Meal of the Day.

Today's "Shopping Cart" suggestions are:

• Cereals..... and Coach Ted Lambrinides suggests "any cereal that doesn't float in the milk.....The exception to that would be Cheerio's"
• More Cereals.....  Coach Ed Cicale recommends "old fashioned Quaker's Oats". This food will "stay with you". You won't get hungry and reach for unhealthy snacks during the mid-morning hours.

• Mark Bergmann M.D. (Eye Care Associates of Greater Cincinnati Inc.) makes sure to fill his shopping cart with berries. These are things that can be added to your breakfast cereals and morning menu. "Blackberries, strawberries, raspberries, and the super berry, in regards to antioxidants....the BLUBERRY" . "And, if blueberries are out of season....there's nothing wrong with the frozen variety" Blueberries, according to his research, are THE superfood of the berry group. Dr. Bergmann also suggests that red grapes should be in the cart.
  Interestingly, he stated that drinking large amounts of fruit juices may be contraindicated....reason being is that there is usually way too high of a sugar content. The body just has a rough time dealing with that much sugar.....besides the fact that it's not all that great for the teeth. However, Dr. Bergmann did recite a recent study done in England that found that the best of all of the fruit juices was Welch's Concord Grape Juice....So add that to the cart. In the study, orange juice and apple juice ranked very low!
  Doc recommends the adage of going for the real fruit itself...rather than the fruit juice.
  He also suggests putting eggs in the cart "because they are one of the most nutrient dense foods".

So, thanks Dr. Ted and Dr. Mark for the shopping tips for today.

All Rights Reserved  Copyright 2007 www.athleticstrengthandpower.com  blogpost by Ed Cicale

The Rotator Cuff

What is the rotator cuff?
The rotator cuff is a term used for a complicated area of the shoulder joint, comprised of mainly tendons. However, for the sake of training that area for the prevention of injuries, the muscles can also be considered part of the "cuff". The rotator cuff allows us to extend our arms up over our heads, rotate our shoulders, and throw a ball or object.
The main muscles that make up the rotator cuff are:

• the Supraspinatus
• the Infraspinatus
• the Teres Major
• the Subscapularis

Other important muscles in this region that need to be considered are the latissimus dorsi, the deltoids, the pectoralis muscles and the biceps and triceps. All of the aforementioned muscles play a key role in the function of the shoulder.

Athletes, especially those who are required to do a lot of throwing need to pay special attention to this area of the body. Career ending injuries or painful, nagging type injuries have been the demise of many athletes...both professional and amateur. Things can go wrong in this area....including, the aging process- where the shoulder slowly degrades over time, overuse injuries that lead to tedonitis, tears and sprains. Other injuries are due to muscle imbalances and also hard or heavy impact to the region.

A specialized program needs to be used to prevent injuries to the rotator cuff. This includes proper strengthening exercise and a regular flexibility program.

STRENGTH TRAINING for the Rotator Cuff
The following exercises should be included in a comprehensive program for the rotator cuff.

• Side lateral raises
• Side deltoid flys with a cable machine
• Front Deltoid Raises with a dumbell
• Rear deltoid flys (machine or dumbells)
• Dumbell Shoulder press on a inclined bench
• Lying "L" Flys
• Standing "L" Flys
• Lying Flys (arms straight out)
• Normal Grip Bench Press (avoid the wide grip technique!)

Avoid dumbell pullovers, wide grip bench press, behind the neck pulldowns and, if you've had a shoulder separation...avoid dips, too.

FLEXIBILITY PROGRAM

• Straight Armed Pectoralis Stretch
• Overhead Pole Stretch
• External Rotation Stretch
• Partner Deltoid Stretch

If you are in the greater Cincinnati or Northern Kentucky region and you are an athlete who does a lot of throwing....quarterback, softball, baseball, track and field events, golf or any other activity that requires constant use of the rotator cuff.... Check out the professional sports personal trainers at The Workout in Covington and ASAP at The Western Sports Mall. They'll be able to help you to target this area and help prevent...or rehabilitate injury to the rotator cuff.
Call Doug Monaghan in Covington, Kentucky today to start your Workout @ 859-261-4111
Call Jamie Ray at 513-240-7311 for the ASAP at The Western Sports Mall (Cincinnati's west side)

All Rights Reserved   Copyright 2007 www.athleticstrengthandpower.com  blogpost by Ed Cicale

Cincinnati Personal Training: The Workout@ Adams Landing

One of Cincinnati's fastest growing personal training centers is "The Workout@ Adam's Landing", located on the eastern outskirts of downtown Cincinnati with beautiful views of downtown, the Ohio river and northern Kentucky. The Workout@ Adams Landing is centered at the base of the condominium tower at 900 E. Pete Rose Way, Cincinnati 45202. "The Workout" is a top notch facility with all of the latest equipment used in the fitness industry. This is an ASAP Athletic Strength And Power facility and follows the training guidelines established by Ted Lambrinides Ph.D.. The facility boasts 3200 square feet of training space where over $100,000 of training equipment awaits the trainee. Give Ted Lambrinides [email protected] or Doug Monaghan [email protected]  a call for a training session at The Workout@ Adams landing 513.721.4888

All Rights Reserved  Copyright 2007 www.athleticstrengthandpower.com  blogpost by Ed Cicale

Key Factors to Speed and Strength Development

One of the key factors in a young athlete's continuation with a strength training and conditioning program revolves around the effectiveness of the conditioning supervisor or strength coach. The strength coach should view him, or herself, as both an educator and a motivator.

1. The educational role involves teaching the athletes about different weight training exercises. why the exercises are important to their sport, and about basic physiological principles to gaining and maintaining strength.
2. The motivation function involves regular encouragement pushing the athlete toward meaningful challenge.

These are also keys to why the ASAP; Athletic Strength And Power program works so well. The strength trainers and personal trainers continue to push the athletes toward goals in accordance with the athlete's physical and mental maturity level. They know about education and they know about motivation.

If you're located in the Greater Cincinnati or Northern Kentucky region, and you need a personal training program designed to take you to the next level using state-of-the-art methods and equipment.... if you're looking for an acceleration training program designed to increase your speed and improve your agility, balance and coordination.....and, if you're looking for sound nutritional advice, too.... start thinking ASAP....Athletic Strength And Power! Then, head down to see the trainers at The Workout! Act, Think and Train like a Champion

All Rights Reserved    Copyright 2007 www.AthleticStrengthAndPower.com  blogpost by Ed Cicale and adapted from his quotes from the October-November 1985 Volume 7 Number 5; National Strength & Conditioning Journal