Hydrotherapy For Quick Recovery

Getting all bubbly with hydrotherapy is a great way to relax sore muscles and increase recovery times for all levels of sports. Teams such as the Philadelphia Eagles to the San Antonio Spurs have utilised hydrotherapy to reduce injury and help promote recovery. Utilising Hydrotherapy can help in the recovery of ACL injuries, and my own physio has advocated hydrotherapy to help with my own ACL surgery (which I have not yet utilised). Studies by Lancaster General Health in the U.S. has advocated the use of hydrotherapy in the rehabilitation of ACL injuries has cut down the time of these injuries from 5 to 6 months, to about 4 to 5 months. Get serious about your injuries and your recovery, and utilise a hydrotherapy program for better goalkeeper and athletic recovery.

Respiratory Muscle Training: Increase Respiratory Performance For Competitive Goalkeepers

Get huge muscles! Respiratory muscles that is. Increasing the oxidative capacity of the lungs can really help boost performance in competitive athletes. Following is a study that was cited by Batman, P. (Advanced Aerobic Conditioning, 2004) which suggested that “In the majority of cases trained subjects delayed hyperventilation, which allowed them to work at a higher rate for a longer period of time before they became short of breath”. Therefore, Respiratory Muscle Training (RMT) can help increase the strength of the respiratory muscles, decrease the chance of blood lactate build-up in the lungs, and help reduce minute ventilation that can be diverted away from the respiratory muscles and into active working muscles.

Just this morning I stumbled across a fantastic new product that was developed by Birmingham University and Loughborough University in England called POWERBreathe. It is touted as a drug free, hand-held dumb-bell for your diaphragm! It basically works to increase performance via the previous mentioned methods. Because it is a new product and hard to find, I actually stumbled across it at a very prominent medical supplier on eBay. If you are interested in purchasing the POWERBreathe unit you can find it here, at a top notch price.

Psyche It Up: Sports Physcology For A Mental Goalkeeper Edge

Nothing is more important than the mind. Some may vouch for the heart in being the big winner when it comes to great sports performance, but to truly excel in any field, the noggin has to be on right! Mental cues and visualisation are just a few of the many techniques that a sports psychologist can administer to help you get out of the sporting rut. Just last week I asked my physiotherapist, who has worked with some of the biggest names in soccer about utilising a sports psychologist for performance enhancement. I asked if a sports psyche can truly benefit a soccer player in reaching new heights, or if it was all just Freudian fluff? He huffed his answer as if to imply which planet I was living in. And he had every right to, because sports psychology is of utmost importance if you want to take your game from the local leagues to the world stage. Ask Ronaldo if he utilises a sports psychologist, and he will probably grin at you with gaping teeth. Every type of professional athlete from Olympic athletes to NFL quarterbacks are utilising sports psychology to give themselves the competitive edge they need to take their game to the next level.

Writing goals and adhering to them is another example of what sports psychologists can do to help increase your performance. If I said to myself four years ago that I would get a trial in the UK for the English Premier League Division 2, some people would have locked me up for my crazy claims. But I did. This was all thanks to planning and mental preparation. I did not have a sports psychologist, but planning helped me overcome my mental barrier, and it gave me actionable goals to achieve. This past year has been mentally burdensome, and I have suffered injury after injury, which was mentally taxing. I am going to take my physios advice in the coming few months, to help me gain my mental edge and get back into goals and playing at my best. In Australia a sports psychologist can cost you anywhere up to $150. Check your health fund to see if you are covered.

Release The Chi, For Better Goalkeeping Performance

Now grasshopper, if you can snatch the pebble from my hand…I love Chinese medicine, its martial arts and its food! Now acupuncture has been around for around 5000 years and the World Health Organization has recognized its benefits in treating over 43 different illnesses including healing sports injuries. Manipulative therapies, such as massage, have a distinct oriental tradition, and its benefits can truly help a competitive goalkeeper or athlete perform to their best abilities. There are nearly 500 Chinese herbs used in clinical treatment, 80% of which are are herbal remedies. Acupuncture is utilised to stimulate the Chi (energy force) of the body, to help the body stimulate its own recuperative processes. Therefore, acupuncture is a natural way for competitive goalkeepers to recuperate after injury, and is a great salve for helping to increase blood flow and restore normal bodily functions when your body has had a rough day on the park.

Yesterday I had some treatment on my recovering leg, and my physio was utilising massage as a way of removing scar tissue, reduce swelling and allowing normal blood flow to enter the affected area to helping the regeneration process. In Australia natural therapies (such as acupuncture) are now covered by health funds. Therefore, if you are really looking at a way of restoring your Chi naturally, give Chinese acupuncture a try.

Goalkeeper Fitness: Pump It Up In The Privacy Of Your Own Home, PART I.

My partner and I have been moving into a new place over the weekend, so excuse me for the delay in posts, it has been a hectic week. Starting a new job a few months ago, I felt that it was about time to hit a gym and do my own thing to help me recuperate from injury. What else could I want, a world renowned gym with all the latest facilities, that was around the corner from work. But I’ve found that it is not really all that it is cracked up to be. Exorbitant prices, overcrowded gym floor junkies who are there for a pose…it just isn’t me, and you waste a lot of time. A few years back, when my pockets were long black bottomless pits, I would create my own workout at home, and guess what…I saved a whole heap of money in the process. Not bad if you are studying and training at the same time. Many people ask what they need to do to set up their own home gym? Do you need thousands of bucks? The answer is a definite NO. So here is an equipment checklist that I have come up with that you can utilise to create your own workouts from the privacy of your own home.

No Money For Big Gym Blues: Yes, it definitely sucks. You hear all your mates talk about how they got their new membership to the hottest gym in town. You would like to get your hands on a membership too, but only have a few hundred dollars to spare which you have been saving up over the past year. If you are truly dedicated, you can spend pennies, and gain a lifetime of value from your own equipment. That’s right, your very own equipment. No standing in lines for hours, no exorbitant fees. So here is a list of must have items for your own home that won’t burn a hole in your wallet. (Click the links to find the best deals on eBay for all the items listed):

• Skipping Rope: The best investment I could have made over my training life was a skipping rope. Skipping is fantastic for your heart, and also helps increase plyometric power. There are so many benefits to skipping for the goalkeeper, that it might fill the page. Investing in a good skipping rope is affordable and can give you long lasting benefits.

• Dumbbell’s: Do you know how may exercises you can do with a dumbbell? Too many to list! Everything from squats to lunges, bench presses to uprights rows , arm curls to shrugs. A Simple set of dumbbell’s can cost you next to nothing , and really give you a whole heap of strength and power benefits for maximum goalkeeper performance. A set of dumbbell’s can set you back anything from $20 right up to the latest Bowflex selective dumbbell’s that cost up to $200.

• Bench: No use in having dumbbell’s if you don’t have a bench. You can buy adjustable benches for anywhere between $40 to $200 depending on your budget. Their are truly limitless exercises to utilise with an adjustable bench, and it won’t cost you an arm and a leg.

• Fit ball: Nothing is better for core stabilization and building killer abs without breaking your back, or your bank account than the trusty fit ball. For as little as $15 you can have your very own, at home, ab crunch killer.

So there you go, a few little tips for your very own home gym, without all the fluff of a heavy duty, world renowned gym! Check back next week for a new update on the best home equipment ideas!

RPE: Intensity Measurements For Active Goalkeepers

It’s a taxing thing being a goalkeeper. Has your goalkeeper trainer ever asked you about your Rate of Perceived Exertion (RPE)? No. Well, using RPE could well help trainers understand what level of intensity a goalkeeper is training at, and also help curb fatigue and overtraining. Batman P. (Advanced Aerobic Conditioning, 2004), has stated that “Indirect measurements of VO2MAX often use the Borgs rating of perceived exertion scale (RPE) to monitor intensity. The use of the Borg rating of perceived exertion (6-20) during graded exercise testing with direct oxygen uptake instrumentation has indicated that up to a rating of 17 (very hard) the calculated indirect oxygen consumption closely reflects the actual oxygen consumption rate [of a given activity]. Consequently, the RPE is a reliable tool for estimating VO2Max”.

Use RPE to measure your next training session. Mark at A Passion For Running blog has asked his readers to rate their body awareness. Cool little concept, but one which is derived from the RPE method discussed above. Marks little test is a good way of getting you to understand how hard your training session is without complicated mathematical formulae. Say if you are working at maximal intensities of 17 on the RPE scale, this translates to 170 beats per minute roughly. RPE is a great non technical view of your training sessions from week to week, and a good thing to jot down in your training diaries…if you have one (a very good idea by the way, even for competitive goalkeepers).

Nano Technology for Super Goalkeepers?

Nano particles are super tiny and extremely efficient biological and biomedical tools. What implications would nano technology have on weight loss or repairing joints in injured goalkeepers or athletes? Lazy Trainer has stumbled across a fantastic article in regards to nano technology, and its potential for countering the obesity epidemic. What happens is that the nanoparticles are created from the same substance as fat molecules. Once the nano particles have interacted with the fat molecule it has been assigned, it gives the feeling of fullness. This means eat less food, and feel satiated for longer. Therefore, nano technology interacts with fat cell receptors and help curb hunger. Nano technology has already been used for cancer treatments and other terminal illnesses. Cool concept.

What about goalkeepers who suffer injury. Could nano technology be utilised to help pain receptors shut down, or allow nanoparticles to enter the affected area and repair damaged tissue? Maybe this is the next step in goalkeeper and athletic science? Only time will tell.

Bad Knee Day: Understanding Goalkeeper Recovery & Active Rest

It was definitely one of those days today, the type where you think nothing will go right, and then you find out that the Gods conspired against you. My knee had swollen a little too much for my liking and this is because I’ve been limping to and fro trying to get things done with the little one on the way, and work commitments to boot. Not a good idea! But not all is in vain. Understanding how to recover from injury is extremely important. The fundamental principles of recovery also converge with over training. Here is a list of some of the fundamental points we goalkeepers need to look at to help avoid injury and to accelerate recovery:

• Work to Rest Ratios: Wave like periodization, where you have a four week macro cycle, and you have the fourth week which is reduced to help increase strength in the functioning muscle. Having an “active” recovery is quite important for rehabilitation from injury or over training.

• Physiotherapy: Help to relax the skeletal muscle and promote local blood flow to affected areas of the body.

• Massage & Relaxation: There are many options here such as Yoga and mental imagery to help physiological and psychological recovery. Massage such as lymphatic drainage, and other forms that help to reduce muscle tension, stress, increase blood flow and break up scar tissue

• Skill Level: Improving the clients motor skill level can help reduce fatigue and enhance recovery. In regards to my own previous recovery periods, I have been given certain exercises such as jumping on the mini trampoline while bouncing a ball off another trampoline and catching it, to help with the recovery process.

• Sleep: Nothing beats shut eye. Sleep is the main method of recovery from any injury, if you do not rest, you do not get strong and healthy.

• Antioxidant’s: Help rid yourself of nasty free radicals that can cause tissue damage. Drinking green tea is a great way of ridding your body of free radicals. Blackberries and strawberries are also a fantastic source of antioxidant’s, and a great source of energy.

Six simple steps to help you on your way to recovery from over training and injury. Hope it helps.

Take a Deep Breath: Oxygen Supplements Boosting Goalkeeping Performance

Breathing in the fresh air is not some meditative fad, it is important for life itself. The body can go without food, and in some cases water for some time, but cut off the air and you can kiss your goalkeeper gloves goodbye! The oxidative capacity of athletes determines their level of performance. Countless studies point to measurements of VO2 Max as an important indicator of an athletes maximal oxygen consumption in the blood. VO2 Max, (for the uninitiated) is called the Frank Starling Law which equates to:

• VO2 Max = stroke volume x heart rate x arterial oxygen difference

In English this means that Vo2 Max is a measurement of how much blood is transported to the exercising muscle and how much O2 can be extracted by the muscle (Source: Batman P. Advanced Aerobic Conditioning, 2004). So never underestimate the power of breathing to stimulate the best aerobic training response. Flash back to my old trainer, and I could remember him distinctly telling us to always breath deep as we ran. Scientifically, the old man knew what he was talking about (he was tertiary qualified in sports science himself), and their are countless studies that show that improved oxygen consumption can lead to benefits such as greater fat utilisation and a reduction in glycogen depletion. Powers, S. (et al.) in the study “Endurance Training Induced Cellular Adaptations in Respiratory Muscles” (1990), showed that “…improved oxidative capacity of the respiratory muscles after aerobic training may improve the ability to burn fat as a main substrate, causing a corresponding reduction in glycogen depletion. This could delay fatigue at higher levels of intensity that require prolonged severe ventilatory involvement”. If your working hard, then increased oxygen can help boost performance.

Lounging around today icing my knee (people are calling me Robocop because of the way I have been limping around, it’s quite funny), there was a television infomercial for a new oxygen supplement that is produced in Australia, and is being advocated by a whole host of sports scientists and Australian athletic organisations as the best way of boosting oxidative capacity for high intensity performance. Sports OxyShot has been developed in an IOC approved laboratory and has some of the following features:

• Drug free oxygen supplement containing 15% diatomic oxygen in an aqueous water and saline solution.
• Provides massive amounts of bioavailable oxygen to the bloodstream for enhanced aerobic performance.

What does this all mean? Possibly no more huffing and puffing. If you are training at very high intensities regularly, then an oxygen supplement may be a useful way of increasing your aerobic power. With supplements like Sports Oxyshot being utilised by major sporting organisations here in Australia then it could be testament to an innovative new way to give you an extra goal keeping or athletic edge.

Eat As The Eskimos Do, For Healthier Hearts and Better Goalkeeping Performance

That double beef burger sounds like a great alternative for a lunch time rendezvous. You’ll burn it off at training you say, and you’ll get a lot of great protein to boot. Good attitude to have? Not really. There are bad fats (saturated), and there are good fats (poly and mono-unsaturated). Did you know that the Greenland Eskimos eat a diet rich in fats. But how does that do any good for you? Well if the fats are polyunsaturated (linolenic, i.e derived from fish) they help to create lipid hormones (eicosanoids) that are biologically active compounds that affect blood pressure, vascular reactivity, blood clotting and the immune system. This is why we goalkeepers (or any athlete for that matter) should eat as the Eskimos do. Studies have reported that Greenland Eskimos have a lower incidence of coronary heart disease because their diet consists mainly of healthy fats that are derived from fish, seals and whales (Source: Richmond, W. Nutrition & Weight Management, FIA, 2001). Two fish meals per week can really help power the heart for better performance. Omega-3 fatty acids can be found in oily fish such as tuna, salmon and mackerel. Some plant sources are a great way of helping the heart stay strong and fit such as linseed, canola and soybean oil. Get a real powerful heart from utilising Omega-3 fatty acids, derived from fish.

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