Why Running Barefoot For Aerobic Fitness Can Be Detrimental

Today on my favorite forum one of the gang discussed how she was running barefoot to strengthen her muscles and ligaments in her foot…on concrete! Now the funny thing is Mark over at A Passion For Running advocates barefoot running? I am hoping this is on something else other than concrete? I don’t understand what could be the benefit of barefoot running on concrete other than some severely damaged ligaments and high stress on the bones and joints of the foot, maybe Mark could enlighten me? There are other options available that I utilised whilst growing up training in the great outdoors for the round ball game, here are a few suggestions:

• Sweet, Soft, Sand: Actually barefoot running on the sand is not that sweet, and is usually the opposite of soft. Running long distance on sand can be hard and gruelling work. Increasing your work rate from added resistance is one of the major benefits of running on soft sand. Soft sand running is also a great way of overcoming stress on major joints and increasing strength and aerobic fitness at the same time.

• Waist High Water Run: Either in the Pool, or if you are game, try the beach. I remember some extremely gruelling runs at the beach, waist high with the added resistance of the water and currents to push me to my limits. The other great facet of running in the water is you can really help push your aerobic fitness to new levels without stressing any major joints. I remember a cool game where our coach would give one guy a head start and you would have to race after him and tag him, hard work but great feeling afterward.

So there are other options that can help you burn maximum calories, increase cardiovascular fitness and muscular strength without damaging joints and placing high stress on your spine.

What FIFA Thinks About Soccer Nutrition

What would Pele, Eusabio or the late George Best consume throughout the competitive training week? Chances would be that the nutrition of great players back then, would be widely different from that of today’s competitive soccer player. With advances in technology, and the development of sophisticated sports science protocols in all sports, FIFA have outlined what they feel the competitive soccer player requires to stay ahead of the competition. Here is a list of some of the findings in a recent study:

• Can’t Get Enough Carbohydrate: Elite players can burn between 1500 kj (men) and 1000 kj (women) during training or match play. If you do not prepare the body with complex carbohydrates and a modified carbohydrate loading cycle during the competitive week to fuel glycogen stores for maximum performance, then you are breaking a very important link in the chain. 5-7 grams of carbohydrate per kg body mass for moderately intense training activities and 10 g/kg during intense training or match play.

• Protein; Not Just For Arnold: Don’t be a girly man when it comes to protein intake. Although carbohydrate is needed to fuel post exercise performance, a mixture of protein and carbohydrate in a liquid form right after an intense session will help build lean muscle and increase glycogen stores to fuel further performance.

• Water & Electrolytes: Before, during and after training or match play are important periods for players to increase fluid intake. Fluids mixed with carbohydrates will help hydrate the body, while at the same time increase muscle glycogen stores.

• NO, NO to Dietary Supplements: Oh FIFA, Why? The report states there is no need for supplements. I also believe that simple nutrition programs that adhere to enhancement of soccer specific performance is needed. Sometimes there is no other way to refuel the body’s nutrient stores other than a quick protein shake. There are other times where the demands on a competitive soccer player will tax his/her body of vital nutrients that no ordinary diet can suffice to refuel. During these times of extreme activity, dietary supplementation such as vitamins or extra protein can really keep the soccer players body in homeostasis.

• Periodise For Powerful Year Round Performance: Training in high altitude, crossing international time zones and playing in extreme heat or humidity can profoundly affect the competitive soccer player. Therefore, coaches need to plan a periodised program that revolves around specific environments, and that can maximise a players performance in those environments.

What stands out specifically in the article is something that rings true for today’s athletes and soccer players world-wide “Talent and dedication to training are no longer enough to achieve success in football. Good nutrition has much to offer players…” Kudo’s FIFA, for your fantastic and relevant information for all us soccer players.

Understanding Cancer and The Competitive Athlete

If you have not already read Lance Armstrong’s, It’s Not About the Bike get you’re hands on it. Every young and aspiring athlete can take a page out of Lance’s book to understand that through sheer determination an athlete can become more than just what his/her sport entails them to be. Lance’s fight against cancer has given hope to millions and has inspired many who not only suffer cancer, but family members who have lived through the effects of cancer with their loved ones. Lance’s story really touches a very deep chord with me also. Cancer has been a very real part of my life.

My father passed away from cancer in 2002, and my mum suffered from breast cancer and survived many years ago. Their is a very real and profound learning curve a young person can experience that can truly make or break you when you encounter cancer. I remember that I was training at the time my father passed away, and also completing my final year of university. I remember my father being wilted away from the cancer and the chemo. Lance Armstrong also suffered the powerful and debilitating affects of chemo. Lance’s autobiography really shows that true sportsmanship does not reside in the competitive act, but in the transcendence of the soul within the sport being played. True passion for your sport should not be material, it should be spiritual.

The autobiography also outlines some instances where lance had to fight the media during his Tour De France comeback because of his supposed use of the banned substance EPO. Erythroporetin (EPO) is a blood booster and a natural hormone that has helped people fight the effects of anemia in chronic kidney failure patients on dialysis, and severe anemia in HIV patients (Source: Embleton P. Anabolic Primer, 1998). It is a very difficult substance to detect, as it’s effects are not long lasting and can sometimes disappear within 12 hours of competition. Lance fought the accusations like he fought the cancer, head on and no holds barred. He won so many times on the bike, but the bike was one small component of his overall fight, the fight of life over death, pain or giving into the effects of pain.

What really resonates with me is Armstrong’s resilience, his fight over pain and never giving up. He states “Pain is temporary. It may last a minute, or an hour, or a day, or a year, but eventually it will subside and something else will take its place. If I quit, however, it lasts forever. That surrender, even the smallest act of giving up, stays with me. So when I feel like quitting, I ask myself, which would I rather live with? Facing up to that question, and finding a way to go on, is the real reward, better than any trophy…”, this is the mark of a true champion. Like I said before, all athletes (even us competitive goalkeepers) should take a leaf out of Lance’s book “It’s Not About The Bike”, for a better understanding of what it takes to get to the top of your sport and to transcend it. Truly riveting read.

Warm Up Your Winter Training Blues

While it’s nice and warm down-under for pre season preparation. Some parts of the globe are really feeling the chill of winter. I’ve been there before, so I can totally sympathise. I remember being 15 years of age in the middle of Zagreb trudging in freezing -13 degree conditions pursuing my passion for the round ball. Just recently in Bury last year, I recall the soggy mud drenched bite of winter chilling me to my core, whilst training. So here are a few pointers I can suggest for staying warm, hydrated and training at your peak levels, even in bone biting cold conditions:

• Warm Complex Carb Meal: The best way to start the day in the cold is to chow down some warm porridge or oats in the morning to gain not only the carbs you need to power your performance, but to warm up to the winter chill.

• Drink The H20: Don’t ever think that because it is cold outside that you will not require any fluids. Nothing beats the H20 for proper hydration before and during training (possibly at room temperature). After training, try to mix up your fluid with a mixture of carbs and protein to refuel muscle glycogen stores.

• Warm Clothing: This is a given , but you would be surprised how many people get this wrong. Try to warm up with nice hugging clothing, that is light, not too heavy. No big scarf or mitts and your newly woven woollen jumpsuit from your nana. Companies such as Nike and Adidas develop thermals for the competitive athlete, you should give them a try, as they keep warmth in and are light and comfortable. Nice light hugging gloves are also a good bet, Nike and Adidas and other manufacturer’s develop these also.

When the bite of winter gives you the blues, remember that you have some very good options to utilise so that you keep snug as a bug and also pump out powerful performances.

Creating Super Sports Children: Effects Of Cardiovascular Exercise On the Competitive Child

I’m a dad! On Saturday afternoon, 3:29pm my partner and I had a 52cm, 3.77kg baby girl. I’m elated and absolutely tired, but ultimately happy that both mum and baby got through a very healthy and natural birth. Today I came across a fantastic article that is showing that some parents go to great lengths to utilise sports performance enhancement so that their child has an added edge over their competition. It poses the question of whether we are utilising sports science to help or hinder our child. Obviously, sports science can help a child gain a competitive edge. But are we pushing little bodies too far? Here are some points that myself as a father, and we as parents (if any parents are reading this) need to ponder in relation to cardiovascular performance for the child athlete:

Cardiovascular Characteristics:

• Children tend to work at a higher heart rate at sub maximal levels of exercise when compared to adults.
• Oxygen extraction by the tissues (a-VO2 diff) tends to be slightly larger in children than in adults. Therefore in exercise during hot days, children tend to increase their core body temperature as a result.
• In cold conditions, children lose heat faster than adults, due to a greater surface area per body mass.
• Blood pressure is lower in children than in adults (100/70 mmHg for a 10 year old). At this age children have lower blood pressure and an increased blood flow to the muscles.

VO2Max (Maximum Oxygen Consumption):

• Just like us oldies, children have a larger absolute VO2Max (litres per minute).
• The VO2Max of children can increase up to ten times from rest to their highest workload.
• Before puberty, increases in VO2Max occur with training, but not to the same degree as adults.
• Although maximum oxygen consumption does not appear to increase to any significant degree from specific aerobic training, there is often a significant improvement in a child’s aerobic fitness.

Muscle Characteristics:

• Slow and fast twitch fibers are inherited, with the proportion of slow and fast twitch fibers the same as adults.Anaerobic capacity is limited.
• Children have a lower concentration of phosphofructokinase, an enzyme critical to the breakdown of glycogen as a source of fuel.

Bone Development:

• Children should avoid forced flexibility training and sprinting as muscle tears can eventuate. Osgood-Schlatters and Severs disease caused by damaged growth plates in the tibia (below the knee) and the calcaneous (heel) can eventuate from high intensity exercise.
• Repetitive stress can lead to abnormal bone development.

(Source: Batman, P. Advanced Aerobic Conditioning, 2004)

So what do we prescribe for a child, so they have both fun and a lower risk of injury? Try 15-20 minutes of structured activity combined with 30 minutes of free play. Try to use rate of perceived exertion (RPE) to measure how your child is feeling during these sessions. Believe it or not, the article that I stated at the beginning of this entry points to a new trend amongst young athletes to utilise sports medicine to enhance performance at an early age. Nothing wrong with it at all, and many young athletes can find a great new way to increase their performance at an early age without breaking the budget. At all times remember to follow professional (scientific) advice when it comes to giving your child the best possible start to their athletic career’s.

Short, Sharp Interval Training For Better Strength Gains & Lean Muscle

HIIT, seems like a “hit” in the gym nowadays, and although it is nothing really new, it is a fantastic way to increase your cardio, burn calories and increase power in your working muscles without jeopardising strength. HIIT is short for High Intensity Interval Training, and it is one small part of the A.F.P.P. (which we will be including in detail in the coming weeks). Short interval training revolves around short and fast time intervals with shorter recovery periods. So you get a big aerobic bang for your buck whilst at the same time keeping hold of your hard earned muscle. But there is a catch!

Batman, P. (Advanced Aerobic Conditioning, 2004) states the need for athlete’s to build up an aerobic base before endeavouring anything like high intensity training programs like HITT (the AFPP is derived from the same principles as stated by Dr. Batman). And this is a problem with “new” gym room floor phenomenon. Sometimes they are a fantastic way of making quick gains (which are quite visible) but they often fade as quickly as they appear. Why? Batman states “Aerobic power training assumes that the client has the necessary foundations of aerobic training to cope with the stress of high intensity training”. If you don’t create a solid base of aerobic training, you do not have a good chance of maintaining what you might gain from programs like HITT.

But it’s not all doom for well trained athletes, in fact HITT and short interval training programs are part of the bigger picture for advanced aerobic exercise prescription. If you already create the base, you can really improve your aerobic power with short interval training. “Shorter intervals challenge the body’s ability to carry and deliver oxygen to the muscle cells for short periods of intense work before an excess of lactic acid interferes with performance”. Therefore, shorter can be much sweeter, for increasing power output, and maintaining lean muscle mass, while at the same time burning calories to keep fit throughout the training year.

AUSTRALIA! FINALLY WE ARE THROUGH TO THE WORLD-CUP!

Toss and turn. An unblinking, awe struck silence filled my bedroom last night, as flashes of green and gold dangled in my mind, I could not sleep. Finally, after 30+ years, Australia has gone through to the 2006 World Cup. I’m so proud of the effort, and enormously happy for the team. Why? Well, firstly I grew up in Australia and secondly, I grew up playing alongside and training with alot of the guys who played last night. Young Jason Culina, and guys like Tony Popovic and Zeljko Kalac, whom were all apart of the Sydney United youth and senior teams of 1995 through to 1997, and whom I admire greatly for their hard work and dedication throughout their soccer career, finally they will experience the glory of the World Cup!

More specifically, my utmost admiration for Mark Schwarzer. He epitomises great goalkeeping. Mark totally dominated his 18 yard box, and at times was shaky, but proved his fantastic ability during the penalty shoot-out. I could only imagine the churn in the pit of his stomach, but his exterior was cool and he had a steely resolve that showed when he needed it the most, truly brilliant. The Soccer-Roos have a long haul ahead of them, but it will be fantastic to see the boys shake it up with the world’s best. Overall, it was a brilliant game and it means so much, at so many levels. As Australia opens a new stage with the A-League and our emerging presence within Asia, it can only mean a fantastic window of opportunity for young players developing their game at the grass roots level, but it also leaves a fantastic legacy for future generations as we reminisce on legends such as Johnny Warren, and our new breed leads Australia to a World Cup, that was too long coming. Johnny is definitely smiling at the boys from up above.

Pumping The Brain Muscles For Maximum Performance

It’s not hard to see that as we grow older or adapt unhealthy lifestyles we are adversely affecting the health of our brain. Dr. Daniel Amen a prominent clinical nueroscientist has advocated a healthy lifestyle, better sleep and less stress for a healthier brain. Do we truly eat well, or consider our mental health as an after thought? We are sometimes more motivated by the outcome of a game or athletic event, rather than the mental preparation needed for success in that particular event. Dr. Amen, points to some of the following points for mental success that we can take on ourself for greater athletic success both on and off the field:

• Meditation can improve brain function: Dr Amen conducted a study on a Kundalini Yoga form that “enhanced the prefrontal cortex-the executive, decision making part of the brain”. Sound trippy? Not really, I remember a story on a professional rugby league team in Australia who were utilising Yoga as a form of meditation for performance enhancement. Kundalini Yoga technique could be a great way for a competitive goalkeeper or athlete to increase their ability and confidence to command and make quick decisions during a highly competitive game.

• Healthy Diet = Healthy Brain: Dr Amen calls it “Neuronal Nutrition” and he provides a fantastic analysis of how we as competitive athletes can increase our mental health for maximum performance, here is a taste of what you should do:

- Calorie restriction.

- Eat fish and take fish oil.

- Lot’s of dietary antioxidants to prevent free radical damage and premature aging.

- Eliminate toxins, such as too much caffeine or alcohol.

- Include blueberries, oranges, avocados, salmon, spinach, walnuts, beans, red bell peppers, yams and yogurt.

- Snack on healthy alternatives like dried fruit.

I don’t know about the calorie restriction part for the competitive athlete, but the other facets that Dr. Amen mentions are extremely important parts of the competitive athlete’s diet especially reducing toxicity in the blood and increasing antioxidants. There are other facets that the doctor mentions that are a good laugh, such as competitive soccer players having “overall lower IQs” (I thought I was a pretty smart guy!) and that soccer is a “stupid brain sport”! But there has been other scientific studies that show that soccer players in general have a higher rate of brain damage than any other sport, so there is some merit to Dr. Amen’s studies. Needless to say, stimulating ones mind throughout our lifespan can help keep the brain strong and healthy. Your brain is a muscle too, don’t forget. Try harnessing the power of the brain through good exercise, healthy food choices and relaxation techniques for greater athletic performance.

Functional Strength Training Back With A Vengence!

Well it is not really that dramatic, or new to be exact. Functional strength training has really begun its march toward the gym room floor again, replacing the gun g-ho clang of rusty barbells.
Functional strength training heralds the need for trainee’s to get specific with their training. That means if you jump around a lot, (like us goalkeepers) then strength training activities that facilitate the exact movements of your specific sport (such as a jump) or daily activity need to be adhered to for maximum strength gains. Building muscle utilising functional strength training can entail a mixture of different activities, that don’t necessarily rely on huge amounts of weight. Here are a sample training guide of different activities you can utilise for greater fitness gains without all the metal ringing around your ears:

• Increase Jumping Power & Distance: Utilising plyometric fitness techniques such as depth jumps off a park bench for distance. 5 sets with 2-3 minutes rest and 1-12 reps.

• Chest Throws With Medicine Balls: If you don’t already have a medicine ball, invest in one. With a training partner hold the ball and throw upward and out, partner catches the ball, squats down with strict form, and throws the ball back to you in the same manner. 5 sets, 1-15 reps with 90 second rest.

• Zig Zag Cone Sprint: Alactic power is extremely important for maximum fitness, a couple of cones will help increase both speed and agility. Weave through a series of cones as fast as possible and then jog for recovery. Repeat 10 times.

• Core Exercises With Fit Ball: If the muscles surrounding the spine (core stabilizers) are not strong, then your spine is as good as jelly. A fit ball is a major investment for maximum fitness, without breaking the bank and its so versatile you can use it anywhere! Try a range of different exercises such as back extensions and ab crunches for greater utilization of core muscles and a stable and healthy spine.

Utilising your own body weight with functional strength and fitness exercises such as a simple push-up or an advanced clap push up is fantastic for diversifying you training regime and keeping you in a lean and mean competitive state all year round. Get functional anywhere you like, in the home or park and you will really see your strength grow to new heights, and save a few bucks in the process.

Mental Strength For Goalkeepers Needed At All Levels

Take a tip out of Paul Robinson’s book. The young keeper is now between the posts for England, and it’s a tough task. Can you remember David James and David Seamen, and the criticism that was dished out to them for their blunders during their respective World Cup campaigns? At an elite level the media and criticism can be extremely overwhelming. Every mistake you make between the sticks can be amplified ten-fold. That’s the goalkeepers plight. But you have to be mentally strong, and no matter how much you train physically, if you fail to train the mind, then you are bound to mess up somewhere during your game.

Mistakes need to be taken with a grain of salt, don’t be overwhelmed by them. Mistakes are fantastic learning curves for your future development. I remember earlier this year where I started the seaon with a bang, and unfortunately because of injury, my games were lacklustre and my season ended faster than it began, I felt all alone in my failures. During that period, I recall a segment of a popular soccer show here in Australia where they displayed some international goalkeeping blunders. I remember a back pass to Buffon which he blundered miserably. It mimicked something that I did early in the season for which I beat myself up for to the point of feeling depressed. Do you know what Gigi did? He looked at his defenders, smiled, put up his hands and shrugged cheekily! Fantastic attitude. We can take mistakes deeply, or we can learn and move on. Learning from mistakes shows the mental strength needed to play as a goalkeeper at a competitive level.

Remember these points from me and Paul Robinson:

• You are the only one on your team with the unique ability that makes you a goalkeeper.
• Only 1 man can hold the number 1 jersey that makes you extremely competitive and strong of mind.
• “You have to be very mentally strong to be a keeper at this level. We are there to be shot at and that’s the part of things we have to accept”.
• Understand that you are a leader, and great leaders must show that even small failures can lead to the development of great mental strength.
• “A good goalkeeper is always his biggest critic”.
• “I’m going to work very hard to keep hold of what I’ve worked a long time for, it is up to me to keep the spot”

So there you go, understand the nature of what you do as a goalkeeper, and that sometimes mistakes are inevitable. Great goalkeepers learn to take mistakes on the chin, learn, and move on to bigger and better things. You are not the only number 1 in the world who has made a mistake.

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