Plyometrics breakdown and POWER Q&A
What are Plyometrics?
- Plyometrics are drills aimed at linking sheer strength and speed of movement to produce an explosive-reactive type of movement.
- Classically used to describe jumping/depth jumping drills
- Definition expanded to include ANY drill utilizing stretch-shorten cycle to produce explosive reaction:
- Jumping
- Medicine Ball
- Resistance Training
- ALL MOVEMENT!
What are the Benefits of Power Training?
- Rate of force development
- Elasticity
- Dynamic stabilization
- Movement skills
What are the Concerns of Power Training?
- Tissue loading
- High force traveling through compensatory motion
How Can We Train for Speed while emphasizing Power?
- Assisted Drills
- Resisted Drills
- Linear and Multi-directional Movements
What types of Methods can we use to train for Power?
- Tempos
- Olympics
- Contrasts
- Complex
- Bands
- Chains
Marc Digesti USAW | Director of Performance at PerformancEDU of Reno
Macho culture at forefront of concussion issue
Great article about EDU’s client Johnno Lazatich.
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ARCHIVE | EMAIL Sean Keeler is an award-winning columnist who joined FOX in 2012 after stints with The Des Moines Register, The Cincinnati Post, The Nashville Banner, The Atlanta Journal-Constitution, The Arizona Republic, The San Francisco Examiner and The Topeka Capital-Journal. |
Former K-State player Johnno Lazetich, pictured with his wife Jamie at Pyramid Lake, NV, says his short-term memory still comes and goes.
Author Malcolm Gladwell recently suggested that college football be abolished or that its players be paid for their risk.
“It’s a bit much,” he told Slate.com, “both to maim AND exploit college football players.”
Fair points, all, even if the suits at the NCAA would probably laugh you straight out of Indianapolis. Money talks, even if Larry Linebacker can’t walk.
Besides, Johnno Lazetich has a better idea.
“It’s beautiful that the NFL alumni association are lobbying as hard as they are,” explains Lazetich, who played fullback at Kansas State in 1999-2000, during the apex of the first Bill Snyder Era. “There needs to be something at the college level for all of us who blew out their knees, blew out our shoulders, in addition to concussions. There needs to be help for us.”
Lazetich is 34 now. An old 34. He suffered seven concussions playing football in his teens and 20s, including five — by his count — during a two-year stretch at Manhattan. The doozy, he says, came against Temple in the 1999 season opener.
“My first memory of the day was coach Snyder coming to see me in intensive care,” Johnno recalls. “I don’t remember tying my tie. I don’t remember the game at all. And then (three) weeks later, I’m back starting again — it’s a (nationally televised) game with Brent Musburger announcing at Texas Stadium, just because I passed the concussion test at the time.
“We do a lot of stupid things. Looking back on it, it probably wasn’t the smartest thing I did.”
More than a decade later, the scars throb — and linger. Lazetich suffers lapses in concentration. The short-term memory comes and goes. The headaches are killer, although they pop up a lot less frequently than they did five years ago.
“Still, if you ask me to close my eyes and shake my head back and forth as hard as I can, I’d tell you to go (expletive) yourself,” says the native of Reno, Nev., who played at Oregon State before joining the Wildcats. “There are certain things that I’m really cautious (about). I definitely can’t afford any more concussions. I wear a helmet constantly. So I’ve lucked out as far as the fact that I don’t have as severe of (symptoms) of (post-concussion syndrome).”
Luck is relative, mind you: Lazetich estimates his injuries have cost him at least $500 per year, “Just for physical therapy, just for sports medicine, just for little things.”
None of this is an excuse to rail against football in general, or Kansas State in particular. To the contrary: Johnno has no beefs with Bill Snyder.
“Coach Snyder, he’s No. 1 as far making sure that his players are OK and safe,” Lazetich says. He has no problems with the trainers and staffers in the athletic department, either. He says they were looking out for his best interests first, and that he was the one pushing to re-enter the fray.
In hindsight, the only one Johnno blames is himself. Lazetich is a Tough Guy. Tough Guys don’t break the Macho Code. They get off their tails and get back in there. It’s not that Tough Guys aren’t told about the risks. It’s that Tough Guys don’t care.
“When I woke up in intensive care and didn’t remember the whole entire day, that probably should have been my last day,” chuckles Lazetich, who finally gave up football late in the 2000 campaign after taking a knee to the head against Oklahoma. “But it’s tough. Heck, you’re playing in front of soldout crowds, 50,000 to 60,000 people. We were ranked (second in the nation) going into the Oklahoma game. Here I am, the starting fullback.”
In March, the NCAA announced it was providing a $400,000 grant to the National Sport Concussion Outcomes Study Consortium to examine the effects of head injuries in all sports and both genders “through the course of a college career.” Of course, they could have saved that dough and just called Dr. Bart Grelinger first.
“Each time you get a concussion, it’s easier to get the next one,” says Grelinger, a Wichita neurologist and chair of the Kansas Sports Concussion Partnership. “Our heads just aren’t designed (for us) to be shaken like that.
“We have 100 billion brain cells we start with … I think football just gives you an opportunity to lose them quicker, because you get right back in harm’s way very quickly.”
Don’t get him wrong; Grelinger loves the sport. He even played it back in the day. He still participates in taekwondo. He’s a Tough Guy, too. He insists education is the key to prevention, as opposed to more equipment or — as you’ve seen in the headlines lately — litigation.
“Helmets will never keep up. Helmets will never answer it,” Grelinger says. “They can’t keep up (with) the pressure wave … It helps absorb some of the impact, but (the head is) still going to jerk.
“The bottom line is, I don’t think we were designed for this activity. We’re a gladiator society, what can I tell you? If it’s not football, it’s boxing, or MMA. We love competition, but there’s competition at a marathon. We REALLY like that gladiator kind of competition.”
With the non-believers, Grelinger likes to use this example: If you were playing volleyball in the backyard or on the beach, would you use your laptop or tablet to strike the thing? So why do you think it’s OK to use your head?
When it comes to reforming the Macho Culture, Grelinger says parents, not coaches or administrators, are our biggest obstacle.
“Everybody wants their boys to play. ‘He’s tough as nails, he’ll shake it off.’ That stuff doesn’t fly. You can’t think of your kids as gladiators.”
Pete Lazetich thinks of his kid as a blessing. Johnno, who helps manage his parents’ legal courier service and processing company back home in Reno, Nev., was a third-generation football standout, the latest branch in a family tree of Tough Guys. His dad, Pete, was an All-American at Stanford and played five years in the NFL with San Diego and Philadelphia. His grandfather, Bill, played with the old Cleveland Rams before joining the Marines during World War II. Great uncle Mike was a two-way star with the Rams between 1945-50.
Pete says he got his bell rung six or seven times, with roughly half of those coming during his NFL days — after one shot, he blacked out and woke up in the locker room only to find Deacon Jones there trying to hold him down. As a player, he feared no man. But as a parent of a prep fullback/linebacker, Pete feared every snap of every game Johnno ever played in.
“It’s terrifying, absolutely terrifying,” the elder Lazetich says. “And you watch the game, and you say a prayer before every play, just to keep them safe and sound.”
He also remembers the first time Johnno was diagnosed with a concussion, back in high school. When Pete got to the sidelines to try and talk to his son, he found Johnno sitting there, eyes awash with tears.
“You’re just disoriented, you’re frightened, you don’t know what’s going on,” Pete says. “I cried a couple times because you don’t know what the (expletive) is happening.”
An estimated 1.7 million people suffer traumatic brain injuries each year, according to the US Centers for Disease and Prevention. As they age, former professional football players are showing symptoms of chronic traumatic encephalopathy (CTE), a neurological disorder that can lead to depression, memory loss and possibly dementia.
More than 2,000 pros are now suing the NFL, and the suicides of former defensive icons such as Junior Seau, Dave Duerson and Ray Easterling — like Pete, a member of the NFL’s 1972 Draft class — has put the link between football and brain damage back on the front page.
“I really get a kick out of this now; now the NFL says, ‘Oh, man, we gotta study this,’” Pete says. “They’ve been hiding this for years. They didn’t want to go there for years and years. They just did an outstanding job of throwing this through smoke and mirrors and (expletive).
“I played with John Mackey his last year as a pro (in San Diego). He came out with John Unitas. There was something about the guy, being in the locker room, just listening to him speak, being as articulate as he was. Just a man. Just a leader. I’d vote for him for President. And (to see him) now — I couldn’t believe it.”
Last fall, a group of former college athletes — including three former football players — filed a lawsuit against the NCAA, asserting that the organization failed to establish concussion-screening guidelines and return-to-play policies. The suit seeks money to pay for medical bills and financial losses. But an NCAA spokesman told FOXSports.com this week he “wasn’t aware” of any discussions taking place as far as offering extended protection or insurance for former student-athletes. More’s the pity.
“It’s so tough to look back, because the experience was definitely — I mean, in certain ways, some of the best years (of my life),” Johnno says. “Your experience playing against Nebraska and Texas and Texas A&M, the Holiday Bowl, the Cotton Bowl, those kind of things. These are the things that you’re going to be able to tell your grandchildren.”
But what if your son gets the itch? What would you tell him? What if he comes running up to you one day and asks you to sign a consent form? After all, it runs in the blood.
Suddenly, Johnno is quiet. For a few seconds, he ponders.
“I’m definitely not going to tell him ‘no,’” Lazetich finally replies. “But he’s definitely going to know what daddy’s past was.”
Tough Guys don’t worry about regrets. Regrets are for old men. But isn’t it scary how many football players seem to get so old, so soon?
You can follow Sean Keeler on Twitter @seankeeler or email him at seanmkeeler@gmail.com
Passion for what we do at EDU.
Mike Balavage Ski Patrol
Here is a great testimonial to what PerformancEDU is all about. Thanks MIKE!
The name PerformancEDU hints at Marc Digesti’s passion: Performing movement
… Movement performance … Educating … It’s all centered on learning how best to
BALANCE! (Balancing is a concept which I’m learning to use as a verb in its broadest,
deepest sense through Marc.)
It took an injury for me to realize just how out of balance I was. The medial
collateral ligaments in my knee threatened to jeopardize my skiing, ski instructing, ski
patrolling, golfing, as well as keeping fit and physically active. Marc’s not only helping
me heal, but he’s teaching me how to be in balance.
Young or old, whatever sport or activity, injured or striving to prevent injury, I
encourage you to try this. Marc’s got something for you. You may even more than like
it; you’ll start to live it. At PerformancEDU, you’ll learn not just how to help your body heal
itself and prevent injury, but Marc can teach you how to most efficiently and effectively
use your body for any and all activities. From simple day-to-day living, to recreational
activities, to world class athletic performance, Marc can help you learn how to live in
better balance.
Being balanced, stable and strong is truly a better way to live. Marc’s
programs are based around the core, stressing the muscles in our hips, mid-section
and shoulders to work and balance the body while it moves. My experience at
PerformancEDU is showing me how to perform at higher levels AND be less prone to
injury.
The programs are customized to the expectations, needs and wants of
each ‘student.’ On Learning Balanced Living could be a subtitle to what PerformancEDU
can do for you. Come in and expect to ski, golf, play tennis – to live — and perform
better than you ever have!
Mike Balavage
TRX Movements for your Lower Body and Core Strength at PerformancEDU
At PerformancEDU, Marc Digesti show us how we use the TRX as one of our main training tools. Here are 4 movements that will strengthen your lower body and core:
-TRX Squat Mobility
-TRX Lunge to hip flexion
-TRX Knee Tuck to Rotation
-TRX lateral hip drops
TRX Movements for your Lower Body and Core Strength at PerformancEDU
TRX Movements for your Lower Body and Core Strength at PerformancEDU
At PerformancEDU, Marc Digesti show us how we use the TRX as one of our main training tools. Here are 4 movements that will strengthen your lower body and core:
-TRX Squat Mobility
-TRX Lunge to hip flexion
-TRX Knee Tuck to Rotation
-TRX lateral hip drops
MUSCLE TENSION: ARE YOU TENSE?
Great article by: http://www.massageseattle.net
Muscle tension and tension related problems are very common. Feel that stiffness in your neck and upper back? In your jaw? In your hands? In your back?
Most people just think they have to live with it and it is a result of getting older. Others try to cover it up with alcohol or drugs or try to forget about it by working longer hours. Many are even too busy to notice if they are tense or if they carry muscle tension.
A muscle is supposed to work to support the joints and help move the bones to create movement. They are the bodies stabilizers and help maintain posture. The strength of a muscle depends on its ability to be flexibly as well as the ability of the muscle to relax. A muscle either works for you or against you.
A tight muscle is really just a muscle contraction that fails to release for a multitude of reasons and becomes a spasm or knot in the muscle.
You may even think that if your muscles are tight that it means they are good and strong. The facts are that tight muscles are weak muscles. This type of tension is actually unhealthy and can contribute to many other problems like headaches, plantar faciaiitis, tmj problems, herniated discs and other things like carpal tunnel syndrome. A tight muscle has a greater risk of injury when asked to move.
Muscle tension is needed to support the joints and to hold our bodies in upright positions. Tension is created when a muscle contracts. A certain amount of tension is needed – that is called muscle tone. When a muscle is not being used it should be in a relaxed state in which it feels soft and supple even. When muscle fibers remain contracted and don’t relax it creates muscle spasms, knots, reduces the circulation and even restricts the energy flow through the body.
The main causes of tension are mechanical -like sitting at your desk all day in one position or participating in sports and the other type is emotional tension. Mechanical tension includes trauma, bad posture, and things like injuries. Environmental factors can also influence muscle tension. Breathing polluted air and eating the wrong foods can influence tension.
Emotional tension is also referred to as armoring (Willhelm Riech) When emotions are not felt fully at any stage of life they can become suppressed or repressed. Repression is the unconscious prevention of feelings. Suppression is the conscious prevention of feelings. Either way, we try to protect ourselves from having deep uncomfortable feelings by tightening muscles. Layers of tension develop starting at an early age.
The two types influence each other and are related to each other. Mechanical tension can usually easily be relaxed with a few sessions of massage. Emotional tension usually requires a series of regular massage sessions coming 2x a week for a few years or even more to break through.
Some causes of mechanical tension include:
> Trauma, injuries, operations
> Bad posture and physical habits like sitting for too long
> Wearing high heels, sitting cross-legged.
> Environmental factors such as standing on concrete, constant noise, poor lighting, pollution
Some causes of emotional tension include:
> Repression of emotions at an early age in childhood
> Ignoring or being unaware of your feelings at any given moment
> Working in unfulfilling jobs or staying in unfulfilling relationships
Mechanical tension usually causes emotional tension. Emotional tension usually causes physical tension. Tension affects most every disease or condition of ill health. It cause pain and fatigue. A muscle held in chronic tension uses up energy and leads to muscle and over all fatigue. It restricts the freedom of movement. It reduces the ability to strengthen a muscle. It reduces your ability to breath deeply and efficiently.
Often there is so much tension it results in a lack of feeling in an area. Without an awareness of feeling you are more prone to injuries and disease.
Excessive tension can lead to many different diseases and conditions. It can cause pain in the muscle tissues and constrict the flow of blood and nutrients which are needed for just normal metabolism. Muscles can contract around blood vessels restricting the flow and resulting in poor circulation. A tense muscle also uses more energy and can lead to feeling fatigued. People who are tense often also take shallow breaths because the breathing mechanisms are restricted thus creating more tension. So it all becomes a viscous circle. When you are tense it can also cause a cascading effect of emotions such as anxiety and depression. It interferes with the ability to feel which is central to all aspects of life.
Getting regular massage can help alleviate mechanical and physical tension and help maintain a proper balance in the body thereby creating a healthier place to live.
Other things that can help are actually engaging in regular exercise or physical activity. This may seem contradictory in some ways but using the muscles to their fullest capacity can also help a muscle relax. When you sit at your desk with all of your shoulder and neck muscles just contracting away. Other factors also come into play when you are under stress. Chemicals such as cortisol and adrenaline are released into your body. These chemicals are the stress response hormones so when you are under stress they are preparing your body for taking physical action. Today we just continue to sit and the chemicals never get out of the body and excess amounts of these cause other problems in the body. Basically you are swimming in a toxic waste pool! Excess muscle tension can lead to knots or triggerpoints in the muscles. It is those little knots that are the cause of most of your pain and problems. They can cause pain in the spot they are located or they can cause pain in other areas of your body.
When you get too many of those knots in your muscles you then you most likely have myofascial triggerpoint syndrome.
Getting rid of those knots is a process of finding them and working on them with massage from a professional or from do it yourself pressure point therapy.
You can learn more about triggerpoints and myofascial pain syndrome in this handy Ebook tutorial “Save Yourself from Myofacial Pain Syndrome”from a fellow massage therapist – Paul Ingram. You can download it directly to your computer!
Food is GOOD!
Image source: http://s13.podbean.com/image-logo/0/17100_logo.jpg
Do you think maintaining your health and weight is all about calories in versus calories out – regardless of quality? PerformancEDU believes it’s more about QUALITY in versus quality out. You can eat a whole lot of calorie free “food” and still be unhealthy and overweight/underweight. Check the ingredients of what you’re about to eat – if it looks like a chemical, it probably is! Eating too much chemical laden “food” can disrupt your entire endocrine system – leading to a whole mess of problems (including weight gain!). Also foods like high fructose corn syrup, hydrogenated oils, and refined grains play havoc with your body chemistry as well (some people are more sensitive than others – listen to YOUR body). Remember – don’t beat yourself up – just take baby steps for improvements in health! Let us know if you have any questions! We are here to help!
Duke and McJames INdependent Ski Racing Hires Supporting Staff
Here is an article just put out by skiracing.com about ISR’s new coaching staff. EDU is proud to hold a supporting role.
The recently formed Independent Ski Racing team, made up of former U.S. Ski Team members Hailey Duke and Megan McJames joined by University of Colorado standout Katie Hartman and junior racer Lena Andrews, have taken a big step forward in preparing for next season by hiring a team of support staff.
The group of determined racers made the announcement today (May 30) on their Facebook page that Heli Krug, Jonas Lind, Marc Digesti and Pat Andrews have become part of the team.
Krug will take on the head coaching role, bringing 25 years of World Cup experience. “His accomplishments as well as his resume are unequaled in the sport,” read the announcement. “His philosophies on the sport and life in general will be paramount to the teams success. [Krug] also brings with him an incredible number of connections world wide.”
Lind, a former Swedish National Team coach, will join Krug as an assistant coach.
Digesti will act as a strength and conditioning coach. His current business, PerformancEDU is located in Reno Nevada. Andrews is slated to act as ski serviceman as well as taking care of some of the day to day logistics.
“We feel like we are in a position to create a positive environment for success,” said Andrews. “Each of these athletes has something to prove and we intend to give them every opportunity to do so.”
Newest Addition to the EDU Team.
PerformancEDU is proud to announce Jenny Digesti as our Director of Customer Service and Community Outreach. Here is a little background of Jenny’s background and passions: Jenny’s passion for health began with a focus on nutrition, life experience has proven that nutrition is only one piece of the puzzle. “True health is difficult to define as it is different for each individual. However, finding balance seems to be the key ingredient.” Jenny enjoys finding this balance for herself, as well as helping other to achieve this balance. In addition to health/wellness, Jenny enjoys creating and building customer and community relationships. Her ideal vision of the world is creating close, “family-style” bonds within PerformancEDU, and branching out into the Reno/Tahoe community and beyond. Jenny wholeheartedly believes that this CAN be achieved and it starts on the individual level. EDU is proud to say, we are so fortunate to have such a gifted and passionate person apart of our TEAM!
