I admit it…I am an Olympic junkie. I used to stay up late to watch the ‘84 games which were held in LA almost 25 years ago, and I have been hooked ever since. I love watching the competition and I have found myself watching even the obscure events like Fencing and Badminton. No matter what the event, the side stories of the athletes competing and the struggles that some have endured are just as fun to watch.

Dara Torres is a 41-year-old swimmer competing in her 5^th Olympic games, with her first being in 1984. Not only is it remarkable that she is going for number 5, but the fact that she is 41-years-old and is a medal favorite is the most remarkable thing. You see, when you are 40 years old, you are not supposed  to be able to compete at that level. When you are over the age of 35, you are considered “old” in Olympic years. Torres seems to be getting better as she gets older and her swimming times prove this. Over the years, her competitive times are decreasing, which means she is getting better and faster. (more…)

I am old school when it comes to training. Not all of the education in the world means a whole lot when dealing with the human spirit. As a fitness coach I can monitor heart rate, and breaths per minute and measure someone’s estimated anaerobic threshold, and all of the other “physiological markers” and it really doesn’t tell me much in the grand scheme of things. The majority of people out there will quit mentally way before their body gets to a point of any real danger. I have taken people to their own personal limits, only to discover that there are entire new boundaries that can be and need to be pushed through with a little more work and a lot more mental training. In fact, I have not trained many people that have come close to the real physical breaking point. Some people have suffered muscle cramps, asthma attacks, dizziness, etc…but in the end, all of these people were fine physically and in almost every case, it was other factors that caused these scenarios and not the actual training that was taking place. This is not to say that these people were not trying, or consciously gave up. Rather, these people have yet to learn how to push through the barriers that have caused them to stop. It’s a tricky problem for most. Each time you push through a new barrier, you become more resistant to “quitting” the next time out, while training at that same level. (more…)

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Unstable training came from the ‘rehab’ zone. Back in the 80’s rehab really took off. Physical therapy was becoming more popular, sports teams were hiring Certified athletic trainers, and sports medicine doctors were popping up on every corner. If you had a physical problem, you went to rehab. Therapy became first-rate and research was being done in alarming numbers. Soon enough, the “functional training” era was born. Therapists started introducing new techniques that would change the industry forever. The industry started paying attention and new rehab toys were produced that made rehabilitation not only more effective, but fun too. Balance discs, Bosu Balls, foam pads, etc… were found in every PT clinic and Athletic Training room across Northern America. Soon functional training took on a different identity and was full of activities that encouraged unstable training. (more…)

I sometimes tell this story to my athletes and clients who I think “need to hear it.”

This is not my story; this is a hand-me-down story from my high school wrestling coach which I never forgot.. He tells it better, but I will do my best to get the story, and most importantly the point across. (more…)