What's in a Name?

Do your know the meaning of your name?

Does your name mean "wise", "glory", "happy"? Have you ever looked it up or has anyone ever told you its meaning?

My first encounter with the meaning of my name happened when I was in grade school: A neighbor gave me a framed posting of its meaning. Since then, I have been interested in the meaning of names. Your name may direct how you attack your health, fitness, and athletic goals. It may reflect how you attack certain situations or how you relate to people.

Ruler of the people... that's the meaning of "Derek". 

What's your name mean?

(Previous draft start from 2016)

Derek - @teemptraining 

Burp, Burp, Burpee

The common fitness exerciser, the burpee, continues to surface with mixed feelings. Do you perform it? Do you not? Is it good for you? Why or why not? Who likes them? Why do them? 

Other fitness experts have weighed in with some saying that:

• They disapprove of burpees because they may cause strain to your wrists.

• There are other ways to practice getting up off the ground, 

• There are alternatives to increase your heart rate, and more opinions. 

Some experts love burpees because they have seen good results - they perform them safely.

Opinions, opinions, opinions, and opinions!

We get it, fitness world. We cannot make people entirely frustrated with our profession; otherwise, they will further increase the gap between individuals who practice a sound body and those who not participate in exercise. So, be careful of opinions. Fitness needs less, "don't do this exercise," and more, "an optimal time to use this exercise occurs when..." This profession relies on dependency - an exercise depends on the client, the specialist or coach, environment, health history, research, at times. We do not have to knock everything. Keep the options wide open!

Process 
I like burpees as exercises. I do not always give them to clients based on the client. However, I give variations: 

• Start from a higher position

• Instead of jumping, do a heel raise

• Bad wrists? Drop to an elbow/forearm plank or bald your fists or use a softer landing like an airex pad.

History
An elderly client that I had for five years had trouble getting off the floor after falls. We never did burpees, but... we practiced getting up off the floor. So, I can see why the argument for doing burpees does not immediately translate to, "Oh, it is functional for getting up off the floor." Well, that depends. I think it is fun to get up off the floor by quickly flexing your hips and landing on your feet with your hands on the ground as you would perform in the beginning of a burpee from a floor start.

Athleticism
Is the burpee an athletic move? Yes. As an ice hockey coach, I understand how a variation of a burpee can enhance a skill such as getting up from a fall and exploding out of your start to make a play. So, complete elimination of a burpee? I disagree with that notion. But, again, it depends on the coach, specialist, or trainer.

Keep Inspiring,
Derek

Derek Arledge, MS, CSCS - @teemptraining 

500

 "Hey, have you ever played '500'? It's the same game you are playing now but with numbers." Then, I engaged in giving a brief description as the kids continued to throw the ball - whoever caught it became the new thrower or "QB".  

"Nope. 500? I've never heard of that one before."

That is the 500 conversation that you will have with Generation Z and Gen Alpha. According to my son, adding up numbers sounds time consuming. So, these younger generations, without a worry, took out the battle to catch multiple 500 throws en route to becoming the new "qb". 

How about that?

Derek Arledge, MS, CSCS - @teemptraining 

Grind 2: Recovery

Recovery has been on my mind as a strength & conditioning specialist. Why? For one, if you read the previous post than you can understand why proper recovery is needed to continue optimal performance. Players can skate as many times per week as they need to skate or as scheduled. However, if they don't take care of their bodies...nose dive!

Set It Up

Pick your mode of recovery: mobility work, static stretch, yoga, aquatherapy, massage, contrast bath, cryotherapy, heat therapy...what say you? If you have easy access to any of these at home, make it a part of your weekly routine. Make it a part of your daily routine, if needed.

You could spend as little time as possible on each mode, but the more time you spend, the merrier your recovery experience. Static stretching could serve as something that can be accomplished within five minutes. Be deliberate about it. Know the muscles you want to stretch. For example, for ice hockey players, our hips, legs, and back tend to become the most sore. So, a 5-minute static stretch session could resemble the following:

Glute stretch: 2 sets for 30 seconds

Quad stretch: 2 sets for 30 seconds

Hip Flexors: 2 sets for 30 seconds

Lower Back: 2 sets for 30 seconds

Mid-Back: 2 sets for 30 seconds

Only an example. Dabble in all of the modes but mean it.

Actually Do It

Really, do something. You have a short blueprint. But, you are ultimately the only person to achieve the best results throughout your season. 

Derek Arledge, MS, CSCS - @teemptraining 

Grind

Let's cut straight to the point: Young student-athletes are not in the adequate shape they need to be in order to produce optimal results in their desired sport? If you see this in sports, do you agree?

On my end, I see this in ice hockey, especially at the high school level. Players compete for two teams, play at least 50 to 60 games per year. Sometimes, the total number of games can fall around 80 games if a young player plays for a AAA level program (20 high school, 60 travel).

Ridiculous?

It is a lot. I remember playing roughly 60 games my senior year of high school for my travel team. If you do the math, starting around Labor Day, that is two games per weekend until the end of February. If a player plays high school in addition to travel, then he or she may have one or two high school games per week from mid-October to February. We're up to three to four games per week. Of course, some weeks are different than others in which only a total of two games may be played. 

What about practices?

Practices may vary. The travel practice schedule is most likely altered by weather cancellation. High school practices, on the other hand, face weather and games. See, if you have practice on a Monday at 4pm, you will not have practice at 4pm if a game is scheduled. Travel tends to practice once per week and high school...once to twice a week. 

Remember the possible overlaps in scheduling for the high school team. A player can have a week that resembles the following:

Monday - high school practice

Tuesday - travel practice

Wednesday - high school game

Thursday- travel practice

Friday - travel game

Saturday - two travel games

Sunday -travel game

Process It

Eight times on the ice with maybe one or two off-ice sessions during the week. However, those off-ice sessions come at the understanding that many players did not enter the season in shape. So, during the season, teams are spending time getting players in shape for a rigorous schedule that calls for everyone...to be in shape from the start!

Get on the ball, student-athletes, and take advantage of your season!

What's Going On: TEEM Social Media

A lot of space gets used up.

Blogger - The blog, Health & Human Performance Spur, is back. Period. Let me update you: I have a plethora of drafts from several years ago that I will fulfill as valid posts. Now, I did begin a new blog using WordPress; but I am sticking with Blogger. So, the three or four posts that I have on WordPress will be transferred to Blogger.

Facebook - OK, I use to link all...ALL of my Facebook posts to Twitter. Then, may be the FB to Tw relationship stopped that. So, now Instagram Stories and some IG posts go to Facebook. 

Instagram - IG is now the most bustling TEEM Performance Training social media page. Daily postings on either Instagram Stories or on the regular Instagram feed. Plus, unless noted, every Tuesday at 8:00pm on IG Live is #FacesInHealth. #FacesInHealth is currently in Season 2 and serves as a show that showcases your talents and positivity, having many different professions on the show. Season 2, unlike season 1, comes with a co-host, games, and special editions. Tune in on Tuesdays and during the holiday season.

Twitter - This social media has a mind of its own. For TEEM, you get the inspirational tweets and retweets, some humor because I love humor, and occasional links from Instagram posts. 

Pinterest - Yes, TEEM is on Pinterest. It has a different flow of health & fitness postings that other people have posted on Pinterest. People love the post on Ernesting Shepherd, a senior citizen bodybuilding Baltimore resident with an inspirational routine! 

YouTube - This page has increased production since the 2020 Coronavirus Global Pandemic. You can see updated brief episodes of #IAmTheChefOfMyHouseHold, #WalkTheBall, and more. #FacesInHealth, hopefully, will be appearing on YouTube.

Website - The website is back at www.teempt.com!!! Took a little break. Don't call it a comeback, it's been here for years type of situation. 

Derek Arledge, MS, CSCS        www.teempt.com           @teemptraining

NFC East 2020: When Mediocrity Creates Focus

If you follow football or like statistics, then you know that the 2020 NFC East of the National Football League (NFL) has played dismal football as it pertains to every team's record:

Eagles 3-5-1

Giants 3-7

Washington 2-7

Cowboys 2-7

A once celebrated division - 13 Super Bowl wins and 18 Super Bowl appearances - has made 1st place ideal for the sub .500 squad. What does this mean in football terms? Well, one team will make the playoffs from this division. If any of these NFC East teams played in any other division of the NFL, they would, at best, stand in 3rd place; and, at worst, stand in last place. If any of these NFC East teams were in the AFC, neither one of them would have a position in the playoffs if the season ended today; and if playoff status depended on record, alone. 

That's the mediocre part. Storied history - do not get it twisted - but mediocre records.

The Pittsburgh Steelers (AFC Central) at 9-0 have one fewer win than the entire NFC East (10).

The Good Part

With the best NFC East record at 3-5-1 and the worst record tied for 2-7 with seven games remaining for all of the teams but the Giants (6), the viability for first place reigns. The window closes the more the Eagles win and the rest of the division loses. The window also closes the more every team loses, which has established itself as the most prominent streak, thus far. 

Most of the teams in every other division can achieve first place as well, especially as their windows close. But, due to their record, if they do not finish in first place, they have the option to sneak in to the playoffs as a wild card, which is conferenced-based. An NFC East team in 2020 does not have that option at the moment. NFC East teams need to outright win their division. This need brings the point of this message to... staying focused.

Stay focused on 1st place. No one is that far out because everyone keeps losing.

So?... So, coaches can make game-by-game decisions instead of looking for the permanent replacement. For example, Washington has a QB debacle. All they need is for one QB, any QB to get one win. If he loses, may be you change QBs...or not. It does not seem like a huge deal because...everyone else keeps losing. By no means should mediocrity lust in celebration. No way! However, it can create a new focus when normal tactics have difficulty working out.

Your Takeaway

Have you ever worked out with a group of individuals, and everyone is having an average or below average day (e.g., due to lack of sleep, increased stress, or improper nutrition, or fatigue)? Then, on the fifth exercise, you bust out a max effort because of some technique you tried. That example is how the NFC East looks as far as focus creation.

Focusing,

Derek

Derek Arledge, MS, CSCS        www.teempt.com        @teemptraining