The Ankle of It All

Do you treat your ankles well?

If not, then what are you waiting for?

When you think of good ankles, you may think of skiers, figure skaters, ice hockey players, gymnasts, parkour, and other sports that require solid ankle mobility and stability..

Now, what about the following athletes:

1) Barry Sanders. His agility, speed, and awareness defied normal football skills as a player for the Detroit Lions.

2) Ja Morant. Part of the new breed. His speed and explosiveness on the basketball courtnfor the Memphis Grizzlies.

3) LeBron James. The man has superb power when he jumps off the basketball court. He's shown it his entire career with the Cavaliers, Heat, and Lakers.

4) Connor McDavid. As if Edmonton did not have a brilliant player in its storied history. The Oilers have had plenty of sensational players. McDavid moves easily around players, up and down the ice. 

All of these athletes and others entertain the masses. What you do not think about is their ankle efficiency. To perform the skills these athletes do, it takes healthy ankles, the mobility shifter. The knee is the mobility supporter. The hips are the mobility powerhouse.

Sanders is retired, but you have the latter three and plenty of other athletes to watch and from whom to learn.

How are your ankles?

Much success to you | Derek | @teemptraining | derekteempt@gmail.com 

A Journey Map For You

(Originally drafted in August 2022)

You see this map?

That is a screenshot I took on my laptop at 6:00am on a weekday during the height of the coronavirus pandemic in 2020. 

I could not believe my eyes!

The big cities would normally have yellows and maybe reds, indicating slower traffic and very slow traffic at this time. However, everyone was indoors. Remote work catapulted. The unfortunate result: Many individuals lost their jobs. In fact, according to data from the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS) Current Employment Statistics (CES) survey, nonfarm payroll employment in the United States declined by 9.4 million in 2020, the largest calendar-year decline in the history of the CES employment series.

Changed times.

But, we still need journey maps to reach answers, and the past two years and more have fit the need to guide individuals. Below, you will find some journey maps, according to four different performance scenarios:

To get better at ice hockey...

Public skate >>> Stick N Puck >>> ODR/Pond Hockey >>> Pick-up Hockey >>> Private Sessions >>> Watch Videos >>> In-Home Practice >>> Play >>> Free Play >>> Repetition

Wedding Prep...

Relax >>> Communicate >>> Plan >>> Don't Panic >>> Watch Comedy >>> Pray

Holiday season is coming...

Relax >>> Plan >>> Organize >>> Save >>> Serve >>> Have Fun

First time in a sports...

Research the sport >>> Watch Videos >>> Attend games >>> Watch Games >>> Play the Game >>> Free Play the Game >>> Practice >>> Improve.

Let's go more in depth with this topic in 2023.

Much success to you | Derek | @teemptraining | derekteempt@gmail.com 

Much Success to You!

Since starting this blog, I have changed the sign off several times. I know you wrestle with your sign-offs: Best... Regards... Yours Truly... Sincerely... Love... Thanks...

The wrestling is fine lol. 

But, I did not add, Much success to you, until August of this year because the sign-off needed a change that would benefit you after reading a short post.

August is also the anniversary month of TEEM, so it made sense to make the sign-off change in that month and around that month. 

Much success to you is easy to understand. I hope that you, in general, have much success in the things you have to get done for the day, for the week, for the month, and throughout the year. I also hope you have much success in the execution of a blog post message. Perhaps, it calls you to try a challenge or to do an exercise.

Into 2023. Will the moniker carry into 2023, I think so. I'm keeping it. It has only been used for five months, so why not?

Luck. An important reason for picking, Much success to you, occurred because I use it in normal conversation to have a stronger meaning than, good luck. Good luck has a tone of...Well, give it a try and who cares if you make it and who cares if you don't. You had the luck.

You probably may not see luck in that manner, but I rarely to never say it lol.

So, as 2022 comes to an end...

Much success to you | Derek | @teemptraining | derekteempt@gmail.com 

Outdoor Training Essence

I grew up with a love of the outdoors. The Summertime, recess, after school program, and neighborhood play accentuated my thirst for the outdoors. 

Guess what? The fervor continues to reign.

Outdoor training is an adventure. Some love it. Some dislike it. It is a 24-7, 365-day (366 during leap years) process. How often do you do it?

Speaking on outdoor terms, it is possible to only train strength & conditioning outdoors and improve your skills in a sport. You can train for a race by only practicing outdoors. You can improve your overall athleticism with outdoor training.

It's not for everyone just like CrossFit is not for everyone. Outdoor training is another good form of working out. Period.

Right now, I have a determined adolescent athlete who does not mind training year-round. That is, in the heat, in the cold, in the wind, and in the rain. Snow has not happened yet, but a training session will happen then as well.

Outdoor training is a mindset. It is a form of training that you want to do. Lines? There are none. Space? Plenty. An audience? Most likely. Noise? Natural outdoor noise and artificial noise from speakers. But, who cares? You're outdoors!

In 2023, I would like for you to know that you do not have to lock yourself in for indoor training, which is good too and has different types - in-home, in-gym, in-locker room, and in-office.

Step into the knowledge and experience that you can possess with outdoor training. Do not limit yourself.

Much success to you | Derek | @teemptraining | derekteempt@gmail.com 

👎👍Keeping Tabs

I'm dishing out all of the drafts that had information on it as I fight to achieve my 2022 goal of 300 posts. 

Is it entertaining?

Here is a topic that has been brewing for a while:

Keeping tabs may have a negative effect on your human performance.

You do favors for others out of the grace of your heart. Other individuals may ask you to do them a favor, which can include a brief errand run, purchasing an item at the same store in which you shop, grabbing ice from the freezer, grilling a burger, pick up from the airport, buying a present, or writing a message. 

All plain and simple.

You might keep tabs with yourself, and you keep a record of your personal tabs.

I will mention this tab review: Avoid the tab purse if it destroys good relatonships because it has a tendency to hurt progress. 

A tab refers to the past. So, if you keep a tab on someone, then you tally up past deeds. That's not fair to someone else.

Does everything have to be 50-50?...Tit-for-tat?...I do or get, then you do or get?

Not all of the time.

Awareness is good, but constant tabs are for paragraph makers.

Much success to you | Derek | @teemptraining | derekteempt@gmail.com 

The Ingredient Knowledge

Nutrition and food are always an interesting topic because they always change. Well, they don't really change a lot - meat is meat, vegetables are vegetables, fruit is fruit, and so on. 

However...

Folks continue to need assistance with the foods they eat. Understandably so. Some of the information confuses people. So, ask yourself:

1) Do you know how to read ingredients?

2) Do you consume and cook the right ingredients?

Here's a third and figurative question:

3) What ingredients do you need for your daily lifestyle?

Let's return to food:

You should know the effects or awareness of the following ingredients and content...

% fiber

Saturated fat content

Sugar grams

Protein grams

Serving size

Vitamins - because you may think an item satisfies a particular vitamin, when, in fact, it does not.

100% wheat flour/Non-enriched flour

100% juice

Questions to ask yourself:

Where does most of the sugar come from? Sometimes, other fruit ingredients.

Is it artificial flavoring? Maybe.

If the item is low in fat or no fat and low or no sugar, then what's that taste? Sweetener.

How is this food item sweet but has no sugar? It's third partner arises: cholesterol.

What are all of these chemistry class looking ingredients? Have to Google this one because there are some interesting ones.

As far as cooking is concerned, I am not Chef D; but I do dabble in mixing foods and juices from foods to make good flavors. Of course, I use my many seasonings.

As far as daily ingredients, the figurative standpoint, the good ingredients - exercise, prayer, sleep, and more - that you put into daily life can give you solid results. Bad ingredients - drugs, smoking, alcohol, unhealthy foods, and more - give you poorer results.

What ingredients do you follow closely?

Much success to you | Derek | @teemptraining | derekteempt@gmail.com 

Planking Athlete

(See 10 Planking People)

In athletics, you will find plenty of positions in which athletes hold a position. So, in truth, this list is endless but for now only six-deep. Yup, you guessed it...it needs a part 2. So, here is an introduction:

1) Hockey Ready Stance - lean forward slightly

2) Acceleration Forward - slight lean forward

3) Dribble Single-Arm 4-Point Stance - football defensive end meets basketball player.

4) Side Plank Ball Toss - handball meets water polo, baseball, rugby, volleyball, and basketball.

5) Side Plank Ball Bounce - handball and basketball have a party.

6) Side Plank Stick Handle - lacrosse, ice hockey, roller hockey, bandy and field hockey have a meet-up.

Get out your regular plank positions and feed your muscles and joints more stability.

Much success to you | Derek | @teemptraining | derekteempt@gmail.com