‘Tis the season to shake it up!
December 12, 2011
Build new elements of endurance into your training program
early in your off-season, to add variety and improve your Body Balance
By Coach Kaehler
Do you keep the same training routine all year-round? Or do you shake things up at the end of your primary race season? Regardless of your skill level and training volume, changing your routine gives your mind and body an essential break from training repetition. Shaking things up a bit also adds variety, helps with your overall recovery, and improves your body balance by using different muscle groups and patterns.
The best time to introduce any new sporting movements into your current training program is right after your primary racing season has ended. First things first though. Recharge your body and mind. Take a short but essential rest (detraining) period after your primary race. Detraining periods can last anywhere from one to several weeks. Once you’re mentally and physically refreshed, it’s time to get back to work.
Adding new endurance sports to your training program keeps your cardio-system sharp, and allows your primary movement patterns to rest and recover. Sports like running, cycling, swimming, and cross-country skiing are all great ways to add mental and physical balance to your program. Some athletes completely abandon their primary sport for several weeks or months, while others mix it up but still train in their main sport. While individual preferences may vary, both approaches can lead to excellent results.
If you do decide to add a new sport (aside from running), you may initially find it difficult to elevate your heart rate to sufficient levels. For this reason, consider adding in more familiar endurance sports to keep your cardio system challenged. For example, if you’ve never done lap swimming, you may find it difficult to get into a good rhythm and get a solid cardio session. Try adding two or three sessions of swimming per week to start, then gradually build-up to a point where you can get a solid cardio workout. Be patient though. Initially your muscles will be inefficient because you’re using them in a different way. Once you start logging in some mileage, your muscles will adjust and you’ll be able to achieve the necessary rhythm to elevate your heart rate.
Working your body in different positions and planes is a key consideration when you’re introducing new cross-training elements into your training program. Endurance sports can be done in several positions including: upright (running, cross-country skiing), seated (cycling, rowing, kayaking, etc.), and horizontal (swimming). Triathlon is the one endurance sport that works all three positions, while the others are limited to one or two of the positions. Including endurance activities in all three planes and positions will work different muscle groups and patterns, and improve your overall body balance.
Rowing certainly has several appealing aspects to it being a non-impact, gravity-reduced sport that uses all the major muscle groups at one time, and it also is low impact. However, rowing is limited to the sitting position only. Cross-training (especially with upright or horizontal positioned-activities) in the off-season adds variety to your body and mind, and can help add balance to your program. Weight training adds similar benefits as it can be done in all three positions and allows for great variety.
Fresh season, fresh perspective; Shake-up your usual training program and enjoy the benefits of variety, reduced staleness and restored energy levels. When you’re thinking of adding new cross-training activities, consider working planes and positions that are different from your usual sport. As always, training hard, training smart and making wise choices about cross training will help you improve your body balance and increase the longevity of your sport.
Body Balance Seminar Two Day Conference
December 9, 2011
Wouldn’t you love to keep your athletes out of the training room so you can sleep at night!
You can learn and master how at my upcoming Body Balance Lecture Series
Do you struggle to get your daily line-ups set each day because you have a number of injured athletes? Unexcited to send your athletes through another round of physical therapy or the training room, or having them have to take time-off from training, again? Are you growing frustrated that some of your top athletes never seem to make it through an entire season without injuries? Or do you have some athletes that do not seem to be making any progress? Put yourself in control of this situation by understanding the power of Body Balance and how it can solve these frustrating problems!
THIS PROGRAM IS IDEAL FOR COACHES AND ATHLETES! REGISTER NOW!
FREE TRAINING
Make sure you check out some upcoming FREE training tips that I will be releasing over the next several weeks. These powerful tips will start your athletes doing some key corrective Body Balance exercises that can begin to help put them back on the road to musculoskeletal balance, whether they are injured or not!! If you are not on my email list please contact me at coachkaehler@gmail.com ?
BODY BALANCE
PUTS YOUR ATHLETE’S BODIES ON AUTO-PILOT
SO THEY CAN TRAIN AT PEAK PERFORMANCE WITHOUT THE WORRY OF INURY OR MISSING PRACTICE!
MASTERY
Wouldn’t you like to know that you can train your athletes at a high level without the concern that they will break down and have to spend more time in the training room than with the team? Do you dream of getting through an entire season without any of your athletes getting injured? Are you tired of hearing that little voice in your head saying I hope everyone makes it through today’s session without getting injured? While you have good grasp on how to plan the appropriate amount of training volume and intensity you are constantly wondering why some athletes can make it through while others cannot. You have theories of why but are not really sure they are valid. By learning the key elements of Body Balance in this lecture series you will now control your athlete’s destiny. Without considering this key element your training programs will always give inconsistent results and some athletes spending more time in the training room than at practice.
If you’d like to take complete control over your training program design and how you can help them better handle the stresses of your training program, then keep reading.
Helping your athletes reach their peak potential is why you coach and having them be able to handle the stresses of training that are required to succeed is FUN if it can be done without the recurring injury problem! Maybe you are one of the few coaches that have few injuries (5% or less of your athletes) but more than likely that is not the case. Or maybe you had one of those seasons several years ago where everyone made it through and that was a great experience but it has not happened since. Wouldn’t you like to experience that every year! Or maybe you feel like some of your athletes seem to be stuck and not making progress or are actually getting slower. You’re still not where you want to be, you’ve read all the magazine articles and go to the conventions every year but just get a gloss-over on a bunch of different topics and you are still searching to understand because you cannot shake the injury bug or help the athlete who gets stuck.
Do not rely on your strength staff to understand the real nuisances of rowing, as they tend to focus on the four-second sports (football, basketball, baseball, hockey).
You see, the real success to having your athletes train pain-free and with more power and strength are by mastering and applying the secrets of Body Balance. Musculoskeletal Body Balance is not addressed if you current strength and conditioning program focuses mainly on strengthening the primary boat moving muscles in the rowing stroke.
Whether this is your first or fiftieth year coaching, understanding and working with your athletes on the key elements of musculoskeletal Body Balance is critical for a fast, powerful, and injury-free body. While there is no 100% success with any training, incorporating the powerful Body Balance process to your current training program will significantly reduce injuries and will also make your athletes stronger and faster.
– “We saw remarkable improvement in hamstring and hip flexibility and strength. It was a high energy workout that increased our overall strength significantly. We finished winter training with zero injuries -every athlete trained every day of training camp”
Gerry Quinlan
Head Women’s Rowing Coach
Saint Joseph’s University
Being a hands-on seminar spots will be limited to the first 25 to sign-up. HURRY NOW and REGISTER NOW! for this powerful two-day lecture.
When: January 14th and 15th, 2011
Where: Newtown, PA (20 minutes from Princeton, 30 minutes from Philly)
Cost: $395 if you sign-up by December 1stth, $445 through December31th, $475 after Dec 31s , 2011
REGISTER NOW AND SAVE UP TO $80! or to Learn more about this incredible Body Balance Lecture Series please click here! Or please feel free to email me at coachkaehler@gmail.com
EVENT SCHEDULE
Body Balance Weekend Workshop
When: January 14th and 15th, 2012
Time: Saturday 9am to 4:30pm, and Sunday 8:30am to 3pm
Location: The Hilton Hotel, Newtown PA
(20 minutes from Princeton; 30 minutes from Philadelphia)
Description
This comprehensive two-day seminar is designed for athletes and coaches of all levels who are interested in improving their individual or team’s performance. This event includes detailed PowerPoint presentations on strength training, body balance, and discussions on how flexibility and strength imbalances impact rowing performance.
Schedule
Day 1
Morning Session
- Body Balance PowerPoint presentation. This presentation will include relevant anatomy and biomechanics as they relate to rowing and the body. We will also discuss how anatomical and body imbalances affect the body, and how they can lead to chronic training injuries and reduce an athlete’s performance and potential.
Afternoon Session
- Hands-on session with class participation. Each participant will learn how to perform the corrective exercises correctly. The session will also include Coach Kaehler’s training guidelines to ensure athletes execute the moves accurately and benefit from the targeted exercises.
- Posture and rowing presentation / discussion. Coach Kaehler will explain why athletes must first change their tools before they can understand their postural deficiencies and correct them.
Day 2
Morning Session
- PowerPoint presentation (afternoon). Presentation will include the biomechanics of strength training and rowing,and will discuss how the two can be correlated with proper implementation.
- Participants will learn how to correctly progress their athletes when strength training for rowing.
Early Afternoon Session
- Strength Training: Hands-on review of biomechanics and lifting techniques in the gym with class participation. Participants will learn key training tips and effective teaching tools.
- Hands-on instruction: Coach Kaehler will explain how to identify athlete inflexibility and discuss how the flexibility deficits will limit rowing performance.
- Correlation of strength training to the ergometer, with a hands-on review session.
- Participation on the ergometer and weights. Demonstration of specific exercises that directly tie in strength training to the rowing stroke.
Each participant will receive a copy of the PowerPoint presentation(s). As a BONUS, each participant will also receive a free copy of my new program on how to correlate strength training to the rowing stroke.
Class size is limited to 25 participants for the all-day clinic to allow for effective hands-on coaching instruction for each individual. Lecture-only spots are also available.
This clinic is approve by USRowing for fourteen (14) hours of Continuing Education towards Levels 1, 2 and 3 certifications.