Joint by Joint

That's the way.

The way to approach a solid warm-up.

Ankles, knees, hips, lumbar spine, thoracic spine (upper back & neck) and shoulders.

These are the areas that should be addressed in every warm-up. But it's not enough to just "get them moving," as we hear so many coaches say at practices.

Each joint has different needs in warm-ups. Ankles, hips and thoracic spine need to be mobilized, while the knees, lumbar spine and shoulders need to be stabilized.

In full truth, shoulders need mobility as well, but never without stability!

Here's a simple, joint by joint warm-up progression you can do anywhere:
1. Ankles (mobility) - Stand facing a wall, hands on it at chest height. Slide one foot back, keeping the heel down. Bend the rear knee so it moves toward the wall until it feels "stuck." Then rock it back and forth without allowing the heel to come off the floor. Push just a little past the sticking point each time. Do 10-20 reps on each side.

2. Hip Mobility (Knee stability) - Stand square, with the feet under the hips. Take a short step to one side, making sure the hip moves out over the heel/knee as you do. Squat about 1/4 of the way down, then push through the heel coming up. Reset and go the other way. Do 12 in each direction. Hip Circles - Stand near a wall. Lift one knee up to belt height. Move it out to the side, without turning the body. Making a circle, return it to the front without putting the foot down. Repeat 10 times on each leg. Put hands on the wall for balance if needed.

3. Lumbar Spine (Stability) - Do not do rotational stretches for the lower back! They destabilize the spine, creating MORE tightness and pain, not less. Try single leg floor bridges for lumbar spinal stability: Lie on the floor with your knees bent and your bellybutton tucked in. Press your low back to the floor. Cross one ankle over the other knee. Press the other heel into the floor, squeeze the glute and slowly lift yourself off the floor. Keep the low back flat and the abs drawn. Repeat 6-8 times on each side. If you have trouble with this on one leg, put your hands on the floor for stability, or do them on 2 legs.

4. Thoracic Spine (mobility) - Poor mobility in the upper spine will lead to pain in the neck and reduced shoulder and neck mobility. Use a high density foam roller between the shoulder blades, with the hands interlocked behind the head. This will open the scapula and allow access to the T-spine. 30-60 seconds each for 2 reps.

Order Your Own

High Density (Black) Foam Roller Here

5. Shoulders (stability) - Wall slides work very well for the complex relationship between the gleno-humeral joint and the scapula. Stand with your back to a wall. Flatten and retract the shoulder blades, and lift the arms so the elbows are at your side, with the arm flat against the wall. Slide the arms up, without losing contact with the wall, while keeping the shoulder blades retracted and against the wall. Use the fullest possible range of motion you can without losing wall contact with the forearms and scapula. Don't be surprised if you can't do it at first, or you cramp up trying. Do 8-10 reps.

Using a joint by joint approach to warming up will assure that your system is ready for whatever you throw at it. Treat your joints right and they will respond by increasing athletic performance and letting you improve faster than ever before!

If you're interested in learning more about amazing athletic performance, contact us for a complimentary one week trial in any of our breakthrough programs!

Click here: All-Star Sports Academy One Week Trial!

Coach off the excess weight

Researchers at Duke University Medical School have "discovered" something our clients have known for years.

Their research reinforces our belief that working with a professional to lose body fat, change your body shape and develop healthy habits results in better, well, better results!!

They studied people who lost at least 8.8 lbs over a six month weight-loss phase. Lo and behold, the group that worked with a fitness/diet professional kept off more of the unwanted weight than any other group!

Frankly, we're not surprised! Our clients tell us that it's easier to keep off unwanted pounds when you have someone who cares about your results guiding and helping you to your goals.

THAT is the essence of why our programs work. We care about your results, and the programs are easy to follow and FUN!

Speaking of fun and effective body transformation programs, have you registered for the amazing
Get a Swimsuit Ready Body by July 4th! kickoff session yet?

What are you waiting for?

For a teeny tiny $10 registration fee, you'll walk away with over $75 in bonuses (we just added "A Woman's Fat Loss Strategy", a 10 step eating, diet and lifestyle guide to the body you want. It's a $20 value, and it's included as a bonus for registering for the May 1st, 7:30 PM Kickoff Session!)

May 1st, 7:30 PM at our Strength & Conditioning Center at 1856 Route 9, Toms River

$10 registration for the kickoff, and we promise some awesome stuff that night!

Over $75 worth of bonuses just for registering and taking the first step!

See you there, and then we'll see YOU showing off this summer!

_________________________________________________________________
A quick and very useful recipe today:

Better Butter!
This is the best butter replacement we’ve ever found. It requires you to do a little work, but the rewards in taste and good health are well worth it!

Ingredients
2 cups Extra Virgin Olive Oil
2 cups softened organic (salted or unsalted) butter

Preparation
Place the ingredients into a large mixing bowl. Using a power beater, slowly blend the olive oil and butter together.

Blend until the mixture is smooth.

Transfer contents of bowl into several table serving-size containers.

Place in refrigerator until firm like butter.

Use it just like butter, as well as for cooking lubrication and as a substitute for olive oil in cooking meats and vegetables, if desired.

Nutrition Info (approx. for 1 Tbsp
Calories ---- 110
Fat Calories ---- 110
Total Fat ---- 12.5 grams
Saturated Fat ---- 4.5 grams
Monounsaturated Fat ----- 5.5 grams
Polyunsaturated Fat ----- .75 grams

What a Week!

WOW!

It was a big week for All-Star Sports Academy athletes!

>> Dave DalCortivo signed to play Juniors Hockey with the Philadelphia Revolution!

>> Meredith Kalinowski leads the undefeated Toms River South Girls Lacrosse team to 3 victories, scoring 25 goals and 9 assists along the way!

Meredith also set a TRS Girls Lacrosse single-game scoring record on Thursday, tallying a stupefying 9 goals and 3 assists in a 16-3 victory over Toms River East! WOW!

>> Tatum Coffey (TRN) lit things up on the Lacrosse field, as well.

>> Mike Bodden continues to have a solid year for MonDon Baseball.

>> Anthony LaCava is tearing the cover off the ball on the diamond over at Toms River North.

>> Ben Nogiewich is having a solid year on the Volleyball court at Toms River South.

>> Fresh in from Miami Beach is the following news:
Ashley Conroy scored personal bests in the 100 freestyle and the 100 backstroke at the YMCA National meet!

Ashley Conroy cruises to a personal best 59.59 in
the 100 backstroke at the YMCA nationals in Miami Beach

She swam Ocean County YMCA record times in both events! Ashley cruised to a 59.59 second 100 backstroke and a blazing 53.97 in the 100 free!!

As if that wasn't enough, just before she left for Miami Beach, Ashely was awarded the team MVP Trophy at the Monsignor Donovan Swim Team Banquet!! She owns the MonDon 100 backstroke record, at 59.44 seconds!

Each of these athletes, like the hundreds of others who call All-Star Sports Academy their training home, are tasting success because of their work ethic, good training habits and sheer desire to win!

All-Star Sports Academy congratulates them all! If you're having success in your sport, whether it's club, league or scholastic, be sure to tell us, and we'll put your exploits in these pages, as well!

Do you want to taste victory and success, too? We're here to help! Simply Contact Us and we'll set you up with a free, one week trial membership at All-Star Sports Academy!

Hey, we're making it as easy as we can for YOU to get into All-Star!!

"Game of Inches"

In any sport, any day, a game can be won or lost on a matter of inches (not pounds).

Whether it's a cornerback tipping away a cruicial pass, an outfield making a "snowcone" catch in the 9th with runners on, or a runner beating out a throw to first on a "bang-bang" play, big plays in big games are based on a few inches and fractions of a second.

Those game-changing inches are not gained on a bench on "max out" day, your "leg day", or on those weeks when you want to "go heavy"! (Jose Reyes never stole a base because he racked the leg extension machine)

The inches that make the difference can be gained in a step. One step! Your FIRST STEP!

This is the step that an athlete has the ability to make a huge improvement on with only a few basic changes. For example, in baseball, the average time difference between being out or safe when stealing second base is close to 0.10 seconds. Improving only your starting position and first step as a base-runner can make that difference.

What do I mean by first step speed? Simply put, first step speed is the ability of an athlete to put his or her body into motion quickly and efficiently. The body must be in a position that enables an athlete to produce an explosive and productive first step.

So how do we improve our first step and quickness?

Here are a few tips:

• Be in an athletic position at all times. Being in poor position will result in an inability to produce the optimal amount of force in the desired direction. For example, a stance that is too wide makes it difficult for an athlete to explode laterally for two reasons; the athlete will not have a good "push" off both legs and it requires more force to get the body's center of gravity over the lead foot to develop any momentum in the appropriate direction.
• Train "fast". In order to have the explosive first step you want, you must train the body to be an explosive unit. Plyometric training (done properly) is an excellent way to increase your explosiveness. Squat strength will not result in an optimal first step if you do not develop power as well. Power is determined by the amount of force you apply through a certain distance in a certain amount of time. Therefore, an athlete should be working to increase strength (force production), range of motion (distance force is applied), and speed of movement (decreasing the time it takes to move through the range of motion). Ok, in normal terms, push harder, faster. Small improvements in each of these areas will result in a large improvement in overall power and the ability of an athlete to have an explosive first step.
• Increase mental quickness to increase "game speed". Incorporate visual cues to your speed and agility drills. Athletes must be able to react and adjust quickly to certain on-field cues. Make basic agility drills more difficult by simply adding the element of reaction time.

So take your workout to the next level! Get off the bench, get on your feet, and move!

Need ideas to help get your game "up to speed"? Check out www.allstarsportsacademynj.com for some videos and click on free trial to get started TODAY!

One of the essentials

For what seems like forever, the fitness industry has been trying to come up with a "better" exercise for integrated core and upper body strength than the push-up.

With all the fancy-schmancy machines and exercise toys on the market, the bottom line remains the same.

The push-up is still king when it comes to developing core stabilization, strength and power! Every single athlete, regardless of sport, should master the push up and include it in their training program!

Now that's not saying that all you have to do to get killer core strength is your basic 2 arm, 2 leg, straight-up-and-down military style push-up.

But too many trainers think they can improve their athletes' strength and power by jumping right to the "cool" exercises, instead of mastering the basics and then progressing to more advanced techniques.

I know, you're saying "yeah, yeah, I know. I've heard you say it a million times!"

Really, then why do most athletes look like a seal begging for fish when they try even a straightforward push-up?

Here's a little video we put together about push-ups and some variations.

Watch closely. If you can't master the very first one, don't move on to any of the others. Well, except maybe the very last one, since it really requires NO athletic skill that I'm aware of.

As an aside, the athlete you'll see in the first segment was able to do about 6 of the push-ups you see early on with me. Within weeks, he could do 20-25 at a clip. Yeah, they're THAT effective! Enjoy!

After you watch, and you're ready to learn how to do the push-up and about 200 variations correctly, as well as get in the best athletic shape of your life, go here: http://www.allstarsportsacademynj.com/free-trial-membership




We'll see YOU at All-Star Sports Academy!

PS...If you're not using Prograde Workout Shake as a pre- or post-workout meal replacement, you might be eating garbage!