4fitbodies.com

Your Child and Sports

David Hansey
NASM Certified Performance Enhancement Specialist
NASM Certified Sports Fitness Specialist
NASM Certified Personal Trainer

As I am writing this, kids are getting ready to start school. And my son has just started jujitsu classes. He took karate classes all summer and both of these highlighted to me how unique each child is. While one child may need extra conditioning to get fit, another may need specific training for balance or strength. And the unique thing about children’s sports is that you can sit back and see that each child has a truly individual training need.
So, as our children start school sports and extracurricular activities, it is important to be in tune with the specific needs of your child. Their most basic need is safety. Obviously you want to prevent your child from being injured. You do this by ensuring they are in the condition they need to be in for their sport. If not, you help them get there through additional training or conditioning. A few individual sessions or some personal training may cost a little bit more than you were expecting but your child is worth it. You also keep your children safe by ensuring they are training with certified professionals. There is not a coach, trainer or teacher that I can think of that would be offended if you asked them their credentials when it comes to training your child. And remember that sometimes it takes more than one individual to teach them the skills and give them the fitness they need. For example, a trainer should not try to be a coach, nor should a coach try to be a trainer or physical therapist and you as a parent should not ask them to try to be something they are not.
Once you have taken the steps to keep your child safe, it is important to ensure that they are having fun. Did they choose this sport? Are they thrilled to go? Every child is different and each activity may be a better fit for some children than others. I know my son is enjoying the jujitsu because he loves going and asks me every day if it is a jujitsu day. On the other hand, he did not enjoy karate to the same degree and chose to try something else when the summer session came to an end. So, be sure to listen to what they want. Your older son may love football while your youngest may detest it and favor horseback riding or swimming. Allow them to try a variety of activities. Their enjoyment ensures they will want to attend and will get something out of it. It also ensures that you are planting the seeds for a healthy lifestyle for the rest of their life.
Once you ensure you child is safe and having fun with their new activity, it is easy because now all you need to do is offer that great parental support that you always have. I wish you and your child a safe, healthy and fit start to the fall. And hopefully it is a start that leads them to a lifetime of fitness.
For more information on Sports Specific Training, call me at 404-514-1896 or visit my website at www.4fitbodies.com.

Tags: Chapel Hill News, Douglasville, Sports Fitness by David Hansey, Personal Trainer
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Here is the archive for my August Chapel Hill News Article on Stabilization Training.

Stabilization Training for Athletes and Everyone!

David Hansey
NASM Certified Performance Enhancement Specialist
NASM Certified Sports Fitness Specialist
NASM Certified Personal Trainer

The concept of balance seems like a simple one. It is thought of as a static process where you are still like when you had to balance on one foot in grade school. While you may appear still, your body is actually performing a series of very complex movements in order to “keep you balanced”. By now, you may be asking yourself why is balance important? Balance is a critical component to an athlete as well as everyone else for a variety of reasons.
Balance prevents injury. Without good balance, we risk injury from everyday tasks such as walking, stair climbing, lifting our children, etc. The athlete not only risks injury from all these factors but the stresses of his sport as well. And an athlete with poor balance faces loss of power in his movements which affect performance.
So how do you improve your balance? You do it with Neuromuscular stabilization training which is basically balance training. Since your body does not exist on one plane of motion, in order to improve your balance you are not going to do it on one plane of motion. That means you have to perform moves that challenge you. There are some easy ways to add stability training to your current workout without adding a lot of moves. First, stand up! Yes, that is right. Get off the weight machines, stop sitting and laying on the bench and stand up!
This puts your body in its natural position for balance. Next, perform dynamic movements. So instead of just doing squats up and down, try doing walking lunges or side lunges. Again, putting your body in a position where it naturally balances the movement. There are many steps to continually make the movement more challenging with products like bosu balls and stability balls. In the end though, the concept is to take what your body would do naturally and enable it to train to be better at it.
So if you were a baseball player, you would be training for better balance when throwing, hitting, running and sliding to prevent injury and get more power and speed. Same goes for a mother of small children who should be training for lifting, shifting loads from one arm to the other, etc. And as we age, since our bodies lose balance naturally, it is a critical training component to prevent falls and fractures.
For more information on Sports Specific Training, call me at 404-514-1896 or visit my website at www.4fitbodies.com.

I look forward to hearing anyone’s comments on My monthly article in the greatest magazine in Douglasville – The Chapel Hill News.

Tags: Chapel Hill News, Douglasville, Fitness, Personal Training, Sports Fitness by David Hansey, Personal Trainer
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Here is the Personal Training Article and Sports Training Article that I write each month for the Chapel Hill News — Enjoy the August Edition!!

The Weekend Warrior

David Hansey
NASM Certified Performance Enhancement Specialist
NASM Certified Sports Fitness Specialist
NASM Certified Personal Trainer

I write a lot about Sports Specific Training and Injury Prevention for the athlete. Sometime I think that many people get confused when it comes to the term “athlete”. While I train and appreciate the professional, Olympic and elite athlete as much as anyone else does, I also appreciate Mr. “Joe Average” who goes out on Saturday morning for a fun round of golf with his friends. Or the weekend casual tennis player or weekend cyclist. It is this group of people who generally ignore their fitness and whether their body is in condition for their sport. Sports Specific Training is as critical to this group as the elite athlete, especially when it comes to injury prevention.
How many weekend casual golfers do you know who complain about back pain the day after they play a round of golf. What they fail to also tell you is that the second half of their game, the back 9, was much worse than the front 9. Why is that important? Well, it is generally a sign of fatigue. Most likely, your body is not in condition to play 18 holes of golf. Some cardiovascular training will help with the fatigue factor and some strengthening of key muscles for golf (such as your core) will allow you to use the proper mechanics that you were taught when you learned to play golf to ensure accuracy on every stroke.
Another example is with weekend tennis players who falter in the last game or last few sets or miss balls that they think they normally would have returned. The reasoning is that you need to work on your lateral strength and agility which are not common to everyday activities so the only time you may be using those key muscles for tennis may be on the court, which accounts for your lack of progress. Again, pain in the knees, ankles, elbows, shoulders and wrists are all common to tennis players who are not properly conditioned for their sport. These minor aches and pains can be repetitive use injuries that get worse every time you play so learning a few conditioning moves to add to your workout to eliminate these is always a good idea.
I think many people don’t realize that sometimes it is only changing or adding a few moves to your workout to get the results you want, improve your game and prevent injury. Often, depending on your current workout and sport, we may be talking about as little as 2-3 exercises so not a huge time commitment and often these replace or improve moves you are already doing. And with some clients, learning to train more specifically for their life and body has allowed them to reduce their workout time commitment. So if you are unsure what to do and feeling those weekend warrior aches and pains, a few sessions with a certified personal trainer is always a good idea. For more information on Sports Specific Training, call me at 404-514-1896 or visit my website at www.4fitbodies.com.

Tags: Chapel Hill News, Douglasville, Personal Training, Sports Fitness by David Hansey, Personal Trainer
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My Latest Monthly Article from the Chapel Hill News

Safe Summer Sports and Your Child

David Hansey
NASM Certified Performance Enhancement Specialist
NASM Certified Sports Fitness Specialist
NASM Certified Personal Trainer

Since more than 30 million children play organized sports in the United States and many more play individual sports (including inline skating, trampoline, bicycling, skateboarding and swimming), it seemed a good time to discuss sports safety and sports injury prevention for children. Think the risk is low that your child will be injured? Well, let’s consider the statistics according the American Academy of Pediatrics (AAP):

More than 3.5 million children under age 14 get hurt annually playing sports.

775,000 of those injuries were severe enough to require an emergency room visit.

Injuries range from minor scrapes and sprains to death. Yes, that’s right – Death!!

It is a sad fact that children die every year doing what they love. This should also be a huge wake up call for you as a parent to ensure you are doing everything that you can to prevent your child from having any kind of injury. There are many things you can do to reduce the risk, some of these are:

Ensure your child has ALL of the safety equipment necessary and that it is used properly and fits properly. (nets around trampolines, helmets for cycling, proper footwear, etc)

Ensure your child knows the rules of the game. (sounds simple but rules are like traffic lights and prevent injuries)

Ensure that your child knows how to properly hydrate and that you provide them with water so they can prevent dehydration and heat related conditions.

Ensure that your child is healthy enough and fit enough for their sport. A pre-season physical with your doctor is the best place to start! Your doctor can assess your child’s health and any conditions that may require attention prior to starting a sport.

The American Academy of Orthopedic Surgeons recommends that children and teens see a doctor for a pre-season check-up. They also recommend that children and teens use a trainer to get in shape if they lack conditioning. Remember, your child cannot go from the couch to the playing field overnight. And many sports have specific requirements. So if you have any concerns, a body assessment and a few sessions with a trainer who is certified in sports training is a very good investment in your child’s well-being.

I know many of these items were directed at children, but remember, these guidelines also apply to you!! So do what you can to have a healthy, injury-free summer for the entire family!! For more information on Sports Specific Training, call me at 404-514-1896 or visit my website at www.4fitbodies.com.

Tags: Chapel Hill News, Kids and Sports, Sports Fitness by David Hansey, Personal Trainer
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Sports Specific Training

David Hansey
NASM Certified Performance Enhancement Specialist
NASM Certified Sports Fitness Specialist
NASM Certified Personal Trainer

This is part two of my feature on Sports Specific Training. Last month, I gave some details on why everyone who does a sport needs to review their physical needs and what sports specific training can do for every athlete and how it can prevent injury. This month I will go into some details on how sports specific training can dramatically improve your game.

Do you ever wonder why professional athletes train so hard? Many of them are naturally talented. Their training may in fact be the difference between being a professional athlete and being a minor league athlete. Look at how many young men are drafted in the baseball draft that you NEVER see play in the major league. They had enough talent to get the attention of the scouts but they did not have what it took to progress to the major league. A necessary part of becoming an elite athlete is training in a way that is specific to your sport.

Sports Specific Training is not just working out. It means doing training that emulates and supports movements that your sport requires. It is NOT doing a cookie cutter routine that is made for anyone. A tennis player spends more than 50% of their game moving laterally so doing a workout on machines or in a class where you perform exercises that are not meant for lateral strength and stabilization is really a futile use of your time. Many machine based workouts and classes are not meant for athletes. Machine based workouts are built for the use of many different kinds of people so they are for general fitness at best. Classes are mostly cardiovascular routines and even the ones using weights are not classified as strength training and they certainly are not meant for athletes looking to improve their game.

I see many people spinning their wheels when it comes to sports performance because they have never had the opportunity to work with a specialist in Sports Fitness. A few sessions with a trainer who has sports training experience and certifications to back it up is a good idea for any athlete because it streamlines your training needs. For example, a football player may need to work on their bench press and squats for explosive power and strength off the line of scrimmage but these moves do not do much for golfers and tennis players who need exercises specific to their sport such as torso cable twist and high pull cable twist.

In addition to working on things that are specific to your sport, it is important for every athlete to also understand their personal weaknesses and strengths. If you have amazingly strong arms, you may be an exceptional batter in baseball who can hit home runs but you may have weak or tight shoulders or wrists that can still cause you problems with repetitive use injuries and lack of control when throwing. Or you have strong legs, but you may have very weak or tight hips that make you unable to react quickly on a direction change on the tennis court not to mention making you prone to knee injuries.

Regardless of your sport, training specifically for it will not only prevent injury but allow you the opportunity to become stronger, faster and more accurate. For more information on Sports Specific Training, call me at 404-514-1896 or visit my website at www.4fitbodies.com

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Tags: Chapel Hill News, Sports Fitness by David Hansey, Personal Trainer
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