THE ESSENTIALS
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Override the stress response
In our culture of high output and high stress we tend to rely on our fight or flight system to keep us going. The nervous system, however, can also be the answer to help us destress. This network has a mass of 4.5 pounds/2kg and accounts for 3% of our body weight. It...
Number Crunching
Yoga teachers Rodney Yee and Brian Dorfman compare notes on the ideal size for a yoga class. As Yoga's popularity expands, so do class rosters. This bodes well for yoga's continued longevity, but when does popularity become overpopulation? Can too many students dilute...
Make a Good Race Great
The difference between a good race and a great race is in the subtle preparation. After working with 6 different Ironman world champions, I realized that their preparation was similar: Everything was measured to fit one intention, they wanted to peak, on one day to be...
Lifetime Fitness
Getting athletes to stretch is harder then stretching itself. However, it should be clear that stretching is an integral part of long term heath and fitness. Effort to train will be balanced by ease of stretching. Therefore, stretching is a way to increase your chance...
How a swimmer can learn to run
Paula Newby-Frazier and Jesse Stensland started the sport as top swimmers and transformed into great runners. How can a swimmer learn to run? Two differences stand out in the mechanics of running vs. swimming: the position of the ankle and the movement of the...
Calf care
As most track stars know, there can be a price for speed. The track is often the place where athletes feel their speed and find their shin splints. Heather Fuhr and I meet for the purpose of resolving shin splint problems that had their beginning in high school. There...
The art of athletic recovery
There's an art to athletic recovery. At some point, you have to stop and wait for your legs to recover, and for your body to feel sharp and responsive. Recovery balances the immune and hormonal systems, aids digestion and facilitates the removal of cellular debris. In...
Flexibility training: Running stretches
There's perfection to the movement of elite runners. Watching them run, I'm often struck by the beauty and grace in their stride, with the perfect alignment of their hip, knee and foot. Their upper bodies seem relaxed, lifted and strong. I wish I could run with such...
Flexibility training: Swimming stretches
I think of swimming as the savior for the triathlete. Swimming is the perfect compensator for biking and running. In fact, the breathing, rhythm and extension in swimming are an invaluable counter movement or counter position to biking and running. If an athlete can't...
Flexibility training: Cycling stretches
If you could go to the store today and buy a supplement that increases recovery and circulation, strengthens correct biomechanics in running, biking and swimming and prevents injuries, would you do it? The trip to the store would take about 20-30 minutes. You'd get...