Shoulder Prehab Part 3...The W

I have included a link to The W by Calvin Sun as the 3rd part of the series on Shoulder Prehab.  Let me know if it worked better to go through the link or just to read it on my blog.

Try incorporating all three moves into your warm-up or cool down routine.

Shoulder Prehab Part 2...The T

This is part 2 of the Shoulder Prehab routine that Calvin Sun from Crossfit Invictus put on their site.

Prehab: Stabilizing the Shoulder
Written by Calvin Sun

In part one of our series on prehab for the shoulder, we discussed why good shoulder health is essential for any athlete. Prehab serves to strengthen any weak points in your body reducing the likelihood of experiencing pain and injuries.

“T”
-To perform T’s, start by lying face down in a prone position.
-Reach out with your arms forming a “T” with your body.
-Make fists with your hands and keep your thumbs pointed upward.
-Keeping your head neutral, lift your arms off the ground by initiating the movement from your scapulae.
-Focus on sliding the shoulder blades together.

Common Faults:
-Lifting the torso off the ground
-Overextension of the cervical spine
-Moving the hands back towards the feet instead of up toward the ceiling

Try to perform 10-15 repetitions for 1-2 sets before or after your next workout as part of a mobility program. You can perform these immediately after doing your “Y’s”. Like the Y’s, this exercise can also be performed from a bent position or with support on a box or bench with some light dumbbells. Combine a good prehab program with proper recovery and you’ll be well on your to optimized performance both in and out of the gym.

I got this entire article from Crossfit Invictus. 

Shoulder Prehab Part 1

When doing the workouts that we have been doing, shoulder issues often pop up.  I have found a three part series from Crossfit Invictus on shoulder Prehab that I would like to share with you over the next week or so.

You can ignore the WOD at the top of the page when you go to Prehab: Stabilizing the Shoulder.

Work this exercise into your warm-up the next few days and see how it works.

The Value of a Great Teacher

In this age of evaluating teachers by the outcomes of their students, I have been uncomfortable with the possibility or more correctly the probability that the tests that are issued don't really measure a teachers ability to teach or the long term success of our students. The focus on these standardized tests has shifted the focus in the classrooms to Type 1 teaching vs Type 2 teaching that causes valuable life long learning to occur (see Seth Godin's article on Type 1 teaching vs Type 2 teaching here) Now I realize that the Type 1 teaching that Seth writes about is essential to our schools. But if we are forced to focus on Type 1 teaching to get all of our students to a minimum level, what happens to our top students who would benefit from Type 2 situations.

The question that we all must ask ourselves is "What skills do our future leaders need to help our country continue to be the leader of the free world?" Will just being able to do well on standardized tests assure us that today's students, tomorrows leaders, will be able to make sound decisions and be able to solve complex problems that require more than just knowing facts.

In this article the author points out that some of the life skills like patience, discipline, manners, and perseverance that are measured in kindergarten testing procedures may be more indicative of future success than some of our multiple choice tests that we give our middle and high school students.

I think both of these articles that I linked to do a great job of causing educators to take a deeper look at what we teach and at how we teach it. What do we really hope to impress upon our students?

What are we doing to our kids?

I caught this video on another blog as I was searching for some information and really enjoyed it. Actually "enjoyed it" is a poor way to put it. What she said made sense to me. When she talks about the CDC's predictions about children born in the year 2000, a chill ran up and down my spine as I have a daughter of that age. As a teacher who is around kids of this age all of the time these predictions come as no surprise to me. I realize that the reason our school lunch programs across the country are the way they are is because of money. I believe however that in looking at the big picture we will end up spending more as a state or country when we have to pay for the health care that will result in feeding our kids this way. It is easy to sit back and say that we agree with what Ann Cooper says about school lunch and then complain about our government or our schools. But the easy road rarely accomplishes anything. It is our duty to ask ourselves what can we do about this situation. Maybe it is as simple as changing how we eat at home. Or maybe it is as complex as being the next Ann Cooper.

Talent - Nature or Nurture?

     I just finished reading the book The Talent Code:  Greatness Isn't Born.  It's Grown.  Here's How. by Daniel Coyle.  This book is an excellent resource for teachers and coaches as well as parents.  Coyle boils down talent into a combination of three things:  Deep Practice, Ignition, and Master Coaching.  As I was reading this book, there were many memories of events that have happened to me while teaching, coaching or learning for that matter that make much more sense now.  Unfortunately the picture that many people have of what successful coaching looks like is very distorted.  The little league coach that berates one of his players for making an error isn't doing that player or any of the other players on the team any favors.  The fans in the stands at an elementary basketball game yelling "Shoot it" or "Dribble" are actually hindering the development of that player rather than helping.  So the next time you are at a youth sporting event, make sure to encourage effort and sportsmanship and let the kids play.

Snatch Balance

Demonstration of Snatch Balance



In the workouts for this week I have included the Snatch Balance. The video above is a demonstration of what a snatch balance looks like.

If you would like to download the video to view on your Ipod or Mp3 player use the following link.
Snatch Balance Demo

Searching for the Truth

The Truth is an interesting topic to me.  As Jack Nicholson's  character Col.Jessup said originally in "A Few Good Men", many of us can't handle the truth.  Lets start with what should be an easy one.  According to John 14:6, Jesus said that He "is the way, and the truth, and the life."  How often as we go through our daily life is that a truth that we don't handle very well?  I think that it is important as we search for the Truth in other areas of our life that we remember to put it into perspective as it relates to putting God first in our lives.

In my life, I am passionate about searching for the truth as it relates to fitness, health and overall human performance.  Some might call it a calling.  All that I know is there are not many things that excite me as much as helping someone become better at any one or all of these three areas.  This is what draws me to teaching physical education, coaching and training others.


In the past year and a half that search has led me find Crossfit.  Crossfit is a fitness program that by it's own description is a program that "delivers a fitness that is, by design, broad, general, and inclusive."  I have used its methodologies to train myself as well as implement parts of it into my PE curriculum.  In October of 2009 I had the opportunity to travel to San Diego and become certified as a Level I Crossfit instructor.  What originally drew me to crossfit was their philosophy of finding the best way to promote fitness and adapt that into their training methods.

This search often leads me to detours.  Because of this, I have been called a "flip-flopper" by my brother.  As a Health and Physical Education teacher I have for years espoused a nutrition approach in line with the Food Guide Pyramid and later My Pyramid by the USDA.  Recently I have gone away from that approach for myself as I found a different approach work better and make more sense.  More on that later.

This search leads me to many uncomfortable truths about health.  Truths like the little things that we do to our bodies on a daily basis make a big difference.  Habits as they relate to food, exercise, sleep, recreation, and our jobs all effect us in either a good way or a bad way.  I heard at a coaching clinic one time that everyday we either improve or get worse.  I believe that statement to be true in all areas of our life and for that reason it is important to identify the habits that we have that help us to improve and expand those habits.  We all need to also look at the habits that we have that are holding us back and try to change as many of those as we can.


In the coming days, weeks and hopefully years I want to continue to search for truths as the relate to our health and our fitness.