Morgan Beck: Cal Senior Volleyball Striker

Cal is in the top ten in the nation, along with an amazing SIX other Pac-10 teams. Morgan Beck looks to stay strong while the Bears host two top ten teams in USC and UCLA this weekend...the USC game will be televised on FSN Saturday, so if you want to get a look at a Sport Science Lab athlete in action, check that out!

Hungarian Weightlifter Dislocates Elbow...OW

Here's a disturbing example of why SSL claims WEIGHT TRAINING DESTROYS ATHLETICISM::

BEIJING (AP)-Hungarian strongman Janos Baranyai's first Olympics ended in agony Wednesday when he dislocated his right elbow in the ugliest moment yet of the Olympic weightlifting competition.

Baranyai was trying to snatch 148 kg (326.3 pounds) in his third lift in the men's 77-kilogram division, when his elbow popped out of its socket.

No longer able to support the weight of the barbell, his right forearm bent backward. The 24-year-old Hungarian fell to the floor in shock, shaking and crying out in pain.

Hungary's coaching staff and competition officials rushed to Baranyai's aid as he lay trembling on the floor, his arm limp and twisted out of position.

My emphasis...that just sounds horrible...and once more, there's basically no other sport that requires a slow-moving, high-stress movement that will destroy your limbs with the slightest miscalculation or random sway or wiggle. Unreal.
That poor guy's definitely going to need some restorative training...give us a call! We'll have you better than ever.

Press Release: New Training DVD Increases Athleticism

Pick up our DVD in the store!

(Nov 15, 2008 – San Juan Capistrano, CA) Sport Science Lab just unveiled a new DVD, The Ballistic Ball Workout with Foundational Footwork, that has been proven to increase athleticism and more.

Gavin MacMillan, Founder of Sport Science Lab, and former professional athlete, explains “This is the only sports training program that trains your Nervous System. One might be tempted to ask why? The answer is, because the nervous system controls everything—limb speed, power, agility, grace, body integration, timing, rhythm, balance and coordination. These are the elements that define athleticism. Muscles simply contract and relax....when your nervous system tell them to.”

PDF Version

Ball Workout Impacts Regular Guy

I'll tell you right up front, I own the company promoting Sports Science Lab and the DVDs.

And like the guy from Hair Club for Men, I use the product.

I'm no athlete, although I'd like to be. But I do keep myself in great shape by doing cardio and resistance training regularly. Really regularly. Like for 20 years straight.

I was lifting and using a Bowflex in the evenings until I met Gavin. He convinced me that the heavy weight lifting is not only "not good" but actually detrimental.

This past weekend I was in a little funk about doing my normal exercise routines. I did it anyway (I'm OCD that way) but didn't enjoy nor get the most from it.

Monday night I did the Ballistic Ball Workout, which I typically do 3 times a week. It really kicked my butt. As usual. But, here's the key - and the reason I finally had to share this -I felt awesome. Not muscle sore. Used, yes. But almost electric. And this morning on my cross trainer, I really kicked it!! I maintained a higher level throughout the workout. Never got tired, or struggled at all. And...when I looked at the timer for the first time, I was 9 minutes OVER. I was thinking that there was 6 or 7 minutes left before I hit my Cardio time of 60 minutes. 

Certainly this is not the first time I've done the Ballistic Ball Workout. But, it's sooooo powerful and impactful...even to a regular person staying in shape, that this time I felt compelled to tell it in the blog. Plus, I cannot even begin to tell you the impact this workout has on my core. I'm more flexible, certainly stronger and more stable and yes, it is even helping my coordination. This is all showing in my golf swing. My rotational power is increasing regularly. BTW...it may be worth stating that I'm 60. So this stuff will work for everyone. Everyone, that is, who doesn't mind working hard, because the workout is not easy.

Anyway, give it a try. Once you do, you'll be hooked. I promise you.

Terry

Terry Vitiello

President & Creative Director

Quantum Communications

3648 Ocean Ranch Blvd

Oceanside, CA 92025

(760) 754-3220

www.enemyofgoodenough.com 

terry@enemyofgoodenough.com

Plyometrics according to wikipedia

"Plyometrics is a type of exercise training designed to produce fast, powerful movements, and improve the functions of the nervous system, generally for the purpose of improving performance in a specific sport. Plyometric movements, in which a muscle is loaded and then contracted in rapid sequence, use the strength, elasticity and innervation of muscle and as it was supposed to be surrounding tissues to jump higher, run faster, throw farther, or hit harder, depending on the desired training goal. Plyometrics is used to increase the speed or force of muscular contractions, often with the goal of increasing the height of a jump or the speed of a punch or throw" direct from  

www.wikipedia.org

Finally, recognition of the nervous system and the need to train that system. The only thing I want to add is that plyometrics is not the only way to train the nervous system. Check out our Ballistic Ball Workout---and the way we teach Aquatics. Both these routines stimulate and challenge the nervous system, as does every exercise at Sport Science LAb.

"Plyometric training involves practicing plyometric movements to toughen tissues and train nerve cells to stimulate a specific pattern of muscle contraction so the muscle generates as strong a contraction as possible in the shortest amount of time. A plyometric contraction involves first a rapid muscle lengthening movement, followed by a short resting phase, then an explosive muscle shortening movement, which enables the muscles that work together in doing the particular motion. Plyometric training engages the myostatic-reflex, which is the automatic contraction of muscle when their stretch nerve receptors are stimulated.

Plyometric exercises use explosive movements to develop muscular power, the ability to generate a large amount of force quickly. Plyometric training acts on the nerves, muscles, and tendons to increase an athlete's power output without necessarily increasing their maximum strength" direct from wikipedia.

I must caution here. Plyometrics is very popular right now. But plyometrics such as box jumping should not be used too often, and for not too many repetitions. Stay tuned for our DVD on plyometrics & box jumping, coming in the next month.

"Muscular power is determined by how long it takes for strength to be converted into speed. The ability to convert strength to speed in a very short time allows for athletic movements beyond what raw strength will allow. Thus an athlete who has strong legs and can perform the freeweight squat with extremely heavy weights over a long duration may get less distance on a standing long jump or height on a vertical leap than a weaker athlete who is able to generate a smaller amount of force but in a shorter amount of time. The plyometrically trained athlete may have a lower maximal force output, and thus may not squat as much, but his training allows him to shorten the amount of time required to reach his maximum force output, leading to more power from each contraction", again from wikipedia.

So, they are saying what we've been saying for over 10 years. The person who is the strongest, the person who can lift the most weight is not the fastest, quickest, best athlete. 

saving a basketball career

My name is Augie Johnston and I play D2 basketball at Cal State Monterey Bay.  This past summer Django Evans introduced me to sport science lab and their theories. I have always been a weight lifter my whole life.  I played point guard in high school on a very good team was considered lightning quick and was the best ball handler on the team. After signing to CSUMB I was told by about every coach I met that I should get bigger in order to play at the college level.  I reached 190 by my freshmen year of college and was told I was too slow to play pg and I could even feel my handles slipping.  After my junior season I was up to 200 lbs.  I felt slower than ever and had to rely only on my jump shot. Django schooled me on Sport Science Lab principles and I began doing the ballistic ballwork, supercat workouts, and pool workouts.  After three weeks I did something that I never thought I could do.  For the first time in my life I dunked from outside the key, and off of two feet.  I have completed many different 15 week plyometric workouts, such as "Air Alert" and never gained more than an inch of vert.  Thank you for saving my basketball career.    

 

Injuries To Female Athletes

Female athletes in this country are suffering an inordinate number of knee injuries, particularly ACL (Anterior Cruciate Ligament) injuries. In fact, studies show that female athletes are 5-7 times more likely to sustain a torn ACL than their male counterparts.

Current research agrees that women are built from a different set of blueprints than men and these physiological differences can lead to knee and ankle injuries when these differences are not recognized nor accounted for in training regimens.

As an example, Dr. Laura Losi, director of the bone health program at Children's National Medical Center in Washington, D.C. states that "A woman'spelvis is wider, which is why women's knees go into a knock-kneed position, and the feet tend to roll into a little flat footedness. 

Dr.Letha Griffin, an orthopedic surgeon in Atlanta adds, "Girls tend to run, jump, and turn with straighter legs and less bending at the knees and hips than boys. Little girls run more upright while little boys stay low to the ground."

The Sports Medicine Center in Cincinnati agrees, "Women tend to be very front dominant. They primarily use their quadriceps which means their bodies don't fully activate the muscles on the back side, specifically the hamstrings and the glutes. This imbalance of muscle use ends up putting stress on the ACL."

Our evidence-based, unconventional training at Sport Science Lab provides some answers. We start by training the feet because of the number of proprioceptors located there and because every athletic move begins with the feet.

Our foundational footwork is essentially re-training the athlete which includes proper running mechanics, i.e. Patterning proper movements, running on the balls of their feet---another inherently damaging habit female athletes must overcome is that they run flatfooted---landing softly and using their arms more and more efficiently. Most importantly, we imprint this new foundation before we hit any playing surface.

Our Ballistic Ball Workout DVD with foundational footwork...for women athletes helps prevent and even rehab knee and ankle injuries. We're taking advanced orders for this revolutionary DVD.