grrl Motivation

Some people say that I have an attitude- Maybe I do. But I think that you have to. You have to believe in yourself when no one else does- that makes you a winner right there."

-Venus Williams


The Pitfalls of Super Low-Calorie Dieting

Don't cut your calories too low, especially in the off season. In "Outsmarting
the female fat cell" by Debra Waterhouse she points out that one of the
problems women have  with dieting is that low calorie diets actually increase the number of fat-storing enzymes. Research done at Cedars-Sinai Medical Center found that diets that are too low in calories can double the number of fat storing enzymes. We definitely don't want this and if you have been dieting for too long this may be your problem. As I mentioned above adding a cheat meal in might work well to boost your metabolism once a week and keep this from happening.

-www.rachelcosgrove.com



An Interview with Mike Boyle

Currently Michael is the Strength and Conditioning Coach for Ice Hockey at
Boston University and an independent consultant in the area of strength and
conditioning. In 2003 Michael assisted in Athletes’ Performance expansion into the home Depot Center in Los Angeles, Ca. While at Athletes’ Performance Los Angeles Boyle worked with the 2004 Women’s Olympic Soccer team and the Los Angeles Galaxy of MLS.

Prior to working for Athletes’ Performance Boyle founded Mike Boyle Strength and Conditioning, one of the first for-profit strength and conditioning companies in the world. Mike Boyle Strength and Conditioning provides performance enhancement training for athletes of all levels. The company is nationally regarded as a leader in the field, training athletes ranging from junior high school students to All-Stars in almost every major professional sport.

Previous to founding Mike Boyle Strength and Conditioning, Mike served as the Head Strength and Conditioning Coach at Boston University for 15 years. In addition to his duties at Boston University, from 1991-1999 Boyle served as the Strength and Conditioning Coach for the Boston Bruins of the National Hockey League. Mike was also the Strength and Conditioning Coach for the 1998 US Women’s Olympic Ice Hockey Team, Gold Medalists in Nagano, and served as a consultant in the development of the USA Hockey National Team Development Program in Ann Arbor, Michigan.

Mike has been a featured speaker at numerous strength and conditioning and athletic training clinics across the country and has  produced nine
instructional videos in the area of strength and conditioning available through M-F Athletic Company. In addition Mike just released Functional Training for Sports  from Human Kinetics (www.humankinetics.com) as well as Designing Strength Training Programs, available at www.performbetter.com


grrlAthlete.com: Mike, you’ve written a lot about functional training and training the “core” to improve sports performance. Can you give our readers a quick background on the concept of core training?

Mike Boyle:
Core training is really the evolution of what we have learned from the leading researchers and practitioners of physical therapy about how they treat low back pain. 80 percent of Americans will suffer low back pain so what therapists are doing to treat or reduce this should be of interest to anyone who trains athletes. The interesting thing about the whole core training thing is that many old school coaches adopt a “head in the sand approach”. We have lots of people out there who would rather argue about who’s right than try to get their athletes healthier and better.


GA: What happens when an athlete does not have sufficient core endurance, strength, and stability?

MB:
Athletes without core strength etc. will not transfer force from the ground as
well. The key to sport skills is the ability to get energy from the ground to
the extremities. The core is the critical transfer junction at which energy can
be lost or gained. In addition, a strong core will help an athlete avoid the
lower back pain that plagues so many athletes.


GA: What type of assessment would you begin a female athlete’s training program with?

MB:
I like the Functional Movement Screen. This is a tool developed by Physical
Therapist Gray Cook. www.functionalmovement.com. It is a movement based assessment and, takes some time to get good at. However it really helps both coach and athlete to see their weaknesses.


GA: Do most female athletes have a weak core? If so, where should a typical, young female athlete begin her core training progression? When do you know that the female athlete is ready for more advanced exercises?

MB:
I don’t think there is a large difference between young females and young males. Everyone should learn to activate the deep abdominal musculature by drawing –in or bracing (depending on who you believe). They should then learn proper technique in quadruped movements and bridging.

They should also include some segmental curl-ups and most importantly some segmental reverse crunches. I have a new book out in January from Perform Better which has about 8000 words just on core. If you readers are interested they can advance order it from Perform Better at 1-800-556-7464. The title is Designing Strength Training Programs and Facilities.


GA: What other areas of weakness are typical in female athletes? Do you find that improving strength levels is one of the top priorities for most female athletes?

MB:
The number one area of weakness is leg strength. Number two isn’t even close.


GA: How do you progress with leg strength training? What role do single-leg exercises have in your programs? What exercises give females the biggest return on investment?

MB:
Functional training for Sports really goes into our single leg progressions in
great detail. I’d be redundant if I described them again. Feel free to excerpt
from the book.


GA: What were some of the lessons you learned about training female athletes from working with the US Women’s Olympic Ice Hockey Team?

MB:
I learned that the first time is the best time and, that at the higher levels
women may eventually take things for granted just like their male counterparts.


In 1996 and 1997 we had a group of about 30 dedicated, unselfish young women who moved to Boston to train together to be part of the first Olympic team. The sacrifices made were incredible and it was a wonderfully competitive and unselfish atmosphere. It was one of the great experiences of my life.

In 2002 the agendas were much different. Many of the things that were great about the 1998 team were different in 2002. Many of the women had already won their Gold Medal and had lives to lead. Some of the elite high-schoolers were now being raised in the same system of entitlement that we see in men’s hockey and already felt they knew what they needed to do. My advice is to seize your moment and enjoy it.  

The best thing about working with the Olympic teams was meeting the women. People like Tricia Dunn, Katie King. AJ Mleczko and Shelly Looney are people I will have the pleasure of knowing for the rest of my life.

When I worked with the 2004 Women’s soccer team my five year old daughter and I had the chance to meet and, I had the pleasure to coach, the greatest females soccer players in the history of the game. Jennie Branum, one of the best goalies in the US, lived with my family for 4 months while she rehabbed. We met Mia Hamm, Julie Foudy, Brandi Chastain, Shannon MacMillan and Joy Fawcett. These are the legends of women’s sport. Treasure the personal moments, they are not replaceable.


GA: In your book, “Functional Training”, you outline a progression program for a trainee that is learning how to do chin-ups. How much improvement can girls make at chins and pushups?

MB:
Lots. Tricia Dunn, a two time US Olympian can do 15 chin-ups. In 1996 she could do zero. She can now do a set of three with 45 lbs. The problem with women is the low expectations we have placed on them. They can do chinups, pushup and any other exercise if they are correctly taught and progressed.


GA: What is the importance of a dynamic warm-up in training? What are some of your favorite warm-up exercises for female athletes?

MB:
Dynamic warm-up is key. You can’t get ready to move by not moving. It just
doesn’t make sense. I love the Inchworm, Spiderman. Lunge to Hamstring and Lunge walks.


GA: How do you progress into plyometric exercises for female athletes?

MB:
We use the exact progression from Functional training for Sports. We just make sure that the obstacles are the right size. A great guideline is that the
athlete should jump and land from the same position (courtesy of Jim Radcliffe).  Another great one from Al Vermeil- The weaker the athlete the smaller the obstacle.


GA: Finally, what is your opinion of the use of cardiovascular training for female power athletes, such as hockey players? What type of conditioning is optimal for these athletes?

MB:
I think you need to define cardiovascular training. If you mean long slow
aerobic work, I’m against it. Want to make your kid slow, do long slow aerobic work. We do cardiovascular work every day but it’s almost always interval training. For hockey we do two running and two slideboard days. Perform Better has great slideboards. I like the Ultaslide although the Goaler 1 is a pretty good product.


GA: Any other subjects you would like to comment on for female strength and conditioning?

MB:
The most important thing for a young female to do is to get stronger legs.
Skating is the difference at the elite level and athletes with weak legs can’t
skate. No machines. Learn to Front Squat and 1-Leg Squat.

Also, don’t be a hockey specialist until you are at least 14. The biggest
mistake we are making here and in Canada is early specialization. The great players are great athletes. Mia Hamm played Pop Warner football. All the women Olympians I have coached were multiple-sport stars. Specializing does not give you a head start, it retards progress.