Geoff & Brian's Tips & Tricks

How to Choose A Running Shoe

Posted by admin under Running Shoes

How to choose running shoes. from therunningadvisor.com

In determining how to choose a running shoe, your choice of running shoes can make the difference between having a good or bad experience, running in comfort or pain, and, most importantly, whether you stay healthy or get injured.

The biggest and most common mistake I see novice runners make, (and yes, I made the same mistake), is to bargain shop for an inexpensive first pair of running shoes right off the shoe store clearance table, or worse, off the rack at a department store. After all, who wants to pay a lot for shoes when you may not actually use them much? How do you justify a higher priced running shoe to your spouse? Aren’t you just paying a lot for a logo on the side?

All these observations make sense. But this kind of thinking will likely lead you to the equally logical decision to quit after a couple of miserable runs. The very tenacious among us may wait until they suffer a blown-out knee or serious shin, hip or foot problem. Forget bargains. What you need to start running is the right shoe, not the cheapest.

Choosing a running shoe can be an overwhelming task given all the high-tech shoes available today and all the special features each running shoe claims to have.

That’s why I’ve written this “Simple Steps for Choosing a Running Shoe” guide. Just follow the steps below, and you’ll discover which running shoes are best for you.

1. Understand Pronation
2. Determine Your Foot Type
3. Select Your Gait Type
4. Choose the Right Running Shoe for You
5. Go to a Local Speciality Running Store
6. Ensure Your New Running Shoes Fit Properly
7. Top Recommended Online Running Shoe Merchant

Understand Pronation
Pronation is the rolling of the foot from heel to toe through the foot strike. A proper or neutral pronation is hitting the outside of the heel and up to ball of your foot evenly across the front. This is how your foot reduces the stress of impact.

Underpronation is not enough evening out so the outside of your foot takes most of the shock instead of finishing in the neutral position.

Overpronation is too much roll across from the outside to the inside of your foot.

To determine your level of pronation, look at your shoes you walk or run in. Most everyone will begin on the outside of the heel, the real indicator would be the wear on the forefoot.

If most of the shoe wear is:

* On the medial (inside) side then you Overpronate and probably need to choose Motion-Control Running Shoes

o Men’s Motion-Control Running Shoes
o Women’s Motion-Control Running Shoes

* On the lateral (outside) side then you Underpronate and most likely need to choose Cushioned Running Shoes

o Men’s Cushioned Running Shoes
o Women’s Cushioned Running Shoes

* Uniform across the forefoot then you have a Neutral Stride and are best suited for choosing Stability Running Shoes

o Men’s Stability Running Shoes
o Women’s Stability Running Shoes

Determine Your Foot Type
Another method of determining pronation and, ultimately, foot type is by checking your arch height. The easiest way to figure out your arch height is by using the Wet Test. To take the test, wet the bottom of each footand stand normally on a paper bag. After a minute or so, step off and observe the imprint left by your foot. (Trace the outline with a pencil if you want to look at it later.)

You have a normal arch (neutral pronation) if:

There’s a distinct curve along the inside of your foot with a band a little less than half the width of your foot connecting the heel and toe. (Choose Stability Running Shoes)

You have a low arch (flat feet/overpronator) if:

There’s not much of a curve along the inside of your foot and your imprint shows almost the entire foot. People with low arches are more likely to overpronate (roll too far inward), which can lead to overuse injuries. (Choose Motion-Control Running Shoes)

You have a high arch (underpronator) if:

There’s a very sharp curve along the inside of your foot and your imprint shows a very thin band between your heel and toe. People with high arches typically don’t pronate enough. (Choose Cushioned Running Shoes)
Select Your Gait Type
Top

Right Foot

Severe Overpronation: The outside of the heel strikes the ground first and the foot rolls inward excessively which means the foot and ankle cannot properly stabilize the body.

The best running shoes for moderate to severe Overpronators are Stability shoes ( Men’s | Women’s) or Motion Control shoes ( Men’s | Women’s) depending on the severity of overpronation.

Right Foot

Mild Overpronation: The outside of the heel strikes the ground first and the foot rolls inward slightly absorbing the shock more effectively which allows the foot and ankle to properly support the body. This is the most common foot type.

The best running shoes for Mild Overpronators are Stability shoes ( Men’s | Women’s).

Right Foot

Neutral: The outside of the heel strikes the ground first and the foot rolls inward slightly absorbing the shock more effectively which allows the foot and ankle to properly support the body.

The best running shoes for Neutral runners are Neutral Cushioning shoes ( Men’s | Women’s) for feet that are more rigid.

Right Foot

Supination: The outside of the heel strikes the ground first but the foot does not roll inward during the gait cycle. Instead it stays on the outside causing the impact to be concentrated on a smaller portion on the lateral side of the foot.

The best running shoes for Supinators are more flexible Neutral Cushioning shoes ( Men’s | Women’s).

choosing running shoes
Choose the Right Running Shoe for You
Now that you’ve determined your foot type and degree of pronation, one other important characteristic you’ll need to look for is shoe shape. You can see the shape most clearly by looking at the bottom of the shoe.

Typically, running shoes come in three shapes (straight, semi-curved and curved) which correspond to the three types of prints revealed by the wet test. Most experts believe that:

* Overpronators should choose a running shoe with a Straight shape.
* Underpronators should choose a running shoe with a Curved shape.
* Normal/Neutral pronators should choose a running shoe with a Semi-Curved shape.

If you have flat feet and overpronate, choose a Motion-Control running shoe. Motion control shoes prevent your foot from rolling in too far, have a straight shape that gives maximum support to your foot and are the most rigid, control-oriented running shoes.

* Men’s Motion-Control Running Shoes
* Women’s Motion-Control Running Shoes

If you have high-arched feet and underpronate, you should choose a Cushioned running shoe. Cushioned shoes allow your feet to roll inward (absorbing shock), have a curved shape to encourage foot motion and have the softest midsole with the least medial support.

* Men’s Cushioned Running Shoes
* Women’s Cushioned Running Shoes

If you have normal arches and pronate normally, choose a Stability running shoe. Stability shoes offer a good blend of cushioning, medial support and durability. They often have a semi-curved shape and don’t control foot motion as strictly as motion-control shoes.

* Men’s Stability Running Shoes
* Women’s Stability Running Shoes

Go to a Local Speciality Running Store
If you’ve followed all the steps listed above, you probably have a pretty good idea of what type of running shoe you should be looking for and how to choose running shoes. However, it still pays to go to a specialty running store (at least for your first running shoe purchase). The people who work in these stores are knowledgeable and will guide you to the appropriate shoe models.

Here are some tips for a successful running shoe shopping trip.

* Shop in the late afternoon when your feet are at their largest. Your feet will expand while running.
* Bring your old shoes with you when you go shopping. Shoe wear will assist the salesperson in determining your degree of pronation.
* Wear or buy the socks you’ll wear when you run.
* If you wear orthotics, bring them also. You need to see how the shoe fits with the orthotic inside.
* Do NOT make the most common mistake new runners make by buying the latest fad shoe. It is highly likely this will not be the ideal shoe for you.
* Make sure the salesperson measures both of your feet. Often, one foot is slightly larger than the other. You should be fitted for the larger foot.

Before you try on any shoes, the salesperson should (at least) ask you the following questions to help you select the right running shoe model.

* How long have you been running?
* How much mileage are you doing per week?
* Are you training for a particular event?
* Where do you do most of your running?
* How much do you weigh?
* Are you aware of any foot problems (i.e. flat feet, over- or underpronation)?

Based on your answers, the salesperson will direct you to various models that will fit your needs and help you select some for you to try.
Ensure Your New Running Shoes Fit Properly
A proper fit is THE most important step in finding the right running shoe. A shoe that fits will be snug but not tight. A common mistake that’s a killer is to buy shoes that are too small.

Use the following guidelines to ensure a proper running shoe fit.

* Check for adequate room at the toebox by pressing your thumb into the shoe just above your longest toe. Your thumb should fit between the end of your toe and the top of the shoe.

* Check for adequate room at the widest part of your foot. The shoe shouldn’t be tight, but your foot shouldn’t slide around, either.

* The heel of your foot should fit snugly against the back of the shoe without sliding up or down as you walk or run.

* The upper (part of shoe that wraps around and over the top of the foot) should fit snugly and securely without irritating or pressing too tightly on any area of the foot.

* Once you’ve found running shoes that feel right, walk/jog/run in them as much as you can. Some stores have a treadmill, others allow a run around the parking lot and some don’t let you do anything other than bounce up and down. You need to feel the shoes in action.

Inside / Outside Soccer Moves

Posted by admin under Soccer

Check out this video from Vogel Soccer Mastery!!

http://www.vogelsoccermastery.com/inside-outside-dribbling

Lactic Acid Myths

Posted by admin under Uncategorized

The Lactic Acid Myths
by Matt Fitzgerald
Courtsey of running.competitor.com

There are many myths about lactic acid. Perhaps the greatest of all is the notion that there is lactic acid in the human body. There is not. The body actually produces lactate, which is lactic acid minus one proton.

The difference between lactic acid and lactate is, for all practical purposes, semantic. But other popular beliefs about lactic acid (or, as I will properly call it from this point forward, lactate) are about as wrong as wrong can be. Most triathletes believe that lactate is an end product of anaerobic muscle metabolism that causes local muscle fatigue by increasing the acidity of the tissues to the point where they no longer can function effectively. In fact, we now know that lactate is an intermediate link between anaerobic and aerobic muscle metabolism that serves as both a direct and indirect fuel for muscle contraction and delays fatigue in a couple of different ways.

Our new understanding of the nature and function of lactate is interesting to all athletes who are curious about how the human body works. But does it make any practical difference? Does the new science of lactate suggest a different approach to training than the old science did? I would suggest that it does call for a subtle tweaking of the standard approach to endurance training, but no major overhaul. Before we get to that, however, let’s take a closer look at how the classic beliefs about lactate were exposed as myths and replaced by an almost opposite explanation.

The classic explanation of lactate in exercise dates back to the 1920s, when researchers showed that the exposure of frog legs to high levels of lactic acid (not lactate) interfered with the ability of the muscles to contract in response to electrical stimulation. Later research determined that lactate was produced through anaerobic glycolysis, or the breakdown of glucose or glycogen molecules for energy without the help of oxygen. It was then concluded that fatigue occurred at high exercise intensities because the cardiovascular system could no longer supply the muscles with enough oxygen to keep pace with muscular energy demands, resulting in increasing reliance on anaerobic glycolysis, hence lactate buildup.

How exactly did lactate buildup cause the muscles to fatigue? Biochemists believed that lactate was formed in the body by the removal of a proton from lactic acid. When protons accumulate in living tissues, these tissues become more acidic. And when muscles become too acidic, they lose their ability to contract.

This tidy little explanation began to unravel in 1977, when South African biochemist Wieland Gevers showed that the reaction producing lactate actually consumes a pair of free protons, thus retarding muscular acidosis rather than promoting it. Much more recently, scientists have observed that while protons do indeed accumulate in the muscles during high-intensity exercise, increasing muscle acidity, these protons are produced through a reaction that is completely separate from that which produces lactate.

To make matters even worse for supporters of the classic lactate hypothesis, we now know not only that lactate does not cause muscular acidosis, but also that the muscles never reach a level of acidity that would directly cause dysfunction (or fatigue) of the muscle fibers anyway. The body’s normal pH at rest is approximately 7.4. During intense exercise, as the muscles become more acidic, pH may drop as low as 7.0 at the point of exhaustion. However, when muscle cells are electrically stimulated outside the body, mechanical failure only occurs when the pH drops all the way down to 6.8. This observation suggests that fatigue always occurs before a catastrophic loss of acid-base homeostasis in the muscles takes place.

What’s more, research conducted within the past decade has shown that lactate counteracts another cause of muscle fatigue at high exercise intensities: namely, depolarization. Muscle contractions are stimulated by electrical currents that flow throughout the body via minerals including sodium and potassium. Each muscle cell contraction involves a lightning-fast exchange in which potassium molecules inside the muscle cell and sodium molecules outside the muscle cell switch places. These exchanges are most efficient when there is a high degree of polarization (a difference in the strength of the electrical charge) between the spaces inside and outside the cells. At the beginning of high-intensity exercise, the inside of the muscle cell has a much stronger positive charge than the area outside the muscle cell. This difference in charge strength makes it easy for sodium and potassium to cross the cell membrane. During sustained high-intensity activity, potassium is released from the muscle cells faster than it can be channeled back in through special potassium pumps in the cell membrane. The resulting buildup of potassium outside the muscle cells causes a progressive lessening of the difference in charge strength between the intracellular and intercellular spaces, hence weaker and less efficient muscle contractions (i.e. fatigue).

It is now widely recognized by researchers in this area that muscle cell depolarization is a much more significant cause of muscle fatigue than muscular acidosis. Where does lactate fit in? In a series of studies beginning in 2001, Ole Nielsen of the University of Aarhus, Denmark, has shown that high levels of lactate partially restore muscle cell function in a depolarized state. Hence, if your muscles did not produce large amounts of lactate during high-intensity exercise, your muscles would actually fatigue a lot sooner.

The story does not end there. In the new scientific understanding of lactate, arguably the most important role of lactate during exercise is not to delay fatigue caused by muscular acidosis or muscle cell depolarization but is rather to serve as a direct and indirect fuel for muscle contractions. That’s right: the substance that was once thought to be a worse-than-useless byproduct of anaerobic glycolysis turns out to be one of the most important energy sources for high-intensity muscle activity.

Our knowledge of lactate as a muscle fuel is largely the product of the work of one man: George Brooks of the University of California-Berkeley. Brooks became interested in lactate in the 1960s, when his track coach at Queens College told him that lactic acid was the cause of the burning sensation and loss of performance he experienced when running hard. Brooks went on to earn a doctoral degree in exercise physiology and made the study of lactate his life’s work.

Brooks began to suspect that the classical lactate theory was dead wrong when, in one early experiment, he gave radioactive lactic acid to rats (so he could trace it) and found that their bodies used it faster than any other energy source. So he then set about figuring out how lactate was used. The result of this process was the discovery of the lactate shuttle (now known as the extracellular lactate shuttle). Lactate is a highly mobile compound that easily leaks through the walls of the muscle cells that produce it into the bloodstream. From there the lactate flows to other muscles (especially resting muscles and muscles working at lower intensities) and other organs—especially the heart, liver, and brain—and used as a fuel. Lactate that reaches the liver is even converted back into glucose and sent back to the hardest-working muscles to replenish declining fuel stores.

When Brooks published his first research on the lactate shuttle in the mid-1980s, he did not propose that any organ used lactate as a direct energy source. While his proposal that widespread use of lactate as an indirect energy source during exercise was radically new, Brooks did not initially challenge the notion that the human body is incapable of directly oxidizing lactate to release energy. Instead he hewed to the universally held conviction that lactate had to be converted to pyruvate before oxygen could do anything useful with it. But secretly Brooks suspected that some types of cells, including muscle cells, can break down lactate aerobically, and within the past few years he has definitively proven that this is indeed the case.

First Brooks showed that endurance training reduces the amount of lactate that enters the bloodstream without affecting the amount of lactate that the muscle cells produce—a strong piece of circumstantial evidence that lactate is somehow used within the cell. In fact, as much as 75 percent of the lactate produced by any given muscle cell never leaves it. Then, in 2006, Brooks was able to peer through a confocal microscope and all but see aerobic lactate metabolism in the mitochondria, the intracellular site of aerobic metabolism. Gathered together there he saw the transporter proteins that deliver lactate to the mitochondria, the enzymes that catalyze the first step of lactate breakdown, and the protein complex where oxygen is used to complete the process of energy release. A smoking gun if there ever was one!

It would be difficult to overstate the magnitude of this discovery. George Brooks showed that there is a direct link between aerobic and anaerobic metabolism. In fact, what was previously thought to be anaerobic metabolism is actually just incomplete aerobic metabolism. During moderate-intensity exercise, most of the carbohydrate that is broken down for energy is processed aerobically and produces no lactate. But at high intensities, a second pathway—the lactate pathway—ramps up, giving the muscle two parallel pathways to release energy aerobically at very high rates to keep up with the muscle’s energy demands. In this second pathway, glycogen or glucose is broken down to lactate without oxygen, and then lactate is broken down to carbon dioxide and water with oxygen.

Brooks is not done yet. His most recent research has looked at the role of lactate in cell signaling. It suggests that the high levels of intracellular lactate that arise during intense exercise stimulate some of the beneficial fitness adaptations that occur in response to such training. Specifically, high lactate concentrations trigger the production of free radicals that “upregulate” a variety of genes. Some of these genes govern mitochondrial biogenesis. So it appears that intracellular lactate accumulation during intense exercise stimulates the muscle cell to produce more mitochondria, thus enhancing its ability to burn lactate (and other fuels) in future workouts.

If I had to package all of the forgoing science into a single upshot, it would be this: According to the classical theory of lactate, one of the highest priorities of training was to reduce the amount of lactate the body produces at higher exercise intensities so that the athlete can race faster without fatiguing due to high lactate levels. According to the new theory of lactate, one of the highest priorities of training is to increase the body’s capacity to use lactate during high-intensity exercise so that the athlete can race faster.

So what practical difference does this shift make in terms of how we train? In truth, not much, because the advanced training methods that today’s best-informed triathletes use were developed through blind trial and error, and were not fashioned consciously to conform to now-discredited ideas about lactate.

That said, for many years lactate-conscious coaches have counseled athletes to strictly limit the amount of training they do above the lactate threshold because the large amounts of lactate produced in such workouts are very stressful to the body. The rationale for this widely heeded caution has disappeared. It certainly remains true that the physiological stressfulness of exercise increases exponentially as its intensity does, such that the amount of training the body can handle is inversely related to its intensity. But lactate is not the reason. And lactate threshold intensity is not all that high. In the typical trained triathlete it corresponds to the fastest swimming, cycling, or running speed that can be sustained for one hour. There’s plenty of room to go faster in your training without wearing yourself down.

Furthermore, as we have seen, far from stressing the body, high lactate levels trigger some of the most important performance-boosting muscle adaptations. You might not be able to handle a high volume of training above the lactate threshold (again, for reasons that have nothing to do with lactate), but the new science of lactate suggests that you should go there frequently nonetheless. Many triathletes wait until the race phase of training to introduce supra-threshold training into their bike and run regimens (swimming, as always, is another matter. Training in this discipline is entirely based on high-intensity interval work). It would be better to do a small amount of supra-threshold training throughout the training cycle, with the greatest volume of such training immediately preceding races, for those who compete in short-course events (because lactate threshold pace is close to race pace at theses distances) and falling somewhat earlier for those who compete in long-course races.

How much supra-threshold training is enough? A Spanish study involving cross-country runners found that a mix of 81-percent moderate-intensity training, 10.5-percent lactate threshold training, and 8.5 percent supra-threshold training produced optimal results. That 8.5 percentage is a sensible median target. All triathletes should do 5 percent of their bike and run training at supra-threshold intensities as a baseline. Short-course specialists can peak at roughly 12 percent and long-course triathletes at 8-10 percent.

Research has shown that the greatest lactate exposures occur in workouts consisting of 3- to 5-minute intervals at VO2max velocity separated by 2- to 3-minute active recoveries and in 30- or 60-second intervals at the same intensity separated by active recoveries of equal duration. VO2max velocity is approximately the fastest speed you can sustain for 10 minutes in swimming, cycling or running. Lactate interval workouts featuring shorter intervals are a bit more manageable and should therefore come earlier in the training process. Never try to do more than 20 total minutes of VO2max-intensity swimming, cycling or running into a single session. If you do, you will boil alive in toxic lactic acid.

Just kidding.

Soccer Juggling

Posted by admin under Soccer

Miles Austin Wearing Cutters

Posted by admin under Uncategorized

Why do you use Power Balance

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Around the World

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How to do the “Around the World” Soccer Trick
Courtesy of Vogel Soccer Mastery

The Soccer In-Step Kick

Posted by Brian under Uncategorized

Soccer instep kick can be used for shooting on goal or as a long accurate kick boom out of your defense. The instep is the part of your foot where your shoelaces are tied. It can also be used to make the ball swerve and dip.

Your non kicking foot is used as support and should also be little bent during the kicking moment. By bending your body over the ball you will keep it low on the ground. Bending your body back will add height to the ball.

The follow through should be long and smooth. Keep in mind also that you need to bend your toes so that they are pointing straight at the ground.

How to Fit a Lacrosse Helmet

Posted by Brian under Uncategorized

To start, it is important to determine the circumference of your head using a measuring tape.  This will then allow you to match up with the sizing chart on the helmet  package.  This will give you a good starting point when finding a helmet to try on. 

After finding the helmet that is roughly your size, place it on your head, with the front about one inch aboce your eyebrows.  The helmet should sit evenly on your head without shifting from one side to another.

The helmet should feel snug all over your head.  It shouldn’t be so tight as to not be comfortable, but tight enough so that it remains in place.

Move the helmet from side to side and front to back.  Your forehead skin should move with the helmet.  If the helmet slides away from the helmet then it is too big. 

Finally, fasten the helmet’s chinstrap.  Adjust it to fit firmly against the chin.  There should be no slack, but you should be able to open and close your mouth without much of an issue.

Soccer Drills

Posted by admin under Soccer

Soccer Drills – Tight Ball Control

Soccer is a game of skillful control. The more control you have over the ball, the more likely you are to win the game. However, there is the issue of how to gain said control.

First, start playing more hackey-sack. And don’t use the small beanbag, but an actual soccer ball. It may seem like a waste of time and just a way to show off, but it gives a player more confidence with his ball-handling skills. I use the word ‘handling’ as a configurative!

Second, remember that the obstacle course is your friend. By learning to manipulate the ball around obstacles, a player can gain tighter control of the ball. By using small posts, even large stones will be sufficient; an obstacle course can be created. The player then has to manipulate the ball around the obstacles without contact in order to successfully complete the course. Tight ball control is probably the single most important factor that makes a soccer player great.

To progress from solid stones or post you can try the same techniques against real players. Obviously more difficult as they can stop you in your tracks! Try this against two players as an obstacle, your mission to get from A to B with these players trying to stop you. To increase your skills, simply increase the amount of players to get past.

Another common skill required is ball trapping. Get someone to throw the ball at you from different heights and practice getting the ball under control quickly. I say quickly because you will not have too much time in an actual soccer match before opposition players are at you.

By combining the methods above, players can learn tighter ball control. You should begin to realize just how important this particular skill is if you are to progress. Now get out there and practice!

Post courtesy of Soccer Drills.com