Loadable Maces and Kettlebells

Loadable Maces and Kettlebells

Ryan Pitts from strongergrip.blogspot.com has shown us some of his loadable maces and kettlebells

They look awesome.! I especially like the look of the kettlebells with the straight flat bottoms, nice one!

Check em out at strongergrip.blogspot.com



Loadable Maces and Kettlebells

SENNA REJECTS NEWS OF TALKS WITH MANCHESTER CITY

The VILLAREAL midfielder MARCOS SENNA has respondedto news from England with surprise, rejecting that he has been, oris in contact with MANCHESTER CITY. According to "elmundo.com"the player has read the news with the high sums of money being published, but his only wish is to play with Villareal & does´nt knowwhere the source comes from with his "said" quotes.SFS believes that there is no truth

RCD ESPANYOL: THREE PLAYER OPTIONS FOR 2009

RCD ESPANYOL get a post ahead of the big Clubs today as they arein the transfer market news. The "second" Club of the city of Barcelonais currently in 18th place in the classification table & in the relegationzone. For the rest of the season they wish to strenghten their side & avoid,obviously, falling into 2º Division. With this in mind they are looking for awinger (priority) & a midfielder.(

Taikei Kettlebell Inspiration

Taikei Kettlebell Inspiration

Taikei from Swingsnatch.blogspot.com has just left a brilliant and very inspirational post on his blog.

There is a lot to be learnt from what he has to say about training which can also carry over to life in general.

Find it at swingsnatch.blogspot.com

Thanks Taikei!! Good luck for 2009






Taikei Kettlebell Inspiration

FATHER CHRISTMAS FOLLOWS ATLETICO DE MADRID

It was always on my mind, the RED & WHITE colours of the costume& now proof with this Video. SANTA CLAUS aka Father Christmas is aATLETICO DE MADRID follower, & if pushed - I have my doubts -looks increibly like their star Argentine forward SERGIO AGUERO:

LIVERPOOL WILL APPEAL IF REAL MADRID GET THEIR WAY

Local papers - "As" & "Marca" - are announcing what is common sense, that is, you don´t need to be a genious to know that LIVERPOOL FCwill appeal to UEFA &/or SAT if the European Football governingbody allows REAL MADRID to subscribe both HUNTELAAR &LASSANA DIARRA into the Champions League competition.UEFA has already pronounced itself that ONLY ONE can play, but RealMadrid & it´s incompetent

Beast Snatches With Gloves

Beast Snatches With Gloves

Max Shank from strongashell.blogspot.com has cracked beast snatches with gloves. Beast snatches with gloves were originally a challenge set for Jed Johnson at the Gripmas Carol.

Kettlebell training with gloves or anything that changes your ability to grip a kettlebell will almost definitely increase grip strength and fitness/strength simultaneously.

Well done Max some real powerful looking repping there.




Technorati Tags: beast kettlebell, kettlebell beast snatches, max shank, strongashell.blogspot, jed johnson , youtube kettlebell , utube kettlebell

Beast Snatches With Gloves

REAL MADRID IN CONTACT WITH WIGAN OVER VALENCIA

News from local daily "As" report that REAL MADRID has begancontacts with English Premier League Club WIGAN in order to studythe possiblity of transferring its Ecuatorian winger LUIS ANTONIOVALENCIA ( pictured below: courtesy of "As")Everyone involved in this "operation" has taken on the code ofsilence to avoid possible complications. This time around RealMadrid Directives have done some homework

500 Kettlebell Snatches

500 Kettlebell Snatches

Just had my 2nd comeback training session.
Decided to keep it light with the 16kg kb.

Managed to knock out 500 reps in 23 mins 50secs. Quite a way off 1200 24kg snatches in one hour but I'm still dreaming of John Brookfield's amazing feats and how awesome they realy are

I suppose this is a personal best but definitely not one to shout about, or Brutal Minimalist Fitness for that matter.

Body permitting I will have another crack tommorrow night, probably light again.

Right I'm off to watch WSM Heats.




500 Kettlebell Snatches

REAL MADRID 2008/09: THE 20M€ MISTAKE, WHO TO PICK?

Continuing from the below post, from the Spanish daily "As" we receivenotification that UEFA representaive has pronounced quite clearlythat the rules WILL NOT BE CHANGED, as expressed by Mr. WilliamGalliard. So forget about talking to Uefa or Platini to fix the error by RealMadrid.That is, REAL MADRID will have to choose between forward HUNTELAARor midfielder LASSANA DIARRA for participation in

REAL MADRID: HUNTELAAR OR LASSANA DIARRA? ANOTHER TOP LEVEL DIRECTIVE MISTAKE

Hi guys, back from a few days of gaining weight, but enjoyable &relaxing with all the family.SFS gets back & reads about another Top level "shit job" at REALMADRID. The President Calderon & Football Director Mijatovic"business clown team" SHOW continues.Real Madrid began its search around November to cover its centreforward gap & its defensive midfield hole ( Van Nistelrooy & Diarraout for the

The significance of defining sport

I have written on several occasions about how to define sport and what qualifies as sport, a common game among “sports-and-____” academics. A frequent response to these posts has been “so what, what difference does it make?” And, in truth, it is largely an academic exercise and a fun way to make fun of gymnastics, figure skating, and golf. But, courtesy of Matthew Mitten at the Marquette Faculty Blog, it may have practical import after all.

The Wisconsin courts msust figure out whether cheerleading is a sport, and a contact sport at that. A high-school cheerleader who fell and suffered severe head injuries while performing a maneuver sued her fellow cheerleader for negligence in failing to spot her properly. The defendant argued that he is immune under a state statute that eliminates liability for negligence (but not reckless or conduct taken with intent to cause injury) for injuries caused "in a recreational activity that includes physical contact between persons in a sport involving amateur teams." The appellate court assumed that cheerleading was a sport and acknowledged the athleticism involved in cheerleading. And, although the court did not mention, there are high-school cheerleading competitions (often seen at midnight on ESPN 8). But the court held that cheerleading was not a contact sport within the meaning of the statute because physical contact between opponents is not an element of the activity, thus the immunity did not apply. The case now is before the Wisconsin Supreme Court, which heard oral argument last fall.

I am troubled by the appellate court's approach (although not the result) because I think it might have unintentionally eliminated from the scope of the immunity activities that plainly are sports that should be covered by the statute but that do not typically involve physical contact between opponents. The first example is baseball--not much direct physical contact with opponents, only with objects thrown or hit by opponents. So could I sue the opposing pitcher for a negligently thrown beanball? Could I sue a teammate who did not get out of the way when I called for a flyball? Perhaps plays at the plate or on the base paths, involving potential collisions with opposing players, are common enough. that baseball would fall within the statute as interpreted. OK, what about tennis--it is virtually certain that physical contact with my opponent on the other side of the net is in no way part of the game. But would this mean that I could sue my doubles partner if I am injured when I crash into my him (which, frankly, is more likely than crashing into my opponent) because of his negligence? Would this also would mean that I could sue my opponent if I was injured when he negligently hit me with a ball (e.g., serving when I was not ready)? Or track and field--if I am a long-jumper, I expect no physical contact with my opponent. Could I sue him if he jumped before I had a chance to leave the pit and landed on top of me?

The statute was enacted in response to a 1993 Wisconsin Supreme Court decision arising from an injury suffered during a soccer game, so the legislature had true "contact sports" in mind. And the appellate court emphasized that cheerleading is not a contact sport in that way. But baseball, tennis, golf, track, etc., also cannot be classified as contact sports in the same way as soccer. Now maybe this was intentional and the legislature did want to treat contact sports differently from other sports. But if the legislative concern was about not wanting to chill participation in amateur (especially high school) sports (which might come with a standard of care lower than recklessness), liability in any of the situations described above would defeat that purpose. Assuming the legislature did not intend to treat contact and non-contact sports differently, a court might get around this, at least in my baseball and tennis hypos, by reading the statutory term "physical contact" to mean contact with objects propelled by an opponent. And maybe track would fall in because physical contact is at least a possible element of running side-by-side with an opponent. But this is getting somewhat difficult to maintain.

Alternatively, a court might focus on the statutory term "sport" and find a workable definition of that word--exactly what I and others have been doing as a parlor game. My current favorite standard defines sport by four elements:

1) Large motor skills.
2) Simple machines only.
3) Objective scoring or at least the possibility of determining a winner by something other than subjective judging.
4) Competition among contestants.

Cheerleading satisfies ## 1 and 2, but fails # 3 and possibly # 4 (we would need to know more about whether this team participated in competitions). But track, baseball, and tennis--the examples above--satisfy all four criteria. This gets at the result--the cheerleader's claim can go forward--without cutting large swaths of sports out of the statute.

Study of NBA Player Charities

Paul Caron at Tax Prof Blog reports on a study by the Salt Lake Tribune on the financial documentation filed by 89 NBA player charities. The study found that the average player foundation actually put just 51 cents of every dollar earned towards charitable programs, the rest eaten by administrative costs and inefficiencies. The post and the study are worth a read.

Comeback Kettlebell Session

Comeback Snatch Kettlebell Session

Came back today with a snatch session in the yard.

Hit 100 x 16kg Kettlebell Snatches
100 x 24kg snatches
100 x 32kg snatches

40 x 32kg split jerks with kettlebell

Feeling great despite a little blistering.

My intentions are to get back up to speed after my lay off. In a week or so I'll be back on 40kg and 48kg beast kettlebells, with an aim to hit 60kg kettlebell flip for 20 reps sooner rather than later.

I feel like I'm somewhat back in the driving seat after only one session and a little inspired.

Zach Coulter's insane 100 squats with bodyweight attempt aim has got my mind rushing
Read it here

Although it's early days yet I feel I must excel this year as time is running out, or at least it feels like it!

Stay strong

Rob


omeback Snatch Kettlebell Session

Kettlebell Exercise Resource

Kettlebell Exercise Resource

Bodybuilding.com Have a page dedicated to Kettlebell Exercises with tips and information on muscles worked including photos.

This is a great place to head to if you're lost for new kettlebell exercises or information and assistance on form.

You can find the page here

The stand out kettlebell exercise for me here is the kettlebell split snatch
which translates very well to sports performance due to it's explosive full body nature. Not to mention a favourite of Valentin Dikul.



Technorati Tags: kettlebell exercises , kettlebell resources, kettlebell split snatch, bodybuilding.com, art of strength, valentin dikul

Kettlebell Exercise Resource

CPR Christmas Kettlebells

CPR Kettlebells

Hey, Merry Christmas everyone!

Now Christmas day is over (even though Christmas isn't), it's time to start thinking about CPR!

CPR - Christmas Pudding Remover

My old PE teacher at school used to call it this and had us running around the Sportshall for dear life straight after Christmas Holidays, the nasty man!

Well I'm seriously feeling like I've over eaten quite a bit over the last few days so It's time to mangle myself with some Kettlebell Training.

After a bit of a lay off due to problems out of my control I'll be resuming normal training tomorrow with some ketlebellin.

Plan to start out light on the 60kg kettlebell and move upwards. Oopps meant the 16kg. Think I'll go for snatch ladders on the 16 kg and work up until I can't work up and just see how it goes. No mental targets just get blood moving around and clear out some crap.

Also, although I haven't putt the shot or thrown for a while me old pal Brunty (Daniel Brunt) has persuaded me to enter the Northern England Indoor shot putt so I have around 30 days to get back some throwing form. Despite not really having any last year (I ended up with a measly 15.27m in 2008 a metre down from the previous year).

Here's some inspiration for 2009







CPR Christmas Kettlebells

How Would "Safe" Steroids Impact Sports?

University of Pennsylvania bioethics professor Arthur Caplan has a provocative piece in the British Journal of Sports Medicine entitled "Does the the biomedical revolution spell the end of sport?". Here's an excerpt:

* * *

But, what if biomedical science could put the safety issue [of steroids] aside? Someday, probably soon, there will be drugs that do what steroids do without any real risk of harm to the user. Forms of gene therapy are also being developed that will let us safely tweak ourselves and our offspring to perform athletic feats that are ’’swifter, higher and stronger’’ than ever before seen. Would the world still want the interventions banned? Would doctors who offered such techniques be acting immorally?

* * *

Strangely, the greatest threat in to the future of sport is not necessarily new drugs, gene therapy or better chemistry. It may simply be that the more knowledge we gain about the hereditary and developmental factors involved, the greater the threat to our ability to value performance as a result of much other than random luck in the distribution of the hereditary materials that govern so much of who we are and what we can achieve.

Science does not destroy the possibility of effort but it may diminish our understanding of its role to the point where sport simply devolves into exhibition.

* * *

To access the rest of the article, click here (there is a fee). For a related Sports Law Blog piece, check out Greg's posting "Performance Enhancing Drug or Air Conditioning?"

whither chizik and kiffin?

For years, the National Collegiate Athletic Association and Division I athletic directors and university administrators have come under intense scrutiny and fire for their repeated failure to hire African American and other minority head coaches for their collegiate football programs. The Sports Law Blog has addressed the issue of minority head coach hiring on many occasions, including recently. Despite the rhetoric, scrutiny, criticism and venom, the NCAA, athletic directors and university administrators continue to ignore the call for equal opportunity. Athletic directors and university presidents continue to thumb their collective noses at critics in particular, but also, at the very athletes that power college football.

At this time, African American athletes comprise more than half of the scholarship players at the Division I college football level. In the professional football ranks, more than 70% of the athletes are African American. As things stand today at the collegiate level then, the 50% black athletes who play college football can expect a 5% chance that their head coach will be African American (six head coaches of the 119 head coach positions). In the National Football League, the 70% black athletes on NFL rosters can expect a 22% chance that their head coach will be African American (seven head coaches of the 32 head coach positions, including interim Mike Singletary).

This particular month (December 2008), the glaring issue of the failure of collegiate programs to hire African American head coaches has come under particular scrutiny. Auburn University drew a cacophony of protest when it hired Gene Chizik to replace Tommy Tuberville, despite Chizik’s extremely poor win/loss record at Iowa State and the “passing over” of Turner Gill who has resurrected a football program at the University of Buffalo (and is African American). Still, Auburn is not alone. High profile head football coach positions at Tennessee, Kansas State, Washington, Iowa State, Syracuse and Mississippi State have been filled by white head coaches, many of them unproven neophytes (Washington, Kansas State and Mississippi State replaced terminated African American head coaches). One writer termed these hiring decisions as a "laugh riot."

Floyd Keith, President of the Black Coaches Association, in exasperation, has begun exploring avenues to sue university administrations under Title VII for intentional race discrimination in hiring. Despite his work in developing the hiring “report card” and in motivating the NCAA to adopt a non-binding “Best Practices” memorandum that, similar to the NFL’s Rooney Rule, asks university administrations to interview at least one minority candidate for each collegiate head football coach opening, Keith remains discouraged at the refusal of NCAA member institutions to diversify the head football coaching profession.

To this reverberating call for change, inclusion, social justice and equal hiring, I would add the following points that have perhaps gone unrecognized during the course of this debate.

First, per William Rhoden’s piece in the New York Times, when asked to name the top five coaches that NFL athletes would most like to play for, four of the top five identified by the players are African American head coaches (i.e., Tony Dungy (1st place); Lovie Smith (2nd place); Herm Edwards (4th place); and Mike Tomlin (5th place)). This suggests several things: (a) when given the opportunity, black head coaches generally excel; (b) 70% of the athletes in the NFL are African American and those athletes clearly prefer playing for an African American head coach (see Rhoden); (c) African American head coaches relate in genuine ways to the modern athlete and take the mentoring role very seriously (see Tony Dungy, Lovie Smith, Turner Gill); (d) of the 32 NFL head coaches, only six at the time of the survey were African American and FOUR were listed in the top five as far as coaches athletes would prefer to play for; and (e) the "black football-playing majority must answer to a predominantly white power structure, which includes team executives and owners." (see Rhoden)

One dispiriting logical conclusion then, for those NCAA university administrators and athletic directors that refuse to hire minority head coaches, is that they are essentially telling their African American student athletes, that the athletes preference to be coached or mentored by an African American head coach is completely unimportant to the goal or mission of the institution. Athletic directors and university administrations, as per the usual, seem so beholden to the booster or the alum (the good old boy network), that what may be in the best interest of the athlete (and the program in the long term), is insignificant or even trivial. Again, Rhoden’s story indicates that African American athletes want to play for an African American head coach. Presumably, a coach that “gets” them, understands their challenges and wants to help them learn to develop both as an athlete and as a man. (see Tony Dungy). Only 5% of NCAA D.1 football programs have hired an African American head coach to mentor their more than 50% African American athletes.

Second, African American head coaches, when they are finally given the opportunity to be a head coach, are usually tasked with resurrecting or turning around failed or moribund organizations (see Tony Dungy—Tampa Bay Buccaneers; Lovie Smith—Chicago Bears; Romeo Crennel—Cleveland Browns; Marvin Lewis—Cincinnati Bengals; Turner Gill—University of Buffalo; Mike Locksley—University of New Mexico, etc.). This is typically not true for many white coaching hires (see Norv Turner—San Diego Chargers; Wade Phillips—Dallas Cowboys; Lane Kiffin—University of Tennessee; Gene Chizik—Auburn University; Urban Meyer—University of Florida etc.). For the white neophyte head coach, a solid underlying program or foundation is often in place allowing quick successes. For the African American head coach, a miraculous turnaround is often the order of the day (only Mike Tomlin’s hire by the Pittsburgh Steelers and Tony Dungy’s hire by the Indianapolis Colts can fairly be characterized as a hire into a solid situation).

Third, the latest trend in hiring head football coaches, the "coach-in-waiting" model, starkly and baldly circumvents both the Rooney Rule in the NFL and the Best Practices Memorandum in the NCAA. Essentially, stable programs like Florida State University, the University of Texas and the Seattle Seahawks, designate an assistant coach on staff, typically white (but not always, see Joker Phillips at Kentucky), that will become the next head coach when the current coach retires. Bobby Bowden will be replaced by Jimbo Fisher at Florida State. Mack Brown will be replaced by Will Muschamp at Texas. Mike Holmgren will watch Jim Mora, Jr., take over when he steps down this offseason. When affirmatively trying to level a playing field, selecting a "coach-in-waiting" simply rejects an equal opportunity hiring process and mocks the spirit of the Rooney Rule and the Best Practices Memorandum.

Fourth, the African American head coach must typically prove his mettle for decades as an assistant and interview for dozens of jobs before being given an opportunity to become a head coach. Tony Dungy was passed over for years before landing the Tampa Bay Buccaneer job. Marvin Lewis interviewed repeatedly for head coach opportunities. Apparently Turner Gill, who interviewed at Syracuse and Auburn this hiring cycle must continue to pay his dues before he will land the coveted BCS program head coach position. For Lane Kiffin, Steve Sarkisian and Gene Chizik, the dues that must be paid appear to be much different and their dues do not cost nearly as much. No matter how an athletic director or university administration justifies that differing cost, it is purely and simply unequal.

A call has been made for a Civil Rights Movement in hiring head football coaches. Apparently, without one, the NCAA and its member institutions will not do the right thing, which is to diversify its coaching ranks.*


* Thanks to Rob Dixon, 3L, West Virginia University College of Law for providing research and insight. Thanks also to Sheila Hassani, 3L, West Virginia University College of Law for research and source material.

Kettlebell Beast Grip

Kettlebell Beast Grip

Jedd Johnson from Diesel Crew has come up with a grand challenge of the grip using kettlebells.

Here Jed snatches the Beast kettlebell (48kg/106lb) with a glove on.

Gloves are a brilliant way to challenge your grip whilst swinging and snatching kettlebells, as are adding other things to make the handle fatter, my favourite being a strip of carpet wrapped around the handle.

Jed was challenged by Zach Coulter at the Gripmas Carol grip contest

If you're gonna try this do it away from people and outside.

Will try this over Christmas as it looks like quite a challenge.




Check out my Bottoms Up Kettlebell Beast Press

Also:Diesel Style Kettlebell Curls with Bands



Technorati Tags: beast kettlebell, kettlebell grip , kettlebell grip training, Jedd Johnson , diesel crew , 48kg kettlebell,

Kettlebell Beast Grip

Sports Law Blog selected as one of the ABA Journal's Blawg 100

This year we have been selected by the editors of the ABA Journal as one of the top 100 best websites by lawyers, for lawyers. Now lawyers are being asked to vote on their favorites in each of the Blawg 100’s 10 categories. Sports Law Blog is in the "Niche" category. You can vote for our blog here by simply clicking on the "Vote!" box next to our listing. Voting ends January 2.

"New legal blogs are springing up on a daily basis – we now have more than 2,000 in our online directory. Competition for the time and attention of lawyers is getting fiercer," says Edward A. Adams, the Journal’s editor and publisher. "Half the blogs on last year’s inaugural Blawg 100 list didn’t make the cut this year. That’s a testament to the quality of this year’s honorees, and evidence of the increasing amount of valuable information all legal blogs are publishing."

REAL MADRID KNOWS THE PRICE OF KRASIC

MILOS KRASIC, the Serbian Football Internatonal of CSKA MOSCOW,has communicated to his Club that he wishes to leave. CSKA has placedthe price of his departure, 20M€, for any Club that is interested in hisservicesREAL MADRID has been in talks with the player, according to "Marca",over the last month & rumours are that positions are close. The otheroption Real is looking at is ASTON VILLA´s YOUNG,

School Colors Reaffirmed as a Valid Trademark

Although many think of logos and designs are central to trademarks, the use of color schemes also are protectable under trademark law -- even if the color schemes are not registered with the Patent and Trademark Office. This was the ruling of the 7th Circuit in LSU v. Smack Apparel, 07-30580, which affirmed a summary judgment ruling of the trial court with respect to infringement.

The Universities -- Louisiana State, University of Oklahoma, Ohio State and the University of Southern California -- alleged that the defendants violated the Lanham Act and infringed their trademarks by selling t-shirts with the schools’ color schemes and other identifying indicia referencing the games of the schools’ football teams. After the district court granted summary judgment to the Universities, a jury trial as to damages was conducted, with the jury returning
a verdict favoring the plaintiffs for actual damages of over $10,500 and lost profits of $35,686. The district court also enjoined Smack from manufacturing, distributing, selling, or offering for sale any of the six t-shirt designs found to be infringing or any other similar designs.

The appeals court, not surprisingly, concluded that the colors, content, and context of
the offending t-shirts are likely to cause confusion because of their similarity to the use of the colors of the school -- which were used, in some cases for decades, dating back to the late 19th century. Because of this use and familiarity by fans, the marks acquired "secondary meaning" entitling them to protection under the Lanham Act. As the court noted: "[The] use of the color scheme marks and their prominent display on merchandise, in addition to the well-known nature of the colors as shorthand for the schools themselves and Smack’s intentional use of the colors and other references," prove that secondary meaning occurred. The opinion added "we think this conclusion is consistent with the importance generally placed on sports team logos and colors by the public." With that in mind, the court had an easy time showing the likelihood of confusion element for trademark infringement because of the similarity to the schools' color and the marketing of the merchandise to the same retailers which sold trademark goods of the respective schools.

An interesting argument made by Smack was that the color scheme was "functional" and therefore not protectable. It claimed that the Universities’ colors on the t-shirts are functional because "the shirts allow groups of people to bond and show support for a philosophy or goal; facilitate the expression of loyalty to the school and a determination of the loyalties of others; and identify the wearer as a fan and indicate the team the fan is supporting." The panel rejected this kind of aesthetic use as a form of functionality.

This basis for this ruling could be applied to professional sports teams if a color scheme can be shown to be identified with a team (e.g. green, white and yellow for the Packers). What surprised me, however, was that the schools did not register their colors. They are fortunate that under U.S. trademark law (as opposed to most of the rest of the world) registration is not a pre-requisite for protection. Common law use merits protection. I still wonder why the schools did not make register the colors. They be consider doing so in the near future.

The Best Kettlebell Program

Kettlebell Programs

Is there a best 'kettlebell program'?

There certainly is and it's the one you aren't doing.

So which is the best kettlebell program?

It's the one you should be doing!

Erhhhhhhhhhhh??

If you aren't getting what you want from kettlebell training then you need to decide where you are going and start doing what you need to do! This is the secret and a Top Tip

If you want to lose weight, gain strength, get fit with kettlebell training then decide upon a program and stop looking for magic kettlebell programs, educate yourself and put some serious hard work in all areas that require hard work.

My personal philosophy is to keep things simple and work towards what I want not doing useless exercises. The main ones are swings, snatches, squats and jerks.

Everything else is secondary (IMHO)



Check out 'Bull Simple Kettlebell Program for Beefy Muscularity' by Joe Pavel for a nice idea about kettlebell programs and training

Kool Kettlebells Joe's Blog

Technorati Tags: kettlebell program, kettlebell secrets, best kettlebell program, joe pavel

The Best Kettlebell Program

THE 2008/09 FC BARCELONA TEAM BREAK RECORDS

According to the experts the below team line-up of FC BARCELONAis experiencing the Best start to any season in its History. The 2008/09season team is leading the Spanish League table with 41ºpoints, 10 aheadof second placed Sevilla, & in only 16 Rounds.The season is long, will we see if they can keep up this increible pace.

Sporting Injuries - To Yourself and Your Career

This post was contributed by Kelly Kilpatrick, who writes on the subject of top sport management colleges. She invites your feedback at kellykilpatrick24 at gmail dot com

There’s nothing that brings on the adrenaline rush like sports does – whether you’re playing or watching, no matter if you’re a sportsman or a fan, you feel a thrill that courses through your blood each time you win, and a devastating numbness that refuses to leave after a loss. Sports can drive men and women crazy – that would explain the fights that take place on and off the field, the head butts and shoves that lead to red cards and fouls, and the fisticuffs and brawls between drunken fans in crowded stadiums.

If there’s one thing worse than losing a match, it’s an injury sustained on the field. At the moment it happens, more than the immediate pain, it’s the fear of never being able to play again that’s in the mind of every sportsperson worth their salt. Some injuries are temporary – they disappear with adequate rest, medication, and physiotherapy. But there are others that, even if treated, ensure that you never play again. And even if you do, you’re never really at the top of your game like you were before.

Anyone passionate about sports is in the same boat, even if they’re not professional players. Doctors and sports clinics will tell you for a fact that the first question you hear after an injury is – When will I be able to play again? No one ever asks the dreaded question – Will I ever be able to play again? It’s always a question of when, as if the possibility of never being able to play just doesn’t exist at all.

Not many athletes and sportspersons are able to bounce back to the same level of performance after an injury, especially one that’s pretty serious. But there are players who are too valuable to be sidelined just because they’re injured. And so the controversies rise when they’re allowed to play on in spite of being injured. Of course, temporary medical relief and painkillers are administered, but then, both the management and the players know that they’re risking serious damage in the long term for a gain in the short term.

But it’s a difficult choice for players to make – they know that injuries can effectively cut short promising careers. And so they’re willing to take the risk, they’re willing to pump themselves full of drugs and play one more match, especially if it’s a world series or any other major event. And when you ask them if they don’t fear a lifelong disability because of this risk, the answer comes as a surprise only if you’re not an ardent sports fan – it’s worse sitting out now than facing a chronic disability at some time in the future. Yes, sports is all about passion, even when it’s at the cost of common sense.

This post was contributed by Kelly Kilpatrick, who writes on the subject of top sport management colleges. She invites your feedback at kellykilpatrick24 at gmail dot com

SPANISH FOOTBALL - LA LIGA 2008/09 - ROUND 16 SUNDAY GAMES RESULTS

The last Round - 16 - before the Xmas break has given plenty of goalswith some great games that delighted fans this afternoon/evening. Hereis a brief resume with the results & the scorers.Great game between two excellent sides, but FC BARCELONA heldout a determined VILLAREAL, with 10 men towards the end of thematch after Barça lost a defender to win 1-2 & maintain a 10 point leadover 2º placed

REAL MADRID ANNOUNCE DIARRA SIGNING

It´s official, REAL MADRID has announced the incorporation of23 year old French International LASSANA DIARRA, after shutting adeal with English Premier League Club PORTSMOUTH & player.The player is expected to fly to Madrid for the obligatory medical checks & sign his contract with will be until 2013. The Spanish Club could present their new player as early as tomorrow afternoon/evening.

SPAIN 12 - MALTA 1: 25th ANNIVERSARY OF A HISTORIC VICTORY

Today is the 25th Anniversary of the historic Spanish Team 12 - 1victory over MALTA which qualified the side for the EURO 1984competition.Here´s the brief. Spain needed to win Malta by 11 goals in order toovertake Holland in its Group & thus qualify for the Euro 84tournament. An awesome objective that everyone thought was virtuallyimpossible. However it happened & it went down in Spanish

SPANISH FOTBALL - LA LIGA 2008/09 - ROUND 16 SATURDAY GAMES RESULT

Two games scheduled tonight in Round 16 of the Spanish League, the last Round before the Xmas break & important to win in the psychological area, so as to start well in the last half run for the titlein 2009Big clash between REAL MADRID & VALENCIA CF where ARJENROBBEN ( above) played a crucial role in his teams vitally important1-0 victory. He drove "crazy" the Valencia defence & gave

MONEY THE OBSTACULE FOR DIARRA TO GO TO REAL MADRID

Who said Football was a Sport. It is of course in its elemental feature, butit´s the money that moves around, & with the round ball´s only objectiveto generate more income.PORTSMOUTH French International midfielder is learning first handhow the financial variables are halting his dream to join & play at REALMADRID.It was a done deal last Tuesday when his Club gave the OK for RealMadrid to shut

Kettlebell Training Goals 2009

Kettlebell Training Goals 2009

So what are your kettlebell training goals for 2009?

Personally just getting back training after a bit of a layoff would be my first goal (due to injury, sickness and a very busy life right now).

So this is my first aim which will be accomplished immediately come Christmas. Then I will start training for my 2009 athletic season with kettlebells and powerlifting with aims to do a strongman comp and a kettlebell competition in 2009.

As far as kettlebells go I have been inspired by John Brookfield and find some of his best 'totally out of this world' feats of kettlebell madness

* 1200 kettlebell snatches in one hour with a 24kg kettlebell
* 302 kettlebell snatches with a 24kg kettlebell in the ten minute snatch test
* 198 kettlebell snatches with a 32kg kettlebell in ten minutes

So why not have a go at some of these nasty records'
He is extraordinary!

Also check out some of these tables and leader boards, if you're aiming for endurance then have a go at getting yourself on the board.

FITNESSYOUCANUSE.COM

In terms of kettlebell training for strength I will be aiming to do 10 presses on both arms with the 60kg kettlebell followed with 20 60kg flips

Nothing astounding but a nice little goal for myself.

Technorati Tags: kettlebell training, kettlebell 2009, john brookfield
Kettlebell Training Goals 2009

CHAMPIONS LEAGUE LAST 16 DRAW 2008/09: REAL MADRID vs LIVERPOOL

The CHAMPIONS LEAGUE last 16 team draw has been celebratedmatching up some dream clashes, like the REAL MADRID vs LIVERPOOLFC game that promises to be a real beauty.Real Madrid has the chance the "revenge" the European Cup Final1-0 loss to Liverpool 27 years ago in Paris, when Kennedy scored the winner. See video:Other great clashes for Spanish teams are the O.LYON vs FC BARCELONA,ATLETICO DE

Minority Football Coaches and Civil Rights (Updated and Moved to Top)

Update, Thursday, 1:00 p.m.:

Alert reader Michael Nichols has written in detail on this subject in a forthcoming piece in the Virginia Sports & Entertainment Law Journal.


The new-old controversy in college football is the lack of Black head coaches in Division I-A college football. With recent firings and resignations, there are four Black coaches (out of 119 schools) in a sport in which approximately 46 % of players are Black. Exacerbating this problem is the recent trend of current head coaches at major programs designating a current (usually white) top assistant as the new future head coach whenever the current coach retires, a process that pretermits any future coaching search in which outside, Black candidates might be considered for the job. Essentially, the practice locks-in the current state of coaching at many major schools.

Richard Lapchick, one of the leading scholars on collegiate sport, race, and society, criticizes this state of affairs. He argues that the NCAA should adopt a version of the NFL's "Rooney Rule," which requires that teams interview at least one minority candidate for a head coaching job. Lapchick calls his proposal the "Robinson Rule," after the late Eddie Robinson, the all-time-winningest D-I coach at historically back Grambling State (a D-I-AA school) who never even got an interview for a D-I-A head job.

So here are my questions for con law and employment-law types out there: Would such a rule be constitutional under the Fourteenth Amendment? The NCAA is not a state actor, but individual state schools would be in following and carrying out such a rule. So, given the current state of Equal Protection law, would it be unconstitutional for a governmental actor to automatically interview and give serious consideration to a minority for every position? Or, as to private schools, does it violate Title VII? Finally and conversely, would the NCAA's failure to adopt such a rule (or a similar rule designed to ameliorate the dearth of opportunities for minority coaches) violate Title VII (Lapchick reports that the Black Coaches Association is considering using Title VII to challenge current hiring practices)?

NFLPA Concerned about Bonuses and U.S. Tax Code Section 409A

Aaron Zelinksy of Yale Law School and The Huffington Post passes along a link to a story on Janell Grenier's Benefits Blog, which excerpts a story from Andrew Brandt on The National Football Post:

* * *

Even though 409A has been around now for three years, employers continue to be surprised at the implications, as evidenced by this story:

NFL agents were sent an urgent memo this week from the NFLPA, requiring immediate attention to Federal Tax Code 409A. This provision, originally aimed at bloated executive compensation packages, potentially calls for a full tax burden on signing bonuses and future guaranteed money in the year the package is negotiated, even if the money is deferred over several years. This would have dramatic ramifications.

Virtually every signing bonus of any significance in an NFL contract is paid out over a period of at least a couple of years. For instance, if an NFL player signed a contract in March 2008 with an $8M bonus, payment terms of that bonus might have looked something like this:

$2M upon execution of the contract;
$2M in October 2008;
$1M in both March and October 2009;
$1M in both March and October 2010.

Some teams have more deferrals than others, but the amount of deferral is usually not a sticking point in negotiations with agents, as the money is guaranteed. . .

The NFLPA was clear about the importance of this provision in its memo to all agents: “This memorandum identifies an extremely important tax issue that may affect your player-clients and requires your immediate attention. The NFL has just informed the NFLPA that NFL clubs did not draft or amend many NFL player contracts in order to bring them into compliance with Section 409A of the Internal Revenue Code. As a result, many player contracts that include certain deferred compensation arrangements may not comply with the new tax provisions, thereby resulting in accelerated taxable income and/or an additional 20% tax, imposed on the player-client, unless the contracts are amended on or before December 31, 2008.”

* * *

For other Sports Law Blog posts on tax law, click here. For a post on the potential sports-related implications of President-elect Obama's tax plan (which calls for an increase in the top marginal tax rate from 35 percent to 39.6 percent), click here.

UEFA CUP GROUP QUALIFIERS 2008: VALENCIA DRAWS & DEPORTIVO WINS

Two Spanish teams were on the European stage tonight with their UEFACup Groups games & they both finished well.French team SAINT ETIENNE finished 2-2 against VALENCIA CF in a see-saw game in their Group G clash. Valencia CF has grabbed the 2º place in the group after MORIENTES & ZIGIC scored both goals for their team. The scorer for the French side was ILAN ( 2 goals)DEPORTIVO A CORUÑA won 1-0

REAL MADRID 2008: DIARRA DONE DEAL & CRISTIANO RONALDO 2009

LASSANA DIARRA has the OK from his English Club PORTSMOUTHto finish the transfer deal with REAL MADRID, after his Club shut a20M€ transfer agreement. The official announcement & OK from the 23year old French International is soon to be announced.The below image of CRISTIANO RONALDO will be for the 2008/2009season. The local daily "El Mundo" announced the pact between ManchesterUtd & the Portugues

Tort Liability for Fans Hit by Soccer Balls

Interesting piece by Attorney Mack Sperling on North Carolina Business Business Litigation Report on a new decision by the North Carolina Court of Appeals:

All lawyers know, from first year torts class, that if you are hit by a baseball at a baseball game, you are unlikely to have any claim against the operator of the baseball stadium. There's a well developed body of law to that effect.

Today in Allred v. Capital Area Soccer League, Inc., the North Carolina Court of Appeals held that the rules of the game may be different when it's a soccer game being played. The Allred case is apparently one of only three cases in the country that deals with injuries suffered by spectators from soccer balls kicked into the stands.

The Plaintiff in Allred was attending a women's professional soccer game at State Capital Soccer Park in Cary, North Carolina. She was sitting in the stands behind one of the goals, and was hit in the head by a ball during warmups, when "many balls were directed towards the nets in a relatively short period of time." Op. at 4.. She suffered "substantial head injuries." Op. at 2.

For the rest of the piece, click here.

Non-Tendered Players Become Free Agents

On Friday December 12, all teams had a deadline to decide whether or not to tender a contract offer to a select number of their players. If the player was non-tendered by the deadline, that player was granted free agency. The vast majority of the players impacted by the deadline are eligible for salary arbitration. Teams can still negotiate with a player that was non-tendered an offer, but the player obviously has the right to negotiate with other teams as well. Typically, the issue is one involving the likely amount that the arbitration panel might award if the two sides cannot reach an agreement.

According to my research the following American League players were non-tendered by the deadline and became free agents:

John Bale (Kansas City Royals), Chris Britton (New York Yankees), Jaime Burke (Seattle Mariners), Daniel Cabrera (Baltimore Orioles), Kevin Cash (Boston Red Sox), Justin Christian (New York Yankees), Lance Cormier (Baltimore Orioles), Jairo Cuevas (Kansas City Royals), Joey Gathright (Kansas City Royals), Jonny Gomes (Tampa Bay Rays), Aquilino Lopez (Detroit Tigers), Doug Mathis (Texas Rangers), Jason Smith (Kansas City Royals).

According to my research the following National League players were non-tendered by the deadline and became free agents:

Reggie Abercrombie (Houston Astros), Mario Alvarez (Los Angeles Dodgers), Denny Bautista (Pittsburgh Pirates), Matt Belisle (Cincinnati Reds), Angel Berroa (Los Angeles Dodgers), Yhency Brazoban (Los Angeles Dodgers), Chris Burke (Arizona Diamondbacks), Chris Capuano (Milwaukee Brewers - who was signed to a minor league deal by the Brewers), Randy Flores (St. Louis Cardinals), Charlie Haeger (San Diego Padres), Robby Hammock (Arizona Diamondbacks), Clay Hensley (San Diego Padres), Norris Hopper (Cincinnati Reds - who was quickly signed by the Reds to a one-year deal), Chuck James (Atlanta Braves), Tyler Johnson (St. Louis Cardinals), Wil Ledezma (Arizona Diamondbacks), Gary Majewski (Cincinnati Reds), Scott Mathieson (Philadelphia Phillies - who was signed to a minor league deal by the Phillies), Aaron Miles (St. Louis Cardinals), Joe Nelson (Florida Marlins), Scott Proctor (Los Angeles Dodgers), Tim Redding (Washington Nationals), Takashi Saito (Los Angeles Dodgers), Jeff Salazar (Arizona Diamondbacks), Willy Taveras (Colorado Rockies), Ty Wigginton (Houston Astros).

Double Kettlebell Military Press

Double Kettlebell Military Press

Koba has come up with an ingenious idea for adding weight to the kettlebell.

So simple it was staring me in the face.

Using ankle weights on the handle is a fantastic idea, welldone Koba

Although this will not add lots of weight I'm sure if you purchased the right ankle weights you could probably add 2-5 kilograms to each kettlebell.


In the past I have toyed with the idea of drilling holes through KB's etc to add bars to load weights on but never really wanted to risk destroying my babies. But this is grand.




Take a look at my original kettlebell that started me off

Technorati Tags: double kettlebell military press, kobakettlebell, kettlebell japan, yuotube

Double Kettlebell Military Press

Interesting tidbit

Hall-of-Fame running back Franco Harris was an elector from Pennsylvania for Barack Obama.

ATLETICO DE MADRID LOOK AT BELGIUM FOR NEW BLOOD

Local paper "Marca" runs a piece on the ATLETICO DE MADRIDscouts who are looking at the Belgium Football market for future talents.They go on to say that two names are on their minds & both arefrom STANDARD LEIGE. The first is 19 year old AXEL WITSEL(below) a defensive midfielder with goal.The second is 20 year old STEVEN DEFOUR (below) who is acreative midfielder, however "less" talented than

REAL MADRID 2008: DIARRA ALMOST TIED UP

The news out of "As", reinforced by "Marca", is that REAL MADRID are on the verge of shutting the transfer & signing of young FrenchInternational defensive midfielder & PORTSMOUTH player LASSANADIARRA.The deal oscilates between 20M€ ( "As") & 10M€ ("Marca") . SFSsuspects it´s closer to the former coinciding with French media. Onceagain, as with Huntelaar the last Dutch signing, the player is

Kettlebell Exercises

Kettlebell Exercises

If you're new to kettlebell training and are stuck for which exercises to use in your workouts check out Kettlebell Exercises from Mike Mahler.

Here Mike Mahler gives a comprehensive run through all the major kettlebell exercises with detailed photo's and extra information.

Some of the exercises included are:

One armed swing
One armed snatch
One armed clean
SOTS press
Bent press
Renegade Row



kettlebell training video of 56kg Kettlebell Snatch

In my previous post regarding kettlebell exercises we looked at the top 10 kettlebell exercises


Technorati Tags: Double kettlebell exercises, kettlebell training video, Mike Mahler, 56kg kettlebell snatch

Kettlebell Exercises

REAL MADRID: YOUNG, MANCINI, DIARRA...MORE SPECULATION

The list of players that REAL MADRID are interested in as possiblesignings keeps getting longer. In toadys local daily "Marca", the names of INTER MILAN Brazilian MANCINI & ASTON VILLAwinger ASHLEY YOUNG have been highlighted.The Englishman Ashley Cole is considered the "new Beckham" &new Coach Juande Ramos likes the player. The only handicap isthat Aston Villa asks for 30M€ which maybe a bit

Rope Workout RKC Hungary

Rope Workout RKC Hungary

Got this Utube vid from RKC Hungary.

Is it me or are loads of people using ropes to get a great workout?

The other time I saw this was on Mike Mahlers Collision Course DVD preview

Using long ropes and rippling them must be so much fun, it's a great idea if you have plenty of space to do it in, especially with the heavy thick rope.

I would love to get roped into some 'Insane Rope training', RKC Hungary call it 'Rope Ballistic'

Is it really worth doing?............. it certainly looks tough enough to me.

The only time I've used ropes personally is when I tie them to my kettlebells and swing them around my head in a kind of Hammer wind up, which is great for hitting the core and grip strength if you go thick enough and also for hanging off my pull up bar. Alternatively I have used old sheets wound up to provide extra thickness for the grip.






Technorati Tags: RKC Hungary, Kettlebells Hungary, Rope Training, kettlebell training, grip strength

Rope Workout RKC Hungary

Minority Football Coaches and Civil Rights

The new-old controversy in college football is the lack of Black head coaches in Division I-A college football. With recent firings and resignations, there are four Black coaches (out of 119 schools) in a sport in which approximately 46 % of players are Black. Exacerbating this problem is the recent trend of current head coaches at major programs designating a current (usually white) top assistant as the new future head coach whenever the current coach retires, a process that pretermits any future coaching search in which outside, Black candidates might be considered for the job. Essentially, the practice locks-in the current state of coaching at many major schools.

Richard Lapchick, one of the leading scholars on collegiate sport, race, and society, criticizes this state of affairs. He argues that the NCAA should adopt a version of the NFL's "Rooney Rule," which requires that teams interview at least one minority candidate for a head coaching job. Lapchick calls his proposal the "Robinson Rule," after the late Eddie Robinson, the all-time-winningest D-I coach at historically back Grambling State (a D-I-AA school) who never even got an interview for a D-I-A head job.

So here are my questions for con law and employment-law types out there: Would such a rule be constitutional under the Fourteenth Amendment? The NCAA is not a state actor, but individual state schools would be in following and carrying out such a rule. So, given the current state of Equal Protection law, would it be unconstitutional for a governmental actor to automatically interview and give serious consideration to a minority for every position? Or, as to private schools, does it violate Title VII? Finally and conversely, would the NCAA's failure to adopt such a rule (or a similar rule designed to ameliorate the dearth of opportunities for minority coaches) violate Title VII (Lapchick reports that the Black Coaches Association is considering using Title VII to challenge current hiring practices)?

SPANISH FOOTBALL - LA LIGA 2008/09 - ROUND 15 SUNDAY GAMES

You thought "La Liga" was only the FC Barcelona vs Real Madrid clash,wrong, the rest of Round 15 games were played today with great goals &interesting resultsGiant step for SEVILLA who defeated VILLAREAL 1-0 tonight in a great & intense game that keeps Sevilla climbing positions. The onlygoal came thanks to RENATO ( above) in the 45th min.RACING got ahead first by a GARAY free kick, but ALMERIA

PAVLYCHENKO SOUNDS AS POSSIBLE NEXT SIGNNING FOR REAL MADRID

The news from England is that Russian International & TOTTENHAMforward PAVLYCHENKO is on the REAL MADRID agenda as a possiblesignning this January. The news has been picked up here locally & has"excited" the Football scene. Apparently it has been new Real CoachJuande Ramos who has asked for the Russian.The forward arrived at Tottenham for 15M€ but has´nt adapted to the team or the language which

SPANISH FOOTBALL - LA LIGA 2008/09 - ROUND 15 SATURDAY GAMES RESULTS

Firstly, please excuse SFS as its having a big dispute with its internetserver & its not giving its readers the posts that they should be getting.SFS will attempt to do its best during this period which may last a whileTwo games played on Saturday, one which eclipsed all, the FCBARCELONA vs REAL MADRID classic which finished in a 2-0victory for Barça. This puts them 12 points ahead of its "

HISTORIC MODERN VIDEOS OF THE FC BARCELONA vs REAL MADRID DERBY

Historic games between FC BARCELONA & REAL MADRID, both cases5-0 for each side. Tonight at 22.00 another chance to send the "enemy"home with their tail between their legs.Will it be a repeat of this?FC Barcelona 5 – Real Madrid 0Can Real manage against all odds do this again?Real Madrid 5 – FC Barcelona 0More likely the first option, however anything is possible in this match. Good luck to both &

Farewell to the Father of Law-and-Baseball

The New York Times reported today on the death of William S. Stevens, who arguably started the law-and-baseball movement with his 1975 unsigned student comment Aside: The Common Law Origins of the Infield Fly Rule. (H/T: Paul Horwitz at PrawfsBlawg). This was one of the first articles to draw links, humorously or seriously, between baseball and its rule-bound traditions and the law and has sparked all manner of scholarship building on those links.

Celebrity Kettlebells

Celebrity Kettlebells

For some reason kettlebells are getting some serious hammer (good press) from the newspapers with celebrities getting into using them to keep in shape and lose fat. I discovered them about 5 years ago and have been a great fan ever since, however I'm not a celebrity (not yet anyway :)

But, the real reason behind this is that kettlebells really are an awesome means to getting fit and strong and are easy to store and mean you don't need a gym membership.

The recipe for kettlebell success regardless of whether or not you are a celeb is simple:

Kettlebell+Motivation+Enthusiasm = More strength and More fitness

Check out Lance Armstrong, Kim Cattrall, and Katherine Heigl are all doing it: Kettlebell
training

From the examiner.com

Yesterday I wrote about Weight Training for Cyclists and how all cyclist should be training with kettlebells (or weights) to aid their cycling training.



Technorati Tags: celebrity kettlebells, Kim Cattrall, Katherine Heigl, Kettlebells Lance Armstrong, weight training for cyclists

Celebrity Kettlebells

"EL CLASICO": FC BARCELONA vs REAL MADRID 2008

"El Clasico", the big one, the "derby" between FC BARCELONA &REAL MADRID: Saturday at 22.00. Real Madrid visit Barça 9 pointsbehind & in turmoil, will they be able to get out alive?Thanks to daily "Sport", here are the possible line ups of both sides:SFS prediction: a draw, as history tells us. However, Barça is BURNINGfavourite

REAL MADRID LOOKS TO ENGLAND: JOHNSON & DIARRA

Local Sport daily “As” publish that ADAM JOHNSON could be the nextREAL MADRID signing. The 20 year old MIDDLESBROUGH wingerhas been specifically asked by new Coach Juande Ramos.The price may be around the 15M€, but that pure SFS speculation at thismoment. No doubt that the English Club would wish to maximize theopportunity & receive the highest offer possible for its young player.Stay at England

WORLD SOCCER READERS ELECT SPAIN AS THE BEST TEAM 2008

The readers of the magazine WORLD SOCCER have elected thethe current EUROPEAN NATIONS CHAMPIONS SPAIN as the BestFootball Team for 2008, it took 41,1 % of the votes, ahead of ManchesterUnited (29,2%) & Zenit of San Petersburgo (9,1%).In the players section Cristiano Ronaldo won with (48,4%) followedway behind by Messi (15,1%) , Fernando Torres (15,1%),Casillas (13,6), Xavi (5,1%) & Villa (2,1%).

Resistance Training For Cyclists

Resistance Training For Cyclists

On the back of my Lance Armstrong Kettlebell post, I thought it apt to discuss a little bit about resistance training for cyclists and why it's worth doing.

Also, Oliver Pearce a semi-pro cyclists who I happen to work with has also started pumping iron this winter to aid his cycling preperation.

4 Reasons Cyclists should do resistance training

1. A strong upper body gives rigidity right through out the body and helps Irradiation, transfering more power through the whole of the body. Also, the upper body comes into play when a cyclists falls off (this can happen quite often)

2. Good quad and leg strength could quite possibly mean the difference between having to get off and push up a steep hill, literally costing minutes.

3.The upper body/core muscles are a major driving force of the pedal stroke. A strong core aids the quads to deliver maximum power through the pedal. Just watch a tired cyclists on the flat, they will be swaying and grinding their hips and torso to put speed into the pedal where as a cyclist with a well trained strong core will be well seated and applying power with out extra use of the body.

4. General muscle strength and fitness through resistance training and conditioning will help with constant stopping and starting movements on descents allowing energy to be conserved.

So with this said cyclist will certainly benefit from resistance training 2-3 times per week.

Kettlebell Training for Cyclists

A simple kettlebell training program for cyclists:

Double handed kettlebell swing - 20 reps
Kettlebell Snatch - 10 reps (left and right hands)
Kettlebell Press - 10 reps (left and right hands)
Thruster squat - 20 reps
Renegade row - 10 reps each side

This workout covers all major areas required for cyclists and can be used in place of a weight room session so will save time for the busy folks who ride.

Perform in circuit fashion and repeat 3-6 times with 1-3 mins rest

Check out Turbulence Training for some great ideas for your resistance program

Technorati Tags: resistance training, cycling, lance armstrong, cycling training, kettlebell

Resistance Training For Cyclists

CHAMPIONS LEAGUE 2008/09 GROUP QUALIFIERS: REAL MADRID WINS & VILLAREAL LOSE

This maybe the main title but both Spanish teams have gone through tothe last 16 team stage, independently if the latter lost.All eyes were on the REAL MADRID vs ZENIT Group H clash wherethe former had its new Coach Juande Ramos on the bench & everyonewanted to see how the Coach & team would react. The first "revolution"- & only for now - was CASILLAS on the bench with teammate Dudekon from the

The Economy Strikes Again (Sabathia not Worried)

According to the Denver Post, the Arena Football League “faces possible dissolution unless it secures an infusion of money by December 19.” Perhaps they can call CC Sabathia, who is reportedly set to sign a 7 year, $161 million contract with the Yankees.

Given the state of the economy, reports of the AFL’s possible demise are not shocking, but they do raise a few interesting issues. First, this sheds some light on the then-surprising decision of team owner Tom Benson to fold the popular New Orleans VooDoo this past October (as well as Commissioner Baker’s sudden resignation). At the time, VooDoo executives claimed that the franchise folded because of “circumstances surrounding the team and the league,” but some speculated that the end of the VooDoo was an ominous sign for the future of professional sports in New Orleans. Perhaps now—particularly with the Hornets and Saints thriving—we can see Benson’s actions as more of a reflection of the AFL than the city of New Orleans.

Second, the fall of the AFL may be very good news for the rise of the United Football League, which plans to launch in 2009. The UFL will not only have access to a large number of professional football players and coaches looking for jobs, but will also have the ability to slide in to play the role of the NFL’s “feeder league.”

Third, it is interesting to read statements from various executives involved with the AFL. On the AFL website, the league’s official statement is: “Despite rumors and reports to the contrary, all AFL teams are continuing to work towards ArenaBowl XXIII. As it has previously stated, the AFL continues to work on long-term structural improvement options.” Brett Bouchy, the new owner of the Orlando Predators said that he "expects the league's 2009 schedule to be released in the next 2-4 weeks….I will tell you that the overall economy has presented challenges for arena football, just like any other business that's out there, and we are addressing that. We are going to come out of this with the best economic model the arena league has ever had in the next 30 days.” And, Michael Young, the executive vice president of the Colorado Crush stated that “[t]he business model for the league is broken.”

These statements all focus on the economic model of the league and suggest that league owners are working on a new model for the league going forward (and that would allow them to go forward). What model could they employ that might permit them to lower costs, particularly in the form of player salaries? Well, perhaps our old friend the single entity. Stay tuned…

Update (3:20 pm, Eastern). Well, that didn't take long. According to the Kansas City Star, the AFL will cancel its 2009 season. The article quotes Pete Likens, the director of communications for the Kansas City Brigade, as offering up this interesting tidbit: “It’s pretty much a done deal to suspend the 2009 season and work toward a single entity-league,” Likens said. “We plan to start up again in 2010, if the owners vote this way. We’re prepared to play this year, and/or next.”

It will be interesting to see what type of single entity structure the AFL comes up with to immunize itself from a Section 1 attack and how the players respond to the new league structure. Given the Seventh Circuit's "one facet at a time" approach in American Needle, the AFL may have to go to extremes to avoid the risk that a court would conclude that the AFL is a single entity for purposes of the player market.

Update (12-11-08) The Sports Business Daily is reporting that the AFL Board of Directors voted not to suspend operations for the 2009 season. Yet.

ANDREI ARSHAVIN SAYS ZENIT & REAL MADRID TALKING

News from Russian , English press - "The Sun" - & local press -"As", publish that Russian ANDREI ARSHAVIN has commented to said media that his Club ZENIT OF ST.PETERSBURG & REALMADRID are in conversations.The Russian is currently in Madrid with his team who play tonightagainst Real Madrid in Champions League, & its a great place &moment for officials of both sides to get to "know" each other.All

News on Two Members of the 2008 Salary Arbitration Hearing Group - Francisco Rodriguez and Mark Loretta

As noted in Gabe Feldman's earlier post today, Francisco Rodriguez has reached a three-year, $37 million agreement with the New York Mets to bring the closer from Anaheim to New York. Rodriguez, who set a Major League record last year with 62 saves, went to a hearing last year and lost when his panel (Stephen Goldberg, Elizabeth Neumeier, Steven Wolf) chose the Angels’ figure of $10 million instead of his request for $12.5 million. According to Anthony DiComo for MLB.com, Agent Paul Kinzer was hoping for a five-year, $75 million contract for Rodriguez. The general economic condition and the number of free agent closers on the market worked against Kinzer and Rodriguez.

Another hearing player from last year who is close to signing this week is Mark Loretta. According to an AP story in USA Today, Loretta will sign a one-year deal with the Dodgers. Last year Loretta sought $4.9 million from the Astros, but his panel chose the team’s figure of $2.75 million. Loretta played in 101 games in 2008, his lowest total since his 2000 campaign with the Brewers, and he posted a batting average of .280. Loretta will be entering his 15th season next year with a career batting average of .297. He played all four infield positions last year for Houston. He will be returning to his native state of California. Loretta was born in Santa Monica in 1971.

My Training Philosophy

My Training Philosophy

Over the years my understanding of physical training both inside and outside of competition has changed drastically.

Years ago as a young lad at Sheffield Hallam University I trained under tutelage of Ami Baran who was the Israeli National Throws coach at the time. Everything he told me to do, I complied and did not knowingly doing right or wrong.

If it wasn't on my plan I didn't do it.

If he told me to eat 10,000 steaks I would probably do that as well.

I believed everything he planned and instructed me to do. The results were fantastic as I had never done any structured training before, I really reaped the benefits and shot up the National rankings in shott putt and discus.

from personal experience, if you believe or want something enough it usually comes true

In 1997 I had a serious car crash which shattered my right femur in 3 places and was on crutches for 7 months.

After this I took training less seriously and just trained. I took up running to get fit and later seriously hit the concept 2 rower.

At this point I started devising my own training plans and reading more on other peoples training philosophies.

Shortly after my 'aerobic' phase I returned to throwing, strength training and discovered kettlebells.

I then tried out just about every training method possible and weeded out all the crap and ended up with one simple plan for just about every training/competitive goal I made for myself.

It was plain and simple....

If you want to be good at something and improve then you must practice it.

There are no secret training theories or secret plans.

It's no good going cycling if you want to be good at rowing. This theory has been proved many times.

When I think back about 20 years I became good at discus because I got myself in a field and threw discus until I couldn't throw anymore.

There is more to training than just doing one thing but don't stray to far from the path your headed down.

You don't get good at kettlebells by doing Yoga. This is my 'Kettlebell Theory'

So I now keep things plain and simple and train for what I'm aiming for.

Train and improve, train harder and then train smarter

(Here Dariusz Slowik does 30 mental reps with 225lb in the Power Clean, awesome and amazingly talented guy with serious guts for hard training)



Technorati Tags: kettlebell thory, kettlebell, philosophy, philosophy of training

My Training Philosophy

THE REAL MADRID CRISIS 2008: THE REASONS

The Barcelona based daily “Sport” run an article today on the mainfactors that have lead to the REAL MADRID Crisis. The fact that itcomes from “Barcelona” gives the reader a clearer & more insightfulanalysis than a “Madrid” based daily as the latter is influenced by theReal Madrid gravitational pull.Here are their reasons:1.Disuniting in the Real Madrid dressing room: The accumulation of“stars”

The Economy Strikes Again (K-Rod not Worried)

While Francisco Rodriguez (and his new 3-year, $37 million deal) probably won’t be doing much complaining about a recession, the impact of the tough economic times continues to be felt by major sports entities in the U.S. Today, the NFL announced that it plans to cut more than 10 percent of its staff and that it has indefinitely suspended plans to play a preseason game in China. As espn.com reports, “[t]he NFL has been symbolic of the wealth surrounding professional sports, but it now joins the NBA, Major League Baseball and NASCAR in announcing layoffs.” The NHL doesn’t pain a much rosier picture, as Bill Daly, the NHL deputy commissioner, recently said: “In the short term, it’s pretty dark…It’s a credit crunch, not a lot of stable financing available, a lot of bad paper out there. So, it’s going to be tough sledding,” said Daly. Even the mighty Tiger Woods was not immune, as General Motors chose to end its lucrative endorsement deal with him.

Not surprisingly, the impact is also being felt across the pond. As the Guardian reported last week (h/t to J Hutcherson at usscoccerplayers.com), clubs in the Football League Championship (the “Championship”) have discussed the possibility of instituting a salary cap. For those of you who do not follow English soccer (and even for those of you who do), the Championship is the second highest division in the English football league system after the English Premier League. The bottom three teams from the Premier League get relegated down to the Championship each year, while the top 3 teams from the Championship (the top 2 based on standings, and then the winner of a playoff involving teams finishing 3-6) get promoted up to the Premier League. Likewise, the bottom three teams in the Championship get relegated to the next division, Football League One. Clubs in the Championship thus face a very different reality from clubs in US sports leagues. Championship Clubs are fighting to both gain promotion to the Premier League and to avoid relegation. Clubs relegated down one league typically suffer a huge drop in revenue (particularly from the Premier League to the Championship), as they lose revenue from tv deals, sponsors, attendance, etc. The pressure to win—and to sign high-priced players who can help them win—is thus tremendous.

And, as the Guardian notes,

[m]ost clubs in the [Championship] are losing significant money because they pay what one chairman described as ‘unsustainable’ wages on players they hope will win them promotion to the Premier League. Without the cushion of the multimillion-pound television deal enjoyed by the 20 Premier League clubs, Championship clubs are reporting tougher economic conditions, with away gate beginning to suffer and sponsorships and corporate hospitality harder to secure….

Many clubs are preparing to seek sponsorship for next season, a task one senior club source said is proving "difficult" because it is "grim out there". Second-tier sponsors especially, who do not have their name on team shirts but pay to advertise or sponsor matches or stands, tend to be more local businesses than the big companies attracted by the Premier League, and many of those are struggling so have less money to spend on football….

Adam Pearson, the chairman of football at Derby County, warned that football is inadequately prepared for the economic downturn. "The game is close to meltdown at all levels," he said. "Club boards are under pressure to gain success and that leads to them paying ridiculous wages. It cannot carry on or it will end in disaster. There is a growing feeling now that some sort of wage cap has to come in."

Club owners are thus considering a cap that would limit player salaries to a percentage of Championship revenues. Given the intense pressure to achieve promotion and avoid relegation, it is understandable why some owners would be resistant to the cap (and more so than in US leagues), even if it might achieve financial stability for some clubs and increased competitive balance in the Championship, as some Championship club owners at least want the ability financially to “outcompete” their rival teams to advance up to the Premier League where the economic situation is not quite as grim. More on this as the situation develops…