I am sitting here at home pondering a question which I’m sure many of you are thinking…..when will sports again take place? The simple answer is, no one really knows and frankly speaking, with Covid-19 just beginning to accelerate its grip on New York State, sports may not take place for quite some time. A simple message from a C.C.S. Coach to me late last week sums up what many of us are feeling. The text read, “I’m not going to lie, this is crushing me”. I suspect a similar feeling is being experienced by many of our student-athletes….particularly out seniors. Confronted by this unknown reality, there will be some who decide to wait to see what will happen.
For the rest of you I would suggest an alternate plan. Take an opportunity to use this time away from the daily rigors of a set schedule and Get Moving!! For the first time (other than summer vacation) students have the ability to set their own schedules. I am suggesting that you carve an hour or more into your day to prepare your minds and bodies for sports. There are many people who play sports; only a few choose to be athletes. An athlete would never allow anything to compromise their goals. Athletes have an intrinsic ambition to self-improve daily and they understand that the process leads to the product. I am in no way suggesting that the Coronovirus should be taken lightly or ignored. I am a strong advocate for following all of the guidelines set forth by our local leaders, as well as those at the Centers for Disease Central and World Health Organization. What I am saying is that even in isolation from ones friends and teams, our athletes can continue to improve so that they are ready to go when they hear those sweet words again… “Play Ball!!”
No sports, no problem…..now there is now more time to prepare!
The purpose of this article is to offer some ideas which you can choose to use if you would like to. Some of our coaches will be offering programs and suggestions to you and I will as well from time to time. The generalized functional training programs can be done individually own or in a group of two and offer enough variety to be performed multiple days per week. Two ideas are offered in this post.
The first challenge is the Partial Murph Challenge. Our version is designed to allow athletes to be challenged appropriately and progressively. Our Partial Murph is a 1 mile run followed by 100 push-ups, 100 body squats, 100 sit-up and a final 1 mile run. The total time should be recorded on a stop watch. If you do not have a mile loop near your house, pick a distance and use that. The point is to find a way to get it done and then do it at least once per week, twice would be best. Those fit, focused or nutty enough could opt for a full Murph. Just follow the link below. https://themurphchallenge.com/pages/the-workout
The second option is to incorporate the following exercises into your routine. I would suggest navigating to the linked YouTube video and view the 70 exercises performed by the gentleman from Men’s Health Magazine. The goal is to find a place in your home or outdoors where you can move and jump a bit. I would suggest taking the first 20-35 exercises and doing each of them for 30 seconds with only 30 seconds recovery in between each set. If you are already in pretty good shape you could always add a second set of 30 seconds or even try to do all 70 exercises. Simply use them as a guide. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7o39NrSwfb8
Those of you who play a skill based sport such as baseball, softball, lacrosse, or golf…..now is a great time to grab a parent or sibling and get some pitching in, play some catch, find a wall for “wall ball” or work on your bunting, putting, chipping or ground balls or even take some batting practice in the backyard!! Those with weights at your house, take some time to clean out the basement or garage and get to work! The point is, find a way to continue to develop your game, increase your strength and speed and improve your skills. No excuses!! In the event we do play again this season, we will be prepared!!
GO BEARS!!
Plaindealer Sports 