Saturday, February 27, 2010

Cosc Ar Bhrúanna-Suas/ Press-Up Ban

Níl a fhios agam faoi na lúthchleasaithe in spórtanna eile, ach in cinnte go bhfuil fadhb ag barraíoht imreoirí CLG le iompar an choirp. Go hiondiúil bíonn na guallaí ag teacht chun tosaigh agus an droim uacharach maolaithe (cosiúil le mo dhuine thuas). Anois, ba chóir a lua go gur dóiche go bhfuil tionchar ag nósanna suí, siúil, agus slí beatha an imreora ar an iompar choirp atá acu. Mar sin féin, tá mé féin den tuairim gur na brúanna agus suíanna suas is cúis le céatadán mhór de na fadhbanna a fheicim sa gym. Cuireann an riocht seo isteach ar na guallaí, an droim, agus níos mó, gan a bheith ag trácht ar an droch chruth a chuireann sé ar dhuine, ar bharr brú a chur ar na scámhóga mar go bhfuil an brollach ag titim isteach ar féin. Cailltear solúbthacht, agus ardaítear an seans go ngorteofar an imreoir.


Is ar an bhun seo a bhfuil mé ag cur COSC ar na sean cleachtaí iontaofa a úsáidtear i rith nó ag deireadh cuid mhór den treanáil a dhéantar ar an pháirc.  Smaointeamh maith é roinnt obair láidreacht a dheanamh ar an pháirc, ach nuair a dhéantar na cleachtaí céanna arís is arís eile, bíonn tionchat mí-úsaáideach aige ar na himreoirí. Ó thaobh na suíonna suas, tá cosc iomlán orthu sin. Sin scéal eile fá choinne postáil eile. Ní droch chleacht é an brú suas, ach is cleacht fritorthiúl é nuair a dhéantar é arís is arís eile gan aon aird a thabhairt ar meatáin an droim.


Ar bharr na pointí thuas luaite, is iomaí uair a chonaic mé oiliúnaí ag tabhairt ar foireann faoi aois iomlán 20, 30, 40 nó níos mó brú suas a dhéanamh. Thig leat a bheith cinnte nach mbeidh mórán de fhoireann sinsear in ann 30 brú suas a dhéanamh le tecníc cheart, gan a bheith ag trácht ar foireann faoi aois. Munar féidir rud a dhéanamah mar is ceart, ní fiú a bheith ag cleachtadh droch nósanna.


In ionad na brú suas, thiocfadh leis an oiliúnaí cleachtaí cosiúil le brú gualainn a dhénamh, aon chleacht rámhaíochta, cleachtaí leis an liathróid leighis nó mála cumhachta, nó fiú tarraingt chugaidh a dhéanamh. Beidh roinnt treallamh de dhíth fá choinne seo, ach bfhearr cúpla pingin a chaitheamh ar threallamh inniú na cúpla punt a chaitheamh ar an physio amarach!







I cant say this for certain about athletes from other sports, but too many GAA players have got serious posture issues. Typically, the shoulders are forward, and the back is hunched somewhat, like yerman above. Now, Im sure that things like sitting posture, and lifestyle etc all effect out posture. At the same time, I believe that the sit ups and press ups that players are often instructed to do are a big part of the problems that I see in people who come into the gym to me. This posture affects the shoulders, back, and more, as well as making people look smaller and weaker. On top of this, you could argue that it can affect a players breathing as the chest is caving in on itself somewhat. Flexibility is lost, and the likelihood of injury is increased. 

Its on this basis that I am BANNING the old reliable exercises of sit ups and press ups, that are often used at the end or during on-field sessions. Its a good idea to incorporate strength work into the pitch training, but when the same exercises are performed again and again, it has a counterproductive effect on the players. In terms of the sit ups, they are completely banned, but thats another story for another post. The press up is not a bad exercise, in fact its a good exercise, but it is counterproductive when it is performed constantly without regard for the muscles of the back. 

On top of the above points, I often seen coaches asking whole underage teams to perform 20, 30, 40 or more pressups. You can be sure that many players of a senior team will not be able to perform this many press ups with good technique, never mind an underage player. If an exercise cannot be performed with good form, there is no point in practicing bad habits. 

Instead of press ups, the trainer could throw in some shoulder presses, med ball exercises, rowing exercises, power bag exercises, or even a Tug of War. Some equipment will be required for these exercises but better to spend a few cents on equipment today than a few pound on the physio tomorrow!

Thursday, February 25, 2010

Paudie Butler

Rith Paudie Butler, an comhordaitheoir náisiúnta iománana, ceadlann iontach ar an Luain. Chur mé ceist nó dhó ar tar éis an seisiún.

The national hurling coordinator Paudie Butler ran an excellent workshop in the club on Monday. I asked him a couple of questions after the session.

Sunday, February 21, 2010

Treanáil Ceartlár/ Core Training

021-core-muscles.jpg

Ar na mallaibh d'iarr cúpla duine orm faoi treanáil ceartlár mar a thugtar air, agus cén saghas cleacht ar chóir dóibh a dhéanamh. Le blianta beaga anuas tá d'éirigh daoine an-tógtha leis an treanáil ceartláir, agus i neart cásanna, cuireadh baraíocht béim ar chleachtaí gan chiall. Le cleachtaí ceartlár ceart a phiocfadh, caithfear feidhim na meatán ceartláir a thuigbheáil píosa. Go simplí, is iad atá iontu na na meatán atá lonaithe thart ar an bhlog, and droim, na coim, agus atá ceangailte leis an cnámh droma. (Ta na meatán sa droim uachtarach istigh ansin fósta, ach don alt beag seo díreoidh muid isteach ar na meatán íochtarach). Is é feidhm na meatán seo na an cnámh droma a dhéanamh seasmhach agus ligint do na géaga bogadh go héifeachtach, agus fórsaí a aistriú tríd an chorp go héifeachtach.

Leis an tuiscint sin agus de réir na boic móra, ba chóir go mbeadh an fócas ar thabhairt dúshlán do na meatáin ceartlár an chop a choilleail seasmhach agus na géaga ag bogadh. Sé an chiall atá le sin na go dtéann tú isteach in staidiúir maith daingean, ansin tabharann tú dúshlán do staidiúir sin. Go minic bíonn dul amú ar dhaoine nuair a cheapann siad gur cóir cleachtaí cosúil le suí-suasanna agus brúisceanna a dhéanamh do cheartlár. Ní amháin nach gcuideoidh neart acu seo le cuid ar bith de na feidhmeanna a luaigh muid níós luaithe a fheabhsú, ach cuirfidh siad leis an seans go mbeidh fadhbanna agat le do dhroim, treannáil, agus an choim. Le seisiúin maith ceartlár gan mórán treallamh a dhéanamh, bain trial as na cleactaí thíos (físeáin ghearr ar an bhealach). Cuimhnigh i gcónaí ar seo: má tá droch staidiúir agat i rith na cleachtaí, níl sé a dhéanmah mar is ceart agat!

Éan/ Madadh x 20
Plainc Taoibhe x 30 soicind an taobh
Siosúr Cos x 15 an taobh
Droichead Gualainn le cosa agus guallaí ar bheinse x 30
Liathróid Leighs in éadan an ball ar chos amháin x 30 an taobh
Marbhthógáil Rómánach ar chos amháin x 12 an taobh
Plainc tosaigh x 45 soicind

DEAN AN RUD UILIG 2-5 UAIR



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Lately a few people have been asking me about core training as its know, and what sort of exercises they should be doing. A few years ago, people seemed to get a bit carried away with the concept of core training, and in a lot of ways, too much emphasis was placed on senseless exercsies. To select the right core exercises, a bit of understanding of the function of the core muscles will help. Put simply, they comprise of the muscles around your torso, back, hips, and those that attach to your spine. (The muscles of the upper back are in ther as well, but we'll focus on the lower aspect for this post). The function of these muscles are postural, therefore they keep the spine/ torso stable while the limbs more, and aid in the effective transer of forces.

With that understanding, the focus of your core training should be in offering a challenge to the core muscles to maintain good posture while the limbs move. This means that you get into a good solid posture, then challenge the posture. Often people are mislead in thinking that exercises such as sit ups, and crunches are great for the core. In fact, an abundance of these will not only negate from the functions of the core we mentioned above, but could also leave you more open to problems with the back, hammys, hips etc. For a good bodyweight core workout try the exercises below (short video on the way). Remember, if you have bad posture during the exercise.. more than likely, your doing it wrong.

Bird Dog x 20
Side Plank x 30 seconds a side
Leg Scissors x 15 a side
Shoulder Bridge with feet and shoulders on benches x 30
One leg Medicine ball side throw x 30 each side
Single Leg Romanian Deadlift
Front Plank x 45 seconds

DO THE WHOLE CIRCUIT 2-5 TIMES