Hit a hill

Walking up a steep incline can get your heart rate elevated just as much - or more than if you were to go out on a slow run.

TILT IT

It is also a great way to strengthen powerful muscles in your body - hams, quads, buttocks, and calves.   Your quadricep muscles are known as the strongest and leanest muscles in your body - as previously mentioned in the post, "Get Pushy".


Find a hill in your town and map it out.  Not enough hills?  Get creative and find stairs, parking garages, or even a treadmill - most models now go up to a 15% grade.  Hiking trails at a incline are perfect, offer resistance training, and a view to go with it.


Hit a hill once a week.  Mix it in to your workouts and enjoy the way up.  DB

Weave with 3

The 3 man weave.  A great warm up exercise for three players.  Simple, fun, and a way to improve crisp passing skills and creating a flow with your teammates. All basketball skill levels benefit by doing this drill -I like this drill for athletes of all sports.


What creates flow to this drill is the passing.  Remember to stay to the outside of your receiver when passing the ball.  This short video is a perfect example of how to execute the drill. Basketball is a game of spacing, rhythm, anticipation, and explosiveness. 

Flow Master Steve Nash

Jordan was redunkulous

Next time you attend a competitive high school, college, or NBA game - watch and focus on a position player for 3-4 possessions and see how they operate with their 4 teammates and  create flow.  DB






                   

Lather up

The glove, mitt, or sometimes referred to as the "leather".  From past experiences and great results - I learned a great way to break in your new ball glove.  The key ingredient is shaving cream.


Men's grooming 101 tells us that the formulation of shaving cream consists of water, soap, and glycerin.  Glycerin helps retain moisture to the surface and is known for it's water binding abilities.  Your glove will absorb shaving cream in a similar manner to that of a man's beard.

That was your daughter?

Lightly spray down your glove with tap water in the kitchen sink for 30 seconds.  Dispense a baseball size of shaving cream into your hand and begin to rub the glove all over- fingers, thumb, palm, and webbing.  You can wear the glove while doing this and spread the shaving cream with your free hand.


After a 5 minute rub down, wrap the glove with string or ace bandage and a baseball inside the glove overnight.  You can add another dose of shaving cream to mold the glove further and to your liking.
Play catch the next day. It's ready.  DB







 .

Color Protection

Food with color, bright color.  The food menu is color laden with choices of white, yellow, orange, red, purple, and green.  From your own garden, to your local grocer and restaurants, more attention is paid to the power of color in food.  

Foods offering color is a great defense mechanism for your body as they are well stocked with antioxidants.  

Antioxidants protect our cells from damage and are directly linked to maintaining healthy eyes, skin, improved memory function, and a healthy heart - not to mention the multitude of vitamins. 

Foods with color are here for your protection.  Teach the power of food color to your family at home and make it fun and engaging.  Load up your kitchen with food colors and educate those you share a plate with.  

Eat your colors.  DB

Light Orange

Vinegar at work

Mr. Clean - forever buffed

My very detailed and home nuturing Mom told me years ago about the power of vinegar.  She routinely cleaned with vinegar and with special attention to corners inside the house where germs are found. My Mom was all about home-clean-home.  

According to a Heinz spokesman, Michael Mullen, he has referenced many studies that show the straight 5 % solution of vinegar (the kind you buy in your supermarket) kills 99% bacteria, 82% mold, and 80% germs and viruses. The acetic acid in vinegar is an effective disinfectant, deodorizer, and cleaner.  It is also a natural grease cutter and a great way to clean your coffee maker at home every 6 weeks.


Vinegar is very economical, great for the environment, and is easy to put in a spray bottle near your kitchen or bathroom. 


Baking soda and vinegar have a clean relationship with each other as well.


DB

Carbo Complexity

Carbohydrates.  Simply put, we need them in our diet to provide energy for exercise, the ability to think, digestion, and to breathe.  They are a important part of a essential and balanced diet.  Carbohydrates have two classifications; simple and complex.  The following information helped me better grasp how the classifications seperate themselves (literally) from eachother.


For starters, three basic elements including carbon, oxygen, and hydrogen make up every carbohydrate.  Depending on the way these three elements are arranged, the end result is either simple (sugars) or complex (fiber and starches).


Simple carbs consist of 1 or 2 sugar units per molecule -  a good example is a can of soda...loaded with simple "quick hitting" to the bloodstream sugar. The structure of sugar is chemically simple and carries that label appropriately.

YAM IT UP.

Complex carbs consist of many sugar units strung together - to form long, complex chains.  A good example is a sweet potatoe which is a great food choice for your diet and stacked with nutrients.  Vitamin A, C, iron, calcium, fiber, and even some protein are waiting above.

Complex carbs are the intelligent choice for your diet as they are more nutrient and energy dense.  They also release their sugars very slowly to the body and serve as a great source of energy.  Get bran cereals, brown rice, bananas, oatmeal, pastas and potatoes (sweet or not) on your next grocery list and add up some healthy sugar chains.


Stay simple and get complex.


DB

Dead Red

One time. One shot. One pitch.  One opportunity..it is what I refer to as "dead red"  My good buddy Chopper routinely would tell me to take the bat off my shoulder and swing it!  You can't get on board if you watch pitches go by - was his way of thinking.

Chipper gettin good barrel

Dead red offers a chance to us as individuals to improve our well being.  Whether it is business, sports, theater, social, or within your family..dead red will be there waiting.  It may happen on occasion or quite regularly.  The message here is to understand dead red and take a shot at something that might be out of your comfort zone to better yourself.


Chipper Jones of the Atlanta Braves has a dead red every time he steps to the plate. He looks and waits for the pitch in his zone that he can drive or get good barrel on.  Jones experiences dead red over 600 times every season.  His thinking is, if it's dead red..I'm on it and I'm swinging.

My number is 555-3539

Wanna get the phone number of the cute girl at the coffee shop?  Do it.  Should you ask for a raise if you have earned it?  Yes.  Will I ever get a shot at playing 1st base?  Talk to your coach.  Will my professor act as my mentor on my project? Present it and ask.  I wonder if I should start exercising?  Absolutely.


Dead red.  Call it what you want and use it as motivation for a better you. 


DB
www.quietfeet.blogspot.com