Coach Wooden

Wizard of Westwood

UCLA's legendary basketball coach, John Wooden passed away this year at the age of 99. He was a beloved figure, a tremendously devoted family man, and not only the best coach in all of collegiate athletics, but a man among men in how he treated life itself.

His quotes are inspiring and fundamentally sound to the most important aspects of life.

"Be more concerned with your character than your reputation, because your character is what you really are, while your reputation is merely what others think you are." John Wooden, Legendary UCLA Basketball Coach

Silk

Coach Wooden won 7 consecutive NCAA Basketball Championships and 10 overall. He also coached UCLA to 88 straight wins which spanned over 4 seasons. I recall the day when the streak ended on a Saturday afternoon in South Bend, Indiana against Notre Dame and thought that this record would not be touched.  Bill Walton and Keith Wilkes were along for 73 of those wins in a row as well. Supremely stellar.

http://www.coachjohnwooden.com/
Visit the building blocks of his pyramid of success.

DB

True Blue

My Mom schooled me early on about the benefits of eating blueberries as they would routinely make their way into my bowl of hot oatmeal or cold raisin bran growing up in Oregon. The berry has eluded me over the years as I will use this post as a reminder to get blue in my diet each and every week. The benefits are truly amazing..berry, berry amazing.

Here are 3 of the numerous health benefits that blueberries have packed inside. The internet has heaps of information on this dynamic fruit.

1. Antioxidant capacity - very rich in vitamin C, E, A, complex B and copper. A very effective immune builder and anti bacterial. This is a defensive mechanism in itself.

2. Ocular health - blueberries have proved to preserve vision and contain a special group of anti-oxidants called Carotenoids and Flavonoids that are essential for your vision health.

3. Brain health - researchers found that diets rich in blueberries significantly improved both the learning capacity and motor skills of aging animals making them mentally equivalent to much younger ones.

DEFEND WITH BLUE

A well respected Doctor once told me that the first line of treatment for any patient is food, and not medications. I will now think of blueberries as being in the front line of defense.

Teach it early

The most profound course I took in college was, "family communication". My Professor loved teaching this course and it showed within a few minutes of the first class. Professor Bowker taught this course with mastery and devotion and set out to reach the 25 or so students in our classroom twice a week one fall term at the University of Oregon.

I didn't really know what to expect from this course..I didn't even know this kind of course existed. What I came to learn more than anything is that this course should be taught at every level of education. It should be treated as a discipline in the same manner as mathematics, science, art, music, computer science, social studies, and other required core courses in our education system.

This course helped me appreciate, love, understand, and to have a open mind about who we are in life and how we can positively effect others in family..and not just our nuclear family either. Family has many definitions and members may come from all directions which Professor Bowker so eloquently spoke about. She owned this course and gave it life.

Teach it early, and teach it all the way through higher education.

DB

Get Pushy.



2 wheel power



Here is a great sweat and a way to mix up your workouts. Find a flat or small grade incline to park your car. Have your workout partner turn the car off and put the car in neutral. Push the car 90 feet and then trade places. Concentrate on pushing with your lower body and drive low. Lightly tap the brakes for a increased load on your partner or increase the distance. When you get freaky with this exercise toss on a weighted vest and get after it.

You will get people stopping by and asking if you need help..until they realize you are training. School parking lots are usually vacant on weekends and a safe spot to do this.

Push for power and build your quads. You will activate hundreds of muscle groups when pushing your car with focus to your legs, butt, and trunk area.

Drive with your legs and butt

The quadriceps femoris is latin for "four headed muscle". The quad is a large muscle group that includes the four prevailing muscles on the front of the thigh. It is known as the strongest and leanest muscle in the human body.

DB

Always bet on 7

Look at the number 7 below. Notice the top line of the 7 being parallel to your computer screen. Perfect #7 is at work.

Notice the female athlete below and see if you can find the number 7 on her body when she is in squat mode. Do you see it?  Her quads and hamstrings are parallel to the ground. By getting parallel you are asking your legs to do more work which gains results in strength, flexibility, balance, and great shape for your legs and butt.

If you want to gain strength and stamina for your sport on land, sea, or in the air, learn the fundamentals of how to squat and relate it to #7.

The simple body squat, yet challenging exercise takes time and repetitions to get correct form. Use a mirror and look for your 7. Knees slightly behind the toes and a small strong arch in your lower back will help it look more like a 7. Hold that 7 for 2-3 seconds and drive up with focus on your heels as you rise upward.

DB

Power of Recess

Touch football, outdoor hoop, dodge ball, or get in line for wall ball? What great options to choose from. Recess is just that - a menu of athletic choices. It was a three times a day occurrence when I was a kid in the 70's. Before school started there were the regulars who were in front of the 20 foot wall in line to play wall ball. The equipment needed; one classic grade school playground red ball. I can smell the rubber of that ball, hear the sound it made and remember how good it felt to whail on it with my right arm while playing. Some sweat built up, a bit of dirt on the arm and and I am off to my classroom with my buddies to start the day. Two more recesses coming -- what a concept!

Recess energized myself and my pals. It allowed us to interact, compete, laugh, and a chance to showcase our skills in front of the girls gallery.   All these things made recess a true treasure. After school we had 2 hours of time to plan the next recess at the local park, neighborhood street, or the flat driveway of a pal's house to play hoop. Does it get any better I thought? No, it does not.

So as we mature in life, recesses go into the memory bank of our minds. We have now grown up, taken on responsibilities and that kind of activity is just for kids. Is it really? Does it have to be like this? No, it does not.

Bob Smith the business owner can shoot hoops in the morning with his kids before they catch the bus to school, get in a game of squash on his lunch hour, and hit the trail with his wife for a healthy 2 mile run outside his home after work.


Recess is making time to do it. We have been brainwashed with the message of exercise being "3 times a week" like that is a threshold of some sort. Recess is every day like it was in grade school...DAILY. Get off your butt, spread some recess to yourself, your family, and have some fun. Recess could be 10 minutes of dancing to some cheesy boogie wonderland tune, or joining in on the kickball game at the end of the cul-de-sac where you live. Recess means movement and some sweat to go with it.

Do it like we did in the 70's. Throw, catch, run, sprint, hop, get muddy if you choose. The bell is about to ring and it's the sound of recess.

DB

Get unstable: Gain strength and power

Working out on sand is a fantastic way to cross train for all athletes of any discipline. Sand is a unstable surface and will assist in your body finding balance as you adjust with each step. The unstableness is great for gaining strength and power which starts at the pelvic area - the strongest point of your body.

Get yourself to the beach or a sand volleyball pit where there is some deep soft sand. Set up two sand workouts with plastic colored cones, cups, milk cartons, whatever is available.

1st sand station: Place the cones in a square. The cones need to be 20 feet apart from eachother (4 cones makes the square). After you are warmed up properly, sprint to each cone and come to an abrupt stop at each one. Hold your stopped pose at each cone for 2 seconds and take off to the next one. Starting and stopping can be very demanding on your cardiovascular training which is what your heart can take and also thrive on. Do 4 sets of squares at this station.

2nd sand station: Set up 2 lines of 4 cones 2-3 yards apart so they emulate the formation below. Move laterally with your body around the outside of each cone. Keep your body erect with your eyes focused forward. Stick your butt out there as if you were squatting. Make your quads and hamstrings work..get them parallel with the ground. 4 sets at this station. Focus on form not speed. Again, stick your butt out and make your legs do work.

--Get creative and vary the cone formations

--Increase the difficulty as you feel fit

--Wear a weighted vest if you feel brawny

Shock your body and do these workouts on

sand. Low impact, great for the muscles in your

feet and a fun way to mix up your workouts.

Do work on sand like this dude! Get after it.

DB