This past weekend, I saw "The Social Network" movie with my blogging class.  It was a very interesting movie about the development of Facebook and the ensuing court case questioning who really had the idea. Mark Zuckerberg or someone else?  The movie was good because I did not know the story behind Facebook's development to the extent the movie covers as well as the court case that resulted.  There were a couple things that as athletes we can take from the characters in the movie.  First and foremost is the dedication of the twins who are suing Zuckerberg.  They are student athletes at Harvard and their dedication to crew is profound.  Early wake ups to row and their constant training is awesome.  We have discussed dedication before but its importance to success is reinforced by the characters.  Another trait is the passion of Mark Zuckerberg.  He gives the majority of his time to developing Facebook and making it "cool" rather than profitable until the right time.  Although Mark's passion ruins his friendship with Eduardo his passion is something to be admired. 

Mental tools are very important to success.  There are a few in particular that I will share.  These definitions were compiled from numerous team training booklets.  They are very important traits to have in order to be a successful athlete but also to be a good person.  

Character-the personal make up of an athlete.  The complete traits that form and reflect the individual nature of an athlete.  

Grit-firmness of character; unconquerable spirit.  Unyielding constant courage in the face of hardship or danger.

Respect-attention to a right privilege, entitled position, or a player considered to certain rights or privileges. An understanding of who is around you and where you are. 

Discipline-Not cheating yourself or your team.  Training to act in accordance with the rules. Activity, exercise or regimen that develops or improves a skill.  A set or system of rules and regulations.  Training that corrects, molds or perfects the mental faculties or moral character.  Doing it right because you have taught yourself no other way. 

Passion-any powerful or compelling emotion or feeling. A strong desire for success.  The reason for which you live, train and play your best everyday. 

Sacrifice-to forgo personal gain for a common goal both on the ice and off.  Going without individual recognition for the team's advancement. 

Confidence-full trust; belief in the powers, trustworthiness or reliability of a person or team.  Belief in oneself. 

Accountability-Doing your job and being there for your team.  The state of being responsible or answerable.  The complete acceptance of one's thoughts, efforts, actions and responsibilities not only to one's self, but more importantly to his teammates and team. 

Enjoy!! Take these traits to heart and as shown in the Facebook movie they can make you successful but do not do so at the expense of friends and being a good person. 

Energy System Training

I hope everyone is well motivated and being consistent in our efforts to reach our goals.  We are going to get into some scientific principles of training.  Energy system training to be specific.  There are generally two types of metabolism.  Those that tax primarily the aerobic system and those that tax the anaerobic system.  Now all activities, not just sports involve both systems.  However, usually one system is more dominant than the other.

We get energy from food sources which the body will convert into ATP which is necessary for muscle contractions and nerve transmission.  The system that we are using will determine how the body produces the ATP that will be used.  The phosphagen and glycolysis stages are used mostly for anaerobic metabolism as this will provide ATP the fastest.  The Krebs Cycle and Electron Transport Chain (ETC) are used for the aerobic system because although it takes longer to produce the ATP, ultimately more of it is usable.  Now without getting into how ATP is made in each stage we can just discuss how this can help our training. 

We know exercise that taxes the aerobic system is longer duration and at a lower intensity because of the way the ATP is produced.  Anaerobic exercise will be short duration but at a much higher intensity because here we receive our ATP much quicker but in lesser quantities.  How can this influence our training for sport?  Be specific about which system is more dominant in your sport.  Do you sprint for 15 seconds and then usually recover or do you jog at a steady pace for a longer duration?  Once you know which system dominates your sport you can adjust your training to be more sports-specific.