Week of 6/22 - 15 Weeks From Championships TRACK (wear cleats!)

Jog 800m
Active warm-up

Sprinting/Agility Drills

3x30 seconds Seated Running Arms
(http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=aZ0S6fpzXlk)

20-Yard Shuttle Run - x5
Start by straddling start line in middle, turn and sprint right to line, touch line then turn left
sprinting past center line to other side, touch line and turn right as you sprint back to
center starting line.  With a 20 yard shuttle, the end lines are 10 yards apart. Starting from
the middle you go 5, then back across for 10, then back to middle for another 5 getting a
total of 20 yards with 3 changes of direction.
6x Falling Starts
If you're doing this in a group, add in a new component: have a disc thrown straight at you after you've made your 3 steps, catch, turn and throw in a fluid motion to someone standing off to the side.
<3 minute break>

Pure Speed Work

Do the following circuit 4 times:

1. 80m - full speed
2. 10 push-ups (*immediately* after you finish your run)
3. 1 min short crisp throws
4. Walk back to start line

End with one final 80m sprint, but with a catch! On this one, you run the rep just like all the others, except with one wrinkle: You cannot stop until you travel an additional 100m past the finish line.  You can jog as slow or as fast as you want.  You just cannot stop.  Focus on form for this jog.  Good arm motion, hips forward.  Keeping moving like this, which battles our body's natural tendency to relax when hard work is finished, trains our neuromuscular system.. 

Endurance

4 minute tabata (20 sec work 10 sec rest, 8x)

1. 20 meter shuttle runs (should be about 4, practice turning on both feet)

2. V-ups

3. 20 meter shuttle runs

4. tuck jumps

5. 20 meter shuttle runs

6. speed skater jumps (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MSBoLWsSJpg)

7. 20 meter shuttle runs

8. burpees

2 min rest

Repeat  (if you are feeling tired/need modification, only do it 1x)

Abs

Cool down and throw

Week of 6/15 - 16 Weeks From Championships STAIRS

Find a staircase with at least 40+ steps.

Warmup 
Jog/Bike, Choose your own adventure dynamic stretching

2 x 20m of slow, easy high knees

2 x 20m of slow, easy butt kicks

2x20m lateral skips (go slow, focus on your form and exploding off of your outside foot.  If you have that down, focus on exploding off of your inside foot.)

2x20m lateral crossover skips

Review this video to make sure you're focused on the right form: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0icQqwDDZYw

Stair Sets

Take lots of rest between each set of stairs below, and keep your body upright (don’t lean forward into the steps).

1 warmup flight, start slow and gradually increase speed to top of flight, taking every step

4 flights while taking the stairs one at a time, as fast as you can. Bring your knees up high (at least waist level) with each step, and lean back.

2x8 plank pushups, alternating arms 

4 flights of taking the first 10 steps one at a time, then the rest of the flight at 3 steps at a time.

2x30 seconds dynamic plank (10s moving arms, 10s moving legs, 10s moving all appendages)

4 flights of leaping as many steps as you can with each stride while keeping a steady speed up the entire flight.

1 tabata of Sophie's transverse abdominus clenching/kegels

2 flights of hopping up on one foot (same foot the whole way, switch feet for second flight)

1 set of Sophie's dynamic side planks, each side

2 flights of jumping off two feet, taking as many steps as you can with each jump.

2x8 plank pushups, alternating arms

4 flights while taking the stairs one at a time, as fast as you can. Bring your knees up high on each step, and lean back.

Warmdown, Stretch, Throw if you have a buddy

More nutrition stuff

Here is another Kate Schlag piece about what to eat during tournaments (which is applicable for during long practices as well). http://ultiworld.com/2014/06/02/eat-tournament/
Eating real food as best as you are able is good. And that is good advice for all your life's eating. EAT YOUR VEGGIES, MOLLY BROWN!
Anna
p.s. Anyone who comes to visit my garden can get free veggies!!! Stop on by!

Advice for post-tournament or post-practice eating

This is an expert from Kate Schlag's Ultiworld article about post tournament nutrition. The full article can be found here: http://ultiworld.com/2013/12/05/eat-saturday-night-mid-tournament-food-primer/
The comments in the full article debate the recovery window, but I'm of the opinion that it is real.

Immediately Post-Game
Research shows that, immediately following intense exercise, muscles are primed to absorb nutrients–specifically, carbohydrates and protein. The longer you wait to eat, the less receptive your muscles become to these nutrients; it’s important to eat a small snack within thirty minutes of playing.
Many players use this time to analyze the game, talk with their teammates and opponents, or cool down with a beer. Refueling with nutrient-dense foods falls by the wayside.
But that 30 minute post-exercise window is critical for recovery. In fact, one study found that participants’ ability to replenish glycogen stores decreased by 50% when they waited two hours before eating something.
For your first post-game snack, aim to eat around 10-15 grams of protein and 30-40 grams of carbohydrates. Experts believe that a 3:1 to 4:1 ratio of carbs to protein is ideal for recovery.
Chocolate milk has recently been dubbed the perfect post-exercise recovery drink, and for good reason: one cup of reduced fat chocolate milk supplies 31 grams of carbohydrates and 8 grams of protein (a 3.9:1 ratio), as well as the electrolytes calcium and sodium. Plus, it helps replace lost fluids, it’s portable, relatively inexpensive, and easily consumable. Studies have even shown that high-endurance athletes who recovered with chocolate milk improved their aerobic fitness and gained more muscle mass than those who sipped on common sports recovery drinks.
If you’re not a fan of chocolate milk or prefer to eat solid food, here are some other healthy post-game recovery snacks that you can either bring to the fields or make with the foods that you likely have in your team’s cooler:
Peanut butter and jam sandwich:
2 slices whole grain bread, 1 tablespoon peanut butter, 1 tablespoon jam: 365 calories, 60.5 g carbs, 16 g protein
Carb to protein ratio: 3.78:1
Turkey sandwich with hummus + banana:
1 slice whole grain bread, 2 slices turkey, 2 tablespoon hummus, 1 banana: 361 calories, 53 g carbs, 17.3 g protein
Carb to protein ratio: 3.06:1
Jerky + carrots and hummus:
1 oz jerky, 1 cup carrots + 2 tablespoon hummus: 333 calories, 52 g carbs, 18 g protein
Carb to protein ratio: 2.89:1
What if I Don’t Feel Hungry?  A Cautionary Note
Some people don’t feel hungry after a full day of ultimate. This can be due (in part) to hormones: some studies have shown that after prolonged aerobic exercise, the release of ghrelin (a hormone that signals hunger) is suppressed.  Circulating levels of peptide YY (a hormone that boosts satiety) may be increased.
But even if you don’t feel hungry, force yourself to eat or drink something. A few sips of coconut water and a handful of trail mix provides enough electrolytes, carbohydrates, and protein to begin the recovery process.

Defense Wins Games

Overview

1)      Warm up

2)      Marking warmup

3)      McFluegan

4)      Defense Drills

5)      Apply

Warm-up

Marking warm-up:

1)      3x 20 seconds of shuffling

a.       Focus: body positioning and footwork

2)      1 x 30 second stall count

a.       Focus: Applying the body positioning and footwork

3)      2x1min Partner 1 fake marking  

a.       Throw a cheeky dump pass to your partner, run up and mark 1 fake, return center and then back pedal to position.

b.      Focus: Body positioning and footwork. Take the extra shuffle rather than lean

Marking Drill: McFluegan

Pod Choice: Round robin, Elimination or Redemption. Choose however you want your pod to run it.

Focus: Apply the muscle memory from above. PLUS! Learn a thrower. Force them into their second or third throw.  

Defensive Footwork: V Drills

1)      In good position (to start): 5x Flick Side 5 x Backhand side

a.       We did this at a Saturday practice a bit ago. Set up a V where the offender takes hard steps going deep and then comes under. Defense: Work on the buffer, keeping loaded in the turn and dictating with (absorbing) contact.

2)      Out of Position (to start): 5x flick side 5 x backhand side

a.       Uh oh! The disc has moved and your once good position is now not. WHAT TO DO? Same V cut from offense. Defense: Work on dictating with (absorbing) contact to dictate that the offender needs to go wide.

Applying it all:

Pods with 6+ People: Play Mini! Focus – Everything from above. Work on Marking with a plan with your solid body positioning and footwork AND dictating on defense. This isn’t meant to be a blood bath of endurance. Between points talk to Mollies and ask questions about your positioning and/or how you could have done something different to make it more difficult on offense.

Pods with less then 6 people:  Thrower and a marker. Offender and a defender. Run through stop disc scenarios with the mark and downfield defender working together to succeed!  Stop and talk about what you could have done better. Rinse and repeat.  

Want to get faster and more explosive?

Hey Molly,

Sara emailed us asking for ways to help her get faster and more explosive. I had two main concepts I wanted to share with the team in regards to this: triple extension and the stretch-shortening cycle

1) TRIPLE EXTENSION - This means the extension of the hips, knees and ankles. Any type of running or jumping involves triple extension. The KB swings and box jumps you’ve been doing involve triple extension which is good but I would also recommend adding cleans or snatches to your workouts. Not sure about your familiarity with these lifts but I explained hang cleans.

Hang Cleans

-In order to properly perform a clean, you want to feel comfortable with your deadlift form and high pulls.

-I think you've been doing hex bar deadlifts (not sure what a hex box deadlift is, maybe you meant hex bar deadlift??). A hex bar deadlift is similar to a regular barbell deadlift, the load (weight) is just situated more towards the front of your body so you really have to focus on your posture and keeping your back neutral (not letting it round).

-The deadlift is to get the bar in position from the floor especially as your weight increases. You can also start by taking the bar off the clips of a rack. Player’s choice

i) Starting Position: the bar should rest just below mid-thigh, keeping your back neutral and elbows extended, head should be neutral and looking straight ahead, feet should be shoulder width apart with a slight bend in the knees and at the hips

ii) The Pull: performing the high pull is where the triple extension comes into play. This is an explosive movement and will best be performed at high speeds. The idea here is to push your feet into the ground so that you either go up on your toes or your feet can even leave the ground slightly. At this time you are getting into triple extension (ankles, knees and hips are all extending). As you triple extend, shrug your shoulders and then drive your elbows up to the ceiling, keeping the bar close to your body and getting it as high as you can (this is not an arm movement, but should come from the power generated by the triple extension). Make sure you are not overextending your back as you pull the weight up, your body should remain in a straight line-In the gym: if this is something completely new to you, I would start by just working with the deadlift and the high pull exercises. Especially with the high pull, get used to that triple extension motion and driving those elbows up high, making sure the bar stays close to your body. If your arms are feeling very fatigued from this movement, you are using too much of your arms to lift the bar and are probably doing a reverse biceps curl to lift the bar instead of using the triple extension.

iii) The Catch: at the end of the pull, you want to rotate your wrists underneath the bar and catch the bar softly on meaty part of your anterior shoulders (just how it would be positioned for a front squat). Catch the bar with a slight bend in your knees and then stand up. Stay balanced and feet should remain in same shoulder width position, pointing forward

1. The Hang ii)  Triple Extension      iii)The Catch

-In the gym: if this is something completely new to you, I would start by just working with the deadlift and the high pull exercises. Especially with the high pull, get used to that triple extension motion and driving those elbows up high, making sure the bar stays close to your body. If your arms are feeling very fatigued from this movement, you are using too much of your arms to lift the bar and are probably doing a reverse biceps curl to lift the bar instead of using the triple extension.

-Keep it simple to start: use an Olympic bar (45lbs) at 3 sets of 5 to get the technique down. As you start to feel comfortable with the lift, you can add weight. But remember, ultimate requires many explosive movements over the course of a game (and tournament) so we want to replicate that while we are lifting.

-Ideally you want to get to a point where you are working at about 75-85% of the max weight you feel comfortable with, doing 3-5 sets of 3-5 reps.

If you want to read up on some more info about cleans: http://skydmagazine.com/2014/03/ultimate-power-2-crush-cleans/

OH HEY TRIPLE EXTENSION:

2) STRETCH-SHORTENING CYCLE

Power is all about using the stretch-shortening cycle. Basically, stretching your muscles and then quickly exploding (shortening) them to use that stored energy to produce fast, explosive actions (think of a rubber band). Plyometrics, including box jumps use this stretch-shortening cycle. However, depth jumps have been known to be the most effective way to improve your vertical jump height. This requires you to absorb the shock when you are landing and then quickly explode off the ground again into a maximum jump.

You should first practice stepping off a box and absorbing the landing without jumping. Make sure you land in a squat with good form. Landing on the balls of your feet with your butt sitting back, making sure your knees don't go in front of your toes or cave in, keeping your chest and head up.

For a depth jump, you step off the box in the same manner but instead of sitting all the way down in a squat, only go down to about a quarter squat. Once your feet touch the ground you quickly explode into into a jump for maximum height. When you land, make sure you land balanced and your knees remain in line with your toes (if your knees extend past your toes or cave in, there is greater risk for injury)

Variations:

-height of the box (recommend a box anywhere from 12-42” but not higher)

-types of jumps off the box: max vertical jump, max broad jump, some type of agility movement, jump onto another box

-single-leg depth jump (very advanced)

Let me know if you have any questions/comments

-Pele