I had the opportunity to attend the USA Track and Field SW Regional Masters Championship last month. I was there to consult with athletes and coaches on training- and injury-related issues. I always enjoy interacting with athletes at this level, given the range of ages and the broad variety of training backgrounds.
There is a consistent theme throughout the masters athletics population: most have sustained training injuries, and a large percentage are continuing to train or compete with them. But what is perhaps more troubling is the perception of what is acceptable should an injury occur – especially regarding the time frame for recovery and the treatments to be utilized in the process.
Sadly, the accepted standard for injury recovery these days is a little disconcerting.
They have become the bane of our endurance training existence. Those incessant beep, beep, beeps as they pass me on the trail drive me crazy.
The heart rate monitor.
If you have been sedentary, are unfamiliar with exercise, or have no understanding of physical exertion, then the use of a heart rate monitor might prove helpful. Let’s allow you to have a 3 month window to use it to help establish a relationship between exertion and self-awareness during activity.
Then sell it on Craigslist. And get on with training.
You mean it’s not the gold standard to my endurance training success?
Our current health care system has become one big reimbursement game. Make no mistake about it - If the health care game was a little sexier, I am sure it would appear on Nintendo or Xbox and become a best seller.
As it stands, the current health care system is filled with poor and misguided incentives. The more “stuff” you do, the more procedures you perform, the more you are reimbursed. Your income isn’t based on outcome or patient satisfaction – nor is it even remotely related to it. In all reality, you don’t have to be accountable to the patient whatsoever. There is also a fine line between “fair reimbursement” and any of a number of serious words like “fraud” and “over-utilization”.
Accountability is critical – to the success of the system, and to the patient. Therein lies one of the biggest problems in the health care reimbursement game.
The podcast “Consumer’s Guide To Health” is taking a brief summer vacation. After returning to the airwaves in January, it was time to put the feet up and relax for a week.
The next episode – Episode 50 – will be on Thursday, August 30. This biweekly podcast and live stream airs on BlogTalkRadio every other Thursday at 11:00am central time. Exciting times are ahead this fall for the “Consumer’s Guide To Health” podcast, with cooler weather, more great topics and interviews, and a little bit of redesign thrown in for good measure.
All previous episodes of CGH are currently available on my BlogTalkRadio channel. You can subscribe via RSS and the podcasts are also available on iTunes. The next episode will be on Thursday, August 30 – join the discussion!
It was the first world record in track and field at the London Olympics. The time was 1:40.91. The event? The final of the men’s 800 meters. The performance surpassed a record that had stood since 1997. The man to do it? David Rudisha of Kenya.
All of the attention may have been on Usain Bolt in the 200 meters that day, but a few important points were lost in the mix. David Rudisha has been defeated just once in the past 46 races at this distance. He also has the three fastest 800 meter times of all time, and six of the top 8.
So what made this performance so special? I would suggest that one quote sums it up quite nicely: “I was well-prepared and I had no doubt about winning”.
Rudisha provided us with a fine case study in sport psychology.
The first week of the London Olympics has had its share of drama, excitement and controversy. Thus far it has been a memorable Olympiad, with swimming and gymnastics leading the way as always. Week One provided an exclamation point to swimmer Michal Phelps’ career when he broke the record for most Olympic medals with a total of 22. I don’t see that record being broken any time soon. Great stuff, indeed.
As much as I enjoy watching the other events, it is always a treat once we get to Day One of track and field. It epitomizes the Olympic motto of “citius, altius, fortius”, or, for those who prefer the Queen’s English, “faster, higher, stronger”.
After a few days of track and field, it is readily apparent that we have a new legend to discuss. His name? Usain Bolt.
This is the 22nd in a series of RunSmart videos. The series is on-going, with a new video released on a biweekly basis. These videos complement the material presented in the book “RunSmart: A Comprehensive Approach To Injury-Free Running”. The full series of videos can be found here. A compilation of the first 10 videos will be available on Vimeo as well.
For those of you that are interested in a more interactive learning environment, consider attending a Level One (half day), Level Two (one day), or Level Three (two day) RunSmart program. The Level One program is 4 hours and focuses on basic training principles, running mechanics, and injury prevention. The Level Two program is 8.5 hours and focuses on performance optimization and training program development. The Level Three program is a two day, 15 hour program that includes a comprehensive approach to running injuries. I am currently putting together a 2013 schedule. If you are interested in attending an upcoming session, schedule updates will be posted here and on my newsletter. If you would like to host a session in your community, please contact me.
In this video, I discuss principles and practices. Stephen Covey has put forth the idea of principles, the “why” we do, as contrasted with practices, the “what” we do. This is discussed in the context of run training.
Allan Besselink, PT, DPT, Ph.D., Dip.MDT has a unique voice in the world of sports, education, and health care. Read more about Allan here.