Hi everyone. Wasn't totally sure where to post this, and I'll probably think of more questions after I post, but here goes.
I am in a Roller Derby league and we have practice 3 or 4 times every week. Our Coaches are husbands of some of the girls, and though they are completely devoted to being there every practice, helping us get better, and knowing as much as they can about the sport, I don't feel they are quite qualified to be training us. Many of these girls have never played sports before (any female of any age or size can participate in derby), so they - the girls - don't know form, they don't know good pain from bad, they don't know about muscle growth, etc.
These coaches will have us do "plyometrics" to get our agility up, but we will be focusing on calf exercises the whole time. I think they are just picking and choosing exercises from training books, and not following an actual plan. Which means we might be doing vigorous calf activity for 25 straight minutes. What are the dangers here?
Also, they will have us occasionally do shoulder raises, lat raises, and shoulder press with our skates (because we won't have weights available) and I feel that this is terribly dangerous, since skates aren't balanced like free weights are. In addition to the fact that they are not making sure that each girl has the correct form, plus I think the skates are too heavy for some of the girls. However, I can't find any articles that address the use of items as opposed to free weights and what the possible cautions are.
I myself work out in a gym 4 days a week, doing weight training. I know how important form is, and how it can affect what you're doing. Also I know about breathing while lifting, and about resting your muslces after you've worked out. These coaches never address any of this while they are having us do exercises. There may only be a handful of us (out of the 60+ girls in the league) that actually follow a consistent workout routine outside of practice, but I don't think the coaches realize the damage that can be done to the muscles if they don't get rested. Example: on a day that I do chest & shoulders in the gym, I shouldn't go to practice that night and do pushups and shoulder raises. But I need solid resources as to why this is true. I'm having trouble finding them. I feel like these guys are in the "more is better" mentality. They had the travel team do 5 minute squats the other day... why?? Why would you do that? But I also need to know how that can hurt you, so that I can tell them.
I think they feel threatened when we bring in new people with knowledge of training, but I'm afraid that their lack of knowledge is going to (and some argue that it already has) cause injuries. They mean well, and they are doing what they think is right, but I think we need a change. I just want resources to back up what I want to tell them.
I know this is kind of a bunch of random thoughts, but if anyone could help with any part of it, I'd really appreciate it.
I am in a Roller Derby league and we have practice 3 or 4 times every week. Our Coaches are husbands of some of the girls, and though they are completely devoted to being there every practice, helping us get better, and knowing as much as they can about the sport, I don't feel they are quite qualified to be training us. Many of these girls have never played sports before (any female of any age or size can participate in derby), so they - the girls - don't know form, they don't know good pain from bad, they don't know about muscle growth, etc.
These coaches will have us do "plyometrics" to get our agility up, but we will be focusing on calf exercises the whole time. I think they are just picking and choosing exercises from training books, and not following an actual plan. Which means we might be doing vigorous calf activity for 25 straight minutes. What are the dangers here?
Also, they will have us occasionally do shoulder raises, lat raises, and shoulder press with our skates (because we won't have weights available) and I feel that this is terribly dangerous, since skates aren't balanced like free weights are. In addition to the fact that they are not making sure that each girl has the correct form, plus I think the skates are too heavy for some of the girls. However, I can't find any articles that address the use of items as opposed to free weights and what the possible cautions are.
I myself work out in a gym 4 days a week, doing weight training. I know how important form is, and how it can affect what you're doing. Also I know about breathing while lifting, and about resting your muslces after you've worked out. These coaches never address any of this while they are having us do exercises. There may only be a handful of us (out of the 60+ girls in the league) that actually follow a consistent workout routine outside of practice, but I don't think the coaches realize the damage that can be done to the muscles if they don't get rested. Example: on a day that I do chest & shoulders in the gym, I shouldn't go to practice that night and do pushups and shoulder raises. But I need solid resources as to why this is true. I'm having trouble finding them. I feel like these guys are in the "more is better" mentality. They had the travel team do 5 minute squats the other day... why?? Why would you do that? But I also need to know how that can hurt you, so that I can tell them.
I think they feel threatened when we bring in new people with knowledge of training, but I'm afraid that their lack of knowledge is going to (and some argue that it already has) cause injuries. They mean well, and they are doing what they think is right, but I think we need a change. I just want resources to back up what I want to tell them.
I know this is kind of a bunch of random thoughts, but if anyone could help with any part of it, I'd really appreciate it.