Gain strength, flexibility and stability

The difference between a good race and a great race is in the subtle preparation. After working with 6 different Ironman world champions, I realized that their preparation was similar: Everything was measured to fit one intention, they wanted to peak, on one day to be the best. When you peak something else can happen.

Paula Newby-Frazier and Jesse Stensland started the sport as top swimmers and transformed into great runners. How can a swimmer learn to run? Two differences stand out in the mechanics of running vs. swimming: the position of the ankle and the movement of the hips.

As most track stars know, there can be a price for speed. The track is often the place where athletes feel their speed and find their shin splints. Heather Fuhr and I meet for the purpose of resolving shin splint problems that had their beginning in high school. There are many theories about shin splints, however all agree that the calf muscle is involved. How can we bring the track and the calf together and leave the shin splints in the dust?

When triathlon coach Paul Huddle and I got together in 1988 to produce the first flexibility material for triathletes, it was a meeting of two opposites: the hopelessly inflexible meets Gumby. Let's face it; the tri community is fun, but tight.

Kinesiology Clinic; 334 N. Rios Ave., Solana Beach, CA 92075; DVD; 25 minutes.

The introductory shots of bikers, runners, and surfers in this stretching program leave no doubt that it is intended primarily for hard-playing types. But even if the closest you get to athletics is watching a football game on TV, you can benefit in some small way from regularly practicing this half-hour routine.

Yoga teachers Rodney Yee and Brian Dorfman compare notes on the ideal size for a yoga class.

As Yoga's popularity expands, so do class rosters. This bodes well for yoga's continued longevity, but when does popularity become overpopulation?

Getting athletes to stretch is harder then stretching itself. However, it should be clear that stretching is an integral part of long term heath and fitness. Effort to train will be balanced by ease of stretching. Therefore, stretching is a way to increase your chance to play/train for years to come.