I’m going to keep it simple today. Here’s another workout to get you female sports and fitness fans going.
3 sets/ rounds of 8-10 reps for each exercise will do the trick. Experience the workout, experience the results….
Stay Fit. Stay Fun. Stay Fierce!
-Coach Mel
It’s the middle of October so seeing the leafs change colors and the weather getting a little cooler, makes me think about all those Thursdays in October when I was in high school and would wake up with pre-race nerves or “butterflies” as all my teammates called them, because I would have cross-country races later in the day.
Now having that butterfly feeling in your stomach isn’t the most comfortable feeling in the world but at least you know it’s your bodies way of telling you that the situation is different and that your level of performance needs to be different as well. However, it is when those pre-game /race nerves gets the best of you that your performance can be effected in a way that will inhibit not enhance your performance levels.
To prevent those butterfly feelings from getting the best of you and your performance find out 3 ways to handle pre-game nerves by checking out the video below…
Stay Fit. Stay Fun. Stay Fierce!
-Coach Mel
Now I want to make this plain and clear…I LOVE working with female athletes
However there are a few things that I see especially when working with female athletes (and females in general) that I absolutely can not stand…
Whether it’s due to bad or ignorant coaching, or a misconception believed to be true in the mind of the females due outside influences other than coaches (MEDIA, MEDIA, MEDIA). There are three major mistakes that I really cannot stand and have to discuss with my ladies because making any one of them (not to mention all three) can mean disaster to your fitness and sporting success
Check out the video below to see what those top 3 female athlete mistakes are….
Stay Fit. Stay Fun. Stay Fierce!
-Coach Mel
In celebration of Tuesday (I liked the sound/thought of Total Body Tuesday) I thought it was a good idea to post a workout. This workout will take no longer than 20 minutes and will strengthen and condition you so it is a great bang for your buck workout
Hope you enjoy! Oh yea I would recommend three bouts of work rest periods for each exercise in the video with no more than 90 seconds but see how you feel depending on your fitness level, but either way push yourself if you want to feel and see the results….
Be Fit. Be Fun. Be Fierce!
-Coach Mel
We are girls so we love pink right?
Well not necessarily, I think my mom put too much pink on me growing up, because nowadays you will hardly ever see me wearing pink. However, the month of October is Breast Cancer Awareness Month so it’s time to ROCK THE PINK (and love it…this is hard for me) to show the LOVE and RESPECT for all those women (and few men) that have been affected by this awful disease.
This issue hits me personally because my grandmother just had a breast removed after finding a cancerous lump but luckily she is recovering just fine, however I know that there are so many other women and families that are not so lucky.
And as you may see a lot during this month, “early detection can save lives” so to all my young girls and women I urge you to think about pink and by this I mean do your frequent check ups and self-exams to be on the safe side.
Shoot, how many of you at some point in your life all you could do was think about your breast? I mean you would have done anything to have them? I know asked my mom for exercises on how to make my chest get bigger plenty of times growing up and couldn’t wait to get my first training bra, so ladies please take care of the ones you have!
So ladies the next time you are about to play your sports, or do your workouts don’t forget to think pink and take a moment to do a self-exam or at least say a prayer those that are being affected and trying to find a cure because it can one day be you and that is nothing that you want to experience..
Stay Fit, Stay Fun, Stay Fierce!
-Coach Mel
Now coaching my high school girls team is one of my greatest joys, so I
have gotten super excited TWICE this week because two of my captains
from last years track team contacted me.
One just got a couple recruiting letters and needed some of my information to send it back to the school interested, and the other one wanted a workout program to do up at college because she says she’s out of shape.
And the text from my second athlete, CMac is the reason I am writing this post today.
So many high school female athletes go off to college and stop competitively playing sports but then are left not sure of what to do to stay in shape, I myself was one of them too. I knew I still wanted to be active and stay in shape but what exactly should I do?
So here is a sample workout for all of you ladies that no longer competitively play sports in college but know you still want to get in some good workouts to stay in shape. (This workout can be pushed to the max if you are already in good shape but want or need something else to do, or it can be modified if you are a beginner/very out of shape).
The following exercises are grouped as a superset meaning you do one right after the other and then rest in between the superset group (eq. exercise 1a and 1b done back to back 3xs and the rest 1 min is between superset group 1 and 2) These exercises will hit all your major muscles groups and are set up to strengthen AND condition you like a superwomen!
Enjoy!
1a. Body weight Squats 3×8
1b. Pushups 3×8 (modified if you are not ready for regular pushups)
1min rest
2a. Hip Elevations 3×8
2b. DB Rows 3×8
1 min rest
3a. SL Reaches 3×8ea leg
3b. Push Presses 3×8
1 min rest
4. Mountain Climbing-Burpees (cardio crusher for the end) 3x 8ea leg+burpee
Stay Fit, Fun, and Fierce!
-Coach Mel
The recruiting process can be one of the most strenous yet exciting times of a young female athlete’s life.
Regardless of the level in which you play it’s always a nice feeling to be recruited (I’m even talking about being on the playground and people want you on THEIR team). Granted it is a nice feeling to be recruited, the fact that that school is recruiting you, should be just the beginning of what you should consider about that school or any other school you may be or want to be recruited by.
After talking with several coaches from Div I to Div III schools, I found several similar themes and tips that will make the recruiting process a lot easier and more fullfilling.
The following are 5 recruiting tips for female athletes to keep in mind to increase their chances of being recruited, and find the right fit athletically and academically.
1. Contact coaches consistently
Coaches are very very busy, especially at certain times of the year when they are traveling a lot for recruiting and when signing letters of intent are around the corner, so it can be difficult for them to contact you, and it is not necessarily because they are not interested. So if you are really interested in a school or they have sent you some information but then you have not heard anything in a while, don’t be shy or think you are being a bug-a-boo, contact them and let them know you are interested and still around, believe me they appreciate it because it makes their job much easier
2. Know what you want out of your experience
Sometimes we grow up with these thoughts of always wanting to go to a certain school. Could be because you watched them growing up, that was your favorite players team, or you just loved the team colors (this has been me a couple times), but that is not enough. If you want to get the most out of your experience (college or highschool with the ultra publicized recruiting that’s going on) you need to know what you want. Does the school have the major you are interested in studying, do you want a big or small school feel, or do you want the coach to be cut throat or more sensitive, regardless you need to know what you want and let the recruiting process be guided by that.
3. Ask your High School Coach to Help
Not all high school coaches are proactive in getting their athletes noticed, so if you are one of those girls who’s coaches isn’t then you ASK them to be! Coaches love to hear from other coaches the true scoop on an athlete. Is she a team player, vocal or quiet leader, has a good work ethic, etc all the intangibles that may not be abe to really be seen in one or two conversations or meetings that are allowed during the recruiting process, so asking your coach to vouch for you can be a big help
4. Do your homework
Yes that will help greatly to keep the grades where they need to be to help your recruiting cause but I am talking about doing your research on the school that’s recruiting you or you want to be recruited by. Are they graduating their athletes? Do they have good support teams (academics, and nutritional support, which is a big key with female athletes…just check out the University of tennesse’s lady Vols great program called TEAM ENHANCE)?
5. YOU Recruit the School
You know how you love or would love to be recruited by schools well return that favor. Follow how the team is doing during their sesaon and even inquire about their off-season training as well, it shows that you are really in tune with them, another things coaches love. If you show you care about them and not just make it about them having to care about you then it could mean the difference between you and another recruit that they are deciding between.
Be Fit. Be Fun. Be Fierce…Be a Female Athlete
-Coach Mel
I went to a Philadelphia Phillies baseball game earlier today with two good female friends of mine and had an absolute blast…it’s nothing like hanging out with the girls especially when sports are involved (we get just as rowdy and the guys look at you and love the passion you have for a sport they love)!
It was a pretty cloudy day but the sun played nice and decided to come and stay out for most of the game… but let me tell ya the sun wasn’t the only thing shining at the game.
Like most sporting team mascots do, the Philly Fanatic brought a light and shining joy to the fans young and old shown my enthusiastic cheers and smiles. But I took much pleasure in seeing one of the game break entertainment segments, that included a young girl around 12 or 13 years of age shake her tail feather with the Fanatic, and boy was she moving!
She was smiling from ear to ear and moving every part of her body and having a heck of a time doing it. But maybe one of the greatest things to see was about 5 rows up from her dancing (ontop of a dugout platform) was her father dancing and cheering her on maybe just as loud as the whole stadium put together.
When she was done and was ushered back to her seat by the event staff she got plenty of high fives and good jobs from the fans, but the funny thing was that her dad was gettting just as many high fives, but he was going to the fans for them. Talk about a proud dad.
I look at that experience as a life-lasting experience for that young girl and her father. It made me think how one athletic experience (going to a game that lead to shaking a tail feather) can provide such a memory and be such a great bond and relationship builder.
It reminded me of all the times I watched and went to games with my dad (when he was still living) and what started my life-long love of sports and physical activity.
Now I don’t know how much that young girl likes baseball or softball for that matter, but I am sure that she will NEVER forget that fun moment for her and that proud moment for her father, and will always have at least some satisfaction and appreciation for her athletic experience.
Amazing what a Philly Fanatic and a Father can do!
Stay Fit. Stay Fun. Stay Fierce
-Coach Mel
Girls if you are not using dynamic warmups before for your competitions and workouts you are NOT going to experience all that you should out of that activity.
Dynamic warmups are more effective in preparing your body for your activity than a standard 5 minute jog, or warmup on the elliptical because they increase your core body temperature, heart rate and get blood to your working muscles like the standard warmups do but they ALSO loosen up the areas of your body more specific to the movements that would occur on the field or in the weightroom.
But ladies don’t worry if you don’t know what dynamic warmups are or what they look like, I’ll do you a favor and reveal some of those to ya.
Try some or all of these before your next workout or competition and let me know what you think…
Be Fit. Be Fun. Be Fierce…Be a Female Athlete
-Coach Mel
Do you know what maybe the greatest exercise a female can experience…..?
It’s PUSHUPS!!
But, so many gals don’t experience the great benefits pushups have to offer because they fear them with a passion, and this holds true among the so called “more athletic” ladies too.
Now don’t get me wrong pushups can be a very challenging exercise, especially for us gals because we natuarally do not have as much upper body strength in comparison to our lower bodies. Or compared to guys (especially true the older we get), but it really isn’t that hard if you start at the basic modified pushups and progress yourself the right way from there.
But that is part of the problem…
Many girls do not know where to start. In many cases it is because no one has ever told or showed them how to, so that they can get stronger to progress to the standard pushup.
Half of my high school girls track team said they couldn’t or didn’t know how to (seeing people do pushups and actually doing them yourself are different) do pushups the first
practice I ever asked them to do them ( and the majority were saying
that about the modified pushups).
Well I want to share that info with you right now because….
1) It’s a great exercise for core building, fat burning, arm toning, and believe it or not glute
shaping (all great for athletes and fitness enthusiast) and…
2) Working your way up to doing a regular pushup from the modified or “girl pushups” can be one of the most empowering and uplifting things ever! I can’t tell you many young girls and women are left smiling ear to ear once they have built up to doing the standard pushups.
So for all you girls and ladies that think they can’t do the regular pushup, dread trying a girl pushup, and even cringe when they hear the word pushup, put those feelings behind you because I am going to show you how to do pushups.
And I’m going to cover all the basics, starting from the modified version all the way up the regular pushup.
Just start at the level you are comfortable with, slowly work yourself up and then BE PROUD and BE CONFIDENT because you are officially apart of TEAM GIRLS CRUSH PUSHUPS!
Until next time,
Be Fit. Be Fun. Be Fierce…Be a Female Athlete
-Coach Mel
