Mental Strength: An Introduction!

Hello to everyone reading this!

First off I’d like to say thank you for taking time out of your day to read these blog posts.  My name is Chris Cannizzaro and I’ll be interning at Cheer360 this summer.  My internship focuses on mental strength. 

For those of you who aren’t familiar with what mental strength is let me give you a quick synopsis.  Mental strength is being able to maintain your focus towards a goal set in front of you.  It allows you to block out distractions, regain your focus if you lost it momentarily, and to overall perform better at any task you do. 

           Throughout my blog posts I’m going to identify and discuss some specific techniques used by professional athletes such as the use of imagery and goal setting to mention a few.

Before we go into any of those the one thing you must have for any of those techniques to work is a positive attitude.  Without a positive attitude you can be handed the world on a silver platter and you still won’t be successful.

            Each of my blogposts are going to have a quote at the bottom, I want everyone to think about the quote and how you can apply it to your everyday life!

“Always do your best.  What you plant now, you will harvest later.” – Og Mandino

WELCOME TO THE LAYOUT

You are now entering the FIRST blog of its kind that is run by the cheerleading community, for the cheerleading community. Feel free to click around! 

Every article is written by either a  present Long Island cheerleader (or what we like to call our CLBs) or a guest writer! Get to know our fun and quirky Cheer Leader Bloggers by clicking to their bios. We are focused on spreading the word about the hard work and dedication cheerleaders put into their sport everyday. Help us with our mission! Be sure to Like, Comment, and Share our articles.

We are always open to suggestions! 

Thank you for your support and interest!
Jessica, Editor-In-Chief, CLB

The F.I.T.T.E: Guidelines for Exercise

Frequency Intensity Time Type and Enjoyment (F.I.T.T.E) are the five guidelines that every athlete should keep in mind when personalizing a training program.

Frequency is the number of training sessions in a given time frame. The number of training sessions can be broken down by year, month, or week (long term, short term, and immediate results) depending on the athlete’s goals. Training frequently for shorter periods of time is how an athlete would try to obtain immediate or faster results in order to reach short and long term goals.

Intensity is the level of demand that a given activity places on the body. Knowing how much intensity to use for each program plays a huge role in the program’s success. For example, cheerleader A’s short term goals are to improve her jumps and tumbling within a six-week training program; Cheerleader B’s long term goals are the same; however, she wants to accomplish them within a six-month period. The six-week workout program used by cheerleader A requires high levels of intensity, more frequently, to produce maximum results. The longer six-month workout program used by cheerleader B requires the same high level of intensity, less frequently, enabling athletes to achieve goals more gradually with a lower risk of injury.

Time refers to the length of time an athlete is engaged in a physical activity. Workouts for strength athletes such as cheerleaders should average between 30 and 90 minutes. The shorter 30-45 minute time frame is recommended for in-season training programs. The longer 60-90 minute time frame is recommended for pre and post-season training programs.

The second T in the guidelines is Type. Type is the mode of physical activity that an individual is engaged in. This can be any activity that raises your heart rate above its normal resting level (RHR). “What type of exercise is the best?” This is the number one question I am asked as fitness professional.  My answer is and always will be the same: “Do whatever you enjoy doing the most, the most often, unless you are preparing for a specific sport or sporting event.”

The final and most important principle of the guidelines is Enjoyment. If you don’t enjoy what you are doing, then it’s time to change it up. Training programs are hard; they are designed to be that way. Programs are made to overload your body with stress to promote new growth and abilities, both physically and mentally. The results are what make the stresses worth it. “Endure the obstacles on the path, embrace the journey, earn the results, and enjoy when you reach each destination along the way.” 

Kent Tarburton is Cheer360’s Co-Founder and Director of Fitness. He holds Personal Training certifications through the National Academy of Sports Medicine (NASM), the American Aerobic Association International (AAAI), the International Sports Medicine Association (ISMA), and is a certified Mental Game Coach.

Visualization: If You Can See It You Can Do It!

Did you know that your brain cannot tell the difference between an imagined and a real action? That’s right! With this being said, as an athlete visualization is a very important and useful skill.  They say practice makes perfect so when your body is tired from physically practicing a skill use some visualization to continue working on your game!

Follow these tips when working on visualization:

1. Practice, Practice, Practice!- spend 10-15 minutes each day working on your visualization.  I suggest using the time right before you go to sleep to focus on your mental training.  Make sure its quiet and you have little to no distractions.  Also, do not get discouraged if you loose focus or become distracted.  Visualization just like anything you do takes time and practice.

2.  Use All of Your Senses- The best visualization is very detailed and feels as if it is really happening.  Take the time to set the stage for the skill you are visualizing.  What do you see?, what sounds do you hear?, how do you feel?, are there any distinct smells? 

3. Change Your Perspective- Visualization can be done in two different ways (associated and disassociated).  Associated is when you are looking out from your body, this is the most common way to visualize.  Disassociated is when you are watching yourself complete a skill.  By watching yourself you can see how a movement should be broken down.  This can be helpful if you are struggling with a particular skill.  To get the full benefit from your visualization be sure to use both associated and disassociated.

Start a visualization routine today to optimize your performance!

Kristen Perri is Cheer360’s Co-Founder and Director of Mental Fitness.  She holds a masters degree in Sport Psychology, is a certified Mental Game Coach, Sport Hypnotist and Personal Trainer.  With over 8 years of cheer coaching experience, Kristen has coached all skill levels including middle school and junior varsity. Currently, Kristen is the Head Varsity Coach of a major Long Island Cheerleading Program. 

Training Frequency: How often should an athlete train for optimal results?

Training frequency directly reflects the results an athlete will see in the long term.  The number of training sessions per week, per body part, during pre and post season, is determined by many factors.  These factors include training goals, age, general health, work capacity, nutritional status, recovery, and lifestyle.

Research on training frequency during pre and post season indicates that the optimum training frequency for improvements in strength and flexibility is three to five times per week.  Training frequency for improvements in cardiovascular training is four to six times per week, with six days being the most beneficial amount.

In-season training frequency is different from pre and post season training frequencies. In-season training should be decreased slightly because of two major factors, sport specific practices (cheerleading practice) and overtraining. Overtraining is a major threat to an athlete’s progress during their season training; athletes tend to train at a volume that places too much stress on their bodies both physically and mentally.  This in turn can cause injury and burnout.  Research shows that training at least one to two times per week is sufficient to maintain the physical, physiological, and performance improvements that were achieved during pre and post season training.

For optimal results, athletes should follow the Cheer360 approach.  A healthy lifestyle, which includes a diet rich in nutrients, and a hard work ethic that places emphasis on mental focus.  Cheer360’s approach will enable all athletes to increase their strength and endurance and allow them to train harder, more efficiently, and frequently, creating positive results with a decrease in setbacks.

Kent Tarburton is Cheer360’s Co-Founder and Director of Fitness. He holds Personal Training certifications through the National Academy of Sports Medicine (NASM), the American Aerobic Association International (AAAI), the International Sports Medicine Association (ISMA), and is a certified Mental Game Coach.

Make Friends, Not Enemies, with Your Food

I was recently giving a presentation to a group of high school cheerleaders.  I had mentioned early on in the presentation that there is no such thing as dieting, and that no food should be “off-limits”.  When it came time to ask the final question, one of the girls raised her hand and asked, almost as if she were sharing a secret, “Can we really eat anything we want?  Like cookies?”  The question struck me as interesting, because it was as if I was giving her permission to do an illegal act by saying, “Yes you can eat cookies if you want to eat cookies.”

I thought quite a bit about this question in the weeks that followed.  I realized that our culture has made food out to be the enemy.  There are certain foods on the “Top Ten Most Wanted List” that we do not want to be “caught” with because it is a reflection of our healthy, or not so healthy habits.  But it is time to give food back its innocence!  There are so many ways any foods, even those previously deemed “criminal” can find a place in a healthy lifestyle.

Try out these tips for fitting in some of your favorites!

·         Moderation: When I was asked about the cookies I told the young lady who asked she could eat them every day if she wanted to.  I cautioned however this does not mean eat the whole box of Oreo's®, or a cookie from the deli that’s the size of your face on a daily basis.  Make serving sizes your friend and you can include anything in your eating plan in moderation.  Sharing always works too so everyone gets to enjoy!

·         Simple swaps: Maybe you love chips and dip, or you can’t resist ice cream.  Use healthy swaps with same taste and texture profile in order to curb your cravings.  For example, use nonfat, plain Greek yogurt in place of sour cream for your favorite dips!  When making mashed potatoes, use half the amount of potatoes and the other half blended cauliflower!  Bake your own oven fries instead of going through the drive-thru!  There are tons of ways to have the foods you want, but optimize their health benefits at the same time.

·         Balance your Indulgences: You can’t always say yes to every food you desire throughout the course of the day.  For example, if you decide to go with the blended coffee drink at breakfast that has a little more sugar than you would normally start your day with, that’s fine!  But maybe later in the evening pass on the ice cream for dessert, and go with yogurt or fruit with a little whip cream to balance out your earlier treat.

There is always a way to have your cake and eat it too…pun intended!  So use your intuition when honoring your indulgences, and balance those decisions with healthy choices as well.  You will find yourself satisfied and unrestricted, while still maintaining a healthy lifestyle!

Want more information for how to make food your friend?  E-mail me at shelbi@cheer-360.com!

Kettlebells with cheerleaders?

Kettlebells (weights that resemble cannon balls with a handle) were developed by Russian strongmen back in the 1700’s. These athletes used kettlebell exercises to increase strength, endurance, balance, and flexibility.

The American Council on Exercise (ACE) conducted a study in 2010 to see how demanding kettlebell exercises were on an athletes cardiovascular system. The study consisted of 10 volunteers (all experienced kettlebell users) ranging in ages from 29 to 46 years.

The first test given to the athletes was a five-minute kettlebell VO2 max snatch test to establish a baseline for their overall kettlebell fitness. Each athlete’s heart rate and oxygen consumption were monitored carefully during the test. Once the baseline was determined for the group, ACE put the athlete’s through a 20-minute kettlebell circuit while monitoring heart rates at 60-second intervals.

The average aerobic calorie burn for the 20-minute workout was 272 calories. Using a formula to estimate oxygen consumption, ACE was able to determine the athlete’s were burning 13.6 calories a minute aerobically. ACE also found that the athletes were burning an additional 6.6 calories per minute anaerobically. Overall, the athletes were burning 20.2 calories a minute, an amazing 1,212 calories an hour!

Kettlebell training can be used in every aspect of a cheerleader’s competitive lifestyle. Our motto at Cheer360 is injury prevention and healthy lifestyles. Cheer360 implements kettlebell training with all of our athletes so that each individual is benefiting from the most physically and mentally demanding exercise ever created.  This in turn produces cheerleaders that have the muscular endurance and strength needed to compete at their highest physical and mental capability.

Kent Tarburton is Cheer360’s Co-Founder and Director of Fitness. He holds Personal Training certifications through the National Academy of Sports Medicine (NASM), the American Aerobic Association International (AAAI), the International Sports Medicine Association (ISMA), and is a certified Mental Game Coach.

Choosing Carbs for Peak Performance

Over the past couple of decades carbohydrates haven't had a great reputation.  One diet after another has come out banishing carbohydrates from the diet almost entirely or in very small quantities.  Yet despite the growing "carbs are the enemy" movement, Americans still saw rising obesity rates.

The truth is, in order to have healthy, balanced eating, you need carbohydrates.  They are the preferred source of energy for your brain, and by eliminating them, you are asking your body to rely on making other sources of fuel that can eventually put your body in harms way.  Now that does not mean you should go eat a bagel, follow it with a bread bowl at lunch and pasta for dinner, but knowing how to use carbohydrates to your advantage will not only keep you satisfied, it will allow you to perform at a higher level than you would from avoiding carbs.

Carbohydrates should make up 45-65% of your overall diet.  If you are an athlete actively training or your sport is in season, you should be on the upper end of that range.  The real secret about making carbohydrates a part of a healthy eating plan is knowing which ones will give you the most "bang for your buck."

Here are a few tips for choosing the right carbohydrates for your diet:

•                Choose Whole Grains: The Academy of Nutrition and Dietetics has stated that Americans should aim to eat three servings of whole grains a day.  These powerful products contain fiber, protein and B vitamins that you may not find in refined carbohydrates like white rice, semolina pasta, and most dessert products.  So try and make the majority of carbohydrates you consume a part of the whole grain family.

•                Investigate Labels: Sometimes products that seem healthy are actually not.  For example, "multigrain" products often still have "Enriched flour" as their first ingredient.  This means they are just as unhealty as their white carb counterpart.  Make sure whole grain or wheat flour is the first ingredient so you know you are getting a non-refined product.

•                Fruits and Vegetables: One of the biggest problems with low to no carbohydrate diets when they first came out was they decreased the importance of fruits and vegetables because they are carbohydrates.  These are the last foods you want to cut out because they pack the most health benefits with usually the least amount of calories per serving. So aim for 3 to 5 a day for tons of disease fighting vitamins and nutrients!

•                Start Your Day the Carbohydrate Way: Consuming a breakfast that is mostly carbohydrates will set you up for success throughout the day.  When we wake up in the morning, we have not eaten since the night before.  Our carbohydrate stores are depleted and our brain needs fuel to start functioning.  Choosing oatmeal, whole grain cereals, or whole grain toast or waffles will start you off with quality carbohydrates, giving you the best start to your day.

The way carbohydrates help you at breakfast is the same way they help you as an athlete.  Carbohydrates are the best fuel to have at your disposal before performing an athletic activity that is longer than an hour, or very intense, so make sure you are having quality carbohydrates two to three hours before your workout, practice or game.  

Carbohydrates aren't the enemy, rather they are your friend!  So show them a little love from now on and see your performance improve!

Are you making the most of your off-season? Don't forget to Train Your Brain!

Did you know that the off-season is the most crucial and important time in making you the athlete you want to be?  You will have the most physical and mental growth during this time if you create a training regimen and stick to it!  Here are two important tips on how to keep your mind strong and become prepared for the challenges the new season will bring. 

Set off-season goals:

When the season comes to an end your head starts to spin full of big ideas and dreams for next season.  Use that excitement as the fuel to kick start your off-season training and to set personal goals.  Take the time to sit down and evaluate your performance from last season and decide on 2-3 skills that you want to improve on.  Your goals should be specific and realistic. 

Sit down and take the time to choose goals that are meaningful and important to you.  When you have selected your off-season goals write them down and post them somewhere that you can see them everyday.  Writing your goals down and then shoving them in a notebook or desk drawer creates the “out of sight, out of mind” issue….and we don’t want that!  Post them on your mirror in your room or in the bathroom, places that you look everyday.  Having a visual cue of your goals will keep your mind focused on what you want to accomplish.

Visualization:

Now that you have set your off-season goals its time to go out there and work on them everyday!  While your immediate thoughts on how to improve your skills will probably be to physically practice them (which is no doubt very important and the first step) do not forget the most under-trained muscle in your body that can help you, your brain! 

Visualization is when you create a mental image or scenario of what you want to happen or feel.  Your visualization should include all of your senses to make it as realistic as possible.  What do you see, hear, smell, and taste when you perform this skill.  Once you have visually set the stage, perform the skill perfectly that you want to improve.  Focus on all the components that you need to improve on.

Once you have created a visualization routine take 5 minutes everyday to go though it.  Find somewhere quiet, take a few deep breathes in and let them out slowly and then go though your visualization routine 3-5 times.  By working on your skills mentally a few minutes everyday you are building experience and confidence in your abilities.

Kristen Perri is Cheer360’s Co-Founder and Director of Mental Fitness.  She holds a masters degree in Sport Psychology, is a certified Mental Game Coach, Sport Hypnotist and Personal Trainer.  With over 8 years of cheer coaching experience, Kristen has coached all skill levels including middle school and junior varsity. Currently, Kristen is the Head Varsity Coach of a major Long Island Cheerleading Program. 

CONFIDENCE IS KEY!

You hear your coach screaming from across the room “Be Confident” and you look at him/her and think, well I’m smiling… am I not being confident? Confidence is a hard skill to master and being able to show your confidence when you perform can be even harder.  I’m here to help teach you how you can become a more confident cheerleader with the 3 R’s to self-confidence.

Lets first get a good understanding of what self-confidence really is.  Confidence is the relationship you have between what you think and what you do.  Your confidence in yourself will impact your performance 100% so its important to understand what your self-confidence is made up of.  You need to practice hard and feel prepared to compete.  The person who practices hard will no doubt be more prepared.  Also, you need to believe and trust in your abilities and all the practicing and preparing you have done up until this point. 

When working at practice to improving your confidence it is best to follow the 3 R’s.

1. REPEAT- Start by picking a few of your personal cheerleading strengths and repeat them to yourself a few times in a row.
2. RATIONALIZE- Many thoughts run through our heads, some positive and some negative.  Any thoughts that you have will need to be rationalized.  For example, if you start to think “my jumps are awful” you need to breakdown why you are thinking this (rationalize your thought). Maybe you do not think your jumps are the best because you could stretch more at home or you need to focus on pointing your toes.  Instead of losing confidence in yourself because of your jumps you now have concrete skills to work on to make your jumps better.
3. REPLACE- Replace any negative thought or statement with a positive one.  Just because a situation you are in is not ideal does not mean that it is negative.  Every situation that presents itself as harder then what you expected is a challenge for you to work on and overcome.  Always look for the positive in a negative. 

Building up your confidence can be difficult but just like any other skill, you need to work on it daily and you will slowly have and show more confidence.  Start working on the 3 R’s now in the off-season to help make yourself  a more confident cheerleader by the time tryouts are upon you!  Show the judges and your coach that you believe in yourself and your skills.

Kristen Perri is Cheer360’s Co-Founder and Director of Mental Fitness.  She holds a masters degree in Sport Psychology, is a certified Mental Game Coach, Sport Hypnotist and Personal Trainer.  With over 8 years of cheer coaching experience, Kristen has coached all skill levels including middle school and junior varsity. Currently, Kristen is the Head Varsity Coach of a major Long Island Cheerleading Program. 

www.Cheer-360.com

Fun Friday: Early Memorable Moments

With Cheer360 set to open its doors on April 13, 2013, staff find themselves filled with excitement that is equally matched by all those they come in contact with. In the short time Cheer360 has been readying for its grand opening, many lives have already been positively touched and memories created.

A staple of the Cheer360 program is to tailor training programs to the athletes they serve by working with coaches, parents and athletes themselves, to ensure no need goes unaddressed.  An outcome from this personalized programming by Coaches Kent and Shari, is a benchmark workout that is named for the team or group of athletes participating in it. The athletes will later on in their training be tested to see how their overall fitness has improved. To date, we have seen the Hauppauge Eagles, "Drop Down and Get Their Eagle On" by engaging in a circuit of deadlifts, box jumps, bosu ball squats and kettlebell thrusters. The Smithtown Bulls found the benchmark exercise of BATO (Bulls Are Taking Over) to be a circuit of bosu ball push ups, K-band jumps, box jumps and medicine ball thrusters. As Cheer360 opens this weekend, more benchmark programs will be created, more athletes will begin their training programs and more fun, creative and personalized workouts will be named by our coaches and athletes.

One other recent experience that had a memorable impact on Cheer360 staff and athletes, occurred during a recent educational talk on proper nutrition by Coach Shelbi. The topic turned to, "How healthy are energy bars?" The young athletes began through rapid fire, naming nearly, EVERY SINGLE energy bar and seeking
Coach Shelbi's nutritional nod of approval. It was a very informative and fun presentation that came to an end when the group broached the subject of candy bars!

In these early weeks, Cheer360 could not be more thankful for those athletes that have already signed up and begun challenging themselves to reach their peak fitness levels. As Cheer360 grows, we expect to share more and more of these memorable moments shared by our staff, athletes, coaches, parents and community.

If you had a memorable moment at Cheer360 please feel free to write us by commenting below or emailing Kristen@cheer-360.com. These memorable moments are shining examples of inspiration to all of us.

For more information about Cheer360 visit www.Cheer-360.com and sign up for our monthly newsletter.

Do we really need to warm-up and cool-down?

Warm-up and cool-down are the most overlooked aspects of an athlete’s training program. The number one excuse athlete’s give is, “I don’t have time.” Cheer360 is here to tell you that you need to start making time! 

Your warm-up and cool-down are essential for elevating performance output, heart rate, injury prevention, and overall health.  A warm-up should consist of a low-to-moderate intensity exercise for 10 minutes. For cheerleaders, the exercises used during a warm-up should mimic movements that will be done during practice, a game, and/or a competition. For example, if you are going to be working on toe touches, pikes, and herkies, then warm-up with 15-20 prisoner squats to increase blood flow to the quadriceps, gluteals, and hamstrings. This 10-minute bout will elevate heart rate, respiratory rate, increase tissue temperature, and increase psychological preparation for the duration of the cheerleading practice, game, or competition.

Cooling down is just as important as warming up because it gives the body a chance to slow the heart rate, respiratory rate, decrease tissue temperature, and return the body to a state of rest. Cool-down exercises need to consist of the same exercises executed during the warm-up.  These exercises should be done in a slow to moderate tempo in order to decrease heart rate and breathing.   Static stretching and foam rolling exercises should also be incorporated into the cool-down to help relax muscles and allow them to return to their original resting length.

 Visit Cheer360 today at www.cheer-360.com  to learn more sport specific warm-up and cool-down exercises for your cheerleading team.

Why do we stretch?

You walk into practice, put on your cheer sneakers, and your coach immediately instructs you to circle up and start your team’s warm-up and stretching regimen.  But how many of you really understand the health benefits you are receiving from stretching, beyond your everyday cheerleading skills that require great flexibility?

Maintaining and enhancing flexibility is a life-long process.  Flexibility is essential to everyone’s overall health and well-being, especially a cheerleader’s.  Many cheerleaders think that the flyers on their team are the athletes that need to be the most flexible; however, this cannot be farther from the truth.

Flexibility is important for all members of a team, including your coach!  Flexibility goes well beyond the ability to perform perfect jumps and pull a beautiful heel stretch and scorpion.  It helps to prevent everyday injuries including muscle strains, back aches, and knee pains, thereby improving posture, lengthening muscles for a leaner physique, increasing circulation, and decreasing tension and stress.

So the next time your coach asks you to “circle up and stretch,” don’t just sit in a straddle position and talk with your teammates.  Approach your stretching routine like you would approach walking onto the mat, ready to compete with enthusiasm and motivation to get better!

Visit Cheer360 to speak with a flexibility specialist on incorporating k-band stretching into your workout!

Website: www.Cheer-360.com

Progress NOT Perfection

“Perfect” is an unrealistic word used commonly by athletes when explaining what they want.  The word “Perfect” is as much of a curse word in sports as “I Can’t!”  Stop searching for perfection and start moving towards personal progress. 

Close your eyes and imagine this scenario, I’m sure it has happened to at least a few of you out there reading. 

You have been working all season on the stunts in your routine but every competition this season you have gotten scared and the stunt has fallen.  The last competition of the season is approaching in 2 weeks and all you can think of and say to yourself is “I have to hit all my stunts perfectly!” The pressure is on to make your last performance perfect so you can prove to yourself, your team, your coach and the judges that you are an outstanding athlete.  You feel that if you do not perform perfectly at this last competition you will be a failure. 

Searching for this illusive perfect performance is only setting you up for a let down. When we will only accept perfection anything else is going to be unacceptable and disappointing.  Searching for the perfect performance is the one thing the athlete should not be focusing on. 

Now you must be wondering to yourself “well, what should I be focusing on if it’s not to be perfect?”  That answer is simple, PROGRESS! Going back to the scenario above it would be best to treat this last competition as a chance to improve from your past performances.  Always focus on having a better performance from your last, this is called progress.  When you open up your mindset from being perfect to being better you allow for a more accurate description of how you performed.  When you focus solely on being perfect you can only judge yourself as either perfect or imperfect.  But when you search for progress and strive to become better than before you open up your outcomes and will be a better athlete because of it. 

Progress not Perfection is a true champions mindset!

For more information on Mental Game Coaching visit www.cheer-360.com

What is foam rolling and why is it important to cheerleaders?

Foam rolling, also known as self-myofascial release, is a stretching technique that focuses on the connections the brain has with all the muscle groups in an athlete’s body.

When athletes exercise, their muscles become damaged. This damage is actually adhesions, commonly referred to as “knots,” in the fibrous materials that surround individual muscles. The adhesions cause what was once a long, straight muscle fiber to become short and bundled. These adhesions cause the pain and soreness in the days following an athlete’s exercise.

Neuromuscular efficiency is the ability of the neuromuscular system to allow agonists, antagonist, and stabilizer muscles to work synergistically to produce, reduce, and dynamically stabilize the entire kinetic chain in all three planes of motion. So what does this mean for cheerleaders?  In order for a cheerleader to increase her neuromuscular efficiency, foam rolling stretching should be incorporated into an athlete’s daily stretching regimen.

Foam rolling helps cheerleaders maintain optimal neuromuscular efficiency by applying gentle force to an adhesion or “knot,” therefore bringing the bundled muscle fiber back into a straighter alignment. The gentle massage produced by the foam roller causes receptors within the muscles to relax, releasing the tension of the underlying musculature. This helps restore the body back to its optimal level of function by resetting the receptors within the muscles, causing them to unbundle and return to their original length.

If a cheerleader lacks neuromuscular efficiency, her brain, cannot properly tell her muscles to contract, relax, and balance when they need to, resulting in possible injury.  When a cheerleader performs a tumbling pass, she needs to create a hard muscle contraction to propel her body off of the floor; muscles then need to be able to decelerate the athlete’s body for a safe, soft landing; and finally the muscles need to be able to stabilize the body so the cheerleader does not lose her balance and fall to the floor once she has landed. By not using a foam roller, the same tumbling pass may result in improper take off or landing (usually resulting in a fall), possibly causing a sprain, fracture, or damage to a ligament, major joint, or bone.

Visit CHEER360 to learn the proper technique to foam rolling so you can start perfecting your overall performance today!

Our Website:www.Cheer-360.com

Like Cheer360 on Facebook! 

Follow Cheer360 on Twitter! 

Are You a Cheater?

The word “cheat” usually conjures up a lot of negative thoughts.  Whether it is cheating on an assignment or in a relationship, it is not a good thing.  But when it comes to being on a diet, the concept of having a “cheat” is one that people start out thinking “what a great idea!”

People wait for their allowable “cheat” times with mouths watering.  They think about all the delicious treats they will indulge themselves in, believing these indulgences at specific times will keep them on a healthy track for their “diet days.”Incorporating “cheating” into a diet plan is very popular in a lot of current diet trends.  The Paleo diet encourages cheating on the weekends or two days a week, while focusing on eating foods our earliest ancestors would eat (animal protein, fruits, vegetables, no gluten and no dairy) the rest of the week.  The new“fast diet” which encourages “intermittent fasting” says you can eat whatever you want five days a week, but can only have 500 calories on two other days.  The idea in both of these examples are the same, by giving people the right to eat “whatever” at certain times, they are more apt to stick to their “diet plan” as opposed to diets that have you watching what you eat everyday.

The problem is, cheating is a negative thing when dieting.  It usually begets more cheating because when you restrict yourself, you want things that you can’t have even more.  It is a big reason why people have difficulty staying on a diet and weight loss and gain can go back and forth.  Not to mention it hurts your metabolism by slowing it down, the last thing you want when you are trying to maintain a healthy weight.  The schedule of your life should not revolve around cheat days.  What if it is Wednesday and you want to eat a dessert when you are out with your friends after a game?  You have the right to eat that dessert even though it was not your “cheat” day.

Eating should be an enjoyable part of life that helps make you more equipped to handle your daily life and the things it can throw at you.  When the way you eat becomes intuitive, you are no longer restricted to a crazy diet with rules.  You will find yourself tuning into your hunger signals and being able to appease them without being unhealthy.

If some of this sounds familiar and you want to know more about intuitive eating, feel free to email me at shelbi@cheer360.com or visit our website at http://www.cheer-360.com.