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It's Not All About Winning
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School was out for the third straight day. I had sent out an email that said I had spoken to the powers-that-be at school, and they said we could have the run of the gym starting at 7:00. When I found out I did not have daddy-duty early this morning, I kissed the kids, told them to be good, and made my way southward through horse country to my school's gym. Only one person showed up, even though I had received several emails confirming the fact that others would be joining us. My friend "Pete" had spoken to Jason, but Pete was the only one who decided show, aside form me. So we decided to try a session of one-on-one. I knew I was going to get schooled, but I wanted to get in a good cardio workout, and Pete is a good coach, so there we were. Pete took the "triple threat" position (where the player can shoot, pass, or drive), but in our case, it's only a double threat since we had no one to pass to. His basketball skills have been honed over a lifetime, so just keeping the score respectable was my goal. He was working on his left-handed lay-up. Me: I am just working on my lay-up. I also tried to develop ways to defend against his drive without fouling. We played six games of half court one-on-one. In the end, he had beaten me one for all of the games except one. I asked him if he was showing mercy, and he said no. For all of the games but one, I came within one or two baskets of victory, mainly by sinking perimeter shots, some of which were three pointers. He did give me assistance on how to look for the corner of the square on the glass when driving. I am still trying to master the right-hand lay-up in traffic, while he is trying to perfect his left handed drive. He's pretty close to having it down, at least against me. In a court full of players, he's still pretty formidable. To intensify the cardio, we decided to attempt some one-on-one full court. Mistakes are much more costly, and the run is very intense. He defeated in both of our games going full-court, but I gave him a run for his money. I even managed one block of his almost-invincible drives to the basket. We both did some great trash-talkin' (Pete: "Put that in your journal!"), but it seemed our friendship grew stronger after every game. Pete's a great guy and a great coach. He's always been supportive and positive, and he knows how to offer constructive criticism. He showed me how to drill for the best use of the glass, how to maximize my angle, and what to watch for on defending the left-handed drive. I hope we'll have a chance to put to work on Tuesday what we practiced today. Having a full session with eight or ten guys would have been great today, but getting the chance to work on skills with someone who understands the game and who has the skills to share, well, that's priceless. Enjoy the weekend. George |
The Upright Row | |
| Exercise #7: The
Upright Row Check this article out. Exercise the right way - the upright rowOther articles in this series looked at a number of exercises, mainly from the perspective of developing a comprehensive muscle building program. Sometimes we take things for granted, especially when it comes to performing the basic exercises that constitute the core of most bodybuilders' training regimes.It is useful, therefore, to describe in detail the processes involved in actually doing these exercises. This will help beginners to start out using the correct techniques before moving on to potentially more dangerous heavy weights. If it also helps more experienced lifters to redress some of the little faults that have almost imperceptibly crept in over the years, all the better. In this article we'll take a close look at the upright row. MUSCLES TARGETED: deltoids, trapezius STARTING POSITION Grasp the bar with a closed pronated grip. Grip should be narrower than shoulder width. Stand erect with feet shoulder width apart and knees slightly flexed. Rest the bar on the thighs with the elbows fully extended and pointing out to the sides. UPWARD MOVEMENT Pull the bar upward along the abdomen and chest toward the chin. Keep the torso and knees in the same position. At the top position, make sure the elbows are higher than the wrists and the shoulders. DOWNWARD MOVEMENT Allow the bar to slowly lower back to the starting position. Keep the torso and knees in the same position. Repeat or finish set. About the author: Richard Mitchell is the creator of the bodybuildingadvisor.com website that provides guidance and information to athletes at all levels of bodybuilding experience. Go to Bodybuilding Advice to learn more about the issues covered in this article. |
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2/3/07 Welcome
to Basketball Diaries
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You can't tell, but Ben and I are twins. We are fraternal, which means we were "womb-mates" but we don't share the same genetic profile because we can two separate egg-sperm combinations (the scientific term is "dizygotic" twins because we come from two zygotes). I also have two twin sisters, also fraternal (and an older sister). The chance of having two sets of fraternal twins in one family run about 1 in 80 million. That makes Ben and me two very unique and unusual people. |
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