Heather Jackson knows triathlons. She has placed 3rd, 4th, and 5th at the Ironman World Championships, is a 4x Wildflower Triathlon Champion, 9x Ironman 70.3 Champion, and 3x Ironman Champion. And when Heather isn’t training, she is recovering. Learn more about Heather’s training and recovery tips below. 

How Should I Adjust My Hydration Strategy in the Heat? 

“The biggest thing with heat training is to stay on top of your electrolytes- hydrate before you start to feel thirsty. You can also build up your tolerance level with how much training in the direct heat that you can handle. Get out early for training before the heat of the day as the summer starts to get hotter, and then slowly build your time out training in the hottest parts of the day.”

How Should I Get Started in Triathlons?

1. Find a local fun event that friends are doing to sign up for. This will give you a solidified goal to work towards and from which you can work backwards from to lay out training.
2. Find local training groups with fun people to help guide your training and keep things fun. Local masters swim programs, local run groups and groups who meet to cycle are all great.
3. Start training consistently in all three sports but don’t ramp up your volume and intensity too much week to week. Start by developing a base in all three sports and then slowly progress.

What’s a Positive Race Mantra I Can Use?

“When I am struggling in a race or a hard training session, I always think of the mantra, “You GET to do this. Do it for those who can’t.” I have friends or acquaintances who are either sick, or maybe injured, or can’t be training and racing but would give anything to be able to. I think of them if something is hurting because at the end of the day, we GET to do this sport. It’s a privilege and I’m grateful every day that I’m healthy and get to participate.”

How Do You Use Your Marc Pro?

“I use my Marc Pro literally every day. If I’m not training, my Marc Pro is usually on. My most common usage is some combination of the attachment pads on my quads, calves, and/or the bottom of my foot. I will train in the morning- either a hard bike or run and then most likely take a nap with my Marc Pro on. It actually helps to put me to sleep, so I’m really doubling up on recovery.”

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Timothy Clark, Assistant Athletic Director for Sports Medicine at Cal Baptist University, shares the personal fulfillment he’s found with a career in athletic training.

What initially attracted you to athletic training?

Since the 8th or 9th grade, I knew that I wanted to be an athletic trainer. I grew up in upstate New York, and have always been into athletics. My godfather was an athletic trainer with the New York Islanders Hockey Team, and I always thought it was so cool to see him running on the ice to take care of the players. I knew that was what I wanted to do. I wanted to be around athletes.

I have now been a certified athletic trainer for 25 years—since 1993.

What is your philosophy in regards to athletic training?

Simply be aggressive. Be aggressive with treatments and rehab. You want to get the athletes back quicker. Back on the field, back on the ice, back to play. Finding ways to encourage faster and more effective healing is important.

What sports do you typically work with?

I work with both men’s basketball and the cheer and dance team.

What injuries do you typically experience with cheer and dance?

You see everything with cheer and dance. The team is very competitive and the women are pushing their bodies to the limits.

We see all types of injuries—ankle, knees, dislocated shoulders, concussions. You name it, our cheer team has been through it.

What injuries do you typically experience with basketball?

We see a lot of injuries in basketball too. Ankle injuries, ACL, low backs, stress fractures.

What shifts have you seen in athletic training throughout the years?

There has been a lot of buzz with the ice controversy. Do you ice an injury or not?

While there has been a lot of talk about icing, there has also been a shift in overall thinking. When I speak to other trainers about not icing, there has not been much push back about not using ice as much for treatment.

I have changed my own practices over the years. Ice is no longer my “go-to” thing. I think it is important to flush out the area and allow the inflammatory process to take place. I want to help an injury run through the appropriate course and not inhibit the process.

What is the most difficult aspect about being an athletic trainer?

The hours that we work can be extremely long. We are not on a typical 9am-5pm schedule. There are nights, weekends, holidays. Plus, there are many additional demands that are placed on us. You have to love what you do and be passionate about the job.

What advice do athletes hesitate to listen to?

Athletes don’t want to hear that they can’t play. That is not what an athlete wants to hear.  But if you have a good relationship with an athlete, they trust you and will listen when you say that taking a step back is the best option to get back to play faster.

How were you introduced to the Marc Pro?

I was the Head Trainer of the Anaheim Ducks Ice Hockey team. One day, Gary Reinl came into our training room with the Marc Pro. He told me about the benefits of the devices and it didn’t take long before the players were loving the devices too.

When I left the Ducks and went to CBU, I brought a Marc Pro with me. We have been using them at CBU ever since.

“It helps get athletes back to what they love to do faster. It is an amazing tool for the rehab treatment process.”

How many Marc Pros do you have at the university?

We have 5 to 6 units now at CBU.

What is your Marc Pro protocol at your school?

We keep the Marc Pro in the training room. We try to use the devices before and after practices with the athletes.  The standard for athlete use is 15 minutes before practice and then 15 minutes after practice. I find that using the Marc Pro is a good base for other rehab activities. I can use the machine and then follow up with massage and rolling. I also travel with the Marc Pro because it is so portable for on the road.

What do your athletes like best about the Marc Pro?

The athletes like that they feel it working. You can see the muscle working. You can see swelling leave the area. You can visually see what is going on. Plus, the athletes say that they feel better as soon as they get off the machine.

How has the Marc Pro helped you and your team in the training room?

It helps by doing what it is designed to do. It helps the treatment process. It helps get athletes back to what they love to do faster. It is an amazing tool for the rehab treatment process

What is your favorite part about working with athletes on a daily basis?

Seeing athletes progress is tremendous. And, I love the environment with the athletes. I love the type of people the athletes are too.  We have good kids at this school, and I get to work with them everyday.

When athletes are happy, we, as athletic trainers, are happy. Being part of the process of keeping an athlete healthy or helping them return to their sport is extremely rewarding.

What advice would you give to athletes about recovery?

Do it as much as you can. Recovery is something that we are continuing to do more research on. The more you recover, the more you can push the next day.

When an athlete gets injured, the person bridging the gap between the athlete and return to play is ultimately the athletic trainer. But, with so many athletes to take care of, it’s often difficult to devote enough time to each one. Dr. Kelly Starrett, DPT has some tips to help support athletic trainers in efficiently getting their athletes onto the right path in the recovery process.

“If you’re not physically ahead of swelling within 12-24 hours, you’re behind in the healing process.”

How Tissues Heal

When looking at improving the tissue healing phases, we need to understand that first and foremost, graded movement is the answer. Active recovery is a necessary factor for optimally improving each stage of the process. During the inflammatory stage, movement helps remove the congestion by activating the lymphatic system. For the proliferation and maturation stage, tissues need to be continuously loaded with low grade movement so the collagen fibers know how to align and don’t seal out of scar formation and adhere between the layers of those sliding surfaces.

Marc Pro: Your Training Room Assistant

Marc Pro’s proprietary technology creates non-fatiguing muscle contractions to provide the low-grade movement that is ideal for improving the recovery process. Athletic trainers utilize Marc Pro in the training room, on the road, or as a tool that athletes can bring home to use independently. Kelly Starrett has found that Marc Pro is particularly useful for the following reasons:

• After long bouts of sleep athletes often wake up re-congested. Marc Pro is a mechanism that can efficiently decongest the area after periods of rest.
• Athletes who are immobilized can benefit from Marc Pro’s sub pain threshold movements where decongestion can take place, even while they’re in a sling or trying to guard motion.
• Marc Pro helps athletic trainers better manage the recovery processes so athletes can have a better outcome

“It’s like having another set of hands in the training room. We can treat more athletes faster with the Marc Pro.”

– Pat Giruzzi, ATC Hamilton College

Taking NSAIDs out of the Equation

If we can get ahead of the inflammatory response, pain signals are often attenuated since the tissues aren’t as angry, congested, and swollen. Using Marc Pro allows athletic trainers to get ahead of the swelling, without having to deal with the limiting factors of the usual mechanisms for managing pain, such as ice or non-steroidal anti-inflammatory drugs. Marc Pro doesn’t blunt the response, so athletes can get maximum proliferation. It allows athletes to decongest, and more importantly remodel. The brain can stay plugged in since we don’t have some of the inhibitory mechanisms secondary to the swelling. Athletes don’t loose any mass or neuromuscular connections, so we have to do a lot less to get things turned back on. Once athletes are ready to return to play, Marc Pro can be used on the new tissues that are being challenged to make sure they stay in healthy condition.

Getting in enough time with each athlete can be difficult. Marc Pro allows athletic trainers to get more treatment into athletes, even when they’re not in the training room. ATCs can do their focus treatment and then hand Marc Pro to an athlete and get them to manage the healing process and facilitate the body’s natural processes independently. The easy to use pads and comfort of the device mean that compliance is high and athletes can use it for hours a day, if needed.  

Be sure to check out this other content for Athletic Trainers:

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Scott Panchik, a five-time individual CrossFit Games veteran, has qualified for every CrossFit Games since 2012. Never finishing below sixth, he took back-to-back fourth-place finishes in 2012 and 2013, missing the podium by just one place each year. Victor of the 2015 and 2016 Central Regionals, Panchik is known for his mental fortitude, always believing he can win while remaining unruffled by setbacks.

We asked Scott 3 questions about his favorite CrossFit workouts and recovery habits:

What Is Your Favorite “Famous” CrossFit Workout?

My favorite CrossFit Benchmark is “Fran”
21-15-9
Thrusters 95/65# 
Pull-ups

This is truly a total body workout. Thrusters alone are built on the foundation of squatting, pressing and complete core activation. The thruster is also a continuous movement which spikes your heart rate, teaching you how to breathe with the movement. I love that this workout is fast, it builds strength through the barbell movement and requires, body awareness and skill for efficient pull-ups. The time domain for Fran should be around an average time of 6:00, while you will find elite CrossFitters with sub 3:00 times. The intention is to move properly while keeping a high intensity. To modify these movements you could use a lighter pair of dumbbells in place of the barbell for thrusters.  For pull-ups you could substitute with Ring Rows, a banded assisted strict pull-up, or even seated band pull-downs. You could also lower the rep scheme to 15-12-9. Remember the stimulus is high power, high intensity and proper form.

How Do You Recover?

I use the Marc pro A LOT this time of year! I use it at the end of long days and in between training sessions. I ALWAYS have the Marc Pro with me when I travel! I most frequently use it on my low back and feet to help protect against injuries I have had in the past in those areas. I also love the leg flush after long endurance sessions or heavy lifting sessions.

What Are Your Mantras to Help Through Tough Moments?

There are a few of these. I love the 40% rule from David Goggins, “When your mind is telling you you’re done, you’re really only 40 percent done.” Christin can also tell when I am hurting in a workout and she will write “PODIUM” on a whiteboard and put it in my view.

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Hairston, the current Women’s Basketball and Men’s Golf athletic trainer arrived at TCU 11 seasons ago after spending the previous four years at Villanova working with women’s basketball and swimming and diving. Prior to her stint with the Wildcats, she attended Bloomsburg University to obtain a master’s degree in Exercise Physiology while working as a graduate assistant. Hairston received her undergraduate degree from Texas Tech and majored in exercise and sport science with a minor in biology.

What initially attracted you to athletic training?

I played volleyball in high school and had to have knee surgery for an injury. I was told I could never play again and needed to rehab with the athletic trainer and immediately became interested in the profession.

I was always around the healthcare and athletic fields. My mom was a nurse and my dad was a coach. I worked as a physical therapy aide for a summer, but found it wasn’t the right fit in terms of the clientele. After that experience, I knew that I definitely wanted to work with athletes. I wanted to work with people who had the mindset to recover and be the best that they could be. That is what athletic training allows you to do.

What is your philosophy in regards to athletic training?

My number one philosophy is if you give a man a fish, he will eat for a day. If you teach a man to fish, he will eat for a lifetime. I want to be able to treat the athlete and also educate the athlete on the how and why. That way, I can help an athlete learn what to do when out of my care. Then athletes are able to know what their bodies need and how to continue to care for themselves.

What sports do you typically work with?

Women’s Basketball and Men’s Golf.

What injuries do you typically experience with basketball?

Basketball is now a year-round sport. We see a lot of overuse injuries, mostly lower extremities and overuse. We work hard with our strength and conditioning coach to address these issues on another level too.

What injuries do you typically experience with golf?

With golf, it is a single-side sport. There are the repetitive motions that can lead to various injuries. I tend to see back and lower body injuries as well as shoulder and wrist when changing swing mechanics.

“Athletes like modalities that they can feel working during treatment, like the Marc Pro.”

What shifts have you seen in athletic training throughout the years?

There has been a shift to more manual therapy treatments. There is a lot more direct interaction with athletic trainers and the athletes. There is also a focus on more patient-centered care. Instead of the mindset of ‘How can I treat your injury?’ we are thinking, ‘How can I treat the entire person?’

Many athletes want to ‘feel something’ immediately. They want to ‘feel like’ something is improving.  The athletes tend to buy-in to different treatments and protocols when they can feel something immediately.

Do you use ice for recovery?

People are really starting to look at the research about ice and cryotherapy. Ice has its place for pain management, and I use it to manage specific cases of pain. However, with recovery, the body needs to stimulate the lymphatic system, not halt it. The body was created pretty phenomenally to heal in amazing ways. We can enhance the body’s healing ability with specific protocols and therapies that are outside of icing.

What are your opinions about using NSAIDs for recovery?

The first question I ask when an athlete wants to pop an ibuprofen for pain or recovery is “Why?”. I ask, “Do you need this for your pain or soreness? Are you nervous about how you are going to feel without taking medication for this?”

Giving an NSAID is a decision that is made on a case-by-case basis and made with proper assessment. You don’t want to mask symptoms with an NSAID. You want to promote proper healing and the body’s natural healing methods.

Many people get trapped into the blanket application of different treatments and medications before truly assessing an athlete.

What is the most difficult aspect about being an athletic trainer?

The expectations of all of our student-athletes are so high. Student-athletes have a full-plate. They have lifting, classes, community service, practices, travel, and games.  I have a short window to take care of them and address all of their needs. 

Now, there is also the demand for immediate care. People want injuries to just vanish after one treatment, and that is not realistic.

How are you invested in the student-athletes?

I am invested in the athletes as people, not just as athletes. When they have a bad day or something traumatic happens, I feel it too. That also goes when something good happens. I celebrate the athletes’ accomplishments and wins. I ride that emotional roller coaster with them while also trying to teach the athlete important life-lessons about resilience and humility.

What advice do athletes hesitate to listen to?

An injury does not just heal overnight. One treatment or application may not solve everything. An athlete may not feel better with just one thing. They all want immediate results. Some things take some time to improve.

I like thinking about benchmarks instead of goals as they try to recover from an injury. A great book is “Burn Your Goals” that addresses this shift in mindset. I think it is important to educate athletes on small benchmarks they can reach throughout the healing process. They need to do the little things to reach benchmarks. Little things like sets of specific exercise to address the root of an injury. When athletes reach different benchmarks, they can progress to the next step in the entire healing process.

What recovery tools have helped you and your team in the training room?

I think about recovery in three different categories: Joint health, soft-tissue quality, and general recovery. With general recovery, we focus on using modalities like compression therapy and the Marc Pro. Athletes like modalities that they can feel working during treatment, like the Marc Pro.

What is your favorite part about working with athletes on a daily basis?

You never know what you are going to get on any given day. There are always different problems, scenarios, and demands from the athletes every day.

I love that I get to spend time with the athletes in the university setting and then as they move on to the next steps in their lives. I get to be a part of the entire process. When I worked as a physical therapy aide, I didn’t see the final results with the patients I worked with. A person would leave, and I wouldn’t know what happened with them.

Now, I get to see when the athlete makes it back to the field. I am part of the athlete’s journey. That is such a fulfilling part of the job. The challenging part is that there is a heavy emotional investment in the athletes. It is both challenging and so rewarding.

What advice would you give to athletes about recovery?

Understanding that recovery is not checking a box. Recovery is a process that you have to be invested in. You can’t do things once and expect everything to be better right away. Plus, you need to work with someone who is educated about recovery and find the tools that make you feel and see results.

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Jentry Barton currently serves as Director of Strength & Conditioning and Mental Game at South County Golf Academy and National Director of Fitness for Nike Golf Camps . Jentry is ACE, U.S. Kids Golf, and Titleist Performance Institute certified and has a passion for fitness in respect to improving the golf swing.

What are your duties as the Director of Strength & Conditioning and Mental Game at South County Golf Academy?

I am in charge of all strength and conditioning for the academy with both adults and children. I conduct individualized fitness classes and assessments. I learn the body’s limitations in maintaining an efficient swing and build programs that address those individual needs.

Why is strength training important for golf?

When most people think of golf fitness, they think that you need to be flexible. However, people rarely focus on the strength involved in golf that is both functional and rotational. I believe in athlete exercises that address the different planes of motion. By testing and improving movement in different planes of motion, an individual can build strength and overall fitness.

What are your day-to-day interactions with athletes?

I have one-on-one client appointments starting at 6:00am the morning. In the afternoons, we typically have group classes out on the range. In the evening, I may have additional individual appointments, but I also coach a boys high school golf team.

What injuries do you typically deal with?

Golfers typically suffer from golfer’s elbow and lower back pain. Usually the people I work with sit at desks all day long. Their posture may also lead to tight hips, tight lower backs, and nerve impingement in the shoulder too.

What is your philosophy in regards to coaching and training?

I truly believe in individualized assessments. Individuals should not be thrown into the same program, as no two people are the same.

Golf is not always seen as a sport. I also understand the importance of creating athletes before people become golfers. You need to be athletic enough to be a good golfer, and that includes strength and cardiovascular endurance training. It takes a lot of stamina to play 36 holes in a day. I like to prepare athletes to excel in the game, not just survive.

What shifts have you seen in recovery methods in golf?

Golfers typically go towards quick fix. They have a “band-aid mentality” and are looking for a cream or pill to help with pain.

I work with golfers to see the importance of strength and conditioning to improve personal golf game.  This includes foam rolling the muscles for recovery, or using the Marc Pro to allow for blood flow and to be able to train harder the next day. Recovery methods are more than just a band-aid fix—they can truly make a huge impact.

What is the protocol for using a Marc Pro with you and your athletes?

Personally, I hold onto soreness and it takes my body a long time to recover. But when I started using the Marc Pro, I noticed that my recovery time is so much quicker. I can lift the next day and stay moving. With my athletes, they notice the difference too. For example, I used the Marc Pro with one of my golfers this morning and he noticed a difference in his back pain as soon as we finished using the device. 

What advice would you give athletes about recovery?

Not everyone understands what recovery means. Recovery can be considered an “out there” word where a lot of people think of it as just sitting on the couch. Active recovery is different and individualized. It allows for full body rejuvenation to take the body to the next level and perform better.

What should golfers know about nutrition?

Nutrition is number one. Every golfer needs nutrient-rich foods to allow for better in-sport performance and recovery. Protein, healthy fats, and balanced nutrition make an athlete feel so much better. Plus, it gives an individual the energy for better workouts and games.

You also work as a mental coach. What does that entail?

I work with individuals for mental assessments. I want to learn why an athlete may get nervous or the negative triggers on the golf course. When we learn about an individual’s mindset, we then have tools that we can implement. You can train your brain to do what you want it to, and stop focusing on as many negative triggers. We use emotional connections to words and songs that can move an individual into a good mental state. With time, an athlete can move to this more positive mindset quicker and not use as much negative energy on the course. 

What is your favorite part about working with athletes on a daily basis?

The connection. I love helping people and guiding people through their goals. When an individual is able to self-analyze and work towards their goals themselves, it is very rewarding.

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Running is more fun when you’re feeling good and setting PRs. Unfortunately, stiffness can get in the way. Stiffness may not seem that terrible, but when it comes to your running it can diminish the quality of your runs, slow you down, and create other issues throughout your body. Kelly Starrett shares a few solutions for runners to end stiffness and recover better so you can get back at it feeling your best.

Hip/IT Band Stiffness w/ Mobility Ball

Hip stiffness is no joke for runners. Running causes hip rotators to spend a lot of time in a shortened range of motion, which causes them to become overactive and stiff. The flexor wad also tends to become stiff as a part of the IT band complex. Doing a little bit of targeted soft tissue work on these hip rotators can really give relief to stiff hips and IT bands. Grab a mobility ball and work through the following steps:

• On the ground, lay down on your side in a comfortable, running shape position
• Insert mobility ball between your hip flexor and the ground
• Bring the leg closest to the ground up or move it back into a little bit of an extension
• Allow the ball to dig into your hip flexor

Next, it’s time to move into a few isometric concepts…

• Take a 4 second inhale
• Contract into the ball, where the ball is digging into the hip, for 4 seconds
• Relax for 8 seconds letting yourself melt around the ball
• Repeat this routine 3-4 times

Little doses of positional specific training and isometric training in aggregation can create massive change. Don’t worry about trying to fix everything in one or two sessions. You’ll find the most benefit by doing a little bit consistently.

Calf Stiffness w/ Foam Roller

Scrub your calves, don’t roll. Scrubbing is the latest foam rolling technique that will do wonders for muscles. Calf stiffness can cause major dysfunction in the heel, knee, or foot so it’s worth taking the time to address stiffness head on.

Step 1: Lower Calf/Ankle Scan

• Start with the foam roller under your ankle
• Place your other leg on top to apply extra pressure to the area
• Scan the area from ankle bone to ankle bone and work side to side on the roller
• Add in some foot circles while digging the roller into the tissues
• The goal is to accumulate 3-4 minutes per side each week

Step 2: Complete Calf Scrub

Addressing how the fascia and connective tissue articulate with some of the sub surfaces like the tendon can radically improve the calf system. Scrubbing is a great method to break up adhered tissues to promote good articulation of sliding surfaces. Using a foam roller with some texture to it is the most effective for scrubbing. Kelly Starrett uses the Rumble Roller.

• To scrub, use the foam roller to push and pull the skin, one area at a time.
• Scrub from the base of the heel all the way up to where the gastrocnemius starts to show it’s head

Active Recovery w/ Marc Pro

After a run it’s easy to think that you don’t need much more activity for the remainder of the day. You already did our time and now you just want to rest. Or for many people, their jobs require them to sit, so they can’t move much even if they wanted to. The issue with this is that there isn’t enough movement during the day then to decongest the tissues.

There is no substitute for getting in those 10,000-15,000 steps of walking each day, but if you’re going to use your time to be able to run and train, then it can be a struggle to get enough movement in. One of the best ways to get movement in and decongest the system is by doing active recovery with the Marc Pro. Marc Pro is a recovery tool that allows you to get non-fatiguing movement in and can be used while at a desk or at home in the evening, so it doesn’t take up any extra time.

If you have stiffness in your quads, hips, or calves, getting in light movement can work wonders to loosen things up. If you have an old runner’s knee and your knee gets a little bit hot sometimes, movement is always a great way to get back to baseline the next day. Kelly Starrett uses these (image shown) as his go-to placements for runners.

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KC Hackman, Head Athletic Trainer at Taylor University, shares how using Marc Pro has helped free up time for his staff so they can treat more athletes at once.

KC Hackman is in his 19th year with the Taylor University Athletic Training Department, with the 2018-2019 year marking his 14th year as Head Athletic Trainer for the Trojans. Hackman also oversees the budget and insurance policies for the Athletic Training Department at Taylor.

What initially attracted you to athletic training?

I have always been an athlete. But in high school, I injured my back and could not do contact sports any longer.

I heard about athletic training and decided to go to an athletic training summer camp at the University of Kentucky. As a junior in high school, this was my intro to athletic training. We learned the nuts and bolts of the profession, like taping, basic anatomy, and the RICE method. I decided to major in athletic training in college and the rest is history.

How many student-athletes are at Taylor University?

Approximately 500 student-athletes.

What is your philosophy in regards to athletic training?

My philosophy has changed over the years. When I first graduated, it was all about ice and compression. You would keep ice on for 20 minutes, and then take it off for an hour. The thought was, keep the area cold and keep the inflammation down.

Throughout the years, I have learned and researched more about icing and beyond. I started thinking more about if the body is causing inflammation, then maybe it is trying to heal itself.  Now, I focus on more soft tissue work, massage, Graston, cupping, and other recovery methods.

What sports do you typically work with?

I work with Men’s Basketball, Baseball, Men’s and Women’s Golf, and Men’s and Women’s Tennis.

Do you typically see similar injuries across all of the sports you work with?

With basketball, we see a lot of knee issues and ankle sprains. In tennis and baseball, we encounter shoulder and elbow injuries. And in golf, there are typically injuries with the lower back.

What shifts have you seen in athletic training throughout the years?

There has been a major shift with the discussion of icing. More questions are being asked about when is it beneficial to do the cold whirlpool? When is it beneficial to heat?

It used to be that you would ice and use electrical stim for pain control. Now, we are going beyond just treating the injury.  We actually go into the recovery aspect of training.

The thinking is, “How do I help my pitcher recover quicker today so that he can be better recovered for a game that is in 3 days?” We are not just thinking about what we do when an athlete gets hurt.

Do you use ice for recovery?

I only use ice as a pain control. I rarely use it. For example, if a player gets hit by a baseball on the field, I use it to help with the immediate pain.

How were you introduced to the Marc Pro?

I went to the PBATS conference in January of 2017.  I met Gary at that conference in passing. Throughout the trip, I heard about all of the different technologies and modalities for athletes, everything from sleep chambers to recovery tanks. All of these things were ridiculously expensive and not practical for my facilities. I had a small budget with my NAIA school and I heard mention of the Marc Pro.

When I returned back from the conference, I continued to do research about the Marc Pro. During the season, one of my best pitchers got injured and nothing was working.

I ordered a Marc Pro to see if it would help him get back to play.  While the senior didn’t have the best year, he wouldn’t have played at all if we hadn’t found the Marc Pro. And, in he had his best start of the year during his last start of the season.

How many Marc Pro units do you have at the university?

We have 3 units now. My staff keeps saying that they need more units because we are always using them. We can use the Marc Pro for so many things—from acute muscle strains, to swelling, to recovery.

What is the protocol for using a Marc Pro in your training room?

The majority of treatments with the Marc Pro are done in the training room. The athletic trainer can then place the electrodes in the right spots for each individual athlete.

How has the Marc Pro helped your athletic training staff?

Using this device gives us more time to do other things and address more athletes. We are then not all tied up and are able to work with multiple athletes at the same time.

What is the most difficult aspect about being an athletic trainer?

Time. We work weird, random hours. There is no off season.  The fall is always the busiest for us because all 500 student-athletes are all participating at the same time, either off or on-season. But while the hours can be crazy,  I get paid to watch sports. It is amazing.

How are you invested in the student-athletes?

We are a resource. We are a confidante. We can be a sounding board. If an athlete is injured, you have to help an athlete recover emotionally and mentally too.

Athletes are the most vulnerable when they are injured and they are counting on you to protect them. You have to hold them out of games and practices when they might not want to. They might get mad at you, but it is your job to navigate the risks and put their health and wellness first.

And sometimes, you have to deal with the complete opposite side of the spectrum where you have to tell an athlete 3 words—”Suck it up.”

What advice do athletes hesitate to listen to?

Athletes do not want to hear that they are injured and having to sit out. Or, even worse, hearing that their season is probably over.  Telling an athlete that their season is over has to be one of the hardest part of the job. You know how much the athletes have invested in the sport and their teammates, and how much that can hurt to hear even if it is the best decision.

What modalities do you use in the training room?

I am not a big modality guy. We have access to ultrasound, stim, and other devices. There is a new trend with the foam rolling and rolling out on lacrosse balls. We teach athletes how to use these tools properly and effectively.

What is your favorite part about working with athletes on a daily basis?

It helps me feel young. You get to learn from them and they learn from you.

But one of the best parts of the job is seeing athletes be successful.  When you have an athlete who has been injured and then you get to see them return to the sport, it is the most rewarding thing.  As an athletic trainer, you don’t do this job for the accolades and praise. You do it to see the smile of an athlete doing what they love.

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Interview with ATC Ronald Linfonte of St. John’s University

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Athletic Trainer Spotlight | Andy Bliz of Buffalo University

This guide was created as a tutorial for new Marc Pro users to get started with their device. After reading (or watching), you will have an understanding on how to set up and use your unit. You will also get some additional tips and best practices for improving your results.

Make sure to also read the user manual for important FDA information.

What’s Included? 

Everything you need to get started is included with your Marc Pro or Marc Pro Plus device.

• Carrying case
• Black lead wire
• Gray lead wire
• Charger
• 6 packs of electrodes
• User manual
• Aloe gel

Setting up the Unit:

Plug the gray lead wire into Channel A and the black lead wire into Channel B.

Insert the pins on the opposite end of the lead wires into the base of each electrode.

Refer to the user manual for some guidelines on where to place the electrodes. The electrodes do not need to be placed precisely as shown in the user manual. The goal is to produce a strong, yet comfortable muscle contraction, so you can feel free to move the pads to achieve this. 

What’s the aloe gel for? If your skin is dry or you want to improve conductivity, place a pea size amount of gel on your fingertip. Apply directly to the black sticky side of the pads or to the skin where you are going to place the pads.

Turning On/Off the Unit:

Marc Pro– Turn the dials clockwise until they click and the screen turns on. Continue moving clockwise to turn up the intensity. To turn off the unit, turn the dials counter clockwise until they click again and the screen turns off.

Marc Pro Plus– Press the power button at the top of the device. Select either LOW or HIGH for each channel. Turn the dials clockwise to increase the intensity. Turn the dials counter clockwise until you hear the click to turn the unit off. Press the power button at the top to fully shut off the unit.

Using the Unit for Recovery & Conditioning

Marc Pro & LOW setting on Marc Pro Plus

1. Once you have the unit set up and ready to go, select the muscle(s) you want to target. Use the user manual for pad placement guidelines, but remember that the main goal is to produce a significant and comfortable contraction in the target muscle or muscle group.  If you need to move the pads around an inch, half-inch etc., do so as this may produce a better contraction. Or if you want to target an area that is not listed in the user manual, place the pads on the densest part of the tissue or on either end of the muscle. Make sure the target area is contracting. 
2. For the best results, make sure you are in a comfortable, relaxed position.
3. Turn on the unit and dial it up to an intensity that produces a good muscle contraction. Don’t worry about what the number says on the screen, it’s more important to do what feels good. Be sure not to resist the contractions, as this will counteract what the device is trying to do (moving nutrients and waste without causing fatigue).
4. Use for 30-45 minutes a few times a week to see good results. For even greater benefit, try using the device every day or for longer sessions at a time (ie. 1-3 hours). Since Marc Pro is non-fatiguing, you can use it for as long or as often as you need. If you are dealing with a specific issue or weak link, try using the device as much as possible.

Using the Unit for Pain Relief

HIGH setting on Marc Pro Plus

1. Refer to the user manual for placement tips. This setting will not produce a muscle contraction, instead it delivers a buzzing sensation to joints. The signal runs between the two pads of each lead wire, so it’s important to surround the area in pain with the electrodes. For joints, it’s best to sandwich the area in pain with two electrodes. For the back, it’s best to make a tight square with the pads around the spot of pain.
2. Select HIGH setting and turn up the intensity so the sensation feels comfortable, but strong. As you get used to the sensation, continue to turn up the intensity. The higher you can get the intensity, the longer lasting the pain relief benefit will be.
3. Use for 30-45 minutes. You can use it multiple times a day if needed, but make sure to move the pads around slightly to prevent skin irritation.  

Electrode Care

The electrodes are reusable for 20-25 uses. Once they start to lose their stickiness, they won’t conduct as well and will need to be replaced. To prolong their life, use them on clean skin and place back on plastic sheet and into the plastic bag.

Charging the Unit

The battery icon on the top of the screen will show a low reading and beep when it’s time to charge the unit. The battery will last a long time, but when it does need to be charged the unit must be turned off. Only use the charger that came with the unit. Using the wrong charger will damage the unit.

Need some additional help getting started? Schedule a coaching call with one of our product specialists.

Glutes are one of the most underutilized muscles when it comes to running. If your glutes aren’t activating like they should, you’re missing out on power and opening your body up for injuries.

Why are your Glutes Inactive?

During exercise, our strongest muscles tend to engage first. This means that for runners the quads, calves, and hamstrings will fire long before the glutes get involved. It also doesn’t help that most people sit for long durations during the day, which causes glutes to become inactive. When it comes time to go for a run, these muscles don’t just immediately turn back on. Because the glutes got used to being inactive, less muscle fibers will be recruited and less force will be outputted when you attempt to engage them.

Increase Efficiency & Prevent Injuries

Glute muscles help stabilize your hips and keep your legs, knees, and pelvis aligned. Having strong glutes will ensure your running mechanics are on point, which makes your running more efficient and helps prevent injuries. Weak glutes are shown to lead to issues like shin splints, runner’s knee, and IT band syndrome.

The Power of the Glute

Glutes are a powerful muscle that can add a lot of force into your run. But, if your glutes aren’t firing properly, you’re missing out on this added power. Plus, when glutes aren’t activating, other muscles have to take on all the work and become exhausted more quickly. When other areas of the body have to compensate, the likelihood of overuse increases.

As an athlete who competes in Ironman events, Heather Jackson spends a lot of time running. Her races include a half or full marathon, in addition to a swimming and biking event. With that high of a workload, it’s important to make sure every muscle fiber is doing its part. Glutes are no exception. Even for those who have a more normal running routine, there are many reasons that strong and active glutes are necessary. Pro triathlete Heather Jackson shares her go-to exercise to get her glutes firing before a run.

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How to Run Faster: Part I

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6 Techniques for Post Triathlon Recovery from Heather Jackson

Jeff Watson’s mission is to bring evidence-based, research information, quality training and teaching to student athletes. We got to interview Jeff about what makes his program unique and what keeps him motivated.

About Jeff Watson: Jeff Watson completed his education at the University of Michigan. He received a Master’s of Science Degree in Kinesiology with a focus on Exercise Physiology, a Bachelor of Science Degree in Kinesiology and a K-12 Teaching Certificate. He is a certified strength and conditioning specialist through the NSCA and the Head Strength and Conditioning Coach at the University of Western Ontario.

What initially attracted you to strength and conditioning?

Initially, I thought I would be a PE teacher. I started going down that path and realized how much I enjoy working with athletes in a weight room setting. I also realized that I don’t like seeing ugly pushups and poor technique. Movement standards that adhere to our anatomical design are critical for developing quality repetitions. For example, keeping your spine stable and protected while loaded will have a huge impact on a squat, a plank, a push-up or seated in a 5-way neck machine.

Movement standards are not the following—Range of motion, load, effort, speed, or cues. These are all factors and not standards of movements. My job is simply to move people toward better standards of movement.

• MOVEMENT STANDARD #1 is a focus on Midline Stability. This means no change in the spine while moving. Fix head position, eyes down – no neck extension.
• MOVEMENT STANDARD #2 is Loading Order. The prime movers, the hips and shoulders, must move first – as opposed to elbows and knees.
• MOVEMENT STANDARD #3 – Laws of Torque. Flexion equals external rotation and extension equals internal rotation. For example, when doing a push-up, the humerus must be externally rotated in the shoulder capsule.

Once you have created quality patterns of movement you can begin to load them appropriately. Program design becomes simple and uncomplicated because the movement pattern is more important than any exercise that you may want to utilize in your training. Finding solutions for major issues such as hypertrophy, utilizing the force-velocity curve, recovery, and lowering sub concussive impact forces with prudent and productive training has been what has kept my passion in the field of strength and conditioning.

What is your mission in your field?

My mission is to provide evidence based, research informed quality training, teaching, supervision and instruction to our student athletes that will allow them to maximize their athletic potential and reduce the occurrence of athletic injuries.

To find solutions to problems you have to ask athletes lots of questions to get to the heart of the matter. Is your lifestyle at odds with your performance goals? Are you overtraining? Are you using productive recovery strategies? It is my mission to help address these concerns through caring and education. I want athletes to train hard and then get out of the weight room as fast as they can to begin to recover for their next training session. They need to train smarter, not longer. Workouts in the weight-room are typically completed in under 45 minutes so the athletes can maintain focus on quality movement patterns with the neurological intent to involve the maximum number of muscle fibers innervated and the effort put forth on every rep.

Why is recovery important in strength training?

Strength training is built on the concept of progressive overload. If you are not allowing enough time for your system to recover from the stress applied to it then you will not have optimal improvement and performance. The Marc Pro is an excellent strategy in helping athletes improve their muscle recovery from exercise.

I have had conversations with various coaches about monitoring their athlete’s training load and recovery. A possible solution was to create a weekly schedule that would be followed to ensure that there were no dramatic increases or spikes in the training load presented to the athlete. Significant increases or spikes greatly increase the risk of overtraining and injury.

“40% of injuries in American Football were associated with a rapid change (>10%) in weekly training load in the preceding week” (Piggott et. Al. 2009). “When training load was fairly constant (ranging from 5% less to 10% more than the previous week) players had <10% risk of injury” (Gabbet).

Athletes will thrive and perform better when they allow their body, mind and spirit to repair and recuperate. If the individual is not recovering, they are going to break down and get hurt.

Describe your typical day at the University of Western Ontario? 

I love what I do. I usually start working at 7am and end at 7pm, never knowing what to expect as each day unfolds. Academics are a priority at Western and we have a diverse group of students studying in many different disciplines. Because class schedules are all over the place and our weight room is small – but well equipped, I am always working with different teams and small groups of student athletes throughout the day.

I leave work and usually there is a pick up or drop off for one or both of my kids, Maddie and Zach’s activities, my wife Allyson and I usually divide and conquer the transportation duties. After that I usually grab some dinner and review the day with my wife, do the bed time ritual of teeth cleaning and reading or homework project then head back to campus. I write all of the workouts on the whiteboards in the gym using a colorful stash of Expo dry erase markers –I should be a major stockholder. I have developed excellent printing skills through years of practice. This usually takes me about an hour and a half. The gym is quiet and I can be very productive. I am usually writing the workouts from about 9:30 – 11:00 pm. I don’t need much sleep.

What sports do you typically work with?

I work with all the sports, a total of 23 teams. I also work with some club teams too, based on their attendance and who is committed to showing up and putting in work, day in and day out. Teams with great attendance receive high priority scheduling in our endeavor to provide the best “hands on” strength and conditioning program in Canada.

What is your philosophy in regards to strength and conditioning?

My job is to be a service provider to both coaches and athletes. I believe in taking care of student athletes and giving them the tools and resources to soar.

I prefer to discuss what my physiology is rather than what my philosophy is because what we are trying to achieve should be evidence based and not bro science. But, if I was to use a quote as a statement for what my strength and conditioning philosophy is I would lean on Johann Goethe who said something to the effect that “If you treat an individual as he is, he will remain how he is. But if you treat him as if he were what he ought to be and could be, he will become what he ought to be and could be.”

What are your thoughts about the Marc Pro?

I like using the device and incorporating it into our athlete’s recovery strategies. The device uses such a simple concept and compliments your body’s lymphatic drainage system and supports the immune system function. The Marc Pro simply enhances your body’s way of flushing out the bad stuff and bringing in the good stuff. As soon as an athlete tries it, they are sold. Their brain knows that their legs feel lighter and that they are ready for the next training session or game.

What is your protocol for using a Marc Pro with athletes?

I don’t need athletes to expend more energy, I need them to recover. The Marc Pro is really smart and straightforward. Using the Marc Pro is so simple, people think that you are trying to deceive them.

We have four units for our department and eight units on campus. The Marc Pro is a way to individualize an athlete’s recovery program. For example, on a volleyball team your outside hitters, setters and defensive specialists may want to use the Marc Pro to help their neck and upper torso muscles recover and the middle blockers who are jumping for hundreds of repetitions may want to use the Marc pro to help their lower torso muscles recover. People may say that the concept of ‘recovery’ isn’t supposed to be in my lane as a strength and conditioning coach. However, I see that my lane is “What’s best for the athletes?” The Marc Pro is best for the athletes and is why I have them use it post-weight room workout and pre and post practice workout.

What advice would you give athletes about recovery?

I would give athletes three pieces of advice. Number 1, know your body. Number 2, understand how your body works. Number 3, use the Marc Pro.

I have an athlete training with me, that was playing summer league rugby games on a Saturday and then had to turn around and compete the next day as she was trying to earn a spot on a travel team for Canada. She has since accomplished this goal. She was overtraining in a 24-hour period and her body was in rough shape and I had her try the Marc Pro. She kept it for two days and used it for her neck and shoulders, her quads, and low back musculature. She is hooked now because she has felt the benefits of combining her training with quality recovery strategies. When I let an athlete try the Marc Pro for 30 minutes, I ask them, “How do you feel?” Without hesitation, they respond and say that they feel better and want to keep using the Marc Pro.

What is your favorite part about working with athletes on a daily basis?

The athletes I have the pleasure to work with are young and eager to improve. I myself like to bring all my youthful energy in the creation and implementation of their training sessions. The athletes always keep you real. They are passionate and driven, filled with motivation, which helps to foster a competitive environment in the training facility and on the competitive field, rink, pitch, court or pool. You want a job where you enjoy the work you do, and every day, I get to say that I do.

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Our modern lifestyle competes with one of the most basic requirements of the human body, movement. These days we drive a little bit more, we’re forced to sit and work a little bit more, and we’re just not as active day-to-day as we used to be. We then try to reconcile this behavior by exercising and being active when we have a chance. Even with daily exercise, if the rest of your day is spent being inactive, you are at risk for the side effects related to a sedentary lifestyle. Down to a cellular level, humans need to have mechanical input for the body to function correctly.

“Make your environment fit you instead of making yourself fit the environment.”

Side Effects of a Sedentary Lifestyle

Movement is key to a healthy, capable body. When your body stays active, it’s able to handle loads, digest them, and have a positive adaptation to training. On the other hand, it’s very difficult for the body to go from sedentary to then exposed to exercise and high intensity loads, and then go back to being sedentary. If tendons, ligaments, tissues, and bones aren’t being consistently loaded, those systems become fragile and less capable. You can’t turn the systems off and then expect to go out and PR. Inactivity after a workout causes tissues to become congested and stiff.  Loading tissues through movement is one of the best behaviors to make the most robust and ready human beings. It keeps the tissues healthy and allows you to feel better.

Say goodbye to your sedentary environment with these simple steps from Kelly Starrett, founder of The Ready State.

How to Overcome a Sedentary Environment

Sometimes we have no choice in how our environment is set up. Cultural or social cues may tell us that we need to sit down, or at work we may not be provided with a desk that allows for standing or movement. However, there are some simple steps you can take to get in more movement throughout the day.

#1 At Work

We spend a lot of time at work each week, but this shouldn’t hold us back from leading a more active lifestyle. Ideally, every work station would have a sit/stand desk for each employee. This makes it easier to stay active and switch positions throughout the day. If your company has yet to provide this, don’t worry, there are other ways to get your body moving.

Standing Desk: Ditching the chair is a great way to add in more movement. Make sure you’re not just standing during the day though, the goal is to move more. Grab a stool and rest your foot, lean up against it, or bring your leg up into pigeon stretch. There are many options to keep your body moving and as Kelly Starrett says, “it’s not a standing work station until you have a place to put your foot”.

Floor Desk: Standing desks get all the attention, but floor desks are becoming popular too. If you’re working from home or have the opportunity to sit on the ground, by all means do so. You can use a desk like the one from Varidesk, or you can grab some pillows and books to make your own. This option is a great way to take joints and tissues through a full range of motion, and ultimately improve them.

Sitting Desk: When you do find yourself in a chair, there are a couple things you can do to get more active. First, try sitting towards the edge of the chair. Let yourself slouch, sit tall, take a deep breath, move your legs around, and just fidget around while making sure your trunk is engaged.

#2 Walk More

Walking is great for two reasons. One, incorporating low grade movement will load tissues and decongest the system. This will keep your body healthy and tissues active. Two, by walking the recommended number of steps each day you can accumulate enough fatigue to wear yourself out, which will lead to better sleep. Kelly Starrett recommends more walking before anything else to elite military groups who have a hard time sleeping. The recommended number of steps you should take each day ranges from 6,000 to 15,000. If you’re an older person, the goal is closer to 6,000. For younger, more active people, try for closer to 10,000-15,000. 

#3 Marc Pro

The heart and soul of Marc Pro is movement, which allows you to decongest tissues when you find yourself in positions and times when you can’t move as much as you would like. If you’re an athlete or person who fancies themselves as active and goes from a long commute or board meeting to getting ready for that triathlon or CrossFit workout, remember that the goal is to have healthy decongested tissues and the best way to do that is to move.

The bottom line is active recovery is always best. Vary your positions throughout the day and keep your body active in any way you can.

Eric Cressey, CSCS is president and co-founder of Cressey Sports Performance, with facilities located in Hudson, MA and Jupiter, FL.  A highly sought-after coach for healthy and injured athletes alike, Eric has helped athletes at all levels, from youth sports to the professional and Olympic ranks, achieve their highest levels of performance in a variety of sports.  Eric is perhaps best known for his extensive work with baseball players, with more than 100 professional players traveling to train with him each off-season.

Could you share more about the athletes you work with?

While we work with athletes from a variety of sports, we are best known for our work at Cressey Sports Performance with baseball players. We work with players from all 30 Major League teams. Overall, our clientele ranges from ages 12 well into adulthood.

You have written 5 books and published over 500 articles. What topics do you like to research most?

I like to share information in many areas in the strength and conditioning sphere. Most of my work has been related to baseball in terms of corrective exercises, skill acquition, and development. I also use my powerlifting background to help guide some of my research and thought processes.

What injuries do you see most commonly?

In baseball, the main goal is to keep arms healthy. We see all different types of injuries. In the pitching world, most of the injuries are upper extremity in nature, so we spend a lot of time taking care of elbows, shoulders, and necks.

What is your philosophy in regards to strength and conditioning?

There are always two diagnoses: a medical and movement diagnosis. The medical diagnosis describes the pathology of the injury. With the movement diagnosis, I have to look at the person in front of me and ask, “What is the movement issue that led to the injury?”  Movement inefficiencies can lead to pathology.  I try to treat each person as an individual when reviewing both diagnoses. And, sometimes, there may be no medical diagnosis in someone’s history, so you’re either digging deeper or pinning your approach almost exclusively on the movement aspect of things.

What shifts have you seen in strength and conditioning throughout the years?

I have seen shifts in the field and shifts in people.

In terms of the field, more strength and conditioning specialists are very specialized in the field and only work with a specific population. Obviously, my specialization is baseball and other overhead throwing sports. You’ll see folks in hockey, football, soccer, and a host of other niche opportunities.

In terms of the people, I think the average athlete we see on Day 1 is now less developed than when I started my career. I think this is due to early sports specialization with young athletes. When an athlete specializes too soon in a specific sport, that athlete’s movement variability goes down substantially. I am a big believer in kids playing as many different sports, for as long they can.

How were you introduced to the Marc Pro?

I had heard of related products to the Marc Pro in training rooms and college strength and conditioning centers. I was originally stubbornly resistant to try the Marc Pro. I viewed it initially as a passive modality and my mindset has always been to encourage athletes to move in order to heal themselves.

My interactions with Corey Kluber changed my mind. I have worked with Corey for more than a decade, and he’s one of the most regimented, hard-working athletes you’ll meet. Corey does absolutely everything we ask of him in a program. And, he was an avid Marc Pro user (has used it after every time he’s thrown for years). With the Marc Pro being such a meticulous part of his recovery routine, I started looking into the benefits of the device further.

Ultimately, I want to optimize an athlete’s blood flow and stimulate the lymphatic system. Movement is always ideal, but not always convenient to get in. The Marc Pro offered a ton of convenience and was a lower “buy in” from athletes who already had busy schedules that might not have been able to accommodate another training session – even if it was recovery oriented. In short, I liked the fact that it was a somewhat passive modality that allows you to actively recover. It also served as a great complement to other recovery initiatives we utilize, ranging from nutrition to manual therapy.

What is the protocol for using a Marc Pro?

We use the Marc Pro for proactive recovery and also for athletes coming back from injury. We have found that it is also impactful to combine in conjunction with manual treatments.

Typically our athletes are using it at the end of the day when it’s most convenient for them. They can just use it as they relax or eat and it is logistically easier than trying to use it right after practice. We know that recovery methods need to be absurdly easy for the athlete. The ultimate goal is for the athlete to recover, and to recover often.

What is the most difficult aspect about your position?

Geographic logistics. Late in the season, I haven’t seen a lot of our athletes for six months, and I wish I could be everywhere to check in. Unfortunately, I can’t be in 200 places in the U.S. to help all of our guys!

What advice would you give athletes about recovery?

There is a recovery hierarchy. People want to go for the sexy stuff. But the foundation is most important like sleep, nutrition, and an appropriate training stimulus. People like to make really advanced solutions to simple problems, but if you are only sleeping 3 hours a night and eating sugary cereal for breakfast, the fanciest of devices won’t help you recover.

What is your favorite part about working with athletes on a daily basis?

The relationships. You get to work with amazing athletes – and it’s an honor that they trust you to be part of their “team.”

You may also be interested in:

Interview with Jeff Watson, Strength & Conditioning Coach at University of Western Ontario

How to Survive and Thrive: Pre and Post Arm Care for Pitchers

ATC Tip: How to Efficiently Get Student Athletes Back to Play

CrossFit Games Athlete Noah Ohlsen walks you through the steps of the shoulder press and how to recover from it using Marc Pro.

What is a Shoulder Press?

A shoulder press is a type of strength-based movement that requires you to only use your upper body to press a barbell overhead. Therefore, this exercise is mainly used to strengthen the shoulders and upper body. Another name for the shoulder press is the strict press. The word “strict” means that you are completing the movement without creating any extra force through the rest of your body. You are only using your arms and upper body to press the bar above your head.

Why Shoulder Press?

The main reason for doing the shoulder press is to build strength. It’s not the most efficient method for getting the bar overhead, the push press and split jerk are better for that, but it is a great way to build upper body strength. Shoulder presses will help with barbell pressing, strict and kipping handstand pushups, thrusters, and any other movement that requires you to lift some sort of load overhead.

How to Shoulder Press

Warm up: Noah likes to incorporate this drill to loosen up his front rack position before getting into the movement.

• Take the bar out of the rack and rest the bar comfortably on your shoulders, with elbows out in front of the bar.
• One arm at a time, lift elbow up so that it’s at the same height as the bar
• Hold for 5-10 seconds
• Cycle through a few reps, alternating arms

Before beginning the movement, set up your barbell with weight plates on a weight rack.

1. Place the end of your thumb on the line where the rough part of the bar meets the smooth and grip the bar here.
2. Lift the bar out of the rack and allow it to rest on your shoulders. Keep your elbows in front of the bar.
3. Engage your glutes, hips, and core, while keeping your chest tall.
4. Take a big breath and lock it into your diaphragm to create a strong base
5. Initiate the movement and press the bar overhead
6. Lean your head back and keep the bar close to your face as you bring it upwards
7. As the bar gets overhead, bring your head back to neutral. The bar should be in line with your heels.
8. While bringing the bar down, do the same process in reverse.

As you increase weight on the shoulder press, there are a couple common faults to look out for. Often times, people will lean their body back as they press the bar up to accommodate for the bar path. This can put a lot of unnecessary stress on the low back that you’ll want to avoid. Maintain a tight core and think about pulling your ribs towards your hips so you don’t loose your good position.

Another potential error people make is exhaling before pressing. Doing this can cause your position to collapse, meaning you aren’t going to be as strong from there. While maintaining a nice, tight core, take a deep breath in and hold while pressing up.

Post Workout Recovery

The two areas that tend to get the most sore after shoulder presses are the general shoulder area and triceps. To quickly and effectively recover these areas, Noah sets up his Marc Pro with one pad on the  meat of his tricep and another on the center of his shoulder (using one lead to target his left side and the other to target his right). Some other areas that can get sore from shoulder presses are lats and traps, so a pad placement targeting both of these muscles can be a great way to recover as well.

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Potenza is a Managing Partner and Director of Human Performance for Tactical Fitness and Performance since inception (2009).  TFP is an innovative small business with a specialized focus on Human Performance for the Tactical Operator.  TFP created and managed the Human Performance Programs for two United States Air Force Pararescue teams within the National Guard Bureau. 

Potenza is currently in his 12th year as the Director of Strength and Conditioning for the San Jose Sharks hockey team. He is responsible for the team’s comprehensive health and performance enhancement program, including the physical testing and evaluations during training camp and rookie development camp.  He works closely with the Athletic Training staff on the rehab and reconditioning programming of all injured players. 

Potenza oversees the Strength and Conditioning staff for the Sharks minor league affiliate (San Jose Barracuda, San Jose CA).  He is also responsible for the physical fitness evaluations and design of the physical performance enhancement program for the 20 plus prospects within the San Jose Sharks organization.  Potenza has implemented a specific strategy to track player readiness through workload monitoring, blood analysis and a daily health assessment.  The information is used to create individualized workout routines, player supplementation strategies and on-ice training intensity/frequency.

Could you share more about the athletes you work with?

I work with so many different types of players. There are seasoned veterans that have been playing for 10 or more years. You have to plan and program for certain physical breakdowns with them. Then there are the rookies. They typically have fewer injuries and less mileage on their bodies. There is also the reconditioning group. This is the group that needs to rehab and have a transitional plan back to competition, which might be on a short or long-term level.

What does a practice day look like for you with the San Jose Sharks?

On practice days, we warm up as a group and do some movement prep. Movement prep can include self-administered tissue work, joint mobility, activation exercises, locomotor patterns like shuffling, spinning, transitional sprinting and neural work like jumping or throwing a medicine ball. During training, we split the group in half. We work with the seasoned veterans first, and then the younger guys later, which allows the coaching ratios to be a lot better. We also monitor practices with heart rate monitors and produce data reports to communicate with the coaches on the workloads in practice and workloads for the overall month.   

What injuries do you see most commonly?

We see issues with groins, hips, shoulders – mostly from impact, and concussions. Because of the mechanics of skating, we don’t see hamstring pulls or ankle sprains. Ankle issues arise from blocked shots mainly.

What is your philosophy in regards to strength and conditioning?

I take a three-level approach to strength and conditioning:

1. Educate- We believe in educating our players as to why we do what we do. We look to create workouts that are formatted for the individual athlete’s needs.  The needs of the program come from our performance testing, movement profile and player role determined by the coaching staff.
2. Culture of Work– We want to get better off the ice and on the ice. We ask the players, “What do you want to be better at?” The answer to that questions leads us to create a specific work plan off the ice and on the ice.  Players then learn how and where to invest time to be successful in their game.  The players have developed a tremendous amount of respect for each other when they see their teammate working with intent and specificity.
3. Speed, Power, Strength- Players need to develop and maintain the qualities of speed, power, and strength in order to be a successful athlete. If one of these qualities is absent, then a player will lose the ability to perform at their top level.

What shifts have you seen in strength and conditioning throughout the years?

Now, there is more of an emphasis on specific programming and the details on how to train each individual strength quality so they do not overlap, optimization.

How were you introduced to the Marc Pro?

I learned about the Marc Pro through our head athletic trainers, who knew Gary Reinl. The concept for recovery with the device was simple and it made a lot of sense to me. Essentially, it is an electronic muscle stimulator unit that uses a low-grade pulse to create a stimulus at the muscular level.  This pulse acts like a pump to push the byproducts of training out and brings in nutrient rich blood. 

What is the protocol for using a Marc Pro?

We will have players use the Marc Pro for 20+ minutes on a specific area and then shift. We use the Marc Pro anywhere and everywhere we can—bus, plane, hotel room, home, post-practice, etc… We have to implement recovery within our team travel schedule since we are one of the most traveled teams in the NHL and one of the most traveled among the four major sports.

What is the most difficult aspect about your position?

Meeting everybody’s needs. I have to stay on top of each player’s needs and also meet those needs within the team framework. You cannot favor the best player and you cannot favor the player who has a lot of training needs. As a coach you have to meet in the middle and coach every athlete you have equally. You also need to stay up-to-date with all of the best training research.  The field evolves so quickly.  It is critical that you stay up-to-date on research and the practical applications to training that best fit your athletes. 

What advice would you give athletes about recovery?

It depends on what we are doing. If we are having a heavy lactate session, we tell players not to get into the cold pool.  We need a strategy that helps flush and pump fluids around the area trained to help facilitate recovery. Athletes can use a global approach to recovery and pulse multiple areas of the body when using the Marc Pro. During “recovery time” athletes need to get the byproducts flushed out locally and into the circulatory system.

What is your favorite part about working with athletes on a daily basis?

Being a resource for them. I let them know right away in the relationship that I want to be a resource they can go to for an educated and experienced opinion on performance and rehab.  I also make sure to tell them to do their own research so they can get educated too.  If I don’t have the answer, then I am sure to tell the athlete that I will go find it. 

I enjoy the day-to-day team aspect of climbing the mountain together towards a championship. We are part of the support staff, but we are a critical piece in how the players can do what they do best, at a high level daily without interruption. I love the role of being a guy the athletes can trust and come to.

You may also be interested in:

Interview with Jeff Watson of University of Western Ontario

Strength & Conditioning Coach Spotlight – Eric Cressey

3 Mobility Exercises for Baseball Pitchers

Swelling doesn’t necessarily mean that the body is injured, but whether it’s a result of an injury or not, a swollen ankle should be taken seriously. If there’s something serious going on, a doctor can help create an action plan to help you get back on the right track. However, if there isn’t anything serious going on, you still need to be able to manage the congestion. Swelling can shut off the body’s proprioception- meaning you can’t understand as well how your body is moving. When an ankle is swollen, the brain doesn’t have a good idea of what is happening within the ankle and that creates a lot more opportunity for other instability, trauma, or missteps.

Kelly Starrett, DPT and founder of The Ready State, shares some simple rules to help determine if you should see a doctor, and a few techniques to reduce congestion if you have an otherwise healthy ankle.

Choose a Plan of Action

The first rule of action for a swollen ankle is to determine whether it’s a serious problem or if it’s something that you can manage on your own. The Ottawa Rules outline three simple questions to ask yourself that can give a good indication on what your plan of action should be. The caveat here is if you think you injured your ankle, by all means go ahead and get it checked out. These rules are for those questioning the degree of their ankle issue.

1. Can you weight bear?

If you can’t bear weight on the ankle, it’s a sign that you probably need an x-ray.

2. Can you take 4 steps?

If you can’t take 4 steps without pain, it’s a pretty good indication that something more serious is going on. At this point, it’s a good idea to get the ankle checked out by a doctor and possibly get an x-ray if advised.

3. Is it point tender?

• Outside or Inside of Ankle Bone

• Outside of Foot- Right below the pinky toe

If you find any of these areas to be point tender, where you push on it and it hurts, it’s probably best to go see a doctor. For those with non-serious swelling, it’s important to manage the congestion before it gets worse.

3 Ways to Reduce Ankle Swelling

For those who’s swollen ankle is a non-medical issue, there are a few active approach techniques Kelly Starrett recommends for reducing congestion.

1. Elevation/Gravity

The problem with a congested ankle is that it’s at the bottom of a gravity well. Your body is constantly fighting gravity to try to pump out the swelling. Get your foot up and use gravity to your advantage.

2. Mechanical Compression

Using VooDoo floss, you can compress the swollen area upwards of 10-12 times per day. Wrap at 50% tension and 50% overlap in the band from your foot up towards your heart.

3. Active Recovery w/ Marc Pro

Gravity and compression can only be done when you have an opportunity to stop, lay down, and get your feet up. With Marc Pro, you can decongest the area while traveling, at work, or pretty much anytime you’re not moving around. Kelly recommends placing the pads on the calf or quadriceps, as long as the pumping doesn’t irritate the swollen area. If the contractions are irritating the swollen area, move the pads farther away. Whether you put the pads above or below the area, it doesn’t matter- you can push or pull the waste through the lymphatic system up to the heart to drain. Even if you pump your quadriceps, it will still improve the health in the tissues of the leg.

This triad of gravity, mechanical compression, and active recovery is a powerful combination for decongesting swollen ankles that can safely be managed on your own.

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Scott Caulfield has been involved in fitness and athletics for over two decades, in a variety of different roles. Currently, he is the Head Strength and Conditioning Coach at the NSCA Headquarters in Colorado Springs. He utilizes 20+ years of “under the bar”​ lifting and coaching experience in a variety of different roles in support of the NSCA’s mission as the worldwide authority on strength and conditioning.

Caulfield holds the Certified Strength and Conditioning Specialist with Distinction (CSCS*D) certification and Registered Strength and Conditioning Coach with Distinction (RSCC*D) designation from the National Strength and Conditioning Association, as well as USA Weightlifting’s Level 2 Advanced Sports Performance Coach certification.

Scott’s specialties include: Strength and conditioning programs for athletic teams and individuals, strength training for speed and power, endurance, speed and agility development, energy system specific conditioning, injury prevention, Olympic weightlifting, strongman, powerlifting, nutrition for athletic performance, fat loss, and overall health.

What initially attracted you to strength and conditioning?

I always played sports growing up, but when I went into the Navy, I started lifting more seriously. It was during this time that I noticed the correlation between lifting and my own sports performance in basketball. When I found out you could make a living working with athletes, a lightbulb went off. I began pursuing the physical education field working with different sports teams and at different universities.

Could you share more about the athletes you currently work with?

At the NSCA Headquarters, we work with so many different athletes including high-level youth hockey (14-20-year-old teams), tactical athletes, police, SWAT teams, firefighters, first responders, Paralympic teams, and international teams.

I always joke that you never know who will show up at NSCA Headquarters. We have the flexibility to work with so many different athletes. Plus, the United States Olympic and Paralympic Committee (USOPC) has reached out to our NSCA team to work with athletes.

You work with tactical athletes. Could you describe what this entails?

Tactical athletes are individuals who have to apply our strength and conditioning methods to real-life scenarios such as police, firefighters, SWAT teams, first responders, etc.

The biggest difference with tactical athletes is that they are typically older when they start working with us—around 30 or 40 years old. These individuals might start with us having poor movement mechanics and injuries that you have to work around.

Tactical athletes are not playing a game every Sunday like your typical athlete.  They might leave a session with us and be called into a fire call or hostage rescue. The training has to be very sensible and cognizant of how much we do and how much we push them because they are leaving NSCA and putting their life on the line. 

What is your philosophy in regards to strength and conditioning?

Everything we do is about results and relationships. We have to get results—bigger, faster, stronger, or reduce injury. But, it is also about building positive and impactful relationships with people.

What shifts have you seen in strength and conditioning throughout the years?

The most successful people stick to the fundamentals. Throughout the years, there have been many changes with implementing more wearable technology in the weight room and field.

What is the most difficult aspect about your position?

In our setting, we don’t see some athletes as often throughout the year. The biggest challenge when you don’t see someone consistently and you have to reassess and see where the athlete is currently on a given day.

What advice would you give athletes about recovery?

An athlete has to do what works for the individual. Recovery protocols have to be something that they are going to follow through with, and be practical and maintainable.

The Marc Pro allows athletes to have access to use the tool themselves, making it a huge asset. Athletes can use it for recovery for future workouts, and to feel better after hard training sessions.

What is your favorite part about working with athletes on a daily basis?

Building positive and impactful relationships. I really like to learn more about individuals and invest in them as people. When you actually build those relationships, it comes back tenfold.

You may also be interested in:

• Strength & Conditioning Coach Spotlight | Eric Cressey
• ATC Tip: How to Efficiently Get Student Athletes Back to Play
• Athletic Trainer Spotlight | Ronald Linfonte of St. John’s University

Murph is a benchmark workout in the CrossFit community. It’s typically completed on Memorial Day in honor of our fallen soldiers. The standard workout includes a 20 pound weighted vest for men and a 14 pound weighted vest for women, while completing the following:

• 1 mile run
• 100 pullups
• 200 pushups
• 300 air squats
• 1 mile run

Tips for Excelling at Murph

Murph is a brutal, long workout that requires pacing. CrossFit Games athlete Scott Panchik shares some tips to help break up the workout into more manageable components.

Run tips: On the first mile, come out at a comfortable pace and keep your heart rate under control.

Pullup tips: Small sets on the pull ups, anywhere between 3-5 reps at a time, depending on if pull ups are a strength or weakness for you.

Pushup tips: Many people come into the pushups and hit a set of 15-20 pushups, forgetting that they have to do 200. Think about breaking these up from the get-go as well into smaller sets.

Air squat tips: Scott suggests doing 10-25 squats at a time, shake out your legs, take a step forward, and hit the next set. Having some resting points in there is key.

Final run tips: At this point, your legs are going to feel very, very heavy. Use a quicker stride and let your arms carry your legs through the last mile.

Here’s an example Murph breakdown Scott recommends for beginners (no weighted vest):

• 1 mile run
• 20 rounds of 5 pullups
• 20 rounds of 10 pushups
• 20 rounds of 15 air squats
• 1 mile run

How to use Marc Pro to Recover from Murph

Scott Panchik uses Marc Pro to recover from long workouts like Murph, in addition to his everyday training. For Murph workout recovery, Scott focuses on his quad recovery by putting one electrode on the top part of his VMO and then up a little higher on the quad. Make sure you get a good muscle contraction going. If you aren’t, move the pads around slightly so they’re on the densest part of the muscles or on either end of the muscle. For arm recovery after Murph, Scott recommends placing one electrode on the palm of the hand and the other near the armpit, right where the tricep meets the bicep.

You may also be interested in:

• How to Barbell Shoulder Press

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• Workout of the Day & Recovery Plan with Scott Panchik

Ray Knight, Head Athletic Trainer at the University of the South, shares how he has seen a reduction in injuries by eliminating ice and developing a fresh recovery protocol.

Ray Knight is in his 18th year as the Head Athletic Trainer for the Tigers. Knight serves the Tennessee Athletic Trainers’ Society as the chair of the Honors and Awards committee. In 2008, Knight was honored as the TATS Eugene Smith/Mickey O’Brien College Athletic Trainer of the Year Award.

What initially attracted you to athletic training?

I played many different sports in high school including baseball, cross-country, and football. However, I knew that I was not athletically gifted or talented enough to play sports in college, so I shadowed the athletic trainer at my high school. Shortly after, I realized that athletic training was a good way to be part of the team even when you are not playing.

How many student-athletes are at the University of the South?

We have a total of 550 student-athletes with 24 varsity teams.

What is your philosophy in regards to athletic training?

If you are an injured athlete and you are not able to participate in the sport that you love, an athletic trainer needs to do everything possible to help you return to play. An athlete needs to commit to treatment and doing rehab every day. In our athletic training room, the treatment component includes using the Marc Pro to help speed up the healing process.

What sports do you typically work with?

Most of the time, I work with the football team. However, I have a hand in all 24 sports that are part of Sewanee athletics.

Do you typically see similar injuries across all of the sports you work with?

We see many different types of injuries including ankle sprains, shoulder injuries, ACL tears, pulled muscles (especially hamstrings), and back injuries.

Someone once told me, “If you can take care of the ankle, knee, and shoulder, you can be a pretty good athletic trainer.” A lot of the injuries that we deal with include the ankle, knee, and shoulder, so knowing how to address these areas appropriately is key.

What shifts have you seen in athletic training throughout the years?

There has been a major shift for athletic trainers to move from icing to not icing. RICE is not the preferred treatment anymore. Active recovery is the answer.

Shifting away from icing has really changed what we do at our school. We know that ice is not going to help an athlete get better, so we no longer give ice bags out for injuries.

Do you use ice for recovery?

No. It is my preference that an athlete does not ice. We have to educate student-athletes about the change and shift in paradigm with icing. They are trained in the concept of ‘ice, ice, ice’.

It is my job to educate them on new technology that we believe in. I am constantly educating them on why they should use the Marc Pro over ice.

How were you introduced to the Marc Pro?

In 2013, I worked training camp with the Tennessee Titans. Later in the fall, I had a football player suffer from a bicep contusion. I followed the treatment plan for the player that I was taught in school—ice massage, pulsed ultrasound,  and electrical stim. But, the player was not getting better with weeks of this treatment. I called the athletic trainer at the Tennessee Titans to find out some other ways to treat this injury, and he recommended that I don’t have the player ice.

He then sent me a video with Gary Reinl and Kelly Starrett. The video made me curious and piqued my interest about the idea of ‘not icing.’ So, I bought Gary’s book, ICED!, and spoke with Brandon Aiken, another athletic trainer, about icing. After all of this research, I thought, “Gary might be onto something by not icing injuries.”

And now, we have a no ice policy.

How many Marc Pro units do you have at the university?

We have purchased 10 units since 2013.

What is the protocol for using a Marc Pro in your athletic training room?

Our first line of defense is to put a Marc Pro on the athlete. Initially, we typically have the unit on the athlete on for 30 to 60 minutes.

We then give the athlete a unit to take home. A student-athlete will take a photo of where to place the electrodes so they know where to place them for later. We tell the athlete that the Marc Pro should be on for 2 hours that night to encourage healing. The next day, we re-evaluate.

How has the Marc Pro helped your athletic training staff?

Having the Marc Pro units allows us to spend more time with other athletes. We can focus on everyone and provide a better level of care.

What is the most difficult aspect about being an athletic trainer?

For me, it is juggling spending time with every sport and juggling giving every athlete undivided care.

How do you handle athlete injuries?

Everyone wants to play the sport they love. When an athlete is injured, there is fear that the athletic trainer is going to say that they cannot play their sport.  But, we are here to help them. If athletes follow our plan, we can help them get back to play in a safe manner.

Athletes trust me and believe my recommendations.  The athlete has to know that you care about them before they will trust you. I truly care about the athletes as people and want to help them in any way that I can.

What is your favorite part about working with athletes on a daily basis?

Each day is a new day. You never know what is going to walk through the door. That is my favorite part. You work with someone and you give them resources to get better. You want to know if the athletes are improving each day. I love the day-to-day progress that we see with the athletes.

Why Athletic Trainers are Leaving Ice in the Cooler

You may also be interested in these athletic trainer interviews:

Carla Gilson of Georgia Tech

Andy Bliz of the University of Buffalo

Ronald Linfonte of St. John’s University

One mistake most of us make first thing in the morning is we often fail to appreciate that we just went 8-10 hours without consuming liquids. We grab a cup of coffee to start the day and don’t think much about it. Coffee itself isn’t the issue, but if that’s the first liquid you put in your body you may want to rethink your morning rituals. Instead, try upregulating your hydration and get your kidneys going first thing in the morning.

Importance of Hydration in the Morning

Making hydration a priority in the morning can have some big benefits for your health. Hydration through the day is important too, but beginning your day with some proper hydration can get your day off to a great start.

• Fuels your brain

The brain is made up of almost 73% water. Staying hydrated is essential to maintaining maximum brain function.

• Boosts energy

Dehydration can lead to low energy, so rehydrating first thing in the morning can make sure your are alert and have the energy to get through the day. Water can help aid in balancing mood as well.

• Flushes toxins

Water helps flush toxins out of the body, which means you can stay healthy and be less prone to sickness.

• Kickstarts metabolism

The metabolic processes that break down protein and carbohydrates are fueled by water. Ensuring your body has plenty of water will help rev up your metabolism.

Rehydration Drink- “Morning Refresher”

For morning hydration, one of the best things you can do is make the following “Morning Refresher” drink with a few simple ingredients.

• 8-12 ounces of water
• A pinch of sea salt (preferably Himalayan sea salt)
• A little bit of lemon juice

Adding a small amount of sea salt to your water will allow your body to absorb the water you’re drinking. You don’t need much, but making water more isotonic as compared to pure water, will have big benefits for your hydration. Sodium is responsible for transporting water to the body’s cells.

The purpose of the lemon juice is to provide some flavor and vitamin C for the next step. In addition to proper hydration, collagen is another great way to make sure your tissues are healthy and have the appropriate building blocks. Vitamin C allows the collagen to be better absorbed and used by the body.  Improving the tissue system with proper hydration and supplementation can help solve pain related problems, tissue health problems, and allow your body to perform optimally. An easy way to get more collagen into your diet is through a collagen supplement, such as Vital Proteins, which can be mixed into almost anything.

What Else Can you Do to Stay Healthy?

Hydration and collagen are two fundamental elements to keep your tissues robust, healthy, and less prone to injuries and other issues. Walking is another great way to drastically improve your tissue health. You can also use Marc Pro to get all the benefits of active recovery during periods of inactivity while at work or home.

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