No Excuses: No Train No Gain

Being part of a team and having a regular schedule can really hold you accountable, but why is singular exercise so hard? Our league gets minimal time on the track so working out on my own and cross-training is vital. When you are too low on funds to join a gym, or struggling to keep sweating on your own because it is -20 degrees outside, you have to get creative.

Try something new. Swimming is always touted as an awesome full-body workout and praised for its low impact on your joints. Sounds perfect for a derby skater, right? Well, I went to the rec center and bought a 10-punch pass to swim laps. I looked up a swim workout because in my head swimming back and forth didn’t sound like much of a workout. I was wrong. Swimming is hard! And I kind of suck at it. I managed to cheat through childhood swim lessons without opening my eyes or breathing under water. I need to just do it (or get a nose pincher) and maybe freestyle won’t look so much like drowning.

Straight swimming is enough of a workout, but isolating the arm stroke or getting a kickboard and using your legs is a great way to strengthen either. You can also just grab some friends (especially friends with kids!) and play around for awhile. Either way it is a great way to escape the bitter winter or have some fun while feeling the burn. Extra bonus if your facility has a hot tub!

30 minutes of swimming (vigorously): 375 calories

D.I.Y. your workout. You don’t need a gym or fancy equipment to get a good workout. Body weight exercises are highly effective, or finding objects around the house to help you work harder is cheap and easy as well. The internet is full of suggestions, but the key is keeping your workouts to a rapid pace. I follow Get-Fit-Naturally and Fit Chicks on Facebook and they always have inspiring posts and almost daily workouts. If you keep them high interval then it takes no time at all. Be sure not to over do it and please listen to your body. Give yourself rest days, make sure you don't strength train back to back days. 

I've done many sweat sessions in my tiny living room. 

Strength training plus cardio equals and even better workout. If it's too cold to go for a run, turn on some music and start dancing. 

30 minutes of circuit training: 300 calories.

30 minutes of dancing: 170 calories.

Kid's play. Jumping rope either makes me think of recess or Rocky. Again, you can ask Google about different kinds of rope jumping workouts. Hop on one foot, alternate feet, double-unders, jump for endurance... it is a lot more vigorous than you might think. 

If you think Roller Derby is an obscure sport, check out the USA Jump Rope Grand Nationals. And holy shit the speed competitions... 

Another past time that can kick your butt is cycling. It was 35 degrees out and with the approriate layers I went on a 20 mile bike ride and felt awesome. I am still getting into that whole biking thing (everyone here is obsessed with RAGBRAI.) but with my new bike I powered through those hills! If you want to keep it indoors, go check out a spin class at your local gym, or buy a stationary bike trainer for your personal bike. 

15 minutes of fast jump roping: 150-200 calories.

30 minutes of vigorous biking: 300 calories. 

Tough it out. Sometimes all I want to do is just go for a run. I've always avoided winter running in the past because I am a klutz and Iowa is COLD, but I finally tried it this winter. I have some trail running shoes so they have some grip on the bottom, and I haven't had any problems yet. I've asked around about those Yak Trax you attach to your shoes and most people say they aren't worth it. Since you are bracing yourself as you run, I think of it more as trail running which can burn more calories. 

The key is to dress in smart layers. You don't need to dress like Randy did for school, but you don't want to leave much skin exposed. As you run your body will warm up, so look for lightweight, moisture-wicking clothes, and don't forget the hat and gloves. The thing I always forget about is my face and neck, so grab a bandana on the way out or some sort of neck warmer. If it's super slushy outside, I've read that people have put plastic baggies over their feet inside their shoes so they don't freeze. 

30 minutes of winter running: up to 500 calories.

Free skate! 

Free Skate. Hit up your local rink or free skates opportunities!! Even if you're just skating in circles the more time on skates the better. Try some footwork you are having a hard time with; transitions, sideways skating, skating on one foot, hopping, etc. Play with your trucks and see if maybe you like them looser. This is FREE time to try new things, experiment with your gear, and impress the locals. Or just hold hands with your derby wife and sing along to songs from high school. If anything, sport your derby best and hope to recruit a few interested people.

30 minutes of recreational skating: 230 calories.

Yoga. So I am not big into yoga, but wouldn't mind doing more of it. I know a lot of derby skaters who  swear by yoga; hot, power, whatever, and make it part of their regular schedule. It may not seems as vigorous as other exercises in the usual sense, but I see it as a good strengthening and body maintenance exercise. The stretching can help with soreness, improve your joint fluidity and relax your mind as well. The few times I've tried it, again underestimating it, holding the different poses is hard and forces you to concentrate on things like your core. There are many different kinds that offer different benefits, so look into which kind is right for you.

60 minutes of yoga: 175-500 calories (depending on type of yoga.)


Train like an Olympian. Apollo Ohno's dryland workout included 45 minutes of stairs... (And then a 1 mile warm down.)

Still looking for more? Look up your favorite Olympic or professional athletes and check out the crazy workout schedules they have. These athletes workout nearly everyday and work tirelessly to improve their bodies and skill. I wish that I could just devote my life to training, but I still have to pay the bills and feed my cat. So until I win the lottery, I just have to force myself to workout when I'm tired, sore, or just not in the mood. It's so worth it.

Note: Calorie counts were based off my body weight and suggested intensity. It was intended to show effectiveness of  different workouts. Results may vary. Also remember, I am no expert. This is all information I've gathered over time and experience. Enjoy!

No Excuses: Introduction
No Excuses: Mental Training
No Excuses: Dynamic Warm Ups

No Excuses: Dynamic Warm Ups

I totally made this up, as seen by my
MSpaint illustration.

Now that you have mentally prepared yourself for roller derby, it’s time to strap skates on, right? Not quite. To tap into the full potential of your body when you work out, you should keep a cyclical process in mind: Rev, Run, Recover.

Rev Your Engines

Before exercise, it is best to warm up to help prevent injury and to prime the body for a more efficient workout. It’s a small amount of extra time away from practice, but well worth it in the long run.

Warming up should work your body gradually into peak performance. Start with a 5-10 minute jog at about 40% working up to 60% to get your heart rate up. This warms your muscles- which prevents injury, warms your blood temperature- which gets more oxygen in your blood for endurance, and dilates your blood vessels which makes exercise easier on your heart. It will also prepare you mentally for exercise, and a warm body will use stored muscle fuel more effectively.

Next would be when most people start bending and pulling on muscles, but recent research shows that static stretching before exercise could actually do more harm than good. Dynamic stretching is a practice that is becoming more popular and has even been mentioned in a series on All Derby Drills and an article in Blood & Thunder Magazine. The more I read about it the more this new warm up makes sense.

Studies have shown that static stretching before performance can smother your explosive power and reduce your strength and speed for up to 30 minutes after. That's half a bout!
Cathy Kovach Photography

Static: a. Having no motion; being at rest; quiescent.

           b. Fixed; stationary.

Why would you want to stop moving and bring your heart back to a normal rate before you proceed to exercising? Often a stretch circle turns into social time or daydreaming as you hold positions. This distracts your brain from thinking about the impending workout and you cancel out all the effort you put into warming your body. A static stretch pulls the muscle to its limit and is only really increasing your tolerance for the discomfort and can lead to over-stretching. Studies have also shown that this could tighten your muscles before exercise instead of relaxing them. The part that concerns me the most is that static stretching also zaps your quick twitch muscle, the kind that gives you explosive power.

With dynamic stretching, such as walking lunges, the muscle is performing actively in a way that it may be used in your exercise. It’s being stretched and warmed in a more controlled manner, which increases range of motion and power. Stretching with movement also keeps your body running warm and tells your brain that you’re preparing to work. You want to try to warm up the muscles specific to your sport, so understanding which movement works which muscle is good to know. A quick search for ‘dynamic stretches’ pulls up a handful of resources, so I won’t go into the various ones here. Most of the exercises work better off-skates, but some can be adapted to wheel shoes as well. I would recommend doing your warm up before you hit the track, although making that transition to the rest of your practice while still warm is important, so gear up quickly.

Tons of resources on YouTube. This one is pretty thorough and doesn't have an annoying 

hard rock song attached to it. 

Run Your Workout

The second part of the cycle is obviously your practice, workout, bout, etc. You are most likely working hard and breaking a sweat, so make sure you give your body a few small breaks and re-hydrate. Staying well hydrated all day is important because at practice you’ll only be making up what’s lost. When exerting yourself for longer than an hour, you may want to reach for a Gatorade or something else with calories and electrolytes to replenish the carbs and minerals burned. Red Bull may give you wings, and energy drinks are proven performance enhancers, but caffeine will also dehydrate you. They are best to consume in moderation or along with some water.

Taking care of your body is the moral of the story throughout this cycle and it doesn’t stop while you’re pushing yourself on the track either. We are obviously playing a contact sport but you should do everything in your power to prevent injury. Some no brainers like wearing proper attire, gear and footwear (in this case skates that FIT) are vital to the longevity of your body. In my opinion, most injuries are caused over time, like repetitive falling on crappy knee pads, foot problems or blisters from ill-fitting skates, etc. This sport comes with a high price tag, but investing in top notch gear, and replacing it regularly, will give you a loving, long-lasting relationship with roller derby.

Running yourself ragged at practice will do you no good either. Arriving at practice on an empty stomach or dehydrated is a quick way to hurt yourself. You risk becoming physically ill or light-headed which means you are not practicing at your peak performance. It could also lead sloppy skating or passing out which may injure you or others. Derby hurts, but experiencing real pain is a smoke signal from your body telling you something is wrong. If it’s a severe or reoccurring pain, get it checked out! Wear any suggested gear or braces and do your PT if coming back from injury. Pushing yourself at practice breaks barriers, pushing yourself past the tipping point breaks bones- listen to your body!

A little glimpse into my team's practice. We began working out at an awesome local gym, Fit2Live, and Ryan talks a little bit about dynamic stretching vs static stretching.

Rest and Recovery

Just like you slowly prepped your body to work hard, you should bring it back down to a resting state. Doing some slow, relaxed laps at the end of practice (preferably both derby and non-derby direction) at a conversational pace is a good way to get a bit of social time in while your heart returns to a resting rate. This gradual decrease in activity helps get rid of lactic acid in your muscles which could prevent soreness. 

Now is the time for static stretching to have its place. The studies I’ve read haven’t banned it all together, but suggest it be saved for your cool down or outside of practice. Animal Mother is a yogi who has ran us through a routine after practice that feels great after a hard workout. She often attends yoga outside of practice to help get rid of aches and pains or uses it as mental centering. Not only is this a time for your body to rest but for your mind to reflect. Incorporate some of your mental training as you end practice and think about your performance.

The hour after your workout is an important time to replenish your body of everything it lost while working hard. Chocolate milk is the best beverage to keep in the fridge for a post-workout boost. The calcium and protein are particularly good for female athletes and the carbs and sugar help tired muscles regain energy. It’s suggested that you eat a recovery snack rich in carbs and protein immediately and then eat a meal full of protein, fiber and whole grains within an hour or two. If you wait much longer, your body’s ability to fully refuel drops by half. Since derby practice can burn from 600-1200 calories, it’s important to eat a healthy recovery meal and continue drinking water.

A wide range of people stumble onto roller derby and not all are already athletes who maintain a healthy lifestyle. If you are a derby girl you must face the fact that you are now an athlete and you should do your body a favor by cutting out junk food and enriching it with non-saturated, healthy fats. I know the ravenous feeling post practice combined with an elated exhaustion often leads to popping a pizza in the oven or going to your favorite bar for fried things, but please reduce these indulgences to a moderate consumption. Stock your fridge with colorful fruits and veggies or prep some pasta for the week to make it easier to refuel when you’re exhausted.

Sure, derby girls love to party-all-the-time,
party-all-the-time but remember alcohol can have
lasting affects on your performance.

“Alcohol is the enemy of the athlete”.

Beer may be a liquid, but that does not mean it makes a very good recovery drink. It can hinder your recovery process and still affect your performance 48 hours later. I think most skaters are told not to drink the day before a bout or even the week of, but this great article by a derby girl may make you even think twice about indulging at after parties. (yeah, right.) Drinking, especially after bouts, can be a celebratory time and a reward for hard work, but keep in mind how detrimental it can be for the serious athlete. 

Keep your workouts well-rounded with the three Rs; rev, run, and recover, and not only will you train at peak performance, but you can help your body prevent injury. Everyone's bodies have different needs, so always consult a doctor and do your own research before you start any fitness routine. I am by no means an expert on any of the material covered here, but am merely reporting what I have learned from research and experience.

No Excuses: Introduction
No Excuses: Mental Training

No Excuses: No Train No Gain

New York Times article

MSNBC article

About.com article

Derbylife.com article

Random fitness & nutrition blog

Studies on static stretching

List of dynamic stretches

No Excuses: Mental Training

Roller derby is unique in that most people have to start from scratch when they join, having no knowledge of the sport or much skill at roller skating in general. It can be a daunting task for anyone to get involved with, but there is some training you can begin before you ever step foot at a practice. It’s a type of training that often goes overlooked and is very underestimated. It requires discipline, repetition and constant use. The part of your body that is arguably the most important to cultivate for roller derby is… your brain!

Phase 1 –Fresh Start, Clear Minds

For someone brand new to the sport, the best possible thing you can do for yourself is keep a positive attitude. It may sound silly and easy, but sometime it’s harder than you think. Roller derby is already a difficult sport, don't make it harder on yourself. I know I get frustrated easily when I can’t do something right, and the first few months are going to be full of that frustration. The worst possible thing you can do for yourself is to say “I can’t!" Be the little engine that could, but instead of “I think I can” say “I know I can.”

A mantra personal to yourself or the drill can make it even better. During a lap drill I was having a hard time and kept repeating “low and hard” to remind myself to keep a low stance and to dig hard in my crossovers. A phrase can focus your concentration to the task at hand and make your practice time more productive. Be sure to avoid negative phrases like “stop fucking up.”  Anytime you find that you are getting down on yourself, stop, reset and repeat your positive phrase over and over.

Another thing you can do at the beginning of your mental training is to set goals. The best way to make goals more effective is to not only set an outcome goal, but also process goals. If you’re going on a trip but don’t have directions, you’re never going to get there. Writing them down is the next way to actualize your goals.  Putting them on paper is like making a written contract with yourself that you are going to hold up your end of the deal. Make them attainable and specific. As with the positive thinking you should avoid all negative language. 

It should be more like: “I want to complete 25 laps in under five minutes by February 1^st.”

Great now how are you going to get there?

“I will exaggerate my derby stance throughout every drill at practice to improve my form.

I will skate extra laps during warm up and cool downs to work on my stride.

I will go to the rink on Saturdays to practice my laps and work on speed.  

I will run twice a week outside of practice to increase my endurance.”

Solid plan! But it doesn’t end there. Check up on yourself. Log when you go running and skating. Write your progress down and make sure you’re on track to your goal date. If the date is nearing and you’re still no where near completing 25 in five, this does not mean you failed. It simply means you may have set your goal too high and you just need to re-adjust your plan. Did you skimp on something? Is there something more you could do? This isn’t a loop hole to be lazy; your goals should still make you push yourself to work hard. 

These tools are applicable to the veteran skater too. There’s always more to learn in our evolving sport and new ways you can improve your skill. Stuck in a rut after years of skating? Maybe you’ve spent too much negative energy putting yourself down and you haven’t even realized it.

Phase 2 – Mental Training

So now you’re on a positive track heading towards improving yourself with goals. Awesome! To supplement your physical training to achieve that goal, you can also do some mental pushups. Your brain can be treated like a muscle, so with little use it could become weak. Concentrating your thoughts on how you want to improve will give you a clearer focus and a better commitment.

Warm up with a few laps through your memories. Pick out a few times when you succeeded or did well in roller derby, or other parts of your life. How did you look? What specifically did you do well? How was your stance and what were you thinking? Pick out a certain bout your performed well at, or a string of moments from a certain season. Make this your personal highlight reel to recall later.

 

Before every bout, I would watch this and other highlight reels of OCCRG to remind myself that I'm awesome.

If you have actual footage of yourself, that’s even better. Try to only repetitively watch the successful moments, not the times you may have tripped up. We of course learn from our mistakes, but only watch them a few times and move on- focus on what you did well and why.

Next, stretch out your ego a bit and think about what your strengths as a skater are. Are you fast? Strong? Smart? Focus on your positive attributes and create a personal statement. “I am an awesome booty blocker and can sit on a jammer all day.” Then take your goal and create a statement of what you want to achieve. “I will be faster and have more endurance than my competition.” Write these down and remember them for later.

There are some very specific mental workouts sports psychologists have created that I won’t go into great detail about here, but they have some pretty basic concepts. Pick a time every day to do your mental workout. It could be in the morning as you’re eating breakfast and getting ready. It could be at night as you get ready for bed- whatever time works best for you. Take a deep breath in with a slow exhale and start focusing on your personal statement. Now mentally go through your mental highlight reel of past successes. Imagine it first person and include every detail. Next, picture yourself executing the outcome of your goal: low stance, hard strides, even pace, finishing your laps in under five minutes. Take another deep breath and exhale slowly. That wasn’t so hard, was it?

On days you have practice it is beneficial to do it before and after. Focus on a positive self-image and what you want to accomplish beforehand. After, think about what you did well at practice and what needs more work next time. Physical practice won’t be very helpful if you’re just going through the motions. Get everything you can out of your training by focusing on your results afterwards.

It also helps to watch footage of skaters or athletes you want to be more like. Want to jam like Suzy Hotrod? Look up videos of her and other skaters so you can learn their style. Want to block like Amanda Jamitinya? Find all the video and photos you can to nail down her footwork and how she works with others. These are both things I’ve done personally and have had epiphanies about footwork and technique. In general, you benefit greatly from watching any and all footage of roller derby you can. Focus on certain positions, teams, pack situations, etc. Keep yourself up-to-date on strategy in this ever-changing sport.

Besides watching this for the amazing last few jams of the 2010 WFTDA Championship, I watched 3:05 over and over again. Amanda Jamitinya kept knocking Atomatrix out and stopping on the line and I wanted to perfect that. 

Phase 3 – Game time.

Alright, you have done all the mental and physical training you could, and now it's bout day. Both types of training must be done repetitively and consistently leading up to competition in order for your body to be fully prepared, but mental toughness is something you can carry with you onto track. A lot of people can get pre-bout jitters and freeze up when its time to perform. Dropping down and doing some push-ups isn’t going to do much for you now, it would just make you more tired. Instead you can do a few mental laps to freshen your mind and focus your attention on the game.

First, ban any and all negative thoughts from your brain. If you say “I can’t do this” when your on the jam line, then you have already beaten yourself before the opposing team could try. Replace the negativity with positive mental chatter. Repeat a phrase to yourself that applies to your current situation. As a jammer, you may think “low and fast” as you stand on the jam line. Pivoting, you may constantly be thinking “line and jammer” as you watch the opposing star and the line at all times. As a blocker, you may be thinking “buddy, jammer” as to stay with your buddy when the jammer approaches the pack. Don’t overwhelm yourself with who the competition is or what size the crowd is. Narrow your focus to the situation at hand, and work through the bout jam by jam.

Have a particularly bad jam? Sit on the bench and take a deep breath. Re-center your brain and quickly go through your mental highlight reel. Remember how awesome you are and what you are good at. Repeat your positive personal statement to yourself and then focus on what you will do next.

I’ve never really been one to get in my head at bouts, but it did happen to me this year against Minnesota. You can hear how negative I got in my write-up about it here, and you can see how deep a hole I dug myself. I kept telling myself I couldn’t do it and kept replaying that one awful jam over and over in my head, virtually paralyzing myself for the rest of the bout. I think our whole team started to get down on ourselves even though we had a relatively good first half. The second half we barely scored any points because we mentally gave up.

Mental toughness is not something you can get over-night. Like building muscle and endurance, you’ve got to work on it and create a routine. Self image creates your reality, so build a strong body by starting with a positive and focused mind. The stronger the bond is between your mind and body, the stronger athlete you will be. 

“Decide who you want to be and how you want to live- and then continuously tell yourself you have what it takes to be that person.” -Jason Selk 

No Excuses: Introduction
No Excuses: Dynamic Warm Ups
No Excuses: No Train No Gain

Books to read:

The Mental Edge by Kenneth Baum

10-Minute Toughness by Jason Selk

No Excuses

Me as a newb.

Foreward
When recruitment comes around, I always start thinking about what it takes to be a derby girl. Most outsiders think we're all former speed skaters, violent, super tough, or "big, scary dykes"... There is no one type of person that makes up roller derby; it is a very diverse crowd to get involved with. We are gay, straight, tough, sensitive, experienced and not; there's no prescribed personality for it. Most people I hear from don't quite know what to think about it, but almost always immediately say the couldn't possibly play. 

That's what made us different; we said we could.

The simple belief of yes I can, that first step into the local rink/gym/park, the courage to put on a pair of skates- that's what made us all different from everyone else. 

People who play roller derby range in age, aggression, body type and background. I would say that most people have no formal skating experience and quite a few have probably never played an organized sport. Most lead very busy lives- students, moms, doctors, multiple jobs. Most of us aren’t rich either, and this isn’t a cheap sport.

This sport prides itself on being grassroots and by the skaters. It has grown at an incredibly fast rate, and it has been all by our own hands. We do not get paid to train, we do not get paid to run our league as a successful business, but we do have to do it all in our free time. So before you say you “can’t,” look at all these strong men and women who have built this sport and try it for yourself. It is definitely not for everyone but you won’t know until you try- you might love it.

Believing you can is the first step. The next step is deciding to commit yourself to this amazing sport, to be open to new things and to push yourself to work harder than you ever have before.

This begins a series of posts that will highlight what it takes mentally and physically to play roller derby. I will give some insight for the new skaters, and new ways to push older skaters. I’m about to hit my 3 year anniversary playing roller derby and begin my second year coaching. I’m trying to learn as much as I can to push myself forward and pass along what I learn. Take it all with a grain of salt, and alter it to your own needs; I just hope I can help in some way.

No Excuses: Mental Training
No Excuses: Dynamic Warm Ups
No Excuses: No Train No Gain