The Baller
Do you have a baller in your life? Or is your husband a professional athlete or just a guy who plays hard? Here are some resources that could be a blessing to him in his life.
1. Books on Sports Psychology:
The Inner Game of Tennis by W. Timothy Gallwey
In Pursuit of Excellence by Terry Orlick
Mind Gym by Gary Mack
You vs. You by Wayne Mazzoni
Finding Your Zone by Michael Lardon
2. The Stick: This has been a tool that Joe takes almost everywhere with him. When you are pounding your muscles the way he does, you need a deep tissue massage that will release all the knots your muscles develop. This is a great tool to help improve flexibility, keep your muscles supple and improve circulation.
3. Athletes’ Performance Institute: In the summer of 2008 I sent Joe out to the API in California for his birthday present. It was well worth the money for him to spend time there with some of the world’s top trainers amongst some of the world’s top athletes. Not only are you trained there, but they educate you in training and nutrition. You also become one of the family and they are always a phone call or e-mail away to help their athletes with anything, no matter where in the world they are.
4. Core Performance: Core Performance is the sister site to Athletes’ Performance more geared for the every day person. They do have fabulous resources on-line though. You can sign up for a monthly membership there and receive daily workouts, nutrition, and other valuable resources like videos of all their exercises. Joe has used this when we are overseas and he needs to cater his needs to an in-season workout plan. You can load your daily plan right on your iPod or iPhone as well!
5. Trigger Point Therapy: Joe discovered TP when he was having plantar fasciitis problems in Spain in 2007. Their products were well worth the money and Joe continues to use them even though his plantar fasciitis is no longer around.
6. Skins: Recovery is a huge part of the professional athlete’s life. And when you have limited time between games and practices, you must be proactive in accelerating the recovery process. Compression (along with cold baths) have been an integral part of Joe’s recovery process. Joe owns 3 pairs of skins and often sleeps in the full length pants.
7. EAS Products: Supplements are necessary for the professional athlete. The stress their body goes through is much more than the normal person. To battle the environmental stressors, it is necessary to use recovery shakes, vitamins and extra minerals. The EAS products are very high quality products. Joe uses the Myoplex Lite Powder, Myoplex Lite Nutrition Bar, Athlete’s Defense, Muscle Armor, Phosphagen Elite and L-Glutamine.
8. Foam Roller: A good foam roller is a sore muscle’s best friend. Foam rollers are excellent for activating “dead” muscles that have turned off, as well as acting as a deep tissue massage much in the same way that The Stick does. This foam roller from Perform Better is one of the best we have found. It doesn’t lose its shape like the traditional white roller. Even though it is big, Joe brings this overseas with him.
9. Stretch Rope: To perform active-isolated stretching (AIS), a good stretch rope is helpful. Although any rope would do, this one has a little bit of give without being stretchy and lots of length for even the tallest people.
10. Stability Ball: A good stability ball can open up lots of exercises that you can perform at home, especially in strengthening the core area. We really like the ones from Perform Better. Make sure to order the correct size according to your height.
