The Core Performance Center Blog

Medical team from the local Santa Monica medical community

The recovery will take years in Haiti so the relief must continue… Please join us March 24^th from 6-9pm for a night to support efforts in Haiti as well as see images and stories from those who were on the ground providing surgical support to the victims of the earthquake. Your $35 donation will go Americares

Sometimes events come around that leave you feeling helpless with almost nothing you can do to make an impact… With few options other than telethons and texting the Red Cross I know I wasn’t alone in feeling helpless watching the coverage of the events in Haiti. There were several instance where from the comfort of my living room with all the food and shelter I needed I watched others suffer in front of the world on television and the internet.

Well – it wasn’t long before I had a few fellow teammates from CPC who felt the same way start asking how could we as a team do something to help the people in Haiti? None of us had checkbooks large enough to make a sizeable dent in the situation alone so we looked for a creative way to give back to the people of Haiti and pull together our unique community. As the world works sometimes the stars align and the CPC team is going to be able to play host to an event to raise money for those in Haiti.

I am not an expert in disaster relief but I think this is the time when it is critical to make sure support continues to come forward. Most of the TV coverage has died down and the world has started to shift attention to the next issue or tragedy that needs to be shared… This is natural in the cycle of events as time passes by following a disaster but make no mistake the people of Haiti still need help!!!! We have heard first hand from our neighbors at the Santa Monica Orthopedic Group who were actually able to send doctors to Haiti to provide surgeries as part of the medical team for Partners in Health.

Please come spend the evening at CPC on March 24^th as there will be wine and food pairings from Whole foods market along with live art and stories from the medical team who traveled to Haiti.

It will be a special night…

Anthony Slater

Join the second annual CPC March Madness Tourney Pick’Em on Yahoo Fantasy Sports.

Last year we had a great showing but this year will be much better.  With all the members and staff we have currently there will be plenty of competition to go around. 

Instructions:

- Go to http://tournament.fantasysports.yahoo.com/t1/register/joinprivategroup_assign_team?GID=49266&P=perform&P=perform

- It will ask for a group id#: 49266 and a password: perform. 

- Type this in and follow the instructions.

The bracket teams will be set this Sunday after the selection show.  At this point you then can go to your bracket and select witch teams will win all the way to the championship game.  On Thursday the games will start and the brackets will be locked.  NO MORE CHANGES.  So pick smart… or pick your favorite team, go my best mascot or color, whichever you prefer.

Let’s have a good turnout and LET THE MADNESS begin!

Tony Katzenmeier

Athletic Trainer

You may find Robert Konishi entering each and every one of his workouts onto his facebook page immediately following his training with us.  He sometimes stands on a towel to keep the floor dry as he is often dripping with sweat from his incredibly challenging ESD programs.  Robert does a great job keeping track of his data so we wanted to do the same for him.  Here is a list of all of the compiled data from every single one of Robert’s workouts here at CPC!

Since starting with us, Robert has: 

1) Lifted 483,707 pounds (dumbbell and cable weights)

2) Generated 4,488,783 watts of power on cable movements

3) Performed 4,476 movements (not counting ESD workouts)

4) Performed 7,773 ESD intervals

5) Generated 72,800 KCal of energy on ESD workouts

Keep up the great work Robert!!

Core Performance Center team

Core Performance Center team members will be at the adidas store on the Promenade in Santa Monica this Saturday March 13^th 12-4pm. Come down and join members of the CPC team as they demo the CPro and share insights that went into the development of the recently launched Adidas Core Performance apparel line.

In addition, as many of you know, the CPC RX engine was used in the development of adidas newest performance product – miCoach.  To celebrate the miCoach release, and the rave reviews that it has received (review 1 / review 2) our team will be conducting free V02 testing and developing customized cardio plans for all that stop by!

Guests of Core Performance will receive special discounts on adidas product courtesy of the adidas store and the opportunity to help us with demonstrations on the CPro … and of course hang with Slater and team for a few extra hours this week. 

Bring your family/friends – we look forward to seeing you there this weekend!

Anthony Slater

General Manager

Scratch the not.

Many fitness guru’s like to focus on the exercises you are not doing.  If you would search in google “the best exercise you’re not doing” the top exercise would be the… SINGLE LEG SQUAT.  That is why I started this blog with “scratch the not.”  You ARE doing the single leg squat. 

I was finishing the day up yesterday and was looking through the days patients and compared what I was doing with each of them.  My first client; a golden age active women who wants to walk better.  What did I do with her?  Single Leg Squats.  Later that day I was working with a college aged active female who sprained her ankle.  What did I do with her?  Single Leg Squats.  Finally the last person I was looking over was a high performance athlete that wanted a hard workout.  What did I do with him?  Everybody together now; Single Leg Squats. 

1. The golden age active woman who wants to walk better.  In order to do this she needs single leg stability.  Every time you step you are balancing on a single leg.  No better exercise to work on stability and hip strength than the single leg squat.
2. The college aged active female with the sprained ankle.  She wants to return to her favorite activity which is running.  She too needs single leg balance and strength.  Running involves landing on a single leg and being able to absorb the weight without collapsing in on the knee or ankle.  Exactly the thing we look to prevent when performing a single leg squat.
3. Finally the high performance athlete.  No better or harder exercise than to make a 6 ft. 5 in. athlete  who weighs in at approximately 250lbs. plus to stand on a single leg and tell him to do a single leg squat with good form.  That being said he sweat through his shirt after the first set of 12. 

The single leg squat is a great exercise.  It simultaneously works on mobility and stability throughout the entire body on a single leg.  So continue to do your single leg squats.  As I like to say, “a rep of sinlge leg squats a day keeps the doctor away.”

Tony Katzenmeier

Athletic Trainer

Here is a poem I’ve always enjoyed….

Where the Sidewalk Ends

There is a place where the sidewalk ends

And before the street begins,

And there the grass grows soft and white,

And there the sun burns crimson bright,

And there the moon-bird rests from his flight

To cool in the peppermint wind.

Let us leave this place where the smoke blows black

And the dark street winds and bends.

Past the pits where the asphalt flowers grow

We shall walk with a walk that is measured and slow,

And watch where the chalk-white arrows go

To a place where the sidewalk ends.

Yes we’ll walk with a walk that is measured and slow

And we’ll go where the chalk-white arrows go

For the children, they mark, and the children, they know

The place where the sidewalk ends.

 Shel Silverstein

Jen Freemas

Performance Specialist

I recently came across a fantastic article from the Wall Street Journal titled “The Hidden Benefits of Exercise”.  All of us know that staying fit helps both our mind and body, but did you know that regular exercise can also help: reduce your risk of developing Alzheimer’s disease, decrease depression as effectively as Prozac, lower your risk for stroke and diabetes, and even decrease the symptoms of a common cold?   

This Wall Street Journal article, full of interesting data and facts, is definitely worth the read. 

I WILL MAKE 2010 MY HEALTHIEST YEAR EVER – WILL YOU?

Dmitri Zaslavsky

Director of Sales

Some men have thousands of reasons why they cannot do what they want to, when all they need is one reason why they can. ~ Willis Whitney

Nick Kalra

Performance Specialist

Members at Core Performance Center strive to be the best in all aspects of life.  They train to reach new levels, they push themselves to new boundaries.  Robert Konishi, who has been a member since August 2008, has reached another milestone by completing his latest marathon in January at the “Arizona Rock and Roll Marathon.”

Here are a few questions I had for Robert:

Give us an overall snapshot of how your last event went and how you felt you did:

• My last race was the January 2010 Arizona Rock and Roll marathon. While I was consistent and doing well in my day to day CPC workouts, the same could not be said for the long weekend runs that are an absolute necessicity for a good day on the marathon course. I was very concerned about this.
• Therefore, I was very conservative on race day with the following goals:

1.  Breaking 5 hours
2.  Be running and avoiding the carnage that you see in miles 20-26 of a marathon.
3. Avoiding injury and enjoying the post race events.

• After recovering from a bonk at mile 21, resolved by a gel pack, I had a great day on the course. The weather was beautiful, I passed a lot of people who had slowed down or were walking from 20-26, finished in 4hr 55min, and had a great time.
• While 4:55 is a long way from my 2010 goal of breaking 4hrs, it was the best day that could be expected given the amount of long distance training that I had under my belt.
• While I was sore, I enjoyed the scenery and post race hike in the Sonoran desert the day after the race.

How did you get into running?

• Team sports were always a part of my ilfe growing up and I played on the high school tennis team. I was a recreational runner in my 20’s running nothing longer than a 10K with a 42 min PR.

When did you start?

• In 2002, at age 45, I started running with endurance athletes at work and in February 2003 I ran my first half marathon at the Pacific Shoreline race in Huntington Beach. My first marathon was the Long Beach marathon in October 2003.

What is your motivation?

• I had lost a lot of my conditioning and the competitive edge participating in athletics and wanted to recapture that state of mind. I loved the camaraderie and competition of preparing your body and mind for endurance events.
• After running a few half marathons and marathons with respective PR’s of 1:41 and 4:15, the group decided to try triathlons. My first triathlon was the Ralph’s Half Ironman in Oceanside in April 2004 and the culmination of my triathlon efforts was the 2006 Arizona Ironman.

How much do you run on average per week?

• At my peak, I was running approximately 35-45 miles per week.
• For the triathlon training, I was running 25-35 miles per week, biking 20hrs per week, and swimming 5 hrs per week.

Where is your favorite run anywhere in the world, and why?

• Vancouver Island right outside the city of Victoria and the Santa Monica Mountains at the Corral Canyon trailhead are a couple of my favorite runs. I loved the fact that both of these runs are near metropolitain centers but quickly transition into absolute wilderness where you have no clue that you are near the big city.

What has been the biggest challenge you have faced?

• The last 10K of a marathon is always a gut check but the 2006 Ironman was clearly my biggest challenge. Everything, starting with the 6 month training cycle, your training/nutrition plan, and race day logistics has to go right for you to finish that event. Just getting to the starting line is a physical and mental accomplishment. For an athlete at my level, overcoming the anxiety and uncertainity of whether you will successfully finish the event was a lifetime accomplishment.

How has the experience of running (in marathons and daily) changed for you over the years?

• The practices and perserverence that are required to consistently participate in endurance events are easily transportable to success in your day to day life.
• The understanding that you have virtually no constraints in being able to successfully participipate in these endurance events gives you the confidence to try new things in your life.
• The confidence to confront and overcome difficult circumstances enable you to more easily step up and be successful in your day to day circumstances.
• You want to help other people earn and enjoy the benefits of participating in these events.

What are your future events?

• For 2010, my events will be focused on breaking 4 hrs in the marathon, a goal that I failed to accomplish during my Ironman training.

What is your ultimate running goal?

• I have three goals

1. Improve my form, range of motion, and power output in the running, biking, and swimming events.
2. Stay injury free and continue to participate in endurance events and outdoor adventures into my 60’s and 70’s.
3. Break 4hrs in the marathon, 40min in the 10K, and 1:40 in the half marathon. I also want to do an Ironman in the 13hr range.

David Delgado

Performance Specialist