Also, bring your friends and family! We’ll have a treadmill down there and we’ll be doing VO2 testing for anyone who’s interested.

We look forward to seeing you there this weekend!

Anthony Slater

General Manager

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

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

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

Nick Kalra

Performance Specialist

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

My three months of almost daily training at Core Performance gave me the confidence to do this. I came to Core relatively fit, or so I thought. In the three months leading up to the trip, I worked on pushing my cardio and really refining my stability, and improving my upper body strength. These things paid off in spades. Unknown to me, but known to my guide who neglected to tell me, we did all of our approaches on our touring skis. I showed up at the heli with my touring skis and boots. (Ski boots that allow you to flex forward and ski uphill.) He saw them and immediately told me to leave them behind…we would be skiing in our climbing boots! This is called survival skiing at its best. With no support in the boots, skiing is TOUGH, but with all of the single legwork I had done, I felt great and got used to skiing with no support. I had a 30 pound pack on and would end the day (generally 8 hours of approach and climbing) skiing downhill in sketchy conditions and be no worse for wear.

The climbing itself was the most difficult I have ever done. The second day was by far the hardest with a LONG, STEEP and deep snow approach. We skied up to the base of a steep slope, ditched our skis, and then proceeded to post hole in thigh deep snow up a 42-degree slope in suspect snow conditions. Then, once we reached the base of our climb, we geared up and traversed across some funky ice. After all that, then we began to climb steep Grade 5 virgin ice. It was scary and I was questioning my sanity with every swing of my axe. However, my body never failed me even though my mind did several times! And that is the great thing about Core. It lets you go out and do the stuff you want to do…all those exercises that you can’t quite figure out what they are for..they WORK.  All those single leg RDLs saved my rear up there. When I was slogging uphill and the slope would give way and I had one leg deep in a hole with no support, I could count on my other leg to get me out of there. When I was stemming between two ice columns and needed to shift my weight to continue up one, I knew I had the strength and stability to make the move. When it was too steep for me to comfortably ski downhill and I needed to put my skis on my pack and then get my pack on my back all while   trying not to fall down a ridiculously steep slope, all that mobility, strength and stability work paid off.

All in all, this was an amazing trip. A tough, rugged trip. One I am glad I did and will never forget. My guide and I did seven first ascents. And I know I would not have had the success I did without my work at Core.

Julie Tobias

Member since October 2009

Great work guys, and thank you for helping.

Julianne Erickson

Performance Specialist

• 1 pound sweet potatoes, peeled and cut into 1-inch cubes
• 1 teaspoon salt
• 4 scallions, finely chopped
• 2 celery stalks, finely chopped
• 1/2 cup mayonnaise
• 3 tablespoons spicy mustard
• 1 tablespoon finely chopped fresh tarragon leaves
• Freshly ground black pepper
• 6 ounces arugula

Directions

Put the sweet potatoes in a saucepan. Cover the potatoes with water (by 2-inches), add 1/2 teaspoon salt, and bring to a boil over medium-high heat. Reduce the heat, and simmer the potatoes until they are just cooked through and tender. The sweet potatoes will cook in about 15 minutes.  Drain the potatoes, and allow them to cool.

Combine the potatoes, scallions and celery in a large bowl. Add the mayonnaise, mustard, tarragon, salt and pepper, to taste. Toss to combine. Taste for seasoning, and add more salt or pepper, if needed. Toss the potato salad with the arugula, and serve on a large platter.

Turkey Meatball Pita Sandwich

• 1 pound ground turkey meat
• 1 slice fresh whole-wheat bread, crusts removed, pulsed into crumbs
• 1/4 cup grated Parmesan
• 1/2 cup finely chopped onion
• 2 large cloves garlic, minced
• 2 tablespoons of Italian seasoning
• 1 egg, lightly beaten
• 1/2 teaspoon salt
• Freshly ground black pepper
• 2 cans tomato sauce
• Whole wheat pita pockets
• Provolone cheese

Directions

In a large mixing bowl add the ground turkey, bread crumbs, chopped onion, minced garlic, Italian seasoning and egg.  Mix together with clean hands until everything is incorporated.  In a large pot add tomato sauce, heat on medium heat.  Form the meat mixture into one inch balls. Gently place them in the sauce.  Simmer the meatballs for 45 min on low heat. 

Cut Pita in half and lightly toast just to get warm.  Add a half of a piece of cheese to each pita half.  Cut about 4 meatballs in half and stuff inside pita.  Add extra sauce to top it off if needed.  

ENJOY!

Jen Freemas and Denise Barry