The Coach (First of three parts)

For the past 20 years, I have been into different sports. Aside from basketball, which l love the most, I have also tried mountain biking, badminton, frisbee, dragon boat, running, cycling and swimming. And recently, I have some visibility studies concerning injuries. 

The sport has evolved. For instance, the world record in 100-meter sprint has become faster and faster. From 10.6 seconds when it was first recorded in 1912, the time has dropped to sub-10 seconds and now almost breaking 9.5 seconds set by Usian Bolt at 9.58 seconds. Science has now set its sights on breaching the two-hour barrier in full marathon, which is a grueling 42km distance. In the sport of basketball, players have mutated and bulked up in terms of body composition that at times you will mistake them for a bodybuilder.

In the world of cycling, the average speed in Tour de France was 25.69kph back in 1902 and to date the average has increased to almost 41 kph. Aside from improving on equipment, others had to cross the line and used science to dope the athlete to become stronger and faster.

Science has been put in the forefront of developing a super athlete. But sometimes we forget the importance of common sense and basic movement in training. Basic foundation and skills are important to further enhance speed, agility, precision, endurance and most of all, injury prevention.

I have streamlined a number of coaches that will help you in the sport you are in. For the next three articles, we will be focusing on featured coaches that will help you become a superior athlete. One that has a degree, experience and expertise for its purpose to develop the much-needed foundation to excel in any sport one intends to do.

First is coach Lyza Venice. She is a Physical Therapist by profession who is also a specialist in Sports Performance and Rehabilitation. She spends time as PT for PADS Dragon Boat Racing, which has a long list of accomplishments that includes winning gold during the Hong Kong Para Dragon Boat Racing Competition last June. Coach Lyza also does group training or workout such as HIIT/Boot Camp  Instructor and is one of the coaches in my Boot camp. She also is a practitioner of both M2T-Blade and Vigor Kinesiology Tape.

      Coach Lyza mentioned that as a physical therapist, it is always good to start with an assessment to diagnose the injury or problem, then recommend a plan to correct the movement quality suiting the issues for each individual needs.

With the assessment, it help track the cause of the problem and provide a rehab protocol to get back in action as quickly as possible.

Corrective exercise is movement or exercise chosen to correct a specific dysfunction and use to prescribe specific training exercise to the client.  It is most important to educate the client the basic proper form and function of the body and at the same time activating the muscle correctly so that when doing a sports specific activity or any functional activity, it will automatically activate and perform to its maximum potential.

Actually, corrective exercise is not just for athletes but also for normal average people who complains a lot regarding pains in their body. And the reason why the pain keeps on recurring is because of not being able to make the muscle function properly or use it properly. But with proper exercise and guidance, it will re-educate the muscle through its proper form and function and at the same time activating it correctly.

For more questions or inquiries, you can email me at [email protected] or you can reach Coach Lyza directly at 09228412508 and [email protected] to set an appointment at Sports Performance and Rehabilitation in Citi Gym.

Next week, we will be featuring Ryan Galo, a passionate swim coach who shares his skills and advocacy in training triathletes.