Thank you to all of the athletic practitioners who came out to work the 2012 San Diego ITF Senior World Championships over the past 2 weeks. The time and effort that we all put in was great and because of you all National Sports M.A.P. succeeded in showcasing why we provided the best Sports Massage & Athletic Practitioners in America. Over a 14 day period, we provided work and worked with 30 practitioners, over 200 volunteers and 1,000+ athletes who all praised our staff for exceeding expectations from what they've ever seen before. Our service providing Sports Massage Therapists, Athletic Trainers and Emergency Medical Technician's proved to be significant as we provided essential services these world champion athletes needed and will never forget. Included in our 2 week event were some significant medical emergencies, including achilles ruptures, broken wrists, and even emergencies where our practitioners showed world class speed and efficiency in providing CPR and AED support required to help one athlete stay alive.  

Many athletes spent significant time in our training rooms, either getting strapped up, stretched, injuries evaluated and/or bodywork. The commitment to their body and will to finish regardless of the result was incredible. Covering 7 tennis facilities that included great facilities like the La Jolla Beach & Tennis Club, La Costa Resort & Spa, Morgan Run, and Barnes Tennis Center, among others, the sports medicine services at each and every location got a phenomenal reviews all around. National Sports Massage & Athletic Practitioners will continue to provide these services through the next year at events like this in Southern California and across the country, but in no way, shape, or form will the significance of this event ever be forgotten. Thank you again to all of the sports medicine staff that brought professionalism, character, and great skill sets within each of your fields. The best is yet to come in 2012, but the 2012 San Diego ITF Senior World Championships was one hell of a start!

If you didn't believe it before, now there's a study that has evidence of exercises anti-aging power. A team of researchers in Canada have found conclusive evidence, in mice, that "vigorous aerobic exercise reduced almost all of the signs of accelerated aging-including the graying of fur-in mice genetically programmed to age faster than normal."

How is this possible you ask? The study shows that the mitochondria, the microscopic power generators within cells, accumulate genetic mutations over time and therefore continue to change. Since the "mitochondria also happens to be where muscles undergo aerobic metabolism, which increases dramatically during exercise." Therefore, the sooner you start activating your muscles and mitochondria the sooner you can stay the same age. (Competitor, p.19)

Study from Canada's McMaster University

The epidemic continues...although not a teenager, a young, athletic 21 year old male has a heart attack at the finish line of a marathon and another man of 40 years young has a heart attack 1/4 mile from the finish. It is every event director or tournament director's worst nightmare knowing a healthy, vibrant athlete takes a tragic fall at their event. All of our prayers go out to the families and friends that lost their loved ones, their competitors, and the event staff that worked so hard during the event. 

In sport, their are no guarantees. Sometime we win, sometimes we lose. This is one of the unpredictable losses that saddens us all.

T.J. Murphy is a distance runner, competitor, and athlete. As the Editor of Competitor Magazine what he does for a living motivates him to keep working, to achieve goals, and to realize his being. In the July 2009 he went to the Nutrilite facility and performed an "exceptional health and fitness examination" that included blood analysis. After two weeks and all of the tests were analyzed, a doctor calls him and discusses his scores. While his health was fantastic, he scored "poorly for insulin resistance, registering an elevated insulin level- double what would be considered a healthy range." (Competitor p.12, July '11) The doctor goes on to discuss Type II diabetes, heart disease, cellular inflammation, and hyperinsulinemia among others and the writer took notes.

This goes to show that even though someone 'exercises & takes care of themselves' but eats whatever they want as opposed to eating healthy still can be caught with a diluge of potential diseases.

The full report in Health Affairs projected that "in the U.S. obesity costs nearly $150 billion a year in direct medical costs." As Americans, we have lost touch. We have lost touch with our sense of self, our sense of being, our sense of seeing, and our sense of believing. This is why the HA study indicated that one in three adults in the U.S. are considered obese, with the average American weighing in at 23 pounds overweight." (Competitor p.12, July '11) 

Proper nutrition, although only one component for attaining optimal success as an athlete, is by far the most undervalued resource for all athletes. Habits are created as a youth. As we mature, in sport and in life, we must consider that while we are motivated to attain our goals, our bodies need the motivation to achieve the goals; which scientifically comes down to the nutrients your body uses as fuel.

I second the motion "Why sit? Get FIT!". I encourage everyone to get out there and do a little more today than you did yesterday! Whether that means eat healthier, work out a little longer, or take a few minutes away from work and stretch, just do one more thing today that will help you along the way!

 Sports Massage takes fighters stance @ Factory X

We are excited to be working with a great facility in Factory X. They provide a well balanced training program for beginner athletes of fighting, as well as amateur and professional fighters.  Muay Thai, Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu, MMA and Striking are all a part of the Factory X training.  The solid experience of the trainers (UFC fighter Chris Camozzi teaches and trains here) and the professionalism of the owners is second to none. Marc Montoya is a well versed trainer for Muay Thai fighters and understands the recovery a sports massage provides. 

Within the facility is also a CrossFit gym that entails all of the essential tools to provide a fast paced, nose to the grindstone workout including massive tires, Olympic rings, kettle bells, jump ropes, and much more. At CrossFit Littleton you will be pushed to your limits and have an exciting time doing it. 

All of the fighters get worked on Saturday's and enjoy having a full day and a half to recover from their 6 days of training. We are excited to provide them with sports massage & recovery work and look forward to seeing many great results.

A great starter kit for new members to Cardio-Kickbox & MMA training

As a young athlete in Charlotte, NC, I played football, basketball, and soccer.  However, I always wanted to be in a fight club. Now, as a Sports Massage Therapist I have the opportunity to work on and train with some of the best fighters in the world. Performance MMA has the best deal on all martial arts gear including a starter MMA/Muay Thai/Cardio Kickboxing kit. 

A Performance MMA Exclusive - Save Over $35.00! (if purchased separately). The Revgear Starter Pack includes everything you need to get started in MMA at a reduced price. This starter kit comes packed with all the necessary equipment (Guys, we also recommend groin protection ). Revgear provides martial arts athletes with the most innovative, high quality, performance products designed to benefit the athlete, in both training and competition.

Factory X has recently taken on a team massage therapist along with Rino Sports. We found a massage therapist (Brian Keene) that specializes in sports massage and recovery on http://www.nationalsportsmap.com. Its a great site to help you find what your looking for in Athletic Practitioners.

Brian has been a great addition to Factory X and the team. Its one more thing that helps our gym surpass others. I can honestly say its been great for the recovery process of my camp. Im ready to push it one step further everyday I show up to the gym.

 September 20, 2011

National Sports M.A.P. is proud to joined in partnership with Rino Sport Galleri - Colorado's wrestling mecca & MMA training facility. With #1 Bellator Featherweight Champion and 3 Time World-Champion fighter Joe Warren, the Denver community will be filled with active sports massage work for many gyms in the Denver community. Rino Sport Galleri is currently under construction at 3595 Wynkoop Street, Denver, Co 80216, but guaranteed to be a leading facility for wrestling, mma training, cardio kickboxing, Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu, and eventually a top of the line sports medicine room for athletes full-evaluation, including sports massage & deep tissue work and an Athletic Trainer, among others.

When we aren't working on the professional fighters at Rino Sport Galleri, we are cross promoting other gyms that are known as the top in their class. This partnership is exciting for National Sports M.A.P. as MMA is the most up and coming sport in the world.

Check out the results from sports & deep tissue massage Joe has gotten over the past couple of weeks. Good luck to the Rino Sport Galleri team this weekend!   

The Bellator 51 fight is in Canton, Ohio: Joe Warren v. Alexis Vila on MTV2 @ 4:30 PM. 

 Bellator featherweight champion Joe Warren (www.twitter.com/JoeWarrenMMA) will blog his thoughts and experiences for Sherdog.com as he takes part in Bellator Fighting Championships’ fifth-season bantamweight tournament, which kicks off with Bellator 51this Saturday, Sept. 10, on MTV2 at 7 p.m. ET/PT.



I have my own room during fight month. I wake up in the basement, look at the treadmill next to my head and feel a violent focus on the job at hand: winning another Bellator belt. My first task is crushing a Cuban named Vila. 



I get out of bed and my focus changes completely. My one-year-old baby girl, Maddox Reese -- named after my best friend in college, Jeff Reese, who died in the sauna next to me -- grins and yells “Daddy!” and clings to my neck. My three-year-old boy Xandr Achilles, named after my wife’s favorite warrior, jumps on me and attempts his version of an armbar. 



My beautiful wife, Christy Cech, prepares breakfast: French toast, oatmeal, and cappuccino while ‘‘Go Diego’’ plays in the background. I have these two hours to spend with the family before hitting the road to Denver. Highway 25 is a challenge in itself. 



When I leave, she smiles, but I see the look in her eye. She will have a tough week alone with our two strong-willed toddlers -- can’t imagine where they get that from -- but she always does what she needs to. 



I will miss them. These mornings with my babies puts the job in perspective -- they motivate my violent intensity; daddy has to get the job done. 



While driving to the Rino Sports Galleri, I visualize lifting that belt over my head, I visualize my strikes landing perfectly, my jiu-jitsu flawless, and being able to taking care of my family for another year. Ten minutes out, music playing, positive attitude, windows down, I start to loosen my hands and my shoulders. I focus on staying positive. The focus is intensity. 



I arrive at the Rino, suit up in my Clinch Gear -- ready for battle. First is striking with Mark Montoya. After all, behind every champ is a great coach. I have competed at the highest levels and have had the top-tier coaches and have succeeded at every level. Mark and I have the kind of chemistry I had with my former Greco coaches, Momir Petkovich and Steve Fraser. I miss those guys; they gave me the mental training I needed in addition to the technique. It’s the kind of mental skill and strength you must have to win at that level. 



Mark is the first coach I have had in the MMA who has been able to rival that kind of championship training. Our attention today is on improving all-around striking skills, one-and-a-half hours of building muscle memory with my striking. 



Leaving practice, I’m confident and a better fighter. It’s a shower, then lunch with my brother, Michael, who just moved back from Michigan and into the gym to help me with my training and running at Rino. 



This afternoon, I have a wrestling session with Steven Abas. Steven, an American Olympic silver medalist, has defeated Vila several times. That, and our long time friendship, makes him an ideal training partner. The focus is reaction time, leg defense and strategy. 



After, I rest and have a session with my sports massage therapist Brian Keene and dinner at PF Chang’s with my entourage from the Rino: Swedish UFC veteran Per Eklund, my brother Michael, and my lawyer, partner, and business manager, Ryan Tobin. After that, it’s right back to the Rino to instruct submission wrestling practice for the local pros. 



My focus here is to teach MMA wrestling which is completely different from wrestling. I am teaching the men to bring the opponent from their feet to their backs, then to submission. I’m teaching them not to penetrate and not to hit our knees, but to explode through our opponents in the cage. 



Now, it’s five or six rounds with Denver’s elite 135- and 145-pound crew. Invitations are open to all those with a mouthguard and good health insurance. After sparring, I push the wall back even farther, as I head off to the sauna. 



Sauna’s steamin’, flip flops are on. It’s a battle in the sauna for me: jumping, punching, continuous motion for 15 minutes. This is where champions are made: after a hard practice, having to push through the grind. I love the loud music, the sounds of guys who know they just finished giving every last thing they’ve got. 



From here, it’s normally a shower, a check of the schedule for the next day’s private lessons and then my drive home to my babies. Today, however, I need to stay at the gym to make sure I get sleep and keep my violent thoughts away from the family. I rent a movie on the computer and get a good 10 hours of sleep -- can’t do that at home. 



Daddy’s job is to win, so I’m grateful to Mommy, who lets me do what I need to do to get there, my partner Ryan for being the backbone of the Rino, Clinch Gear for keeping me suited up for war, all of the training partners who put themselves at risk on a daily basis to help me continuously improve and all those local Denver sponsors who keep me -- and us -- going.

 Are you lactose intolerant? Do you have significant calcium needs that are problematic to meet? Well we've found a few ways to intake calcium without being forced to eat and drink dairy products, as the USDA suggests. From research by Sam McManis at McClatchy Newspapers and resources from www.fitsugar.com, the options are quite tasty - for the most part.

One (1) cup of almonds equals the 240 milligrams of calcium that can be found in one (1) ounce of hardened cheddar cheese.  A five (5) ounce salmon is 300 milligrams of calcium which equals one (1) cup of milk - and salmon is way more delicious and has way more vitamins and minerals (including fish oils which are not found in milk).  If you are a fish lover and can handle a can of sardines, it can be very beneficial to your calcium levels, as well as protein and omega-3 fatty acids. Two (2) cans of sardines is over 350 milligrams of calcium, which that same amount can be found in 6 ounces of yogurt.  For more fan friendly foods, 1 cup of broccoli contains as much calcium as 1/2 cup of ice cream and 1/4 cup of cottage cheese and 10 medium dried figs contain almost 270 mg of calcium. 

A great nutritious meal from this list: Pan seared salmon with a cup of broccoli and a side of fruit with almonds. Make sure to eat dinner between 5 p.m. and 7 p.m. so your system can digest all of the nutrients  For more detailed nutrition information go to www.nutritiondata.self.com.