Tri-Season Wrap Up from Team OAM Now’s Brian Reynolds
November 4th, 2015 by Team OAM NOW / Athletic MentorsThe final frontier
October 31st, 2015 by Marie DershemSpring Training in the Rearview: Looking Back As We Look Forward
October 30th, 2015 by Team OAM NOW / Athletic MentorsAthletic Mentors Announces New Shooting and Skills Facility
October 30th, 2015 by Athletic MentorsAthletic Mentors has added a NEW shooting and skills development area at its facility in Richland. This area will have four shooting lanes for shot development and over 5000 square feet of area for performing stick handling drills.
Shooting Development
The shooting area will be cutting edge. We have acquired weighted pucks for our shooting area. These pucks were custom made to our specifications of various weights; up to 2lbs! By incorporating our hockey specific strength training with the weighted puck shooting area, we will take your shot to a whole new level!
Fall Coaching Special
October 30th, 2015 by Katie Whidden USAT certified coachPurchase 3 months of coaching before December 31st, 2012 and get your 4th month free.
Racing Not for the Podium, But for the Cure
October 16th, 2015 by Team OAM NOW / Athletic MentorsMichigan Mountain Mayhem Gravel Grinder – that which doesn’t kill you…
October 5th, 2015 by Marie DershemGroup Ride Etiquette and Expectations
October 4th, 2015 by Team OAM NOW / Athletic MentorsBy Steve Buccella, Team OAM Now
For new and experienced riders alike, group rides are a great way to train while providing amazing opportunities to learn from, and simply be social with, other riders. Not only do riders sometimes get to learn new routes (variety in training is wonderful), but it’s also a great way to bond with one’s team and either challenge yourself by riding with the lead pack, or recover by hanging with the B pack.
Whether veteran or rookie, it’s important to remember some rules and etiquette for a group ride so that all riders stay safe. In order to ensure the safety of group rides and keep us happy as a team, Team OAM Now maintains a list of guidelines that your riding group or team may wish to incorporate into group expectations as well.
1) Stay on the right side of the road as much as possible and in a single file line unless the group is large and the road is quiet enough to accommodate a safe double line.
2) Communication is king. Call out traffic and other obstacles like holes, gravel, turns, road kill, etc.. Repeat the call down or up the line. When ”car back” is called, stay far to the right to give the vehicle room to pass. If a rider is dropping off the front, allow them to get into the line quickly until the car passes, then they can continue going to back of line.
3) When taking your turn to pull, match the speed of the rider pulling off. Accelerating or decelerating suddenly causes an unsafe disruption in the line. When on the front, end your pull before you get tired and slow down. It is OK to take a short pull. If you don’t want to pull, take your turn in the rotation up to the front anyway and then quickly signal and roll off.
4) Pull off of the lead by first signaling with an elbow flick or butt bump on the side you are preparing to pull off. Then check traffic in both directions and roll off to the left unless the group is in an echelon. If we are riding an echelon in a crosswind, pull off on the side into the wind NOT into the echelon.
5) If you are one of the riders near the front and the group comes to a turn or intersection that causes the pace to slow down or stop, wait until all the riders can get safely through and then ramp back up to speed slowly. Do not hop across while simultaneously announcing “car left” (or right). This leaves the remaining riders without sufficient information whether they can also cross or must wait with the fear of being dropped. The vehicle driver also does not know if more cyclists will be darting across.
6) It’s not a race. Do not to “attack” off the front or unexpectedly sprint up from the back of the line. Stay in the line in the same position including turns and most hills. If the line gets disrupted on a steep hill, get back into your previous position once at top.
7) The “A” group is a faster ride that will sometimes wait after hills or intersections for riders that get dropped. If you ride with the A’s, be prepared to fall back to the B group (usually just a few minutes behind the A’s) or ride alone if you get dropped. If you decide to drop out of the A group, fade off the back safely. Yo-yo actions in the line cause dangerous situations.
8) The “B” group is a no-drop ride at a slower pace. Pick a pace that will keep the group together and do not try to turn it into an “A” ride. If you want a more challenging ride in the B group, take longer pulls. If you don’t want to pull, take your turn in the rotation up to the front anyway and then quickly signal and roll off. If a rider gets dropped, slow pedal or stop until they catch up.
9) Eat and drink at the back of the line or when stopped at intersections.
10) Do not stand unexpectedly in the line to stretch your back. Standing has the same effect as touching your brakes and can cause a crash.
11) Be a steady and predictable rider and avoid making any sudden moves.
12) Obey traffic laws and use proper hand signals.
Remember, when you are on group ride respect the rules of the road and help the cycling community build good relationships with drivers! If you’re riding with your team, respect your team and its sponsors. None of us are perfect. It is okaya to respectfully call out violations so that we all can enjoy a safe ride.
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Team OAM Now’s Tristan Visits Colorado to Prep for Cyclocross Season
October 1st, 2015 by Team OAM NOW / Athletic MentorsSummer Skiing Secret to Winter Success
September 29th, 2015 by Team OAM NOW / Athletic MentorsBy Alex Vanias, Team OAM Now Multi-Sport Athlete
Cross country skiing is often considered one of the toughest sports. It is aerobically demanding and requires continual explosive movements. As you can imagine, doing repetitive single-leg squats while doing pseudo ab crunches to push the ski poles can be very fatiguing over time. In addition to the physical demands, technique is crucial to skiing. The most fit athlete does not necessarily win ski races unless they have efficient technique. It becomes increasingly difficult to maintain proper form when fatigue sets in. This is why it is important to train for skiing in the summer.
I don’t do structured workouts for skiing in the summer, but I try to ski 2-3 times per week. This is primarily to maintain my technique and sport-specific efficiency for skiing while I am building fitness by riding and running. As a multi-sport athlete, I do not spend a lot of time on off-season training since I am training and competing in summer sports. However, because maintaining technique in skiing is so important, I do prioritize fitting in summer rollerski sessions.
You may be wondering how somebody can ski in the summer. Well, there are these sketchy contraptions called roller skis. These are essentially long roller blades with a wheel on each end and a ski binding mounted to them. Regular winter boots fit into the bindings, although lighter and cooler ski boot models are available. I use regular ski poles but replace the baskets with special roller ski tips. The tips are carbide and need to be sharpened with a diamond file roughly every 50mi so they bite into the pavement.
One of the biggest challenges of rollerskiing is stopping. Rollerskis generally have no brakes, so stopping safely takes careful practice. The wheels and bearings are not made for speed since they are intended to mimic the speed of skiing on snow. I generally average about 10-13mph on a normal ski, but can reach speeds of over 30mph on downhills. Because of the speed and difficulty stopping, I always wear a helmet; all it takes is a pebble or crack in the road to send me through the air. I make sure to scout out the roads I plan on skiing to make sure there are no stop signs at the bottom of hills and there is an appropriate shoulder and low traffic. There are many suitable areas for rollerskiing in northern Michigan, but it becomes more challenging in more populated areas. The US Ski Team (sarcastically) explains some various rollerski stopping techniques here.
Rollerskiing is a quirky activity, but it is a valuable component to my training. Juggling the demands of multi-sport training can be tricky, but varying my sports and training make me a better athlete and help me improve in each individual sport. In addition, challenging different muscle groups helps keep me injury free. I understand the importance of sport-specific training, but I think that many people underestimate the value of variation in training and racing.
Overall, I’m excited to start to ramp up my running and ski-specific training this fall for hopefully my best ski season yet!
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