Inverted U Theory

Mental arousal plays a
significant role in achieving optimal performance and results through training.
Sports psychologists have devised a theory revolving around the relationship
between arousal and performance. It has been hypothesized that every individual
has his or her own “optimal” level of arousal, which is necessary for peak
performance.
The Inverted-U Theory
image below displays the parabolic curve representing pressure/arousal vs.
performance.  As you can see this theory
supports that there is a point in arousal level that warrants optimal performance.
Although this differs from person to person there are still small factors that
influence performance levels.  

According to the model,
peak performance is achieved when people experience a moderate level of
pressure. Where they experience too much or too little pressure, their
performance declines, sometimes drastically.


There are ‘Four
Influencing Factors’ that determine the optimal level of performance. These
factors include:
  1. Skill Level
  2. Personality
  3. Trait Anxiety
  4. Task Complexity

1. Skill level
greatly determines the level of success an individual will experience with a
given task. The higher skill level individuals will have more experience and
therefore will have less stress, anxiety, and pressure during the task. For
example this could be a NFL Linebacker performing a barbell back squat. The
high skill level people will find exercises like this to be second nature and
will require little thought and more focus on execution. Find your strengths
and improve your weaknesses.
2. Personality
affects performance by extroverts tending to perform better in high-pressure
situations while introverts tend to perform better during a low-pressure
situation. Those extroverts are able to focus on performing the task even
though there are many on-going distractions. An example would be any
professional performing on a big stage. How would you respond?
3. Trait Anxiety is
the level of self-approval the individual experiences during the situation. For
example, people who are confident tend to perform better under pressure while
those who are too concerned about failing a task are more apt to fail.
Confidence is key and is associated with more positive thinking individuals.
4. Task Complexity is
the level of attention and effort necessary to complete a task successfully. It
tends to be that most people perform basic activities more efficiently in
high-pressure situations and better perform complex activities in more
low-pressure situations.
So how can this be used in
your daily life?
For exercisers; exude
confidence, focus on improving your skill level, and choose your
tasks/exercises wisely. Although many factors can influence your performance,
try to monitor your arousal levels during exercise and see what works best for
you.
Blog post by Evan Healy CSCS.

Yoga: Where to Begin

I love introducing yoga to
beginners but I also know that starting any sort of new fitness routine can be
intimidating if you don’t know what to expect! 
Here are a few tips for
making it to and through your first yoga class.
Find the Right Class
There are many different
types of yoga, so before you head out to a class do a little research and make
sure you find the class that’s going to be best for you.  
While most classes can be
modified to be suitable for any level, if you’re totally new to yoga you’ll
likely feel most comfortable in a beginner or foundations class where the pace
will be a little slower and the teacher will break down each pose step by step.
What to Wear
You want to be able to use
your full range of motion in yoga, so be sure to wear something that allows you
to move freely but isn’t so loose that it’s getting in your way during your
practice.  Yoga is traditionally done
barefoot, so be prepared to leave your socks and sneakers at the door!
What to Bring
Many yoga studios and gyms
have yoga props such as mats, blocks and straps that you can use, but if you’re
going to be practicing regularly I’d suggest looking into getting your own
mat.  Mats vary in their cushioning and
“stickiness” (non-slip feature), so it’s helpful to find one that works best
for you.
You may also want to bring
a towel (especially for hot yoga!) and a water bottle to stay hydrated during
your practice.
Talk to the Teacher
When you arrive at class,
be sure to let the teacher know this is your first time or that you’re new to
yoga – it’s helpful to know when there are new students to make sure the class
is paced correctly and the poses are appropriate.
Also be sure to let the
teacher know about any injuries you may be working with so they can suggest
modifications or alternatives to poses that may not be right for you to
practice.
Make it your own
Instructors will often
offer modifications or different versions of poses as they are teaching – make
sure to find and practice the version of the pose that is appropriate for your
body and your experience level – remember, it’s more important to make sure the
alignment of the pose is correct rather than trying to do the deepest
expression of the pose!

Incorporating yoga into
your fitness routine offers many benefits as long as you listen to your body
and make your practice right for you!
I’ll be teaching at
Mashpee Fitness at 8:30am on Thursday mornings – hope to see you there!

Blog post by Danielle Nardi.

Beat the Winter Blues with Physical Activity

To maintain well-being, it is
important to stay physically active in the winter. During the cold, winter months
there is less sunlight, shorter days, and more perceived barriers and as a
result it is common to stay inside more than usual. This can lead to less vitamin
D, less physical activity, decreased Serotonin levels, and the Winter Blues.

Being physically active does not mean you
must perform vigorous exercise to get health benefits.
Moderate activity, such as housework,
brisk walks & gentle yoga is beneficial.
  • Recommended:
    moderate aerobic activity 30 min./day; 5 days/week (all Americans)
  • Recommended:
    resistance/strength training 2x/w (all Americans)     
However, the more active, the more health
benefits! You can do this by increasing the frequency, duration and/or
intensity of the activity safely.
Consistency is key!
It may be harder to find motivation during
winter, but these simple tips below can help you stay happy and healthy year round!

Common Causes &
Risk Factors

  • Genetics– Seasonal Affective Disorder,
    (SAD), about     half million Americans diagnosed/year
  • Lack of sunlight= less vitamin D= less serotonin, (“feel
    good” chemical, released during exercise. controls appetite, mood & sleep.
    dark winters decrease levels of it)
  • Lack of physical activity- cold, short,
    dark days & other     perceived barriers (time, gym location, fatigue, etc.)

7 Tips &
Solutions

GET OUTSIDE– vitamin D:
errands, gym, short walks
  • Will connect to nature; appreciate
    seasons/warm house     
  • “Even on cloudy day, 1 hr. exercise=2.5
    hrs. light treatment!” (Bates College SAD study)
  • Recommended vitamin D: 10 min/day, unfiltered

INDOOR GROUP EXERCISE CLASS-  Zumba, yoga, pool classes &
more!
  • Motivation, fun, relaxing, group support,
    rewarding, warm pool water     
TRY A NEW ACTIVITY- challenge yourself
  • Automatically feel accomplished,
    confident, more happy

GRAB A FRIEND- consistency &
fun
  • Plan future spring/summer race together
  • Hold accountable

TAKE ADVANTAGE- winter activities
  • Pond hockey, pond fishing, ski,
    snowboard, cross country ski, snow tubing, snow shoe hikes, trail run, walks,
    skating, curling, shoveling, yard work, play with kids/grandkids in snow

PREPARE- plan spring/summer
goals: getting in shape for summer
  • Hire personal trainer: help
    support/motivate you, achieve your goals safely & effectively!

FROM HOME- redecorate house interior/ clean
out your space
  • Buy small heat lamp
  • Make bucket list- physical activities to
    try in future & hang up on wall

Blog post by Erin Tollios.

Reasons to Hire a Personal Trainer in 2015

Happy 2015!

  1. Consistency and Motivation  

Having trouble just getting to the gym?  Hire a personal
trainer.  Having scheduled appointments
will help you get there regularly and you will have someone to keep you
motivated to finish your workouts.

  1. Safety

Unsure how to use the equipment at the gym or how to perform
exercises without hurting yourself?  A
personal trainer will show you how to exercise safely and instruct on proper
use of equipment.

  1. Individualized Workouts  

What works for one person may not work for another. A personal
trainer will develop an effective program for you based on the results of your
fitness assessment and your personal goals.

  1. Effective Workouts

A personal trainer can help maximize your time by
providing workouts designed to meet your goals efficiently in the time you
have available.

  1. Injury Rehabilitation

Are injuries and/or accidents preventing you from participating
in your favorite activities?  An
experienced personal trainer can make the road to recovery easier by
recommending exercises that emphasize overall muscular balance to prevent
future injuries.

  1. Sports Specific Training  

Many amateur and professional athletes work with personal trainers
during the off season to prepare for inseason competition.  Your trainer can personalize your
program to the sport of your choice.  Time to think about improving that
golf game, tennis, soccer, running a marathon.

  1. Focus on your unique health concerns  

People with health challenges such as diabetes, asthma, osteoporosis,
heart disease, and arthritis can benefit greatly from regular physical
activity, however exercising with these conditions can be a safety challenge.
Have your trainer design a program that addresses your special needs.

  1. Education

Your trainer is there to teach you the hows and whys of exercise
and help you find out what will work best for you!!
Not seeing
results from that same old workout?  It’s
time for an update!

Blog post by Colleen Britton.

Why do you exercise?

Last month we asked our members, trainers, physical
therapists, and office staff “Why do you exercise?”  We received numerous responses.  Everyone has a different reason and motivation
to work out.  Some of us love it.  Some of us hate it.  We know we have to do it.

Below is an essay Anna
Cavanaugh, a Cape Cod Rehab Physical Therapy Aide, shared with us about regarding the topic…
Transforming society by optimizing movement to improve
the human experience
“Physicist Sir Isaac Newton’s First Law of Motion states: An
object at rest tends to stay at rest and an object in motion tends to stay in
motion, unless acted upon by an external force. When this law of motion was
first introduced in the 1600s, Newton
used it to explain how mass behaves in a system free of external forces such as
friction or gravity. As a recent graduate interested in physical therapy, I
view this law not only applicable to physical objects and systems, but also to
the work of physical therapists in rehabilitating, managing and preventing of
injuries for people in our society.
As an athlete, I fully appreciate the need to stay active,
flexible, and strong for muscle and joint health. I am committed to improving
the human body and how it moves and stays mobile at any age in order to empower
individuals to be able to lead independent and dynamic lives, especially with
the sedentary lifestyle of many today. As a future physical therapist my goal
is to embody this philosophy through education, commitment and innovation.
Education is the foundation to a successful recovery and
enhancing a patient’s wellbeing. I want to help people heal, but first, I want
them to understand how they became injured. Making this a more active process,
I want us to work together to restore their health and prevent future injuries
and complications through proper demonstration and practice of exercise
techniques. To establish this plan of action, I plan to treat the people I work
with as “students” interested in learning about their body and injury
prevention, as opposed to “patients”, where they might think of it as
a one-way experience.  In doing this, I
hope to create a different level of engagement and involvement, which allows
them to continue independently long after their treatment is complete. It is
critical to empower a patient with knowledge and confidence in order to
encourage them to take charge of their own therapy.    
Among many goals that people have in their lives, the
ultimate goal is to live a pain-free life, and I am committed to making that
happen for people as the second step in my vision as a physical therapist. As a
competitive swimmer, I learned the best way to stay pain and injury free is
through self-discipline in developing good technique. I want to help my
“students” live their lives without restrictions or pain. Knowing
effective techniques of any exercise is vital in order to be able to practice
and perform effectively.  My approach to
this is to be positive and encouraging to make therapy and exercise enjoyable
without pain so they do not avoid workouts.
A third component of my philosophy is to incorporate
innovation into my practice. The body is fascinating with its ability to
perform complex and connected moves as one through whatever motions we desire.
When the body is not able to perform the motions that were so effortless in our
youth, problem solving is key to finding the route of the issue and figuring
out ways to strengthen and rehabilitate the individual back good health. An
important consideration for this is that we live in a society where
advancements in science and medicine are constantly changing.  It becomes our responsibility to stay abreast
of this new information and to incorporate it into new treatments, techniques,
and exercises. By incorporating more innovative and individualizing techniques,
I will help my patients move toward better functional lives. 
In Newton’s
third law, he stated: “for every action there is an equal and opposite
reaction.” Concluding with another fundamental physics law, it is important to
help the patients become aware of the fact that the more work that one puts
into his or her own recovery the greater the results he or she will see over a
lifetime. While not everyone is, or aspires to be an athlete, a few minutes of
exercise daily is a step on the road to higher mobility. In today’s lifestyle,
where food is readily available and a high level of activity is not required to
stay alive, many may atrophy into weaker versions of their intended selves,
which is detrimental to their bone mass and musculature. In wanting to
transform the health of society, one patient at a time, I hope to challenge and
motivate individuals to lead more active lives and encourage people to invest
in their own health and future. I wish good health and wellbeing for those I
treat through our work together, and envision that I can make becoming strong
and fit contagious.”
Think about it.  Why
do you exercise?

Blog post by Jen Skiba.

Mind Gym: An Athlete’s Guide To Inner Excellence

Mind Gym: An Athlete’s
Guide To Inner Excellence

By Gary Mack and David
Casstevens


Most athletes focus simply
on the physical aspect of a sport. Of course, one should do everything they can
in order to be in top condition; the secret to reaching a goal has more to do
than just the body. Our minds have more power than expected,
with more and more athletes realizing that it can make or break a performance.

Strengthening and training
the mind will require a little extra time, but the results have proven to be
outstanding. Many athletes already have a strong mentality to keep them
motivated, but they are doing a few things wrong that ‘Mind Gym’ explains. For
example, in one chapter Mack and Casstevens reveal the effect of positive
repetition to oneself. Say that you can AND will do something in order to get
the desired result instead of focusing on something that you should not do. Say
to yourself “Do not hit this golf ball in the water” and your chances of that
ball landing in the water have massively increased. We may be on the track to
doing a few things correctly, but there are tricks to the madness that must be
learned and practiced.
Throughout the book there
are techniques and lessons on learning how to master the mind in sports. One
instrumental practice said to be a huge help is meditation before competing.
Meditate about your greatest moments, and picture yourself doing everything
right once again in an upcoming event. “If you take twenty athletes of equal
ability and give ten mental training they will outperform the ten who received
no mental training every time. This is what we call the head edge.” There is no
arguing the facts. It’s time to get ahead of the game by preparing mentally.
For the full
understanding, ‘Mind Gym’ relates a myriad of experiences that prove just how
successful a person with a robust mind can be. There are probably thousands of
tremendously useful quotes throughout the book, including “A positive mental
attitude is essential to becoming the hero that is within you” and “Fear of
failure makes failure more likely.”
There exists TWO answers
to improving a performance and it is time that people start focusing more on
the incredible power of the mind and not just the body.
-Keep this book in mind
for either your present or future self, a family or friend. Give them the
advice they have been looking for.-

Blog post by 2014 Summer Intern Geena
Franciosi.

Adult Nationals Weekly Series #6: Paul Wylie’s Presentation

Paul with National Champion Dawn Feest

The U.S. Adult Figure Skating Championship Week was full of amazing skating performances, S.T.A.R.S.
Off-Ice Testing, a Dick Button book signing, and award ceremonies crowning
National Champions.
A highlight of the weekend
was a presentation by American figure skater and 1992 Olympic silver medalist
Paul Wylie.
Paul used to train at the
Tony Kent Arena in South Dennis under Olympic and World Skating coaches Evy and
Mary Scotvold and has also worked with the famous Dr. Igor Burdenko, developer
of the Burdenko Method.  Paul made a
quick visit to the Hyannis Youth and Community Center in Hyannis, MA
for just enough time to speak about functional training, different training
approaches, and fitness as a lifelong journey.
“The Burdenko Method is a
natural part of what I do.  I incorporate
his exercises into my warm up routine backstage before I go on the ice,” said
Paul.  Burdenko exercises are dynamic and
very sport-specific. 
“Working the
whole body in different directions and at different speeds are principles of
the Burdenko Method that translate exceptionally well for figure skaters who
work slowly and gracefully and move into fast dynamic movements while changing
directions,” said Joe Carroll PT DPT, owner of Cape Cod Rehab Physical Therapy
and Master Burdenko Method Instructor.
When Paul first began
skating, training was about trial and error and driven by urgency.  Paul admitted to overtraining and little to
no recovery time. 
His quote of the day was,
“Stress without recovery is the enemy!” 
Training “in the olden
days” was like cramming for a test.  If
there was a competition coming up, skaters went through their routines time
after time, jump after jumps.  They knew
they had to incorporate weight lifting and ballet but no one knew how much or
how often.  He was on rollercoaster
battling body weight and body image.  Too
much weight lifting would bulk up a skater and too much ballet would also harm
skating aesthetics.  It was about trial and
error and seeing what didn’t work.
Now training figure
skaters has taken a more integrated approach driven by goals and personal
plans.  Everything is sport-specific and
individualized.  Skaters work with a team
of professionals working toward a common goal. 
A plan is developed for the season, off-season, career, and a plan for
WHEN they get injured – because it’s going to happen at some point!
Paul credited Dr.
Burdenko’s 6 Essential Qualities of Life and Sport:
  • Balance
  • Coordination
  • Flexibility
  • Endurance
  • Speed/Quickness
  • Strength
“Build on the basics to
become extraordinary from the ground up,” said Paul.
A lot of figure skating
and sport is mental.  Motivation requires
3 things: competence, autonomy (“it’s my choice”), and relatedness.  There are certain questions you need to ask
yourself every time you walk into the gym or ice rink.
“What can I accomplish today?”
“What excuses do I make on a daily basis?”
“Who do I admire? 
What qualities do I admire about them?”
“How can I continuously improve?”
Paul’s talk was very
motivational and encouraging.  If you
ever have a chance to hear him speak, you won’t want to miss it.
Final thoughts from Paul:
Ballet was the Russian Secret Weapon.

Blog post by Jen Skiba.

Adult Nationals Weekly Series #5: Meet Carolyn


Week 2 we met Briana Lackenby, Cape Cod Rehab Physical Therapist and Yarmouth Ice Club coach.  Weeks 3 and 4 we featured two of our local
skaters: Dawn Feest and Becky Hamlin.  This
week, we will be learning about the other side of figure skating as we meet
Carolyn, co-chair for the 2014 U.S. Adult Figure Skating Championships and
United States Figure Skating (USFS) Judge.

About Carolyn

Carolyn Pierce has been a
judge for United States Figure Skating for nearly 35 years.  She is the Vice President of the Yarmouth Ice
Club and the Co-Chair at this month’s Adult Nationals alongside Donna Wunder,
President of the Yarmouth Ice Club.
Carolyn has been around
the sport of figure skating for almost her whole life.  She started skating at the old Kennedy Ice
Rink in Hyannis.  The facility was built when Carolyn was a
freshman in high school and she has been hooked ever since it was built.  At the time, there were no coaches on the
Cape so Carolyn had to travel to Boston
for lessons.  Carolyn noted, “My skating
was forgettable but that’s when I fell in love.”
Carolyn’s career as a
figure skater ended when she attended college in Florida but her involvement in the sport
continued.  “Our family was absorbed in
skating,” said Carolyn.  She became a
judge for USFA after watching her daughter, a nationally ranked figure skater.  Carolyn’s niece was an 11-time National
Competitor, competing in both singles and pairs and went on to become a World
and Olympic Judge and National Chair for Technical Skating for USFS.

Physical Therapy & Barnstable Fitness

The ties between the
Yarmouth Ice Club and Cape Cod Rehab continue with Carolyn.  She has been a patient of Cape Cod Rehab, a
member of the Barnstable
Fitness Center
and was even a judge for Cape Cod Rehab’s physical therapist Briana when she
was a kid.
A retired Barnstable High
School Accounting and Law teacher, Carolyn now faces strenuous hours on her
feet during competition weeks followed by long flights and long hours of sitting
in the cold ice rink when she’s judging all over the country.  Over the years she’s had her fair share of
injuries and surgeries.  She had both
knees replaced, has two bad hips, two bad shoulders that can’t be fixed, along
with severe osteoarthris.
Carolyn spends a few
months at a time in physical therapy with Briana before meeting with Eric
Chandler, Barnstable Fitness Certified Strength and Conditioning Specialist for
personal training.  Eric sets Carolyn up with
an independent exercise program based on The Burdenko Method in the pool. 
She truly believes that “the pool is saving my life!”

Yarmouth Ice Club Hosting a Major Event

Carolyn and Donna will
co-chair Adult Nationals this month at the HYCC in Hyannis, MA.  Carolyn has been the chair or co-chair at
every single Yarmouth Ice Club event and has judged 5 Adult National
Competitions.
Adult Nationals is one of
four National Championships held in the United States.  The others include U.S. Championships (which
was held in Boston
to decide the 2012 Sochi Olympic Team), U.S. Collegiate Championships (which
the Yarmouth Ice Club hosted in 2012), and U.S. Synchronized Skating
Championships.
To host a major
competition, the Yarmouth Ice Club submitted a bid to USFS 18 months ago.  To submit a bid, the rink, hotels, and all
the details had to be under contract and in place if they were chosen.  Carolyn and Donna have met at least 2 times
per week for the last 18 months and more recently every day to plan and discuss
the details of the event.  In 2012, they
ran not one but three major figure skating competitions.  “Yeah, we’re crazy!” said Carolyn.
Since interviewing
Carolyn, the Yarmouth Ice Club has announced they will be the host of the 2015
Theatre on Ice.

Adult Nationals

Carolyn says that adult
figure skaters are amazing.  They are competing
because they want to be there.  “It’s
crazy and fun but also very intense.  You
will see former competitive skaters performing double axels and triples and
then there are lower levels where adults show their love for skating.”  She said these skaters will surprise a lot of
people and added, “Everyone is cheering and the camaraderie between the skaters
is incredible.”
Blog post by Jen Skiba.

Adult Nationals Weekly Series #4: Meet Becky & Renee



About Becky


Rebecca Hamlin is a
Yarmouth Ice Club figure skater and coach, born and raised in Brewster, MA.  The oldest of 4 kids, Becky started out in
gymnastics and ballet before her cousin introduced her to figure skating.  After one session of Learn to Skate, Becky
fell in love and was in private lessons at 9 years old.
Becky found her passion in
figure skating and competed for almost 8 years. 
Her career ended abruptly when she had to choose between figure skating
and college.

About Renee

When Becky began private
lessons, she was coached by Renee Roos. 
A former figure skater, Renee came from a big skating family as her
sister Nicole moved away at age 14 to train with Olympic and World Skating coaches
Evy and Mary Scotvold.
Renee began coaching in
1990 and has been involved with the Yarmouth Ice Club since 1992.  This was around the time she met Briana Lackenby, who was finishing up her career as an amateur and
eventually started coaching.
Becky with her coach of 18 years.


The Relationship between
Becky, Renee, and Briana

Renee coached Becky
throughout her career.  When Becky pulled
away from the sport, she was not ready to quit. 
She attended New England
College but never lost
touch with her coach.  In September 2012,
Becky still missed being out there on the ice. 
She thought about it for about a year and decided to make her comeback.
When Becky returned, the
Yarmouth Ice Club was in need of coaches. 
She spent the summer as a mentor and started taking on her own
students.  Reconnecting with the rink
felt right and Becky knew it was meant to be. 
She missed competing and knew she had unfinished business.
The relationship between a
coach and student is special.  Renee
began coaching Becky again as an adult and Becky also linked up with Briana for
help with choreography.  Becky looks at
Renee and Briana as a coach, mentor, and a friend.  According to Becky, Renee is “tough when she
needs to be and always there for me” while Briana is like a big sister to
her.  “I am inspired by Bree’s strength
every day.  She has helped me
tremendously and really built up my confidence over the last couple of months.”
“When you take on a new
student, you are not just a coach.  You
become much more involved in a student’s life,” says Renee.  The relationship is built around trust.
Trust is also a big part
of why Briana fits right into the team. 
According to Renee, “Bree is a miracle worker.”  Anytime Renee or her students faces a
setback, Renee always sends her students to see Briana for physical
therapy.  She is a huge referrer of Cape
Cod Rehab, especially because of the pool.

Becky: Then vs. Now

Becky is the only student
Renee has ever coached as both a kid and an adult.  As an adult figure skater, Renee had to
really slow Becky down.  She had to face
reality that she was no longer 8 years old and it’s a completely different
ballgame as an adult.
“As a kid, it’s all about
jumping.  We tried to take what she did
as a kid and make it even better now,” said Renee.  Becky began to think about the process and understand
what her coach was telling her.  The
former “gym rat,” Becky used to be in the gym 7 days a week and on the ice for
2 hours per day.  As an adult, she
training 3-4 days per week on the ice and has been leaning the importance of
recovery.
Becky’s
mindset as an adult has also changed. 
She is skating for the sheer joy and self-satisfaction.  Her training mindset is “You just gotta do
it.  You need to be here.”  Becky quit her other job to focus on her own
students.  When she competed in middle
school and high school, she gave up a lot and her mom sacrificed a lot for
her.  “These kids are counting on
me.  My mom used to do it for me and I just
want to give these kids the opportunity to be the best that they can be.”
Renee added, “Becky uses
figure skating as therapy to escape.  She
leaves everything at the door and she comes on the ice to do what she loves.”  Becky agreed. 
She can’t imagine her life without it.

Adult Nationals

At Adult Nationals, Becky
will be competing with her first competition as an adult and her first program
in 10 years.  She will be skating in the
Intermediate Novice Master’s Free Skate. 
Her music: Romeo and Juliet.
“Becky struggled a
lot.  She never had closure.  This competition is about coming back to
finish what she started.  It didn’t work
as a kid and she’s back to make it work in her 20s,” said Briana.
With two weeks to go until
competition, Becky is feeling confident and excited.  “I still have it in me.  I’m ready.”

Blog post by Jen Skiba.

Adult Nationals Weekly Series #3: Meet Dawn

About Dawn


Dawn Feest is a Yarmouth
Ice Club member from Harwich, Massachusetts who began skating when she was just
8 years old and never looked back.  She skated
competitively for many years and joined the Ice Capades after college.  Touring and performing in ice shows were fun
and a lot less pressure but a part of Dawn missed competing.  She skated with the Ice Capades and other producers until 2002 and then took some time away from the sport.  On Dawn’s
40th birthday, she ran into her childhood coach and she was introduced to adult
figure skating.  Her return to
competition began at Sectionals in 2012 and now at age 44, Dawn will be
competing in her first Adult National Championships this April.

One of Dawn’s regrets as a
figure skater was that she stopped competing. 
After touring with the Ice Capades, she viewed figure skating as a
personal challenge.  She got back to
training and everything including the jumps came back fairly quickly. 

Dawn’s Injury

Dawn was skating a lot:
jumping all the time, performing doubles, and she found she was landing very hard.  Over time she developed
sciatica and started seeing a chiropractor
but this was not fixing the problem and actually making it worse.
From the sidelines, Briana Lackenby, Cape Cod Rehab physical therapist & Yarmouth Ice Club coach,
would watch Dawn on the ice and noticed her stiff landings.  Dawn was introduced to Briana who not only
treated her injury but also switched up her whole style of skating adding
longevity to her career.

Physical Therapy &
The Burdenko Method

For Dawn, it was all about
meeting the right people at the right time.  She began physical therapy at Cape Cod Rehab’s Hyannis location and
with a combination of The Burdenko Method‘s land and water therapy and finding what works
best for Dawn, she was able to get back on the ice pain free.  During rehab, which also meant about 6 weeks
off the ice, Dawn was frustrated she could not just and train the way she wanted to.  Briana and Dawn found that the Burdenko Method combined with overhauling her jumping style was the only way to treat
Dawn’s sciatica.  The pool worked wonders
although Dawn fought it all the way!
Once Dawn was back on the
ice, the focus shifted to quality over quantity.  She switched coaches and started working with
Briana for both technical and choreography. 
They worked on a lot of stretching and preventative exercises as well as
the quality of Dawn’s skating technique. 
She changed her whole approach to skating with softer landings on jumps,
new choreography by Briana, and less hours on the ice (only about 2 hours per
week) and hasn’t run into any problems or setbacks since.
While off the ice, Dawn
works a very busy full time job, enjoys spending time with her sister and niece (which included her and her sister running a half marathon in Thailand!) and coaches Learn to Skate for adults.  She credits Briana for extending the
longevity of her skating career and is looking forward to getting on the ice to
compete at Adult Nationals.

Adult Nationals

To qualify for Adult
Nationals, Dawn competed last weekend at 2014 Eastern Adult Sectional
Qualifying Event in New Jersey where she took home two bronze medals and an 8th
place finish in the free skate.  She will
be performing 3 programs at Nationals: 2 showcase which focuses on audience
appeal, costume, and dramatic theatrical performance and 1 technical free
skate.  Her music ranges from Baliwood’s
“Oh la la” to an emotional performance to Christina Perri’s Human and music from Fame.
Adult figure
skating is very unique.  Adults are
skating for themselves.  Whether they had
regrets and unfinished business or just love the sport.  Dawn has a passion and enjoys setting goals
and seeing improvement both in practice and from competition to
competition.  “It’s you vs. you out there
and no one can take that away.”
Dawn plans to keep skating
for a long time joking, “The day I retire is the day I can’t get up from that
slide!”


Stay tuned for next week’s
post featuring Rebecca Hamlin & her coach Renee Roos…
Blog post by Jen Skiba.

Adult Nationals Weekly Series #2: Meet Briana

About Briana


You may know Briana
Lackenby PT DPT as a Physical Therapist and Assistant Clinical Director at Cape
Cod Rehab.  You also may know Briana as a
figure skating coach for the Yarmouth Ice Club. 
Or you may even know Briana as a Titleist Performance Institute (TPI)
Golf Fitness Instructor.  She also holds
certifications as a Board Certified Orthopedic Clinical Specialist, Certified
Strength and Conditioning Specialist (CSCS) and a Certified Burdenko Method Instructor
(Levels 1-6).  Briana does it all and she
wouldn’t have it any other way!

Briana began figure
skating when she was 8 years old and worked her way up to earn Senior Gold
Level Status.  She began coaching in 1996
as a freshman in college.  During
Briana’s time as a physical therapy student at Boston University,
she completed one of her clinical rotations at Cape Cod Rehab.  Soon after graduation, Briana was hired by
Joe and Kathy Carroll, owners of Cape Cod Rehab and has been working for them
ever since.  When not in the clinic, you
can find her on the ice at the Tony Kent Ice Arena where she puts in about
12-15 hours per week coaching skaters of all ages and abilities.

Cape Cod Rehab and the Yarmouth Ice Club

The relationship between
Cape Cod Rehab and the Yarmouth Ice Club is very unique.  Briana has a long history of working with
skaters both on and off the ice in injury prevention and rehab.  She became the go-to person when any Yarmouth
Ice Club figure skater was struggling or suffered an injury.  Skaters, coaches, and parents all trust Briana’s judgment and opinions when biomechanically something isn’t
right.  Her knowledge of the jumps and
personal experiences with the physical and mental demands of the sport add that extra element to her already extensive physical therapy training and
education.

The Burdenko Method

Another tie between figure
skating and physical therapy is The Burdenko Method.  The Burdenko Method is a unique, innovative
system for rehabilitation, conditioning and injury prevention developed and
refined by Igor N. Burdenko PhD over a period of 40 years.
Dr. Burdenko has a long
history of working with figure skaters. 
He rehabbed Nancy Kerrigan after the infamous Tonya Harding
incident.  With a combination of land and
water, Dr. Burdenko helped Nancy
to get back on the ice and earn a silver medal at the 1994 Olympics.  His list of figure skaters includes Paul
Wylie, Oksana Baiul, and Yarmouth Ice Club coach and Olympian Konstantin
Kostin. 
Briana’s interest in the
Burdenko Method started as a skater watching Nancy Kerrigan and Paul Wylie
train at the Tony Kent Arena.  They were
both coached by Olympic and World Skating coaches Evy and Mary Scotvold whose
training camp was located at the Tony Kent Arena in South Dennis, MA.  When Briana was hired by Cape Cod Rehab, her
interest in Burdenko was spurred on by Joe who was already using the method in
his clinics.  Joe introduced Briana to
Dr. Burdenko and she became Part I and Part II certified.  Joe continued his training to earn the
credentials as one of the very few Master Burdenko Method Instructors in the
world.
“Working the
whole body in different directions and at different speeds are principles of
the Burdenko Method that translate exceptionally well for figure skaters who
work slowly and gracefully and move into fast dynamic movements while changing
directions,” said Joe.
The
Burdenko Method is very dynamic and sport specific.  It became really big with figure skaters in both rehabbing and conditioning especially after it was proven successful for
so many skaters including Olympic level competitors.  Briana found that it was more fun for the
younger skaters as it was different exercises than everyone was used to and
combined both land and water training.
Joe
added, “Rehab of the injured skater in the pool allows them to simulate
movements they do on the ice without the impact and keeps a level of
conditioning while their training is impacted.  Mentally the athlete is
engaged with the dynamic nature of the workouts and choreographing the
exercises keeps them connected to their training on ice.  The Burdenko Method
allows for a progressive transition from the water to the land and then back
onto the ice.”

Coaching Dawn &
Becky

Yarmouth Ice Club skaters
Dawn Feest and Becky Hamlin will both be competing in Adult Nationals in
April.  Briana coaches all aspects of
Dawn’s skating from technical to choreography and she is also working on
choreographing Becky’s performances.
To Briana, the best part
about coaching is the creativity.  Every
skater has their own style and Briana helps to bring out their strengths on
ice.  She does everything from coming up
with the concept to editing the music, developing the program, and designing
the costumes.

Briana’s Role at
Nationals

Adult Nationals will be a
special event for Briana.  She will play
the role of skating coach to Dawn and Becky, Medical Director for the entire
competition, and if we’re lucky we may even see an appearance on ice during the
opening ceremony.
When asked if she’d ever
compete again, Briana hesitated but said she would consider it.  It’s a huge time commitment and there are not
enough hours in the day!
Stay tuned for next week’s
post featuring Dawn Feest…

Blog post by Jen Skiba.

Adult Nationals Weekly Series #1: Introduction



Cape Cod Rehab has been
announced as the Official Sports Medicine Provider at the 2014 U.S. Adult
Figure Skating Championships.  The
competition hosted by the Yarmouth Ice Club will take place April 8-12 at the
Hyannis Youth and Community Center.

What is Adult Figure
Skating?

Competitive adult figure skating
is relatively new to the skating world. 
It has really blossomed over the past decade and this year marks the
20th anniversary of the competition. 
(The U.S. Figure Skating Championships held in Boston this year to determine the Sochi
Olympic Team was celebrating 100 years!)
To be eligible to compete
as an adult, skaters must be over the age of 21 and current members of U.S.
Figure Skating.  Some skaters will
qualify for the Championships at one of three sectional qualifying competitions
whereas some events do not require a skater to qualify via sectionals.

Yarmouth Ice Club & Cape Cod Rehab

The relationship between
the Yarmouth Ice Club and Cape Cod Rehab is very unique.  Physical Therapist and Coach Briana Lackenby
appears to be the glue that holds everything together.  Briana’s knowledge of both figure skating and
sport specific injuries created a very trusting relationship both on and off
the ice.  As the ice club grew and began
hosting events, Cape Cod Rehab’s physical therapists and athletic trainers
stepped in as the medical providers at these events.  Most recent competitions include the Eastern
Sectional Figure Skating Championships in 2012 and the Nations Cup and U.S.
National Theater on Ice in 2011.  This is
the first year that Adult Nationals will be held on Cape
Cod and a few of our local skaters will be competing.

U.S. Adult Figure Skating Championships

For some figure skaters,
Adult Nationals is about picking up where they left off.  For others it’s about the personal challenge
and setting goals.  One thing they can
all agree on is that it’s their love for the sport that keeps them coming back!
For the next few weeks,
the Mashpee Fitness blog will highlight some of the local figure skaters,
coaches, and officials leading up to competition weekend.  We will share with you their passion for the
sport and the obstacles they have faced along the way.
Stay tuned for next week’s
post featuring Briana Lackenby!
Blog post by Jen Skiba.

What motivates you?

Why do you work out?

Is it because the doctor told you to? Because you want to
lose that holiday ten? Because you want to shave a few minutes off a personal
record for that upcoming 5K? To win a “biggest loser” challenge
against your coworkers? 
Or is it because it’s fun and you enjoy it?
If it’s any of the first reasons, you’re what sports
psychologists call extrinsically motivated–in other words, you’re motivated to
step it up and sweat because of an external reason or reward. Someone has told
you to, you want to look great in that swimsuit for summer, you have some goal
that you’re aiming to meet.
If it’s because you just love working out and the feeling
you get from it, then you’re intrinsically motivated. People who go out
and run just to experience that “runner’s high” are in this group.
You work out because you love it! That’s probably why studies have shown that
people who are intrinsically motivated tend to stick to their workout programs
longer and achieve their goals more often; if you genuinely enjoy what you’re
doing, you’re more likely to do it and make fewer excuses.
This isn’t to say that if you’re extrinsically motivated,
you won’t attain your goals. Most people are a mixture of both extrinsic and
intrinsic.  In fact, while intrinsic motivation will get you out to the
gym, it’s often extrinsic factors that motivate you to push your boundaries
through the goals you set, whether it’s a new PR or better health goals.
There’s a way to get the most out of your workouts through
your own personal blend of motivations. First and foremost, make it fun! Try
out a new class or group training session, find a new friend who keeps you
motivated, try working out with your significant other for a different kind of
date idea. Stop thinking of going to the gym as a “have to” and start
thinking of it as a reward for yourself–after all, what could be a better
reward than taking care of your body?
Second, meet with a personal trainer and talk to them about
your goals. They have the experience and the knowledge to not only help you set
SMART goals (specific, measurable, attainable, relevant, time-bound), but to
design programs or progressions to help you meet them.
So get out there and make your goals work for you!

Blog post by Ashley Crosby.