Lisa Sabin’s - Running And Being

My daughter Natasha finished playing volleyball with her middle school team in February. Now she is gearing up to play with Alderwood Boys and Girls Club. We have taken the last month to work on general conditioning. She and I both need to work on core strength and balance. She is gaining strength, body awareness and learning how to transfer power.

Here is one of our lower body strength routines (3 Sets of 10 Reps):

Body Weight Squats
Alternating Forward Lunges (5lb dumbells)
Step Ups (12 inch step, 5lb dumbells)
Squat Jumps (5lb dumbells)

She is working with light weights and learning how to handle her own body weight. Each time we work out I really watch her form, to make sure she is using good alignment. Her movements are getting smoother as her body learns to recruit the appropriate musles to do the work. Her tendons are getting stronger and her bone density is improving. We do this routine only once a week, because it’s pretty intense.

We do some ab work afterwards and balance on the 1/2 foam rollers. We like to do yoga poses, like balancing stick and standing bow pose. Natasha’s background in dance and gymnastics really make a difference with the balance work. She has incredible flexibility and grace. I struggle to stay on the foam roller while she brings her leg up over her head and makes it look so easy.

I love working out with my 13 year old daughter, Natasha.  She is an athlete who made the switch from gymnastics and dance to volleyball about 2 years ago.  Natasha began competing as a gymnast at 6 years of age.  She is very familiar with training and conditioning.

Some of the conditioning Natasha did in gymnastics has helped with volleyball.  She is coordinated and very flexible.  She also has incredible team spirit.  Hand-eye coordination is something new for her.  Her dad, who played a lot of sports growing up, has had a great time practicing bumping, setting and serving with her.

I played a little basketball and tennis in junior high and high school.  I was a late bloomer and didn’t get much playing time.  Running was a better fit for me, therefore I leave the sports specific stuff to her dad.  My job as a personal trainer and a former gymnastics coach is to help Natasha with strength training.

We are working on building strength and learning how to transfer power.  It’s a lot different than gymnastics even though both sports are explosive.  We are spending time in the weight room, doing a lot of body weight squats, lunges and presses with light weights.  She is learning how integrate her core and control her body.  Volleyball is such a fast sport and she needs to be ready to move quickly and anticipate the ball. 

It’s great to work with her because she and I both need to work on strengthening the core,  and maintaining strength and mobility in the lower body.  We both need to work on balance etc.  Our goal is to get the gym twice a week for strength training. 

I am going to the gym later with my 13 year old daughter. She just finished her volleyball season and doesn’t know what to do with herself. She’s been a competitive gymnast and a dancer since she was 4 years old. She gave up gymnastics for volleyball a couple of years ago. She is so used to physical activity that she misses the outlet when she is not involved in sport. I guess she is a lot like me.

We bought her a gym membership this year for Christmas. I think it’s a good time for her to develop good healthy habits. She has gone through the youth strength training program at Bellevue Place Club, where I used to train. Today we start working on developing a strong core to help her with serving. The overhand serve has been tough for her, but she is a consistent player. She was able to make the starting line up after just a few games this year. Her dad has gotten involved with helping her practice. He played a lot of basketball growing up and has really had fun playing ball with his daughter.

It’s so beautiful out there that I’m tempted to take my golden retriever, Bo out for a little run before we hit the gym this afternoon. The last time I took him with me he was soooo slow. Right now he is snoozing on the coach. He thinks he’s one of the family. Okay, Bo, it’s time to go see what you’re made of.