Day 6 North Cheyenne Canyon and Rockies game.

OK so this was our last day exploring in Colorado. The day before we found out that the Colorado Rockies had fired their manager so our trip to Coors Field was cancelled. So to improvise we went to North Cheyenne Canyon and decided to go on another hike

So we decided that the medium trail was our best bet and we had a blast. Throughout the trail there were numerous waterfalls and and rivers flowing and the whole thing was relaxing.

The only difficulty with the hike is that when we got to the top of the hill we had hiked 1,00 feet up in elevation. A lot of the trail was steep inclines and a lot of us had to take a break and catch our breath.

A long the way we would catch an awesome view of the city of Colorado Springs. It was a great view and with the waterfalls in the background it was truly awesome. We were also amazed that as we were going up we got passed by a lot of cyclists both going up and down. Those paths were very narrow and I was nervous walking the path let alone riding a bike on the path.

Coming down the hill was more interesting than going up. It was very easy to go down but the step incline turned into a steep decline and going down the hill was interesting. The path was slippery at times and we ere all in a hurry because we had a rainstorm on the way.

Now this is the twist in the trip that I just had to post about. On the way down the path a couple members of the group decided to run. When they got to the part where the trail met the road they stopped and waited for the rest of us. While they were waiting a lone cyclist was coming down the road and when he hit a dirt patch he lost control of his bike and slid down the road to where our students were. One of the students Mike, helped the guy out of the road and helped him to the side of the road. Our assistant athletic trainer at Aurora, Nicki, came and assessed the individual to make sure he was alright. The cyclist insisted that he was fine but he had cut up his elbow and knee really bad. He also told us he had fallen before. We assessed him and immediately called 9-1-1. The ambulance came and took care of him. Afterwards we talked about the whole situation and what happened. We noticed that the bike was a one-speed bike and the tires had no traction. This is not good for riding up on mountains and could have contributed to his fall. But this was enough action for one day and we went back to our hotel to get ready for the Rockies game.

Later that night we went to the Colorado Rockies game to watch the Padres and Rockies play. The game was a good one and the Rockies won with a walk-off double in the bottom of the ninth to win. We then went off to have some ice cream and the retired to hotel to prepare for our trip back to Chicago.

In the end this trip was amazing, we all had different parts we liked and everyone had something that they were interested in occur on the trip. We loved everything and would not have changed everything that went on with the trip. I would definitely recommend the the trip to anyone interested because you will not get so many great experiences in one experience.

I have one more post before Colorado is over. I hope you enjoyed these posts and I look forward to the last post of this may term. Until then take care and enjoy!

Day 5 Flying W Ranch

So later in the evening we went out for a relaxing dinner at the Flying W Ranch. This was a working ranch and had an area set aside for tourists to go through and learn about the old west.

We went through the replica wild west town and just enjoyed the sighs and sounds of the whole area. We saw an Indian tribe perform some dances in traditional outfits. We also saw what the churches and housing complexes back then looked like. We also went into a tepee and walked around the rest of the town.

Besides walking around the town we went into this saloon looking area for our dinner. The dinner was a chuck wagon style set up and the food was amazing. I had a steak, baked potato, apple sauce and biscuits (from scratch), all the lemonade and ice tea we wanted. The meal was great and we all got our fill. If anyone did not want to have steak they had the option of chicken or beef that was barbecued.

After dinner we were treated to a western music performance. This was a good time to just sit back and relax and enjoy the evening and we did. The Flying W Wranglers were the second oldest western band in the world and they were a very talented group. After the performance we retired to our hotel for the night. The next day would be our last day in Colorado unfortunately but we have a fun day of events planned. So stay tuned for my last post of the trip.

Day 5 Air Force Academy Part 2

OK so these next couple of posts will not be as long as the others but I still want you to know about everything we did. So we headed back to the Air Force Academy to meet with Allen Hedrich, Director at the National Strength and Conditioning Association headquarters. We met with him at the Academy because the NSCA headquarters was hosting a symposium and we didn't want to get in their way.

So at first we had a 1 1/2 hour presentation on periodization and the various ways to set up a conditioning program. We learned a lot of variations to the basic periodization model and Allen was very helpful in answering a lot of questions that we had. We went through different cycles and different scenarios that can occur during a year-long conditioning program.

We then went out into the weight room. Allen showed us some different kinds of exercises and showed us how to get a workout in with water-filled kegs. We did a variation of squats and lunges and these were not that easy. We then went to floor exercise with barbells and Allen showed us how to do some core exercises with one end of the bar anchored into the ground.

The last thing we did was go through a shortened tutorial about how to do the Olympic movements with dumbbells rather than barbells. This was the best part of the weight room session because there were some people in our group who had never done an Olympic movement before and to get a lesson from one of the best strength coaches in the countries is not a bad place to start. After the session we thanked Allen and went on our way. We went back to the hotel and relaxed for a few hours because later that night we went to the Flying W Ranch. Until then buh-bye!

Day 4 Pike's Peak

Back again with more fun in Colorado. Here is our excursion of the day. After the Air Force Academy we decided to catch a train and take it up to the top of Pike's Peak. Where we were staying was around 6,500-7,000 feet above sea level. The top of the peak was over 14,000. As we drove around the previous days we noticed a big mountain the distance with snow covering the top of it. Little did we realize that that was Pike's Peak and that we would end up on the top of it.

To get up the mountain we took the Cog railroad and the trip itself was a little over 45 minutes.
We were part of a 3 car system that took us up the mountain side. We were told to make sure we had a jacket or sweatshirt with and we would soon know why.

At the start of the trip we went through a thick forest with a lot of dips and turns. We didn't see much wildlife but there were numerous rock formations that resembled things like an elephant, diamond, Santa's sleight, and a seal. We had a an enthusiastic tour guide and learned a lot of little tid bits of information about the mountain and surrounding areas.

As we made our way up the mountain there were markers that pointed out every 2,00 feet that we had risen. As we got about halfway up the mountain we realized a slight change in temperature and we notice a difference in the air.

At about the 3/4 mark we were 11,50 feet and when you looked out the side of the train we noticed how high we were. At one point on the trip we could see past Colorado onto the plains of Kansas. We also were able to see the tallest mountain in New Mexico. On the way up we also saw the largest gold mine in the world and many lakes and forests throughout the mountain range.

The closer we got to the top we started seeing snow on the ground and some of us in the group were getting headaches or sick. We found out that we were suffering from Acute Mountain Sickness. By the time we go to the top of the mountain it looked like a Chicago winter up there.

When we got to the top we were informed it was 31 degrees and that we were at 14, 429 feet above sea level. We had heard that at the top of Pike's Peak they had the best doughnuts around. I thought it was weird when I first heard that but I go to try one and they were actually really good.

When we left the train station is was 78 degrees and sunny and when we got to the top we still had the sun but it was 47 degrees cooler. At the top the view was amazing and we could not believe how far we could see.

On the way down we were told that the song America the Beautiful was written when the songwriter looked out over the mountains and was inspired by the view she saw. As we made our way down the mountain we could see how she was inspired and we all felt better as we came down the mountain. All in all we enjoyed ourselves and loved the journey. We have two more days in Colorado which means I have a few more posts to do so until then, talk to you later!

Day 4 Air Force Academy

Alright so here we are on day 4 and what a day it was. We started out with a trip to the United States Air Force Academy. Before I go any further I just want to state that this place is enormous. We met with Buck Blackwood who is the head of the Strength and Conditioning Department. He took us on a tour throughout the athletic facilities and showed us what the athletes of the Academy had at their disposal.
Stat-wise there are 4,000 cadets at the Academy ad roughly the male to female ratio is 3:1. The cadets have a course load of 20-23 hours on top of military priorities and then athletic practices. These athletes are extremely devoted and have a lot on their plates. The Academy also doe snot give out scholarships and competes in Division 1 athletics.
On their grounds they have three athletic weight rooms, a ice rink, two basketball courts, wresting room, indoor track and football practice field, and a human performance lab. These are the main rooms on the complex. they have numerous smaller rooms but this blog is not big enough to contain all the different rooms and services that the Academy offers.
We also got a tour of the athletic training facility and our AT students were blown away. The part that I got the biggest kick out of is that they had a hydro-recovery pool on site and it was bigger than our pool that we had at the hotel. I thought that was funny. The AT's here operate on a more laid back environment than most other AT's do. This is a good thing because they have more time for individualized attention for the athletes and they can provide the best services for athletes from fencing to football regardless of skill and talent.

The last place we stopped was the human performance lab. Here we talked with a coach who trained the vision of the athletes. This was probably the most interesting part of the training. The instructor told us that by training the vision the athletes performance increased dramatically and it showed on the field. We were able to play with the tests the athletes took. One of the boards resembled something you see in a doctor's office but you had to hit the lights and they gave you feedback on your strengths and weaknesses. This was a fun but educational experience and opened our eyes to other forms of training that maybe considered "outside of the box".
Overall we gained a lot of useful information from Buck himself when we had a question and answer with him. The most interesting part of the discussion was how the athletes train. A lot of the the training that Buck does with his athletes requires the use of water filled implements. They had specially designed dumbbells, strongman logs, and kegs filled with water that the athletes do various exercise with. The method behind this was that by lifting the water-filled implements the athlete has to balance them and use more of their core and stabilizer muscles than if they lifted with a stationary weight.
After talking with Buck we were able to take numerous training methods and exercises to incorporate into our conditioning programs. As the days go on we keep adding to our knowledge base and this is crucial to us because a majority of us want to go into fields that require a knowledge in the strength and conditioning field. The more exposure we get to these professional settings the more we feel that we want to go into this field and contribute something to the field once we are there.
In the end we enjoyed ourselves at the Air Force Academy. A couple of us were jealous of what their athletes had to work with and others were envious of the laid back attitude of the coaches and AT's. Nonetheless we learned a lot from them and looked forward to our exploration of Pike's Peak later that day. So until then talk to you later!

Day 3 Garden of the Gods

Back again with more blogging from Colorado. So i might have mentioned this before but just in case I didn't, each day we are in Colorado we do an educational experience and an exploratory trip. This was the exploratory part of our third day in Colorado. The first picture is how we looked and felt after the day.
So the Garden of the Gods was a state park that was discovered by Zebulon Montgomery Pike on his way up to Pike's Peak. As they went through the garden there were large red rocks throughout the park and plenty of trees and other vegetation throughout the park. The explorers who discovered the park felt that this place was a garden "fit for the Gods" and so the name Garden of the Gods was given to this park.
So overall we hiked a little over 10 miles and were out in the park for 4 hours. While this was a lot of hiking we enjoyed exploring the park. A major reason we hiked so long and were out there so long is because we were going off the paths marked and exploring the rocks and climbing all over them. As you can see in the pictures we did stunts and other things on these rocks that provided for great photo ops for Jen.
The funny part of the rock climbing was when we would get to the top we realized how high we were and it was scary at times. Also as we went through the park we would see people professionally rock climbing up the larger structures and it was crazy to see them dangling hundreds of feet above the ground.
We walked through a majority of the park and saw many of the major rocks structures throughout the park. Some of the structures we saw were the Siamese Twins, Balance Rock, and Giant Red Rock. Overall this park was gorgeous and my words do no do the beauty of this park justice. If you are ever in the Colorado Springs area I would say that Garden of the Gods is a good idea of a place to stop.
After the garden we went to a mexican restaurant called Amanda Fonda and the food and service was great. After a long day of hiking and exploring we enjoyed a good meal ad sat around the table and talked and shared stories until ti was time to go. The next day we went to the Air Force Academy in the morning and then went to a train that took us up Pike's Peak. I look forward to sharing Day 4 with you until then, see ya!

Day 3 Carmichael Training Systems

Here we go, look a live! On day 3 of the trip to Colorado we went to the Carmichael Training Systems lab for testing. The center is owned by the Mr. Carmichael who is world-renowned for training endurance athletes, mostly cyclists and some triathletes. The one thing Carmichael is known for is training Lance Armstrong the 7-time Tour De France winner.

So before we left for Colorado, Katy offered to do a blood lactate test and a VO2 Max Test. Pretty much these tests allowed for endurance athletes to see how far their body can be pushed before it reaches exhaustion. I felt tired watching Katy go through about an hour and a half of tests. She was spent afterwards and during the testing we learned how they train athletes, what protocols were taken, and how they communicating with their athletes.

Surprisingly a lot of athletes talk to their coaches via email because they train all over the globe. They get athletes from all aspects of the endurance sports. They get mountain bikers, cyclists, marathon runners, triathletes, etc. and they are serious about their training. Lance Armstrong is currently training again for another Tour De France and our guide told us about the preparation that goes into Lance's training.

Overall we learned about a different variation of training but we still picked up some information. Even though endurance training may not be what I am interested in it is importance to have knowledge in all aspects of training. In my profession i want to teach people about fitness, if I only know about some aspects of fitness I would not be as successful if I would have common knowledge in all aspects of fitness. This was the shortest portion of the trip but we still learned a lot, next I will post about our trip to the Garden of the Gods. See you later!