Right Now Downtown

KICK IT

Kickball season is upon us, and this year is the year to kick-butt at kick-ball.  That means it’s time for serious kickball training.

Problem:  Real athletes devote several hours each day to physical conditioning.  Most of us have real jobs.

Solution:  Train at work.  We’ve got three exercises to improve your game…

1.  Imaginary sofa
One way to build leg strength is to have a seat on the imaginary office sofa.  It’s over there, by the wall.  With your back against the wall, slide down until your knees are bent about ninety degrees.  Now try to stay on that sofa for a minute.

2.  Wear heavy shoes
Mark O’Neil, manager of downtown’s Metro Fitness, says, “One of the best things I can think of is to wrap some weights around your ankles and kick-kick-kick.”  If the ankle weights aren’t handy, try his suggestion while wearing your heaviest shoes.

3.  Hijack the wheelie cart
Office chairs with wheels are goldmines when it comes to building stronger legs.  While seated, walk the chair forward down the hall by moving your feet in a stepping motion.  That’s for the hamstrings.  Now use your legs to launch yourself backwards.  Resist the urge to yell, “Wheeee!”

When the season actually kicks off, O’Neil adds that it’s really important to stretch out before hitting the field.  The fitness pro is stressing injury prevention, so kickball athletes won’t be stressing over strained muscles.

For registration information for the 2008 Capitol Square Kickball League, go to our homepage at www.downtowncolumbus.com.

This entry was posted on Tuesday, March 18th, 2008 at 7:29 am and is filed under Downtown Columbus. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.