16| Mike Shipper: Youth Fitness & Inclusive Sports for Athletes of All Abilities

11/29/22 • 29 min

Studies have shown 81% of children and adolescents between 11–17 are not active enough for optimal health. Scary considering all the health conditions like heart disease, cancer, diabetes and mood disorders that are affecting a rapidly increasing number of lives.
How are kids active? During sports and play! Between 1981 and 1997, detailed time-use studies showed that the time children spent at play declined by 25%. So what are kids doing with their time? And why such a BIG decline?

A big reason is because academic demands at school have escalated, too much time is devoted to preparation for academic testing and children are robbed of the joy of discovery and curiosity that is part of play.
Having community run fitness centers for kids with busy families is needed. Today we are interviewing Mike Shipper who is a youth fitness specialist and owns Empowered Sports and Fitness located in the upper west side of Manhattan.
“We work with special needs athletes and having grown up with special needs myself, this was something that I always had a strong passion for- a strong desire for.” -Mike Shipper
Their motto is EVERYONE GETS TO PLAY- Empowered Sports & Fitness provides inclusive movement opportunities for athletes of all ages and abilities. Whether there is a developmental disability, a delayed social skill, or a physical challenge, their goal is to be active, have fun, and provide a program that takes individual needs into account.
"We focus on sports and fitness. We try and find- from our athletes- what they love, what they like and we turn those interests into games. And once the game comes to life, they forget where they are, what they're doing, why they're doing it. It's no longer work. They're just having a great time." - Mike Shipper
!! Receive 20% off when you sign up for an assessment at Empowered Sports and Fitness today !!
Register for the Toddler Program here!
Families can find us on our website: www.empoweredsportsandfitness.com
IG: @empowered.sports.fitness
YouTube: Empowered Sports and Fitness
TikTok: @coachmikenyc
Learn about physical therapy services at Reload here
Learn about fitness services at Reload here
IG: @reload.pt
Diggin' the intro/outro jam? Check out my friend, Joe Spinelli on SoundCloud!

Previous Episode

15| Boo Schexnayder: Taking a Surgical Strike Approach to Rehab & Performance Training

Today we interview Boo Schexnayder, one of the world's best coaches. In his 42 years of experience he has coached collegiate teams, many national champions and 18 athletes to the Olympic Games and world championships including several medalists. Currently he does rehab and consultation work assisting NCAA programs, NFL teams and mentorship for coaches to share his technical knowledge and programming advice which you will hear a bit of today.
We are hosting Boo in NYC at Reload January 28-29th for a weekend seminar. You really don’t want to miss out on getting his advice and wisdom to be sure to get here, in person to ask questions, so you can

Gain understanding of how we can make complex problems more simple in the coaching/rehab and training world
To learn from one of leading authorities in training design

Topics will include:

Maximal velocity mechanics and acceleration
Speed development
Programming
Plyometric technical teaching
Linking Training and Rehab

You can save your spot by going to reloads link tree on instagram or our website reloadpt.com
2:47 Where Boo Started
3:40 What can rehab culture learn from coaches?
7:12 The key to success is not being a genius, its...
7:55 When someone is injured, what does “intensity” mean?
8:59 How and when does Boo test his athletes?
12:26 Fatiguing proprioceptors vs proprioceptive staleness
15:11 What different types of circuit training are there?
17:58 How important is ab training?
21:01 Two key components of Boo’s success with rehab and accelerating return to play
24:35 Plyometric progressions for the upper body
26:31 What Boo thinks about trendy training, specialty equipment and shiny objects
30:56 Tips on coaching and behavior change
32:44 Warm up time is not just busy time
36:37 What can coaching culture learn from rehab?
38:51 We need more crossbreeding between professions
44:14 Two of the most unproductive human behaviors
Where to find Boo: Schexnayder Athletic Coaching sacspeed.com
Twitter: @BooSchex

Learn about physical therapy services at Reload here
Learn about fitness services at Reload here
IG: @reload.pt
Diggin' the intro/outro jam? Check out my friend, Joe Spinelli on SoundCloud!

Next Episode

17| Amy West, MD: Celebrating Women's Strength and Being Resilient Against Injury

Did you know that out of all the strength and conditioning research that shapes most of the plans and decisions we make as coaches, practitioners and as consumers- that less than 6% of the research is exclusively on women? Women are physiologically, behaviorally and psychologically completely different from men. Our needs must be attended to separately than men. Even though we are seeing more females in sports and in the gym, we are still underrepresented in sports medicine which puts us at risk for injuries and not performing to our maximum potential.

Change begins with the help of people like Amy West, MD, EdM - who we interviewed in today's episode. Dr. Amy West is a Physical Medicine and Rehabilitation and Sports Medicine Physician who dedicates her career and personal life to celebrating and advocating for the strength of women.

She is currently the team doctor for Hofstra University NCAA Division one and the Crossfit games. Yes you heard me right- she is a doctor who recommends Crossfit. You’ll learn all about why Amy recommends Crossfit for injury prevention in this episode. You’ll also learn about the research and work Amy has done involving female athletes, the effects hormones have on musculoskeletal tissue, adaptive sports, functional movement and injury prevention.
1:47 Amy is really cool- Amy’s story
4:40 What is a sports medicine physiatrist?
5:50 A doctor...who loves CrossFit for... injury prevention
9:20 Do you use this ESSENTIAL tool for behavior change?
11:16 The Adaptive Training Academy
13:42 Less than 6% of current S&C research is on exclusively women
15:17 Researching how a woman’s menstrual cycle & hormone fluctuations affect...
17:20 Stress fractures are more common in women- why??
19:49 Advice on how to talk to your female clients when you think there is a problem
24:22 Specific advice for men & normalizing talking about periods
25:56 Big problem: Many providers aren’t attuned to what athletic women need
27:56 What is a stress fracture?
28:52 Last points on injury and activity
30:43 Why is not moving often- bad?
Find Amy on Instagram: @amywestmd
Twitter: @AmyWestMD
Listen to Amy's podcast: @docsinthebox
Learn about physical therapy services at Reload here
Learn about fitness services at Reload here
IG: @reload.pt
Diggin' the intro/outro jam? Check out my friend, Joe Spinelli on SoundCloud!