Steven M. Cohen's Blog
Posted by Steven M. Cohen
It's summer...and here in Southern California, that means daily temperatures in the 90's and 100's. For those who work indoors all day, that reality isn't much of an issue. However, for people who work or play outside, the high temperatures can be a threat to their well being. My family got a dose of that reality this weekend.
My older daughter Nicole, age 12, was playing in a USTA tennis tournament at our local club. Although we've been enjoying a relatively cool June, this weekend the summer heat finally arrived. My daughter played her semi-final match at 1:30 pm on Sunday - courtside temperature was 95 degrees F. Although the tournament officials knew the risks, they insisted the match go on as scheduled. My daughter had been properly prepared for playing in the oppressive heat. She stayed indoors until just before the match. She was well hydrated, and brought plenty of fluids with her onto the court to consume during the match. She used a wet towel to cool off during change-overs.
Most importantly, she was instructed to default if she began to feel the slightest bit ill while playing. Although my wife and I would be thrilled for her were she to win the tournament, we understand that risking heat stroke, organ failure or death is far too high a price to pay for a USTA girls' 12 singles trophy.
It was a difficult match. Nicole has been playing great tennis this spring and summer, but her opponent was a strong player as well. Nicole dropped the first set, 2-6. She was down 2-5 in the second set, when her opponent began to show signs of heat related illness. Nicole immediately got an official, and the match was halted for an “injury time out”. Amazingly, during that time, this girl's parents were, according to reliable sources, encouraging her to go back out and continue to play. Apparently, they felt the risks of heat related illness were less important than the wood and plastic winner's trophy.
The match continued, but Nicole's opponent was not the same. Nicole fought off a match point, and came back to win the set, and the third set tiebreak for the match. I was proud of her efforts, and appalled that her opponent continue on in the heat.
Nicole played in the finals 3 hours later – the temperature was now 100 degrees F. She was at the top of her game, and sprinted out to a 5-1 lead in the opening set. And then.....she felt a bit dizzy, and nauseous. We immediately had her come indoors and default the match. She was disappointed, but took home her runner up trophy with grace, and in good health. I guess the heat giveth, and the heat taketh away.
Posted by Steven M. Cohen
As we reach the depths of winter, many of us become depressed by the seemingly unending winter. But, with major league baseball set to report to training camp, the end of the cold is in sight. Before long, spring, then summer will be with us. In preparation for the outdoor season, we all need to ramp up our motivation to be fit. Now is the time to get up off the couch and get going with exercise. New Year's Resolutions may come and go, but don't lose sight of the the prize...better long term health. For those of you who may need a reminder (or a kick in the rear), here is a link to some reasons to get out exercise.
Posted by Steven M. Cohen
Boy, what a football season it has been so far for the NFL. Last year's Super Bowl winning New York (New Jersey?) Giants are going strong, despite losing several key players to retirement and injury. The Super Bowl losing Patriots are hanging in despite losing their All-World quaterback and leader, Tom Brady, to injury in the first quater of the the first game of the seaon. Perennial power Indianapolis Colts are struggling, due to key injuries to the offensive line, and due to quarterback Peyton Manning's struggle to return from off-season knee surgery.
Do you notice a pattern here? I do - INJURIES! I follow the NFL like millions of other fans, but I can't help but be disturbed by the seemingly endless parade of stretchers taking players off the field. While I love watching the games, and find them entertaining, I'm getting turned off by the carnage among the players. I think the NFL needs to look into ways to decrease the injury rate in the league, before the average fan notices the human toll the game takes.
Posted by Steven M. Cohen
I write this as I watch the closing ceremony of the Olympic Games in Beijing. As someone who is all about health and fitness, I’m fascinated by the various shapes and sizes of the athletes. The marathon winner from Nigeria is phenomenally fit, as is the gold medalist in men’s gymnastics. When I look at them both, though, I’d much rather look like the gymnast than the marathoner. That’s how I know that I’m on the right with my fitness program. With a combination of weight training, body-weight exercises and interval cardio training, I’ll continue to improve my conditioning and appearance. On the other hand, those that prefer endless endurance training will end up looking like a marathoner…no thanks.
Posted by Steven M. Cohen
Funny how quickly a blog post can become dated. Looking back, I re-read my previous post lauding golfer Tiger Woods for his dedication to fitness. I went on to point out how his fitness regimen helps keep him on top of the golf world, and free from injury. As I write this, Tiger has missed the final two major golf championships of the 2008 season – due to injury. Apparently, Woods suffered an ACL injury at the end of the 2007 season, and chose to play on in 2008. He had hoped to make it through the season, and then have surgery to repair the ligament tear. Well, things didn’t go quite the way Tiger had planned. He instead underwent an arthroscopic procedure to “clean up“ damaged cartilage in his knee. Then, he suffered two stress fractures in the area of the surgical knee while running during physical therapy.
Woods played the US Open tournament in June despite these injuries, and pulled off a nearly-miraculous win. He then underwent his season-ending operation.
So, my missive about the power of physical fitness in the case of Tiger Woods lost something. However, I would invoke my March 10, 2008 post “Running While Injured”. That post is dedicated to the idea of resting an injury (or in Tiger's case, having surgery promptly), rather than “toughing it out”. Perhaps if Tiger had taken care of his injury when it first occurred, he would have spent less time out of action. Just something to think about…
