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athletic support by eli cranor


Athletic Support: Staying in shape during a pandemic
eli.cranor@gmail.com

Dear Athletic Support: With school closed, my son is itching to get back in the weight room. He’s been running around the neighborhood, but we don’t have any dumbbells or weights he can use for strength training. Do you have any home workouts we can do with minimal equipment?
— Weighting Dad


Dear Weighting: Strength gains can be lost in as little as two to three weeks of inactivity. So, your son is absolutely right — he needs to be working out. Luckily, even without a home gym, there are many different exercises your son can be doing to stay in shape.

Most high-school-aged boys are overly concerned with bulking up their upper body. They want the bulging pectorals and biceps of a body builder. The problem here is those muscle groups don’t translate well to the field.

So let’s start with the lower body. Regardless of the sport, an athlete’s hips are very important and oftentimes neglected. As a culture, we’ve grown accustomed to sitting for the better part of our waking hours. Whether kids are sitting in a desk at school or on the sofa playing video games, our youth are very good at being sedentary. As a consequence, we are a nation of stiff hips.

The answer to this growing problem is the squat.

We called them “prison squats” back when I was coaching and playing. The exercise is simple: your son just needs to squat down like a catcher behind Homeplate. His backside should drop down past his knees and his heels must stay planted on the ground. If your son’s heels are coming up, or he’s having trouble sinking his bottom down far enough, then this means he needs some serious work on his hip flexibility.

The good news? Hips are like any other part of the body; they can be stretched and flexibility can be gained. Your son can even watch TV while sitting in the squat position. I used to have my players stay seated in a squat while I addressed them at the end of a workout or a practice.

For some of my players this exercise was so painful they couldn’t pay attention to what I was saying. Your son should start with short time intervals and work his way up. By the time school is back in session, he’ll be a squat master with super flexible hips!

In terms of actual strength gains, pull-ups, push-ups, and sit-ups are all great ways to stay in shape. He’ll have to be creative if he wants to do the sort of free-weight exercises he’s used to. For bench, he could try sliding under his bed and pressing it up from the floor. If he needs extra weight, have a sibling lie on the bed. Just be careful. If he’s dying to do some curls, try stuffing a pillowcase with books. After his workout is over, maybe he could do some real heavy lifting and read one of the books!

During this break, I hope all young athletes are remembering to keep their brains in shape and not just their bodies. Here’s a list of some of my favorite sports-themed books:

Crash – Jerry Spinelli (football for younger readers)
The Natural – Bernard Malamud (baseball for college-level)
The Professional – W.C. Heinz (boxing)
Swing Your Sword – Mike Leach (nonfiction)
The Essential Smart Football – Chris Brown (nonfiction)
Sacred Hoops – Phil Jackson (nonfiction)
The Prophet – Michael Koryta (football thriller)

If you do end up ordering one of these books, please consider placing your order through an independent bookstore. Like many small businesses across our country, bookstores are fighting to keep their doors open during these unprecedented times. A purchase of any amount will help, even if the book just ends up stuffed in a pillowcase!


Eli Cranor is a former professional quarterback and coach turned award-winning author. Please use the “Contact” page at elicranor.com to send in questions for “Athletic Support.”

Previous Athletic Support Columns:

What if COVID19 cancels my son’s senior season?
Cornavirus? We’ve got games to play!
Girlfriend getting in the way
A parent’s role when sports are over
Talk to your grandkids, carefully
At what age should sports stop being fun?
What ever happened to going door to door?
Lack of respect for track
Should my son take supplements?
I need your help
Help! My daughter wants to play football
Transferring to a smaller school: the good, the bad, and the ugly
What’s that smell? It’s not as bad as you think
A break from school but not from sports
Should a coach pray with his team?
Coach tells player not to shoot
Do nice guys (and girls) really finish last?
Coach cancels post-season awards banquet
No cellphones in the locker room!
Fake scholarship signing?
Withholding football as punishment
Sick and tired of losing
Late bloomer, a blessing or a curse?
Scholarship hopes dead, now what?
Is my son a butterfly chaser?
Don’t force sports on your kids
Hunting or Football?
Beat the Heat
Idle Hands
Coach’s son gets special attention


Published March 29, 2020












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