Ryne Sandberg Quotes

They thought that athletes that worked out with my system wouldn't be able to throw a ball because they'd be too muscle bound. Those are the misconceptions I had to go through for about 40 years.

I'm becoming far more interested in just functionality and making sure my body is as strong as it can be so I can swing my kids around and not worry about aches and pains.

I reached a point towards the end on the old heart where I had trouble getting out of a chair. All I wanted to do was get out of bed in the morning and walk to my office and sit back down in the chair. Now I throw 50 pound bags of horse feed in the back of my pickup truck and I don't even think about it. I'm back doing those things.

Baseball players need strength but also the ability to make fast-paced, explosive movements, so their training is all about strengthening the tendons around the bone and the joint so you don't tear the muscles from the bones.

I think that for my sport, the core is the most important. I mean, really in all sports, but especially in the sport I play, I keep my core right and try and keep that up no matter what I'm doing.

I love yoga. There's a lot of stretching involved, which helps with my flexibility and injury prevention. Vinyasa is my favorite as a recovery tool and for me to continue having my legs feel good.

What batsmen like me do for fitness is often a bit different to what bowlers like Jimmy Anderson or Stuart Broad do but everyone in the squad has a big focus on core strength. It is really important for batting, bowling and fielding. You need a strong core and spine so your movement isn't restricted out there.

Sparring is probably the best cardio, but strength training is the best way to prevent the kind of injuries that come from roadwork and sparring.

I work on my body tremendously to be able to withstand whatever is thrown my way.

In order to resist injuries and stay healthy, you have to be mobile and agile. You have to be able to have your body work for you.

I think flexibility in general is something that needs to be reinforced, and not only baseball players but all sports.

I think every facet of running has its benefits towards a starting pitcher. I mean, you're explosive off the mound and yet you've got to have endurance.

I'm just trying to keep my mind and my body active. The tough part about it is that physically I'm sort of limited.

I grew up an athlete. Track and field and dance. In track, I actually went to the Junior Olympics. I've always been very athletic.

Lifting weights is obviously important, because you want to be strong and fast and all of that, but it's not one of those things you gotta go and try to bench as much as you can every day. A bench press isn't going to help you throw a 15-yard out or a deep comeback. It's not about that. It's about training right.

For the off-ice training, I do basic strength training, and for the on-ice training, I practice jumps, spins, steps, and my new long program with my new coach Peter Oppegard.

I know that to be a good player, you have to stay healthy, and you have to be as athletic as you can possibly be.

Your body's made to run, to walk, to trek long distances and carry things, work in a forest, and hunt animals. You have to keep it alive to function.

I think a basic level of fitness can help the body cope with all manner of incidents.

I'm obviously always interested in the dancer who's an athlete and vice versa. I expect dancers to be in condition like an athlete is and to challenge themselves in the same way, to the same physical degree.

I have no problem with my hips - I can still do the things that I used to do. I can run, I'm just not the fastest person on the field anymore.

I can touch my toes, but I bend in a strange way. I'll never be in the Olympics.

In gymnastics, smaller will always be better in many ways. The stress in the head, that will be the same for all. But the stress on the body and the concussions it must endure, that will always be easier for the little ones.

Golf is flexibility, and I notice more guys injured. You can overdo this conditioning.

For me, the reason I keep working out and want to get bigger and focus on staying fit is because when you do fall it's easier to tighten up and not get hurt. I also wrestle, and that helps me a lot with taking a fall. A lot of what I do at the end of they day are things that will help me to not get hurt.