In our continued effort to educate our readers about what is really going on with the NY Giants injuries, we interviewed Fabri Sion of FabriWorld. UltimateNYG is on a mission to get to the truth about this issue. We said last year that there was something structurally wrong with the NY Giants S&C program, and Fabri sheds yet more light on this subject, a topic others would prefer to be left in the dark.
UltimateNYG: Hi Fabri. First off, thanks for joining us.
Fabri: Thank you, I’m happy to be here.
UltimateNYG: Please tell us about your background so that readers can understand more about your expertise in fitness, strength and conditioning (S&C).
Fabri: I am a certified fitness instructor and have been doing this for 20 years. I competed a while back in a Natural Iron Man Weightlifting and Body Building competition and finished in 2nd place. At one point I was squatting 1000 lbs. (Not bad for a woman, Fabri!) Since then I have moved my practice into personal fitness and conditioning.
UltimateNYG: Has weight training and conditioning changed in the last 20 years?
Fabri: Yes, it has. Cross training and flexibility is now a big part of the regimen. Physical movement, exercise and flexibility has to accompany weight training. Muscles are stiffer without cross training.
UltimateNYG: Can you talk more about flexibility?
Fabri: Think of each muscle as a person. You need to scale up their activities gradually, i.e. you can’t just start at 100 mph. So what we do is start with smaller muscles first and work our way up to the bigger muscles. We go through a very organized set of steps to maximize the length of muscles because that is how you gain flexibility.
UltimateNYG: That is interesting. Tell us more about these steps.
Fabri: (1) Warm up (2) Movement to create learning (3) Lengthen small muscles with baby steps, small extensions (4) lengthen large muscles (5) pay particular attention to balancing all of the muscles in the body together so that everything is working together and nothing is getting left behind (6) small weights (7) more lengthening (8) less larger weights.
UltimateNYG: The Denver Broncos noted how they were using more flexibility with their weight training. Does this make sense?
Fabri: That is the right way to do it. It is really important to understand the critical importance of flexibility. Imagine the difference between a long thin rubberband and a shorter/thicker rubberband. Your muscles need to get longer, thinner and more flexible or else they run a much greater risk of being damaged and injured. So by literally lengthening the muscle, it enables the muscle to manage the weight training better. You get stronger and you also are allowing the muscles to handle the load without getting hurt. The longer thinner rubberband is more flexible and less prone to snapping than the shorter wider rubberband. So lengthening the muscles makes them able to withstand more stress. Then when the muscle gets the wieght, it is able to handle the weight without the same risk.
UltimateNYG: So if I am doing proper flexibility and muscle lengthening training as a part of my weightlifting/strengthening, I can significantly reduce my chances for muscle injuries?
Fabri: Absolutely. It is essential.
UltimateNYG: Three NY Giants have had pectoral tears in the last year. They are Walter Thurmond, Robert Ayers and just recently Will Beatty. Are these injuries preventable?
Fabri: Without knowing all of the facts, most likely some or all could have been prevented. In a game condition, there would not be the stress of a huge lift. So what is going on is that there is already a smaller amount of damage before the game and then the particular play just makes the damage worse/apparent. And this plays into the concept of understanding about lengthening the muscles as part of the training, so that they are ready to be stretched and can handle more force (weight).
UltimateNYG: What about Will Beatty, who tore his pectoral muscle on his 2nd rep in the weight room?
Fabri: He probably did not warm up properly. My guess is that he went (lifting) too heavy too fast. In a situation like that, he probably did damage on the first rep and then the second rep was where it became very noticeable. These athletes need to be spending a lot of extra time for warmups. You warm up, stretch, stretch, lift, stretch, stretch, lift.
UltimateNYG: Is it maybe also the old school of macho lifting culture, not spending the necessary time prepping for the lifting?
Fabri: I would not be surprised. Culture is very important. What is the mindset of the entire fitness staff, or in this case the team? They are all connected. Also, the players need to listen to their bodies. If their bodies warn them, do not push it. In the case of Beatty, I suspect (obviously I can’t be sure, as I was not there) that he went past his limit despite his body telling him to back off and not lift too much. That is common in a macho environment.
UltimateNYG: So as I understand it, pectoral, bicep, hamstring, calf, and quad injuries are all preventable?
Fabri: To a large extent, yes. Granted, a miniscule number of these muscular injuries are freakish and unavoidable, but they should be extremely rare if the proper flexibility training is used.
UltimateNYG: What about tendons, ligaments and bones? Does this flexibility and weight training aid and support better health with those parts of the body?
Fabri: Yes, but to a lesser degree. But they certainly do help. The more you properly train your muscles, the more your bones, ligaments and tendons are protected. This is not to imply that you can completely prevent those 3 types of injuries. But doing proper weight and flexibility training will reduce those injuries more than without doing that properly.
UltimateNYG: I want to throw out a quote from a football executive from 2012- “(Denver Strength & Conditioning Coach Luke Richesson) really got out in front of everything, which I’m excited about,” Broncos executive VP John Elway said. “It’s not that old mentality of throwing 300 pounds on the bench. We’re still doing some of that stuff, but not nearly to the extent we used to. He tests players to tell where you are weak and he attacks those areas.” He’s talking about flexibility?
Fabri: Yes. You attack the weak areas and you also continue with everything else together because the entire body is one system. You cannot pay attention to one area and ignore another one.
UltimateNYG: It is interesting you note that. I remember seeing Giants players back in 2009-2010 get hit with hamstring injuries and then some of them had calf problems therafter. And this past year, when Geoff Schwartz came back from a right dislocated toe, his first game he injured his left ankle. Are these things connected?
Fabri: It is certainly possible. I cannot say for certain but yes it could easily be connected. It is possible he was not getting enough balanced training on his left side while rehabbing the right side.
UltimateNYG: Dr. Chao said – “No question certain athletes (like WR Odell Beckham), and quite honestly they’re quick-twitch athletes, are more prone to hamstrings. He certainly is one of those guys. There may not be anything you can do about it to eliminate that risk.” Do you believe that?
Fabri: I reject that. No, I do not believe that all. For example, I am 52, I run 10+ miles virtually everyday before I even begin my daily workout, but I do not do anything before I have done my “Fabri stretches,” and afterwards I stretch out to cool my body down, and I have NEVER had a hamstring injury even when I was playing soccer 5 days a week on top of my workouts. Obviously I do not have Odell Beckham in front of me, but I can guarantee you the NY Giants training staff and Beckham do not have a really good methodology to stretching before and after workouts/cardio. Most athletes do not like the slow, mundane, time-consuming stretching before every session, but it is critical.
Fabri: I reject that contention as well. These injuries are not about luck. Just because a Doctor knows how to repair muscles doesn’t mean he knows about prevention. This is my expertise. I spend every day working with clients to get them to be more flexible, to give them elasticity. The pectoral and bicep injuries can be prevented or at the very least have their incidence reduced significantly. Stretching, particularly with hamstrings, actually strengthens and builds up the hamstring muscles.
UltimateNYG: Here is another quote from Dr. Kyle Flik, an orthopedic surgeon in upstate New York, who said that the type of injuries being suffered by the Giants were “bum luck, honestly” and added that “injury rates will worsen as the game continues to get faster, stronger, etc.” In terms of training methods, Flik said “I don’t believe there is any significant difference among teams with respect to training methods.” Do you believe that?
Fabri: I disagree. Doctors understand anatomy but they do not understand the critical benefits of proper stretching. If all the teams basically trained the same way, why do they need to hire S&C coaches?! And why are some fired and others highly respected? There is always a difference, especially at the highest level. The practice has evolved, with new knowledge and techniques, so how can everyone be doing it the same way? I am almost certain they are not.
UltimateNYG: In the past 6 years, on average, NY Giants football players have lost 45% more starts due to injury than the average NFL team. Considering that is over a 6 year period, what is your reaction to such a statistic?
Fabri: I am shocked. That has to be some kind of training issue. The process has to change. They are not training properly, particularly with regard to the timing, stretching, and cool down period… not to mention developing a continuity and a calendar of how to attack the various parts of the body.
UltimateNYG: So the contention that new high tech methods such as “the GPS system (the Giants) employ to monitor workload, diet in terms of offerings and preparation in the dining hall, and sleep studies” is not the kind of change that you are talking about?
Fabri: Correct. The things we are talking about are flexibility and purposeful lengthening of the muscles as a systematic part of any weight training strength program. Flexibility has little to do with machines or high tech. It is a necessary and vital part of developing strength. Certainly proper nutrition is important. But you need to approach the bodies of these amazing athletes as machines that need exact care and maintenance.
UltimateNYG: Thanks so much for your time, Fabri. Can you tell us about FabriWorld and more about those cool vests?
Fabri: I have developed and patented the PERFECT weight vest for training and increasing stamina & strength without damaging the muscles or skeletal system of the human body. It is ideal for world class athletes as well as “the rest of us.” The Giants should use my FabriVest. They can slowly add actual weight to the vest and by running/training/cardio/lifting while wearing the FabriVest, the players will strengthen their overall core, build stamina, and would see an overall significant improvement to their overall fitness. For anybody interested, please visit my website, www.FabriWorld.com. I think your readers would be amazed and shocked. In addition, my Latin rhythmic Fabricize cardio workouts are ideal for pro football football players as their flexibility and resistance to injuries would be maximized. Proper cardio when used in conjunction with proper weight training is mandatory.
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