Ultimate is tough on the body. Anyone who has played at a competitive level knows that. And if there is one thing I have seen affect teams more than any other, it is injuries. Injuries to individual players hurt the whole team. It can stop the flow of a line that is used to having that player on the field, and it can make an entire team timid to step up to the plate. I have been the recipient of several injuries including two torn hamstrings, a knee surgery, a dislocated shoulder, and several concussions. As a result, I put together a list of guidelines for myself. I keep these in the back of my mind while playing. So far, they have kept me healthy and I gladly share them with everyone else. I hope they help you in your ultimate career, keeping you off the sideline and on the field.

1) Take a break
Ultimate doesn’t really have an off-season. For some of us here in the Midwest our playing time is certainly limited during certain times of the year, but there as usually leagues, and the college season goes right through the bitter cold. For those people that play college and club, they play competitively year round. Any pro athlete will tell you that the body needs rest. This rest is vital to the overall health of your body. It’s okay to cut out the sprints for a few months in the off-season. For those that don’t really have an off-season, take an opportunity early in one of your seasons and allow your body to recover from the beating it just took trying to make it to natties. This doesn’t mean to sit around on the coach and eat frozen pizza everyday. It means jogging instead of sprinting, knock off the plyos, lower your weights, and take it easier on your body.

2) Layout Correctly and Selectively
I have seen many broken bones, injured knees, and much more come from layouts. Some of these bids were perfectly legitimate, but ended in pain. Those are unavoidable. And I am by no means telling people not to bid and play all out. Anyone who has played with me knows that bidding for a disc is my passion, and one of the greatest joys in my life. What I am saying is that there are times to hold back. Here are a few guidelines I use when thinking about laying out:
• DO NOT layout gratuitously. This only puts you in danger, others in danger, and gets you out of position. Get on the mark quicker instead.
• Once you decide to go, go all out. I have hurt myself twice laying out. Both times were because I was timid in the air. The more you throw your chest out and get your legs back the better off you will be.
• Good form is essential. If you don’t know it, ask questions until you get it. (I also have a whole article that will walk you through the steps a proper layout called, What to know about Bidding in Ultimate).
• Practice having your body on the ground. A good exercise is to roll on the ground (log roll, forward roll, back roll), after a few rolls get into a squatching position, and layout from this position. You can also have a partner stand about ten yards in front of you, and have him throw the disc side to side. Layout for the disc from a squatting position.
• NEVER EVER EVER LAYOUT INDOORS. I have done it, I have seen people do it, it always ends badly. Nothing important ever happens in ultimate that is indoors.
• I rate tournaments from 6-10. This gauge is a good way for me to mentally prepare myself for how aggressive to be while I am on the field. A 6 is a mess around and have fun tournament. Ten is the most aggressive I can be at competitive club tournaments. By doing this I stop myself from destroying my body at tournaments that don’t really matter. Have fun at the tournaments you should be having fun at, save the intensity for when it’s needed.

3) Do yoga
Or at least some type of quality stretching. I do yoga on and off. When I do it three times a week for over a month, my general health improves, my speed increases, as well as my vertical. I prefer to use DVDs—I recommend Rodney Yee, you can get his videos from gaiam.com—or almost every college rec center offers a yoga course—which is a great place to meet girls. If you just can’t get into the yoga thing, stretch in the morning or before bed for 20-30 minutes. It will not only make your body feel great, but it will elongate your muscles preventing pulls and strains, and it will strengthen your ligaments and tendons preventing tears.

4) Get the big picture
Think for just a moment about how long you want your ultimate career to last. After my fourth injury I asked myself this same question and my answer, “I don’t ever want to stop.” I knew that if I wanted to play into my 50s I would have to come up with a way to take care of my body while playing this sport. So far, these guidelines have provided me with a way of doing that while keeping the level of intensity that I love to play at. These rules have given me more discipline while training for tournaments, and better decision making while on the field, I hope they can do the same for you.

Ultimate Love,
Steve (Big Sexy) Meyer