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Coolibar Athletes Rich Early

Age, Opposing Team – But Not Sun – Are My Biggest Adversaries

Rich Early - Coolibar 2014 Sponsored Athlete

By Rich Early, 2014 Coolibar Sponsored Athlete

I play for a Senior Softball age 65 tournament team that travels throughout Oregon and Washington, and will also play in Reno, Nevada and St. George, Utah this year. To play competitive tournament softball I work out at home five days a week at 6 am. I may not be the fastest player on the circuit but I work out hard in order to at least be in the conversation.

Working out at home has several advantages besides not having to go out into the cold and drive 10-15 minutes to a gym. Not having to share equipment and deal with distractions is a plus.

I primarily do multi-jointed exercises for a full body workout which I perform using a three-day rotation. This rotation consists of chest on day one, back on day two, and shoulders on day three. I do three sets of two exercises for these muscle groups along with core work and lower body exercises. On the next three-day rotation I select different exercises to perform for each muscle group, along with changing core and lower body exercises. I rotate between strength days and endurance days by altering the weight and the repetitions. Using the three-day rotating system Monday through Friday creates different days during the week I perform the exercise. It’s not as complicated as it sounds and I’ve found it eliminates boredom and training ruts.

The home gym workouts also allow me to get the most out of practice on the ball field. Since we are able to use a synthetic turf field, we are out two days a week for hitting and fielding practice as long as it’s not too rainy or cold. At this time I am able to work on increasing running speed and strengthening my throwing arm. At our age we have to keep working on our abilities to hold off their decline.

Even on the cloudy and rainy days at practice I have to be aware of UV exposure and make sure that I’m protecting myself. When the sun is out in its glory I have to cover up as much as I can to block out the UV rays.

Before I discovered Coolibar clothing I envisioned I would burn up and explode like a vampire if the sun touched me. Ok, a little exaggerated, but that is how I felt.

Now with the Coolibar Sun Gaiter, the ZnO Long-Sleeve shirt or the new Cool Long-Sleeve Fitness Shirt I’m covered up and confident in my sun protection. I have to admit that I was self-conscious the first time I wore the gaiter to cover my entire head, neck and ears. It was short-lived, after playing a weekend of softball and not having any of the problems that come with too much sun exposure. It may sound silly but now I want the other players and fans to notice me wearing Coolibar sun protection. It makes me want to play better!

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