Workouts

SIXERS FORWARD Elton Brand spends his summers at his home in the Los Angeles area. He calls it his "vacation spot," though he rarely allows himself to kick back and chill. Brand, who will be 33 in March, knows that the end of his NBA future is like an oncoming wave at the beach - it can't be stopped. He does his best each summer to stall the inevitable - riding his bike for endless hours and miles, swimming lap after lap after lap in the pool and working on his basketball game at a local gym. He wants to squeeze as many seasons as he can out of his body, and that is why the potential of losing this season to a lockout is so bothersome.

The good news for Andrew Bynum and the 76ers is that he incorporated full-speed sprints into his workouts. The bad news is that he was in pain. Bynum spent Saturday and Sunday working out harder than he has at any point during his recovery from bone bruises to both knees and cartilage damage in his left knee. "I got a lot of pain so we backed down a little today," Bynum said. Pain has always accompanied Bynum, who has ramped up his workouts in recent weeks. But on Monday he acknowledged that the pain might be the type that he will simply have to endure if he is going to return.

Eagles quarterback Michael Vick told reporters last week that he is planning to have an organized workout or two with his wide receivers, tight ends, and running backs, possibly as soon as this week. "This time, we can do it our way," Vick said. Well, there is a way to organize a workout, and then there is Mark Sanchez's way, and Vick would be wise to follow Sanchez's blueprint. It is, after all, the gold standard, and as we all know the Eagles are the NFL's gold standard, so nothing less should do. Sanchez recently held a five-day passing camp with 14 of his New York Jets teammates in Southern California, where the quarterback lives in the offseason.

Despite being the subject of trade rumors, Asante Samuel was at the NovaCare Complex for the first day of the Eagles' offseason workout program on Monday. Also in attendance was running back LeSean McCoy, who could be a potential training camp holdout if the Eagles don't extend his rookie contract. Samuel typically spends most of his offseason working out in South Florida. He has skipped a number of the nonmandatory sessions during his previous four seasons with the Eagles. So his presence came as a bit of a surprise.

Here are some things to expect at Eagles camp on Friday: Workouts are closed to fans on Friday, so don't make the trip to Lehigh until Saturday's 8:05 a.m. practice and 2:45 p.m. walk-through. Friday is the first day of two-a-day workouts, but the afternoon practice will be without pads. How will newcomers Dominique Rodgers-Cromartie and Jason Babin take to their new teammates? On www.philly.com : Check out our blog, Birds' Eye View, and a video of Thursday's developments.

Q: Should I exercise for 60 minutes consecutively, or can I get the same results from three 20-minute workouts in a day? - Debra Lee A: Ideally, it would be best to prioritize an hour for your workout and get it done. However, if there's just no other way to do it then, sure, break it up into three sessions or whatever configuration works for you. The good news is the benefits of exercise are cumulative. Bottom line? Just do it!

THE INITIAL BUZZ at the NBA Combine in early June was about Syracuse's Dion Waiters and reports that one team had given him a guarantee that he would be selected in the lottery. Waiters, a Philadelphia native, immediately left the combine and canceled all of his remaining workouts and interviews on the advice of his agent, Rob Pelinka. That only increased the buzz. Speculation focused on Toronto at No. 8, Portland at No. 11 or Phoenix at No. 13. The Raptors immediately denied such a promise existed.

The Soul is holding an open tryout tomorrow at the NovaCare Complex in South Philadelphia. Registration is $80 and doors open at 8 a.m. Workouts begin at 9 a.m. under the supervision of new head coach Doug Plank. Players also can register today only through the team's website ( www.Philadelphia Soul.com) for $60. Three players from last year's tryout - Nyere Aumaitre, Jerome Hayes and Keith Stokes - started games for the Soul in 2011. The workouts will occur on the turf at the Eagles' practice bubble so metal cleats are not permitted.

Little morsels of information have been leaking out of the NovaCare Complex since Chip Kelly held his first practices with the Eagles last month, all of which were closed to the media. Running back LeSean McCoy said the first three-day minicamp felt like a track meet. Tight end Brent Celek said Kelly's method of communication would change the NFL. Wide receiver Jeremy Maclin revealed that Michael Vick was ahead of Nick Foles in the quarterback competition. It's what they in the entertainment business call "a soft opening.

Kentucky Derby winner Orb pleased trainer Shug McGaughey on Thursday with a steady workout on a sloppy track at Belmont Park. "He jogged three-eighths to a half-mile and galloped a mile. I thought everything was good," said McGaughey, whose colt had jogged a mile Wednesday at the track in Elmont, N.Y., in his first workout since his 21/2-length victory at Churchill Downs on Saturday. "The track was still sloppy," he said. "[Exercise rider Jenn Patterson] said he was kind of bucking and playing and jumping the water puddles on the backstretch.

The Eagles are scheduled to host Florida defensive tackle Sharrif Floyd for a pre-draft workout on April 5, an NFL source said. Even though Floyd is considered a local prospect - he graduated from George Washington High - he will count against the Eagles' 30 allotted workouts. NFL teams are given one day before the draft to work out any players that either hail from nearby or attended a college in the vicinity. Floyd is considered a certain top-10 pick and a likely top-five selection.

In his early years as a neurosurgeon, after a long day of operating, Jim Lowe would come home grumpy and irritable. The former running back at Cardinal O'Hara and Harvard was out of shape and overweight and missed the adrenaline rush of competitive sports. One day in the mid-1990s, Lowe saw an ad for an auto racing school in California. He signed up and enjoyed the experience so much that he took the advanced course. Then he learned of the Skip Barber Racing School in Connecticut, which sponsors amateur races at storied tracks across the country.

This is a post by Les Bowen on the Daily News' Eagletarian blog. AT THE MAXWELL Club festivities Friday in Atlantic City, I got in a quick word with Eagles guard Evan Mathis. I asked Mathis what he knows about the blocking system he'll be working in under new offensive-line coach Jeff Stoutland. Mathis said that he knows virtually nothing about it, that he and Stoutland are prohibited from any but the most general discussions right now, at this point in the offseason. It wasn't the first time I'd gotten that response.

The good news for Andrew Bynum and the 76ers is that he incorporated full-speed sprints into his workouts. The bad news is that he was in pain. Bynum spent Saturday and Sunday working out harder than he has at any point during his recovery from bone bruises to both knees and cartilage damage in his left knee. "I got a lot of pain so we backed down a little today," Bynum said. Pain has always accompanied Bynum, who has ramped up his workouts in recent weeks. But on Monday he acknowledged that the pain might be the type that he will simply have to endure if he is going to return.

When Orangetheory Fitness was pitched to me last fall, I was intrigued. I thought it might be a workout program based on my favorite fruit, a citrus-powered way to a better body. Turns out Orangetheory Fitness, which began in Florida, is a new type of high-energy, high-intensity circuit training that aims to burn a large number of calories during and after the session. Orange refers not to the fruit but to an exertion zone equivalent to 85 percent of your maximum heart rate.

The news is half good on 76ers center Andrew Bynum's sore knees, which have kept him from playing this season. Recovering from bone bruises and weakened cartilage in his knees, Bynum reported Monday that his right knee "feels phenomenal. " However, the left knee is still bothering him some, he said. Bynum has not practiced against his teammates but has worked out with the Sixers trainer and coaches. He said that jumping and moving laterally still cause him pain. "Lateral stuff, getting low, it's almost like a range of motion thing" that causes him pain, Bynum said.

1GOOD MUSIC Studies have found that music can enhance your mood and improve your workout. Customize your playlist so you can move and groove to your favorite tunes while getting into shape. 2GOOD EARPHONES The kind that don't fall out of your ears are a must. How can your playlist inspire you if you're always having to stop to rescue your earbuds? Sample a variety of models until you find a perfect fit. 3BEFORE & AFTER GEAR Self-stretching and massage equipment such as straps, balls and foam rollers help you increase flexibility and recover faster from a workout.

Flyers winger Scott Hartnell has a cameo - and some lines - in the recent movie This Is 40 and says working in the film industry is more difficult than he had imagined. "I'll tell you one thing - I have a lot more respect for movie stars and directors and people like that," Hartnell said Wednesday after an informal practice in Voorhees. "We were on the set for 16 hours. It was a really, really long day for the minute or minute and a half we were in the movie. " Hartnell is in a scene with Ian Laperriere, the Flyers' director of player development, and former Flyers James van Riemsdyk and Matt Carle.