Functional Path Training

Make It Simple

Anyone can make things complicated; the genius lies in making things simple. In designing and implementing a training program nothing could be truer. I have said many times in this blog – simplicity yields complexity. The body is smart. It has the ability to take simple basic movements and turn them into magical patterns of coordinated skills. Master the basics; the simple and the complex will follow. Put the body into position to pull, push, squat, rotate, brace, extent and bend. Then give it movement problems to solve, provide the abilities to solve the movement problems and you will an adaptable athlete prepared to thrive in the competitive environment.

Strength Training Considerations - Basics & Beyond Part One

What do you hope to achieve with a strength training program? What are your goals? What sport are you preparing for? A tennis player should have a different program than a football player. Conversely within a sport like football a quarterback should have a different program than a lineman. What kind of resistance do you have to overcome? Is added muscle mass needed for armor and protection? Or do you just need to overcome bodyweight and gravity? These are all important considerations. One program is not suitable for all sports and all athletes. A sound strength training program should be based on principles. How the principles are applied gives detail to specific programs. It is important to understand how programs differ based on the objectives. It is possible for the exercises to potentially be the same, but manipulation of sets/reps and rest and load can significantly change the training effect.

As a step toward designing the optimum program ask the following questions:

         What are strength requirements of the sport?

         What muscle groups are used in the sport?

         What are the movement requirements?

         What is direction of the application of force?

         What is the range of movement?

         What are the common injuries in the sport?

Once you have answered those questions then consider the qualities of the individual athlete. Carefully consider growth and development factors. Has the athlete gone through puberty? Biological and chronological age are often quite different. Is the athlete an early or a late developer? Cognitive and emotional development should also be considered, as they are quite important in the ability to learn exercises and routines as well as accept coaching. Also consider genetic endowment that does not demand a DNA test, just look at the rest of the family. This will help the athlete be realistic in their goals.

There is no doubt that the pre-pubescent athlete can weight train. Research and practical experience has shown no ill effects from weight training, however my bias is to avoid any heavy loading of the spine until after puberty. To avoid this I limit the amount of overhead work that the young athlete does and put the emphasis on body weight exercises. This will serve as excellent preparation to safely more forward on the strength continuum after puberty. It is important not to lose sight of the big picture. There must be some thought and consideration given to the athletic lifespan progression. As the athlete matures and increases in training age the amount of work done with external load will gradually increase.

Gender is an important consideration in the timing of beginning a strength training program. Despite certain societal myths that still prevail strength training may be more important for the female athlete than the male. The female athlete has a lesser percentage of their total body mass as muscle. The female matures earlier than the male athlete therefore it is important to begin strength training earlier. It is imperative that the female athletes begin strength training earlier and continue strength training throughout the training year and the career. It has been my observation (not supported by research) that the female athlete who begins a sound well rounded strength training program before puberty tends to be leaner after puberty.

From a coaching and teaching perspective it is important to take into consideration the ability to manage the program. Can you teach the exercises and supervise them properly to insure safety as well as proper training. Consider the “weight room without walls” concept where strength training is integrated within the confines of the actual practice session in the same venue as the practice. This is accomplished using the natural environment, bodyweight exercises, dumbbells, medicine balls and stretch cord. This may seem like a compromise, but can very effective in sports that do not require external resistance like soccer, tennis and swimming.

Posture - Part Two

There is a trend today to identify muscular imbalances in static positions and seek to correct them. Once again these supposed “imbalances” are measured statically. What happens to these “imbalances” when the athlete is asked to move? We must remember that the body is fundamentally asymmetric. It is unrealistic to think of muscular balance right to left or front to back. The body is just not designed that way. We must think of proportionality rather than symmetric muscle balance. From a historical perspective it is valuable to see where the idea of posture as a static quality originated. Just as in muscle function, it was derived from studies of cadavers. As we are well aware, cadavers don’t move, but that did not seem to bother those people who were looking for a “normal standard” to measure against. We need to get away from the concept of the “ideal posture” and think in terms of individual needs and adaptations. “… the postural pattern is that of many small parts moving definite distances in space, in a scheme perfectly timed, and with the exact amount of effort necessary to support the individual weights and to cover the time-space movement. These delicate, accurate and intricate regulations are made in the substrata, below the ‘threshold of consciousness.’ Through such adjustment man preserves his unity and copes with his world.” (Todd, page 22) That was written over eighty years ago! Mabel Todd did not have the benefit of the sophisticated evaluation methods we have today, she had to rely on a feeling for movement in the context of the desired outcome of the activity.

Basically, posture allows the body to maintain normal length – tension relationships of the muscles relative to the activity being performed. The test of good dynamic posture should be easy transition to the next posture. Each posture in movement is a momentary alignment of body segments. Successful movement is determined by the ease of movement into the next posture. Unfortunately much of the visual imagery in athletic movements is derived by still photos of static positions. This reinforces the mistaken notion of posture as a still position. Therefore when we assess posture and subsequently train posture it should be in motion, not in stillness. Static postural measurements are a non-functional baseline. It can potentially red flag things to look for, but I have found over the years that static posture has very little relationship to movement unless there is some clearly evident pathology or deformity. Once the athlete begins to move, especially in their chosen skill pattern, everything seems to smooth out and even up. If it does not smooth out, if there are breaks in the movement, a lack of rhythm, then there is a problem. It is also important to point out that posture is highly dependent on strength, flexibility, balance, and fundamental movement skills. Any deficiencies will result in compensations. Great athletes are very good compensators, that is why you see them get away with some of the movements they do and avoid injury. Sometimes the athlete can overcome and succeed in spite of compensation, at times the compensations can come back to haunt you, especially as the athlete gets older or in a fatigued state. A good sound strength training program coupled with an individualized flexibility routine can go a long way toward correcting any postural deviations that could interfere with efficient movement.

The strength training programs that enhance a good functional posture incorporate multi-joint and multi - plane movements that put the body into positions that will enhance its ability withstand the force of gravity and meet the strength needs of the sport. A good distribution of pulling, pushing, and squatting movements will accomplish this task. The body must be put in positions that force it to work against gravity in postures similar to the sport. Therefore an overemphasis on work in a supine and prone position will not transfer to dynamic postural improvement. Obviously work on the anti gravity muscles are a key element of any sound strength training program. Although in many cases this work is quite transparent because it is accomplished in the context of total body large amplitude movements. It is very easy to see the results of improper strength training on the body and its effect on posture. A common error is overemphasis on the bench press which causes in a round shouldered posture. This round shouldered posture is caused by tight pectorals which coupled with upper back weakness leads to shoulder problems. In the lower extremity an overemphasis on quad work can have many negative connotations. The glutes and hamstrings are more important in many ways, but tend to be neglected because they can’t be seen in the mirror. Basically proportional muscular development is rewarded. That is achieved by focusing on movements, not individual muscles. For movement to be efficient, muscles must be recruited in patterns that allow for optimum firing frequency and patterns as demanded by the activity.

Because the core is so important in postural integrity and transition through the various postures it must be trained daily. It should be incorporated as part of warm-up to wake up the core muscles. It should have a distinct module within the actual workout itself and it also can addressed as part of cooldown. The majority of core work should be done standing and moving to enhance the transfer to postural improvement and activate the muscles of the core as they are used in movement,

Tight muscles can contribute to poor dynamic posture, therefore a sound program of functional flexibility that addresses the target muscles must be part of the athlete’s daily routine. Starting from the ground up stretch the gastroc/sloeus group, if this group of muscles is tight this will lead to the inability to properly reduce and produce into the ground. The psoas must be stretched daily, a shortening of the psoas will have a profound negative effect on the ability to go through the postures necessary to perform. The lats as the connecter of the hip, to the shoulder must be stretched and the pectorals must be stretched.

Training to enhance dynamic posture is all of this is part of a sound well rounded athletic development program. Dynamic posture is a major contributing factor to athletic performance so it must be considered daily in training. The actual work to improve posture is quite transparent, it is an integral part of the overall training program. Remember we are training to move, not to stand still.

References

Logan, Gene A. and McKinney, Wayne C. Kinesiology.  Wm. C. Brown Company Publishers. 1970

Todd, Mabel E. The Thinking Body. Princeton Book Company Publishers. Highston, NJ. 1937

Posture – Part One

From a functional perspective posture is dynamic because movement consists of a series of postures. The only time posture is still or posed is in a photograph. As far as I am concerned posture is the ability to move through a multitude of positions with control to be able to reduce and produce force as needed or required by the sport.

Many of us have less than fond childhood memories of being told to sit up straight or to stand tall, don’t slouch. Those childhood memories/ experiences only serve to reinforce the concept of posture as a still and stiff position. Many of us have had our “posture” assessed standing in front of a posture grid. This is further reinforcement of posture as a static quality. Profound conclusions are often deduced from these static posture grid analyses. Some of which are correct and many of which are erroneous. Posture grids and static analysis of posture are easy to administer and convenient to interpret but often have little or no carryover to movement. Remember just because something is convenient does not make it right. It certainly is simpler to have the athlete stand still, but performance is not a static position in one posture, but an endless series of postures. Perhaps the most important aspect of posture is the transition from one posture to another. That demands that you train to observe key points in movement. To be able to do that effectively you must know the athlete and understand the demands of their sport. Seeking to identify and correct imbalance as indicated by static positions is a futile effort. It is very possible that the imbalance will be corrected, but there will be no change in performance. Often when one imbalance is corrected another will appear some where else. Remember posture is highly adaptative and adaptable to the demands of the activity. The longer an athlete pursues a particular activity the more the posture will adapt the activity.

If assessing posture statically is not the best way then what is the best way to assess posture? The most preferable way is in motion using a combination of the naked eye and video. The analysis must be done in the context of the goal of the movement. Observe the flow and pattern of movement; do not try to pick out small defects. Chances are if there a flow and smoothness to the movement then everything is acceptable, even if a defect was detected in a static position.

Optimum posture is an outcome, not a specific performance objective. What does good posture do? It allows optimum ability to reduce and produce force. For example the optimum posture for acceleration is the triple extension of ankle, knee, and hip. This posture will allow the body to exert force back against the ground to propel the body forward. Posture is closely related to functional strength and motor control in regard to recruitment of muscles to produce efficient movement along the kinetic chain. Using strength training to improve posture demands multi plane work coupled with high proprioceptive demand.

In terms of execution of motor skills, dynamic posture is a vital cog in the process. Dynamic postural alignment and subsequent dynamic muscle balance are the basis for all training. Posture is a dynamic quality; it is not static! It is certainly not a posed still position standing in front of a posture grid. Posture is highly individual to each person’s body structure and highly adapted to the sport activity the athlete is engaged in. According to Logan and McKinney, “The mature athlete tends to have a posture which is related to his particular sport if he has trained for years to become expert at his specific position or event. The reason for this phenomenon is the fact that the body tends to adjust or adapt to the various stresses or demands imposed upon it as a result of prolonged muscular activity.” (Logan and McKinney, page 149)

Posture is a dynamic controlling quality. It is helpful to think of athletic movement not as one posture, but as a series of postures. Optimal dynamic alignment of the segments of the kinetic chain throughout movement yield coordinated movement. If one segment or link in the kinetic chain is out of sync, this sets up the potential for performance error as well as a predisposition to injury if the movement is repeated enough. One of the main functions of the muscles of the body is to maintain an upright position. Maintenance of this position requires significant integrated activity of the large muscle groups of the body. Logan and McKinney have termed the muscles that are most active in resisting the force of gravity the anti-gravity muscles. They go so far as to state “the antigravity muscles are the most important muscle groups which make possible the maintenance of body postures in sport, exercise, and dance situation.” (Logan and McKinney, page 150.) The four muscle groups that are the primary antigravity muscle groups are : the gastroc soleus group, the quadriceps group, and the erector spinae group. When the body is upright, as is the case in most over ground sport activities, the antigravity muscle groups work in conjunction with other muscle groups to maintain upright posture. These muscles act on information from three major sensory systems in the body: the proprioceptive, vestibular and visual systems.

Therefore movements that work these muscles must be given prime consideration in a conditioning program. We must understand gravity’s effect on the body and the bodies interaction with the ground, gravity is essentially trying to smash us into the ground when we are just standing still, add to this the complexity of running, jumping or throwing, and it is easy to see how important these antigravity muscles are in determining successful postures for performance. The core muscles play a major role in dynamic posture because the large muscles of the core also act as “anti-gravity” muscles that give the body structural integrity to allow the limbs to position and reposition according to the demands of the activity.

Posture, Alignment and Symmetry

Posture is highly individual to each person’s body structure and highly adapted to the sport activity the athlete is engaged in. According to Logan and McKinney, “The mature athlete tends to have a posture which is related to his particular sport if he has trained for years to become expert at his specific position or event. The reason for this phenomenon is the fact that the body tends to adjust or adapt to the various stresses or demands imposed upon it as a result of prolonged muscular activity.” (Logan and McKinney, page 149)

It is helpful to think of athletic movement not as one posture, but as a series of postures. Optimal dynamic alignment of the segments of the kinetic chain throughout movement yield coordinated movement. If one segment or link in the kinetic chain is out of sync, this sets up the potential for performance error as well as a predisposition to injury if the movement is repeated enough. Logan and McKinney have termed the muscles that are most active in resisting the force of gravity the anti-gravity muscles: “the antigravity muscles are the most important muscle groups which make possible the maintenance of body postures in sport, exercise, and dance situation.” (Logan and McKinney, page 150.) The primary antigravity muscle groups are : the gastroc soleus group, the quadriceps group, and the erector spinae group. When the body is upright, as is the case in most over ground sport activities, the antigravity muscle groups work in conjunction with other muscle groups to maintain upright posture. These muscles act on information from three major sensory systems in the body: the proprioceptive, vestibular and visual systems.

Movements that train these muscles must be given prime consideration in a conditioning program. Gravity is essentially trying to smash us into the ground when we are just standing still, add to this the complexity of running, jumping or throwing, and it is easy to see how important these antigravity muscles are in determining successful postures for performance. The core muscles play a major role in dynamic posture because the large muscles of the core also act as “anti-gravity” muscles that give the body structural integrity to allow the limbs to position and reposition according to the demands of the activity.

There is a trend today to identify muscular imbalances in static positions and seek to correct them. The key is what happens to these “imbalances” when the athlete is asked to move? We must remember that the body is fundamentally asymmetric. It is unrealistic to think of muscular balance right to left or front to back. The body is just not designed that way. We must think of proportionality rather than symmetric muscle balance. From a historical perspective it is valuable to see where the idea of posture as a static quality originated. Just as in classical muscle function, it was derived from studies of cadavers in the so-called “anatomical position.”  Cadavers generally don’t move, but that did not seem to bother those people who were looking for a “normal standard” to measure against. We need to get away from the concept of the “ideal posture” and think in terms of individual needs and adaptations. “… the postural pattern is that of many small parts moving definite distances in space, in a scheme perfectly timed, and with the exact amount of effort necessary to support the individual weights and to cover the time-space movement. These delicate, accurate and intricate regulations are made in the substrata, below the ‘threshold of consciousness.’ Through such adjustment man preserves his unity and copes with his world.” (Todd, page 22) That was written over eighty years ago! Mabel Todd did not have the benefit of the sophisticated evaluation methods we have today, she was a dance teacher had to rely on a feeling for movement in the context of the desired outcome of the activity.

Basically, posture allows the body to maintain normal length – tension relationships of the muscles relative to the activity. Each posture in movement is a momentary alignment of body segments. Successful movement is determined by the ease of movement into the next posture. Therefore when we assess and subsequently train posture it should be in motion, not in stillness. Static postural measurements are non-functional baselines that can potentially red flag things to look for. But I have found that static posture has very little relationship to movement unless there is some obvious pathology or deformity. Once the athlete begins to move, especially in their chosen skill pattern, everything smoothes out and evens up. If it does not smooth out, if there are breaks in the movement, a lack of rhythm, then there is a problem.

It is also important to point out that posture is highly dependent on strength, flexibility, balance, and fundamental movement skills. Any deficiencies will result in compensations. Great athletes are great compensators, they have adapted and learned over the years, that is why you see them get away with some of the movements they do and avoid injury. Sometimes the athlete can overcome and succeed in spite of compensation, at times the compensations can come back to haunt you, especially as the athlete gets older or in a fatigued state.

 A good sound strength training program coupled with an individualized flexibility routine can go a long way toward correcting any postural deviations that could interfere with efficient movement. Strength training programs that enhance good functional posture incorporate multi-joint and multi - plane movements that put the body into positions that will enhance its ability to withstand the force of gravity and meet the strength needs of the sport. A distribution of pulling, pushing, and squatting movements will accomplish this task. The body must be put in positions that force it to work against gravity in postures similar to the sport. An overemphasis on work in a supine and prone position will not transfer to dynamic postural improvement. Work on the anti gravity muscles are a key element of any sound strength training program. Although in many cases this work is quite transparent because it is accomplished in the context of total body large amplitude movements. Basically proportional muscular development is rewarded. That is achieved by focusing on movements, not individual muscles. For movement to be efficient muscles must be recruited in patterns that allow for optimum firing frequency and patterns as demanded by the activity.

Because the core is so important in postural integrity and transition through the various postures it must be trained daily. It should be incorporated as part of warm-up to wake up the core muscles. It should have a distinct module within the actual workout itself and it also can addressed as part of cooldown. The majority of core work should be done standing and moving to enhance the transfer to postural improvement and activate the muscles of the core as they are used in movement,

Tight muscles can contribute to poor dynamic posture; therefore a sound program of functional flexibility that addresses the target muscles must be part of the athlete’s daily routine. Starting from the ground up stretch the gastroc/sloeus group, if this group of muscles is tight this will lead to the inability to properly reduce and produce into the ground. The psoas must be stretched daily, a shortening of the psoas will have a profound negative effect on the ability to go through the postures necessary to perform. The lats as the connecter of the hip, to the shoulder must be stretched and the pectorals must be stretched.

Training to enhance dynamic posture is all of this is part of a sound well-rounded athletic development program. Dynamic posture is a major contributing factor to athletic performance so it must be considered daily in training. The actual work to improve posture is quite transparent, it is an integral part of the overall training program. Remember we are training to move, not to stand still.

Logan, Gene A. and McKinney, Wayne C. Kinesiology.  Wm. C. Brown Company Publishers. 1970

Todd, Mabel E. The Thinking Body. Princeton Book Company Publishers. Highston, NJ. 1937

Some Basic (Mostly Obvious) Questions

I received this email the other day. I believe this sums many of the issues we face in athletic development today:

"I recently attended a sports specific conference not a personal trainer type of one. Left disappointed. Conference presenters and attendees were primarily college and professional coaches not personal trainers. But, I ended up getting two days of hearing that bilateral squatting is bad for the back and that step ups cause knee pain (presenter), "we have everyone power clean" (presenter and attendees), we use the FMS (presenter and MANY attendees) and one presenter, in particular, was worshipped by many. I left disappointed. I felt like I just attended a personal trainer type conference! One attendee when asked what is the first thing he does with a new athlete said "I take them through the FMS." We also got to go through stations standing on BOSU balls, foam rolling, using the Core X, using some type of TRX band, etc. It was basically a personal trainer/boot camp circuit. Waste of time to me.”

There are so many obvious questions that no one seems willing to ask. Maybe they are not so obvious. It seems we have arrived at a total monkey see, monkey do stage in the athletic development profession. If one guru says something then everyone is like a bunch of bobble head dolls quickly nodding their heads in affirmation without even stopping to think or question.

These are my questions based on what I am seeing and hearing. Here goes:

Why does everyone have to power clean? Aren’t there any viable alternatives?

Why not back squat?

With more emphasis on so-called “corrective exercise” why do we have more injuries than ever before?

Why movement prep what is wrong with warm-up?

What does the functional movement screen really tell you?

Is the body fundamentally symmetric?

I ask these questions not to be provocative or argumentative but to get legitimate answers, not the party line answers and platitudes. Why are you doing what you are doing? Are you doing it because it is what everyone else is doing? Is what you are doing best for your athletes? Does it fit the sport demands and the athlete’s level of development and training age? Folks there are years of experience by many people, not just myself, that lead to this questions. All you young coaches out there take a step back, look in mirror and ask yourself  - Why? Ask yourself where is this information coming from? What are they trying to sell? Does it really work or are you doing it because some "expert" told you it would work. Think critically don’t just change the flavor of the Kool-Aid or buy the next DVD.

ACL Tears in Female Athletes - The Problem & Some Solutions

This article http://nyti.ms/hUy9pi and some of the information (misinformation) in article in Sunday New York Times sports page is disturbing. The topic of the female athlete and ACL injuries is complex and sometimes controversial. It is a real problem and a crisis given the economic and human cost.

Let’s look at a couple of the points of emphasis in the article and then I will look a bit more globally and offer some solutions.

The following is often offered up as a solution to prevent ACL injuries: “bend at the hips and knees to softly absorb the load, keeping their knees behind the toes, striking the ground toe to heel.” Watch a game or practice you will see it is impossible to keep the knees behind the toes and still play the game. You may do it a completely controlled artificial environment, but in the real world at game speed the knee will go where it has to go. It will go into extreme valgus and varus positions. The knee will go way out beyond the toe. The key is that the knee goes where it needs to go with control. As far as foot strike, it is completely dictated by the movement requirement, landing from a rebound could be a different foot strike than on planting and cutting. This strategy will robotize the player by taking instinctual and reflexive movements and making them cognitive, conscious and mechanical. In my opinions (I emphasize it is my opinion) we may actually be predisposing the athlete to injury with these types of prevention programs. It is certainly not time well spent.

Here is another solution from the article: “The knee should be in a neutral position; ideally, … said, the center of the kneecap should be aligned with the second toe.” Neutral is a position the knee passes through in a millisecond. In an artificial controlled environment you may be able to align the kneecap with the second toe, but it won’t happen at the speed you must play in order to be able to execute jumps, stops, starts and turns. It is a dynamic, ballistic environment that is not sterile and controlled. Once again the result will be robotic movement.

The information in both quotes represents what is thought to be cutting edge research, but it does not represent what must be done in the real world in the competitive arena. These types of so-called prevention programs and strategies are fundamentally unsound. If in doubt my rule of thumb is to go back to common sense. If these strategies worked then why aren’t they preventing ACL tears? Everyone is doing some variation of these programs; in some cases devoting up to thirty minutes a day to them, still the rate of ACL tears has not dropped, if anything it has increased.

It begs a simple question: Do these players have the physical competencies and fundamental movement skills necessary to compete? We know they have the basketball, soccer, or specific sport skill, but do they have the underlining physical competencies and movement skills to give them a fair change to avoid injury? Part of the solution is quite simple – identify and assess the physical competencies. Then train those competencies in parallel to the sport skill. The dark hole is what is being done in the off-season, preseason and in- season in regard to strength training. In many situations strength training is only done in the off-season, reduced in pre-season and almost nonexistent in-season.

For the female athlete a commitment to year around strength training is a requirement, not an option. It must continue in-season through the championship season. Unlike her male counterpoint that has a great percentage of muscle mass and higher testosterone levels, the female cannot afford to take off from strength training. Obviously the greatest investment should be on leg strength. The great majority of ACL tears are noncontact and in most of those cases they are a deceleration injuries (As are ankle sprains). It stands to reason then that we should focus on training the decelerators. Stop focusing on the knee and think kinetic chain, emphasize the linkage of ankle, knee, hip and the trunk. The knee is stuck in the middle; it is at the mercy of the joints above and below.

The sports that put the knee at greatest risk are sports that require quick starts, stops and changes of direction off one leg onto the other leg. This  dictates that the training emphasize work on one-leg and reciprocal movements. The single leg squat is the cornerstone (True single leg squat, not some of the permutations labeled as such), lunges in all planes and step-ups at various heights. Double leg squats are important, starting with bodyweight and progressing to appropriate loads based on developmental level and sport demands.

Dynamic balance should be part of daily warm-up, as should a mini band routine to work the intrinsic muscles of the hip. Once a foundation of leg strength is established then progressively add agility work that starts with known programmed movements and progresses to random chaotic movements. Incorporate jump rope as a means to teach good coordination and foot strike. Progress to multi dimensional jumps and hops.

The clincher here is that this must be systematically addressed in the female athlete starting just before puberty. Think of it as preparation to play the game that runs parallel to skill development. In most cases it should slightly precede skill development. The two must go hand in glove, not either or. The functionally strong young female athlete will be more receptive to skill learning and be better able to apply the skills to the game. TRAIN TO PLAY, DON”T PLAY TO TRAIN!

Select movements that link and connect the ankle/knee and hip as a functional unit to reduce and produce force. Include exercises that have a high proprioceptive demand. Above all train on your feet! A simple rule of thumb, if you lying prone or supine or seated you are not preparing to attenuate the ground reaction forces that are demanded in the game. You must train with you feet on the ground to effectively learn to shock absorb and use the ground.

Don’t say it can’t be done, it can. It takes organization, focus and commitment. You don’t need a lot of equipment or huge time blocks. You need to be consistent and relentless. Training can be done anywhere; it can be on the field or on the court if necessary. Apply the  “weight room without walls” concept. Make it challenging mentally and physically to prepare for the stress of competition. The bottom line is that to prevent ACL tears you must train the body for the rigors of competition. The prevention program should be a transparent component of training.

It’s That Time of Year – Making Numbers Lie!

The NFL Combine is going on now. I have mixed feeling about this spectacle. Most of them border on deep cynicism and skepticism. This event has now taken on a life of it’s own, it is another part of the “roman circus” spectacle of the NFL. It is just a marketing event. I was channel surfing last night and came upon the NFL network coverage of the combine. A scout was showing the players the start of the Forty, explaining the timing procedure. The statement that blew me away was: “ the watch starts on first movement”, the first movement of what? Give me a break, this is 2011, why not use a touch pad to start and truly time electronically? (They use sensors at ten yards, twenty yards and the finish to time what they consider “electronic") I think I know why, it is because electronic timing is considered “slower.” Yes it is, because it is accurate, you take out the subjectivity, inter tester reliability is no longer a factor. There is no subjective judgment of what first movement is, it is cut and dried, the times are accurate. This why I call it the CONbine. If you watch some of the position drills, it is borderline ridiculous. Any resemblance to what happens in the game is pure coincidence. It is a big con job and I am not sure who is being coned.

I have my ideas that I have shared at various times, some are quite old school and some are high tech. The key is to have a system for evaluation where any measures made are precise, accurate and meaningful in the context of the game. Anytime electronic timing can be used, it should be used, that eliminates bias and human error. There are very good systems available to accurately time and measure all the combine tests that are currently used. When I was playing in college at Fresno State circa 1966 I distinctly remember the Dallas Cowboys scout coming to test some of our players. The scout had a Dekan timer that was activated by a touch pad. They timed electronically in the 60’s and we are fooling ourselves in the new millennium! The Cowboys found athletes and made them players. They had a plan and system and they knew what they were looking for.

If you want to do it right and truly evaluate the player’s ability to play football, their aptitude for learning, their injury history, the whole nine yards, it can be done. You would need to challenge conventional wisdom and take a close look at the game. If anyone is interested, my consulting services are available. I am not into guarantees, but I do know if you listen and implement the concepts I have developed you will find football athletes who will have a chance to be injury free and adaptable. It demands getting far out of the comfort zone of accepted perfromance measures. I know, we did it in baseball over twenty years ago. Look at the 1988-90 CWS MLB draft and you will see the results. After you draft them you must have a program that will make them better, that is another story for another day.

Medical Model versus Performance Model

Medical model or perfromance model? What’s the difference? Is there a difference? Does it matter? There is a huge difference. The medical model has gained a strong foothold in North America over the last 15 years. It is a vertically integrated structure driven by doctors and usually administered by an ATC or sometimes a physical therapist. There are silos, where narrow specialization is encouraged. Leadership is this model is by command. Everything is over diagnosed. If the player has a hangnail, an MRI is ordered. Of course if you look hard enough for injuries or dysfunctions then surely you will find them. In the medical model it is almost as if people are going out of their way to justify their existence. The S&C coaches are low on the food chain. They are given strict guidelines as to what they may and may not do in regard to training the athletes, even down to being told to include specific exercises and exclude others. They have little input in prevention programs, those are dictated to them from the medical side. There is an emphasis on corrective exercise to the exclusion of training. Much of what is done is protocol driven. They have little or no input in rehabilitation and returning the athlete to the sport after injury. The emphasis here is on what can’t be done, limitations, exclusion and panic reactions.

The performance model is just that, it is a model driven by performance. The focus is on what the athlete can do, on training and preparation for the game. It is a model that is proactive, based on abilities not disabilities, it takes into consideration the big picture connections and provides a broad spectrum of care. The performance director is crucial. That person needs to have great communication skills, and be a consummate generalist in order to connect all elements that comprise performance. The performance director coordinates and facilitates in a horizontal structure where everyone has clear roles and responsibilities but is encouraged to interact with others outside their area of expertise. Everything is criteria based, with baselines established through a specific physical competency assessment that fits the sport. The premium is on cooperation and communication. It is clearly coach driven. It is a model that is robust and dynamic based on accountability for performance of the player in competitive arena. The team is designed to optimize performance, injury prevention is transparent, but a stated objective. If there is an injury the whole team is involved in the process of returning the athlete to full participation from day one.

It does matter which model you choose. Look at where we are in the US. We have adopted the medical model and injuries are off the chart. The medical model results in everyone walking on eggshells, waiting for the next injury to happen and then pointing fingers to place blame when injuries do occur. We need to take a close look at the whole structure. I have a strong bias toward the performance model. I have seen it work. It optimizes the athlete’s abilities and significantly reduces injuries. It empowers everyone in the performance team because they all have a voice and a role in what occurs. It is not a power grab or who is in control; rather it is about producing results. Performance depends on a viable  functional team behind the team with everyone on the same page. Bottom line that is what the performance model is all about.

Flexibility & Performance

Flexibility is an important quality that must be trained daily. Flexibility is often a limiting factor inhibiting other qualities. Here are two references on stretching and warm-up that I have found informative:

The Effects of Stretching on Strength Performance. Rubini, Ercole C; Costa, André L L; Gomes, Paulo S C. Sports Medicine. 37(3):213-224, 2007.

Warm-Up and Stretching in the Prevention of Muscular Injury. Shrier, Ian. Sports Medicine. 38(10):879, October 1, 2008.

Some thoughts on flexibility, it’s place in warm-up and it's role in athletic performance