Functional Path Training

LSD

Long slow distance was a term coined to describe running at a steady pace to develop the aerobic base. Unfortunately as it evolved the emphasis was on SLOW. This is a huge mistake. The result was proficiency at running slow for a prolonged period. This has little carryover to racing, remember the goal of training is to prepare to race. The emphasis in this method should be on long steady distance. Select a degree of effort that allows the runner to run a steady effort for the duration of the distance with good running mechanics. This type of training needs to be a means to an end. Unfortunately for many runners it has become an end to itself.

Thoughts on recovery - Part Four

There are some simple basic guidelines for restoration depending on the timing in relation to the workout. Within the workout, allow adequate rest between exercises and the various types of work based on the type of work. This rest should preferably be active in nature. A major recovery consideration intra workout is proper nutrition. During the workout this should consist of fluid replacement and carbohydrate replacement, preferably combined. Shaking and self-massage can be effective recovery tools between exercises in a workout. Between am and pm workouts it is important to apply recovery methods immediately at the conclusion of the first workout. Between days employ the recovery methods 6 –9 hours after the workout or competition.  If the workout or competition finishes late then start the recovery procedures in the morning after rising. 

Recovery and restoration is as much a part of the training process as the training itself. The recovery must be part of the training plan from the earliest stages of development. Recovery must be taught by making the athlete more aware of reading their body and understanding how they adapt to training. It is quite a personal process that the athlete must take ownership of in order to insure progressive adaptation. Without recovery the adaptation to training cannot take place.

Thoughts on Recovery - Part Three

The key to management of the recovery process is a sound system of monitoring training to accurately assess the stress of training. Monitoring is analogous a compass that keeps training on the correct path.  It occurs on several levels, all of which are important.  The simplest level is just recording the results of the workout.  This is a dual responsibility – for the coach and the athlete. It is not an option, it is essential!  Monitoring does not always provide immediate feedback; it takes time for patterns to emerge, so be patient. 

In training there is an immediate residual and cumulative training effect, the ultimate goal of training in the long-term adaptation or the cumulative training effect.  Monitor each of these effects in order to assess the program of training. Monitoring training will allow control of the training process and ensure a proactive adaptive response.  Planning the training and implementing the training are only two prongs of a three pronged attack.  Monitoring the training is the third.

Carefully monitor those components of training that are the focus of that particular training period. It is not possible to monitor too much. You must look at the factors of training stress as well as total life stress factors. Monitoring should be both subjective and objective where possible. Monitor and record what is practical.

The most simple and most effective means of monitoring training is a detailed training log. The log represents the athlete’s personal training monitoring tool. It should represent the athlete’s individual input about their response to training. Each log, regardless of the sport or person, should contain certain basic information. Somewhere the log should monitor factors outside of training, sleep diet and other stressors all can have an effect on training. This information is:

Athletes Log

Day and Date

Hours of Sleep

Time of Training

Weather

Duration of the session (Rounded to the nearest quarter hour)

Energy rating – Before workout

The actual exercises

Sets

Reps

Times

Interval

Intensity

Training Demand Rating Scale (Post Training)

The coaches training log should be as detailed as possible and still practical to isolate variables to identify possible patterns. It should incorporate the following:

Evaluate planned work versus work completed

Rate the athlete’s response to the work.

Breakdown of the time duration of each training component

The training demand rating scale is a valuable tool can be easily adapted to use in a team as well as an individual sport.  It can be used to rate training demand on individual components of the workout or for the workout as a whole. It really depends how detailed you want to get. Regardless of how you apply it provides very good reliable feedback as to the stress of training. Conceptually, the athlete simply rates how hard they feel they are working by assigning a number to the sensation of their effort. For simplicity and ease of use a 10-point scale is effective in the athlete population if the athlete must is first educated to the effort relative to the assigned numerical value.  It must be fine tuned for each athlete to provide reliable feedback on training stress. The following is the Training Demand Rating Scale:

1=Easy - No Effort Required

2=Extremely Light

3=Very Light

4=Moderately Light

5=Light

6=A Little Hard

7=Hard

8=Very Hard

9=Extremely Hard

10=Maximal Effort

Have the athlete rate and record the effort at the conclusion of the workout. It is useful once you orient the athletes to the scale to allow them to develop their own verbal descriptors for the various points on the scale.  This will personalize the process which makes the information that much more meaningful. 

Monitoring will also help to assess how the performance was achieved.  Two athletes can do the same workout; achieve the same results and have polar opposite adaptive responses.  One may have to tap deep into the adaptive reserve to achieve the result and the other may require much less effort.  That is why it is so imperative to have additional means of monitoring training. Also monitor readiness for the workout. Monitor indices that indicate adaptation. It is imperative to monitor factors outside of training, sleep diet and other stressors all can have an effect.

Monitoring increases training effectiveness. The more consistent the monitoring the more meaningful the information will be. In essence monitoring training allows you to reconcile what was planned for training and what was achieved. Remember it is very specific to the event, the performance level of the athlete, the age of the athlete and the gender. Once a system of monitoring has been implemented the information gathered must be straightforward and simple so that it can be easily interpreted and modifications made easily made as needed.

Thoughts on Recovery – Part One

I want to preface this series of posts with some global comments . Today recovery has taken on a life of it own, with recovery sessions planned after remedial workouts that minimally stress the athlete. There are now muti-million dollar recovery centers manned by "recovery specialists." Is all this necessary? I have my questions. Recovery must be put in the perspective of the training and the training age of the athlete. In  this series of posts I will lend my perspective on recovery which will hopefully provide a better understanding of the role and the process as well as stimulate some healthy discussion.

Recovery is a key factor in performance. It is during the recovery that adaptation to training occurs. Recovery is the process over time needed to repair damage to the body caused by either training or competition.  After the work the rest should be easy, sometimes it is not because it is not thought of as part of the training process. To insure the highest quality training and to prevent overtraining, recovery must be planned as part of the training process. In some instances it is beneficial to build the workout around the recovery for athletes who are finely tuned and in absolutely peak condition. It does no good to give an athlete a workout that they could handle and then not be able to come back and do anything significant for days afterward. The key to all of this is the necessity to assess the athletes “recoverability,” which is how well they were able to recover from the different workloads.  Do this both subjectively and objectively. No two athletes recover and adapt from the same workout the same way. In fact athletes react individually to different types of work. The recovery strategy must match the type of fatigue. Some athletes are fast adapters and recover quite quickly; others are slow adaptors and take significantly longer. This is easy to address in an individual sport, but can present a managerial problem in a team sport. The means of assessment of recoverability is to closely monitor training and the response to training.

Restoration is a series of planned actions to bring the athlete back to baseline. Activities or external means that help the athlete physically or psychologically overcome the rigors of hard training. Regeneration is an active process, it is the means used to bring the athlete back to baseline. This is an actual planned training unit to help the body recover from training and to return to previous performance levels through removal of mental and physical fatigue due to training and competition efforts.

Rest is time off with no training at all.  For the athlete this is a poor alternative.  The body is accustomed to a certain level of activity. When that is taken away it is a shock to the body. It interferes with appetite, sleep and general mood state. Complete rest makes the return to training more difficult. Rather than restoring the body the athlete coming off a day or longer of complete rest is flat. A much more viable alternative is active rest. In active rest the “muscles work, nerves rest.”  It is time off from the regular activities of training.  “Active” refers to other sports activities.  For example the play a game of pickup soccer or the swimmer may go for a bike ride. It is absence from abuse not absence from activity but still gives the athlete the stimulus activity that does not stress the system.

Some More Biomechanics and Coaching

Once you understand how the body functions as a kinetic chain then the next step is to train movements not muscles. The basic movements are rotating, bending, extending, pushing, reaching, and pulling.  Why is this so important? Neurologically the brain does not recognize individual muscles; rather it recognizes patterns of movement in response to sensory input. The muscles are slaves of the brain.  Isolation of specific muscles does not appropriately emphasize dynamic, multi-dimensional development of patterns. Traditionally we have been taught the opposite. We learn individual muscles, but it is through movement that the muscles integrate and work together to produce and reduce force. Traditionally we study muscles in the anatomical position, but movement does not occur in the anatomical position. Movement occurs in reaction to gravity, ground reaction forces, and momentum. The Central Nervous System is the command station that controls and directs all movement. The CNS calls for preprogrammed patterns of movement that can be modified in countless ways to react appropriately to gravity, ground reaction forces, and momentum. Each activity is subjected to further refinements and adjustments by feedback from the body’s proprioceptors. This process ensures optimal neuromuscular control and efficiency of function. What are the mechanical implications of this in training? In strength training this tells us to use multiple joint movements rather than isolated movements.

The gait cycle is the basis for all human motion. The fundamental assumption is that we are bipedal terrestrial beings. Virtually everything we do in sport is reciprocal, that is the limbs working in opposition. Gait is characterized by a stance phase and swing phase in walking and a stance and flight phase in running. Muscle activity and the timing of muscle firing are predictable as gait progresses from walking to sprinting. The biomechanical implications of this are far reaching. It will impact the selection of drills, strength training exercises, plyometric exercises and rehab techniques. Understanding the gait cycle and its global implication for movement have greatly influenced the postures and positions that I use for various exercises. For example based on recruitment and function most of the core training I do now is done standing and moving in order to engage the muscles of the core in the diagonal rotational patterns as they function in movement relative to gravity.

There has been much talk about movement as open or closed chain. This is somewhat of an artificial distinction when one looks closely at movement, especially the gait cycle. Movement is the timing of opening and closing the chain. In running the swing leg (leg not on the ground) results in transfer of momentum to the supporting leg. This occurs as one body segment decelerates the next segment in the chain begins to accelerate as momentum is transferred from one segment to the other. Another example is the force that properly directed arm action can impart through other body segments to the ground in sprinting.

Biomechanics can really help to make a clear distinction between similar movements and same movements in the search for the highest degree of specificity in training.  Remember that the highest degree of specificity is the actual event or movement. Unfortunately that does not afford the ability to overload in order to improve. Therefore as coaches we look for derivatives or parts of the movement or the event in order to train the actual movement or event to be better. To make this process more exact we need to thoroughly understand the biomechanics of the actual movement. It is common to see pitchers and quarterbacks throwing from their knees with the stated goal to improve “arm strength.” From a biomechanical perspective this may be counterproductive. Throwing involves the whole kinetic chain therefore taking large segments out of the action like the legs will interfere with timing and could put more strain on the arm and shoulder than the actual act of throwing. Another example is alternate leg bounding to improve speed. The goal of this drill is to decease contact time, in actual fact alternate leg bounding results in contact time two times greater than what occurs in actual sprinting. It looks like the movements that occur in running but it is similar not the same. Another example is the use of underweight and overweight balls for the pitcher. We found through biomechanical analysis that there was very little difference throwing an underweight or an overweight ball as long as they were not too heavy or too light. Therefore this is a viable training activity that is biomechanically the same for the pitcher. Use knowledge of biomechanics of movement to design drills and exercise that will give maximum return for the time invested. The training time will be more effective because it will have more direct transfer and time will be better utilized.

If you look at a relatively simple movement like distance running from a biomechanical perspective it can be quite revealing. The average distance runner takes approximately 1,000 to 1,500-foot strikes per mile. Each leg bears the weight of the entire body, as both feet never touch the ground at the same time in running. The force of landing is approximately three times body weight in .3 to .4 tenths of a second depending on speed of the run. That means a 150 pound runner is placing 450 pounds of force on each leg, every stride. What can you do with this information? How can this be used to define or modify a training program or rehab an injured runner? Very simply most distance coaches hold strength training for the legs in distain. The fact is that strengthening the legs has the potential to increase stride length and help absorb the shock of landing. Therefore from a biomechanical perspective distance runners should do specific leg strength work.

It is not necessary to be a biomechaist to think biomechanically. There are a few principles of movement that explain how all sport skills are done. Learn and apply those principles to improve your coaching

Biomechanics and Coaching

Biomechanics is the science of human motion. It is a science that helps us to understand the human body as a system of relationships and interactions that produce smooth efficient movement. It studies the effects of internal and external forces on the human body in both movement and rest. The challenge is to make this science that can be quite technical and complex practical and applied. I have found it helps to think of the big picture, think of whole movements not individual muscles. Visualize and actualize how the parts fit together. Movement should flow; there should be no herky-jerky movements. Look at the movement in the context of the end result. It is not necessary to be a biomechanist, but you can think biomechically to improve your effectiveness as a coach, trainer or therapist.

It is important to remember that biomechanics as a science does not stand-alone. There is a convergence of the sport sciences that leads to optimum performance. The coach should have a basic understanding of how all the sciences interact in a practical applied manner. For example mechanically correct technique will result in more efficient movements, which results in less energy cost to perform the movement.

I prefer to think of human motion and the subsequent performance as the interaction of three movement constants. Those constants are the body, ground and gravity. The body is central. It is an intricate system of levers and motors (muscles) that enable use to produce or reduce the necessary force to produce the desired movement in three planes of motion. Gravity is the second movement constant; it serves to load the system. It is always there; we live in a gravitationally enriched environment. Movement involves attempting to beat and cheat gravity because gravity is always trying to best us. The third constant is the ground. It is from the ground we actually derive force; we are terrestrial beings that must learn to use the ground effectively. We learn and adapt rapidly to varied surfaces. We must understand that we get out of the ground what we put into it. This is called ground reaction force. Typical ground reaction forces for athletic activities are: Walking 1.2 – 2.0 x body weight, Running 2.0 – 3.0 x body weight, Sprinting 7.5 x body weight, Long Jump Takeoff 10.9 x body weight, Lay-up Landing 8.9 x body weight, and cutting 3 x body weight. Typically these forces are imparted to the ground in very short periods of time. In World Class sprint performance the amount of time the sprinters foot is on the track can range from 0.08 to 0.10 second per foot contact. This represents Impulse, which is the amount of force that the athlete can put into the ground in the least amount of time.

In order to apply biomechanics it is imperative to understand the distinction between technique and style. For example a high leg kick in pitching is an example of individual style. At the moment of truth, which is the point of release every pitcher must do certain things to achieve results, regardless of how they look getting to that point. Do not copy the performers individual style. Look beyond individual personal style points and find the underlying principle that enables that movement to be effective. Coach that! Look for the keys that make them able to achieve their performances. Remember, everyone has a movement signature that is as individually unique as a fingerprint. Therefore it is important to carefully observe and study the athlete before making any significant changes in their technique. Make sure that what you see is what is detracting from their performance. There is no secret code that needs to be cracked to elicit peak performance, just some simple laws of motion that must be understood and applied.

Where is the Athleticism?

Where have all the athletes gone? At first that may seem like a very naïve statement, but lets examine it further. Look beyond the numbers, the spectacular performances at the elite levels of sport. Injuries are skyrocketing. What is missing? It is athleticism. We know it when we see it! We talk about it, but do we know how to develop it? What is it? Lets begin by defining the term. Athleticism is the ability to execute athletic movements (Run, Jump, Throw, Pull, Push, Extend, Bend et.) at optimum speed with precision, style and grace. It is certainly not a very complicated definition. It is easy to see when someone has it. It is certainly inherent in the successful performer in any sport. My observation is that in sport, even though performance standards continue to skyrocket we are seeing less and less athleticism, especially at the developmental levels. With increased early specialization and an emphasis on specificity we have sacrificed overall athleticism.

Sometimes we are lead to believe it is an either-or proposition. Produce a better athlete or produce a better sport player with refined specific skills. Ultimately the goal is to produce the best possible adaptable athlete who plays a particular sport. In this case not only will performance be enhanced, but injuries will be reduced.

Some of the downside is the apparent conflict in terms of time and effort. With the same amount of training time available is it possible to train to improve athleticism without sacrificing specific skill training? First of all we need to eliminate the distinction, the two are not mutually exclusive. The two are co-dependent and intertwined, one enhances the other. There is time within the context of the existing training structure to fit in athleticism components. It just needs to be made a priority.

There is a saying that “You don’t need to see different things, but rather to see things differently.” Sometimes we overlook the obvious. In the incessant search to improve performance we have gotten away from the essence of it all, the foundation of athleticism. It can be developed through a systematic approach to athlete development. It is imperative to look for every opportunity to incorporate elements of athleticism in all aspect of training. Specific sport skills are a combination of patterns of complex motor programs. They are patterns that can be reproduced when we tap into the wisdom of the body. Though experiencing all different patterns of movement we learn to let things happen. We learn to let the motor program run. We cue an action that will result in a “chain reaction” of efficient movement. We need to emphasize a free play approach that results in fluidity and improvisational skills.

What has caused this? There are several factors:

Early specialization in one sport is a serious problem that has contributed to the decline of athleticism. The broader range of motor skill developed through free play and exposure to many varied motor programs is a big limiting factor. The choice is to produce better all around athletes or produce highly specialized one-sport specialists with very narrow skill ranges. Ultimately the goal is to produce the best athlete possible with a rich repertoire of motor skills to select from to better execute the specific sport skill.

Biased one sided training with an emphasis on one or two components of performance rather than a blend. The components of performance, and therefore training are: speed, strength, stamina, suppleness, skill and recovery. There is a synergistic relationship between all components therefore all components must be trained during all phases of the year in varying combinations

Monkey See – Monkey Do Syndrome. Just because an athlete has been successful with a particular training method does not mean the method is the best or should be copied. It is my experience that many athletes are successful in spite of, not because of their training. Make sure that what you are doing is based on sound training principles and a good progression. Above all make sure it fits the athletes you are presently working with.

“Nobody gets hurt, but nobody gets better.” Training that is so conservative or narrow that the athlete is never challenged will not produce results. The justification for many machine-oriented strength training programs is that they are “safe.” When in fact, because they fail to challenge the athleticism of the athlete they might actually predispose the athlete to injury.

It is always easy and convenient to look to the “Good old days” as being better. The simple fact is that before the advent of specialization athletes learned and competed in several sports. It was not unusual to see a high school athlete compete in three or four sports. This was not so bad. The athlete may not have been as good early, but once they did chose to specialize they had a broader base of motor skills to draw upon to enhance their chosen sport skill. Sometimes it is good to look back to gain perspective to move ahead. We cannot go backward, but we must look for ways to enhance athleticism that has been lost due to early specialization.

Training must have a purpose that will transfer the training to the event. With a base of athleticism specific training will be even more purposeful. The basis of training athleticism is rooted in running, jumping and throwing which encompass the whole spectrum of human movement. The body is a kinetic chain. Athleticism training is all about linkage – it is all about how all the parts of the chain working together in harmony to produce smooth efficient patterns of movement. The brain does not recognize individual muscles. It recognizes patterns of movement, which consist of the individual muscles working in harmony to produce movement.

Understanding and training athleticism is a challenging process. It demands creativity and imagination. It is often contrary to conventional wisdom as represented in current mainstream sport science research that emphasizes specificity and measurable outcomes. Do not be limited by conventional wisdom use it as a staring point and move forward while thinking and acting outside the box. You and your athletes will enjoy the day to day challenges of training more with the results being a higher injury free performance level.

Mach Sprint Drills – A Personal & Historical Perspective

I am going to lend a bit of a historical perspective on the Mach sprint drills. I must emphasize that this is my perspective and opinion based on discussion, observation as well as my coaching experience. I was first introduced to the Mach drills in 1975 by a group of Canadian athletes training in Santa Barbara Calif. They showed me the drills and gave me an article on the drills written by the originator of the drills, Gerard Mach who was the National Sprint & Hurdle coach of Canada. I was immediately attracted to the drills because I could see logic and a system to their application. (This logic and systematic approach to their application has been lost over the years, even in Canada). Superficially they did not appear that different from the drills that Bud Winter (Coach at San Jose State University and the coach of Tommy Smith, Lee Evans et al) had taught for years, but after reading Mach’s article there was a logical sequence that was not there with the Winter drills. I began to use the drills with good results, but I felt that I needed to find more about the drills and how they fit into the whole system of sprint development. In 1976 the Canadians had a training camp in Southern California where I was able to observe Mach coach first hand for several days. This gave me a better depth of understanding of the drills and their application. I also saw how they were applied in hamstring rehab when I watched Coach Mach work with a 400 Meter runner who had pulled his hamstring three days previously. In 1977 I met Dr. Al Biancani, who at the time was the Coach at Cal State University Stanislaus, he had apprenticed under Mach. Al was very generous to share his knowledge of the Mach system and his interpretation with me. This was a tremendous help in understanding correct technique on the drills, coaching cues as well as their place in the whole system. In January 1978 I was able to attend a presentation by Gerard Mach where he spend a day detailing the development of the Mach Polish Sprint School from his experimentation as an athlete to the application with athletes like Andzej Badenski and Irena Szewinska. It was an epiphany. It was an incredible system, as I look back he was far ahead of his time. The system and concepts that he had articulated in the 1950’s are those concepts that every good sprint coach uses today. A cornerstone of his system was the A B & C drill series. The drills were also designed to enable the sprinter to get the repetition of work necessary to prepare to actually sprint in the adverse weather conditions that occurred in the winter in Poland. In presentations he always pointed out that he did not have the good weather that the American sprint coaches in the west and south enjoyed, so he had to come up with alternatives.

Mach broke the sprint stride into its components parts, knee lift, foreleg action and the push off through the drills. The “A” Drills were designed to work the knee lift component. The “B” Drills were designed to work on foreleg reach or pawing action. According to Mach “All exercises with leg extension and active down are special exercises to strengthen the hamstrings.” (Page 6, Sprinting & Hurdling School by Gerard Mach, CTFA 1977) “The marching and skipping exercises were designed to develop the technique required for body lean, arm action, high knee lift, leg extension, and keeping the center of gravity high, but did not emphasize the strong driving forward or push forward action.” (Page 6, Sprinting & Hurdling School by Gerard Mach, CTFA 1977) The ”C” Drills were designed to work on push off and extension.

My interpretation, from discussions with Gerard Mach and Biancani, as well as my extensive use of these drills is that their primary benefit is not technique. They are drills that specifically strengthen the muscles in postures and actions that are similar to those that occur during the sprint action. It is through strengthening in the specific positions and postures that technique is improved. I consider them posture drills, specific strength drills and functional flexibility drills. The technical benefit is ancillary. These drills do have a place in a sprint training program if they are properly taught and constantly coached. Incorrect execution and repetition can ingrain bad habits. One of the biggest faults on the “A” series of exercises is the emphasis on knee lift at the expense of impulse off the ground. The knee lift occurs as a result of what happens on the ground. On the drills the knee should not be pulled off the ground, but driven down to create a quick strike on the ground, which will result in knee lift. Another fault that I see in execution of the drills is the tempo of execution. Mach emphasized that the drill should be executed at ”three steps per meter.” He also emphasized the necessity of correct arm action on the drills. Too many times I see athletes doing the drills with very passive arm action, which is incorrect.

Each drill is sub divided into a marching action, a skipping action and a running action. This was designated by the subscript as follows:

            A₁ = Marching

            A₂ = Skipping

            A₃ = Running 

            B₁ = Marching

            B₂ = Skipping

            B₃ = Running

The progression was from marching to skipping to running. The drills were used daily as part of warm-up. They were actually used a workouts to emphasize either power speed or strength endurance. They were also used for rehab after hamstring pulls. For workouts the drills could be done at less than ten repetitions, less that ten meters, less than ten seconds, this was termed “Power Speed.” Mach would also add resistance to the drills in the form of a sandbag or a weight vest. If this was the case then the drills were designated as “Power Speed Mixed.” If the drills were done longer that 20 meters, more than tens reps and more than ten seconds in duration they were designated as “Strength Endurance.” If resistance was added to this then it was termed as “Strength Endurance Mixed.” Irena Szewinska was reported to have executed series of 200 Meter A₂’s. I personally have used A₂ and A ₃ for 4 –6 x 50 meters with a weight vest (10 % body weight) with developmental athletes.

The drills are a great lead in to teaching hurdles. The lead leg action is actually a “B” action, the trail leg is a “C” action closely coupled with an “A” action. Another aspect of the drills that picked up from Mach that I do not see applied very often is to link the drills to acceleration. For example execute an A3 for 10 Meter and change it over to an acceleration of 30 Meters. The goal here is to work a particular component of the stride and to immediately place it into the context of the whole the whole action.

I summary I feel Mach was a genius. His work has stood the test of time. If we understand that the drills are part of a complex system used to develop the sprinter, hurdler, jumper then they do have a place in the daily preparation of the athlete.

Plyometric Training Thoughts

Plyometric training is not a stand-alone training method; it is highly compatible and significantly enhanced by strength training. It is also closely related to speed development. Most importantly it is NOT a conditioning tool! Because of the explosive nature of the work it is of high neural demand, therefore it should not be used for conditioning. It is a power development tool. It should almost never be trained in a climate of fatigue, with a few notable exceptions. Those exceptions are sports that demand power endurance like soccer, rugby, basketball, 400 meters or 400 meter hurdles. In those sports the fatigue element is only introduced after the technical component of the exercise is mastered. This will minimize risk of injury. The stimulus for adaptation is not volume, it is intensity, and nothing should ever compromise the intensity of the movements. Less is definitely more.

Too much emphasis has been placed on volume in terms of the number of contacts. Over the years with a better understanding of the application of the method, I have reduced the number of contacts in a training session and a microcycle with equal or better results. In the past it was not uncommon to perform 300 – 400 contacts in a session, today a high volume session is in the range of 90 – 120 contacts with a range of 250 - 400 contacts for a microcycle. I have learned that more is definitely is not better. If used properly it is a highly effective tool to stimulate the nervous system, but if used improperly it can have the opposite and dull, if not deaden the nervous system and lead to injury.

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.