Functional Path Training

Rush to Sport Science

Just saw where another NFL team named a Director of Sport Science. I have been looking at this whole area while preparing for my presentation this Friday to EXB 179 Frontiers in Exercise Biology class at University California Davis as part of a series on The Role of Science in Sports sponsored by Dept of Neurobiology, Physiology & Behavior. I will be speaking on "The past & future of science in training athletes" (It is free & open to public – join us.) Certainly throughout my career I have used science to the fullest extent I have been capable given the resources available, time and budget. I find it interesting that all of sudden over the past few years I keep seeing the term “sport science” tossed around like it is some mysterious cure all and a magic pill to improve sport performance.

I think all this attention warrants some very basic questions. I ask these questions not to be sarcastic but out of genuine curiosity to see what this is all about. What really is sport science? Do these teams and organizations really know what they are getting when they hire a sports science person? Is it just monkey see, monkey do – just hiring one because everyone else has one? What exactly will they do? Will they just be window dressing? How will they interface with the sport coaches, S&C coaches and the medical staff? Who really knows how to use and apply sport science? Is this really all that innovative?

I know over twenty years ago with the Chicago White Sox we did biomechanics analysis of our minor league pitchers, we had an extensive sport psych program. We did research on running and movement mechanics. I thought it was just part of what needed to be done to develop the athlete. Did it make a difference? Unequivocally yes. Why - because it was a coordinated program that was integrated into the fiber of the player development program. I saw the same thing the last few years under the direction of Dean Benton with the Brumbies in Super Rugby. An unbelievably integrated program with everyone onboard and it showed up in results on the field. Was it sport science? Yes the sport sciences were part of it, but it was a unified effort of the whole performance team. Time will tell where all this will go.  

The Sports Gene

READ THIS BOOK! In the past three years I have read over 300 books, the Sports Gene is one of the best books I have read in that time. David Epstein not only nails the science but he tells compelling stores that bring the science to life. He takes the complexities of genetics and makes it comprehensible and applicable to the development of athletic performance. To me the clear message is that it is not about nature or nature but it is how we can best nurture nature. It raises many questions and offers some answers. In many ways this reminded me of one of my favorite books “The Sweet Spot in Time” by John Jerome written in 1980. At that time Jerome took the emerging field of sport science and made the concepts comprehensible by telling good stores, Epstein does the same. He offers great food for thought. It certainly puts the 10,000 hours “rule” in context and debunks some of the misapplied concepts in Gladwell’s book “The Outliers.” This book is so good that I have read it twice. This is a must read for coaches, parents, anyone interested in the why’s of sport performance.

Coaching Art & Science

One key to being an effective coach is maintaining a balance between art and science. In today’s world where we can measure so much more than ever before in terms of competition and training monitoring it is tempting to tip the scale toward the science. I keep reminding myself that just because you can measure something does not mean that is meaningful. Science can only get us so far, it is how it is applied and interpreted that matters. Australian swim coach Bill Sweetenham put it quite well: “Science is only useful if it makes the coach a better artist.” The challenge for coaches then is have science serve us to make the athlete better; we should never be a slave to science. Know the science but more important know yourself and your athletes. There is no doubt in my mind based on what I have seen over the years that ultimately it comes down to who is the best artist but without the science the colors in the picture may not blend as well. Winston Churchill said it best: “Science should be on tap not on top.”

Good Reads

This past weekend I read two books whose central themes were innovation, creativity and change. Those of you that are regular readers of this blog know that those are areas that I am interested in. The whole process of how people create and innovate is fascinating to me. One of the books - The Idea Factory – Bell Labs and the Great Age of American Innovation by Jon Gertner looks the rise the Bell labs, how the lab was put together and how it developed from the 1920’s onward. I was peripherally aware of the inventions and innovation that came out of the Bell labs but this book really brought it all front and center. Bell labs and the scientists and engineers who worked there literally changed the world. Without the Bell labs we would not have the personal computer, communication satellites and much more. It was here that the transistor was invented. It was a place that fostered innovation, the scientists and engineers were given time and space and encouraged to get out and look at the world differently. One of the biggest messages I got from the book was how important collaboration was in the process, how necessary  it was to have other people around to bounce ideas off of, to challenge each to stoke the fires of creativity.

The next book Imagine – How Creativity Works by Jonah Lehrer was a real page-turner. It was one of those books that I just could not seem to put down. The book is full of tremendous insights and though provoking ideas about the creative process. Lehrer is a very good storyteller. Through his stories he is able to look at the science that underlies creativity, or I should say what we know of the science because this is an area of science where our knowledge is exploding. He looks at the importance of daydreaming in the creative process. During daydreaming he says: “Instead of responding to the outside world, the brain starts to explore its inner database, searching for relationships in a more relaxed fashion.” He reminds us how important it is to think like a child to see the world with new eyes. Surprisingly I learned how important criticism in the creative process.

One my favorite sections of the book was where he was talking about the famous designer Milton Glasser, it was Glasser who came up the iconic I love New York illustration.  “Instead of simply trying to represent a thing. Glasser wanted to define it. His perfect visual was more than a picture: it was a summary of associations, a map of thought. It was a picture honed by human attention.”

A unifying theme of both books is that you get smart being around other people. Creativity and innovation is not a solitary process. If you are interested in creativity and innovation I also recommend Lehrer’s blog http://tinyurl.com/26duw7o

2011 Lessons Learned - Lesson Eight

Lesson Eight – Those that ignore history are condemned to repeat it. In my experience there is no substitute for a historical context. This is one of the biggest deficiencies I see in today’s “new breed” of coaches. Go to the original sources and study them, don’t depend on interpretations. If you want to understand the “New Interval Training” you must go back and understand the old interval training. If you are interested in strength go back and study Tommy Kono. If you are interested in speed go back and study the work of Gerard Mach. If you are interested in endurance go back and study Igloi. If you are interested in applied sport science go back and read John Bunn and Doc Councilman’s works. Chances are the ground you walking on have been explored before so why repeat past mistakes, make new ones to grow and expand your horizons. In order to understand where you are going it is important to understand where you have been.

2011 Lessons Learned - Lesson Three

Lesson Three – Use technology to supplement, not supplant your coaching. Technology is an aid not a replacement for a good coaching eye and a feel for what is happening. If in doubt rely on intuition and gut feeling over artificially generated numbers. Cultivate and sharpen your ability to look and listen more effectively.

Strength and Conditioning – Biological Principles and Practical Applications

I am about one third through this book and I have found it rich in content. I have already picked up some useful ideas. It is a must read for anyone in the athletic development field. The editors have done a great job of bringing together some of the best applied sport scientists in the world to provide the current science behind what we do day to day as coaches. My only criticism is the title; I wished they had not used strength & conditioning in the title. I am very biased toward athletic development because it more completely describes the evolution of the field. (That’s my hang up and bias). Without a doubt, this is a great addition to my library.

Foreword (Sir Clive Woodward).

Preface.

1.1 Skeletal Muscle Physiology (Valmor Tricoli).

1.2 Neuromuscular Physiology (Alberto Rainoldi and Marco Gazzoni).

1.3 Bone Physiology (Jörn Rittweger).

1.4 Tendon Physiology (Nicola Maffulli, Umile Giuseppe Longo, Filippo Spiezia and Vincenzo Denaro).

1.5 Bioenergetics of Exercise (R.J. Maughan).

1.6 Respiratory and Cardiovascular Physiology (Jeremiah J. Peiffer and Chris R. Abbiss).

1.7 Genetic and Signal Transduction Aspects of Strength Training (Henning Wackerhage, Arimantas Lionikas, Stuart Gray and Aivaras Ratkevicius).

1.8 Strength and Conditioning Biomechanics (Robert U. Newton).

2.1 Neural Adaptations to Resistance Exercise (Per Aagaard).

2.2 Structural and Molecular Adaptations to Training (Jesper L. Andersen).

2.3 Adaptive Processes in Human Bone and Tendon (Constantinos N. Maganaris, Jörn Rittweger and Marco V. Narici).

2.4 Biomechanical Markers and Resistance Training (Christian Cook and Blair Crewther).

2.5 Cardiovascular Adaptations to Strength and Conditioning (Andy Jones and Fred DiMenna).

2.6 Exercise-induced Muscle Damage and Delayed-onset Muscle Soreness (DOMS) (Kazunori Nosaka).

2.7 Alternative Modalities of Strength and Conditioning: Electrical Stimulation and Vibration (Nicola A. Maffiuletti and Marco Cardinale).

2.8 The Stretch–Shortening Cycle (SSC) (Anthony Blazevich).

2.9 Repeated-sprint Ability (RSA) (David Bishop and Olivier Girard).

2.10 The Overtraining Syndrome (OTS) (Romain Meeusen and Kevin De Pauw).

3.1 Principles of Athlete Testing (Robert U. Newton and Marco Cardinale).

3.2 Speed and Agility Assessment (Warren Young and Jeremy Sheppard).

3.3 Testing Anaerobic Capacity and Repeated-sprint Ability (David Bishop and Matt Spencer).

3.4 Cardiovascular Assessment and Aerobic Training Prescription (Andy Jones and Fred DiMenna).

3.5 Biochemical Monitoring in Strength and Conditioning (Michael R. McGuigan and Stuart J. Cormack).

3.6 Body Composition: Laboratory and Field Methods of Assessment (Arthur Stewart and Tim Ackland).

3.7 Total Athlete Management (TAM) and Performance Diagnosis (Robert U. Newton and Marco Cardinale).

4.1 Resistance Training Modes: A Practical Perspective (Michael H. Stone and Margaret E. Stone).

4.2 Training Agility and Change-of-direction Speed (CODS) (Jeremy Sheppard and Warren Young).

4.3 Nutrition for Strength Training (Christopher S. Shaw and Kevin D. Tipton).

4.4 Flexibility (William A. Sands).

4.5 Sensorimotor Training (Urs Granacher, Thomas Muehlbauer, Wolfgang Taube, Albert Gollhofer and Markus Gruber).

5.1 Strength and Conditioning as a Rehabilitation Tool (Andreas Schlumberger).

5.2 Strength Training for Children and Adolescents (Avery D. Faigenbaum).

5.3 Strength and Conditioning Considerations for the Paralympic Athlete (Mark Jarvis, Matthew Cook and Paul Davies).

Science and Simplicity

I posted this a couple of years ago, I thought it would be worth posting again in light of a conversation over lunch yesterday with Frans Bosch. Stephan Wolfram http://www.stephenwolfram.com asserts that all complex phenomenon are produced by simple rules. Scientists, he says should be striving to uncover the underlying simplicity – not just searching for explanations by carving complex phenomenon into smaller and smaller digestible pieces. I might add that it is easey to make things complex to create an aura of mystery, what is difficult is to make things simple.

Edward O. Wilson

Last night on the PBS program NOVA (One of my all time favorite television programs) the subject was Edward O. Wilson. The title of the program was “Lord of the Ants.”

http://www.pbs.org/wgbh/nova/eowilson/
Wilson is scientist from Harvard who gained fame for his study of ants and his theories of animal behavior that he derived from his observation of animals in nature. He is the founder of the field of Sociobiology. My first exposure to him was through his book Consilience, where he discusses methods used to unite the sciences with the humanities. He defines Consilience, as the synthesis of knowledge from varied fields of human endeavor. He is the consummate big picture thinker. The program was fascinating and very thought provoking. He is definitely someone I hope to be able to meet sometime. His current project is a huge collaborative effort to compile an Encyclopedia of Life http://www.eol.org/ to catalog all the living species on earth. The plan is to have one page per species. The estimate is that there will be 1.8 million entries. At age 78 he has a passion for learning and teaching that is inspirational. This speaks to the point I was making on yesterday’s blog about the younger generations. He has every right to act as if he knows it all, but he is driven to learn, share ideas and educate. He is a great role model for us all.