To wrap up my “Best of 2015″ series, I’ll highlight the top product reviews I did at this site in the last year. Here they are:
1. Advanced Core Training - Dean Somerset has established himself as a go-to resource for those with low back pain - and those looking to avoid it. This product is an excellent resource for trainers, rehabilitation specialists, and end-users. CSP coach Tim Geromini and I collaborated on a review: 10 Random Thoughts on Core Stability Training.
2.Physical Preparation 101 - Mike Robertson introduced this great look into his training systems back in June, and Tim Geromini and I again collaborated on a two-part review. Check out Part 1 and Part 2.
4. The Elite Athlete Development Seminar 2.0- This seminar from Mike Robertson and Joe Kenn is a must-watch for up-and-coming strength and conditioning coaches. The two guys have combined experience in the private sector and college and professional sports, and it leads to an outstanding comprehensive education. Mike and I put our heads together to come up with this installment of Random Thoughts on Sports Performanceto celebrate this product's release.
There were certainly some other great products I encountered this year, but these four proved to be the most popular with my readers.
On a related note, you may have noticed that I didn't introduce any new products of my own in 2015. I was very focused on being a father to my one-year-old twin daughters, building Cressey Sports Performance - Florida, and serving as the strength and conditioning coach for the gold-medal winning 18U World Cup USA Baseball team. This one-year "gap" has given me some great ideas that will result in 2-3 product releases this year, so keep an eye out.
In the meantime, have a safe and happy new year. Thanks for all your support in 2015!
Sign-up Today for our FREE Newsletter and receive a four-part video series on how to deadlift!
If you've read EricCressey.com for any length of time, you're surely aware that I'm not a fan of distance running for pitchers. I've published multiple articles (here, here, here, and here) outlining my rationale for the why, but these articles have largely been based on theory, anecdotal experience, and the research of others. Today, I wanted to share with you a bit of data we collected at Cressey Sports Performance - Florida not too long ago.
First, though, I should make a few important notes that "frame" our training recommendations and
1. Athletes absolutely must have a well-developed aerobic system in order to recover both acutely (during the training session or competition/games) and chronically (between training sessions and competitions/games). It's relatively easy to improve if approached correctly, and can yield outstanding benefits on a number of physiological fronts.
2. As long as the intensity is kept low enough during aerobic training initiatives, it won't compromise strength and power development. I wrote about this all the way back in 2003 with Cardio Confusion, but many industry notables like Alex Viada, Joel Jamieson, Mike Robertson, Bill Hartman Eric Oetter, Pat Davidson, and Charlie Weingroff have done a far better job describing the mechanisms of action in the 12 years since that article was published. Speaking generally, most folks put the "safe zone" intensity for aerobic development without strength/power compromise at approximately 60-70% of max heart rate (Zone 2, for the endurance savvy folks out there).
3. It might be a large amplitude movement (great ranges-of-motion achieved), but baseball is a low movement variability sport. Pitchers are the most heavily affected; they do the exact same thing for anywhere from 6-9 months out of the year (or up to 12, if they're making bad decisions by playing 12 months out of the year). Distance running to me does not offer significant enough movement variability to be a useful training option for developing the aerobic system.
4. The absolute best time to develop the aerobic system is early in the off-season. For the professional baseball player, this is Sep-Oct for minor leaguers, and Oct-Nov for major leaguers. This is one more strike against distance running; after a long season of being on their feet in cleats, the last thing players need is a higher-impact aerobic approach.
With these four points in mind, two years ago, I started integrating aerobic work in the form of mobility circuits with our pro guys in the early off-season. The goals were very simple: improve movement quality and build a better aerobic foundation to optimize recovery – but do so without interfering with strength gains, body weight/composition improvements, and the early off-season recharge mode.
The results were awesome to the naked eye – but it wasn’t until this week that I really decided that we ought to quantify it. Lucky for me, one CSP athlete – Chicago White Sox pitching prospect Jake Johansen – was up for the challenge and rocked a heart rate monitor for his entire mobility circuit. A big thanks goes out to Jake for helping me with this. Now, let’s get to the actual numbers and program.
Jake is 24 years old, and his resting heart rate upon rising was 56 beats per minute (bpm). If we use the Karvonen Formula for maximum HR (takes into account age and resting HR) and apply our 60-70% for zone 2, we want him living in the 140-154bpm range for the duration of his session. As you can see from the chart below – which features HR readings at the end of every set during his session – he pretty much hovered in this zone the entire time. The only time he was a bit above it was during an “extended” warm-up where I added in some low-level plyo drills just to avoid completely detraining sprint work (he’d already had a few weeks off from baseball before starting up his off-season).
When all was said and done, Jake averaged 145bpm for the 38 minutes between the end of his warm-up and the completion of the session.
He bumped up a little bit high in a few spots, but that’s easily remedied by adding in a slightly longer break between sets – or even just rearranging the pairings.
To that last point, I should also note that this approach only works if an athlete is cognizant of not taking too long between sets. If he chats with his buddies and heart rate dips too much between "bouts," you're basically doing a lame interval session instead of something truly continuous. Jake did 44 sets of low-intensity work in 38 minutes. You can't get that much work in if you're taking time to tell a training partner about the cute thing your puppy did, or pondering your fantasy football roster.
Think about the implications of this....
What do you think this kind of approach could do for the foundation of movement quality for a typical high school, college, or professional pitching staff?
Don't you think it might make them more athletic, and even more capable of making mechanical changes easier?
Don't you think they'd be less injury-resistant performing an individualized mobility circuit instead of one-size-fits-all distance running?
Do you think that maybe, just maybe, they'd feel better after an 11-hour bus ride?
Don't you think they'd bounce back more quickly between outings?
What is difficult for some coaches, though, is admitting that distance running to "build up your legs" is like changing the tires on a car with no engine, or studying for the wrong test. Just because "that's how it's always been done" doesn't mean that's how it has to stay.
Give some of these a try in the early off-season - and even during the season in place of "flush runs." They'll be a big hit with your athletes both in terms of performance and health.
And, for those of your looking for another Z2 training option, look no further.
Sign-up Today for our FREE Newsletter and receive a four-part video series on how to deadlift!
It's time for the next installment of this popular series here at EricCressey.com, but I've pulled in some help from an old friend for this one. Given that his new DVD set, Elite Athletic Development 2.0, was just released this week, the one-and-only Mike Robertson agreed to chime in with some sports performance tips this week. Those beginning with "MR" are from Mike, and the ones with "EC" are me. Enjoy!
1. MR: When working with overhead athletes, learn to love specialty bars.
When it comes to athletes in general, it’s obvious that they are not powerlifters. Is it helpful if they’re strong? Absolutely. But let's be honest - no one cares about how they get strong. You don't get bonus points for deadlifting from the floor, nor do you necessarily have any reason to put a barbell on your back. At IFAST, we're huge fans of specialty bars for our athletes, but especially for our baseball players.
Trap bars are kind of a god-send, if you ask me. It's an incredibly easy exercise to coach, you reduce the mobility demands (vs. a sumo or conventional deadlift), and you can load a guy up fairly quickly without compromising technique.
On the other hand, just because we don't put a barbell on our back doesn't mean we don't squat! The safety squat bar is an invaluable tool if you train baseball players (or really, any overhead athlete). You know that your wrist, elbow and shoulder are your money makers, so the last thing you want to do is expose yourself to injury in those areas. The safety squat bar front squat is awesome for newbies, as it teaches them a front squat pattern without having to "rack" the bar using the wrists, elbows and shoulders. I'll often start my baseball players off with this variation for a month or two, just to get them back in the swing of things. If we want to load up the squat pattern a bit more, all we have to do is flip the safety bar around and now we've got a back squat progression that again unloads the upper extremity. Quite simply, if you train overhead athletes - or any athletes, for that matter - invest in a high quality trap and safety squat bar. You'll thank me later.
2. EC: Show some love to the broad jump!
For some reason, in the world of athletic performance assessments, vertical jump testing gets all the attention. In my anecdotal experience, though, broad jump proficiency has a far greater carryover to actual athletic success. Bret Contreras has also alluded to this as part of his rationale for including hip thrusts and other loaded glute bridge variations in strength training programs; horizontal (as opposed to just vertical) force production really matters in sports.
That said, one reason some coaches shy away from programming broad jump variations in training programs is that they be a bit hard on the joints and elicit more soreness in the days that follow a training session. This is easily remedied by having an athlete land on a more forgiving surface (such as grass), or by using band-resisted broad jumps.
3. MR: Appreciate that push-ups can actually improve rotator cuff function!
Push-ups are a critical component of our training programs, and for numerous reasons. You see, push-ups (versus a traditional bench press), allow for a high degree of serratus anterior development. And I’d argue that in the upper body, the serratus anterior is one of the most overlooked, yet incredibly important, muscles we have. Strengthening the serratus anterior does a host of good things for us, most notably upwardly rotating the scapula. However, what many people don't understand is how it actually improves thoracic kyphosis.
This is a really loaded topic, so I’ll try to keep it brief. Back in the day we would look at most people and say they have an excessive thoracic kyphosis, but I’m not entirely sure that’s true. What I think we see (more often than not) is a flat thoracic spine, coupled with shoulders that are rolled forward due to an inability to expand a chest wall. (Thank you, Postural Restoration Institute). Here's an example EC posted a while back of a flat thoracic spine in action:
While we tend to get caught up on the scapular attachment site (or motion) of the serratus, it also attaches anteriorly to the ribcage. If we lock the scapulae in place and engage serratus anterior, it pulls on the rib cage and gives us a more normal thoracic kyphosis. Now I’m sure you may be thinking, why do we want a kyphosis? Isn’t more extension a good thing? You need a kyphosis (or subtle rounding of the upper back), because your scapulae are curved as well; just look at this side angle to appreciate it.
If you have a curved scapulae sitting on a flat upper back, you lose passive stability at the shoulder. And when we lose stability at the scapulae, we are virtually guaranteed to lose stability at the shoulder. Because the rotator cuff muscles attach to the scapula, trying to stabilize the glenohumeral (ball-and-socket) joint with a flat thoracic spine is like trying to shoot a cannon from a canoe.
Want more serratus? Incorporate more push-ups, and do them correctly. As EC notes in this video, don't just let the arms do all the work; get the shoulder blades moving. The scapula should rotate toward the armpit as you press up and away from the floor:
Get this upper back positioning squared away, and you'll improve rotator cuff control both transiently (positional stability) and chronically (better training results).
4. EC: Remember that joint range-of-motion falls off over the "athletic lifespan."
It never ceases to amaze me how much a teenage athlete will change over the course of a year - even independent of training. If a kid goes through an 8-inch growth spurt at age 13, he's usually going to go from that "loosey-goosey," completely unstable presentation to the uncoordinated, stiff movement quality. Basically, the bones have stretched out quickly, and the soft tissue structures crossing the joints haven't had time to catch up (let alone learn how to establish control of new stabilization demands).
What many folks fail to recognize is that "bad" stiffness doesn't just increase in teenage athletes, but also in the decades that follow. It's well established that joint laxity decreases over the lifespan; it's one of several reasons why your 80-year-old grandmother isn't as supremely mobile as she was in her 50s.
What's the point? A lot of the foundational mobility drills you use with your teenage athletes are probably "keepers" that people can use over the course of their entire lifespan. So, teach them perfectly early on so as to not develop bad habits that will be magnified over decades.
5. MR: Remember that good hip development for athletes should be tri-planar.
Whether it's stealing bases, returning a punt, or changing directions on the ice, there's more to the hips than sagittal (straight ahead) plane development. Sure, it never hurts to be a stronger squatter or deadlifter, but I'd also argue that's just the tip of the iceberg. We also need our athletes to be able to move well in both the frontal and transeverse planes as well. I like to think of the sagittal plane as the "key" that unlocks the frontal and transverse plane.
If you're into the Postural Restoration Institute (PRI) , you can even take this a step further and think of it like this: we need the ability to shift into and load our left hip, while we need the strength and stability to push (or get off) our right hip, particularly in those demonstrating this heavily asymmetric postural presentation.
Once we have that basic movement capacity, now we need to start cementing it. This can be done initially in the weight room, with exercises like dynamic chops, lifts, the TRX Rip Trainer, etc. I'm also a huge fan of concentric med ball throws as well. Start low to the hip initially, and then raise it up over time. Progress to eccentric as movement capacity and strength improve.
Taking this a step further, don't be shy in doing some aggressive lateral plyo progressions as well. Work on Heidens/skier jumps with a stick first to develop eccentric strength and control, then work on improving speed, power and explosiveness. Last but not least, we need to prepare our athletes for the specific demands of their sport, and this is where lateral acceleration and crossover stepping comes into play. At the end of the day, use the weight room to get strong in the sagittal plane, but don't forget that the frontal and transverse planes are critical for a highly-functioning athlete!
6. EC: Don't be afraid to progress birddogs.
The birddog is an awesome core stability and hip mobility exercise, but it can quickly become really easy for athletes with some training experience under their belt. Not all exercises need to be progressed, but the band-resisted birddog is one way to add some variety and additional challenge for this invaluable exercise:
As I noted earlier, Mike and Joe Kenn recently released their Elite Athletic Development 2.0 Seminar DVD set. I've reviewed this product now myself, and it's excellent. You can learn more HERE.
Sign-up Today for our FREE Newsletter and receive a four-part video series on how to deadlift!
I'm back in Massachusetts after a week in North Carolina with USA Baseball. It'll take me a day or two to get my feet underneath me before I can type up a new blog, but luckily, I've got some great content for you from around the web.
Elite Training Mentorship - In this month's update, we've got some awesome content from the Cressey Sports Performance crew (myself included). We cover learning styles, coaching cues, core control, and lower extremity mobility.
Physical Preparation with Patrick Ward - Patrick is a sports scientist for the Seattle Seahawks, and he shares some awesome insights on this podcast with Mike Robertson.
Today's guest post comes from Mike Robertson, creator of the great new DVD set, Physical Preparation 101, which is on sale for $100 off through the end of the day Saturday.
Three times per year, we start a new intern class at our facility, Indianapolis Fitness and Sports Training (IFAST). So, 19 times now, I’ve taught a group of interns the basics of program design, coaching, and anatomy and physiology.
And, even after all of these years, I consistently see some of the same mistakes being made by our interns.
I almost hate calling them mistakes, though. These are mistakes they often have to make to get to the next level of coaching.
Here are five of the most common mistakes young coaches make, as well as how to nip some of these problems in the bud.
#1 - Coach the Right Exercise
Coming up as a powerlifter, I thought the squat, bench and deadlift did everything besides cure cancer or promote world peace. Okay, maybe I didn’t think they were that awesome - but it was pretty darn close!
What you find over the years is that some exercises are flat-out easier to coach than others. A barbell back squat is an awesome exercise, but it may not be the best way to learn how to squat.
Think of it like this: even if you’re a good coach, how much sweaty equity does it take to coach someone on the back squat?
It takes a while, right? And, even with great coaching, it may take them quite some time to dial in the movement.
Now consider an alternative like a plate or goblet squat. You can take that same client and literally have them squatting with perfect form in a matter of minutes!
Make things easy on yourself. Rather than taking a month to teach someone a more complex exercise, give them a simpler exercise early-on and allow them to have success. Not only will you be less frustrated, but they’ll enjoy training a lot more, too.
#2 - Be Active!
When I’m taking new interns through our coaching program at IFAST, one of the first things I teach them is the sequence of positions I want them to review the clients’ movement.
In other words, they start with the sagittal plane first, or a 90-degree view. If things aren’t right in the sagittal plane (i.e. too much flexion, extension, etc.), then you know things will be off elsewhere.
However, it’s not uncommon to see young coaches post-up in this position. Even if things look great in the sagittal plane, they’ll still hang out there for the rest of the set!
Instead, I always tell my coaches I want them to be active. Clean things up in the sagittal plane, and then move around to the front and back as well.
Chances are once things look great in one plane, there will still be things in the frontal or transverse plane (a knee caving in, the pelvis rotating to the right or left, etc.) that warrant your attention.
However, just because you’re active and seeing more doesn’t mean you want or need to fix everything all at once!
#3 - Don’t Over Cue!
I see it time and again: A young coach really starts to open their eyes and they see all the movement issues with which our clients and athletes struggle. This is all fine and dandy, until you see them throwing 1,000 cues at their client on every set!
I would liken coaching to doing triage in an emergency room. Are you worried about the kids that come in with little scrapes and bruises, or are you worried about the one who might lose a limb? Which one do you treat first?
Think of coaching in that same vein; everything isn't equally important.
What you’ll inevitably find with more time and repetitions is that one or two little cues or tips will fix 80-90% of the issues with which a client is struggling.
#4 - Level Them Off
One of my jobs as a coach is to help my clients and athletes train at an optimal level on each and every session they’re in the gym.
If you look at arousal when training, it’s a bell curve. If your energy and motivation is too low, you’re probably not going to have a great session.
On the other hand, if you just crushed five energy drinks, blasted Pantera the entire way to the gym, and just snorted an ammonia cap, chances are you’re a little bit too aroused to put in a solid effort as well.
As a coach, I need to help get an athlete where they need to be.
Energy is too low? Maybe they need a bit more encouragement, or their favorite music station cranked up a bit.
Arousal too high? Maybe we need to get them to bang out some good breaths, or find a few relaxation strategies to bring them down a notch or two.
As a coach, make it your job to get your clients and athletes at the appropriate level of arousal for each and every training session. They’ll be more consistently successful, and less likely to burn out as a result.
#5 - Coach in Bullet Points
When new interns start coaching exercises, their coaching may sound like this:
“Jane that looks great! Now I really need you to get your air out, tuck your pelvis underneath you, blah blah blah....”
As a client, you’ve already tuned out. You’re getting too much information, all while trying to concentrate on and execute the movement!
Instead, as a coach, make it a goal to say as little as possible while still getting the execution you're seeking.
You may have to create some context (which is best done in-between sets), but try to coach in bullet points:
* Exhale,
* Abs tight (or even just ABS!),
* Tuck,
* Etc.
The shorter and more concise you make your coaching, the more likely your client is to be able to take that information and use it effectively.
Summary
As a coach, I’ve made more mistakes than I care to remember. However, I’d also like to think those mistakes have absolutely made me a better coach.
Whether you’re a total newbie or a savvy vet, I hope these tips help you take your coaching to the next level!
If you're looking for a more extensive collection of coaching and programming tips, I'd strongly encourage you to check out Mike's new resource, Physical Preparation 101. It's on sale for $100 off through Saturday at midnight, and it has my highest endorsement. You can learn more HERE.
Sign-up Today for our FREE Newsletter and receive a four-part video series on how to deadlift!
Today, Tim Geromini and I present the second half of our "notes" on Mike Robertson's new DVD set, Physical Preparation 101. In case you miss it, be sure to check out Installment 1. Here are eight more key takeaways:
8. Coach the heck out of the set-up.
It's very difficult to properly perform an exercise if you don't set up in the best position possible. If you watch Mike during the hands-on portion of this seminar, he is constantly adjusting the demonstrator until they are in the exact position he prefers. Often, your clients have the strength and mobility to perform exercises correctly, but are not in the best position to do so. It may only be a small tweak here or there, but subtle adjustments can make a huge difference. If it adds one minute on to your session, it's a minute worth paying for.
9. Remember that clients are where they are right now.
One of the most difficult aspects of coaching can be to hold clients back when they really want to do more. I always prefer the clients who want to challenge themselves over the ones you have to convince to train harder. However, emphasizing quality over quantity isn’t always easy. Make sure you let the client know we are looking for quality reps.
10. You can have a template, but treat everybody as an individual.
Mike’s R7 approach is a template, but all clients are treated individually. Too often in the strength and conditioning industry we see cookie cutter programs that are a "one size fits all" approach. For instance, those with flat thoracic spines and an extended low back are treated the same as someone with significant kyphosis and flat lumbar spine. A template serves as an organized structure for which individuals can improve. Sure, everybody who trains at IFAST will have the R7 template as part of their program, but the exercises are tailored to each individual.
11. Be an efficient coach.
When you are working with a client, you should a) name the exercise, b) describe why they’re doing it, c) demonstrate the lift, and d) coach the lift. These can all be accomplished in under 20 seconds and makes all the difference. When a client knows why they are doing an exercise, they now have ownership of it. You’ll also save yourself a lot of time in the future if the client knows the name of each exercise so they don’t have to keep asking you.
12. Coaching angles matter.
If you master the sagittal plane, the frontal and transverse planes are easier to coach. Make sure you coach from 90-degree angles; there is a lot you can miss if you aren’t in the best position to coach. The "90-degree rule" also tells us that there are times when two coaches (one front/back and one left/right) can get the coaching job done faster than just one.
13. Think of yourself as a doctor of exercise.
When you’re a qualified expert, people come to you because you’re the best. Now, this also takes into consideration the work you are willing to put in to improve your assessment and programming process. However, you should understand we are not just writing down numbers on a sheet of paper and hoping it'll work. You put in the time to learn the client’s movement patterns and compensations.
14. Remember that aerobic work has its place.
Cardiovascular health and parasympathetic dominance are important goals in any training (and recovery) program. People are far too sympathetic dominant, essentially in today’s upbeat world, where there is no "off" switch. Mike cites the equation of "Anaerobic threshold – resting heart rate = aerobic window." In other words (and quite obviously), the higher your resting heart rate, the greater your opportunity for improvements. In recent years, though, everyone seemed to want to just push the left side of the equation (anaerobic threshold) with loads of interval training.
If you can widen the aerobic window, you’ve done a lot of good things for the client even beyond just cardiovascular health. High intensity anaerobic exercise is built from a low intensity aerobic foundation, so get your "easy" gains first. Over the long haul, when you are more resistant to fatigue, you can handle more volume and recover easier.
15. Make sure clients can keep the pelvis square as they load the hips.
The biggest benefit to split-stance and single-leg work is turning the right things on and turning the wrong things off. Most people look like wounded animals when performing single-leg work, but those who perform single-leg and split-stance exercises correctly are generally improving hip mobility and strength - and most importantly, doing so without compensation.
As a friendly reminder, Physical Preparation 101 is now on sale, and it's an excellent resource for your training library. You can learn more HERE.
Sign-up Today for our FREE Newsletter and receive a four-part video series on how to deadlift!
With the recent release of Mike Robertson's DVD set, Physical Preparation 101, Cressey Sports Performance coach Tim Geromini and I put our heads together to highlight some of the key takeaways from this great new resource. We'll highlight seven today, and eight more in the next installment.
1. Be specific and clear with your clients.
This may seem obvious, but it’s a huge point to hammer home. If you can’t communicate your message clearly to your client, they aren’t as likely to have success. Two of the things we like most about the Mike's R7 approach is it gives you, the coach, a great template to work from and it gives the clients a specific goal in mind. When you create a clear and specific goal for your clients, it’s much easier for them to buy in.
2. You need to be able to 100% justify everything you put in your programs.
When you write a program, there should be a reason for every exercise you put in. Not only does it hold you accountable as a coach, but its much easier for your clients to buy in when you have a specific reason for each exercise they’re doing. If you can’t justify it, you have no business putting it in their program.
3. When you’re in the gym, you want to be in a sympathetic state. When you’re out of the gym you want to be in a parasympathetic state.
Everything in your program should be geared towards balance. Recovery outside the gym means your clients are prepared to perform inside the gym. One of the best things to hear as a coach is a client telling you how much better they feel not only for their sport, but life in general. That could be a parent saying they have more energy to play with their kids or an athlete feeling healthy for the first time in years. Whether you choose to use positional breathing drills or foam rolling, training sessions aren’t complete unless there is some form of recovery before they leave.
4. Strength helps you in everything you do.
If you want to get faster, strength will help you. If you want to get more powerful, strength will help you. If you want to lose body fat, strength will help you. One of the main things we hear as strength and conditioning coaches is, “I want to get faster and be more explosive.” While plyometric drills certainly have their place in programs (and we use them quite a bit at CSP), often, the client needs to gain strength first before they are able to express that speed and power.
5. There is value in low intensity work and high intensity work.
Low intensity work gets a bad rap and is usually thought of as just distance running. Producing energy for longer periods of time and keeping your heart rate in a set spot gives you a larger/stronger aerobic base from which you can build a foundation to produce an anaerobic performance. Prowler pushes, sleds marches, ropes, kettlebells, and a host of other modalities can work if implemented properly.
6. The goal at the end of a training session should be to kickstart the recovery process.
To piggyback on point 3, the return to a parasympathetic state allows your body and mind to recover for not only your next session, but your daily life. If you never recovered from your last training session, why do you think your next one will be as good? An appropriate recovery protocol takes 2-3 minutes at most. At CSP, we'll often incorporate some low-key mobility drills, positional breathing, and foam rolling.
7. Be smarter with how you progress energy system development.
You wouldn’t load up a lift at 90% on day one if someone doesn’t have much of a training history, but everybody seems to do that with conditioning. Sure, it’s the sexy thing to have somebody gassed on day one, but that doesn’t necessarily set them up for success going forward. 40% is enough to yield gains with regards to strength training and the same holds to true for developing their aerobic base. Start on the lower end and build up.
If you're interested in learning more, Physical Preparation 101 is a 12-DVD set geared towards strength coaches and personal trainers. Mike Robertson has been a trusted friend and colleague for over a decade, and I can guarantee you that you'll learn a lot from checking out his stuff.
Sign-up Today for our FREE Newsletter and receive a four-part video series on how to deadlift!
It's Marathon Monday here in Massachusetts, but just in case you're not here to experience the excitement (or marathons don't excite you, anyway), here's some good reading to atone for it:
EliteFTS Sports Performance Podcast - I was interviewed for this last week, and we covered a host of business and training topics. Hope you enjoy it!
No More Pulled Hamstrings! - My good buddy Mike Robertson shares five points on preventing hamstrings injuries. If you're looking for a quick introduction to the Postural Restoration Institute school of thought, this is a good teaser.
Sign-up Today for our FREE Newsletter and receive a four-part video series on how to deadlift!
Happy Monday, folks! Here are some good strength and conditioning articles to kick off your week:
Hip Extension and Rotational in the Baseball Swing - Here's a "reincarnation" from the archives, courtesy of Houston Astros Minor League Hitting Coordinator, Jeff Albert. It seems only fitting, giving that spring training is underway!
The 5 Best Ways to Get Stronger - I couldn't agree more with all of the points Mike Robertson made here. There are some excellent strategies here for intermediate lifters.
I Don't Even Want to Be Here - This was a great post from Kevin Neeld on the importance of positivity in coaching youth athletes, and always praising effort over outcomes.
Sign-up Today for our FREE Newsletter and receive a four-part video series on how to deadlift!
It's time for this week's installment of recommended strength and conditioning reading. Here are three articles worth reviewing:
7 Strategies for Strength Training with the Minimum - This Andrew Zomberg article is specifically targeted toward all my friends who are snowed in up in the Northeast. If you want to get your training in when the gym isn't open, you've got to be a little creative.
5 Reasons Your Program Isn't Working - This article's messages might seem like common sense, but let's face it: common sense isn't so common anymore. It's great stuff from Mike Robertson at T-Nation.
Risky Fitness - Jen Sinkler takes a close look at risk: reward considerations in training programs. This appeals to me heavily, as a lot of my one-time consultations are folks who have traveled long distances to help undo the damage of irresponsible training programs.
Have a great Wednesday!
Sign-up Today for our FREE Newsletter and receive a four-part video series on how to deadlift!
