In my posts
of the 28th and 29th of July I wrote on focusing
attention on 1) Developing true “student” athletes (with methods of
balancing the lives of teens) and 2) the return to true “play” for
pre-adolescents instead of “structured” training revolving around a
specific sport.
In thinking
about both topics, it is clear to me that the vacuum that exists in most school
systems concerning the lack of movement education & basic fitness and
postural development activities in Physical Education has brought about the
creation of a lucrative “Club Sport Industry”.
Parents wishing to engage their children in
physical activities for health benefits turn to organized youth sports to provide
what the schools are not offering these days. I can understand that. But, there
are so many ways to integrate some FMS, fitness and postural strength/
education in the schools that I think parents need to bring these
concerns to their respective school boards, principals, etc.
Also, as my previous posts have advocated, parents
need to engage their young children in a WIDE VARIETY of activities that range
of Kinder Gym to Martial Arts classes WITH A HEALTHY dose of PLAY. This
PLAY should revolve around the local playgrounds with use of Monkey Bars and
other apparatus where they can climb, swing, push, pull etc. Providing children
with Jump Ropes, Hoola Hoops and other “simple” toys, that will encourage
movement exploration in a fun and engaging manner, can AT LEAST split time with
video game play.
In thinking
of all the activities of my youth, it is hard not to see that un-structured
“play” on playgrounds, elementary physical education classes and playing
whatever sport was in season with neighborhood kids, gave me a much wider foundation
of movement patterns, physical skills and basic levels of fitness than ANY ONE
SPORT focus could ever do. School recesses were spent on activities such as jump
roping, hop-scotching, jump the brook and chasing-type games.
Hoola Hoops,
when introduced, produced an endless variety of moves, skills, etc. when left
up to our “competitive” imaginations.
Even Yo-Yo’s and Frisbees provided manipulative skills and coordination skills!
Every kid
could ride a bike at an early age and roller skates and the invention of the
skate-board (yes, I am that old) added balance, coordination and locomotive
elements to the wide variety of “kid” activities that were prevalent at the
time.
The point
that I am trying to make here is that OVERUSE or OVERTRAINING injuries in
adolescents (and pre-adolescents) was unheard of outside the Youth Swim Teams
where kids started at 5 or 6 years and added volumes of work each year in a
very cyclic sport (meaning a few movement patterns practiced repetitively over
months and years) that many times ended up with worn out shoulders or worn out
enthusiasm for two-a-day workouts.
So, instead
of Early Specialization, WHICH BRINGS WITH IT EARLY OVERUSE INJURY, how about participating
in multiple sports and integrate biking, jump roping, swimming, skating,
climbing, etc. into the lives of our youth?
I recently
read about a “competition” that I did not know still existed, but provides a
very good example of developing movement skills, coordination, rhythm, speed,
explosive strength and stamina. THE RED BULL ROPE MASTER’S TOUR!
This Tour is
a competition among teams of 4 people in “Double
Dutch” Jump Roping. One of the
events is the SPEED DRILL where two ropes are used. One member of the team has
a stopwatch and times and counts every left foot contact of the jumper while
the two other members turn two ropes at a time. The jumper has 2 minutes to see
how many jumps they can do. Every 30 seconds is called out and the number of
left foot contacts is called out. The GOAL is to keep the same PACE for all
FOUR thirty-second segments of the 2 minutes.
The Champion
(Shaquannah Floyd in the contest I read about) recorded 393 left foot contacts
in 2’ with an 97-99 contacts per each 30 second segments. THINK
ABOUT THIS FOR A MINUTE. The jumper needs
advanced levels of elastic and explosive strength, coordination, rhythm,
efficiency of movement, power endurance and speed. ALSO, the rope
turners need high levels of efficiency, rhythm, coordination, speed strength of
arms and shoulder, core stability and endurance.
As a long
time Track and Field Coach, my initial thoughts centered on the amount of total
foot contacts in 2 minutes (393 lefts = 786 total contacts in 2 minutes!).
Given air-time of at least half the time, that would mean ground contacts were
around .152 seconds per contact. The goal
for Elite athletes in plyometric (jump) training exercises is for ground
contact times of less than .20 seconds.
I could not
help wondering how many Elite Track and Field athletes could do 786 contacts at
that speed ….for TWO MINUTES NON-STOP! Next thought…GET THAT GIRL OUT FOR LONG JUMP, SPRINTS, TRIPLE JUMP or basketball,
volleyball or…(an endless number of transfer of these skills)!!!
TO PREVENT OVERUSE
AND OVERTRAINING INJURIES THAT USUALLY SURFACE DURING HIGH SCHOOL YEARS, parents
and youth sport coaches (of the volunteer variety) in recreational and seasonal-only
sports, CAN do what the ELITE Coaches do
in order to enhance the development of their athletes and prevent injuries AND
I AM NOT TALKING ABOUT mimicking professional or collegiate team training
drills and exercise prescriptions.
AS many Elite coaches) around the world will
attest to ((the following words are those of renowned Scottish Coach Kelvin
Giles) “The first goal is to become a better all-around mover. The all-around
mover can then become an athlete. Only then does the athlete specialize. The
end result is that you then have a specialist in their sport who, FIRST and
foremost, is a genuine athlete NOT just an ‘adapted specialist”.
Another
point for the INTEGRATION of FMS
(fundamental movement skills) and AMSC (athletic movement skill competencies) into
the programs at all levels (EVEN ELITE) is to continue the development of the
“total athlete” AND to prevent
injury. Consider the Study below as one example of this:
“THE EFFECTIVENESS OF EXERCISE INTERVENTION
TO PREVENT SPORTS INJURIES: A SYSTEMATIC REVIEW AND META-ANALYSIS OF RANDOMISED
CONTROLLED TRIALS. (Lauersen, Bertelsen, and Anderson).
The
conclusion of the study authors state > In general, physical activity was shown to
effectively reduce sports injuries. Stretching proved no beneficial effect,
WHEREAS multiple exposure programs, proprioception training, and strength
training, IN THAT ORDER, showed a tendency towards increasing the reduction
of injury. We advocate that MULTIPLE exposure interventions in non-sport
specific movements. Both acute and overuse injuries could be significantly
reduced, overuse injuries by ALMOST HALF.”
World-Renowned
Track and Field Coach and Therapist, Dan Pfaff provides another insight into
the importance of integrating a variety of
FMS and AMSC activities to high-level, Collegiate Track and Field Athletes in his ALTERNATE METHODS FOR DEVELOPING
STRENGTH, POWER AND MOBILITY.
In it, Pfaff
states, “The enhancement of power’ however can
be severely restricted if general strength parameters, mobility, and posture
are not addressed. It is the goal of this article to offer some insight
into the philosophies used during our training sessions to remedy some of the
aforementioned conflicts.
In sport we speak of body mechanics
when describing sport posture. This
term refers to both the static and functional relationships between body parts
and the body as a whole. The concept includes over 200 bones and some 600
muscles not to mention the endless chains of fascia and various connective
tissue systems. Efficient body mechanics is a function of balance and poise
of the body in all positions possible including standing, lying, sitting,
during movements and in a variety of mediums.
Maximum physiological and mechanical
function does sometimes serve as a guide for correct postures. These functions
can be further evaluated by observing excessive stress on joints, connective
tissue, muscles, and coordinative action. In the sport of track and field,
“active alerted posture” is the goal of all sportsmen.
This can be defined by the balanced
action of muscle groups on both sides of body joints at six fixing levels:
(1)ankle joints; (2) knee joints; (3) hip joints; (4) lower back; (5) head and
neck; (6) shoulder girdle.
Poor mobility, strength imbalances, overuse injuries, dis-coordination, etc. can often times be traced back to these postural tenets. While specialized training can sometimes lead to postural improvement it is my belief that general activities that enhance posture, joint strength, muscle and joint coordination, and all aspects of mobility are in short supply with today’s youth.!!!!!!
Poor mobility, strength imbalances, overuse injuries, dis-coordination, etc. can often times be traced back to these postural tenets. While specialized training can sometimes lead to postural improvement it is my belief that general activities that enhance posture, joint strength, muscle and joint coordination, and all aspects of mobility are in short supply with today’s youth.!!!!!!
A highly sedentary lifestyle exhibited by today’s society
has precluded the acquisition of these general qualities once found in
abundance several generations ago. I have
found that the introduction of highly specialized, event specific training
stimuli can be the source of tremendous frustration and reoccurring injury patterns
If these “foundational items” have
not been developed, been given time to stabilize and then in a systematic
format undergo actualization in a variety of conditions, thresholds, and
environments.
Therefore, our athletes include a great deal of remedial and ancillary work of
this type in our training schedules. As the athlete acquires more
efficient postures during very simple motor tasks we find the more advanced
skills evolve at a quicker rate and that long term repetitive injury patterns
lessen or are eliminated.
This
template and coping skill that is formulated during the basic skill activity
seems to lay large foundations for superior athletic skills.”
So,
Pfaff gives his prescription for providing the FMS and AMSC type movements to his collegiate (at the time of this
article) the, elite athletes he know trains at the World Athletics Center BELOW:
The repertoire of activities used to
enhance functional postural integrity, and as a result, latent power resources
is limited only by one’s creativity and knowledge of kinesiological principles.
As this integrity is evolved, then more
sophisticated and advanced movement skills result. Listed below are select
items from the menu of training schemes that we implement at various sessions
throughout the training year.
Volumes,
intensities, densities, and rest to work ratios are influenced by training
age, time of the season, medical and skill parameters.”
Postural Training Controls
1. Sprint Drills or Exercises
2. Multiple Jumps Series
3. Multiple Throw Series
4. Dynamic Mobility Circuits
5. Hurdle Mobility Circuits
6. General Strength Circuits
7. Medicine Ball Circuits
Postural Training Controls
1. Sprint Drills or Exercises
2. Multiple Jumps Series
3. Multiple Throw Series
4. Dynamic Mobility Circuits
5. Hurdle Mobility Circuits
6. General Strength Circuits
7. Medicine Ball Circuits
I took the
liberty of enlarging and underling in various parts of emphasis. I would like
to add that AT ANY LEVEL OF ATHLETIC TRAINING OR SPORT coaches need to use
MOTOR AND POSTURAL EXCELLENCE as the determining factor in planning the volume
and intensity level of activities in the WEIGHT ROOM, FIELD, COURT AND TRACK.
We can GO
ONE STEP FURTHER and say that IN NO WAY SHOULD ATHLETES WHO DO NOT EXHIBIT
POSTURAL INTEGRITY AND MASTERY OF FOUNDATIONAL MOVEMENT SKILLS AND ADEQUATE
RANGE OF MOTION IN THESE MOVEMENTS SHOULD EVER BE LOADED WITH WEIGHTED BARS, ETC.
Instead of
applying Strength Training Methods of successful College or Pro Sport athletes
or teams, high school coaches need to start with FMS and AMSC movement skills and progress to BODY WEIGHT exercises
specific to the primary movements each of the athletes will use in their sport
position or event.
Even when athletes progress to strength training with
weights, this should be strictly to address MINIMUM strength qualities needed
for their position or event performance WITH the basic skill activities still
integrated for injury prevention as Coach Pfaff illustrates in his training plan above.
A great
example of this can be seen in the approach of STANFORD FOOTBALL STRENGTH AND
CONDITIONING COACH Shannon Turley. Below I am highlighting the specifics of a
recent Bleacher Report Article that you can access in it’s entirety by clicking here:
Here are excerpts I
feel are relevant to this Blog post.
What they are doing is building one of the most comprehensive and successful player development programs in the country through highly specialized training, personalized by position and player.
Stanford’s player development team focuses its efforts on injury prevention, athletic performance and mental discipline—in that order. Basically, the Stanford weight program doesn’t worry about having the "strongest" guys in college football. It focuses on football strength, technique and making sure the best Cardinal players stay on the field all season.
For those who say numbers in the weight room are important measure of success on the field, Turley would counter with the example of Stanford’s 6’5”, 313-pound All-American guard David Yankey, who Turley says can barely bench his own body weight.
‘‘He’s got to have some pop, I get it,” said Turley. “But isn’t the rate at which you strike more important than moving a bunch of weight around really slow?”
Turely explains that bench press and squat goals don’t even factor into his thinking when he designs a workout for a player. He is concerned only with a player’s ability to move as he needs to on the football field.
For an offensive lineman like
Yankey, this means the mobility and
stability of his shoulder, the stability of his core and the mobility of
his lower body. Optimizing those characteristics allows him to get low and quickly
apply force in the direction he intends to move, thus fulfilling his role
as a blocker.
“This functional focus, with less emphasis on big muscles and gallons of sweat, is brilliant,” Carroll said. “Each player has a function and certain movements and patterns that help him fulfill that function. Stanford is way ahead of the curve on this.”
“Our numbers are very unimpressive,” said Turley. “But we’re not chasing numbers. We are chasing lean muscle, reducing body fat and making guys functionally strong for football.”
Stanford football is a year-long commitment. Between the season, spring practice, fall camp and three six- to seven-week offseason training sessions, the Cardinal players are participating in football-related activities for 43 weeks out of the year. Of those weeks, 19 are spent exclusively in the weight room and on the track under Turley’s supervision.
The winter program is focused on recovery from the season, while the spring offseason program is the only time the Cardinal focus on speed and power development.
Things heat up in the summer when conditioning is the main focus. From late June through the first week of August, Turley will run his players through a variety of position-specific exercises that focus on the movements they are going to execute repeatedly in fall practice and throughout the season.
During the season, the Stanford program focuses on recovery and restoring mobility to sore bodies that have performed the same action over and over again on the field.
Specialization
The stated goal of Turley’s strength program is to “develop lean, athletic players that can play with low pads and leverage and exert force in the direction that they intend to move.” Turley builds football players, not weightlifters or track athletes. “We are not training for a 40 because you don’t run a 40 in football,” he said.
All of Stanford’s workouts are grounded in the SAID (Specific Adaptations to Imposed Demands) principle Turley has carried with him since his days as a student assistant working under Mike Gentry at Virginia Tech.
Turley and his staff start with separate workout templates designed for each of the six player groups (skill, big skill, linemen, quarterbacks, specialists, freshmen) and personalize based on a player’s injury history and predetermined movement patterns, which usually stem from experience playing other sports or previous injury. As the players’ bodies mature throughout their careers, the workouts change.
Isometrics
The most unique aspect of the Stanford strength program is its focus on isometric and eccentric exercises. While other college football programs and weekend warrior weightlifters focus on the force-delivering or concentric aspect of a lift or exercise (rising out of a squat or pushing up the bench press bar), Turley preaches the control of the weight. This increases stability and durability of the muscle.
Concentric-focused training is power-focused and creates great numbers in the gym, but it puts athletes at greater risk of injury.
"While some programs do similar things, it’s seldom the focus," explained Carroll. "It’s secondary or worse. Anyone who’s been in a weight room has done 'negative reps' or 'slo-mo reps,' but this kind of program built around those things is unique."
Turley starts all the players—upperclassmen and freshmen alike—with body weight movements or accentuated eccentrics (the lowering phase of a pull-up) and isometrics (holding a push-up or squat in position for an extended period of time). These exercises teach players how to control their bodies and learn how to have the endurance to do it correctly when they get fatigued.
In their first summer in the program, freshmen work almost exclusively on conditioning, flexibility and core strength through the use of accentuated eccentrics and isometrics. They do your gym teacher’s favorite exercises: pull-ups, push-ups, body weight squats and lunges. They even climb rope “like old-school gym class,” said Turley.
He firmly believes that what Stanford football players “learn first, they are going to learn best,” which makes a player’s buy-in during those trying first three weeks all the more important to his eventual success in the Stanford program.
The first summer is all about getting the newbies “to invest in the process and develop the right habits” in football, training, diet and lifestyle. For Stanford players, investment in the process means consistently making choices that align with a player’s goals for himself and the team. Turley calls this buy-in “fundamentally important.”
Turley uses accountability and personal challenges as the major tools of mental development. He describes his program as “process-focused,” which means he sets effort and improvement goals for his players rather than chasing result-oriented goals. "I don’t care [about] the number," he said. "I care about their ability to improve it."
The team code of conduct is simple: technique, effort, attitude and mental discipline. "Four things you have complete and total control over, that take absolutely no talent and no ability. That’s where we want to invest ourselves," Turley explained. "In every situation they are in with us, they have complete and total control over that."
RELEVANT QUOTES TO THINK ABOUT:
“it isn’t how big their squat or clean is that determines their success; it is their speed and technique.”---Joel Smith (Cal S&C Coach)
“given youth sports trends, I think Orthopedic surgeon is a recession proof profession”.---David Epstein (author of “The Sports Gene)
HIGH SCHOOL COACHES WISHING TO COPY STRENGTH TRAINING PROGRAMS NEED TO LOOK INTO THIS PHILOSOPHY!
My next Blog post will explore some of the “poor habits” that are easily found in many, if not all, high schools when it comes to LIFESTYLE issues concerning Diet, Sleep and Regenerative Methods.
