Happy Monday! Here are a few thoughts bouncing around in my head after a week of reading, podcasts and other continuing ed. Enjoy!

1. As much as I love chin ups, I am starting to wonder if inverted rows (TRX Rows) should be the main pulling movement for athletes. Some added benefits of core stability and the fact that it’s the opposite movement of the over-programmed bench press makes me think it may be more important for shoulder health the chin ups.
2. Great coaches have a ton of self-reflection. Having other coaches critique them and point out flaws is important, but great coaches aren’t blind to their weaknesses.
3. As a coach you should be able to go to bed before a big game and feel you did everything in your power to help the athlete achieve. – Matt Jordan
4. Don’t be attached to methods, be attached to getting the athletes you work with better.

Another week, another group of podcasts and articles to read and listen to that I have dived into. Like every other week, there was a ton of content out there both in written form and through podcasts.

For podcasts, this was one of the better weeks that I can remember in a while. Robbie Bourke had a great episode with Tim DiFrancesco. CVASP with Fergus Connolly and Mike Snowden were both great. Mike Boyle’s interview on Barbell Shrugged was a must listen. And finally, the NSCA Coaching podcast with Ramsey Nijem had a ton of simple and useful information. I’d highly recommend listening to all five of them.

For articles, a couple really good reads this week. If you are like me you always could use some more thoracic spine rotation – so give Dean Somerset’s article a read. Also, give anything Tony Holler writes a read.

Enjoy!

Podcasts

All Things Strength and Wellness with Tim DiFrancesco

CVASP #167 with Fergus Connolly

CVASP #168 with Mike Snowden

Barbell Shrugged with Mike Boyle

NSCA Coaching Podcast with Ramsey Nijem

Articles 

Cleaning Up Thoracic Rotation by Dean Somerset

Ten Sprint Facts I Wish Everyone Understood by Tony Holler

The Problem With Being Happy by Dave Schools

Instilling Practical Sport Science in a Team Setting by Devan McConnell

Feed the Cats: How to Help Track Athletes Stop Hating Their Sport and Start Running Faster then Ever by Tony Holler

🗣 There has been a lot of talk (debate) lately on “sport specific” training. For me, it’s pretty straight forward 👉 training is human specific not sport specific. I’d say close 85-90% of what we do is the same from team to team or sport to sport.

➡️ Everyone Sprints
➡️ Everyone Throws Med Balls in various planes
➡️ Everyone performs Power work
➡️ Everyone performs Knee Dominant work
➡️ Everyone performs Hip Dominant work
➡️ Everyone Pushes things
➡️ Everyone Pulls things
➡️ Everyone performs “Anti” core work
➡️ Everyone performs interval based conditioning

That being said, on the other end of things our training does take in account some of the specific demands or injury concerns that a certain sport may have, like potential shoulder concerns for volleyball athletes or hip concerns with hockey players, but at a max those specific issues make up 10-15% of our training. That 10-15% is important, but too many people take it too far in the name of “sport specific”.

Just a thought…

If most strength coaches would agree that the Landmine Press is a more shoulder friendly variation of overhead pressing when compared to overhead pressing with a dumbbell and especially a barbell, then wouldn’t the same be true when going overhead for power work?

In our culture we like to worship the sophisticated. The more complicated something is the more we like it. Our training is neither of those.

Band Lateral Bound ⬇️

💥 Power in the Frontal Plane which is vitally important for most all athletes
💥 Power is plane specific 👉 you aren’t going to get better moving explosively laterally by doing cleans and snatches
💥 Just like the Band Broad Jump, the band lowers some of the landing stress – any time we can save a little wear and tear on the athletes body is a good thing in my book
💥 Band adds some resistance to a traditional lateral bound

Horizontal power and strength is something that I feel we don’t train enough in the weight room. One excellent movement to train horizontal power is the Broad Jump, but something that I don’t use much as the landing forces on the knees scares me a little ➡️ the forces are very similar to the landing mechanism that can result in an ACL injury.

Instead, because we want the benefits of broad jumping, we will perform a Band Resisted Broad Jump. The Band Resisted version help to eliminate some of the stress on the knees when landing, along with creating an external resistance.

Happy Monday! Here are a few thoughts bouncing around in my head after a week of reading, podcasts and other continuing ed. Enjoy!

1. “80% of your job is knowing what not to do.” – Fergus Connolly. I couldn’t agree more. As a strength coach, a huge part of our job is knowing what not to do with certain athletes. What exercises are contraindicated for a certain athlete? What exercises are contraindicated for certain athletic populations due to their sporting demands? Common sense, but a huge part of keeping athletes healthy is by not doing things that may do just the opposite.
2. In the world of strength and conditioning, sports performance or coaching, complacency kills more careers then anything else. Always be learning. Always be evolving. Always be trying to be a better version of yourself personally and professionally.
3. Always remember; No one succeeds alone. No one. Ever.

Another week, another group of podcasts and articles to read and listen to that I have dived into. Like every other week, there was a ton of content out there both in written form and through podcasts.

For podcasts, there were a lot of really good ones this week. Fergus Connolly is always good. Dan Baker was a great listen on the Iron Game Chalk Talk podcast. But, David Goggins is something special – give that guy a listen!

For articles, lots of good content out there this week via articles, but being a hockey guy, I loved Kevin Neeld’s article on speed development and rotational power in ice hockey – some really good stuff.

Enjoy!

Podcasts

All Things Strength and Wellness with Fergus Connolly

Rich Roll with David Goggins

Physical Prep with Chidi Enyia

Iron Game Chalk Talk with Lew Caralla

Iron Game Chalk Talk with Dan Baker

Articles

Misconceptions about Niche Development by Pete Dupuis

The Plight of the Elite, Fast-Twitch Athlete by Michael Boyle

Skating Speed and Rotational Power Development by Kevin Neeld

Three Things Nature Teaches Us About Motion by Perry Nickelston

Why You Should be Planning for 2020, Not 2019 by Ben Hardy

Another day, another day before a game primer type workout, this time with Women’s Basketball.

Same idea as yesterday, with some slight different movement/exercises.

💥do things fast
💥have zero muscle soreness the following day(s)
💥ultimately the goal is to get bodies moving fast and explosively heading into game play

We strategically are getting both horizontal and vertical lower body power as well as two med ball exercises that get into different planes of motion.

1️⃣ Sled Sprint
2️⃣ Med Ball Stepping Overhead Throw
3️⃣ Trap Bar Jump Squat
4️⃣ Med Ball Side Toss