Author: Vernon Gambetta
Thoughts on Plyometric Training – Part Two
The prerequisites for effective use of Plyometric training are coordination, balance, body control and awareness. Core control and core strength are also very important to maintain good dynamic posture during the movements. Leg strength relative to the level of the athlete’s development is a must. It is not necessary to be able to squat a certain amount of weight, rather it is necessary to exhibit a certain degree of functional leg strength. If these prerequisites are at an acceptable level then the athlete is ready to start into a basic progression. Progression is essential to minimize injury and optimize training adaptation. Lead up activities done in a playful, game like environment are a very important part of progression as well as good preparation for the young developing athlete. The key to progression is to teach landing first. Foot position is the key to effective landing. The landing is on a full foot (mid foot contact), not on the ball of the foot or a completely flat foot. A mid foot landing will set the foot in a position to shock absorb and set up the utilization of the elasticity of the muscles up the kinetic chain. This will teach how to absorb shock and set up the readiness for the any subsequent take-offs on multiple response activities. After landing, then teach take-off which is triple extension of ankle, knee and hip, the summation of forces. Plyometric training is classified descriptively based on the projection of the center of gravity. The In Place Response is characterized by vertical displacement of center of gravity. The Short Response is characterized by horizontal displacement of center of gravity and ten contacts or less. The Long Response is characterized by horizontal displacement of Center of Gravity with speed and more than ten contacts. To help the coach get a better command of the process of putting the classifications into a coherent program the Plyometric Demand Matrix (Adapted from Radcliffe page 42 High Powered Plyometrics) was developed to govern progression. The progression variables can be manipulated moving down the column or across. The suggested range of sets, repetitions and or distance appears in each box. Low Impact Medium Impact High Impact Shock In-Place Response 3-4 sets 10-20 reps 3 sets 10-12 reps 2-3 sets 8-10 reps 2 sets 10 reps Short Response 3 sets 10-12 reps 10-20 meters 3 sets 10 reps 10-20 meters 2-3 sets 8-10 reps 10-20 meters 2 sets 10 reps Long Response 3 sets 10-20 reps 20-40 meters 2-3 sets 10-15 reps 20-40 meters 2-3 sets 10-12 reps 20-40 meters NA For the athlete of advance training age the numbers can be pushed up slightly as long as quality is not compromised. Keep in mind that this matrix is only a rough guideline and it must be adapted to fit the sport and the individual athlete.
Thoughts on Plyometric Training – Part One
Plyometric training is based on the naturally occurring physiological phenomenon of the stretch shortening cycle of muscle action. It is training the stretch shortening cycle of muscle action to enhance the subsequent concentric action. The utilization of the stretch shortening is essential for efficient human movement. It is a quality of the muscle action that is highly trainable and adaptable. Over the years much confusion has arisen about this method of training. Much of the confusion has come from the name itself. It first appeared in coaching literature in the late 1960’s, but that is not when it was first used in training. Jumping, hopping, and bounding activities have been used throughout the ages, although it was not until the mid twentieth century that the use of these activities was systematically applied to athletic performance enhancement. It is scientifically accurate and more descriptive to call this method elastic/ reactive training but that is cumbersome, hence the term plyometrics is more commonly used. Elastic/ reactive training is certainly more descriptive of the goals of the training method and the physiological demands, because essentially we are training the elastic properties of the muscle to be more reactive to the ground. The goals of Plyometric training are threefold: 1) First and foremost to raise explosive power. 2) To learn to better attenuate ground forces regardless of the event or sport. 3) To learn to be able to tolerate and use greater stretch loads, in essence to increase muscle stiffness. The last point demands a bit more explanation. Musculotendinous stiffness is the key to elastic/reactive training. It is highly related to the body’s ability to store and reuse elastic energy from running and jumping. The concept of stiffness is sometimes confusing because we tend to equate stiffness with a lack of flexibility, for explosive movements this is not the case. Essentially a stiff muscle will develop a high degree of tension as it is stretched. This is very desirable to raise explosiveness. Conversely a non-stiff muscle will collapse and absorb elastic energy; it does not react as actively to the ground, therefore it will produce significantly less explosiveness. A simple analogy to help to understand stiffness is to compare a soft rubber playground ball and a golf ball. If both balls were dropped onto a hard concrete surface the golf ball would react rapidly and the playground ball would react slowly to the ground. In plyometic training in order to optimize ground reaction forces we want the golf ball type reaction. A stiff muscle is able to produce optimum amounts of reactive force in a short period of time. 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 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. Nothing should ever compromise the intensity of the movements. Too much emphasis has been placed on volume in terms of the number of contacts. Over the years as with a better understanding of the application of the method, the number of contacts in a training session and a microcycle has been significantly reduced. In the past it was not uncommon to see 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. More is definitely 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. Plyometric training consists of three very basic movements. Jumping characterized by two foot landings is the most fundamental. Hopping is characterized by one foot landing. Due to the fact that body weight is supported on one leg on landing makes hopping more stressful. Bounding is characterized by alternate leg takeoff. This is also quite demanding because all the bodyweight is supported on one in the landings. The complexity in Plyometric training comes from combining these movements and their derivatives.
CSCA Presentation – Foundational Strength
This is the outline of my presentation to the Collegiate Strength & Conditioning Coaches Association in Orlando. I will be presenting tomorrow afternoon. If you are at the convention I would love to visit and talk about training. I will be there just for the day tomorrow. Foundational Strength Building The Athlete From The Ground Up Goals Bullet proof the athlete – Eliminate movement deficiencies “Farmboy Strength” – Compensate for inactive lifestyle Develop ability to handle bodyweight through full ranges of motion with speed and control Build structural strength to eliminate any later limitations Prepare for heavier and more intense loads to follow Develop tendon strength and dynamic joint stability Enhance linkage and connections Strength Training Definition (Adapted from Frans Bosch) Coordination training with appropriate resistance to handle bodyweight, project an implement, more or resist movement of another body, resist gravity and optimize ground reaction forces. Movement Constants Body Gravity Ground Full Spectrum Strength Training Multiple Planes Multiple Joints Full Range of Motion Proprioceptively Demanding Mindful Doherty Strength Power Index S 10 S 9 S 8 S 7 S 6 S 5 S 4 S 3 S 2 S 1 S = Strength V 1 V 2 V 3 V 4 V 5 V 6 V 7 V 8 V 9 V 10 V = Velocity Principles Train movements not muscles Pull Push Squat Rotate Brace Body weight before external resistance Strength before strength endurance and power before power endurance Basic Concepts of Foundational Strength “Let the volume do the work” Training accumulates Session to Session Week to Week Month to Month Year to Year Volume is achieved through more sets, not necessarily through more reps Foundation Strength Training Rules Get the Reps – No failure! Handle the load – Load is determined as % of Bodyweight Up to 30 % of BW for males & 25% of BW for females. After those thresholds are reached progress to normal loading and speed guidelines Handle the rest (Active Rest) Handle the tempo (Intra set and inter set) Lower Body – 1 reps/sec up to a resistance threshold Upper Body 1 – 2 reps/ sec up to a resistance threshold Full range of motion @ prescribed speed with control Progress to multiple planes of motion Sagittal Frontal Transverse Vary the limb involvement Bilateral Unilateral Reciprocal Vary the muscle action after first time through program Isometric Concentric Eccentric Achieve mastery before progressing to next step Compatible Components (How it fits with other training components) Starts and Acceleration Basic Technique & Skill Development Plyo’s – In-place & Short Response Extensive Tempo Endurance Mobility The Workout Get it right the first time Expect Success – Teach routine – Good Habits “Total Involvement” – Rest is “active” Everything MUST be in pursuit of the goal of that workout and the program overall Focus on “Need to do” exercises, eliminate the nice to do Program Planning & Design A sound well-developed plan allows you to know where you are at all times Six week block or two six weeks blocks depending on: Training age Level of development Gender Sport Recycle “Foundation Strength” during the training year as needed Progression from year to year throughout a career No need to start at step one each subsequent training year Assessment Testing = Training and Training = Testing Landmark Workouts Leg Circuit Test Dumbbell Complex Challenge Acknowledgements Coach Nick Garcia & the Athletes at Notre Dame High School, Sherman Oaks, California Kristen Batt & Meagan Wallin (Pro Beach Volleyball Players) who have lived this program the last four years Venice Girls Volleyball 2008 -10, Venice High School, Venice, Florida University of Michigan Womens Swimming, Harvard University Womens Swimming, Kenyon College Mens and Womens Swimming & Carmel Swim Club References/Suggested Readings Bosch, Frans., and Klomp, Ronald. Running – Biomechanics and Exercise Physiology Applied in Practice. London. Elsevier Churchill Livingstone. 2005 Cardinale, Marco. Newton, Robert. And Nosaka, Kazunri. Strength and Conditioning – Biological Principles and Practical Application. Wiley-Blackwell. 2011 Cometti, Gilles. el entrenamiento de la velocidad. Barcalona, Spain. Editorial Paidotribo. 2002 Cometti, Gilles. La Preparacion Fisica En El Baloncesto. Barcelona, Spain. Editorial Paidotribo. 2002 Curwin, Sandra. & Stanish, William D. M.D. and Mandel, Scott. Tendinitis: it’s Etiology and Treatment, New York, New York: Oxford University Press, 2000. Gambetta, Vernon A. The Gambetta Method – A Common Sense Guide To Functional Training for Athletic Perfromance. Sarasota, FL: Gambetta Sports Training.2002 Gambetta, Vernon A. Athletic Development – The Art & Science of Functional Sports Conditioning. Champaign, IL: Human Kinetics Publishing Company. 2007 Issurin, Valdimir. Principles and Basics of Advanced Athletic Training. Ultimate Athlete Concepts. Michigan, USA. 2008 John, Dan and Tsatsouline, Pavel. Easy Strength – How to Get a lot stronger than your competition and dominate in your sport. St. Paul, MN. Dragon Door Publications, 2011 Komi, P. V., Editor,(Second Edition) Strength and Power In Sport, London: Blackwell Scientific Publications. 2003 Lederman, Eyal. Neuromuscular Rehabilitation in Manual and Physical Therapies – Principles to Practice, Edinburgh: Churchill Livingstone – Elsevier. 2010 Murer, Kurt and Bucher, Walter. 1000 exercises d’athletisme. Paris France. Vigot. 1985 Olbrecht, Jan. The Science of Winning – Planning, Periodizing and Optimizing Swim Training. Swim Shop, Luton, England. 2000 Radcliffe, James C. Functional Training For Athletes At Levels – Workouts For Agility, Speed And Power. Oakland, California. Ulysses Press. 2007 Scholich, Manfred. (1986) Circuit Training. Berlin: Sportverlag Starzynski, Tadeusz. And Sozanski, Henryk. (1999) Explosive Power and Jumping Ability for all Sports. Island Pond, VT: Stadion Publishing Company.
Youth Sports – Problems & Solutions
Problems Training at the beginning level focuses on winning rather than the process of learning how to train and appreciating the joy of participating and learning to test limits. Young developmental athletes over compete and under train. The ideal training to competition ration is 4 or 5 training sessions to every competition. Realistically it should be no less than three training sessions to every one competition. Fundamental motor skills are under emphasized or never emphasized. The lack of a foundation of fundamental movement skills will ultimately limit sport skill. Damage done at early developmental ages cannot be corrected. Therefore it is imperative to get it right the first time. Possible Solutions Give the games back to the kids – Minimize adult and parental involvement. Set up situations where free is encouraged and the kids organize their own games. Put play back into play – Every kid will not win a scholarship or sign a pro contract. For every LeBron James there are thousands who have not made it. Reinstitute mandatory daily Physical Education in the schools. This will solve many problems and create some others, but it would be a start.
Strength Training for Sport Performance – Program Design Considerations
Devising a strength training program can be a daunting task. Essentially we must remember that the goal of a program is to develop strength that the athlete can use in their respective sport. To accomplish this I think of strength training as a process of moving through a spectrum of different movements and muscle actions with varied modes and loads to elicit the optimum strength training adaptation. Moving through the strength training spectrum is a means to an end, that end is a stronger more functional athlete. Sport performance regardless of the sport is a multidimensional activity. It takes place in a dynamic environment where movement occurs in all planes of motion using multiple joint movements to produce the desired movement mechanics. The traditional approach to strength training has been heavily influenced by mental convenience. In that approach the emphasis was on movement in one plane of motion at one joint because it was easy to describe, that is the way it was in an anatomy book. We do not move in an anatomical position, it is static and fixed. We move period! Performance involves the whole body moving through all three planes of motion – sagittal, frontal & transverse – and using as many joints a possible – Toe Nails to Fingernails – to reduce and produce force. Strength training is coordination training with appropriate resistance whose main goal is enhance linkage and connectivity to produce the required movement efficiently. Train movements not muscles. The CNS calls for patterns of movement that can be modified in countless ways to react appropriately to gravity, ground reaction forces, and momentum. Each activity is further refined and adjusted by feedback from the body’s proprioceptors. This process ensures optimal neuromuscular control and efficiency of movement. Movement is not an isolated event that occurs in one plane of motion; it involves synergists, stabilizers, neutralizers, and antagonists all working together to reproduce efficient triplanar movements. Rob Sleamaker, inventor of the Vasa Trainer sums it up quite well: “Muscles must be built in, not built on.” Building muscles in through movements goes a long way toward improving coordination. Dumbbells and kettlebells are excellent tools to train movements and enhance coordination. A sound strength-training program must include the following movements: Pulling Pushing Squatting & Squat derivative movements like lunge and step-up Rotation Bracing In a good balanced program all of those movements should be incorporated into the exercises selected and applied in a seven-day microcycle. All the movements must be executed through a full spectrum that incorporates: Multiple Planes Multiple Joints Full Range of Motion High Proprioceptive Demand These spectrum considerations dictate the selection of the exercises. As a step toward designing the optimum program ask the following questions: What are the 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. Now you are ready to design an effective strength training program.
Smart Body or Dumb Body?
You have a choice: Do you think your body is smart or do you think your body is dumb? Lets look at the two viewpoints of the body, the dumb body approach and the smart body approach. The dumb body approach looks at the body in segments with training and rehab consisting of putting the pieces together, essentially assembling building blocks. It is linear, reductionist, and mechanistic. The emphasis is on correcting dysfunctions and balancing out asymmetries with corrective exercises. The dumb body approach focuses on muscles and then looks for exercises that develop those muscles. In conditioning the models are based on training each energy system in isolation and carefully separating neural from metabolic in clean and convenient training packages. In skill learning and coaching the dumb body approach breaks the skills into separate discrete segments and teaches step by step. The smart body approach takes advantage of the body’s inherent wisdom through emphasis on connections and linkages. It recognizes that the body is self-organizing and highly adaptable. Smart body training recognizes context and builds on relationships between all systems of the body. The emphasis is on training movements. It recognizes the muscles have different functions based on the movement required to achieve a specific task. Sport scientist Roger Enoka put it best: “The function of a muscle depends on the context in which it is activated.” In conditioning the smart body recognizes that there is a synergistic relationship between all systems of the body. They all work together to produce efficient movement. The emphasis is on the process and constant refinement of the process to produce higher levels of adaption. In skill learning and refinement the smart body approach allows the body to solve movement problems through exploration. The process is guided by providing progressively more difficult movement problems for the body to solve. Obviously I weigh in on the smart body choice. There's no question that the body is highly adaptable and self-organizing which gives it an incredible ability to adapt to radical extremes in terms of environment and all the various stressors that can be placed upon it. Look around and see movement with different eyes. If you need more clues to the smart body watch a baby as it grows and starts to solve the different movement problems presented by its ever expanding environment. Recognizing that the body is smart will open a whole mew vista in training and rehab. There are no limits beyond your imagination and creativity as a coach, teacher or rehab specialist. Look for possibilities not limitations and dysfunctions; give the body credit for its wisdom and then coach, teach and rehab accordingly. Enjoy the process and marvel at the discoveries.
Running Performance and Hamstring Injury Prevention: A Field Sport Model
Running Performance and Hamstring Injury Prevention:A Field Sport Model By Dean Benton, Athletic Performance Director, Brumbies This is a very insightful and thought provoking article by Dean Benton, a colleague, GAIN Faculty member and Athletic Performance Director of Brumbies in Super Fifteen Rugby. Hopefully this brief overview will provide some food for thought and perhaps stimulate another look at the whole hamstring prevention, injury rehabilitation spectrum. Athletic Development: In recent years the speed at which AFL and both the Rugby codes is played at has increased considerably. As such, sprinting and repeat sprint demands have also increased across all football codes. Corresponding with these changes has been an increase in hamstring related injuries. Aside from attempting to train athletic qualities to meet the demands of the game it is also a consideration to condition players for intense sprinting from an injury prevention standpoint. Not exposing players to rapid acceleration and high speed during a pre-season can actually be doing them a disservice. Research has shown that the hamstring activity is not significant until speeds above 90% of maximum speed are attained (Kyröläinen, Komi, & Belli, 1999). Improvements in speed and adaptation to sprinting can take several months. A long-term, systematic and collaborative approach needs to be taken in preparing players for optimal running performance and injury prevention. It is impractical to discuss running performance without considering strength training and vis-versa. Both of these areas of athletic development should complement each other. Technical Development: Running technique training for all running sports should be fairly obvious, but the necessary attention to detail and the time required to carry this out puts coaches off. In reality most field sport athletes can learn and get by with a rudimentary running technique. As mediocrity is habitually accepted, quite often a disproportional amount of training is directed to solely developing the energy systems in order to make performance gains. Ironically, a lack of attention to the mechanical aspects of running can result in athletes ‘leaking’ enormous amounts energy with every foot strike and overstriding – the latter of which puts the hamstrings in a vulnerable position at ground contact. Poor technique when running curves and angles will put more stress on the hamstrings because of the work they have to do in the transverse plane. The primary difference between track athletes and field sports with regard to good or poor running technique is in lower limb mechanics. Efficient upper body technique (i.e. arm drive) can be resolved and taught quickly. The three main errors that occur from the waist down can be improved effectively within a team sport setting with running technique drills that involve no arms or placed overhead. An ancillary benefit of these running technique drills is that they improve general coordination and dynamic balance by default, which often transfers to more fluid running mechanics. Functional Development: Gait is the cornerstone of function. If an athlete has the ability to operate their musculoskeletal system efficiently they will tolerate greater stress, strain and load. Hip mobility or a lack thereof is the genesis of many hamstring problems. Without proper hip mobility the leg will not be able to work through the full range of motion. This limitation will eventually lead to flawed mechanics – especially in a fatigued state. The hamstrings do not work alone, they need help. In particular, the hip abductors play a major role in stabilization. If they are weak or not coordinated with the hamstrings more strain will be placed on the hamstring group. Excessive sway or lateral deviations that forces the synergistic stabilizing muscles to work too hard subsequently shifts more stress to the hamstrings (Gambetta & Benton, 2006). The Mach series drills should rightly be placed in the functional development category. Particularly when they coached as resisted technique drills (as opposed to resisted running). They serve as tremendous developers of anterior hip ROM and specific posterior hip strength (stance leg), as well as facilitators of calf complex stiffness. They do not necessarily improve running technique directly, but indirectly provide the means to express better technique. Functional hamstring strength training should be seen as coordination training with resistance. Furthermore, choice of exercises needs to be based on how the hamstrings behave not based on anatomy (Bosch & Klomp, 2005). References Bosch, F and Klomp, R 2005. Running: biomechanics and exercise physiology in practice, Elsevier, London. Gambetta, V., & Benton, D. (2006). A Systematic Approach to Hamstring Prevention & Rehabilitation. Sports Coach
Instant Experts & Snake Oil Salesmen
Now we have another phenomenon going that I find quite interesting and actually very alarming. I call it the “Teach for America Syndrome”. You get admitted to an elite program like Teach For America (Actually quite a good program) you serve your two years, you leave, you write a book about your experience, now you are an expert. In contrast to this look at Rafe Esquith a very experienced teacher who wrote a book about his experiences – Teach Like Your Hair's on Fire – after twenty-five years plus in the classroom, it is about his success and failures. It is clear that he has the earned the credibility to write the book and be an expert through multiple experiences actually teaching. If you need practical advice on teaching isn’t that whom would you listen to and follow as opposed to someone who taught two or three years? In our field we have the same phenomenon, just out of college you intern at some fancy facility, then you get a job at an academy or with a pro team. You stay there for two or three years you luck out and the team wins a championship (Even though you had nothing to do with it). Now you are 27 years old with one experience and you know it all, you are now an expert! If you really want to solidify your status as an expert you start a certification program with multiple levels of questionable content (Different flavors of sanke oil) based on your one experience. In addition to this you have what I call the “Hitch Your Wagon to a Star Syndrome.” You find an athlete preferably someone of high profile who is hurt, hook him up to a piece of equipment get a popular magazine to write about your miraculous work and viola you have an expert on training and rehab. Not long ago when consulting with a company they had a guy who was their "training expert.” When I asked about his credentials they told me point blank he was their expert because he had a good TV presence. Great credentials! He gets up there and spouts bullshit and everyone hangs on every word and blindly follows – do it man! Drink the Kool-Aid. No one is willing to hold these peoples feet to the fire and hold them accountable. Iam, I am tired of this because it hurting all of in this field. What have they really done, what is their body of work? What are their failures and mistakes? Have they paid their dues? What are their credentials, no I don't mean multiple letters from questionable certifications, I mean real academic and work experience credentials.Are they selling something? Those are fair questions. If we want to be a profession then we must be professional and hold ourselves to a higher standard. We can't tolerate snake oil salesmen. We can’t let marketing and hype triumph over sound pedagogy, training methodology and professionalism. Stop and think, who are you learning from? What are you learning? Do they preach one way or is their system eclectic and adaptable? I am very concerned about the direction of this field because of the plethora of instant experts and the explosion of marketing based on pseudo science and misinformation. We all need to raise our standards and our level of expectation if we want to progress.