Author: Vernon Gambetta
Out of Nowhere
Out of Nowhere is a book about Nike written from the perspective of one of the earliest and most loyal employees of Nike, Geoff Hollister. I really enjoyed this book even though I am no longer much of a believer in the Nike story. I think Nike is the 800 gorilla that has corrupted track and field. That is something that happened beginning in the late 1980’s and continues today, but this book is about the founding of Nike and the influence of Bill Bowerman. It brought back a rush of fond memories for me of the days when the sport of track and field still had a bit of purity and interest in the essence of the sport – competition. It is a good read. Geoff is battling cancer and that is the focus of the last two chapters. The following quote is the last two paragraphs of the book, I thought they were worth sharing. “…Life thrusts you into a competitive environment. How do you prepare for the realities and the unknown? Hopefully you have a mentor, a Bowerman who pushes you at that critical time. A time when someone has a belief in your future more than you do. it’s not about how long you live but how you contribute. It’s about doing your best and doing the right thing. It’s about recovering from your mistakes and not giving up. It’s about the baton pass to a new generation. It’s about the realization that you cannot go it alone. It takes a team. In the end, you are somewhere in the middle, part of a never ending process. The future will never remember what was in your bank account or what kind of car you drove. The future will remember that wild ride of life where you believed in others and left a gift behind for someone else to dream the impossible. The gift was your own life. It does not matter whether it was long or short. What did you leave behind?”
Football Follies
The latest word from that iteration of the circus known as the NFL Combine is that the theme of this combine is “Fluid Hips.” I was channel surfing yesterday and landed on several of the ESPN pundits talking about the combine. I sat forward in my chair hoping I would learn something about talent selection and identification when they started talking about “Fluid Hips.” What the hell are fluid hips? I think I have an idea of what they are talking about but do they know? Does this represent another example of NFL group think and double speak? I think they are talking about hip mobility. If that is the case is what they are doing really measuring and evaluating that quality. I guarantee that the hurdle hip mobility test originated by Steve Myrland and Bill Knowles (Athletic Development page 63 & www.gambetta.com/books ) will measure that. How about doing a complete Athlete Profile following the Kelvin Giles model http://movementdynamics.com that is now used extensively in rugby. The combine and so called pro days are now marketing events. Do they really have anything to do with the game? I am convinced that most coaches really have no idea of what happens in the game. They think they do because they either played the game or watched thousands of hours of film so they could better imitate what other are doing – sheepwalking. They coach what they think is happening rather than what is actually happening. When they talk about speed of the game do they have any idea what they really mean? Does anyone know how fast and how many yards and at what speeds a wide receiver runs in a game versus practice? What kinds of loads are imposed on planting and cutting? What is the cumulative load of the collisions? What are the physical demands of practice and training versus the game? It all comes down to a simple question – Do you want to innovate or imitate?
Evalutating a Training Program – Part 4 – Summing Up
If in doubt use the the old reliable 3P criteria. The the training program does meet the 3P criteria it is probably flawed. Practical – Can you do the program with the minimal facilities, equipment and supervision. Simplicity yields complexity. Personal -Is is individualized? Does it fit you or is it one size fits all? Proactive – Is there a clear plan and a progression?
Evaluating a Training program – Part Three – The Who
Do you know the origins of the training programs or system you are using? Who designed it? What is their background? What are their credentials and experience? Beware of certifications disguised as qualifications. I value experience and academic credentials over commercial certifications. I am always wary if a person has too many letters after their name. Is this a commercial venture that requires you to purchase equipment? Who are their sponsors? Who actually designs and writes the training program? If is a training center who actually implements the program – it is a qualified coach or an intern? Do they actually coach or do they just lead you through the workout? Do the results of the program speak for themselves or are there a long list of celebrity and all star endorsers? Is it individual? How much does it cost? Are the claims for the program valid?
Part Two – Evaluating a Training Program – Practical Considerations
Demands of the Sport – Does the program address the demands of the sport that you are training for or is it one size fits all? Qualities of the Individual Athlete – Does the program consider the physical qualities of the individual athlete. Strength and weaknesses in all physical qualities must be considered. Is there a remedial component to address any deficiencies. Pattern of Injuries/Injury History – What are the common injuries in the sport you are preparing for? Does the program take into account the individual’s injury history. “24 Hour Athlete” Concept – Does the program recognize that that you only train a limited number of hours a day, but that you have to work or go to school. Time Frame Available to Execute the Plan – Is the time frame for the program arbitrary or does it take into account the varied adaptation rate for the different physical qualities. Miracle six programs generally do not meet this criteria. Specific Goals – What are the specific goals of the program? Are they measureable and achievable given the time frame available. Developmental Level – Does the program take into account your current state of fitness and current technical development in your sport? Competition Schedule – Does the program take into account the varied demands of the competition schedule? Recovery/Regeneration – Is there variation in the program and planned recovery ? Equipment & Technology – Is the program based on equipment or technology that will not allow you to train if you do not have that equipment or technology.
Part One – Evaluating a training Program – Basic Principles
The following are commonly accepted principles of training. A sound training program should address each of these principles. You should be able to identify these principles clearly and quickly. I maintain that if all of these principles is not observed then the training program is fundamentally unsound. Progression – The most fundamental of all the principles. Clear progression pathways should be articulated. The goals of the overall training program, the goals of each season should be clear. There must be a means of evaluation to determine a starting point and progress to the ultimate training goal. Accumulation – Adaptation is a cumulative process. No one workout can make an athlete but one workout can break an athlete. A good program must plan for immediate, residual and cumulative training effects. Variation – Systematic planned variation will insure continued adaptation. I emphasize that this must be planned, but it does not mean that every workout has to be entirely different and unique. Variation can occur due to type of load, frequency, intensity or volume. Context – Everything in a program must be in context. It must fit with the objectives of the overall program and the goals of the individual session. Overload – This is basic, you include a stress beyond a normal stress to elicit an adaptive response. What is often misunderstood is that overload can come from volume, intensity or density/frequency. Recoverability – The training program must take into account the ability of the athletes to recover from the training load. If the workouts continually bury the athlete then there will not be a positive training response significantly increasing the risk of injury, illness or overtraining.
Evaluating A training Program
This week I plan to write a series of posts that will give you the tools to be able to evaluate a training program. I keep getting phone calls and questions asking my opinion on various popular programs. Rather than comment on Fat Fit or Jungle Jane’s program, I think it is more effective to give you a template to evaluate your own program and other programs objectively. The criteria is based on my experience, sport science, and sound pedagogy, not commercial hype or marketing. I do not have a program or a certification to sell so I think I can be objective. In my 47 years of training and 40 years of coaching I have seen many fads come and go, so I will put a historical context on my evaluation. Tomorrow I will start with training principles.
Training Focus
A mantra that I have lived by throughout my coaching career is that you are what you train to be. If you train to be slow then you will be slow, if you train to be fast you will be fast. This seems obvious doesn’t it? Then why do we persist in looking for secret and magic training methods that are essentially one way dead end streets. When you get to the dead end now where do you go? There is no return. What struck me as I was listening to military presenters at the Combat Athlete Symposium is that they were training for the tests, the traditional PT (Physical Training) tests; this has driven their training down a one way street that they realize is not preparing for the realities of modern combat. We do the same in sports, with combine type testing and emphasizing fitness tests for the athletes that demand they be fit for the test, not fit for the game. The demands of the game should determine the training and the testing. The older I get and the more I coach the more I realize that even with the game analysis tools we have available to us today that that we are preparing for a game we think they are playing rather than the game they are actually playing. Remember you are what you train to be! Should you test? Absolutely, but the tests should give useful information that relates to the game and the players position in the game. It cannot be effective if it is some arbitrary standard that some coaching legend dreamed up 50 or 60 years when there was nothing (The 40 in Football and the 60 in Baseball). This is 2009 we have data and detailed sport science information to help determine more exact training and testing let use it.