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When it comes to speed drills, the jury is still out on their transfer to actual speed. Due to the limited time at high school practices each day, coaches should carefully consider the reason behind each drill. Too often, drills are looked at as a warm-up to get athletes loose and sweaty.

I don’t believe they make you faster by themselves. To get faster, you have to get stronger and/or more neurally efficient. I think they are corrective measures so that the athlete gets more out of their speed workouts. Looking for answers in the form of “cool drills” is not the way to go.

Drills are corrective measures so that the athlete gets more out of their #speed workouts, says @grahamsprints. Share on X

Sometimes, similarly themed shallower drills can serve as reinforcement or potentiation for developing athletes. Drill selection at the high school level should cut out the fluff and aim to be as specific and basic as possible. Maximize the time and space that you have. Too much teaching of one specific drill is not a good use of time, but there is always a place and room for the fundamentals. Here are six simple drills that I think go a long way without complicating things needlessly.

Skip for Distance

These are easy to do and easy to cue. However, it doesn’t mean that athletes will do them correctly right away.

Look for maximal projection here, with purposeful foot contacts and pushes. This makes the concept of acceleration just a bit more understandable for high school athletes. Another cue is to use big, open, violent arms. Couple this with a nice, stacked vertical posture and they will work on max velocity concepts as well. Look for athletes to not “sit” into the skip or round their backs. These athletes get no height and are lazily pushing horizontally—almost falling, rather than projecting fully. The general strength acquired through these skips is also a nice bonus.

These can be used as a drill in warm-ups or in an acceleration complex. They work really well paired at the end with an event-specific start at the athlete’s level of development. This keeps the body ready and the CNS primed to be explosive on the next successive start. Large groups can also do these, and they can be done anywhere. Given the reality and constraints that most high school coaches face, this also makes skips an attractive option.

Video 1. Skips for distance make the concept of acceleration a bit more understandable for high school athletes. Look for maximal projection here, with purposeful foot contacts and pushes.

Dynamic Wall Post-Up

Block starts are really hard for most high school athletes. So are two- and three-point starts. Every athlete may have a different point of entry when it comes to their menu of acceleration items. The dynamic wall post-up drill teaches the concept of projection in isolation.

Video 2. The dynamic wall post-up drill teaches the concept of projection in isolation. The entry-level drill looks like this, without a med ball.

Start with 6- to 12-inch spacing between the feet and roll the knees, hips, and trunk together over the toes. Athletes should end up with pretty good shin angles that are parallel. The shin of the leg driven up should be parallel to the other shin, without casting out (toe should stay behind knee).

I like doing these on acceleration themed days.

These are also quite fun, and we have begun experimenting with some variations. The variety keeps the drills from becoming stale without straying too far from the basics. Fun can and absolutely should be a goal.

• Kneeling (more strength needed to overcome inertia).
• Post-up to boom-boom wall drill (watch for athletes butt-kicking or cheating the full thigh punch).

Look for athletes who display too much hip flexion or extension on the wall. You should see a nice straight line from the foot up through the shoulder and head, creating a powerful line ready to strike down and back behind the center of mass.

Video 3. We use variations of drills to inject both variety and fun. With this post-up to boom-boom wall drill, watch for athletes butt-kicking or cheating the full thigh punch.

Overhead Dribbles

I came across these years ago when watching Loren Seagrave on YouTube, and I wasn’t exactly sure what was going on. After completing two ALTIS modules (which I highly recommend), I realized there is huge value in, and a place for, dribbling at the high school level.

The overhead variation takes the arms out of it and lets the athlete focus on the cycling of the legs. Like wickets, you can use these as a maximum velocity teaching tool or as a support, depending on the athlete.

Younger athletes could use marching and lower amplitude dribbling as a full session to train good movement early in their training. Before throwing them into a race car, make sure they take a minivan for a spin first. For older varsity athletes, it is a nice way to bring the muscles and nervous system slowly to life after sitting in chairs and at desks for the six hours before practice.

Starting with ankle marches, cue athletes to step over their ankle, calf, or knee. (We haven’t used ankle dribbles). They should stay tall and “bounce” while rolling through the entire foot, heel to ball of foot (keep the toe up and don’t let it touch). Upon foot contact, vertical force should be applied to limit the ground contact.

It also helps to correct athletes who overstride or cast their foot out. Athletes should display some proficiency in regular marching drills before progressing to dribbles. Keep an eye out for athletes overly plantar flexing and striking with the ball of the foot first.

Once they get better at the overhead dribbles, they can progress to full arm and speed dribbles. These have bigger concentric circles, as opposed to the overhead variations, which focus on rhythm. When space or time is an issue, these can be a nice substitute for wicket runs if done correctly.

Video 4. The overhead dribble variation takes the arms out of it and lets the athlete focus on the cycling of the legs. Like wickets, you can use these as a maximum velocity teaching tool or as a support, depending on the athlete.

Stair Marches with Hands on Hips

Acceleration is commonly referred to as “running up the stairs,” so it makes sense that stairs can be a nice teaching tool to remediate postures. Use hands on hips as an external cue to keep the hips hiked and pelvis neutral to maintain good posture. The value of the most basic drills cannot be overstated. Early in the season, especially indoors, these are a staple at our practices.

The value of the most basic drills cannot be overstated, says @grahamsprints. Share on X

Latif Thomas uses the cue of tracing the shin with the opposite foot. The leg tracing should have the knee and toe up while stepping over the opposite knee to limit backside mechanics. This is what max velocity sprinting looks like.

Doing this in conjunction with some wicket flys on max velocity days is a good way to program stair marches. I have also programmed these on regeneration days, seeking to restore movement and reinforce proper mechanics. An athlete returning from injury may also work on these as they scale the ladder back to maximal work before taking the next step.

This is a great foundational drill and a chance for the coach to see things at a slower speed. You can do these with a large group at the base of a set of stairs with four athletes in line. After each rep, give and reinforce feedback before the next wave begins.

Video 5. Acceleration is commonly referred to as “running up the stairs,” so it makes sense that stairs can be a nice teaching tool to remediate postures. The hands on hip stair march is a great foundational drill and a chance for the coach to see things at a slower speed.

Single Leg Skip Variations

These are great for basic coordination and posture. They highlight the kids that move well and reveal the athletes that are still developing. Cue athletes with “Knee up, toe up.” The stance leg knee should have minimal flexion during the transitional hop and the leg that is punching should always land under the hip with a stiff ankle.

Athletes can start on the wall for an introduction to the rhythm and timing.

You can add overhead variations to challenge trunk stability. Athletes that have an issue with normal trunk movement will often display a lateral hitch with this drill. Rhythm and timing, rather than speed, is the goal with this. Emphasizing speed creates a herky-jerky movement, and a breaking at the hips is often present.

Video 6. Single leg skips are great for basic coordination and posture. They highlight the kids that move well and reveal the athletes that are still developing.

Athletes can progress to full arms once they do the other variations. Being able to work on the contralateral movement of the arms and legs is a challenge with this drill, in the same way that sprinting is often a challenge for high school athletes.

This is also a drill that can help hurdlers with leading with the knee and you can blend it into a “rain dance.”

Improving overall coordination and athleticism will help multi-sport athletes as well.

Single Leg Drives/Alternating Drives

This is a more advanced drill. You can use it as a plyometric activity in a max velocity or multi-jumps complex. It emphasizes a violent splitting of the arms and minimizing the amortization phase. I like to see athletes getting electric here. It is not a drill that can be done while half asleep.

First, both feet always land simultaneously together under the hips. Cue athletes to stay “strong as steel, head to heel” to limit ankle, knee, and hip collapse. Done with alternating legs, it is basically a dynamic march.

Video 7. The single leg drive is more advanced. It emphasizes a violent splitting of the arms and minimizing the amortization phase.

Video 8. Nothing has as little ground contact timeas sprinting, but single leg drives also serve as a great way to work on ankle stiffness and getting athletes ready to bounce when doing fly work.

Upon contact with the ball of the foot, the opposite knee is driven upwards, while the contralateral arm punches up, slightly flexing at the elbow. I like this drill because it almost forces athletes to use their arms correctly and open the elbow on the downswing as the arm clears the hip pocket.

Nothing has as little ground contact time as sprinting, but these also serve as a great way to work on ankle stiffness and getting athletes ready to bounce when doing fly work.

Drill Selection

As stated before, consider the drills that you use and how they fit into your own circumstances. No two coaches encounter the same ability levels or have access to the same equipment. How one coach uses a drill may be vastly different from the way another coach implements it. All of these drills are modeled by me or the captains. In addition to the correct way to do the drills, we demonstrate incorrect ways to discourage faulty movement patterns.

Athletes should perform these drills with high intent and appropriate volume for the task, says @grahamsprints. Share on X

Clear cues with a variety of language can also help to get the desired outcome. This is a good way to apply the John Wooden Correct-incorrect-correct model. “When Wooden saw something he didn’t like, and stopped practice to correct the incorrectly executed technique, he would immediately demonstrate the correct way to do the technique, then show everyone the incorrect way the athlete just did it, then model the correct way again. This correct-incorrect-correct demonstration was usually very brief and succinct, rarely lasting longer than 5 seconds, but making it very clear what his expectations were, and how to meet these expectations.”

Purpose should be the main focus. Athletes should perform all of these drills with high intent and appropriate volume with regard to the task. Drills are a support or prep for acceleration and max velocity work, not just a “warm-up.”

Since you’re here…
…we have a small favor to ask. More people are reading SimpliFaster than ever, and each week we bring you compelling content from coaches, sport scientists, and physiotherapists who are devoted to building better athletes. Please take a moment to share the articles on social media, engage the authors with questions and comments below, and link to articles when appropriate if you have a blog or participate on forums of related topics. — SF

Wearable resistance (WR) allows athletes to train with natural patterns and rhythms of movement that are more likely to promote transference to their sport or event. The efficacy of that transference, however, really depends on your understanding of some of the guiding principles around micro-loading. In a recent article, “The Future of Fast Is Light: Wearable Resistance Load and Placement,” I introduced the effects of mass and load placement (distance from the axis of rotation) on adaptation. The focus of this current article is understanding how to optimize the effects of WR by modifying the orientation and velocity of movement.

Orientation of Micro-Loads and Rotational Inertia

Following mass and placement, the third guiding principle of overloading with WR is that of orientation, which is related to the concept of placement and rotational inertia. As a quick reminder on the concept of rotational inertia introduced in Part 1 of the series, the resistance of an object to a change in rotation is the product of mass and distance of the mass from the axis of rotation: (I = mr²).

In terms of the thigh loading as in Image 1, Image 1B has greater rotational inertia than Image 1A as the same load is further from the hip axis of rotation. So what? Well, if you increase the rotational inertia, it will take more muscular effort from the hip flexors and extensors to initiate and control the movement of the thigh. Therefore, one of the ways you progress the resisted overload that an athlete is experiencing during unidirectional and multidirectional movements is to shift the load from A to B.

The third guiding principle of overloading with wearable resistance is orientation. Share on X

Now let’s get back to orientation. Placement not only affects rotational inertia but also the orientation of the micro-loads. Have a close look at Image 2 and the shape of the loads on the right—the loads are in a fusiform muscle shape, with a head tapering down to a tail. So what? Well, since there is more mass in the head and less in the tail, how you orient the load will affect the rotational inertia and therefore the amount of resisted overload the athlete feels.

You can observe a case in point in Images 2A and 2B—what do you see in A and B with the 200 gm/7 oz micro-loading? If you take a moment and put your response into words, hopefully what you said was, “I am seeing pretty much the same load placement, but the orientation of the micro-loads is different.” Image 2A has more of its load further away from the axis of rotation. Consequently, as the tail has less mass than the head of the load, this orientation in Image 2A has greater rotational inertia.

There are many options for arranging the loads and these different orientations can be used to achieve a range of outcomes. For example, see below in Image 3A where 400 gm/14 oz is loaded anteriorly (wide ends of micro-loads at the front of the thigh) versus the head-to-tail loading arrangement in Image 3B (which we call a neutral loading, with the load spread evenly over the anterior and posterior aspects of the thigh). Or look at the next image, where the orientation of the loads causes an external (4A) or internal rotation (4B). This will require activation of the hip internal and external rotators respectively, to maintain proper alignment.

Make subtle changes in the stimuli given to the muscular system by adjusting the weight orientation. Share on X

So, the take home message here is that by adjusting the orientation of the weights, you can make subtle differences to the stimuli presented to the muscular system. I am sure for many of you this is intriguing because of the potential implications of this for performance, injury resistance, and injury rehabilitation in your specific sports.

What is really interesting about orientation is that you can start introducing a great deal of movement variability into a training session, which can increase synergistic and stabilizer muscle contributions and likely improve injury resistance. Let me give you an example:

Jess is a developing soccer player and, as her coach, I want to introduce this concept of movement variability and training different muscles to be stronger for kicking and sprinting. I know that striking a soccer ball can involve internal and external rotation, and if I can develop more strength in these muscles, they could contribute to better shooting and crossing, as well as unidirectional and multidirectional movement ability.

So, on Tuesday practices I decide to load Jess as in Image 4A, which promotes external rotation during the warm-up drills and requires the internal rotators to work harder to maintain proper alignment. During the Thursday warm-up, I load as in Image 4B, promoting internal rotation, which requires increased activation from the external rotators for proper alignment.

Changing the force vectors linked to the movement changes the contribution of different musculature. Share on X

With these simple changes in orientation, I’ve changed the force vectors associated with the movement, and therefore the contribution of different musculature. I am pretty sure if you take a moment to reflect on this, you will understand how you can change orientation of the loads to assist with injury prevention and rehabilitation, as well as improving performance. That is, strengthening the internal and external rotators would most likely improve kicking performance and injury resistance for Jess.

Velocity and Wearable Resistance

Moving on from orientation, the fourth way you can overload using WR is by simply varying the velocity of movement. Now, to really understand the effect of velocity of movement on WR, I am going to provide a rudimentary example of how squatting 100 kg/ 220 lbs requires similar additional muscular work at the hip as moving 500 gms/~17 oz on each leg during sprinting. Warning: If you are not into biomechanics, push fast forward and skip this next paragraph and get to the messaging of the following paragraph. However, if you want a deeper understanding of this loading parameter, tuck into this next bit.

Another first principles (established science and not assumptions) approach to discussing the overload provided by WR and the effects of velocity of movement is to look at the work-energy relationship. Most simply put, the amount of mechanical work performed by a muscle group is determined by the mechanical energy associated with the movement, or conversely, the energy determines the muscular work. In terms of the formula:

• Mechanical work = kinetic energy (KE) =1/2m.v²+ potential energy (PE) = m.g.h. As the net change in height for both squat and sprinting is zero, the PE need not be calculated.
• Squat: So, let’s look at the squat. Let’s say this athlete’s 80% 1RM is 100 kg/ 220 lb, the peak velocity associated with an 80% 1RM lift = 0.58 m/s (Zink et al., 2006). Note this is a peak velocity and, theoretically, we should use an average velocity.
• Squat KE: If you put the numbers into the equation (see Image 5), you see we end up with around 17 kg.m.s of KE.
• Sprinting:Now let’s do the math for 500 gms (17 oz) on each leg while sprinting. A well-trained sprinter’s hip extension angular velocity is ~1000 degrees per second (deg/s), whereas an untrained sprinter’s is ~400 deg/s. For this example, I took the middle ground and used a hip extension velocity of 700 deg/s, which I converted into a linear velocity = 6.1 m/s.
• Sprinting KE: As you can see, the KE for moving the 1 kg load is slightly greater (18.6 kg.m.s) than the 100 kg load, so therefore the work performed by the hip musculature is slightly greater for the 1 kg loading.

How can this be so? Well, let’s have a close look at the formula: KE = 1/2m.v².

What is more influential in producing KE—and therefore muscular work—is velocity of movement and not mass. This is because the effect of mass is halved, whereas velocity is squared. What are the implications and practical applications of this? Well, here are some key points to consider:

1. Light loads (WR) moved fast result in substantial overload/muscular work.
2. Such loading would seem ideal for sprinting, given the activity’s specific overload.
3. Performing a movement with the same load at 50% vs. 90% of maximum velocity has very different KE and therefore muscular work requirements.
4. Think about how you integrate WR into your sessions (e.g., you may well use WR in tempo runs that overload by % max velocity rather than changing mass, placement, and/or orientation).
5. Scrutinize how you progressively overload before sprinting maximally with WR given what you know about KE now. However, remember this is only important depending on the masses you use, and the placement and orientation of the loading. If the load is light and placed close to the axis of rotation, then you can be less cautious.

Wearable Resistance Is the ‘Real Deal’

It is my hope that you now understand why the future of fast is light and how to use WR micro-loading to provide movement-specific resistance training. Just use it as part of what you are doing, but progressively overload based on feedback from your athletes using the four principles of WR overload.

Wearable resistance works and is a bonafide method of resistance training for speed. Share on X

I have taken a first principles physics approach to show you how WR works and why it is the “real deal” in terms of a bonafide method of resistance training for speed. Remember, the effectiveness of this technology in changing speed capability is based on your knowledge and its application. In these first two articles, I have shown how to overload for speed by manipulating mass, placement, orientation, and speed of movement.

Since you’re here…
…we have a small favor to ask. More people are reading SimpliFaster than ever, and each week we bring you compelling content from coaches, sport scientists, and physiotherapists who are devoted to building better athletes. Please take a moment to share the articles on social media, engage the authors with questions and comments below, and link to articles when appropriate if you have a blog or participate on forums of related topics. — SF

Too many athletes “float” through practices and entire seasons. They have no direction or purpose. They show up, most of the time, and get through whatever the coaches have for them that day. And their coaches become more and more frustrated by their athletes’ lack of focus toward the end of a season.

Bestselling author and leadership guru Michael Hyatt once wrote: “You have a choice in life. You can either live on-purpose, according to a plan you’ve set. Alternatively, you can live by accident, reacting to the demands of others. The first approach is proactive; the second reactive.”

If you’re reading this, chances are you’re not a coach who sits idly by and lets a season happen by accident. You probably have goals for your team. Athletes, however, are not solely motivated by the goals their coaches create for them. They need to have ownership of what they believe they can accomplish. As coaches, we can help our athletes set better and more meaningful goals, where they’re motivated by the process of achieving their desired outcome.

Why Set a Goal?

To use Brian Tracy’s words (from his book Goals! How to Get Everything You Want—Faster Than You Ever Thought Possible), “You become what you think about most of the time.” Goals are effective because they influence psychological states (such as self-confidence), direct attention to improve aspects of the tasks, mobilize effort, and increase persistence. A goal gives you a desired destination, gives you purpose, communicates expectations, helps you plan, communicates vision, and keeps you focused.

A good #goal is measurable, practical, shared, planned, and motivating, says @trabucotrack. Share on X

A good goal is measurable, practical, shared, planned, and motivating. A bad goal is not measurable, not specific, too short, too complex, and not shared.

When leading my team in creating meaningful goals, I always start with the previous season. I show them what we created together and remind them of what they accomplished. It’s important to begin in a group setting and then have the athletes individually create their own goals. Teenagers are highly impressionable, and their peers’ judgments are very powerful. I use this force as accountability in their goal setting. Teammates will keep one another accountable day to day, eliminating the need for the coach to do it.

How Do You Write A Good Goal

• Think about where you want to go or what you want to accomplish
• Share with someone else and gather feedback
• Write your goal with a specific date and a deadline

  When writing a goal, do this:

• Begin with the word To
• Add an action verb
• State the result
• Write your deadline (very important)

Examples:

• To run (verb) 10.9 in the 100m (result) by league finals (deadline).
• To complete over 70% of all passes to 5 different receivers before the end of the game.
• To vault 15’0 in the pole vault by state finals.
• To average 90% of made free throws this season.
• To bat over 0.300 with at least 10 home runs by the end of the season.
• To win league finals as a team by the end of the season.

It’s About the Process, Not the Destination

Goals give a destination and reveal where you want to go. But without a deadline, when are you supposed to arrive? This is why so many athletes float through their practices—without a deadline, there’s no accountability to stick with the plan. In athletics, procrastination in one’s training leads to undesirable results.

Without a deadline, athletes have no #accountability to stick with the goal plan, says @trabucotrack. Share on X

Coaches, we need to teach our athletes how to create clear goals with the proper expectations on what the process of their progress will look like. The right perspective leads to clear expectations.

I highly recommend going through a weekly meeting on how to fall in love with the process of becoming great. Chop Wood, Carry Water: How to Fall in Love with the Process of Becoming Great by Joshua Medcalf is an excellent resource for this endeavor.

I use these charts for goals, and you can find similar illustrations in Chop Wood, Carry Water.

Every competition will not yield a new personal best. It’s unfortunate that many athletes believe they should improve every time they work hard. It’s important to educate athletes that having good goals is great, but the process of getting to those goals is what matters most. I find my athletes are unmotivated and discouraged after the first meet of the season if they didn’t see their lifetime personal best happen. As their coach, it’s imperative to change their perspective and help them see growth happen in the process.

As they move through the season, athletes think it’s less and less likely they will ever reach their goals when they feel so far away from them. The process of their training matters. Do they see themselves moving in the right direction? As the coach and leader, are you following along with them in their journey to give them a proper perspective?

Left alone, athletes will feel unmotivated, and resentment can build because they believe obtaining goals shouldn’t feel this way. Typically, this is where they question the coach and abandon plans because of impatience and the wrong perspective.

Casting this vision at the beginning before training begins will give long lasting perspective to the process. Perseverance in all moments will allow the athlete to take it one day at a time and feel like any setback will not determine the final goal. Grit is passion and persistence over a long period of time. We want to create athletes with grit, and grit is only developed in moments of adversity. It’s hard to live on a plateau of eventual success, yet this is not the time to give up or change the game plan. A clear understanding of what to expect from the process will yield athletes with grit. 

Problem with Motivation

Any goal requires, if not demands, that athletes stay motivated in their pursuit of the desired destination. It’s vital that we, as coaches and leaders, understand those we lead. Today’s generation of young people is easily bored, socially connected to their peers, and proficient in technology. And they truly want to be challenged by their leaders. For more reading on similar findings, look into Motivating the Modern Athlete by Dr. Marty Durden.

I have interviewed over 2,000 students and athletes in 5 years about the effectiveness of servant-leadership coaching and how it impacts the motivation level of high school athletes. The survey was designed to determine which coaching traits served to motivate the athletes best. The seven traits surveyed were (listed alphabetically):

• Altruism—giving to others with no motive to gain something in return; kindness.
• Empowering others—developing and mentoring others; teaching you how to play the game.
• Humility—focusing on other people rather than oneself; meekness.
• Love—placing unconditional value upon the individual as a person and not what they offer to enable the coach to win more games; maternal or paternal affection.
• Service—willing to assist others; helpfulness.
• Trust—demonstrating confidence in others to succeed; keeping promises.
• Vision for the followers—helping team members to imagine their potential to succeed; helping others to establish goals.

The results of the survey indicate the coaching traits that provide the greatest motivational value are:

• Trust (41%)
• Love (17%)
• Empowering (15%)
• Vision (11%)
• Service (6%)
• Altruism (5%)
• Humility (5%)

An interesting conclusion from this study: young people are motivated by people they trust, who demonstrate love toward them, and who see their worth and seek to develop them.

By setting goals with your athletes, encouraging them throughout the entire process of a season, and helping them create a sense of self-accountability, coaches will see more athletes with grit reach their desired goals.

Publish Goals Publicly for Accountability

Goals need to be created by the coach and athlete together, not made by the leader and said to the athlete. When the coach and athlete both contribute to the process, the athlete feels like a collaborator, and motivation in the process is long lasting. When they don’t collaborate, athletes feel unmotivated in the process and lost in their pursuits.

Conclusion

It’s worth our time to develop meaningful goals that we create with our athletes. With this process, we’ll begin to see athletes become accountable for their own progress. Their perspective will focus on perseverance in the process of the goals they created. Because their good measurable goals with a deadline are public and published, sustainable motivation will flourish. We then get to encourage our athletes in the day-to-day training because they trust us as co-collaborators who seek to develop them under a framework of goals they believe in.

Since you’re here…
…we have a small favor to ask. More people are reading SimpliFaster than ever, and each week we bring you compelling content from coaches, sport scientists, and physiotherapists who are devoted to building better athletes. Please take a moment to share the articles on social media, engage the authors with questions and comments below, and link to articles when appropriate if you have a blog or participate on forums of related topics. — SF

There is seemingly no end to the articles and videos by sports coaches, personal trainers, and strength coaches who contend that partial Olympic lifting exercises are just as good, if not better, than the full movements. As a weightlifting coach, I’m here to tell you that their opinions cannot be backed by science and they are doing their athletes a disservice by promoting such nonsense.

The first ridiculous argument I’ve heard is that most athletes cannot be expected to perform full squat cleans (and certainly not snatches!) because they lack the flexibility to achieve these positions. Seriously? What they are saying, in effect, is that they have identified flexibility deficiencies in their athletes and their solution is to avoid exercises that can fix them! Let me expand on this point.

Weightlifting and Flexibility

In the field of corrective exercise, one of the most popular tests to assess flexibility and muscle balance is the overhead squat. In fact, in a class on corrective exercise for my master’s degree, we had to complete a modular about the overhead squat. We learned how to use the overhead squat as an assessment tool and how to correct deficiencies. Let me give you a few examples.

Weightlifting is a sport that not only requires exceptional flexibility, but also develops it. Share on X

If the knees buckle inward, this could suggest tightness in the thigh adductors or weakness in the glute medius. If the knees flare outward excessively, this could suggest tightness in the piriformis (a muscle involved in hip rotation) or weakness in the thigh adductors. Using this information, the trainer could resolve these faults by having the athlete stretch the muscles that are tight and strengthen those that are weak. Rather than prescribing a laundry list of stretches and corrective strength training exercises, how about simply performing overhead squats!

I’ve been involved in the sport of weightlifting for over four decades, and I can assure you that most weightlifting coaches will simply start new lifters with overhead squats—that’s it! After a few sessions, they will progress into power snatches and then full snatches; however, exceptional athletes can often hit good positions in the full lifts during their first training session. The takeaway here is that weightlifting is a sport that not only requires exceptional flexibility but also develops it.

Shearing Force and Injury Risk

Now I’d like to address the belief that full cleans should be avoided because the knees should not extend in front of the toes during squats and that only weightlifters should bounce out of the rock-bottom catch position in the clean. One reason I hear is that both of these practices create harmful shear forces that try to pry apart the knees.

First, having the knees extend past the toes is a characteristic of natural human movement. Take a big step forward and freeze in the split position. Now look down at your back knee—unless you’re a centaur or were raised by kangaroos, your knee will be positioned in front of your toes. That settled, let’s move on to the argument that squatting all the way down and bouncing out of the bottom position is harmful.

When I starting writing training articles in the ’80s, I had to continually address the myths that full squats were bad for the knees and that only weightlifters should bounce out of the bottom position of the clean. Some of this misinformation could be attributed to a controversial study published in 1961 that said full squats—in contrast to parallel squats—could increase knee injuries by creating instability in the joint.

The study was done by college professor Karl Klein and medical doctor Fred L. Allman, Jr. To test for knee laxity, a device was placed on the subject’s knees and the examiner applied pressure and took a reading from a gauge attached to it. The subjects included some who did parallel squats and some who did full squats.

Two of the subjects in the study were Bill Starr and Tommy Suggs, both elite weightlifters. Terry Todd, in an article about this study, noted: “Suggs recalled that the apparatus Klein used to measure instability in the knee contained no device to determine how hard Klein pushed or pulled to establish a reading on the gauge over the knee, which registered the knee’s looseness. Suggs also confirmed that Klein asked the lifters whether they were deep squatters before testing them.” There’s more.

In a letter to the editor that was published in the August 1963 issue of Strength and Health magazine, Starr said many lifters stopped letting them experiment on them “…since he was exerting so much pressure that he hurt their knees,” and “…he always asked the subject beforehand, not afterward, whether he did full squats.” Further, Todd said subsequent research using a copy of Klein’s testing device “failed to observe significant difference between the full squat and the half squat in their effects on the knee.”

Does bouncing out of the squat cause high shearing forces that can, in extreme cases, rip the tendon off of the patella? First, consider that there is an inverse relationship between compressive and shearing forces—the deeper you squat, the higher the compressive forces and the lower the shearing forces.

A former competitive weightlifter, Dr. Arron Horschig holds a doctorate in physical therapy and has written extensively about squats. Horschig says the stress on the ACL is greatest during the first 4 inches of the squat descent (about 15-30 degrees), which is the angle that lifters often receive the bar when catching a power clean. When you add to this the technique often employed by many athletes of jumping their feet out hyper-wide such that the knees buckle inward, the stress on the knee ligaments increases even more.

It’s also important to realize that fascia tissue such as tendons are not rigid, fragile bands that need to be reinforced with athletic tape and braces to deal with the high stresses of athletic competition. Tendons act as biological springs that elongate and shorten to assist the muscles in producing movement and to protect the joints. If you limit yourself to powerlifting-type squats or partial Olympic lift movements such as the hang power clean, these tissues may lose their elastic qualities. They become stiff, like an old rubber band, and may make the athlete more susceptible to injury.

Think about it—why are the majority of ACL and ankle injuries non-contact? Did your favorite NFL or NBA player rupture their Achilles or tear knee ligaments when they did a sudden cut because they didn’t have an extra layer of that space-age sports performance tape? Contrast this to weightlifters who put their Achilles tendon under high levels of stress with heavy loads.

Despite lifters wearing low-top shoes that provide little lateral support, the prevalence of ankle injuries in the sport of weightlifting is nearly zero—I’ve never seen one. Is it possible that such artificial reinforcement affects the ability of the tendon to function properly, and thus puts more stress on the joint? And, as Jud Logan will tell you, there is also the issue of improperly performed exercises.

Logan is one of the most decorated hammer throwers in the U.S., having made four Olympic teams. At one point in his career he had severe tendinitis in his knees and was advised to squat high to decrease the shearing force; Logan said these partial squats made the condition worse. He ended up resolving the problem by simply performing full squats. It’s great to be strong, but it’s equally important not to practice strength training methods that adversely affect the elastic properties of the connective tissues. This is not to say that an athlete should never perform partial-range exercises, but that they need to keep their joints healthy by also performing full range exercises.

Don’t use strength training that adversely affects the elastic properties of the connective tissues. Share on X

Staying on this subject a bit longer, Professor Yuri Verkhoshansky was inspired to create his system of classical plyometrics because he found that overloading the quads with partial squats caused back problems with his jumpers. Using gravity as the primary form of resistance during depth jumps, he was able to overload the legs. Consider too that in his Block Training System for volleyball players to improve their vertical jump, the fourth (and most intense) level of training consisted of depth jumps and the Olympic lifts, whereas resistance exercises such as squats were relegated to the second level.

How Pulling Techniques Impact the Lumbar Spine

Another point to consider is that the pulling technique used by non-weightlifters to perform hang power cleans seldom resembles the technique used during the full lifts. Most often, those who practice only hang cleans tend to start with the shoulders well in front of the bar so they can use the back as a lever to produce force. The usual result is that the bar follows a large arc, such that the weight loops back towards the athlete, creating large shearing forces on the spine. This technique would be fine if you were training horses.

A horse’s spine rests horizontally on the animal with a structure that resembles a cantilever bridge, and this suspension system enables us to ride them without causing damage. A human’s spine is a column-like structure that is better suited for handling vertical compressive forces (think about this if you are considering resting a heavy barbell across your pelvis to do hip thrusts). Compound that with the stress of heaving extremely heavy weights over a short range of motion and creating a sudden shock on the spine and, well—ouch!

If you look at the Russian weightlifting manuals translated by sports scientist Bud Charniga, you’ll see that these coaches taught a pulling method in which the shoulders move in front of the bar after it passes the knees. This style increases and prolongs the loading on the lumbar spine, and is why the Russian lifters needed to perform a high volume of work to develop the erector spinae muscles to compensate.

In contrast, many elite Chinese lifters (especially the women) use a spine-friendly technique. Not only do the shoulders not extend in front of the knees during the pull to the knees, but they are actually behind the bar when it reaches mid-thigh (i.e., the start position of the hang power clean). Perhaps, as a result, such modifications in pulling technique is one reason the Chinese have become the dominant force in weightlifting for the past several Olympic cycles, whereas the once powerful Russians have suffered a gold medal drought? 

Absorbing Force in Contact Sports

Since most athletic movements don’t require athletes to drop into a full squat, what is the advantage of doing a full clean? The answer is that part of athletic performance is not just being able to apply force, but to also absorb and redirect force—in effect, training the athlete to be able to bend, but not break.

Part of athletic performance is not just being able to apply force, but also absorb and redirect it. Share on X

An example of the need to be able to absorb and redirect force would be the skills of an offensive lineman in football. These athletes don’t just apply force in a forward direction, but are also required to absorb the forces imparted on them by defensive players who are trying to get to the quarterback and other players. Training with a football sled would certainly help a lineman apply a greater amount of force, but full cleans will also train the body to absorb such forces—putting on the brakes, so to speak.

Another good example of the need for such “yielding strength” is boxing. There is much more to the sport of boxing than just being able to throw punches—you have to be able to take a punch. Watch a Floyd Mayweather highlight video. With a 50-0 record, Mayweather is one of the greatest fighters of all time. One reason for his success is that it is extremely difficult to hit him, and when his opponents manage to do so, the blows are often redirected or reduced in impact.

As an apparent compromise, some strength coaches say that they can ensure complete muscular development by supplementing hang power cleans with heavy deadlifts. Sorry to disappoint, but increasing strength at slow speeds doesn’t necessarily mean that strength can be demonstrated at fast speeds. Isokinetic studies have shown that increasing strength at fast speeds improved strength at fast and slow speeds, but increasing strength at slow speeds only improved strength at slow speeds. This is one reason why studies comparing Olympic lifting exercises to powerlifting exercises show that the Olympic lifts are superior for improving jumping and sprinting ability.

Increasing strength at slow speeds doesn’t mean that strength can be demonstrated at fast speeds. Share on X

Of course, there are many weightlifters who perform power cleans from the floor in training, but they consider them more of an assistance exercise (and to give them a break from the monotony of performing just the classical lifts). This is a much different approach than only performing power cleans, or worse, power cleans from the hang. Also, consider that these weightlifters might be successful not because they do power cleans, but in spite of it!

Athletes in many sports have embraced explosive exercises with resistance, along with hardcore fitness enthusiasts involved in “boot camp” workouts. But rather than getting partial results with inferior versions of the Olympic lifts, such as the hang power clean, consider doing the lifts the way they were intended.

Header image by Bruce Klemens.

Since you’re here…
…we have a small favor to ask. More people are reading SimpliFaster than ever, and each week we bring you compelling content from coaches, sport scientists, and physiotherapists who are devoted to building better athletes. Please take a moment to share the articles on social media, engage the authors with questions and comments below, and link to articles when appropriate if you have a blog or participate on forums of related topics. — SF

References

Terry, T. “Historical Opinion: Karl Klein and the Squat.” (June 1984). Strength & Conditioning Journal. 6(3): 26-31.

Horschig, A., Sonthana, K., and Neff, T. (March 2017). The Squat Bible, pp. 97-100. Squat University LLC.

Verkhoshansky, Y. and Verkhoshansky, N. (2011). Special Strength Training Manual for Coaches, pp. 134-135, Verkhoshansky SSTM©

Hoffman, J., et al. (February 2009). “Comparison Between Different Off-Season Resistance Training Programs in Division III American College Football Players.” The Journal of Strength and Conditioning Research. 23(1): 11-9.

Todd Lyons, Dynamic Fitness Equipment, Personal Communication, January 2019

I would like to start by saying that my situation and experiences are in no way unique. It is quite the opposite, really. Most track and field coaches encounter less-than-stellar situations daily and are forced to problem-solve on the fly. (No pun intended.) Triton Regional High has no fieldhouse, no indoor track, and not much in the way of equipment. Often, the lines between general prep, specific prep, and competition cycles of training are completely blurred.

Earlier in my career, I lamented these challenges. I would walk into practice with one plan and become frustrated when it wouldn’t come to fruition. That was my coaching ego crying out, mistakenly thinking that my workout was going to be the reason these athletes did well.

In the end, the ‘what’ and ‘where’ seldom seem to matter as much as the ‘why’ in training. Share on X

As I deepen my understanding of the sport, I am learning to embrace this perpetual “sub-maxness.” It is still our job to provide the best experience that we can for the athletes and put them in a position to succeed, even if it is months down the road during the outdoor season. In the end, the “what” and “where” seldom seem to matter as much as the “why.”

The Problem: Weather

New England winters are notorious for being harsh. A 35-degree day in January or February is a blessing and often means that we are outside. Most coaches probably have a mental number when it comes to temperature, where they no longer care to venture out into the tundra for fear of injury. If our track is clear, we often have to battle the stiff, marsh winds that come blowing across it. The wind can easily make it feel like 25 degrees. It’s not exactly fun for a high school kid. There are a couple of days each week that it makes sense to be outside, but once the snow inevitably covers the ground and the black ice rears its ugly head, we are forced to look elsewhere.

The Cold and Snow Solution

One of our weekly staples is hill repeats done fast at their goal time for the day. Running on the hill in 35-degree weather adds a layer of strength and seems to prevent injury. I say “seems” because lots of coaches seem to differ on this thought, but I can say we have never had an injury doing a lactate workout on a hill. Anecdotal evidence aside, the hill helps our athletes keep their posture honest out of necessity.

On the rest interval, they gather inside the school’s cafeteria. The athletes have a menu of drills to do to stay loose once inside. Among the favorite choices are loose skips, single leg-A skips, ankle pops, and calf dribbles. At the very least, they stay warm and ingrain a little more awareness of their posture for their hill running. I also find that this prepares them for some of the invitational meets at the Reggie Lewis Center, where the officials gather them en masse for each event and they seldom get adequate warm-up space or freedom to roam.

If it is too cold to be outside, we will find some space inside, whether it be a hallway or basketball court. Most of our true speed workouts are done in hallways. If we can’t get on the hill for a lactate workout, we try to sneak in a “cone workout.” I set four different colored cones out at 10m (red), 20m (yellow), 30m (orange), and 40m (white). I call out a color and they sprint through each cone while decelerating safely. They walk back and do another rep. I grab a pen and keep track of the total volume.

Short sprinters might do 200-300 meters and long sprinters 400 meters. Sometimes I cut someone from the workout at a random time if things get too ugly. If we feel competitive later in the season, they might go head to head with someone near their race time in their event. We may do a second set if it is mid-season. So far, the most volume that the seasoned veterans have done is 400 meters and then a 200-meter set with ample rest between. It isn’t the fanciest plan, but it accomplishes the goal of going to the “dark place.” It also makes being stuck indoors a little less boring.

The Problem: Limited Space Indoors

As mentioned previously, Triton is not blessed with a fieldhouse. What we do have is a basketball court with lines painted around it. This means most of our speed work is done without spikes. This is essentially sub-maximal sprint training. Forty degrees or more and sunny means we are outside on the track.

As coaches, there are times we walk in with a great plan only to find that an eighth-grade basketball game has our time slot. For example, here is a workout plan I was fairly excited about. I thought every group would get in what they needed, with exercises to prime their projection, event-specific start work, and ending with a jump.

But it wasn’t to be. Here is a text exchange I had a short while later with one of my captains…

There was a moment of frustration and panic that followed. After regrouping, I realized my original plan wasn’t going to make or break our season. What actually ended up happening was something that looked like this.

It went okay. It was not exactly what I wanted, but there are simply too many unknowns to not be flexible. Our athletes got something in that moved them a little further along.

I had someone message me asking if my athletes have shin issues when we do this. The answer is no. Hallways are hard, sure, so we just keep it even more shallow. The first two exercises were 10 meters each, and I cut the block start from 30 meters to 20 meters and they survived another day. I coach the movement and skill free of concerns about the number of reps. If they dial in and look good, they will do less.

#Regeneration can be just a chance to slow down and let concepts saturate their minds and limbs, says @grahamsprints. Share on X

The next day we did an ankle, foot, trunk, and hip circuit that kept them from pounding too much, when typically, they would not have done those two days back to back. Sometimes regeneration is just a chance to slow it down and let some concepts saturate their minds and limbs.

When the time comes and we are outdoors permanently, I know our work indoors on the small things (which really are the big things) will carry over.

The Complex Solution

One of the biggest changes this year is using complexes to supplement a perceived lack of true maximal sprinting. I don’t profess to know as much about these sprint complex concepts as Gabe Sanders or the ALTIS coaches. Maybe I am way off base and you wouldn’t do it this way either, but if we only have 30 meters of space I might consider the following complex:

5 Rounds

• 20m wickets
• 20m overhead calf dribble or 3x overhead stair walks
• 5x max pogos in place (stiff ankles needed to sprint)

Maybe it makes sense to you to have the wickets second, not first. Or maybe you hate this exercise programming. I guess it depends on the athletes in front of you. The point is that there are options.

One of the challenges here is using a gradual spacing with wickets that most kids can do without kicking the wickets all over the place, overstriding, or being severely jammed. I call it “McDonald’s wickets”—one size fits all, like fast food. I usually start at 4’9” and add 3 inches every two or three hurdles depending on the group and time of year.

Dribbling is usually done with the arms overhead, holding a light bar. Kids that can’t dribble might find themselves walking stairs with a bar overhead. We safely use whatever space is available to get them a little more exposure to top speed concepts. At this age, simple will get results. I almost never plug bounds into a complex. My athletes are terrible at bounds. If I am going to have them bound, then they experiment and do a few reps in their warm-ups until I see something close to technical proficiency.

Conversely, if I suddenly see that gym space has changed and there is an opening, I may scrap what I had planned and maximize the use of the gym. This may mean reshuffling the entire week. In my mind, as long as the tasks for the week are accomplished, I consider that a bit of a win and the sequencing and modality take a backseat as long as common sense prevails.

The Problem: Limited Equipment

Having limited equipment has grown to be a problem that I enjoy solving. We have a small weight room with a few usable med balls (anything over 12 pounds, in my opinion, is not usable) and bands. This is pretty typical of most high schools, regardless of the region. We don’t have 1080s, run rockets, or Just Jump mats. Those things would be nice, but the reality is you can get around them. Simple is the way to go because simple things are repeatable and can be practiced regardless of constraints.

Simple is the way to go: Simple things are repeatable and can be practiced despite constraints, says @grahamsprints. Share on X

We do have stairs, walls, bands, body bars (could use PVC pipes or hurdle top), and hurdles. Consider it a return to the grassroots-style of training, using only what is in front of you. All of these can serve as means to do remedial drills or to teach acceleration. Stairs and PVC pipes/body bars are two pieces of equipment that can be used in many ways.

For example, I love using the 6-pound body bar for a variety of exercises. A PVC pipe section or a hurdle top could be used to add something different to the mundane. Marching with a bar overhead is often included in the sprint drills to remediate posture, trunk movement, and pelvic positioning. Bleeding that march into an A-skip is another progression athletes can easily do.

We frequently teach athletes the hip hinge using the bar as the dowel on regeneration circuit days. We have also used body bars to add a dimension to ankle pops and dead bugs.

Ten-inch stairs are the perfect height to work on absorbing and landing with proper mechanics, says @grahamsprints. Share on X

Stairs are another overlooked training ground for the high school athlete. Most stairs are about 10 inches high. This is the perfect height to work on absorbing and landing with proper mechanics. An athlete who can handle a little more can do the same drill from the second step. We have about two boxes in our gym that are usable based on their height. The stairs are a nice alternative to have when working with a decent-sized group.

We have four sets of blocks. When designing workouts, the logistics are important. It sometimes becomes about who is using what equipment and when. Plenty of athletes never use blocks, so this makes it easier. Structuring or staggering the workouts ensures that one group of athletes is in one area with certain equipment while another group is in another location.

I always feel like my kids are not getting enough of the concept work behind the theme workout. I have tried eliminating mindless reps of blocks and flys without prior prep work. They can’t fix what they don’t understand. Based on my athletes, it is necessary for my repertoire of activities that support the theme of acceleration and max velocity to include items that are equipment-free or close to it. They need to feel postures and positions because they forget every week and need to constantly revisit these ideas.

An underclassman getting four years to work on these things, instead of just focusing on being fast and trying to make the varsity lineup, can set themselves up for success much later. Of course, trying to sell them on that is a topic for another day. Here are some of my favorite no equipment/no space substitutes for different themes.

Acceleration Activities

• Wall drill w/post-up drill (hold for 5 seconds, can use a med ball for additional challenge to the trunk)
• Wall drill switch callout (“1,” “2,” and “burst”)
• Boom-booms (Popularized by Tony Holler and Chris Korfist)

Max Velocity Activities

• Stair marches, hands on hips
• Banana hurdle dribbles
• Chalk lines for wicket spacing (same cues of “drive over and step down” or “bounce over” or “run through the tall grass”)
• 1-2-3-3s

Anticipate, Don’t React

Take stock of what you have and make it work. Training can be slow and boring indoors, but adding equipment to certain drills can spice them up. Using menu activities centered around certain themes can add more shallow reps without the pounding in the hallways. Choosing when and where to go outside can limit injuries and free athletes from the hallways once in a while. Volume and intensity may not be what you want, but skill acquisition can be.

You have plenty of equipment and space at your disposal if you look for different ways to use them, says @grahamsprints. Share on X

There is plenty of equipment and enough space at your disposal if you look for different ways you can use them. When the season is over, the athletes will still be moving better, and hopefully won’t have completely hated their experience.

Since you’re here…
…we have a small favor to ask. More people are reading SimpliFaster than ever, and each week we bring you compelling content from coaches, sport scientists, and physiotherapists who are devoted to building better athletes. Please take a moment to share the articles on social media, engage the authors with questions and comments below, and link to articles when appropriate if you have a blog or participate on forums of related topics. — SF

I first gained experience in the university sporting environment during my time at a college in Oregon. Playing basketball there, I learned what a great opportunity it was to train, develop, and compete on a daily basis. While the university environment in the United Kingdom (UK) can be a bit different from the United States (US) regarding facilities and funding, there are still some excellent athletes, and the demands of a season can be equally—if not more—challenging.

With the investment in scholarship athletes becoming more prevalent in the UK (beginning about ten years ago), universities also began to employ strength and conditioning (S&C) coaches to work with these few select individuals. Having worked in professional and international sport with large teams and witnessed the US collegiate environment, I wanted to do something similar in the UK and deliver a comprehensive S&C service to as many student-athletes as possible. These are my insights from a decade within UK university sport.

Develop a Vision and Mission

Having a clear vision is essential. It gives you an overarching philosophy that you can aim everything toward. You can link any decisions to your philosophy and understand and assess whether you’re progressing toward your ultimate goal or not.

University athlete health and wellbeing is the priority while performance is a related goal, says @Langford_Andrew. Share on X

In the university environment, athlete health and wellbeing should be the ultimate priority, with performance treated as a related goal. You’ll usually have at least three years in the UK to develop an athlete, sometimes longer. These are almost always young athletes, who are growing, developing, and learning, and this is the ideal environment and opportunityto develop them physically.

If you get this right, you can improve their strength, power, speed, and endurance, which should have a lasting impact on their sporting performance. You can also create robust athletes who have reduced injury risk and can enjoy life in sport.

The long-term impact of injury in collegiate athletes is clear. There’s a negative effect on long-term health and wellbeing as well as reduced participation in sport.¹Knowing that well-implemented S&C support can help reduce this risk,²our priority in an S&C setting is to help guard against injuries. The university administration should also take this risk seriously. The university has a duty of care to look after its athletes competing for the university, and they should understand how sport influences long-term health and wellbeing.

Understand the Unique Constraints and Opportunities of the University Environment

In university sport, and indeed in any large organization or professional club, there are a variety of priorities. As S&C coaches, we like to think that we’re the most important aspect and that our influence is vital. While there is no doubt that well-implemented S&C can have a great lasting impact on student-athletes, it’s not always the case that management or people in other departments instantly and instinctively understand this.

For example, there could be financial implications. At my previous university, the sport department sat within the commercial services department. While there was some understanding that sport was important, it was difficult to clarify what fell in the profit and loss columns. When I first arrived, the S&C facility had a fairly large number of external members, who were non-students and did not need a sports-specific S&C training environment. I soon discovered that this conflicted with our vision to enhance student-athlete health, wellbeing, and performance.

Making a case for a student-athlete only space was easy; covering the cost took an innovative plan, says @Langford_Andrew. Share on X

The arguments to create a student-athlete only environment were easy to make. We could support training for many teams and athletes, using evidence-based methodologies, in a controlled and professional environment. The issue was that this could result in a large reduction in income if we discontinued the external membership.

I proposed engaging a large number of teams and athletes who would pay for the service. I had no previous examples to give as evidence that it would work, but my experiences within the American university system led me to believe that we could develop a service that teams and athletes would buy into. Luckily, the management agreed and took the risk.

Within the first year, we doubled the student-athlete membership and went from working with three performance teams (who received free services) to nine teams. Five years down the line, we now work with 35 sports in 65 team sessions, supporting over 1,000 student-athletes. The incredible thing, from a sustainability perspective, is that close to 900 of these athletes pay for the service.

Match Facility Design to Meet Your Mission

Designing a facility that can cater to your aims is important. After I was in the department for a year, we looked at redeveloping our facility. At the time, we had four racks, a few platforms, and some dumbbells and other bits of equipment dotted around the room. During the tender process, which was linked to the regular fitness gym facility, five companies competed for the bid. Most of the companies offered some great equipment, but the designs and layouts would not cater to the team and athlete delivery that I envisioned.

I drew up a proposal based on what I’d seen at universities in America. The team training area was a priority. It had six racks (three opposite each other) with a good amount of space and platforms in between. I thought this could easily cater to a total of 18 athletes. In the rest of the facility, I figured we could fit five more racks and then squeeze in some dumbbells, spin bikes, and a leg press.

 

That’s pretty much it: 11 racks, 5 benches, 3 bench pull attachments, some dumbbells, spin bikes, and a leg press. Simple but incredibly effective. Absolute Performance provided the equipment to match this design and did a great job installing it.

Another key factor was the integrated flooring. We went for 40mm rubber floor tiles that we could use for any type of lifting, eliminating the need for separate platforms. It made the area a great multi-purpose facility.

Tailor Your Communication for the Desired Effect

The value of your communication is judged by its outcome. You may have the best intentions and make a lot of valid points, but if the outcome is that the athlete does not buy-in or you don’t get the desired investment, your communication failed. It’s easy to try and shift the blame and say they did not understand you or they just didn’t get it. And there may even be some truth in these statements, but that’s not the point. The point is that your communication was unsuccessful, so you should try to figure out how to do it better.⁷

There are difficult decisions to make when coaching. Some people say they never tell athletes the truth about what they’re doing. Instead, they lie to the athletes, making bolder claims than they know are likely. I feel somewhat uneasy about this as an empiricist.

I prefer to try and sell the truth as effectively as possible. Research has shown that the same information can be delivered in different ways to have greatly differing effects. The work by Kahneman and colleagues has shown that we are all subject to bias in many ways.⁸Therefore, it might be beneficial to communicate in ways that enhance the likelihood of a positive outcome. Confidence is one of the obvious examples of this: if you deliver something with confidence and clarity, it’s more likely to be accepted as true.

The research on bias and heuristics gives us further rationale to embrace scientific thinking and methodologies. We are prone to confirmation bias and are likely to attribute errors elsewhere. Therefore, we should always be open to the fact that we may make mistakes, prepare to review our programs and testing results carefully, and then be willing to admit when we are wrong. It is, in fact, one of the main virtues of scientists—to be skeptical, to question, and to be objective rather than subjective.

While a person's thoughts can be interesting, their anecdotes can never overrule empirical evidence, says @Langford_Andrew. Share on X

In some ways, there seems to have been an increase in the value of subjective reasoning and personal evidence. While the thoughts of one person can be interesting, anecdotes can never overrule empirical evidence. I would advise all coaches and S&C professionals to consider these factors when reviewing evidence, designing programs, and communicating with stakeholders.

Foster a Team Culture that Reflects Your Vision

Of course, a department like this can only be successful if the teams and athletes turn up and are willing to buy-in. To do that, you need to ensure a quality service that’s engaging and effective. We must find a difficult balance between giving the teams and athletes what they think they want and ensuring that what we do for them is impactful.

I’ve found the best way to accomplish this is to engage teams by helping instill good team culture. The term culture is often thrown around without really explaining what it is or how to achieve it. For me, good overall team culture involves everyone working toward a common shared goal. It means every individual is accountable for their actions in every situation, all based on whether they’re helping or hindering the common goal.

A strong culture and team spirit can emerge once everyone buys-in and believes team goals, says @Langford_Andrew. Share on X

Attending S&C and working hard should impact athletic performance and be part of the common goal of a serious team. All the players should be accountable for this. You can enforce it through team rules and behaviors, which is where athlete leadership fits in. Successful teams tend to have a strong leadership group, consisting of key players who help hold others accountable for their actions. Once everyone buys-in and believes in the team’s goals, a strong culture and team spirit can emerge.⁹

Respect the Fundamentals of Science

Much of my programming and the philosophy I try to instill in the S&C department is to use “real training” and stay away from gimmicks and trends. We try to stick to the basics and develop all physical qualities in a simple way. A saying that always sticks in my mind from science education is Occam’s razor—always try to answer a question with the most simple answer possible.³

As a biology graduate, I’m passionate about science and the scientific method. I often view topics in S&C a little differently than what’s currently in vogue. An example is the common use of categorical thinking in S&C textbooks. Stemming from the ideas of Aristotle and Plato, categorical thinking aims to put everything into discrete groupings so we can consider them easily.⁴ It’s a common heuristic people use that can be very practical in certain circumstances.

For example, the electromagnetic spectrum is exactly that—a spectrum. However, we conveniently put groupings and names to different wavelengths of light and call them colors. Despite there being no actual boundaries between the wavelengths in the spectrum, we easily depict them as separate colors. But just as the distinction between red and orange can be useful, there can also be a blurring of these categories where the distinction is not so easy, and the colors become ambiguous.

In an S&C context, we see the same ambiguity when dealing with the changing force and velocity of muscle contraction. We often struggle with ambiguity, and viewing things in categories doesn’t help. The strength-speed continuum of muscle action is an example.

Muscle contraction occurs on a continuum from slow to fast; there are no actual separate categories of mechanism (obviously there is the increased recruitment of high threshold motor units, but this is not important for the point I’m making here) despite our insistence on saying “at this percentage we’re training max strength, and at this percentage we’re training strength-speed,” etc. With this thinking, as we approach the boundary between categories, a 1% change suggests a larger difference than is actually present.

This also opens questions about the physiological rationale for our training methods and philosophies. The mechanism of muscle contraction is an obvious area that informs program design. When a muscle contracts, we need the actin-myosin cross-bridge formation to impart a force. This force directly dictates all other outcomes.

While people say something like Power = Force x Velocity, which is true, we must understand that the velocity we measure only occurs due to the force imparted. They are not mutually exclusive. As we approach 1RM, actin-myosin binding sites are mostly occupied at any one time, meaning that velocity has to be slow. As the load decreases, the number of actin-myosin binding sites occupied can lower, meaning that cycling is quicker and the velocity of contraction increases.⁵

Being able to view physiological phenomena as continuous variables greatly helps our understanding and appreciation of program design and exercise selection. It’s useful to have simple rules-of-thumb when designing programs quickly and when we’re trying to get our heads around an idea, but we should always be mindful of the traps we can fall into.

There’s also often confusion with science: people might say there is no exact scientific research showing that something works in a particular environment, so you can’t say what is right or wrong. Well, that’s absolute nonsense. Science is not just a set of facts and theories that we know about the world. It’s also the process of scientific thinking, clear thinking, or critical thinking. It’s using evidence and what we do know to make informed decisions with logic, rationality, and reason.⁶

By understanding #physiology, we make informed judgments & predictions about behaviors, adaptations, says @Langford_Andrew. Share on X

By understanding basic physiology, we can make informed judgments and predictions about behaviors and adaptations. If we keep this simple and closely analyze the outcomes, we can determine whether our inferences were correct or whether we need to adjust things and try something different. Again, simplicity is key because then we can be clear in our analysis of what works or doesn’t work. When we overcomplicate things with many variables and principles, we can’t possibly have a good grasp of what actually caused an outcome.

Create Programs that Build Resilient Athletes

To look at some of the programs I’ve found successful in the university environment, I present my full season of programs for the Men’s Hockey team. To give some context, the team plays in the British Universities and Colleges Sport (BUCS) Premier Division and National League 1. This means that most players have matches on Wednesday and Saturday/Sunday, with hockey training on Monday and Thursday.

It’s a fairly demanding and fatiguing sporting schedule, which is similar across most top-level teams at British universities. Alongside these hockey commitments, all the players are full-time students with different courses and timetables. We’ve found the best overall schedule for them is two S&C sessions each week on Monday and Friday.

Pre-season

The pre-season period is the optimal time to get a large volume of training completed. It allows us to build a solid foundation and work on areas that may be prone to injury. At the start of every session, players will complete a warm-up and prehab routine. After taking them through this for the first couple of sessions, I let them get on with it themselves for the rest of the season. This helps to develop some accountability among the players. It also gives me an opportunity to talk to the players individually to see how they’re feeling and understand their current wellness.

Once the players finish their warm-up, they perform a 5-repeated jump monitoring test, which can track neuromuscular outputs throughout a whole season. This is an adapted version of the 10/5 Repeated Jump Test.¹²

 

As you can see from Table 1, the volume of the sessions is fairly high. We aim to develop some work capacity and structural adaptation. I like to use a slow tempo: 3-second eccentrics and a pause on the bottom of the squat. This helps to ensure that we develop good movement patterns and lifting techniques and also places sufficient stress on the body.

The development of the hamstrings and soleus are key areas for injury patterns that we see in hockey.

At the end of this period, we carry out some 1RM prediction testing using GymAware to help track progress and to assign some estimates to work from each week. I’m very mindful that the players have different abilities, workloads, and schedules, so I only use percentages as guidelines.

Bryan Mann’s work has demonstrated the benefits of autoregulatory training.¹³When someone easily hits their numbers for a given week, I encourage them to lift a little heavier. If someone is struggling, we may reduce the load slightly or reduce the number of sets, which is my usual preference. Having a close working relationship with the players and an understanding of their needs helps with this daily monitoring and adjustment strategy.

In-Season Phase 1

The program for the first in-season phase is very similar. Percentages on the bench press are higher than squats because there are less potential performance impact and injury risk from overloading the horizontal press.

The overall volume is still fairly high, particularly since they’re now competing in fixtures and train on Monday night after having S&C in the morning. On paper, that might be a risk. However, we’ve built this through experience and analyzing the impact of my sessions over several years. I’m pleased to say that our injury rate is extremely low. During the past three years, players in total have missed only five games out of a total of 960. That’s an availability rate of over 99.5%.

Our player availability rate is more than 99.5% because we built robust athletes using overload, says @Langford_Andrew. Share on X

While injuries can be due to luck, programming and management inevitably have an impact. There’s also what I like to call the “spiral of fragility.” Athletes are often treated as highly fragile, and coaches believe they must do everything to protect them. The concept is epitomized in an elite sport such as the English Premier League (football/soccer).

The approach is understandable in some respects, as we’re dealing with huge commodities regarding the players’ value. If they get injured, that’s a loss of money, so everything possible will be done to protect them and wrap them in cotton wool. However, this may prove to be an ineffective approach and actually have the opposite effect than what we hoped for.

The data clearly suggests that developing robust athletes, who are resistant to injury, requires a constant loading and developing of a good foundation. If we don’t overload, and therefore create a positive structural adaptation, then the muscles, tendons, and ligaments will be weaker and at higher risk of injury. The reversibility effect ensures that if we don’t train, then we lose any physical qualities that we developed. A proverb that sums this up well is: “prepare the child for the road, not the road for the child.”¹⁴

University athletes are more robust than often thought and can withstand a good amount of loading, says @Langford_Andrew. Share on X

I’ve found that university athletes are more robust than we like to think. They are anti-fragile and can withstand a good amount of loading and adaptation. If you train them well from the beginning and continue loading them through the year, you can be hopeful for strong and injury-free athletes for the whole season.

In-Season Phase 2

In this block, we increase intensities and add a few more dynamic movements.

The squats include a “pop” out of the bottom, and the reverse lunges and step-ups are as quick as possible on the way up.

In-Season Phase 3

Phase 3 is the last phase before the Christmas break when we add power exercises such as jump squats and trap bar jumps.

When progressing to power training, I first train through all of the larger ranges of motion, looking at the concentric action (no countermovement) and a controlled landing (eccentric).

In-Season Phase 4

Phase 4 is the first block back after the Christmas break. Typically, we lose the athletes for around four weeks over the break, and it’s difficult to guarantee that they’ve done much training during that time.

I use a taper block to get them back to where we left off before Christmas. We also add in the next progressions in power training, using countermovement jump squats and trap bar jumps.

In-Season Phase 5

In phase 5, we look at repeated jumps and contacts, aiming to improve the reactivity of the muscles.

We include some loaded back squats and bench presses using bands to overload the top portion and allow acceleration through the whole movement.

In-Season Phase 6

Phase 6 is the final block of training leading into playoffs and championship games.

We add some multi-directional power work and continue with some squats, RDLs, split squats, and calf raises. This training format leads to some natural peaking as we’ve progressed from higher volumes at lower intensities to high intensity and power work with reduced volume.

With today’s trend of daily undulating methods, this block periodization method might not be the most popular, but I’ve found it the most successful in making progressions over a full season. Daily undulating methods might be good for experienced professionals who have many years of training background behind them and who are looking to stay fresh for every game.

The #BlockPeriodization makes successful progressions over a full season, says @Langford_Andrew. Share on X

But for these young athletes, who don’t have a great training background, undulating methods would be largely wasted on them. They don’t have the foundational qualities to just “top-up” and develop every couple of weeks. The best way to cause real adaptation and physical change is to overload a quality for a good block of training and then move on to another focus after that.^{10, 11}

Review Relevant Data to Evaluate Results

S&C is a field where we hope to have a real impact and see results, and our best evidence that we’ve done a good job and were successful is to review our data and test results. Physical outputs like strength and power are useful as well as injury data and feedback from coaches and athletes.

 

The graph covers the whole of the season. You can see the changes in power output throughout the year, with sharp fluctuations when we adjusted the emphasis of training. There was a large spike toward the end of the year when we focussed on the power and speed aspects of training to prepare for major competitions.

Summary

The university environment in the UK offers an excellent opportunity to develop young athletes over several years of engagement. My methods and examples demonstrate that you can set up an S&C department to be both sustainable and effective. I hope that other universities and administrations see the advantages and opportunities available to them and recognize the duty of care they have to their student-athletes.

For coaches and aspiring S&C professionals, I hope that this shows that using principles of science and scientific thinking can help develop effective programs, structures, and entire departments. From this, it would be progressive for the university S&C industry if other coaches and practitioners share their experiences and philosophies, helping develop standards and expectations, which in turn could be adopted by organizations such as BUCS.

Since you’re here…
…we have a small favor to ask. More people are reading SimpliFaster than ever, and each week we bring you compelling content from coaches, sport scientists, and physiotherapists who are devoted to building better athletes. Please take a moment to share the articles on social media, engage the authors with questions and comments below, and link to articles when appropriate if you have a blog or participate on forums of related topics. — SF

References

1. Hootman, Jennifer & Randall, Dick & Agel, Julie. (2007). Epidemiology of Collegiate Injuries for 15 Sports: Summary and Recommendations for Injury Prevention Initiatives. Journal of Athletic Training. 42. 311-319.
2. Talpey, Scott & Siesmaa, Emma. (2017). Sports Injury Prevention: The Role of the Strength and Conditioning Coach. Strength and Conditioning Journal. 39(3). 14-19.DOI: 10.1519/SSC.0000000000000301.
3. Rasmussen, C. E., & Ghahramani, Z. (2001). Occam’s Razor. In Advances in Neural Information Processing Systems (pp. 294-300).
4. Mullainathan, S. (2002). Thinking through categories. NBER working paper.
5. Jaric, S. (2015). Force-velocity Relationship of Muscles Performing Multi-joint Maximum Performance Tasks. International Journal of Sports Medicine. 36(9). 699-704.
6. Russell, B. (2013). An Inquiry into Meaning and Truth. Routledge.
7. Cialdini, R. B. (1987). Influence (Vol. 3). Port Harcourt: A. Michel.
8. Kahneman, D. (2011). Thinking, Fast and Slow (Vol. 1). New York: Farrar, Straus, andGiroux.
9. Fletcher, D., & Arnold, R. (2011). A Qualitative Study of Performance Leadership and Management in Elite Sport. Journal of Applied SportPsychology. 23(2). 223-242.
10. Haff, G. G. (2016). The Essentials of Periodization. Strength and Conditioning for Sports Performance. 404.
11. Painter, K. B., et al. (2012). Strength Gains: Block Versus Daily Undulating Periodization Weight Training Among Track and Field Athletes. International Journal of Sports Physiology and Performance. 7(2). 161-169.
12. Harper, Damian & Hobbs, Sarah & Moore, Jason. (2011). The Ten to Five Repeated Jump Test: A New Test for Evaluation of Reactive Strength. BASES Student Conference.
13. Mann, Bryan, et al. (2010). The Effect of Autoregulatory Progressive Resistance Exercise vs. Linear Periodization on Strength Improvement in College Athletes. Journal of Strength and Conditioning Research. 24(17). 1718-1723.
14. Lukianoff, G., & Haidt, J. (2018). The Coddling of the American Mind: How Good Intentions and Bad Ideas Are Setting Up a Generation for Failure. Penguin Press.

 

Throughout my years of coaching, a number of different training concepts have come and gone. Some have stayed longer than others. Some I have tried, while others I’ve never believed in enough to implement in the first place. One new method, however, really caught my attention and I thought it could be very useful: velocity-based training (VBT).

First off, I am not the premier expert in this area. That title goes to Bryan Mann. In fact, for more information on this type of training, Mann has written two or three books and many articles. My objectives here are to introduce you to the concept of VBT, offer a starting point, and present firsthand ideas on how I’ve used this concept successfully in both team and individual settings.

Choosing a Device

To apply the concept in practice, you first have to choose a device. Initially, there were only a few options to choose from, but nowadays there are a plethora of tools that work in various ways and are worn in different positions. I was first introduced to one of these devices in the mid-2000s while attending a Tibor Gecsek Hammer Clinic at the University of Georgia. Bert Sorin, of Sorinex Exercise Equipment, also attended and was walking around with a device called a Tendo Unit.

To introduce the Tendo, Bert would have guys attach a string to their belt loop; this string was attached to the device that measured the velocity at which the string was pulled. He would have some of the athletes jump to see at what m/s they were going in a vertical direction.

I tried the device, and to my surprise, I hit one of the fastest measurements ever. Witnessing this, Tibor could not understand how a guy like me could have a higher m/s than he had. And made me do it again—the result was even better. I may be short, but one genetic gift I had was the ability to jump out of the building in my younger, lighter years. I have no doubt this gift is what made me successful as a shot putter.

But I digress—back to the devices. Like I said, currently, there are many devices to choose from: some with a string, some attach to the bar, some attach to your elbow, and some attach to the wrist. A few of the brands available are the Tendo, Beast, Push Device, Bar Sensei, and GymAware. I’m familiar with all the devices except the GymAware, which is said to be the most accurate but is also the most expensive. Although I’m fortunate enough at the high school level to have a great budget, we can’t afford one of these.

Instead, we have a few Tendos, a number of Push Devices, and one of each of the Beast and Bar Sensei. I find that as long as you use the same device each session, you can accomplish the objective you set. In my experience, when doing slower movements like a squat, bench, and deadlift, the range of devices are very similar when measuring, if not the same. With more ballistic movements, however, the differences can be a little greater, though the results are still in the same relative area.

I suggest doing your research and finding the one that best suits you. If money were unlimited, my choice would be the Tendo. Keep in mind, Bar Sensei continually improves their product, and they’re a very close second and much more cost effective.

Training Team Sport Athletes

Using VBT in a team setting can be beneficial in many ways. I will describe a few ways I use it throughout the year with different teams of both male and female athletes.

As a beginning example, let’s use football during the season. Our lifts take place on Saturday (the day after the game) and Monday or Tuesday during the week. We tend to do our squat and bench type training on Saturday since it gives the maximum time for recovery before the next game. A coach must take into consideration that the athletes get beat up throughout the season, and everything they do adds up cumulatively. What I mean by this is the only time an athlete is truly fresh is for the first game, and even then they’ve had previous weeks of double days and hard training, depending on the program.

Therefore, an athlete’s squat max from the summer, while fresh, isn’t necessarily going to be the same on a Saturday morning at 8 am after a four-quarter war the night before. At this point, if you’re using percentages to assign intensity for the workouts, you could be setting your athletes up for failure and even nervous system fatigue.

This is where VBT comes in. Bryan Mann assigns specific speeds for the characteristic you’re training for, and the Push Device has a chart with a specific range of speeds.

These characteristics include:

• Absolute strength
• Max strength
• Accelerative strength
• Strength speed
• Speed strength
• Starting strength

Speed Strength

To keep it simple, let’s focus on speed strength. This is the characteristic I train for the most and is the most important characteristic for success in athletics. The Push chart lists that speed strength is trained at between 1.0 m/s and 1.5 m/s average velocity. Therefore, when the athletes come in on Saturday, the intensity is determined by speed rather than percentages.

If you use percentages to train, there’s a high probability that you’ll train a different characteristic than the one you planned for. This can result in overtraining and create a hole that will be extremely challenging to get out of during in-season play.

If you use percentages you'll likely train a characteristic different than the one you planned for, says @nick_g_garcia. Share on X

Let’s return to the data point for speed strength listed at 1.0-1.5 m/s average velocity on the Push chart. There are a few different ways to measure training when applying VBT. Besides average velocity, we can use peak velocity. I prefer to use both.

I use average velocity when doing the less ballistic total body movements, like the squat, bench, and deadlift, and peak velocity when using more ballistic movements like the clean and snatch. The reason is that, while performing lifts like the clean and snatch, many things can affect the average velocity: range of motion, small injuries, etc. Because movements like the squat, bench, and deadlift are less complicated to perform, they are not affected in the same way.

Although the Push chart gives us a starting point for each of the training characteristics, I tend to stick with Bryan Mann’s speed recommendations, which you can find in his book Developing Explosive Athletes: Use of Velocity Based Training in Training Athletes, 3^rd Edition. He lists speeds for many different movements, including various types of pulls.

Assigning speeds for lifts keeps the nervous system firing & the athletes ready for a long season, says @nick_g_garcia. Share on X

When athletes come in to train during the season, we assign them a specific speed as a measurable for each main lift rather than a percentage. Training in this manner helps keep the nervous system firing and helps the athletes endure a long grueling season.

Monitoring Team Readiness

Before we move on from the team aspect of VBT, let’s look at how we can use VBT to determine team readiness. Often in a team environment, the results of the pre-season and in-season will determine if you have an opportunity to move on to the bigger competitions, like regionals and finals.

If the in-season is not successful, then the chances of the team continuing into the post-season become very low. Taking all of this into consideration, how do you go about determining your team’s readiness for the season and, for that matter, week to week during the season?

Currently, Catapult can track many different training metrics for individual team athletes, including mileage and running patterns. I’m the first to admit that I am no expert on Catapult—I do not own the system, nor have I used one. I do, however, believe it’s a valuable tool if you have the budget for it. Since Catapult is still fairly new at the high school level, it was not an option during our football season. Therefore, I had to come up with a way to determine whether our training on and off the field was beneficial or detrimental to our performance on Fridays.

How can we determine our training is beneficial or detrimental to our meet performance? says @nick_g_garcia Share on X

And then it came to me. For a long while now in my own training (inspired by Dr. Bondarchuk’s methods), I’ve used bar velocity devices as secondary proof that I was in peak performance. I did this by comparing my daily throwing results with my bar velocity when I lifted. Simply put, when my throws were up, my speeds were up. When my throws were down, my speeds were down. Also, when I reached peak performance, my throws were always up as well as my bar speed—the patterns mimicked each other perfectly.

The idea, then, was to hold our first training session using VBT one week before our first game to produce speeds that I considered realistic since they were not completely fresh. I felt this would be more representative of the speeds we may see during the season based on fatigue from normal everyday practice.

I chose one athlete from each position to represent the different duties on the field: defensive back, linebacker, defensive lineman, offensive lineman, running back, and wide receiver. I also included two athletes who may not play much and not get as many reps during practice.

We established weights they were to use for the hang clean, squat, and bench based on the literature: 1.35 m/s for the hang clean and 0.8-1.0 m/s for the squat and bench (for the record, this was average velocity, not peak velocity). Throughout the year, we would continue to use these same weights week in and week out while charting the speeds of each set of each lift.

As expected, the athletes who participated in most of the plays saw a decline in their average velocity by the time we reached the middle of the season. The players who played less kept within the speed parameters since they had not accumulated weeks of playing fatigue.

In mid-season, the team must feel as good as possible to ensure a late-season run, says @nick_g_garcia. Share on X

When moving into the middle of the season, it is increasingly important for a team to be feeling as good as possible to ensure a late-season run. The data collected can help us, as coaches, determine how to attack the last half of the season. Do we need to back off, or can we go a little harder each day? In our case, we needed to back off from what we were doing every week. Our speeds were down each week and showing no signs of improving.

Having the data that proves you need to do something different, however, and getting the higher-ups to change something are two different things. Common sense may say if you’re unsuccessful at a task, the answer is to work harder. In reality, the best answer is to back off to keep your athletes fresh enough to perform the way you coached them to perform. I don’t have the answer on how to get the higher-ups to do something different, but this is one way to determine your team’s readiness throughout the season.

Using Bondarchuk’s System with Individual Athletes

Let’s switch gears and look at how I use VBT with individual athletes. I mentioned using it as a second indicator of where my body is in relation to peak form using Dr. Bondarchuk’s training system. One of the cycles in this system is the Developmental Cycle (my previous article describes the program, “The Cycle and Exercise Classification of Dr. Bondarchuk’s System”).

For a Developmental Cycle, we want the lifting percentages to be roughly 60-70% of max. The objective is to move each rep of each set as fast and dynamic as possible. Ultimately, we’re training the speed strength characteristic. The Push chart lists speed strength at 1.0-1.5 m/s using average velocity. Therefore, we would find a weight that allowed us to be just under 1.0 m/s for every rep of every set (give or take), which according to the Push chart, falls into the realm of strength speed.

We chose these speeds because when we hit peak form, theoretically, our throws and bar speeds should be up, taking us into that speed strength realm. If we had begun in the speed strength realm and hit peak form, it may take us into training the Starting Strength characteristic. We will then risk not having enough of a stimulus in the weight room if the speeds are too high. This strategy has worked great for us.

Another way I use VBT with individuals is having a strength-oriented day and speed-oriented day. During the track season, we normally train twice a week: a strength-based lift on the first day of the week and a speed-oriented lift the day before or the day of the meet. Occasionally, our meets will fall on Fridays, including the Master’s meet and State Prelims.

I don’t comprise my program based on our meet schedule. Don’t get me wrong, we have a structured plan in place to peak at the proper time. If, however, we’re scheduled to lift on a Friday and a meet falls on that day, so be it. We’ll come in during the early morning and hit our speed-oriented lift, in which every rep of every movement must be in the speed strength realm.

A pre-meet speed-oriented lift session on the day of a meet can enhance race performance, says @nick_g_garcia. Share on X

Each time we’ve had a meet fall on the same day as a speed-oriented lift day, we’ve hit a seasonal best or personal best that same night. Therefore, I have no problem lifting for speed on meet days. In fact, this shows a pre-meet lift can enhance performance.

Training Female Student-Athletes

Finally, let’s look at how I use VBT with female student-athletes. In my experience, when female athletes first begin to train, the majority are intimidated by the weight room. We introduce them to kettlebell and dumbbell work to get them a bit more comfortable. Down the road 8-12 weeks, when we begin barbell lifts, these athletes tend to underestimate their lifting capabilities.

I then give each athlete an iPad and a Push Device. I tell them the speeds I want the bar moving between. Let’s use a squat variation as an example. I assign a speed of 0.8-1.0 m/s: any weight that moves slower than 0.8 is too heavy, and any weight that moves above 1.0 is too light. Ultimately, this range gives them an idea of where they should be, and since we’re training in the speed strength realm, the weight is not really heavy regardless.

This has helped the female athletes I coach progress much faster and have much more confidence in what they’re doing every week—not to mention, they feel a bit more special since they get to use a fancy device.

These are just a few ideas on how to get started with VBT as well as a few ways to apply it to your training. If you have any questions, feel free to email me at [email protected], or you can sign up to listen to the Hmmr Media podcast about VBT.

Since you’re here…
…we have a small favor to ask. More people are reading SimpliFaster than ever, and each week we bring you compelling content from coaches, sport scientists, and physiotherapists who are devoted to building better athletes. Please take a moment to share the articles on social media, engage the authors with questions and comments below, and link to articles when appropriate if you have a blog or participate on forums of related topics. — SF

For athletes, achieving excellence requires not only talent, passion, and determination, but also an incredible amount of dedicated work. I’m sure you’re now quite familiar with the saying that it takes 10,000 hours for experts from many diverse fields to reach mastery. Even though this concept is not without its flaws, it reflects the reality that making it to the top requires an important time investment to develop the skills and physiological and biomechanical adaptations necessary for performance.

When working with young student-athletes, however, it’s necessary to consider not only the demands of training and competition but also academic and other commitments including exams, internships, and part-time jobs that are linked to this stage of their personal journey. Simply put, student-athletes need to excel both in sport and the classroom.

For the past 18 months, I’ve been fortunate to work with two female student-athletes who are full-time medical school students. One is completing her residency in pediatrics while competing as a short track speed skater. This article provides coaches a detailed look at some of the programming strategies we’ve used during her off-ice physical preparation, training she’s undertaken while also meeting requirements to complete on-ice skating sessions, different internships, and rotating work shifts during her residency. I’ll share some aspects of a coach’s decision-making process and thus stimulate further discussion about current practices.

Task Analysis of Short Track Speed Skating

Coming from a Canadian football background, I had little knowledge of short track speed skating when I was put in touch with this student-athlete. When an athletic development coach starts working with a sport they know very little about, their first step is to perform a thorough analysis of the physical and technical demands related to that sport.

My analysis started by sitting down and asking the athlete numerous questions about the sport and her performance. This gave me valuable information about her background regarding training and injury as well as insight into her strengths and weaknesses. As an example, she is relatively small in stature, which increases demands on her stability when she tries to position herself in the group and hold her position during races.

Short track speed skating consists of races over three distances with separate requirements and target time ranges for female competitors:

• 500 meter, with a race duration of 43-46 seconds
• 1000 meter, typically completed between 90-100 seconds
• 1500 meter, finishing between 143-155 seconds

In reviewing the literature, I learned that from a tactical perspective, a fast start strategy seems optimal for the 500m event, while the crucial portion of the 1000m is from the 6^th lap to the finish line.⁵ Emphasizing the start for the 500m race is crucial, as there are limited opportunities to pass an opponent during the race. For the 1500m, while a fast start strategy may lead to faster times, top skaters are faster during the last five laps. Therefore we emphasize pacing strategies and tactical decisions during the latter phase of the race.⁴

From a physical and physiological perspective, the 500m shares similarities with the 400m in track and field regarding both within-race strategy and energy demands.² Although, as the event’s duration increases, the crouched position adopted by the skaters puts them at a physiological disadvantage, as it may increase muscle deoxygenation due to static occlusion of blood flow in the leg muscles.³

The #TaskAnalysis helped us identify her main strength and the main area she needed to improve, says @xrperformance. Share on X

The task analysis and discussion enabled us to identify her main strength—her start—and the main area that needed improvement—endurance and capacity to resist fatigue in the late portion of the race.

Programming Strategies During the 2017-2018 Season

Following the initial task analysis and discussion, we performed a modified version of Kelvin Giles’ Physical Competence Assessment (PCA) to assist establishing her training age and “trainability” across a wide range of movements, including the overhead squat, single-leg squat, and side plank for time. We also did flexibility tests like the Thomas test and ankle dorsiflexion.

The initial assessment would progress over time to include more single-leg jumping movements to challenge her current athleticism. More importantly, it served as our starting point for her resistance training program. For programming, we adopted a progressive approach over the 2017 summer since we had close to 20 weeks to get her ready for the national qualifier in November.

Most training weeks consisted of two or three resistance training sessions, plus on-ice practices with her club. For the first three mesocycles, we used a simplified version of Joe Kenn’s Tier System in which we rotated total body, lower body, and upper body movements on a daily basis. At this point in her annual training plan, she had time in her schedule to complete all three training sessions during the week.

Day 1

• Plyometrics
• Total body exercise—Olympic lifting variation
• Lower body exercise—front squat progression
• Upper body pulling exercise

Day 2

• Plyometrics
• Lower body exercise—hexagonal bar deadlift
• Upper body pushing exercise
• Total body exercise—Olympic lifting variation using dumbbells or kettlebells

Day 3

• Plyometrics
• Upper body pulling exercise
• Total body exercise—jump shrug variation
• Lower body exercise—front squat progression

To focus on her start, most training days included compound multi-joint movements such as jumps (box jumps, Heiden jumps, and hurdle jump progressions), Olympic lifting variations (barbell high pulls from various starting positions), lower body exercises such as squats and hexagonal bar deadlifts, and upper body pulling and pressing movements. Accessory exercises such as lunges, step-ups, and core work completed the training sessions.

During the summer, she learned she was accepted to another university and would have to relocate to Montreal. This good news impacted our programming to some degree since she would be working at the hospital more regularly.

On certain occasions, for example, she was required to be “on call” and available for emergencies at the hospital or spend a full weekend at the hospital. This made it impossible for her to perform any training sessions we had planned during that weekend. I’ll examine a more detailed portrait of the commitments associated with such a schedule in the third part of this article.

As we got closer to the start of the 2017-2018 competition season, we started reducing the number of training sessions which involved her going to the gym. Moreover, we wanted to include exercises and methods that would somehow target her strength-endurance and power-endurance qualities while also increasing her work capacity.

For these reasons, we introduced various bodyweight and dumbbell circuits on the second or third day of training, depending on the number of training sessions in a week. With her access to dumbbells at home, we used different variations of Vern Gambetta’s dumbbell (DB) complex and lower body complexes before introducing Vern’s leg circuit. The DB complexes were comprised of four different exercises completed one after the other using 20-30% of her total body weight.

As for the leg circuit, we wanted to establish a base of strength and power endurance.¹ The exercises included different variations of squats, lunges, step-ups, and jumps at a tempo of one repetition per second. We started by using the half leg circuit (35 repetitions in total) for 3 to 5 sets with 1 minute of rest between sets. Then we progressed to no rest between sets before moving to the full leg version (70 repetitions) following a similar pattern of rest intervals.

During the 2017 competition season, we didn’t move away much from what we did during the preparation period. With most training time dedicated to on-ice practice sessions, we agreed to plan for one gym-based training session per week if possible. Otherwise, she could complete the circuit-based training session that required limited equipment.

In summary, during the 2017-2018 season, we followed a progressive and sequential training program. First, we emphasized improvements in general strength and power qualities and then progressed to include more circuit-based programming strategies while providing training sessions she could do at home.

Programming Strategies During the 2018-2019 Season

After taking the month of April off from dedicated training, we approached her preparation for the 2018-2019 season from a different perspective. Indeed, her coaches on the national team told her that her physical qualities were no longer a limitation in her on-ice performance.

Her physical qualities no longer limited her on-ice performance, says @xrperformance. Share on X

During May and June, one of her major obstacles was limited on-ice training time because of school compared to the other athletes in her club. During those two months, she interned in the intensive care unit, working 17 shifts per month and starting her day by 7:00 am and leaving the hospital between 8:00-9:00 pm. During this time, the other athletes at her club would complete an average of six on-ice training sessions per week on weeknights.

Because she lacked the energy to do the on-ice sessions, she either completed a short training session at home after work or went for a light jog. During her off-days, when she could have been resting, she often completed one or two daily training sessions on back to back days.

Not exactly the ideal scenario, and it meant training with suboptimal readiness. She would often complete a resistance training session at the gym and run back home as her conditioning. During this time in her on-ice training sessions, she would often hit a wall and feelings of heavy legs would appear after only a few laps. The intense internship period was starting to take its toll, and we had to find a solution to help her accumulate more training volume.

An intense internship was taking its toll and we had to help her accumulate more training volume, says @xrperformance. Share on X

During July and August, we re-introduced DB complexes and leg circuits to her training program on the second day of training. We also started introducing more intense lower body complexes during her gym-based training session to replicate some of the sensations she experiences during a race, especially during the 1000m and 1500m races.

She completed these complexes after performing a plyometric and an Olympic weightlifting variation and involved three types of muscle contractions or speeds of movement:

1. Dynamic
2. Isometric
3. Explosive

For example, she would hold a position for a certain time, then perform a squatting variation followed by a type of jump. The different parameters of the complex (exercise order, types of exercises, rest intervals, time under tension, etc.) were manipulated based on the objectives we wanted to achieve.

We put this strategy in place because, by then, she was then interning in pneumology and her more normal work schedule (9:00 am to 4:00 pm) allowed her to complete more training sessions both on the ice with another club (because her club was training in the morning at that time) and off the ice.

During August, for example, even though she was completing another internship in intensive care, her work schedule allowed her to skate in the morning, train in the early afternoon, and take a nap before going to work (8-hour shifts, from 4:00-6:00 pm to 12:00-02:00 am). This was nowhere near the hectic schedule she was working earlier during the summer.

To address her conditioning, we talked to our local speed skating club’s strength and conditioning coach here in Sherbrooke who suggested we add a stationary bike to her training. We added low box quick steps in a HIIT format on Day 1 and short intervals on the stationary bike on Day 3.

Over the following weeks, we progressed the low box quick steps from 15 to 30 seconds using a work-to-rest ratio of 1:1. For the bike intervals, we started with two sets of 5-6 intervals of 15 seconds with 45 seconds of recovery and progressed to 30-60 seconds of work with a 1:3 work-to-rest ratio and finally sets of 1 minute with a 1:2-3 work-to-rest ratio.

As we got closer to the start of the 2018-2019 season in September, she was able to complete most on-ice training sessions with her club after her daytime internship in dermatology. She performed the prescribed resistance training session before her on-ice training. If she needed to, she would modify the volume of the program to make sure she could complete the on-ice work prescribed by her coach and respect the training theme for the day. She was able to make modifications because she has a very good understanding of her body and the type of training she needs to perform at this level of competition.

The following graph illustrates her training loads collected using the Session-RPE method and an online monitoring tool as she completed her various internships leading up to the national qualifiers in Montreal and the US Short Track Fall WC Qualifier & AmCup 1 in Utah. The graph provides a nice overview of the challenging demands she faced over the months and how we managed her training accordingly.

Key Takeaways

My main objective for this article was to share the coaching decisions I’ve made in the past 18 months to help and support a young medical school student-athlete reach her goal of making the Canadian Top-20 in short track speed skating.

When working with athletes who perform at a very competitive level while also balancing high-level work or study demands that are time-consuming and stressful, it’s imperative that your training is very time-efficient and centered around what you consider to be the best “bang for your buck” training exercises, strategies, and interventions.

It’s also important to remain flexible when planning the different training sessions and training cycles. Work commitments such as night shifts at the hospital for multiple nights will have a huge impact on an athlete’s energy levels and, thus, motivation to go to the gym.

It’s often best to acknowledge these realities, find different ways in concert with the student-athlete to adapt their training, and look at key moments in their agenda where they can dedicate more time and energy to training. Although many young student-athletes have high aspirations, in the end, they need to find balance in the other important aspects of their lives.

References

1. Gambetta, V. (2006). Athletic Development: The Art & Science of Functional Sports Conditioning. Champaign, Il: Human Kinetics.
2. Haug, W. B., Drinkwater, E. J., Mitchell, L. J., & Chapman, D. W. (2015). The Relationship Between Start Performance and Race Outcome in Elite 500-m Short-Track Speed Skating. International Journal of Sports Physiology and Performance, 10(7), 902‑
3. Konings, M. J., Elferink-Gemser, M. T., Stoter, I. K., van der Meer, D., Otten, E., & Hettinga, F. J. (2015). Performance Characteristics of Long-Track Speed Skaters: A Literature Review. Sports Medicine, 45(4), 505‑
4. Konings, M. J., Noorbergen, O. S., Parry, D., & Hettinga, F. J. (2016). Pacing Behavior and Tactical Positioning in 1500-m Short-Track Speed Skating. International Journal of Sports Physiology and Performance, 11(1), 122‑
5. Noorbergen, O. S., Konings, M. J., Micklewright, D., Elferink-Gemser, M. T., & Hettinga, F. J. (2016). Pacing Behavior and Tactical Positioning in 500- and 1000-m Short-Track Speed Skating. International Journal of Sports Physiology and Performance, 11(6), 742‑

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