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One of the areas of nutrition that receives the most attention is the pre-workout timeframe—so much so that there’s an entire branch of supplements dedicated to the notion. However, just because it’s common knowledge to address pre-workout nutrition in some capacity doesn’t mean it’s done right. In fact, a lot of the traditional, commonplace advice either leaves large gaps or completely misses the mark. This may seem inconsequential, but the reality is that bad pre-workout or pregame nutritional strategies can rob you of your performance potential—and in some cases even be unsafe.

Bad pre-workout or pregame nutritional strategies can rob you of your performance potential—and in some cases even be unsafe, says @rewirehp. Share on X

Before continuing, I’d like to throw out the necessary caveat that when it comes to nutrition: it’s quality – quantity – timing. Although I’m discussing the timing component of the equation, I’m in no way trying to make it sound like this is more important than what you take in over the totality of an entire day.

Caveats aside, to better grasp pregame nutrition, it’s first better to understand where athletes usually go wrong.

Standard Advice and Where It Goes Wrong

Okay, time to help show you how not to screw in the lightbulb. The four most significant things people tend to get wrong are:

1. Undernourishment.
2. Excessive digestive obligation.
3. Harmful supplements.
4. Missing nutrients.

There are others, but generally speaking, these are the largest, most frequent blind spots I encounter. Let’s break down each one.

1. Undernourishment

We’ve all heard people who say they perform better on a light stomach, right? There’s nothing wrong with that, but the reality is you’re still expected to perform at a high clip or match a certain level of intensity in training to get quality work in. A lot of people understandably eat lightly before games but inadvertently undernourish themselves.

This is similar to when people go on a diet. They aim to cut calories but inadvertently cut nutrition as well—often opting for foods based purely on macro and/or caloric metrics without paying attention to foods that net them the highest nutrient load at the same time. The pre-training or pre-competition window is essentially an extension of this. The way around this is to consume foods with a high nutritional yield and minimal digestive obligation.

Carbohydrate-wise, fruit juice is an ideal source as it contains vital nutrients (including electrolytes), takes minimal energy and time to be assimilated, and is put to use for glycogen loading. Share on X

What does this look like in practice? Protein-wise, it is something akin to collagen or gelatin powder. If you need something more solid, try eggs, a tin of wild-caught oysters, or shredded or ground meat. Carbohydrate-wise, fruit juice is an ideal source as it contains vital nutrients (including electrolytes), takes minimal energy and time to be assimilated, and is put to use for glycogen loading. Orange juice, watermelon water, and grape juice are all excellent options.

2. Excessive Digestive Obligations

The flip side to the previous point is that it is also true most athletes won’t do well on a “heavier stomach,” performance-wise. Why is this? Well, think about the slang terms for your autonomic nervous system. The sympathetic branch is known for its role in the “fight, flight, or freeze” response. And the opposite? The parasympathetic branch, which is better known for its “rest and digest” roles. This isn’t merely a rhyme—it’s quite literally a state in which we rest and DIGEST.

Where we run into problems is that training and competition necessitate a certain level of sympathetic arousal. If we eat a meal with a heavy digestive obligation too close to this window, we’re probably making it more difficult for our digestive system to do its job from a neurological perspective. Keep in mind that our guts—and our digestive systems—are intimately intertwined with our nervous systems. This is why certain conditions, disease states, and symptoms are referred to as neuroimmune disorders.

This should make sense at some level, as stress is frequently observed to cause digestive problems and vice versa—it’s a two-way street. So, by the same token, gut dysfunction can hypothetically limit neurological efficiency downstream. This means it can potentially limit performance.

Thankfully, the recommendation here would be to piggyback on the last point and opt for foods with a high nutritional yield relative to the work required to digest them.

Those who’ve followed my work know that I generally recommend choosing foods based on the digestion > absorption > utilization model. In other words, if a food can be easily digested, it can be better absorbed by the digestive system. Once assimilated, it can be better utilized in the system for whatever biochemical chain reactions are necessary after that. This pre-workout digestion consideration is definitely an extension of these ideas (originally coined by nutritionist Ronnie Smith of Energy Concepts).

3. Harmful Supplements

This one is pretty straightforward but may be the most frequently made mistake of the four. Most supplements have some combination of poor ingredient sourcing, limited bioavailability, and/or potentially harmful ingredients.

Often, athletes opt for pre-workout supplements that contain non-efficacious doses of the ingredients that actually could do something and rely on strange stimulants that trick you into thinking they’re doing something. Historically, some of these have even been amphetamine derivatives.

Almost every marketed “pre-workout” formula is probably underdosed in the good ingredients and overdosed in the stimulant department. An effective pre-workout is best done as a DIY cocktail. Share on X

Other harmful ingredients can include sweeteners, food dyes, excipients, citric acid, and the like. I do realize there is some debate about these ingredients and to what extent they’re problematic. That said, additives and their potential downstream consequences could be an entire article unto itself. My general rule of thumb is to evaluate each one on its own merits and make an individual judgment call.

Personally, I don’t recommend being a total hypochondriac if something sneaks in once in a blue moon. That said, I do advocate controlling what variables you can, and if you’re going to take (or eat) something on a near-daily or weekly basis, it probably should be pretty damn clean. I don’t recommend purchasing supplements with artificial sweeteners, most natural sweeteners, food dyes, citric acid, gums, stabilizers, fibers, excipients, and beyond.

Now, I’m not saying don’t take anything pre-workout. I’m merely saying that almost every “pre-workout” formula on the market is probably underdosed in the good ingredients and overdosed in the stimulant department. That doesn’t mean there aren’t helpful things to take. It’s just that an effective pre-workout is best done as a DIY cocktail. The good news is that this probably makes it more cost-effective in the long run than many of these “hypebeast” products—more on specific options later.

4. Missing Nutrients

This one is also pretty simple. Most athletes have biological blind spots when it comes to pre-workout nutrition because they’re unaware of certain nutrients or supplemental ergogenics that can be of huge value to them.

For example, most have no idea a common household item they likely already have—baking soda (sodium bicarbonate)—has been shown to noticeably improve performance in explosive activities, like sprinting. Rinse and repeat for nutrient or supplement X, Y, or Z.

This can also be thought of in a more basic sense. Many people believe they lack cardiovascular conditioning or endurance capacity, but in reality, they’re just incredibly underdosed on carbohydrates.

Most athletes have biological blind spots when it comes to pre-workout nutrition because they’re unaware of certain nutrients or supplemental ergogenics that can be of huge value to them. Share on X

When striving for high performance, we often overfocus on the training end of the equation while neglecting the adaptive side of the equation (diet, sleep, light). However, optimizing our performance physiology that underpins these athletic outputs can be worth its weight in gold in the long run.

What to Do: Pre-Workout Considerations

Although I go into more detail in my book, Adaptive Nutrition, consider the following an incredibly basic, pared-down starting point.

Pregame Protein: As mentioned before, protein consumed relatively close to game time or pre-workout (immediately to an hour out) may look something like collagen or gelatin protein (bone broth works, too), a tin of wild-caught oysters or shellfish, eggs, or a not ultra-filling amount of ground or shredded meat (e.g., ground beef or shredded chicken).

My recommendation for most people is to opt for the collagen, gelatin, or bone broth. I go into how to identify quality sources in the book’s guide, but essentially, you’ll want to look for a supplement without artificial sweeteners and most natural sweeteners. You won’t want other ingredients in it for the most part (these are usually just marketing hype), and you’ll want to look for some type of stamp of regulation on the package (NSF Certified for Sport®, for example). That doesn’t mean all NSF or accreditation X supplements are well-engineered, but it’s a helpful starting point for the sake of this article.

Fueling-Friendly Carbs: Ideal carbohydrates may look something like a spoon or two of raw honey, fruit juice (e.g., orange, watermelon, grape, mango), or fruit (e.g., banana, blueberries, strawberries, dried fruit). Vegetables should mostly be avoided during this window because they come with a greater digestive obligation and minimal performance benefit as they usually contain less glucose.

Fat in Focus: Whatever fat comes along for the ride on your protein source is fine, but we’re not intentionally trying to add fat during this window. This is because it’s not a readily available energy source, and high amounts of it may prolong the collective digestion of the food we eat. That doesn’t mean you should fear it during the rest of your day, though.

Focused Nutrition and Ergogenic Aids: I go into more baseline pre-workout supplements as well as more advanced considerations in my book and recommendations on my site, but the following represents a solid start.

• Creatine: In addition to collagen or gelatin, creatine is a tried-and-true pre-workout ergogenic. While most pre-workout supplements have a non-efficacious (underdosed) amount, taking a full serving (usually 5g) of creatine with sugar can help support strength outputs, endurance, explosiveness, and recovery.
• Sodium Bicarbonate: CO2 is actually highly protective, promotes cell stability, and shouldn’t be feared. Pregame baking soda is a remarkably cheap way to improve performance and recovery and prevent pH perturbations in tissues.
• Electrolytes: Although you should primarily be getting your electrolytes from food, electrolyte supplementation may be useful in some cases to match depletions caused by the stress of training. Electrolyte supplements vary wildly in their formulations, so consult a professional to ensure you’re not throwing off your mineral patterns. I have a few recommendations on my site that match ideal mineral ratios.
• Coffee/Caffeine: Although I may have shot down most pre-workout supplements earlier, that was not meant to be a shot at stimulants. (There are just more ideal sources.) Pregame coffee with the aforementioned glucose from carbs and a splash of cream or milk can be an excellent natural ergogenic aid. Caffeine essentially acts as a surrogate for thyroid hormone, providing us with a ton of clean energy.

Caffeine is also a great CNS energetic and has been shown to improve cognitive fitness during tasks as well as physical outputs. Moreover, it may help us more effectively utilize carbohydrates as fuel. Coffee is also a phenomenal source of nutrients, including magnesium. Just don’t be the person who gets their caffeine from energy drinks, as these usually contain poorly sourced ingredients and/or potentially harmful additives.

Don’t be the person who gets their caffeine from energy drinks, as these usually contain poorly sourced ingredients and/or potentially harmful additives, says @rewirehp. Share on X

There are certainly other options, but these represent an excellent starting point.

Please keep in mind that these considerations don’t include supplements that may be more foundational (like vitamin D) but are just not commonly used around training windows. They are also nonspecific, meaning they aren’t meant to be prescriptive and may vary depending on the individual.

Timing: Let me start by saying that doing what makes you feel best is the right call. If you’re someone who feels best eating a regular-sized meal further away from your game (say 1–2 hours) and being a minimalist around your training/game—that’s totally cool. I would just qualify that by encouraging you to experiment during non-critical times (training, practice, preseason games, scrimmages) to also see if some of these recommendations move the needle in a positive direction for you.

The research hasn’t quite settled on an exact time here—likely due to different sporting demands, gut-brain (neuroimmune) differences between athletes, and more—but these light pre-training meals can be consumed anywhere between 15 minutes and one hour out from competition. Additional carbohydrate load in the form of fruit juice (possibly mixed with electrolytes) may improve performance in-game and/or at halftime.

Quantity: This may be the trickiest of all recommendations due to variables in muscle mass, body weight, sporting demands, training/competition duration, current metabolic status (e.g., “fast” or “slow”), and more. In the context of the above examples, approximately 25g–40g of protein from one of the above lighter sources is likely sufficient. Fat is whatever comes along for the ride on your protein source, but to be clear, there aren’t any fat goals you need to hit. (I just wouldn’t be adding additional fat sources like nuts, seeds, oils, or avocado during this time.)

Carbs can have the largest functional range. You’ll likely want at least 30g–50g, possibly upwards of 100g, starting pregame all the way through intra-workout. As I mentioned, this is context-dependent, and the more muscle mass you have, the longer training/playing is, the more explosive the task demands—the more you’ll be on the higher side of that range.

A good rule of thumb is paying attention to how you feel pre-, during, and post-workout to gauge whether you should increase or decrease your carbohydrate load. Consistent patterns of fatigue, inability to turn on and change gears, weakness, and cognitive sluggishness would indicate potentially higher needs (or perhaps a nutrient deficiency elsewhere). Feeling bloated when performing could indicate a need to lower your intake and/or choose a more agreeable food source, potentially with a lighter food volume.

Keep in mind that pregame coffee also helps you better metabolize your carb sources. Even just that combo of coffee and sugar from fruit juice can be a huge win for many athletes.

Parting Shots

Hopefully, this mini guide has helped demonstrate the main ways athletes tend to go wrong when deciding what to supplement with before training or competition while also helping to progress the way we think about pre-workout nutrition.

The reality is we can learn a lot from the fundamentals—what not to do as well as what low-hanging fruit (no pun intended) we can easily course-correct for a high return on investment.

I also acknowledge that because of cost and logistical reasons (e.g., collegiate meal plans), athletes may be limited in what they can pull off in the nutrition department. In such a case, remember that doing something is always better than doing nothing. Do what you can with what you have.

Remember that doing something is always better than doing nothing. Do what you can with what you have, says @rewirehp. Share on X

Thankfully, pregame nutrition can be fairly simple and straightforward with easily implemented habits you can get started with right away.

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Abbreviated References/Further Reading

Coffee Supporting Exercise or Sports Performance

1. Grgic J, Trexler ET, Lazinica B, and Pedisic Z. “Effects of caffeine intake on muscle strength and power: a systematic review and meta-analysis.” Journal of the International Society of Sports Nutrition. 2018;15(1):11.
2. Pickering C and Grgic J. “Caffeine and Exercise: What Next?” Sports Medicine. 2019;49(7):1007–1030.
3. Hodgson AB, Randell RK, and Jeukendrup AE. “The metabolic and performance effects of caffeine compared to coffee during endurance exercise.” PLoS ONE. 2013;8(4):e59561.

Creatine Improving Performance

1. Hultman E, Söderlund K, Timmons JA, Cederblad G, and Greenhaff PL. “Muscle creatine loading in men.” Journal of Applied Physiology. 1996;81(1):232–237.
2. Rawson ES and Volek JS. “Effects of creatine supplementation and resistance training on muscle strength and weightlifting performance.” Journal of Strength and Conditioning Research. 2003;17(4):822–831.
3. Kreider RB. “Effects of creatine supplementation on performance and training adaptations.” Molecular and Cellular Biochemistry. 2003;244(1–2):89–94.

Baking Soda Improving Exercise Performance

1. McNaughton L and Cedaro R. “Sodium bicarbonate ingestion and its effects on anaerobic exercise of various durations.” The Journal of Sports Medicine and Physical Fitness. 1992;32(3):240–245.
2. Carr AJ, Slater GJ, and Gore CJ. “Effect of sodium bicarbonate on [HCO3−], pH, and gastrointestinal symptoms.” International Journal of Sport Nutrition and Exercise Metabolism. 2011;21(3):189–194.
3. Siegler JC, Marshall PW, and Bray J. “Tolerance to sodium bicarbonate ingestion: a review.” International Journal of Sports Physiology and Performance. 2015;10(1):28–34.

Electrolytes Improving Performance

1. Shirreffs SM, Taylor AJ, Leiper JB, and Maughan RJ. “Post-exercise rehydration in man: effects of electrolyte addition to ingested fluids.” European Journal of Applied Physiology and Occupational Physiology. 1996;73(3–4):317–325.
2. Maughan RJ, Leiper JB, and Shirreffs SM. “Restoration of fluid balance after exercise-induced dehydration: effects of alcohol consumption.” Journal of Applied Physiology. 1997;83(4):1152–1158.
3. Casa DJ, Clarkson PM, and Roberts WO. “American College of Sports Medicine roundtable on hydration and physical activity: consensus statements.” Current Sports Medicine Reports. 2005;4(3):115–127.

Collagen Protein Improving Tendon Health

1. Shaw G and Lee-Barthel A. “Ross M. Purves lecture: therapeutic targeting of the athlete’s tendon.” Canadian Journal of Physiology and Pharmacology. 2016;94(10):1085–1091.
2. Dressler P, Gehring D, Zdzieblik D, Oesser S, and Gollhofer A. “Acute effects of collagen peptides on blood pressure and arterial function in young healthy subjects.” Amino Acids. 2018;50(8):1015–1025.
3. Zdzieblik D, Oesser S, Baumstark MW, Gollhofer A, and König D. “Collagen peptide supplementation in combination with resistance training improves body composition and increases muscle strength in elderly sarcopenic men: a randomised controlled trial.” British Journal of Nutrition. 2015;114(8):1237–1245.

Pre-workout Carbohydrate Intake and Sports Performance

1. Hawley JA and Burke LM. “Carbohydrate availability and training adaptation: effects on cell metabolism.” Exercise and Sport Sciences Reviews. 1995; 25(1):1–29.
2. Nicholas CW, Green PA, Hawkins RD, and Williams C. “Carbohydrate intake and recovery of intermittent running capacity.” International Journal of Sport Nutrition. 1997;7(4):251–260.
3. Krustrup P and Ortenblad N. “Metabolic support of exercise training in humans: potential impact on performance in competitive sports.” The Journal of Physiology. 2015;593(20):4643–4659.

Pre-workout Nutrition Improves Sports Performance or Exercise Output

1. Cermak NM, van Loon LJ, and Gibala MJ. “Timing of amino acid-carbohydrate ingestion alters anabolic response of muscle to resistance exercise.” American Journal of Physiology-Endocrinology and Metabolism. 2012;302(12):E1527–E1535.
2. Stellingwerff T and Cox GR. “Systematic review: Carbohydrate supplementation on exercise performance or capacity of varying durations.” Applied Physiology, Nutrition, and Metabolism. 2014;39(9):998–1011.
3. Burke LM and Deakin V. Clinical Sports Nutrition (4th ed.). 2010: McGraw-Hill.

Fruit Juice or Fruit and Its Impact on Exercise Performance

1. Karp JR, Johnston JD, Tecklenburg S, Mickleborough TD, Fly AD, and Stager JM. “Chocolate milk as a post-exercise recovery aid.” International Journal of Sport Nutrition and Exercise Metabolism. 2006;16(1):78–91.
2. McAnulty SR et al. “Consumption of blueberry polyphenols reduces exercise-induced oxidative stress compared to vitamin C.” Nutrition Research. 2011;31(11):161–168.
3. Davison G and Gleeson M. “The Effect of 14 Days of Fasting and Different Recoveries on Body Composition, Performance, and Hormonal Responses in CrossFit-Trained Men.” International Journal of Sport Nutrition and Exercise Metabolism. 2019;29(1):1–10.

General

1. Jones AM and Burnley M. “Oxygen uptake kinetics: an underappreciated determinant of exercise performance.” International Journal of Sports Physiology and Performance. 2009;4(4):524–532.
2. Noakes TD. “Physiological models to understand exercise fatigue and the adaptations that predict or enhance athletic performance.” Scandinavian Journal of Medicine & Science in Sports. 2009;10(3):123–145.
3. Brooks GA. “Mammalian fuel utilization during sustained exercise.” Comparative Biochemistry and Physiology Part B: Biochemistry and Molecular Biology. 1998;120(1):89–107.
4. Robergs RA, Ghiasvand F, and Parker D. “Biochemistry of exercise-induced metabolic acidosis.” American Journal of Physiology-Regulatory, Integrative and Comparative Physiology. 2004;287(3):R502–R516.
5. Gastin PB and Lawson DL. “Influence of training status on maximal oxygen uptake response to ramp and square wave work load changes in trained cyclists.” European Journal of Applied Physiology and Occupational Physiology. 1994;68(1):33–41.

Basketball is a sport that demands a unique blend of athleticism—including strength, power, speed, mobility, and agility, among other attributes. To excel on the court, athletes must continually seek ways to enhance their physical capabilities through training and then translate that into the skill of basketball.

Basketball is also a sport that features some of the most unique body types, frames, and movers you’ll ever see. In the NBA, it’s not uncommon in 2023 to see a seven-foot athlete doing the same thing as a six-foot athlete—from how they move to the skills they master, it’s made the game almost position-less at the pro level.

One innovative approach gaining popularity in the realm of sports performance is velocity-based training (VBT). VBT is a method of training that focuses on monitoring the velocity, or speed of movement, during resistance-training exercises. It involves using specialized equipment, like Vitruve, to measure how quickly—or slowly—an athlete moves a load during exercises.

VBT leverages real-time data on movement velocity, power output, and range of motion measurements to tailor training programs and optimize an athlete’s performance by helping coaches manage stress, develop athletic qualities, increase athlete buy-in, and maximize training adaptability.

But outside of those general benefits, there are some very specific benefits that I’ve been able to capitalize on when using VBT with my basketball population. In this article, I’ll outline three of the most outside-the-box ways VBT has positively impacted my basketball players in training and on the court.

1. Utilizing ROM as a Metric

If you’re a seasoned VBT coach, you need no introduction to the standard use of VBT practices or the main metrics it can track, like velocity, power, and force. All of those are excellent metrics and ones that we should continue to master; however, I’ve found that with the basketball population, using range of motion (ROM) as a bonus KPI metric has helped our athletes tremendously.

Most VBT units should have the capability to track ROM in real time. I am a long-time user of Vitruve, so I’ll speak on my experiences with Vitruve linear encoder units and software throughout this article.

When people think of ROM, they tend to immediately consider the two drastically different (and extreme) trains of thought that surround this topic. I’m not here to debate whether “knees over toes” is the best way to train or if you should perform “90-degree eccentric-isometrics” for every lift.

Use ROM as a metric: apply the same principles to ROM as you would velocity, power, or force. Prescribe it, monitor it, adjust it, and most of all, use it to help guide your coaching. Share on X

When I say to use ROM as a metric, what I mean is to apply the same principles to ROM as you would velocity, power, or force. Prescribe it, monitor it, adjust it, and most of all, use it to help guide your coaching.

As it relates to basketball, I mentioned that hoops has some very unique body types—and with unique bodies come unique lift executions. Not every squat, deadlift, or bench press variation will look like the textbook technical model. We’re dealing with insane levers, crazy lengths, and bodies that have been conditioned to excel at everything that looks like basketball for years of single-sport development.

“Good” form may look different. And that’s okay.

With the ROM metric, you can quantify this and start to create standards for your athletes based on their limb length and lever angles as it relates to a particular lift and what “good” reps look like for them.

For example, I’ve seen two athletes in a trap bar deadlift have the same ROM despite being 5 inches different in height. One was 6’5, and the other was 6’; however, the 6’ athlete’s arms were so disproportionately long that it caused the bar to have to move less to the lockout of the lift, making it the same ROM as the taller athlete (as opposed to the taller athletes having more concentric ROM).

This is an advantage for the deadlift, but the same blessing is a curse for other lifts—like the bench press. Instead of taking ROM away, those long arms add ROM to the lift in a bench press, which equals more total work. This can impact the volume, the intensity, and our expectations for these athletes in this lift with a disadvantageous setup. This could also alter your exercise selection for the athlete.

Establishing a foundation of ROM metrics is a great way to autoregulate that aspect of training, just as we would with a velocity or power loss in a set. If we know an athlete’s usual ROM in a lift and see them falling short, we can make an intervention effort if needed. This could be as simple as instructing them to finish the rep better or involve a more complicated issue like an inhibited muscle or joint.

Another excellent way to use ROM metrics in training is purposeful partial ranges on specific exercises. This is when those baselines of ROM for each athlete in each lift can come in very handy. Share on X

Another excellent way to use ROM metrics in training is purposeful partial ranges on specific exercises. This is when those baselines of ROM for each athlete in each lift can come in very handy. If we have an athlete’s full range of motion documented, it is easier to prescribe the proper partial range of motion.

Video 1. Pin squats with Vitruve.

Some research suggests that it is beneficial to incorporate partial range squats in a comprehensive program as a way to load “sprint-and-jump-specific” joint angles. The quarter- and half-squats are usually done by the eyeball test, but with a ROM metric, we can:

• First, pinpoint an exact range of motion to target.
• Then, walk the athlete through that range with the VBT unit and an empty bar to let them feel where they should be on each rep before going live with higher loads.

For basketball players, obviously, this is crucial because jumping is such an important factor in their sport. If coaches dedicate time and effort to training to maximize jump outputs, this can be a very fruitful rabbit hole to dive down.

A final core use of ROM metrics in VBT is with loaded jumps. Again, in the basketball population, athletes, parents, and coaches are obsessed with vertical jump height. So jump training is a critical element of the process, and loaded jumps are one of my favorite—and most effective—methods to help athletes add inches to their vertical.

Video 2. Trap bar jump with Vitruve.

I love trap bar jumps. We do them in a myriad of ways with different bar speed or power output targets, but we also do them for maximal ROM. In a countermovement jump test, we want maximal height—so why not aim for the same in our loaded jump training?

In this case, ROM can be considered vertical displacement, or jump height. So, whether it’s an empty trap bar or a specific amount of load on the bar, you can also count on ROM to be a valuable driver of intent and effort as basketball players aim to jump out of the gym.

2. Stimulus Stacking

I am a huge proponent of making a hard day a hard day and a light day a light day, especially in the middle of the grueling basketball season. Velocity-based training is a great way to manage this process because you can quantify the stress quality and the overall volume.

If a day is planned to be high-stress, I would rather get all planned work in on that day and let the following day be a low-stress or no-stress day. I refer to this as “stimulus stacking.”

If a day is planned to be high-stress, I’d rather get all planned work in on that day and let the following day be a low-stress or no-stress day. I refer to this as ‘stimulus stacking.’ Share on X

For example, let’s look at the topic of lifting on game day. What do I think? Yes. Do it—every single time. I’ve even become a fan of lifting after the game.

Many athletes will opt to skip their lift on game day and do it the next day. Many coaches will also give their team the day off after a game. But if you think about it, lifting on that off day kind of defeats the purpose of having an off day. You now had two high-stress days in a row (maybe more) when it could have been one high-stress day followed by a low-stress day, with true rest and recovery.

In-season, rest and recovery are immensely important. These true off days are hard to come by. They should be valued and honored. If we “stimulus stack,” we can help athletes get the most out of the hard days and the most out of the light days. But if we let the hard days bleed into the light days, then we really don’t have light days.

With VBT, we know that bar speeds will tell us the story on intensity levels. It doesn’t matter what weight is on the bar, what percentage of 1RM is being used, or what the athlete did last week. The bar speed is the bar speed; that is the energy and effort the athlete has to give on that given day.

By using target bar speeds in training, we can help our athletes aim for the desired athletic quality or adaptation we want to get from the lift. So, if an athlete does want to get their strength work in post-game, a heavy rep is still .30 m/s.

Maybe on a fresh day, the athlete can trap bar deadlift 400 pounds at .30 m/s, and after a game, they can only move 335 pounds at .30 m/s. That’s fine. We know why that is. But that’s a high-stress rep giving a good strength stimulus, and that’s what we’re after. We’re not after arbitrary goals like “go up 5 pounds each week” or lift “90% of your one rep max.” It’s about maximizing each training opportunity so they can earn their off days.

For hoopers, this element of stress management has been huge for our program. It’s a bit untraditional, but it’s becoming the norm at the highest levels. Each year in the NBA and WNBA, we see post-game lifts becoming increasingly popular. Colleges have started to implement them as well.

Post-game lifts are a bit untraditional but are becoming the norm at the highest levels. This element of stress management has been huge for our programs, says @JustinOchoa317. Share on X

Of course, college and pro ranks have far greater travel and logistical demands than a high school basketball player, but I still think this method is valid and useful for high school athletes as well. In the high school setting, I think it’s probably more challenging to implement due to:

• Limitations of a high school facility schedule and budget.
• Athletes still relying on their parents for travel.
• Time management in a school week.

But it’s still worth considering for high school coaches.

3. Imbalance and Deficiency Trends

Lastly, this is a much more experimental and anecdotal method, but one that I believe is very powerful: using VBT to identify imbalances and deficiencies in your basketball players to potentially reduce the risk of injury.

I live by the 70/20/10 rule:

• For 70% of what we do in training, I am absolutely, positively certain it will work exactly how I plan.
• For 20% of what we do in training, I am fairly sure it will work exactly how I plan.
• For 10% of what we do in training, I’m experimenting but hopeful it will work how I plan.

This section is about that 10%.

Can we use VBT to identify muscle or coordination imbalances? I believe so.

In our unilateral strength or power exercises, VBT feedback can help us find trends or red flags during training that can at least start to get some wheels turning.

We can look for things like significant discrepancies between the left and right sides—a 10% difference or more, anecdotally.

That could mean there’s a strength imbalance that we may need to address. It may also mean there’s a fatigue or overuse factor that we need to address.

The answers would not be directly in the VBT data, but the data could help us ask the right questions to start to probe for more information. Specifically in basketball, where so much repetition is involved in many common moves, VBT can help athletes develop an awareness of how important it is to train for general health and wellness versus always being so focused on the performance side.

With advanced analytics, we can see data and trends in basketball actions that could lead to conversations about overuse or potential injury risk. In conjunction with the VBT data, that could be a beneficial tool for enhancing athlete health and safety on the court and in training.

Nuances Matter

VBT has been one of our program’s most helpful and impactful additions over the years. Tracking, storing, and managing athlete data with Vitruve has been crucial to our consistent results and track record of basketball performance.

Again, the general benefits of real-time data on velocity, power, and force are great, but it’s these nuanced uses for our basketball players that have helped us shape our program into what it is today.

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

One of the most frequent questions asked in job interviews or at conferences is, “How did you get to (insert whatever school you are currently at)?” This simple question warrants extreme depth when you truly sit down and rehash your journey.

Every young coach wants directions on how to climb the proverbial professional ladder. We act like there is a cookie-cutter plan that will guarantee success at an extremely fast rate. The secret is…there isn’t, and every route is different. There are ways to help cultivate the type of development that leads to career advancement, and that is through the environment you put yourself in and the amount of personal development you invest in yourself after these extremely demanding days end. This profession is about growth and advancement.

Every young coach wants directions on how to climb the proverbial professional ladder. There’s no cookie-cutter plan to guarantee success quickly; every route is different, says @CoachJoeyG. Share on X

The reality of a Group of Five school is that we cannot pay the same as, nor have the budget of, a Power Five school. Because of this fact and our popularity on social media, we have a lot of coaches call about current staff members. During my tenure at FAU, I have seen over 15 staff members leave for new roles with pay raises and increased responsibilities. It is up to the director to promote and push assistants toward greater opportunities, even if that is not on your current staff and doesn’t directly benefit you.

Some of our former assistants have risen to director roles or top assistant spots nationwide. After a few of these staff rehauls, you realize that the growth maturation process and education system of your program are crucial to the successful execution of high training standards. It is up to the director to produce an environment that pushes growth.

The motivation for the self-education process is driven by the climate in the staff room and how determined the staff is for self-improvement. I have been extremely blessed to witness some elite staff members who have directly influenced how I shaped my philosophy as a head strength coach. Young coaches—look for opportunities to see what the job’s supposed to look like, which happened for me in 2011 when I went to observe Coach Moffitt and the LSU Tigers. Looking back, this moment forever changed how I viewed the profession. The amount of intensity, detail, knowledge, and care the entire staff showed during an hour-long session blew my mind and made me realize how far off I personally was from this performance.

This article reflects on some of the contributing factors behind my personal growth and advancement, along with some contributors I’ve worked with or who have been part of my staff. Every staff has a life of its own, but all successful staff I have worked with or watched up close share common foundations. By drawing on different experiences, I hope to illuminate some of the driving factors behind the development of a strength and conditioning coach.

“You Don’t Know What You Don’t Know”: Tommy Moffitt, Creator and Operator of the Moffitt Method (3x National Champion)

Coach Tommy Moffitt’s resume speaks for itself, as he’s had three national championships with three different head coaches. Coach Moffitt’s tree of assistants is vast and extremely successful, and more than 10 of his former staff members have moved on to become head strength coaches at Division 1 universities. I had the opportunity to intern for Coach Moffitt (although for an extremely brief period), and three things stood out about how he operated.

1. Details were everything, and no job was to be performed without them. Whether it was tying the rotator cuff bands to the racks or restocking the fridge, details mattered and were evaluated. Jeff Dillman had a quote where he asked a group of people simple questions that drove home this point. “How many of y’all have ever been bitten by a lion? None? What about being stung by a bee? If you were to get stung 100 times, you die—see, it’s the little things that kill you!”
2. Competition is everything. It could be the un-talked-about competition of trying to become the next coach called up to run a program or a staff lift where you tried to out-snatch a co-worker. When you walked into the building, you knew you were competing; you craved it or didn’t survive. It drove your growth because there was the feeling that you didn’t want to fall behind.
3. Alignment was demanded and taught. This alignment was not just centered around daily procedures but also training philosophy and leadership philosophy. Every staff member was expected to understand and emulate the department’s philosophy. Although there was rigidity in how we did things, new ideas were encouraged, and growth was pushed.

These three main components of Coach Moffitt’s program have also been a point of emphasis, directly or indirectly, on every successful staff I’ve been involved with. Since witnessing the staff at LSU, I have made this a foundation for how my staff must operate, and these principles are reflected in my staff today.

You’re only as good as the people who work with you. Staff development is key to fostering a productive culture, says @CoachJoeyG. Share on X

You’re only as good as the people who work with you. Staff development is key to fostering a productive culture. There are too many tasks in a day for one person to handle—the ability to delegate specific responsibilities increases the production and development of the people around you. Staff dynamics are not neutral and need to be guided to be successful. I have been part of very good staff and others that were very unproductive.

It is a coach’s job to teach and encourage growth, and through my experiences and some people whom I have worked with or have been on my staff, I want to paint a picture of what it takes to develop as a strength and conditioning coach. Young coaches are most impressionable earlier in their careers, which is why I hope this collection of shared experiences takes hold and helps shape younger coaches to success.

Taking a Role as an Assistant: Paul Jackson, Director of Athletic Development for Football, USU

In January 2014, I was fortunate enough to get the opportunity to work under Paul Jackson at the University of Mississippi. Coach Jackson, a former LSU assistant coach known for putting out some of the best training videos in the YouTube era, was on a meteoric rise. The amount of growth that I experienced in the next four years was career-altering. On my first day on the job, Coach Jackson had Lee Taft come in for an in-service on COD and speed training.

This example of knowledge-seeking was not limited to a one-off scenario but was pushed upon us daily. To this day, one of the worst feelings I have felt as a professional was having Coach Jackson walk by my office and see me not reading. The environment was set for us to seek further understanding of training in all areas.

Another priority was the relationships fostered with players. Coach Jackson never let us forget that this field depends on interpersonal skills, and players should be able to trust us. Trust is built on your personal character and connection with those players. It takes time, and it is an investment.

I was extremely fortunate to be on a staff with several assistants who aspired to be head strength coaches and worked toward it daily: Dom Studzinski, Lanier Coleman, and Anthony Crosby were three of the assistants who molded me the most. From the minute I arrived on campus, I had no choice but to follow their lead. We worked as a team in every aspect but also competed as individuals. It was always a competition for who could get to work the earliest or read the most books in a year. The feeling was you never wanted to be the weak link, and you wanted to contribute more to the program than what you were doing.

Coach Jackson believed in autonomy and prescribed each assistant a role within the department for which they were directly acc. The level and impact these sub-departments had was directly up to the manager of those departments. There was a minimum standard each department was expected to uphold, but our staff as a whole wanted more than the minimum.

These managerial experiences gave us opportunities to expand our roles and develop skill sets in a specific discipline. This gave me the feeling of more buy-in and pride, as I was contributing to the success of the athletes and program. Many of the issues that arose were handled among the assistants, and we all tried to predict any potential problems and prevent them from reaching Coach Jackson. Coach Jackson had a clear view of how we would operate, which was taught and reinforced throughout my tenure.

Every training period started with a staff in-service where we were taught exactly how to implement his program and the processes that accompanied it. No detail was left untouched, and standards never faltered. It’s no surprise that Coach Jackson has had several assistants move on to higher positions, as it was impossible not to get better under his tutelage.

Roundtable Contributors

Eric Donoval: Director of Sports Performance (FB), Wyoming

I was fortunate to work for Coach Tommy Moffitt for nearly eight years as an intern, graduate assistant, and full-time assistant.

From the first day stepping onto campus and into that weight room, Coach Moffitt made it very clear how things would operate. There were clear and concise standards that were to be implemented, not only on a daily basis but on a moment-by-moment basis. We were going to speak the same language, “The LSU Way.” There may be different dialects, but as a staff, we would do things one way. If it wasn’t done that way, you were going to hear about it. The consistency in coaching was what led to consistency in our athletes.

Athletes crave structure (despite what they sometimes think or feel in the moment), and structure comes down to well-defined standards, high expectations, clear boundaries, and consistency in accountability. Coach Moffitt applied to the coaching staff the same standards and concepts that we applied to athletes.

Athletes crave structure (despite what they may think in the moment), and structure comes down to well-defined standards, high expectations, clear boundaries, and consistency in accountability. Share on X

1. Developing Future Head Strength Coaches

Coach Moffitt would not allow assistant coaches to get complacent in their current role, regardless of how well they coached. He wanted coaches who were driven to improve, brought continued and evolving value to the program, and hoped to run their own programs someday. He wanted to develop bosses, not just assistants. He gave autonomy to the staff, delegated large responsibilities to assistants, and put pressure on us to find solutions and get the job done right—all while allowing us to fail and grow.

He challenged and pushed coaches to be their best daily, just as we do with our athletes, because he saw potential in them and wanted to prepare them. He would tell us daily to “be the coach you want to be someday and be him today”—and then gave us opportunities to do so. We lived by this and had a staff that acted like head strength coaches within their roles.

Whether it was coaching your athletes on the platform, additional programming or modifications for your group, GPS analysis, researching and bringing new ideas to the table, or administrative duties, we had a staff that viewed each responsibility, big or small, as the most important part of the program and took pride in them. Ultimately, if something was not up to standard within your responsibilities, you were held accountable for it. During my time at LSU, there were 10 future FBS head strength coaches working on staff under Coach Moffitt at some point. His development of assistant coaches, in addition to his athletes, is unrivaled in college football.

2. Being Proactive, Not Reactive

“If someone notices, it’s too late” was a phrase we lived by as a staff. Whether it was correcting a detail of a lift, spinning a crooked bumper in the weight room, having reports ready before being asked, or knowing exactly the number of protein drinks we went through for the week, we always tried to be proactive in getting things done before they were needed. If he gave us a standard of how something needed to be done, we made sure it never got off track; if it did, we had all assistants constantly on alert in all aspects of the program to make sure it got back in line before anyone noticed.

3. No Detail Too Small, No Job Too Small

There was no detail too small in the program. Small things turn into big things. Therefore, there are no small things. From how the weight room or field was set up and how we stocked the fridge to athletes lining up behind the line and their lifting and running form, every detail was discussed, understood, and executed at an extremely high level.

There was also no job too small. After all, if we don’t do it, who will? Whether it was taking the garbage out if it got too full in the weight room, making sure the windowsills didn’t have dust on them, or bagging fruit for our athletes before nutritionists were even hired, the details that were demanded and adhered to in every aspect of the program was what made this program so special and successful.

Coach Moffitt’s pride in the program permeated throughout his staff, and because of that pride, each assistant took extreme ownership of everything. If something was not up to standard, every assistant automatically looked at himself in the mirror and took ownership of it, regardless of what it was. While each assistant had their delegated responsibilities, the staff acted as a team, understood the standard in all facets of the program, and looked out for anything and everything: five sets of eyes are always better than one. Although responsibilities evolve as you progress to different positions in this field, keeping an “intern mindset” was important as full-time assistants because we are never too big for any job—it’s got to get done.

Jake Beckett: Assistant Football Strength and Conditioning Coach WSU

The short time at Florida Atlantic University was nothing short of metamorphic. On every level and in every way, my personal life, professional life, and life as a human being have changed. Joey Guarascio was one of the best directors I have ever worked for. Joey demands competency, diligence, attentiveness, zealousness, and fortitude. And if you lack or have an issue with any of those, buckle up because you’re going to develop them in one capacity or another, or you’ll crash and burn.

A couple of the most advantageous qualities I developed at FAU were:

1. Working within a structured system.
2. Building relationships with some of the most insane players/coaches in the country.
3. Learning how to manage my personal life.

1. The System

Joey’s system for his staff, players, and football coaches is the most detailed structure I’ve ever been a part of. You know exactly what your role is on staff, what is expected of you, and how you’re expected to do it. If you do something wrong, you’ll know about it—you’ll never be in the dark, wondering what’s going on.

Everyone on staff has their own pillar they are responsible for, whether the intern coordinator, nutritionist, mobility and corrective exercise programmer, technology/sports scientist, academics and athletic trainer liaison, return to play coordinator, facilities and maintenance specialist, or accountability/consequence manager. You’re responsible for one or two sectors and have the autonomy to run them as you’d like. One rule, though: you have to be the best in the country at it—no exceptions.

As a strength staff, we meet constantly. Every morning before the day starts, typically at 5 a.m., we go over setup, position run and lift expectations, injured athlete schedule, timing, and pairing of particular constructs. We are given weekly readings and homework assignments—usually, we go over them once or twice per week—and that work is done after your work is done for the day. At the end of the day, we go over how the day went, what we could improve on, what athletes need more or less attention, and how we feel about the culture of the team. Once meetings were done, as a staff, we worked out together or worked on personal projects.

2. Relationships

FAU is flooded with some of the most spectacular human beings in the country: kids from inner-city Miami, downtown Atlanta, New Jersey, and more. Every kid had a story; something was fueled inside them, and they all had something to prove. The best part was hearing their stories and working with them daily—seeing their emotions fluctuate and pierce your soul with every conversation. And if you can’t explain exercise prescriptions to them in a general way or relate to them in a personal way, they will never trust you.

FAU kids are very socially proficient—they know when you’re having a bad day, they know how to piss you off, they know how to manipulate and deceive. They don’t know how to trust someone who isn’t built on the same characteristics they are. Want to know how to gain their trust? Show them your love, show them direction, and show them you can help them reach their goals. Once they feel and know that you, as a coach, want to be the best in the country, they will do absolutely anything for you and go to war for you any day.

3. Personal Life Management

Time management is everything. You are going to work 10- to 12-hour days. You’re going to work on the weekends. You’re expected to be on time. You’re going to have to find a way to manage your work and home life. FAU is not a Power 5 school. Joey has five assistants on staff, meaning you’re not going to be paid a whole lot. Therefore, you need to find a way to sacrifice all the fat in your life and focus on what is really needed.

You’re not going to be paid a whole lot as an assistant. Therefore, you need to find a way to sacrifice all the fat in your life and focus on what is really needed. Share on X

My significant other and I were able to develop a system of prioritizing our needs, not our wants. We found out what needed to get paid every month, when we could have a special occasion, and when we needed to buckle down and eat ramen noodles and chocolate milk for dinner. There was no room for weekly splurges and luxurious purchases. This comes with a price; if you’re single, it’s much easier, but if you’re in a relationship, your significant other must understand the end goal.

The goal isn’t to live in an apartment in Boca Raton, Florida. The goal is to get a better job, learn from one of the best in the country, and develop habits you can maintain throughout life. As a couple, we learned so much about managing money and valuing time spent together.

David Ventress: Director of Olympic Athletic Performance, South Alabama

I wouldn’t be in the position I’m currently in without my experience at FAU under Coach Joey and his staff. Having a competitive work environment really helped shape me into the coach I am now. Every day was a constant battle to improve myself. I thrived on the challenge of being the best coach on our staff, even though I was far from it. Working with these guys pushed me to be a better person every day.

During my time as an assistant, I learned new skills every day from the other coaches on staff. Coach Jaylon Watson taught me how to keep guys accountable. Being accountable for your own actions is important. Mistakes are going to be made, and you should own up to them. As a coach, this is how I was able to grow and learn from my previous errors.

Coach Jake Beckett taught me how to build relationships with my athletes. I made it a personal goal to try and get as many athletes as possible in my office after sessions. You can’t coach people you don’t know. Earn the right to coach them hard by first getting to know them as people.

Earn the right to coach athletes hard by first getting to know them as people. Share on X

Coach Robert Marco taught me how important attention to detail is. Carrying out tasks accurately and thoroughly helps to eliminate careless mistakes. As assistants, we were given complete autonomy over departments. My area was sports science and data integration. I was responsible for sending daily practice reports to our athletes and coaches. This prepared me for presenting a near-perfect end result.

In my current coaching role, I am constantly updating my coaches on GPS data and performance numbers, so it’s very important to present high-quality work. Coach Guarascio taught me to invest in the athletes and coach them hard every day. Learning how to coach and communicate with athletes was one of the most important skills I learned. This is one of those skills that’s often overlooked by fancy programming and data. I learned how to coach by leading team warm-ups and instructing my own position group during lifts and speed sessions. This taught me how to command a room and be a presence on the floor.

Jaylon Watson: Director of Football Sports Performance, Jackson State

My time at FAU under Joey G was an experience that every young, green, and hungry coach needs to have to earn an early edge within this field. A huge aspect that helped me was coming to work every day and taking pride in my craft, knowing there is no such thing as a small detail.

I was challenged daily from a practical and scientific perspective of why we do what. Throughout my journey as a young strength and conditioning coach, I have had the pleasure of learning from some of the best coaches in the game, like Eric Donoval, Joey Guarascio, and Lance Barilow. Each has his own beliefs when it comes to training, but I have truly understood the importance of these three specific pillars:

1. Relationships

Forming genuine and honest relationships with the young men you will be mentoring is by far the most important piece for my development as a coach. At the end of the day, it’s not just a business of S&C; it is a business of people. If we are not genuinely tuned into the young men we are trying to build up, how can we expect them to buy into any plan we establish?

2. ABCs

I was first introduced to the term “ABCs” during my time in Wyoming with Coach Donoval: Always Be Coaching. Every Set—Every Rep—Every Second. There is always something that needs to be coached, no matter how small of a detail there is, and once I arrived at FAU, it really helped me grow to truly see how detail-oriented you have to be in order to be dominant with your “ABCs.”

3. Be Where Your Feet Are

Never think ahead of what you are currently doing or to the next possible opportunity—be in tune with the people you are working with and the people you are coaching. If this is not important, you will catch yourself chasing ghosts instead of GROWING and being the best version of yourself for your staff and the team.

Never think ahead of what you’re currently doing or to the next possible opportunity—be in tune with the people you’re working with and the people you’re coaching. Share on X

Chula Loomis: Assistant Strength and Conditioning Coach (Football), Kansas

When you think about the job we have, the most integral part is the ability to coach—it’s in the title. To begin any time of year (e.g., summer, winter), the entire staff is taken through an in-service to review any and all movements included in the program both on and off the field. These days serve as a means to ensure the entire staff knows what we are doing, when we’re doing it, and how we’re getting it done.

For any successful staff, this is the base for success. As time goes on, the amount of coaching and “people reps” is exponential. I say “people reps” due to the fact that day in and day out, we are training the team, and depending on the time of year, there will be other groups: Pro Day Prep, pros, or camps.

Continuing education is an integral piece of the puzzle for every coach and helps drive Coach Guarascio’s staff forward—he recommends we invest in ourselves, pushing us toward different courses and learning opportunities. Over the summer, we had several speaking clinics and hosted a USAW clinic. During the fall of 2022, we met weekly to review articles and read through different books, and we had a number of Zoom calls with high-level coaches and staff to exchange ideas, methods, and practices. This is a place where you are challenged constantly to add tools to your game.

The room and environment created is another layer that goes into pushing athletes and coaches, preparing them for the next job to come. The goal is to create competitors across the board: pushing athletes to be where their feet are and compete against their teammates and their best daily while driving coaches to produce results, sharpen the sword that is our athletes, and get our guys to commit to doing extra work.

We commonly heard and used the term “elite is not just a word; it’s the standard.” This put much-needed pressure on us to course correct and move in a way to keep the program on the right path. With all of this, you are growing and developing right now, which will impact the value you bring down the road. If you listen closely, there are lessons on how to be a great director/leader/coach everywhere.

Marcus Brock: Assistant Strength and Conditioning Coach, Director of Basketball S&C, Missouri State

When you first start your pursuit in this field, from the outside looking in, it appears simple enough: you train athletes to grow stronger, get faster, jump higher, be more resilient, and, ultimately, increase their performance. In most ways, this is true, but what you don’t realize when you first start out is how to achieve those qualities and what it takes to get there.

I was fortunate enough to start my career working under Joey Guarascio as an intern, eventually becoming an assistant on his staff. My time working with him at FAU not only set me up for success but prepared me for future opportunities. I can say without a doubt that every day, stepping into that facility, I was challenged to be my best while also being put into a position to learn and continue my growth as a professional.

As an intern, I was introduced to programming, Olympic lifts, GPS data, and other methods to continue my education in this field, which carried me into the assistant role. Joey did an incredible job developing a great staff that was able to project what it took to be at that elite level; guys like David Ventress, Jake Beckett, Robert Marco, and Jaylon Watson all had a hand in making that happen as well.

My time as an assistant on his staff was spent being put into a position to grow and step outside my comfort zone. Coach Guarascio taught me how to control a weight room, be a problem-solver, and invest in the players. There was one thing that I noticed every day, and that was athletes sticking around just to talk to Joey, have a normal conversation, get his insight on things, ask weight room-related questions, or just crack a couple of jokes.

I take that with me to this day because he’s able to develop a certain level of trust with the guys to where they’re willing to follow what he says because they know he has their best interest in mind. I believe that’s true with not only athletes but also with the staff. It is a true testament to what he does and what developing a staff takes, and that’s the level of trust.

Bob Marco: Associate Head Strength and Conditioning Coach, FAU

My time at FAU has shown me more than I could have imagined about myself. How to work, be punctual, and be efficient in both my work and personal life. It’s also taught me how to create relationships, how to learn, and how to be coachable. I’ll just talk about a couple of these examples here.

Those examples probably seem obvious to most. These are all things we’ve learned growing up, playing sports, interning, and working…but something seems different about my development here versus other points in my life.

1. How to Work

This was the first thing that I learned when I arrived at FAU in 2021. A lot of us work hard in this business—this area of work isn’t meant for everyone, and we know that. Explaining my hours and work schedule to my friends and family sends their heads spinning, and a part of me enjoys those discussions just to see the reactions. Outside looking in, it seems like insanity to some, but the beauty of it is when you’re on the inside, it doesn’t seem so insane.

The key to the insanity not being so insane is the people around you. A productive, cohesive, fun-ass staff that holds each other accountable is essential. Co-workers who hold themselves and you to a high standard allow for minimal drop-off in production while avoiding the animosity that builds with staff members being weak links and not pulling their weight. It forces you to be self-aware and ask yourself, “Am I doing enough?” “How can I be more helpful?” “How can I make co-workers’ lives easier?” and “How can I make my life easier?”

This helps create the “cover and move” mentality. Whatever needs to get done will get done without question or complaint. Another key component is having fun doing it. The more ridiculous and last-second the task, the more fun you need to have. We’ve built 30 yards of a football field with 30 minutes’ notice in a warehouse on a 90-degree Florida morning using a 100-foot tape measure and 20 rolls of athletic tape. We had a damn blast doing it, and you’re damn right we never even used it. You have two options: bitch about it or have a good time getting it done.

You have two options: bitch about it or do it and have a good time getting it done. Share on X

2. Being Coachable

We ask our athletes to be coachable and execute everything we ask without question, but I’ve noticed that some of us don’t even do that. Pride gets in the way, and too many things get taken personally. I’ve seen this with staff members and interns alike. I’ve been guilty of it before myself, and luckily, I was part of a staff that had a great support system and experience under their belt that could set it straight for me.

I’ve been blessed to be a part of the staff that coaches me and helps me grow, and I try to return the favor the best I can. Passing that way of operating on to new staff members and interns is paramount, especially with the amount of staff turnover we have had here at FAU. To be a good assistant coach, be 100% open to being coached, and coached hard. It’s what we demand of our players and what we need to be open to ourselves.

Lead Image by Keith Gillett/Icon Sportswire.

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

Based on their chaotic job demands, law enforcement officers today must be physically well-rounded. It’s impossible to replicate an officer’s exact physical duties, yet having physical standards holds officers accountable for their health and physical capabilities—both of which aid job performance and improve quality of life.

When training and assessing an officer’s physical abilities, it is important to understand much of what we do as strength and conditioning coaches is a small piece of the larger puzzle. They also must train in operational, control tactics, shooting, and a heap of other skills to strengthen their job performance. It may sound similar to your former athletes working on skill development or the game plan, but this holds superior importance due to the potential consequences.

I can confidently say that a fitter law enforcement officer has an increased likelihood of managing stress, reducing overuse injuries, and having an overall positive outlook on their work and life. Share on X

We want our officers to be durable and fit when working the job. I can confidently say that a fitter officer has an increased likelihood of managing stress, reducing overuse injuries, and having an overall positive outlook on their work and life.

Training

Assessments and standards vary from department to department, so there is no universal method for this preparation. This article is also not meant to say what assessments are better than others but rather to look into the preparation for common physical assessments throughout law enforcement.

Officers should follow a balanced strength and conditioning program regardless of the standards. Assessments should be kept in mind and performed in some capacity, but they shouldn’t make up the entire program. Prepare to be ready for a broad base of physical abilities—then, officers will be able to achieve the standards as well as increase their potential to deal with challenges.

A training program should focus on the major movement patterns:

• Push
• Pull
• Squat
• Hinge
• Single leg exercises
• Carries

Performing exercises from these patterns, in some capacity, will help prepare officers for any of the assessments listed below. When paired with consistency—staying ready year-round—there will be little doubt of passing physical standards.

Training officers for their standards isn’t inherently different than training other individuals for their goals. Work backward from the assessment date and establish training markers along the way to monitor progress and adjust when needed. The major difference is creating a program flexible enough to accommodate an officer’s schedule. It’s safe to say the typical shift schedule and lifestyle demands are not optimal for the textbook training program.

Assessments and standards also vary during the stages of an officer’s career. For example, an up-and-coming officer in the police academy will usually have a more structured day, allowing for a better training schedule suited to tracking standards.

Meanwhile, patrol officers working shifts will have more difficulty with routine. Some are not even required to meet any physical standards from their department, a common trend across police departments for multiple reasons. Officers involved in specialty units, such as K-9, SWAT, medics, etc., may have different or additional standards to meet—these units can require specific physical assessments due to the job requirements.

Power Assessments

Law enforcement officers must be prepared for anything and everything. Being capable in one quality—such as being hugely strong—does them no good if they cannot use that due to a mobility or conditioning restriction. This is why there is an array of assessments. 

Having the ability to execute power is significant for police officers and could be the deciding factor in a dangerous scenario. A word of caution before you go prescribing intense plyometrics to an unprepared officer—there should be appropriate exercise prescription and implementation. Power has one of the shortest training residual effects, and many officers are not prepared to just “jump” back into an intense program.

Considering the assessments, work them into the training program—perform broad jumps in training if they must perform broad jumps in the assessment. These movements have a technical component, so we want the officer to be comfortable. However, they should still perform various additional jumps and exercises in all planes of movement.

Implementing 10–20 total reps of power-based exercises 2–3 times per week to conclude a warm-up will be sufficient to develop and see progress. The closer you get to the date of the assessment, the more specific the exercise can be to ensure the highest transferability.

Some sample power assessments include:

Broad Jump

The broad jump is a simple power assessment an agency could use. Requiring only a tape measure, it is a low means method to assess for power in the horizontal plane.

Vertical Jump

The vertical jump is the current gold standard exercise for the lower body. A Vertec is commonly used, but I prefer a jump mat or alternative such as the Skyhook Contact Mat, to simplify the testing procedure.

Medicine Ball Throw

An overhead medicine ball throw for distance is a great alternative option if space and equipment allow. The throw requires total body power and is relatively easy to teach.

Muscular Endurance

Assessments for muscular endurance have been performed throughout the years within police agencies. Many of them require no equipment and are a good gauge of relative body strength and fitness levels.

When training for these assessments, the last thing you want to do is perform maximum reps of the exercise every day. These movements should be trained in a structured manner.

Some sample muscular endurance assessments include push-ups, pull-ups, and the elbow plank hold.

Push-Ups 

Push-ups are the first exercise that comes to mind with police physical assessments. Some may find them outdated, but there is no denying that they are great screens for relative body strength.

Some may find them to be outdated for physical assessments, but there is no denying that push-ups are a great screen for relative body strength. Share on X

Training for these assessments should be as individualized as possible: an officer who can perform 20–30 push-ups should train differently than an officer who can perform 50+ or even zero push-ups.

• Novice (0–10 reps)

• When training individuals who struggle to perform any push-ups, you should take a step back and regress the exercise. Movements such as

eccentric-only push-ups

, hand-release push-ups, and assisted push-ups will begin to strengthen the exercise pattern and build confidence.

• Intermediate (11–30 reps)

• Cluster sets can be used to train the intermediate officer. These sets break up a larger rep range within smaller groups, allowing for a more efficient workload. This could be done in countless ways, but an example could appear as the following.

A set of 30 reps broken into three cluster sets of 10, with 20 seconds of rest between each cluster.

Perform 10 push-ups, rest for 20 seconds, perform 10 push-ups, rest for 20 seconds, and then finish the set with 10 push-ups, totaling 30 repetitions.

All reps are not equal, and the 30 clustered reps are performed with higher quality than if I told the same officer just to perform 30 push-ups straight.

• Advanced (>30)

• The advanced individual may think they are too strong for push-ups, but they are just not progressing them correctly. Like any exercise, we can progress the push-up by increasing the load.

Working in sets of weighted push-ups within the 5–8 rep range to strengthen the exercise will help build a bigger reserve to perform push-ups for additional reps. Especially since many standards must be done within a particular time limit, there’s only so far they’ll go with continuing to just max out their push-ups in a time frame.

There is, of course, a lot of carryover between these three strategies, and they can all be used, depending on the situation.

Pull-Ups

The pull-up, or chin-up, requires a tremendous amount of upper body strength. Pull-ups can follow similar training guidelines as push-ups but be even more flexible, as this exercise is often dreaded in assessments.

• Novice (0–2 )

These individuals often lack the confidence even to attempt a pull-up; having them fail time after time will do no good. Introducing exercises such as dead hangs, flexed arm hangs, and eccentric focused pull-ups will begin to build the confidence and strength required to progress.

• Intermediate (3–9)

• I prefer adding assistance to pull-ups with the intermediate group. I’ve found individuals become too comfortable relying on assistance and are slow to attempt improvement if allowed assistance early on.

When using assistance, ensure officers use the minimum amount required to complete the repetitions.

Cluster sets can also be used to improve pull-ups. Like the push-up example, cluster sets will break up higher rep schemes, so instead of a seemingly impossible set of 10, a cluster set can create a more manageable set of 5/3/2 or even 10×1.

• Advanced ( > 10 )

• If able to perform 10+ pull-ups, begin adding load. Even if it is just 5 pounds at first, that is a 5-pound increase. Along with the

weighted pull-ups

, mixing the modalities listed can keep training fresh and engaging.

Elbow Plank Hold

The elbow plank hold is a good indicator of trunk stability and endurance. Train the elbow plank 1–2 times per week.

If you are starting from ground zero, begin with 2–4 sets of 10-second holds focused on perfect positioning. Each week, gradually increase the time held by 5–10 seconds, working toward the standard time. Some additional exercises that you should include throughout the week are various weighted carries, side planks, and RKC planks to supplement the training.

Strength

Few assessments test for maximal strength in law enforcement physical standards. This is due to the risk versus reward of maxing out an exercise in relation to the average officer, who is in a less-than-ideal situation to do so.

With all that in mind, we don’t see this across many agencies—but that is not to say it is not of value. The hex bar deadlift, which is a total-body exercise, a safer alternative, and graded in relation to the officer’s body weight, is a solid solution and is becoming increasingly more common.

Hex Bar Deadlift (1–3 Rep Max) 

When preparing for this assessment, it’s essential to perform and practice the exercise to become technically proficient. I recommend training it once per week, along with supplemental exercises.

It’s essential to train the entire spectrum of reps and loads. Do not just load it up as heavy as possible each week and hope for the best. Work rep ranges from 3–10, being cautious of technical breakdown when you start to creep up on that scale’s higher or lower ranges.

Aerobic

Aerobic capacity may come last, considering job demands, though this quality is necessary for an officer’s physical abilities, general health, and wellness.

Cardiovascular disease and stress are more prevalent in officers in comparison to the average person. Preparing officers for standards is important, but working to combat current health trends with a positive physical culture should be the larger picture.

Increasing aerobic abilities allows officers to better mitigate stress, improve recoverability, and increase cognitive functioning in high-pressure situations.

Increasing aerobic abilities allows officers to better mitigate stress, improve recoverability, and increase cognitive functioning in high-pressure situations. Share on X

Some sample aerobic assessments include:

1.5 Mile Run

The mile and a half (or any distanced run, for that matter) must be performed within a specific time frame set by the agency. The first on-track training session doesn’t have to be a test or a timed trial.

It goes for all these assessments, but regardless of how you feel about running, you will have to implement running to prepare for a running assessment. For the sake of exposure and training transferability alone, it is necessary—but it is our job as coaches to ensure sound training principles to limit overuse injuries and aid progress.

If the officer preparing for the assessment is just getting into running, alternating between running and walking is recommended. An example layout would be the following.

• Week 1:  Run 1/4 mile, walk 1/4 mile x 4.

Week 2:  Run 1/2 mile, walk 1/4 mile x 3.

Week 3:  Run 3/4 mile, walk 1/4 mile x 2.

Week 4:  Run 1 mile, walk 1/2 mile x 1.

Week 5:  Run 1 1/2 mile for the assessment marker.

Begin with less and build up to the distance required. You can alter these prescribed distances or the pace of the run for the more seasoned runner. Incorporating shorter, more intense interval sessions in the form of hill sprints, short flat land sprints, or exercise performed on a bike, rower, or ski erg can also aid in training.

Cooper Test

The Cooper Test is an aerobic capacity test in which you run as far as possible within 12 minutes. The assessment can be graded by the total distance covered or by calculating a V0₂ max off that number. Again, agencies will typically set their own scores, but a standard example would be the following.

When preparing for the assessment, increase distance or time gradually, working as small as 5%–10% increases per week, depending on the length of time until the assessment.

Officers will follow a similar progression as listed above and still incorporate some longer steady-state sessions, whether on the track or on an off-foot option, once per week at minimum.

With the time component, though, they want to be prepared for sustaining work for the entire period. An example of time progression appears as the following:

• Week 1: 4 x 3 minutes, full recovery between sets.

Week 2: 3 x 4 minutes, full recovery between sets.

Week 3: 2 x 6 minutes, full recovery between sets.

Week 4: 1 x 12 minutes, full recovery between sets.

The runs should be performed all out, recording the distances achieved, and you can continue to build volume from these four weeks.

PACER

The Progressive Aerobic Cardiovascular Endurance Run (PACER) may bring back memories from childhood gym class. The PACER is another great assessment of aerobic capacity.

Officers should perform the test earlier to not only find a starting score but, more importantly, become familiar with the assessment, listening to commands, the change of direction, etc.

The PACER is different from some of the other aerobic assessments in that the test is concluded when the individual can no longer make it to the 20-meter line in time. So, it prevents the individual from going past the point of no return.

We use the PACER with our police academy and our specialty units. It helps with logistics and not having a track. If performed consistently over time, you can begin to build out your own standards from trends you see with your officers.

Anaerobic

More commonly than not, officers’ job duties will fall under the anaerobic energy system: short bursts of sprinting, jumping, climbing, and other dynamic actions.

Some sample anaerobic assessments include:

300-Meter Shuttle

The 300-meter shuttle is an exhausting test involving a series of sprints intermingled with changes of direction. Preparing for the 300-meter shuttle is of great importance to begin building the officer’s sprinting preparation. Performing repeated sprints in shorter distances of 5–10 yards is a safe introduction and continues building up as time goes on.

There is little need to perform the sprints farther than the test marks, and doing so may even be harmful. If the assessment is performed in 25-yard increments, do not prepare by running 100-yard repeat sprints.

Incorporating at least one session or block per week focusing on the shuttle run should be sufficient in conjunction with the additional training.

Keep in mind that officers will have to pass several of these assessments with conflicting energy systems during the same hour of the day.

Fit for Life

Physical assessments are created to hold law enforcement officers to a higher standard and emphasize the importance of physical readiness for their job. While assessments, standards, and situations may vary throughout the world of policing, a flexible program to accommodate officers is a common requirement.

Educate and train officers to focus on lifestyle and cultural changes in physical and mental wellness rather than becoming fixated on the assessments themselves. Share on X

Another thing that doesn’t vary is educating and training officers to focus on lifestyle and cultural changes in physical and mental wellness rather than becoming fixated on the assessments themselves. It is our job as strength and conditioning professionals to hammer this message home and work to create rational training plans for officers to meet standards as well as build upon the larger picture during and post-career.

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

If there is one thing an athlete is looking to improve, it’s to become more powerful. Having the necessary size for their sport is good. Strength is needed for the demands of their position and sport as well, but power is the game changer. It’s nice to be the bigger and stronger athlete in a football game, but who can produce their strength quicker? If both linemen can push 500 pounds, the person who can utilize that strength the quickest will win the battle at the line of scrimmage. In baseball and softball, it’s nice to be strong, but how fast can they swing the bat? Lots of force produced too slowly does no good.

Sports all have time constraints—the tennis ball is approaching quickly and the player does not have much time to get set up and produce a big swing. The volleyball gets set in the air and the hitter needs to get off the ground quickly and swing their arm as hard as possible to hit the ball and score. Again, strength and size are prerequisites to even get on the court or field, but power is what separates athletes from the competition.

So…how do we get our athletes more explosive and powerful?

What is Power?

First, we need to understand what power is. Power is defined by Human Kinetics as “a great force production over a short period of time, such as in fast leg kicks and explosive jumping.” In most research, rate of force development is studied instead of power.

Power is often tested with vertical and broad jumps, while rate of force development is measured with isokinetic dynamometers and EMG equipment1. In physics, power is work divided by time (p=w/t) or force multiplied by velocity (p=f*v)—us coaches often think of force as strength and velocity as speed.

In strength and conditioning, power is often found in the middle of the force velocity curve—a combination of both qualities.

For performance coaches, power is best assessed by measuring standing vertical and standing broad jumps and bar speed or medicine ball throwing speed. Getting an athlete to jump higher and farther while they maintain the same bodyweight means they became more powerful. The same can be said for an athlete that put on 10 pounds during the off-season but still jumps the same distance as before. More weight at the same distance means increased power output.

Getting an athlete to jump higher and farther while they maintain the same bodyweight means they became more powerful, says @Steve20Haggerty. Share on X

Using something like a Tendo Unit, GymAware, or any other technology that measures bar speed can be a great tool to assess the speed of barbell movements to determine power output. These devices typically indicate how fast a barbell was moving in meters per second (m/s). Any speed between 0.75 and 1 m/s is working directly on power development. Bar speeds faster than that are developing more velocity, and slower bar speeds build more strength. Even utilizing the more affordable velocity-based training method of timing a set can be a useful way to track power improvements (more on this later). If your athlete can bench press 100 pounds at 0.8 m/s and 8 weeks later this athlete can bench press either 120 pounds at 0.8 m/s or 100 pounds at 0.9 m/s, they became more powerful.

How Do Athletes Get More Powerful?

As with any desired adaptation, you must place the athlete’s body under a stress that signals to the body that it must change. Power, by definition, is moving explosively or moving a load as quickly as possible; this explosive movement puts stress on the athlete and, over time, pushes the athlete to improve their power levels. How?

Along with the neurological adaptations that we discussed in our previous article on strength adaptations, the main process for improving power output is improving the firing rate of the muscle fibers. The central nervous system improves the ability to rapidly activate muscle fibers. When it comes to sprinting, jumping, and changing direction on the field and court, the average ground contact time in field sports is 200 milliseconds. That means they do not have a long time to generate force, so their brains need to be very efficient in sending activation messages to their muscles.

Power Adaptations for Beginner Athletes

An athlete is more explosive and powerful if they can move the same weight at a faster speed or if they can move a heavier weight at the same speed. Understanding that power is the combination of strength and speed can easily guide what we need to do with our beginner level athletes. Getting an athlete to produce more force and utilize that force quickly is the goal. They need to get stronger and move faster. Beginner athletes are most often at the middle school and high school levels. The two focuses for these athletes should be:

1. Get stronger—power is dependent on force, and you can’t move something quickly if you can’t move it at all. The bar speed of a weight that is too heavy to even lift is 0 m/s—no power output. Since power is dependent on force output, getting stronger is the lowest hanging fruit. If your athlete stays the same bodyweight but can produce more force by using heavier weights, then they are more explosive.

 

• Getting stronger is the easiest way to get more powerful as a beginner, but it does not last forever. At a certain point, being able to produce more force does not improve their ability to produce more force

at faster rates

• . Dr. Matt Rhea found that, in football athletes, one-rep

maxes

for back squats weighing over 1.7 times the athlete’s bodyweight have very little influence on sprinting speed, and even being able to squat 1.7 times bodyweight only accounts for 24% of the variance. Strength sets the base for power development especially in a beginner athlete—don’t worry, there are more advanced methods to come.

Strength sets the base for power development especially in a beginner athlete. Share on X

2. Explosive movements. For a beginner athlete, this is not the time for WestSide Barbell’s dynamic effort method with speed bench using chains and bands. Not yet. Getting younger, newer athletes to understand how to move objects quickly, including their bodyweight, is important. Utilizing medicine balls and jumps/plyometrics is a great place to begin.

 

No need for advanced methods with these tools just yet: a variety of hops, jumps, bounds, and skips is not only working the central nervous system’s ability to produce force quickly, but also improving the elastic qualities of the tendons to be able to transfer force efficiently. Yes, the brain tells the muscles to contract, but the muscles of course pull on the tendons which pull on the bones and make the body move. Not only do we want our athletes to be able to activate their muscles quickly, but for that force to be transferred effectively through their tendons. Plyometrics help with both. This is their opportunity to learn how to move their bodies—and other implements like light medicine balls—effectively.

Power Adaptations for Intermediate Athletes

As a coach, once you feel comfortable with an athlete’s relative strength levels, it’s time to start to up the intensity as far as bar speed—utilizing methods such as Olympic lifts and weighted jumps, dynamic effort lifting, lower reps, and bringing in competition. Methods such as these helped two of our college basketball players hit 40-inch vertical jumps this summer.

1. 1. Olympic lifts or weighted jumps. This is a step up from medicine ball throws. The goal is still to move a weighted implement as fast as possible with proper technique. Before you get on social media and make your case for which is better—Olympic lifts or weighted jumps—first remember that no one cares. These are tools to use: pick whichever you like best or use both. Olympic lifts and weighted jumps typically have bar speeds of 1.2 to 1.8 m/s, depending on the movement (from the floor, hang, blocks, and snatch versus clean). Hard to find another way to move loads of this weight at those types of speeds.

 

1. Dynamic effort lifting. Similar to using Olympic lifts and weighted jumps, dynamic effort lifting is a great method to move heavier weights explosively. This is an intermediate tool because the athlete first needs good technique and a good foundation of strength for this to be effective. With all of the tools in this intermediate category, the goal is really intent: teaching the athlete the intent to move something as fast and explosively as possible.

Similar to using Olympic lifts and weighted jumps, dynamic effort lifting is a great method to move heavier weights explosively, says @Steve20Haggerty. Share on X

The main difference between dynamic effort squatting and doing a power clean is of course that they are different exercises, but squats (and bench presses and deadlifts) are easier movements to implement accommodating resistance. This is important because, when creating a movement (let’s think of a triceps pushdown), the brain has to activate the agonist muscles (triceps) and inhibit the antagonist muscles (biceps). One side of the joint needs to contract, while the other needs to relax to allow the movement to occur. This is still true when moving explosively, but the antagonist muscles get activated towards the end of the movement to keep the joint safe. When doing a triceps pushdown as powerfully as possible, if the biceps do not act as a brake towards the end of the movement, the elbow could hyperextend (or even worse). This is the body’s natural way to keep the joint safe, but it slows down the movement and inhibits the force of the agonist muscle—this is especially true with traditional lifting movements. In exercises where the implement being moved can be released (medicine ball or weighted baseball), this occurs to a much lesser extent.

 

• Utilizing accommodating resistance leads to the weight of the bar getting heavier towards the end range of motion, allowing the agonist muscles to contract closer to the full

range of motion

before the brain begins to inhibit it and activate the antagonist. So, not only does accommodating resistance force the athlete to push more forcefully throughout the movement, but this tool also allows this to happen from a neurological standpoint.

Video 1. An athlete utilizing accommodating resistance on speed squats.

3. Improving power output is about quality repetitions. Just going through the motions of doing trap bar jumps and banded bench presses will not improve explosiveness. Again, it is about intent and getting maximum effort from your athletes. Autoregulation is the method of allowing bar speed to determine the number of sets or repetitions. As a coach, you can prescribe six sets of three repetitions of speed squats at 1 m/s—using technology that actually tracks bar speed would be necessary here.

 

Athletes all have their good days and days where the weight just feels heavy. Autoregulation is about tracking the bar speed to determine if they should add weight, drop weight, continue to do more sets, or do fewer sets. While I was an intern, Coach Joe Connolly at Arizona State told me to “strike while the iron is hot.” If an athlete is having a good day and the bar speed reflects that, add weight or sets. On the other hand, if their central nervous system is a bit down and the weight is not moving how it should, then it could be a good time to cut the lift and move on to accessories. If the bar speed is not there, they are no longer training the desired adaptation.

Athletes all have their good days and days where the weight just feels heavy, says @Steve20Haggerty. Share on X

4. Competition and goals. We should understand the importance of moving as explosively as possible for the improvement of power output. The intermediate athlete is learning all about this. To maintain or even enhance that intent using resources or creativity to create competitions and goals is extremely useful. Since we have written a good amount about using bar speed in this article, just using a bar speed tracking device will create competition on its own—athletes will want to beat their speeds and beat the speeds of those around them, which will lead to greater power adaptations.

 

Even without the resources to obtain a bar speed tracking device, the the poor man’s velocity-based training can work as well: time the athlete’s set. Have an athlete get ready to do two squat repetitions as fast as they can: start the timer as soon as you see them initiate the first repetition and stop the timer as soon as they complete the second repetition. No, it’s not as accurate as GymAware, but it is still a useful way to get your athletes to compete against the clock. When working with groups all beginning their set at the same time, you can prescribe an amount of time to complete a set and have them try to get as many repetitions as possible in that set. This is an easy way to get athletes to compete against their own previous times as well as their teammates. This can be done for med ball throws by using a radar gun for speed, using a tape measure from throwing distance, or objects overhead for throwing height. Your creativity as a coach allows for endless variations.

Video 2. An athlete using the walkway above as a goal to throw the medicine ball over. Look at the genuine excitement.

Power Adaptations for Advanced Athletes

While preparing football players for the NFL combine or their respective pro days, one of our main goals is power output. Running faster, jumping higher, and jumping farther are all about being explosive and producing force as quickly as possible. To increase power outputs in football players for the combine, and even in professional MMA fighters leading up to a bout, we have used methods like fast overcoming isometrics, contrast training, overspeed eccentrics, drops, oscillating isometrics, and advanced plyometric training.

1. Fast overcoming isometric. We discussed this method for improving strength, but this can also be a useful tool for improving power if used in a slightly different manner. Again, an overcoming isometric is pushing or pulling a bar into an unmovable object. This is an amazing way to maximize motor unit recruitment for strength. Using this same technique, but for 2- to 3-second isometrics where the initiation of the exercise is done as fast as possible, is better for training power. Being able to produce a lot of force relative to the athlete’s bodyweight is needed, but typically this is not the limiting factor after the beginner stages.

 

• Advanced athletes typically need to maximize how much force they can produce rapidly. Ground contact time in the 40-yard dash is about 0.1 second and the amount of time an athlete produces force during the vertical and broad jump is around 0.6 second—meaning they do not allow much time to express force. It needs to be done as quickly as possible. This method improves the speed at which the athlete produces force—rate of force development. One caveat is that this needs to be executed

safely

. If doing a fast-overcoming isometric by pulling a trap bar into pins, make sure the trap bar is already against the pins before maximally pulling. Same for any exercise using this method. If the trap bar is on the ground and the pins are six inches above it, and the athlete rips the 45-pound trap bar from the floor and slams it into unmovable pins, you could be looking at a serious back injury.

2. Contrast training. I have heard this method referred to as contrast, French contrast, Canadian ascending/descending, or even simply as a superset. In this method, we want our athletes to perform an exercise that is heavy and forces high motor unit recruitment and then go to an exercise that forces high speed of recruitment.

 

For this application, it is best to use two similar exercises. Since we are working with elite athletes in this method, we would want to use exercises that are relatively specific to their sport. Power is specific to speed, plane, and coordination, especially with this level of athlete. An example of this method would be a heavy squat for two to three repetitions and then going into band assisted vertical jumps. The recommended rest time between one exercise and the next actually varies quite a bit in the research—some suggest going directly into the next movement and others recommending five minutes of rest.

Power is specific to speed, plane, and coordination, especially with advanced athletes, says @Steve20Haggerty. Share on X

3. Overspeed eccentrics. We have looked at different variations of utilizing eccentrics for specific adaptations in previous articles—targeting improvements in power production, overspeed eccentrics are great for advanced athletes because they force the athlete to absorb and redirect the load faster. This is a method of applying more speed or load in the eccentric phase to create more stored elastic energy and challenge the body’s ability to stop and redirect the force. Overspeed eccentrics is a method of making the eccentric portion of a movement faster than normal, or faster than the concentric portion can be. Examples of this could be as simple as doing a dynamic effort squat and squatting down as fast as possible, having the athlete almost pull themself down into a squat. Another way would be letting go of a weight and catching and reversing its momentum rapidly—I have personally done this with RDL variations (that comes with risk to the spine) by holding the weight at the top position and quickly letting go of the bar, catching, and reversing it back up.

Video 3. Overspeed eccentric RDL.

Another example of overspeed eccentrics we like to use is tossing a medicine ball with a partner. One athlete starts by laying on a bench, the ground, or a foam roller and the standing partner holds a medicine ball several feet above their chest. When the standing partner drops the ball, the working athlete will have to catch and reverse the ball as rapidly as possible.

 

The last way we have utilized this method is by using more weight on the eccentric than on the concentric. This can be done with weight releasers, although I have never used these (and when I have seen them used, it is typically not done in a rapid eccentric movement). We’ve applied this method by using bands on the eccentric end of a depth jump, releasing the bands at ground contact, and immediately performing a vertical jump. Overspeed eccentrics are used to improve stored elastic energy, particularly of the tendons, and increase speed of the amortization phase of the stretch shortening cycle (the split-second isometric between an eccentric and concentric action).

Video 4. An athlete using bands to pull him into the jump and releasing the bands well before takeoff (the bands are pulling him down eccentrically more than gravity alone).

4. Oscillating isometrics. Oscillating isometrics are not truly isometric, but small, rapid pulses done over a small and specific range of motion. These rapid pulsating movements look to increase the firing rate of the muscles as they quickly contract and relax. Both the fast contraction as well as the fast relaxation of muscles is needed to maximize power expression in dynamic movements in sport such as sprinting, jumping, and throwing. This can be done with low loads (10-25% one-rep max), bodyweight, and even band assistance.

5. Advanced plyometric techniques. The beginner section of this article looked at explosive movements like medicine ball throws and jumping, bounding, hopping, etc. Common jumps, bounds, and hops are low-level plyometrics, which are one of the best tools a coach can use for improving power in a developing athlete. With advanced athletes, we can up the intensity. Plyometrics like depth jumps, intense bounds, hurdle hops, depth push-ups, and band-assisted push-ups or vertical jumps are some of our favorites. By definition, plyometrics look to improve the amortization phase of a movement. Advanced plyometrics do the same, but in a more intense fashion. At a certain point, there is only so much force that is needed to jump into the air. The goal of these is to do it while spending less time on the ground. Again, its power—applying force quickly.

Final Takeaways

We have utilized all of these training methods with a variety of different athletes over the years. Power is simple—force and velocity or strength and speed. With the beginner athlete, do not complicate things—get them stronger and moving quickly. As the athlete’s training level improves over the years, you must continue to utilize different and more complex methods to allow the athlete to keep adapting.

Athletes will find out about the more advanced methods on TikTok and Instagram, leading them to beg you to do these exercises. Keeping the ace up your sleeve and waiting to apply the more advanced methods for when they need it will ensure the longevity of your athlete’s development.

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

Alex Roberts is the Strength and Conditioning Coach at R. Nelson Snider High School in Fort Wayne, Indiana. In this role, he’s responsible for the year-round athletic development of all student-athletes. Coach Roberts’ main responsibilities are teaching strength training classes during the school day, leading after-school training sessions, and running the summer strength and conditioning program. He holds a Master of Science in Kinesiology and is CSCS certified through the NSCA.

References

1. Aagaard P, Simonsen EB, Andersen JL, Magnusson P, Dyhre-Poulsen P. 2002. “Increased rate of force development and neural drive of human skeletal muscle following resistance training.” J Appl Physiol. 93(4):1318-26. doi: 10.1152/japplphysiol.00283.2002. PMID: 12235031.

2. Output Sports. Undated. Guide to Velocity Based Training.

Many coaches have achieved remarkable results with percentage-based workouts and see no reason to change. That’s fine—stay the course. I want to make the case that a repetition-based system may be a more effective and practical approach to designing workouts, and it doesn’t require a calculator or Excel spreadsheet.

To make my case, let’s take a deep dive into the pros and cons of percentage systems and then see what repetition systems offer.

(Lead photo by Viviana Podhaiski, LiftingLife.com)

Behind the Numbers

I was introduced to percentage systems a half-century ago by my coach, Jim Schmitz, a three-time Olympic Games coach. At the time, the popular term to describe these types of workouts was “intensity cycling.” I later discovered extensive articles about percentage systems through Russian articles translated by Dr. Michael Yessis and weightlifting sports scientist Bud Charniga.

Among the most referenced articles about percentage systems by U.S. sports scientists were those written by Alexander S. Medvedyev, whose periodization model is often cited in NSCA publications. However, I found the works of Arkady N. Vorobyev and Robert A. Roman to be among the most readable and practical.

One book I highly recommend for those new to the sport of weightlifting is Bob Takano’s Weightlifting Programming: A Winning Coach’s Guide. Takano “walked the talk” as an accomplished weightlifting coach, and his book is a step-by-step book about the Russian percentage system.

From here, consider investing in a copy of Supertraining by Professor Yuri Verkhoshansky and Dr. Mel Siff. Supertraining is a sports science textbook that provides an overall perspective of the Russian training system. It’s not an easy read, but it’s undoubtedly a classic resource that should be a part of every serious strength coach’s library.

The Intensity Factor

In percentage systems, “intensity” refers to the weight that can be lifted for one repetition (1RM). If you can bench press 100 pounds for one repetition, 100% intensity would equal 100 pounds. It follows that 95 pounds equals 95% intensity, 90 pounds equals 90%, and so on.

Bench pressing 80 pounds for 10 reps may seem harder than bench pressing 85 pounds once, but 85 pounds represents a higher intensity level from a program-design perspective. Share on X

Confusion arises when muscle magazines refer to the intensity of training as the difficulty of an exercise, often accompanied by a photo of a massively muscled bodybuilder straining on a set of leg extensions or barbell curls. Yes, bench pressing 80 pounds for 10 reps may seem harder than bench pressing 85 pounds once, but 85 pounds represents a higher intensity level from a program-design perspective.

In the Russian system, the intensity level of an exercise influences other loading parameters, including reps, sets, and total volume. Let’s take a closer look at each.

Reps. Intensity percentages are associated with the number of repetitions performed. One standard conversion equals one repetition with 2.5%, working down from 100%.

Most percentage charts skip one rep, such that two reps equal 95% rather than 97.5%. Thus, if you can lift 100 pounds for one rep, you should be able to lift 92.5 pounds for three reps and 75 pounds for 10 reps. Image 3 presents a breakdown of this formula.

Sets. The intensity level influences how many sets an athlete should perform. An inverse relationship exists between intensity and sets, such that fewer sets can be performed at higher intensities. Thus, if the intensity of an activity is 95%, 2–3 sets might be prescribed; if the intensity is 90, the number of sets might be 4–5. And so on.

Volume. Training volume is the total amount of work performed, which in weight training is the total number of reps performed. Again, total reps. This means 3 sets x 10 reps (30 reps) represents a greater training volume than 5 sets x 5 reps (25 reps).

Generally, the more advanced an athlete is, the more sets they can perform at a higher percentage. During a single month, here is how the percentage distribution might look for a power clean for a low-level and high-level athlete:

Low-Level Athlete

70%–75% x 20 sets

80%–85% x 10 sets

90%–95% x 5 sets

100% x 2 sets

High-Level Athlete

70%–75% x 15 sets

80%–85% x 12 sets

90%–95% x 9 sets

100% x 5 sets

Here is an example of a four-week percentage training program using the front squat, hex bar deadlift, and incline bench press. It shows the heaviest working sets for each week:

For a weightlifter, here is how a single training session might be designed, including warm-up sets:

Day 1

Snatch: 70 x 2 x 3, 75 x 3, 80 x 3, 85 x 3 x 3

Clean and jerk: 70 x 2 x 3, 75 x 3, 80 x 3, 85 x 3 x 2

Back squat: 50 x 5, 70 x 5, 80 x 3, 85 x 2 x 4

To save time, particularly when working with large numbers of athletes, software programs such as Excel can automatically convert percentages into specific weights. There are also many commercial products available that will do these conversions. However, some strength coaches only give their athletes the percentages and let them do the conversions on their smartphones (except at Ivy League schools where the athletes can convert these percentages in their heads!).

The major problem with a percentage system is that it’s impossible to predict with precision what maximal weights can be lifted in each training session. Share on X

The major problem with a percentage system is that it’s impossible to predict with precision what maximal weights can be lifted in each training session. One solution is using intensity brackets rather than a single percentage prescription. Let’s explore.

The Intensity Bracket Solution

An article I found in a weightlifting textbook translated by Charniga was written by Russian weightlifting coach M.S. Okunyev. It introduced me to the concept of training brackets.

Instead of a single intensity prescription for the working sets, Okunyev used an intensity bracket that provides a range of weights. Rather than a workout prescription of 80% x 3 x 5, you could have an intensity range of 80%–85% x 3 x 5. A workout for the back squat might proceed as follows:

Back squat: 50% x 5, 65% x 5, 75% x 5, 80%–85% x 3 x 5

Let’s dig deeper. For the three working sets, here are a few permutations:

80 x 5, 5, 5

80 x 5, 80 x 5, 82.5 x 5

80 x 5, 82.5 x 5, 82.5 x 5

80 x 5, 82.5 x 5, 85 x 5

80 x 5, 85 x 5, 85 x 5

82.5 x 5, 85 x 5, 85 x 85

85 x 5, 5, 5

The system also offers flexibility because you can reduce the weight on a subsequent set if a repetition goal is not met. For example:

80 x 5, 85 x 3, 80 x 5

80 x 5, 82.5 x 4, 80 x 5

85 x 3, 80 x 5, 82.5 x 5

As you can see, the intensity of subsequent sets is determined by how many successful reps are completed during the previous set. Having a bad day? Stay with the lightest weight. Feeling strong? Go heavy…and then some!

Using percentages is considered a scientific way to design workouts and the optimal way to train weightlifters, but they have many drawbacks.

Percentages Predicaments

Percentage systems look great on paper and make a strength coach seem super scientific, but there may be better options. Here are seven factors that affect the effectiveness of percentage workouts:

Percentage systems look great on paper and make a strength coach seem super scientific, but there may be better options. Share on X

1. Muscle fiber makeup. Muscle fibers are classified according to the muscle fiber makeup, using labels such as type I (slow twitch) and type II (fast twitch) that assess a muscle’s strength and endurance. However, there is an inverse relationship between strength and endurance—the stronger the muscle, the less its endurance. This relationship presents a problem with percentage conversion charts. Let’s look at one extreme example.

The quadriceps are primarily slow twitch, and the hamstrings are primarily fast twitch. Using 90% of a 1RM, an athlete may be able to perform five reps in a leg curl but 20 reps in a leg press. Using a conventional percentage conversion chart, the weights recommended for a leg press might be too heavy for a leg curl.

2. Gender. Many strength coaches have found that female athletes can perform more reps with a given percentage than men. Whereas a male might be able to perform four reps in a bench press with 90% of their 1RM, a female might do twice that many. Thus, the conversion charts that worked for male athletes may represent weights that are too light.
3. Training age. As athletes increase their strength, they become more neurologically efficient, such that they can perform fewer reps at a specific percentage.

4. Training specificity. Focusing on muscular endurance protocols, whether in the weight room or as a result of their sports training, can alter percentage conversions. For example, strength coach Charles R. Poliquin found that some elite rowers can do 12 reps at 97% of the maximum, while the average trainee will do 1–2 reps. Thus, percentage charts are not absolute for a single individual.

Poliquin also found this effect with the Canadian national synchronized swim team. These athletes move their limbs continuously for long periods with high-velocity movements to remain high on the water. Poliquin had athletes who could bench press 135 pounds for 20 reps but could barely manage a single with 145.

5. Daily variations. We have good days, and we have bad days. On good days, a single percentage prescription can be too light, and on bad days, too heavy.
6. Training schedule. When you lift can often affect how much you can lift. If you’re accustomed to lifting in the morning, you may do significantly more or fewer reps with the same weights in the evening. For this reason, athletes in many sports adjust their training to the time zone in which they will compete. If an athlete usually trains in the morning and an upcoming competition is in the evening, they should try to practice in the evening as the competition approaches.
7. Exercise selection. Percentage charts are only general guidelines that cannot apply to all exercises. For example, performing high reps in a clean and jerk requires significantly reducing the percentage. Likewise, performing higher reps in the dumbbell biceps curl is easier than in the back squat.

Where do we go from here? Rather than intensity percentages, consider allowing the repetitions to determine the load.

Rather than intensity percentages, consider allowing the repetitions to determine the load. Share on X

Let the Reps Determine the Load

Long before the days of personal training, gyms were a mix of powerlifters, weightlifters, bodybuilders, and those just seeking to add some muscle and lose some fat. In 1972, I joined one of these gyms, Bob Perata’s gym, in Fremont, California. Bob’s was best known as the home gym of Ed Corney, a Mr. America who appeared in the movie poster for Pumping Iron.

One of the members of Bob’s was George Perry, a personable, life-long lifter who introduced me to a descending reps workout system. He believed this method was ideal for basic weight training exercises, such as bench presses, squats, and (of course) biceps curls.

I made good progress on the workout, and after six months, at the age of 16, I could deadlift 445 pounds and do three reps in dips with 115 pounds. I also competed in the Teenage Mr. Oakland Bodybuilding Championships. (I didn’t win, but my posing routine brought down the house—as they say, “The older I get, the better I was!”)

The best way to explain how descending reps work is with a practical example. Let’s start with one you might call the 8/6/4 Training System.

In a nutshell, the basic format of this system is to perform eight reps for your first set, six reps for your second, and four reps for your third. How easy or hard this first set is determines how much weight you should lift on your second set, and the difficulty of that set determines how much you should lift on your third.

Here is a sample three-step progression for 8/6/4:

Set 1: Goal, 8 reps. This warm-up set prepares you for heavier weights and quickly assesses your current state of physical preparedness. Let’s say you can bench press 100 pounds for one rep. Take 50%, which converts to 50 pounds, and perform eight reps. It’s only 50% of your max, so you should have no problem completing all eight reps—if it’s a struggle, it would probably be best to stop and move on to something else. (Pro wrestler Ken Patera, the first American to clean and jerk 500 pounds, was known to move from exercise to exercise until he found one in which he could achieve a personal record.)

Set 2: Goal, 6 reps. For your second set, choose a weight that is 85% of your one-repetition maximum, so 85 pounds. This is where the fun begins. If you get all six reps, you could try 95 pounds for your final set of four. If it’s particularly heavy, stay with 85 pounds or, at most, 90 pounds.

Set 3: Goal, 4 reps. The rep goal on this set is four, but perform as many as possible. If you get all four reps or more, increase the weight on your next workout. Here is an example of a progression for someone who can bench press 100 pounds:

Image 6 shows what a workout card could look like for a single exercise.

Getting back to my buddy George, one of the benefits of this training system is that you are continually increasing the weight, giving your mind the illusion that you are getting stronger throughout the workout. Yes, you could start with low reps and increase with subsequent sets (so, 4/6/8), but it would have a different effect mentally that the higher reps are more challenging. This is particularly true with beginners; this may be a better approach for advanced athletes, as there is less fatigue from the lower reps.

One of the benefits of the descending reps workout system is that you’re continually increasing the weight, giving your mind the illusion that you’re getting stronger throughout the workout. Share on X

From here, you can branch off to several other variations, such as 12/10/8 for hypertrophy or 6/4/2 for more relative strength. What’s the best repetition bracket? Consider that high reps will work more hypertrophy and muscular endurance, and lower reps will have more maximal and relative strength. Image 7 shows the strength quality associated with specific repetitions, based on a 1990 research paper by Poliquin.

If you think about it, velocity-based training (VBT) uses a repetition-based system. You are prescribed a specific number of repetitions, and the feedback system will tell you if the weight is too heavy or too light based on how quickly the athlete lifts the barbell. From this perspective, VBT involves allowing the reps and movement speed to determine the load.

To avoid training plateaus, it’s best to change training protocols every few weeks. After determining the strength quality to emphasize, it’s better to stick with one repetition bracket for a few weeks and then focus on another, as follows:

Weeks 1–2: 8/6/4

Weeks 3–4: 10/8/6

Weeks 5–6: 8/6/4

Weeks 7–8: 6/4/2

Weeks 9–10: 8/6/4

The criticism of this workout is that there is only one hard set per exercise, but for beginners, it’s enough. Advanced athletes can add more sets, such as 12/10/9/8 or 6/4/3/2. However, so the body knows what strength quality it’s supposed to adapt to, you should generally keep the repetition spread to four reps (12–8, 11–7, 10–6, and so on).

Also, consider that many high school weight training programs are overwhelmed. I’ve known weight training programs with 70+ kids and one instructor, so a simple program such as 8/6/4 can be a good start. Here is an example of a workout card using a repetition system that athletes can fill in.

When I was the editor of Bigger Faster Stronger magazine, I wrote articles about a set/rep workout card they developed for their workouts. Thousands of athletes and PE students used these cards. BFS also had a software system, but many coaches I interviewed said they liked the workout cards because they get the athlete actively involved in the training process. They also told me that their students enjoyed writing down their personal records.

For practical examples of using repetition-based programs with your athletes, I refer you to the early works of Australian strength coach Ian King and Canadian strength coach Charles R. Poliquin. Two classic books to get you started are How to Write Strength Training Programs: A Practical Guide, by King and The Poliquin Principles, by Poliquin (As a matter of full disclosure, I was the editor of The Poliquin Principles).

Those teaching weight training at the high school level are often overwhelmed by large numbers of students in each session. Repetition workouts might offer a better training experience. Share on X

From a practical perspective, consider that teachers in charge of weight training classes at the high school level often have little background in designing workouts—and you probably won’t catch many of them reading Russian research papers on periodization methods in the break room. They are also often overwhelmed with large numbers of students in each session. Using repetition workouts might offer a better training experience for their students.

Technology has much to offer the strength coaching profession, and percentage workout systems are here to stay, particularly for weightlifters. However, sometimes it’s better to put down the smartphone and get strong the old-fashioned way by letting the reps determine the load!

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

Charniga, Bud. Charniga offers many translated Russian weightlifting textbooks and yearbooks on the following website: https://www.dynamicfitnessequipment.com/category-s/1819.htm

Takano, Bob. Weightlifting Programming: A Winning Coach’s Guide. Catalyst Athletics, Inc., 2012.

Siff, Mel and Verkhoshansky, Yuri. Supertraining, 1999, 4th edition, Supertraining International, Denver USA 1999. (1st edition, 1993)

King, Ian. How to Write Strength Training Programs: A Practical Guide, King Sports International, 1998.

Poliquin, Charles. The Poliquin Principles, Dayton Writers Group, 1997.

Recently, my wife and I went on a crazy new adventure called “having our second child.” Yes, it was a huge blessing…but with some complications in the birthing process, our little angel was stranded in the Neonatal Intensive Care Unit (NICU) for about a week. That meant multiple trips to the hospital each day to see her, lots of quiet time watching her hooked up to tubes and machines, and many conversations with nurses about her health and progress.

The last point is the inspiration for this article. For those of you unaware of how our medical system shift-work functions in Canada, there are two shifts: day and night. Days are 7:00 a.m. to 7:00 p.m., while nights are the opposite. With our little girl there for multiple days, it meant that every 12 hours, there was a new nurse overseeing her station. Yes, over the course of a week, we had the same nurse multiple times, but I would say that over her seven-day stay, there were at least five different caretakers responsible for her care.

While every single one of these nurses was excellent at their job—and the level of care that our daughter received did not dip from one to the other—the way in which my wife and I experienced the care did change slightly based on who was on staff.

You see, each of the staff was excellent in their care of babies, with years of experience in that area. But one thing separated some from the rest—some had kids of their own, while others did not. Each nurse knew how to follow the protocols for our daughter, but those with children of their own had a different way of communicating with us as parents. It is hard to explain, but there was more empathy for us and more integration of us into the process. To give you an example, one nurse (who had kids) allowed us to take our daughter’s temperature and change her diaper while she was sedated, whereas later in her recovery, another nurse (who didn’t have kids) didn’t offer the same.

We got excellent information when speaking to these non-parent nurses, but it wasn’t delivered in a way that related to us 100%. I told my wife after the fact, “It felt like we were talking to a textbook.” Great information, but limited applicability outside of the hospital and what would happen for us next.

The same can be said for sport coaches in the youth system as far as those who have kids and those who do not. There is just something different about coaching when you have lots of experience interacting with kids, understanding their common issues/needs and how to handle them when they freak out. Now, it obviously isn’t necessary to have kids yourself before coaching youth sports, but similar to the nurse example, there is a deeper level of understanding for the whole process from those who do.

What is the whole point of this story?

While reflecting on the process in the hospital (and youth sport coaches), it struck me how similar this situation is to us as strength and conditioning coaches. There is a frequent debate in the S&C community as to whether you need to have played the sport you coach. As the Head S&C Coach at a Canadian university, I coach multiple sports, of which I have experience playing only a few. I was on the side of the argument that said you did not have to play the sport to be the best coach and get the best results for your athletes, as that was my reality.

While I still stand by that thought, my stance has softened a bit after this recent experience with my daughter in the NICU. You see, when working with a certain team, you can research that sport all you want. You can understand the rules, know the common injuries, and look up the energy systems at work. However, just as the childless nurses had a different feel and understanding than the nurses who had kids, even though they both knew their stuff, coaches who haven’t played the sport aren’t exactly like coaches who have.

You Can’t Play Them All

Once again, I currently work with eight sports and have only played four competitively. Does that make me a poor strength coach for those other four sports? No (well, at least I hope not). But for those four sports I have competed in, I feel more confident coaching, more confident using their language, and more confident relating to the players.

While I’m not a poor strength coach because I’ve only played four out of the eight sports I work with, I feel more confident coaching those sports’ players and using their language, says @chergott94. Share on X

Many of you might be in the same boat when it comes to the sports you currently work with. The whole point of writing this article is not just to highlight a gap you may have in your coaching but to help you address this issue since I know it is a common one. As S&C coaches, we often dream of working in the top league of our chosen sport. For example, when I first started, I wanted to be an S&C coach in the National Hockey League (NHL). I later fell in love with the university side in my undergrad and have never looked back.

Pursuing this path has automatically put me in a position to coach athletes on teams for sports I did not play. As an S&C coach, you might find yourself in the same situation, whether working at a university with multiple teams like me or with a single sport that you have not played. So, how do you start to bridge the gap in your knowledge and understanding to help you speak their language and fully get through to your players? Let’s take a look…

1. Start Playing the Sport (or at Least Practicing It)

This one might have jumped out to you right away. If you have never thrown a baseball and are working with a baseball team, that might be a good place to start. Yes, there are plenty of recreation leagues you could join for almost any sport, which means if you really wanted to dive in, you could become an athlete and learn the sport firsthand as you coach the team. For myself, with two kids, a wife, and multiple sports to learn, that wasn’t something that I could feasibly do.

What I have done is tried and practiced the skills of each of the sports. For example, we recently added disc golf to our varsity sports portfolio, and I had never really seen disc golf played, let alone thrown a disc myself. So, after researching the sport and understanding the mechanics, I figured I had it down pretty good. Then, our disc golf team invited me out to play a round with them toward the end of the season.

Wow…what a humbling experience.

Not that I misunderstood the rules of the sport or had the mechanics wrong from my “textbook learning,” but there is something much different than reading about it—and that is actually doing it. For example, the rotation of throwing a disc is much different than I anticipated. I am used to throwing frisbees, swinging a bat, and taking a slapshot, and none of those skills helped me with this. It was a whole other beast that I had to learn firsthand how to do, which in turn made me better at coaching exercises that helped it. It enhanced my “feel” for the sport, not just my brain knowledge. Plus, having the athletes see me fail at something and continue to try and learn was also great for buy-in.

Spending a few minutes each week refining your skills can help you understand the demands of the sport better and, therefore, your message on how to improve it, says @chergott94. Share on X

The same goes for any sport. Practice shooting free throws, taking corner kicks, or working on your jump serve. Spending a few minutes each week refining your skills can help you understand the demands of the sport better and, therefore, your message on how to improve it.

2. Study the Terminology of the Game

Another way to help yourself communicate better is to study the language of the sport. Yes, volleyball rallies last roughly 30 seconds with 30–60 seconds of rest, but did you know that if someone is “libbing,” they are playing libero, or that giving the ball a “tug” is slang for spiking it?

While these are not crucial to know for you to be a great S&C coach, by learning the language and better understanding the psychology of the sport, you can improve the way you relate your message to the team. Instead of saying the reason you do upper body strength work for hockey is that “We want you to have the strength to take hard slapshots and score lots of goals,” you can say, “We want you to be able to crank a howitzer bar-cheese from the hash”—then you are speaking their language, having more fun with it, and in turn increasing their buy-in because now they are thinking this guy/gal gets it. And, as we know, even if your program doesn’t change, if the effort put into it does, that is a HUGE win.

So, how do you learn the slang?

3. Ask Questions (Be Humble)

One of the best things I have done to help myself understand the language of sport more is to simply be humble enough to admit I don’t know and ask my athletes (or coaches) questions. Something I did over the COVID-19 year was arrange a meeting with each of our sport coaches, asking them to explain the way we play/train so that I could hear how they explain it. This helped me understand our systems better and helped me learn their language, which, in turn, created a more unified message to our athletes and helped them make the connection from the weight room to the pitch/track/court/ice.

Another thing I still do is frequently ask our athletes about their sport. I want to learn more, and the best people to explain it to you are those you want to explain it back to. That way, you can hear their language/slang and remember it when you explain it.

Another thing I do is frequently ask our athletes about their sport. I want to learn more, and the best people to explain it to you are those you want to explain it back to, says @chergott94. Share on X

As a simple example, when I was running a speed session for our men’s rugby team on our pitch a few weeks ago, I wanted them to start at half and run to the next line on the pitch. But before I simply pointed and said, “Run to there,” I asked a couple of the guys, “What do you guys call that line?” Their answer? “The 10.” So now my message was, “I want you guys to start at half and sprint through the 10.” It might not seem like a big deal, but that small change helped me seem like I understood the game more while also showing my vulnerability and trust to those whom I asked beforehand.

The same went for our disc golf team. As it was our newest sport and one I knew the least about (plus, there is literally NO research on it), I peppered them with questions every time they came in for a lift. “What is a hyzer?” “When would you throw forehand versus backhand?” “How long are tournaments?” So many questions but so many good answers and discussions. My willingness to be vulnerable and learn from them has allowed for a better relationship between me and the athletes on the team as we learn and grow together (most have minimal weight training experience).

The last thing that I ask is in reference to my “learn the language” tip. As mentioned, every morning, I watch a video about one of our sports to get a better understanding of the language, movements, or tactics used in the sport.

Some examples to give you an idea are:

• “How to Jump Serve in Volleyball”
• “How to Tackle in Rugby”
• “Cross Country Training Exercises”

Later in the day, when that sport comes in, I fire off more questions in reference to what I watched to check if it is legit and see what more I can learn. “I was watching a video this morning on making headers, and it said you need to time your jump right so you can propel your head into the ball to direct it to where you want to go. How do you practice that?” Conversation started. Knowledge gained (plus they will love that you are trying to learn more about them).

4. Make Mistakes

The last point is almost like a summary of all these, as it ties them all together—don’t be afraid to fail, say the wrong thing, or make a fool of yourself. Yes, there are times when you will say the wrong phrase, explain things too “coachy,” or talk about the why behind an exercise and then have confused looks staring at you. But you know what? That is how you learn.

Taking a quick moment to ask an athlete if what you said was correct, if it made sense, or why people looked confused is what helps you learn and move on.

I am not saying I am perfect at this. I still make mistakes in my explanations with a sport every day (even hockey—after all, it was a while ago that I played). But by tripping over your words, trying to make sense of everything, athletes will see that you are trying and want to get better. Plus, by asking questions, they will see you truly do want to learn more and will help you learn just as you are helping them.

Lastly, be an observant coach. Listen to your athletes, watch the sport, and practice the skills if you have time. Trust me when I say it goes a long way in crafting a message that is not only physiologically correct but also resonates with your end user and helps them see the bigger picture (which will lead to better effort, better buy-in, and better results). Just like the nurses I encountered in the NICU, while you most likely studied the science and what to do to enhance your knowledge of your job, it is important not to forget who the end user is and who you are communicating with. After all, it doesn’t matter what you said, but what they heard!

Good luck!

Peace. Gains.

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’s a renaissance of focus on breathing practices right now—it’s everywhere and almost ridiculous. That’s coming from somebody who has spent a large portion of their personal and professional life in the last decade studying, developing, and teaching breathing techniques to improve health and performance. If I’ve learned one thing over the course of that time, it’s the same darn thing I learned once I dug deep enough into any field: breath control is just not that complicated. The mechanisms are complex; you might even say miraculous. But the doing of the thing at its most fundamental is downright simple.

Breath control is just not that complicated. The mechanisms are complex; you might even say miraculous. But the doing of the thing at its most fundamental is downright simple. Share on X

Complexity bias causes humans to take what can often be boiled down into a simple heuristic and muddy up the application while waxing poetic about the nuances. In the performance environment, however, there’s no time to be wasted. Problems have to be solved fast and, in the process, at least not take energy away from the most important thing of all—succeeding at your given endeavor. While getting into the weeds of breathing practices can be fun for the super nerds like me, sport and strength coaches have bigger fish to fry and far more responsibilities than simply making sure their athletes are breathing “correctly.”

This article aims to explain the most fundamental and invariant aspects of breath control so they can be deployed quickly and efficiently in performance environments where more pressing skill development has to take place for the athlete (and the coaches) to accomplish what they really want: winning.

Autonomic Versus Volitional Breathing

All of the positive stuff that the 1,000 internet kung fu breathing techniques have to offer can be summed up in three simple words: Breathe on purpose.

As I’m sure anybody reading this is well aware, we mostly breathe on autopilot. The autonomic nervous system drives breathing through an incredible system of redundant feedback loops that constantly adjust for the dynamic needs of both our internal and external environments. Those feedback loops are deep in the brain and body—like brainstem, reptilian, iceberg-under-the-water deep.

Our nearly 25,000 breaths per day are powered by a system we are mostly unaware of. Unless, of course, there’s a malfunction like choking or even an exercise-induced asthma attack, then it’s all eyes on me and all hands on deck to restore breathing immediately. As far as triage goes, breathing is on the top rung of the ladder when it comes to surviving. Thus, lots of powerful software is built into it to keep the motor running.

There are chemoreceptors and baroreceptors in the carotid bodies of the neck as well as the aorta of the heart that provide a constant feedback loop about carbon dioxide in the arterial blood. There are a variety of stretch receptors in the lungs and thoracic cavity that help regulate pressure in the rib cage. These and many more signals commingle in a symphony that adapts to our needs (real and perceived) in real time and breath by breath. It is truly a marvel. The deeper you look, the more glorious the whole thing is. So why would we ever mess with such a beautifully self-regulating mechanism? Why would one breathe on purpose?

I’m glad you asked.

As I previously mentioned, the mechanisms that control autonomic breathing are located deep in our oldest evolutionary physiology. As such, their modus operandi completely and utterly revolves around two simple goals: survive and replicate.

Embedded in these criteria is the implicit regulation of metabolism, in which breathing plays no small part. Breathing is essential in the regulation of blood pH, which is tightly contained for the trillions of chemical reactions to take place every single moment of our entire lives. The idea of metabolic, and therefore energetic, regulation will be a core component of our discussion as we move forward, not only in how it applies to the potential development of physiological energy systems, as I’ve discussed in prior articles, but also in the forms of mental and emotional energy—which, by the way, are directly connected with the physiological. The only place they are separate, in fact, is in discussion.

Breathing responds not only to the energetic demands placed on the body by movement vigor and lethargy but, additionally, to both acute and long-term psychological and emotional distress and ease. These can become ingrained into this neurology as with any other habit and, when combined into a perfect storm, can inhibit the efficiency with which an athlete operates. When we are talking about squeezing every bit of juice out of the lemon of performance, a little bit of efficiency goes a long way.

Most of the time, the habits that develop around these things go unnoticed because, as the saying goes, “Your body is an obedient dog” (thanks Dr. Kelly Starrett). We will adapt and compensate for dysfunction to keep the train on the tracks in all sorts of amazing and interesting ways. Athletes with exercise-induced asthma can inhaler their way through competition; conversely, the obese may produce exhaust just from walking up a few stairs.

The human body is truly a marvel. The brain stem keeps that diaphragm pumping, and as long as things don’t go too far, organs will pick up the slack and keep on keeping on. This deep part of the brain just handles business.

Wait. Did I talk about the “on purpose” part yet? Sorry.

There’s some fancy deep reptile physiology that autoregulates the ins and outs of breathing (forgive the pun). But what is it about our human brain that can do really cool stuff, too? This is where things get interesting. Along with the development of the human brain came our ability to sense and make sense of our internal state more deeply. The frontotemporal-insular cortices and the cingulate cortex control and attend to our interoceptive perception, respectively. When we move our attention to breathing, the cingulate cortex fires, and we can better audit internal events of the body.

Try this:

• Hold your breath for 5–10 seconds.
• Now, breathe fast.
• Now, breathe slowly.

We’re the only animal on the planet that purposefully attends to and regulates rhythms of breathing for specific outcomes. Voluntary muscular activation of breathing happens via the phrenic nerve. Phrenic is an archaic word meaning mind (as in schizophrenia). The insight of the ancients alludes to one of the major benefits of breathing on purpose—you have better insight into the workings of your mind and, therefore, the ability to control your body’s reaction to it, and vice versa.

Breathing on purpose is a direct line of communication to the deepest layers of our nervous system, helping the symphony get back into tune. Share on X

Most of the time, the symphony plays the music without the conductor. But, on occasion, the brass and the strings get a little out of tune and need to be reeled back in. This is where breathing on purpose comes in. It’s a direct line of communication to the deepest layers of our nervous system.

Learning to tune in to and take control of breathing where appropriate provides athletes with a means to alter the course of their autonomic reactions to all stress in real time and over the long term. This could mean easing the jitters before a big game or calming mid-term anxiety that might mess with a player’s overall mental state. It could also be used to aid in recovering lost rest time for teams and athletes who have to travel for games.

This renewed awareness provides an opportunity for athletes to become agents in how, when, and where they distribute their energy. This is not only helpful for being better players on the field, but it also yields the fruit of managing stress outside of athletic events. Every coach knows a talented player who doesn’t have their head together won’t last under pressure. Volitional breathing, aka breathing on purpose, is an easy access panel to the vital systems that turn what is usually the luck of the draw into a learnable skill set.

Eight Year Olds, Dude

When it comes to applying breathing techniques, whether in a performance environment or as a simple health practice, far too often, they are far too complex. Confusing jargon, misappropriated lingo, and a lack of attention to how physical skills are developed in humans are all to blame for the lack of broad scaling of breathing techniques into performance-based environments. Additionally, time and resources are already often stretched thinner than a Parisian runway model. Even with those weaknesses, breathing techniques are remarkably efficacious for most people under the most controlled conditions. They tend to fall apart when they’re taken out of controlled environments to be used under the pressures of high-demand situations where our athletes are working at the very limits of their capacities.

One limiter I’d like to pay particular attention to is the way breathing techniques are often taught and how that particular approach is an inhibitor that creates unnecessary friction between the practice and the desired state of the end user—in this case, improved performance. I’m a growing fan of ecological approaches to skill acquisition, in no small part due to my friend and jiu-jitsu mentor, Greg Souders of Standard Jiu Jitsu. Most of the time, breathing teachers use an information-processing approach. Phrases like “use your diaphragm,” “belly breathe,” and other ambiguous instructions serve mainly to confuse and are rarely adaptable to live and chaotic environments.

Rather than offering step-by-step cues on how to breathe “properly,” as coaches, we can offer an avenue for athletes to develop a more robust relationship with their internal mechanisms and guide them toward solutions that work for them.

As a brief aside, I don’t want it to seem like I’m criticizing others from some perch of judgment. Not at all. My point of view on this topic has developed from teaching quite literally hundreds of people of various shapes, sizes, and experience levels how to employ breathing techniques. In addition, it had to be done with little time with those people and no promise I would ever see them again. Real learning had to occur for those people to walk away with agency over their own process.

We can provide clear constraints to the athlete and then allow them to explore the use of the breathing technique through their own felt experience. Share on X

Instead of step-by-step instructions, which will create a fragile architecture for these techniques and thus reduce their long-term efficacy, we can provide clear constraints to the athlete and then allow them to explore the use of the tool through their own felt experience. This creates a nearly instantaneous dialogue and leads to faster and deeper learning. You’ll know if your cues are working because an eight-year-old will pick up what you’re putting down.

Easy as 1, 2, 3

Over the last decade or so, many cues for breathing have come and gone, but three have really seemed to stick. These help direct attention to immediate tasks that have proven to generate tangible changes in behavior both in controlled environments that are off the field of play and during the unpredictability that comes with live action. These cues are best deployed in more controlled situations, like sport practice warm-ups or strength and conditioning sessions. This gives athletes an opportunity to get familiar with the language and adapt their attention appropriately. That way, when under stress, they can reliably use breathing for its intended purpose—to change how they are thinking, feeling, and ultimately performing.

Cue #1: Breathe on purpose.

Umm, duh. Right? “Breathe on purpose” is a cue to simply do that—no instructions about how deep, how long, or how frequent. Just attend to the fact. This alone shifts behavior. In fact, in his seminal study on volitional breathing, Dr. Jose Herrero showed that simply attending to one’s own breathing had beneficial effects on the coordination of brain activity.

The simple cue of ‘breathe on purpose’ gets athletes to momentarily direct their attention to their internal dialogue so they can make adjustments if necessary. Share on X

Using this cue under moments of intense stress gets the athlete to momentarily attend to their own embodied sense of their internal state and, if need be, do something to alter it. This simple cue gets athletes to momentarily direct their attention to their internal dialogue so they can make adjustments if necessary. For example, your star jiu-jitsu athlete steps up to the mat for their first match of the black belt world championship looking visibly stiff and stressed. You can say, “Breathe on purpose!” as a short, direct message that brings awareness to their need to self-regulate and, at the same time, gives them a route for doing so with immediate effect. Nothing fancier is required to get the outcome, and in fact, more detailed information may only result in confusion.

Cue #2: Fill the bucket.

Diaphragm, shmiaphragm. Is it an important muscle? Yes. Does it do all kinds of cool physiological stuff that we’d die without? Yes. Does getting better at using it improve all kinds of important energy system applications and create structural stability? Again, yes! Do athletes know how to feel it? No. Is it a good use of already limited training time for most to pursue it as a completely separate endeavor? Usually not. Does internal focus actually build robust skills that will stand up to the rigors of competition and life? The research says a resounding NO.

So, when teaching athletes proper breath mechanics, keep it super simple. If you fill a five-gallon bucket with water, it fills from the bottom to the top and out the sides. Simply instruct your athletes to do the same. This can be applied in any situation where they need to:

• Calm down.
• Get stable.
• Get focused.
• Address an injury.
• Improve spinal mobility.

Let your imagination run wild. The point is that it’s a simple verbal cue the athlete can create a direct connection to in order to alter their breath mechanics and change their felt sense. This, in turn, changes their psychological and emotional interaction with their environment.

Cue #3: Move the A.

To be more specific, the “A” is actually the infrasternal (ISA) angle at the bottom of the anterior portion of the rib cage. But who cares—we’re talking about getting athletes to change behavior, right? Acute ISAs are a real issue in athletic populations.

Sometimes, that’s an appropriate adaptation, but what we want is to have some reserve range of motion so we aren’t caught unprepared by sport or life. Cueing the athlete to “open and/or close the A” is an easy way to see what their limitations are in terms of whether or not they have access to lateral rib motion and thoracic extension.

These three that I’ve shared with you now are by no means the be-all and end-all: Coach, if you find something that works better, for god sake, please email me, and don’t just lambast this article to your three followers on Reddit. If you use them regularly and integrate them with other skills and drills the athletes already do, I promise you, you will see success. For more on the details of that deployment, check out the articles I’ve written on specific techniques for:

• Recovery.
• Return to play.
• Nasal breathing.

Happy Accidents

Most of the time, our breathing is a happy accident of biological design. It just kind of happens for us, and everything seems to work out pretty well both on and off the field. There is most certainly a wave of popularity in the sports performance world regarding the deployment of breathing techniques for recovery and performance enhancement. Most, though, require time, energy, and focus that neither coaches nor athletes frequently possess.

While the deep process of volitional breathing is truly a remarkable symphony of chemistry that is just shy of a miracle, treating it with a much more benign attitude makes it more accessible. Share on X

While the deep process of volitional breathing is truly a remarkable symphony of chemistry that is just shy of a miracle, treating it with a much more benign attitude makes it more accessible. Then, the magic of the practice can simply express itself. I, for one, am excited that there’s so much renewed interest in breathing techniques as viable avenues for athlete health especially.

With all of that said, it is essential we don’t blow so much smoke up the proverbial skirt of the whole thing that it’s inaccessible to those it’s intended for. In other words, just breathe on purpose and let the games begin.

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

From 1994 to 2006, anterior cruciate ligament (ACL) reconstructions increased by an astronomical 924% in individuals under the age of 15.¹ Through a physical activity promotion lens, this number may indicate that young people continue to engage in sports, especially at competitive levels, even with some noted declines in overall youth physical activity participation. Interestingly, this data comes from a period when sport specialization and year-round sport models (>8 months/year) were not dominant; that is, youth were not exclusively playing a single sport during elementary years. The increased exposure to sports participation has clear physical, social, and psychological benefits,² but the medical burden and consequences of ACL injuries and reconstructions make it feel like the house is on fire.

Sports participation has clear physical, social, and psychological benefits, but the medical burden and consequences of ACL injuries and reconstructions can make it feel like the house is on fire. Share on X

In 2005, some seminal work with injury-related fear and ACL reconstruction began to emerge when physical function, return to pre-injury levels of activity/competition, and other clinical outcomes could not be explained by traditional laboratory measures like biomechanics, strength, etc.^3,4 Injury-related fear quickly became supported as a determinant of knee function, secondary ACL injury risk, and overall physical activity levels after ACL reconstruction. The difficulty in addressing injury-related fear—a complex and very individual response—can develop from a few areas:

1. Increased rates of ACL injury.
2. Who is at the center of the care team.
3. Bridging the gap for athletes to return to an unpredictable and dynamic environment.

Nassim Taleb, an economist and author, developed the black swan theory. Black swan events are improbable, have far-reaching consequences, and are both difficult to predict (they take everyone by surprise) but obvious in hindsight. Despite the staggering percentages given a few sentences earlier, if we sit down and calculate the hours of exposure for each ACL injury, we may begin to see ACL injuries as an extreme outlier (even if they’re a common orthopedic injury) that have drastically changed the landscape of sports medicine as we know it. Some have found the incidence of non-contact ACL tears less than 0.1 per 1,000 player-hours between males and females, which included over 5 million player-hours and 40 million player exposures.⁵ Another study has shown ACL injury rates at 6.5 per 100,000 athletic exposures from 2007 to 2012.⁶

However, as the stakes increase (athlete safety and longevity, injury reduction, medical burden, etc.), it feels like the notion of ACL injuries being “improbable” is misplaced. There’s no question that ACL injury is devastating on both physical and psychological outcomes and that there’s a growing rate of ACL injuries, with some expecting overall rates to double by 2030.⁷

In an effort to slow these rates down, researchers have focused on biomechanics, strength, and other physical measures or mechanisms. Researchers are often (fairly) critiqued for living in ivory towers and not engaging community stakeholders (coaches, athletes, athletic administrators, etc.), which may be stoking the fire a bit from inside the house.

Qualitative work has begun to be incorporated into sports medicine research, which creates an avenue for the inclusion of stakeholder perspectives—what are the barriers and facilitators you face as a (fill in the blank with your role in sports) when it comes to ACL injury reduction?^8,9 Sports medicine research has shifted from a disease-focused approach to a biopsychosocial approach or an emphasis on psychologically informed clinical care and athlete-centered care. Sometimes, care and performance enhancement can be as simple as asking someone what they want/need and supporting that through your skills and expertise.

The central drive to decrease ACL injury rates shouldn’t attempt to predict ACL injuries but rather build a robustness to negative physical and psychological stressors and exploit positive stressors. Share on X

Hot take: The central drive to decrease ACL injury rates should not attempt to predict ACL injuries but rather build a robustness to negative stressors, including:

• Physical (overtraining, undertraining)
• Psychological (lack of social support, school workloads, lack of sleep)

This should be done while, at the same time, exploiting positive stressors: we need to adjust to the existence of ACL injuries rather than try to predict them.

Adopting an Athlete-Centered, Multidisciplinary Approach

Sports medicine teams are uniquely suited to collaborate to improve athlete experiences AND reduce injury risk in active populations or build robustness in athletes. This should be a multidisciplinary approach between strength and conditioning staff, athletic trainers, physical therapists, and counseling and psychological staff—but the athlete must remain the center of this effort.

Evidence-based practice leverages provider experience and research evidence, but this model falls short without individual preferences and beliefs. As such, no single focus is likely to produce a great outcome—a focus solely on research evidence will fail if the care team doesn’t have the skills (or resources) to implement these methods. For a while, research on ACL injury homed in on strength and biomechanical deficits, which meant we missed out on these athletes’ psychosocial experiences, which we know now are a critical factor in this complex web.^9–11

Athletes are exceptional in their ability to compensate and adapt to the challenges they face. We expect our athletes to return to sport or activity despite these challenges, and they usually do. However, if we don’t consider the multifactorial consequences of ACL injury, we aren’t fully preparing our athletes to return to unpredictable environments. There is a critical gap to bridge between post-injury recovery and return to play after ACL injury.

The Integrated Model of Response to Sport Injury, introduced by Wiese-Bjornstal¹², provides a great visual to understand how pre-injury factors influence a stress (physical and mental) response leading to sport injury.

(Figure adapted from Davids et al, 2003.)

The focus here is the cycle of recovery outcomes, which is influenced by:

• Personal factors (injury severity, self-perceptions, coping skills).
• Situational factors (time in season, teammates and coaches, social support, access to equipment).
• Emotional responses (positive emotional responses, fear).
• Behavioral responses (adherence to rehab and sessions, effort and intensity, risk-taking behaviors).

Injury-related fear is an umbrella encompassing kinesiophobia (fear of movement), fear of reinjury, and other fear-avoidance beliefs.^13,14 There are several patient-reported outcome measures to assess these responses, like the Tampa Scale of Kinesiophobia and the Athlete Fear Avoidance Beliefs Questionnaire.

If you work with an athlete consistently and have built an inclusive rapport, they may share feelings of anxiety, fear, or distrust in their body. Rehabilitation and return to sport take a massive physical, emotional, and psychological toll on our athletes. Most of them will have a strong athletic identity that is challenged when they miss a substantial amount of time in their sport, and some will have minimal coping skills, which lends to an inability to address stressors or a poor cognitive appraisal of situations.

As much you emphasize strength, speed & power during the season, include psychological coping skills. Hold athletes accountable but give them the space, time & resources to process their emotions. Share on X

As much as strength, speed, and power are emphasized during the season, psychological coping skills should be included. There is still a strong and prevalent stigma¹⁵ in athletics where athletes who show emotion or struggle are called out in front of their peers, shamed for their frustrations, called weak, and worse. Athletes can be held accountable but also given the space, time, and resources to process their emotions.

If you’re in a position working with young athletes, it is crucial to note that many of these individuals may also not have the emotional vocabulary to share exactly how they are feeling or have experience with regulating those emotions. The emotional-processing areas in the brain don’t fully develop until age 25, so “young” is relative and likely applies to athletes in most settings.

Fear and Return to Sport

Injury-related fear usually seems to manifest when athletes begin the transition in rehabilitation to functional activities (single-leg hops, decelerating, cutting, etc.) and return to sport. Some studies have shown that early measures (0–2 months after ACL reconstruction) of self-reported fear predict later levels of fear during these functional transitions.¹⁶

On the physical performance side, athletes need to be prepared for interacting with a chaotic environment and autonomously executing a massive number of movements in a variety of conditions.¹⁷ Motor learning should be a cornerstone of this effort—as important as programming and load management are, you should ground these approaches in motor learning theories. These theories can also help identify athletes who are struggling to improve their physical performance and/or experiencing a poor psychological response that is impairing their ability to perform.

Full disclosure: There’s not a single theory that encompasses everything, but my favorite is Newell’s Theory of Constraints (Dynamic Systems), which includes individual, task, and environment. In this constraint-led approach, there are emergent properties of the whole system (individual, task, environment) that can be used to understand the self-organization of the individual and intrapersonal relationships in the environment (increased high-risk contact, avoidance of contact, “lost in space”).

For individual constraints within Newell’s Theory, we can have sublevels for structural and functional changes. Structural changes after ACL reconstruction are well described for the knee: poor strength, inefficient force production, asymmetric functional movements, and plenty more. Researchers have also seen functional changes in brain activity and connectivity between brain regions after ACL reconstruction. These changes may indicate a shift in how ACL-reconstructed individuals use sensory information (visual information) and a predisposition to fear or anxiety (Grooms, 2017; Baez, 2021).^18,19

Injury-related fear has been implicated in both structural and functional changes.^20–23 Critically, if you suspect an athlete has feelings of fear or anxiety or hear them admit this, pushing through that exercise can be detrimental at the structural and functional levels. Athletes experiencing fear can adopt a more internal focus of attention, which will disrupt motor performance and break down coordination.²⁴

Injury-related fear has been implicated in both structural and functional changes. It’s not as simple as telling an athlete to ‘get over it,’ as there are incredibly complex relationships at play. Share on X

It’s truly not as simple as telling an athlete to “get over it”—there are incredibly complex relationships at play. Take the time to validate their anxiety and refer them out if their fear and anxiety are sustaining over two weeks or interfering with their activity or quality of life. Referral should be made to a sport psychologist, a licensed doctoral-level provider, or other appropriate mental services provider. Be very wary of those who advertise themselves as a performance coach but hold no formal training, extensive mentorship, or educational background (AASP or CMPC).

Coaches and other members of the sports medicine team can help athletes regain confidence by appropriately exposing them to exercises/drills, affirming and celebrating them during this process, and keeping them engaged with their social support (usually the team).

1. Graded exercise^25,26: Coaches, especially strength and conditioning coaches, are exceptional at programming and seeing the big picture performance peaks during seasons. On a smaller scale, load and exercise programming should be very intentional and individually graded. Some athletes may struggle with symmetrical squatting or running, so breaking down those complex exercises into smaller, easily accomplished exercises will help give your athlete the building blocks to be confident.

If you notice that progressing to exercises induces a regression in performance, this is partly expected—but give the athlete a chance to be “messy” before hounding corrections. Some athletes will naturally self-evaluate and know when a specific set wasn’t their best; acknowledge and affirm their feelings and give feedback if requested/required.

In the weeds: Focus of attention also plays a vital role in performance improvement and will benefit motor learning. An external focus of attention is directing attention toward things outside of the body, like the environment and goal of the movement. An internal focus of attention is concentrated on how their body moves in space. Most rehabilitation specialists and coaches use internal, which may be taxing mental resources.^27–29

2. Practice and return to sport structures^30–32: Differential learning capitalizes on purposefully creating a varied and random practice. With support from Newell’s Theory of Constraints, this method supports a self-organized process of learning movements and skills, which introduces a healthy variability of movements given the environmental context and constraints. Building on our graded exercises, changing task parameters could look like this—before performing a broad jump:

1. Skip with your right leg, or
2. Perform butt kicks, or
3. Perform a shuffle to the right/left.

To change the environment, perform exercises in different light conditions, without shoes, with loud music, etc. To change athlete parameters, have them complete exercises while fatigued, with additional weight (when safe), etc. Often, this is far from the standard in most rehabilitation and return to sport settings, where athletes are given a strict 3×10 of a particular exercise in a highly controlled environment. There should be an emphasis on safe progressions, but variety can otherwise be introduced in plenty of ways.

In the weeds: Contextual interference (CI) considers the variability of the tasks being performed and the scheduling of practices. CI can help speed up skill acquisition despite poor practice performance, which is intentionally targeted. High CI, or random practice order, yields better skill retention and transfer despite those poor performances. Low CI would mean one task is completed before moving to the next, which seems to be the standard across the board.^33,34

(slide via Sports Science Insider.)

3. Incorporating psychological support into the coaching process: Coaches can emphasize positive coping skills like mindfulness meditation, journaling, reframing, or other relaxation techniques.³⁵ It is also essential to normalize feeling bad or not normal sometimes—don’t tell them it could be worse or feel like you need to share your experience. Hear them, affirm them, and try to find the root, if possible.

Incorporating pre-season mental skills training seems to help reduce injury risk for your entire team and sets your athletes up with important coping strategies for when the season picks up. Share on X

Incorporating pre-season mental skills training seems to help reduce injury risk for your entire team and sets your athletes up with important coping strategies for when the season picks up.³⁶ If you’re working with an athlete returning from injury, mindfulness can be introduced at the beginning of each session to reduce potential anxiety and allow them the space to be ready to proceed. YouTube and other free resources are readily available if you aren’t sure where to start. Using the concepts above will also promote motor learning and enhance your athlete’s ability to relearn these skills after ACL injury.

Empowering Athletes and the Path to Recovery

Sports medicine teams are critical in helping athletes transition back to sport and improve their quality of life after ACL injury. These teams are often essential sources of support for athletes, no matter what stage of life they are in. Simple human-level things like building mindfulness into strength programming or imagery into rehabilitation support the physical and psychological well-being of athletes.

Whatever your specific role, you possess the expertise and capabilities to implement some form of psychologically informed and athlete-centered care. The escalating rates of ACL injury and reconstructions in sport demand a level of intentionality in engaging both physical and mental well-being, which will have far-reaching benefits beyond the athlete’s sport. Psychological skills should be trained and valued in the same manner that squats, sprints, and scores are.

Lead Image by Fred Kfoury III/Icon Sportswire.

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

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2. Pluhar E, McCracken C, Griffith KL, Christino MA, Sugimoto D, and Meehan WP 3rd. “Team Sport Athletes May Be Less Likely to Suffer Anxiety or Depression than Individual Sport Athletes.” Journal of Sports Science and Medicine. 2019;18(3):490–496. Published 2019 Aug 1.

3. Kvist J, Ek A, Sporrstedt K, and Good L. “Fear of re-injury: a hindrance for returning to sports after anterior cruciate ligament reconstruction.” Knee Surgery, Sports Traumatology, Arthroscopy. 2005 Jul;13:393–397.

4. Chmielewski TL, Jones D, Day T, Tillman SM, Lentz TA, and George SZ. “The association of pain and fear of movement/reinjury with function during anterior cruciate ligament reconstruction rehabilitation.” Journal of Orthopaedic & Sports Physical Therapy. 2008 Dec;38(12):746–753.

5. Chia L, De Oliveira Silva D, Whalan M, et al. “Non-contact anterior cruciate ligament injury epidemiology in team-ball sports: a systematic review with meta-analysis by sex, age, sport, participation level, and exposure type.” Sports Medicine. 2022 Oct;52(10):2447–2467.

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8. Little C, Lavender AP, Starcevich C, et al. “Understanding Fear after an Anterior Cruciate Ligament Injury: A Qualitative Thematic Analysis Using the Common-Sense Model.” International Journal of Environmental Research and Public Health. 2023 Feb 7;20(4):2920.

9. Burland JP, Toonstra J, Werner JL, Mattacola CG, Howell DM, and Howard JS. “Decision to return to sport after anterior cruciate ligament reconstruction, part I: a qualitative investigation of psychosocial factors.” Journal of Athletic Training. 2018 May 1;53(5):452–463.

10. Erickson LN, Jacobs CA, Johnson DL, Ireland ML, and Noehren B. “Psychosocial factors 3‐months after anterior cruciate ligament reconstruction predict 6‐month subjective and objective knee outcomes.” Journal of Orthopaedic Research®. 2022 Jan;40(1):231­–238.

11. Burland JP, Toonstra JL, and Howard JS. “Psychosocial barriers after anterior cruciate ligament reconstruction: a clinical review of factors influencing postoperative success.” Sports Health. 2019 Nov;11(6):528–534.

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13. Meierbachtol A, Obermeier M, Yungtum W, et al. “Injury-related fears during the return-to-sport phase of ACL reconstruction rehabilitation.” Orthopaedic Journal of Sports Medicine. 2020 Mar 26;8(3):2325967120909385.

14. Hsu CJ, Meierbachtol A, George SZ, and Chmielewski TL. “Fear of reinjury in athletes: implications for rehabilitation.” Sports Health. 2017 Mar;9(2):162–167.

15. Chow GM, Bird MD, Gabana NT, Cooper BT, and Becker MA. “A program to reduce stigma toward mental illness and promote mental health literacy and help-seeking in National Collegiate Athletic Association Division I student-athletes.” Journal of Clinical Sport Psychology. 2020 Jul 28;15(3):185–205.

16. Bullock GS, Sell TC, Zarega R, et al. “Kinesiophobia, knee self-efficacy, and fear avoidance beliefs in people with ACL injury: a systematic review and meta-analysis.” Sports Medicine. 2022 Dec;52(12):3001–3019.

17. Khadartsev AA, Nesmeyanov AA, Es’ Kov VM, Fudin NA, and Kozhemov AA. “The foundations of athletes’ training based on chaos theory and self-organization.” Theory and Practice of Physical Culture. 2013(9):23.

18. Grooms DR, Page SJ, Nichols-Larsen DS, Chaudhari AM, White SE, and Onate JA. “Neuroplasticity associated with anterior cruciate ligament reconstruction.” Journal of Orthopaedic & Sports Physical Therapy. 2017 Mar;47(3):180–189.

19. Baez S, Andersen A, Andreatta R, Cormier M, Gribble PA, and Hoch JM. “Neuroplasticity in corticolimbic brain regions in patients after anterior cruciate ligament reconstruction.” Journal of Athletic Training. 2021 Apr 1;56(4):418–426.

20. Genoese F, Baez SE, Heebner N, Hoch MC, and Hoch JM. “The relationship between injury-related fear and visuomotor reaction time in individuals with a history of anterior cruciate ligament reconstruction.” Journal of Sport Rehabilitation. 2020 May 29;30(3):353–359.

21. An YW. “Fear of reinjury matters after ACL injury.” International Journal of Applied Sports Sciences. 2018 Dec 1;30(2).

22. Paterno MV, Flynn K, Thomas S, and Schmitt LC. “Self-reported fear predicts functional performance and second ACL injury after ACL reconstruction and return to sport: a pilot study.” Sports Health. 2018 May;10(3):228–233.

23. Trigsted SM, Cook DB, Pickett KA, Cadmus-Bertram L, Dunn WR, and Bell DR. “Greater fear of reinjury is related to stiffened jump-landing biomechanics and muscle activation in women after ACL reconstruction.” Knee Surgery, Sports Traumatology, Arthroscopy. 2018 Dec;26:3682–3689.

24. Young WR and Williams AM. “How fear of falling can increase fall-risk in older adults: applying psychological theory to practical observations.” Gait & Posture. 2015 Jan 1;41(1):7–12.

25. Vlaeyen JW, de Jong J, Sieben J, and Crombez G. “Graded exposure in vivo for pain-related fear.” Psychological Approaches to Pain Management. A Practitioner’s Handbook. New York: Guilford. 2002:210–233.

26. Baez S, Cormier M, Andreatta R, Gribble P, and Hoch JM. “Implementation of In vivo exposure therapy to decrease injury-related fear in females with a history of ACL-Reconstruction: A pilot study.” Physical Therapy in Sport. 2021 Nov 1;52:217–223.

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