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The name of the game for GPS use is efficiency. It all boils down to how I, as a performance coach, use this tool to the fullest extent to monitor athletes and make load-prescription recommendations to our sport coaches based on the demands of their game and their style of play. I serve over 250 athletes and eight varsity sports that use our GPS system, but there is only one of me. All the data in the world is meaningless unless I have a streamlined approach to get the data that matters to our sports coaches.

So, how do I establish routines and practices that make our systems more efficient? The truth is that the proper provider is better than any system I can develop on my end.

In the selection process, one primary question must be answered: Which provider gives an accurate, holistic view of what athletes are going through without requiring an immense amount of data filtering and sorting? A lack of efficiency in data management can cause a tremendous amount of data, resulting in users becoming overwhelmed and implementing only a fraction of the potential benefits of their GPS system.

A lack of efficiency in data management can lead to a huge amount of data, resulting in users becoming overwhelmed and implementing only a fraction of the GPS system’s potential benefits. Share on X

In this article, I will discuss essential considerations and give my experience with entry-level units from both Catapult and Titan Sports. This article is not meant to endorse either product but rather to provide insight into the use of both products. Users should consider the constraints and goals of the program to determine which is right for them.

Considerations Within Data Management: Tracking Progress

The first question to ask is: How does this system track athlete progress over time?

This foundational question must be answered using metrics that each system tracks. All systems track variations to top speed, high speed/sprint yardage, acceleration/deceleration, and a GPS load. These metrics form what I term “Level 1 metrics,” or the metrics that I teach our sport coaches how to interpret. Where providers begin to separate themselves is access to more detailed metrics, which I term “Level 2.” These include acute:chronic work ratio (ACWR), accel/decel band counts, and video analysis.

Strictly comparing entry-level units—as this is the budgetary framework many high schools typically fall into—Titan offers a holistic view on the home screen. With Titan, every Level 1 and Level 2 metric, in addition to others, is found on the home screen. Catapult offers Level 1 metrics from their home screen, but ACWR and video analysis are not offered. Accel/decel counts, among other metrics, are available through CSV export.

Having this data at your fingertips with no sorting is essential for efficiency. However, the ability to compare collected data over time is a must. If I cannot establish how each athlete’s session compares to team and individual averages over a given period, I fail to identify necessary trends in practice volumes and intensities.

I found Titan’s ability to view athlete progress over time and use charts to track and communicate each session to coaches intuitive and user-friendly. This involved little to no data processing to produce usable data for coaches. With Catapult, these metrics were available but required some data processing to view trends over time. However, if the user aims to focus on specific metrics and keep the use of the data simple, Catapult’s home screen is streamlined and allows for easy toggling to monitor sessions.

Considerations Within Data Management: Tagging Sessions

The next question to ask is: How does the operating system allow you to tag practice and speed sessions?

The ability to ‘tag’ practices and competitions into smaller segments to identify each drill and segment’s demands is one of the most useful tools for incorporating a comprehensive GPS plan. Share on X

Most providers allow you to “tag” practices and competitions into smaller segments to identify the demands of each drill and segment. This feature also lets you compare segments of competition with the physical outputs of the athletes. The “tagging” process is different for each provider.

• In Catapult’s platform, you can add tags to each session while syncing the pods or editing the session. After the initial session sync, you must resync the session and review it from the home screen if you want to add tags later.
• Titan allows the user to create a library of tags and, using a slider bar, identify the segment to be named. From here, users can review each segment of the sessions and easily change the metrics they want to view.

Tagging is one of the most useful and necessary tools for incorporating a comprehensive GPS plan. I must be able to identify the demands of practice periods and games but also track the work/rest demands being placed on our athletes.

Tagging practice allows me to ensure that our more intense periods of practice that are designed for contest prep meet the demands by matching a load/minute prescription. I must be able to filter this data to identify the segments of practice that meet these demands; thus, an efficient tagging process is crucial.

Considerations Within Data Management: Communicating for Success and Efficiency

Another important consideration in this process begins prior to purchase: a conversation with the sport coaches. GPS allows practitioners to identify trends in intensity and volume, monitor athlete performance, and identify potential needs for load prescription changes. One example is a volume spike. This could indicate fatigue, or it at least warrants monitoring athlete performance following this exposure to increased demands—think of a second-string defensive back being thrust into a starting role.

In an ideal scenario, conversations would occur with team decision-makers to account for potential trends in these spikes and prepare a practice plan with drills that account for the physiological needs of the competition. Some performance coaches are in situations that allow for an increased role in decision-making, and others are not. Before acquiring GPS, these conversations should occur to ensure that all parties are on the same page regarding the sport coach’s willingness to include the performance coach in this process.

For programs using this inclusive approach, you must be able to effectively communicate practice and game data with coaches who structure practice. Report data is a crucial piece to increasing efficiency.

With Catapult, users select metrics each session and export them to a PDF that can be emailed to coaches. Titan allows users to create custom dashboards with comparison metrics for individuals and team or position group averages. Once the user creates the dashboard, the dashboard is saved for any future use. Following each session, the coach can download the PDF and send it to the coaches.

The use of dashboards and report profiling for athletes over the course of an athlete’s career can provide valuable insight into the growth of an individual over four years. Again, efficiency in this process is key.

Customer Service Matters

Finally, the relationship between the provider and the client matters. Inevitably, the tech will not function properly, and troubleshooting must occur. When these issues arise, I, as a consumer, expect that compensation for the service will also provide support for the product when needed, just like when I have issues with my phone, I can take it to my service provider for a fix.

For instance, following a session, I forgot to turn our units off and not only proceeded to leave them on overnight but also drove across the state. I made one call to the provider, and they assisted with info on how to sort out all unwanted data because my athletes, in fact, do not run 81 mph. (Don’t judge me before you drive through Atlanta…)

If you’re in the market for wearable GPS, talk to multiple COACHES, not companies, to gain insight into these considerations and identify which product fits your unique scenario. Share on X

Some companies advertise excellent customer service when, in reality, certain clients are prioritized in order to support certain levels of branding that favor the company. If you are in the market for wearable GPS, I recommend talking to multiple COACHES, not companies, who use different providers to gain insight into each of these considerations and identify which product fits your unique scenario.

GPS at the High School Level? My Experience

When I navigated a move from private-sector training to high school athletics, technology was an afterthought in my mind—I thought systems such as VBT, force plates, iPads at each rack, and laser timing systems were for the elite college programs and the occasional private school. This misguided view was largely due to ignorance on my part, but there is no denying that high school athletics have found technology, and they’re never going back.

My first exposure to GPS came at the University of Cincinnati, where I was fortunate enough to intern under Coach Brady Collins and the football performance staff. During this time, I saw how Coach Jeremiah Ortiz, who was in charge of GPS management, used GPS to monitor athlete performance and workload. I was blown away by the capabilities and endless options GPS offered, but I still wasn’t sold on its usefulness in the high school setting. I realized that, at the collegiate level, monitoring workload was crucial to managing athlete health and wellness. But were my high school athletes exposed to high enough outputs to require monitoring?

Enter Mark Hoover.

You probably live under a rock if you don’t know Coach Hoover. I’m joking, but seriously, he’s a coach you need to know, especially if you use any technology in your performance program. Coach Hoover and Coach Jon Hersel visited Cincinnati for a Glazier Clinic in 2019, right before the world shut down. They were gracious enough to sit with me for almost three hours and discuss everything from GPS and VBT to general training philosophy. During this conversation, I distinctly remember, while discussing GPS, saying, “I understand the need for GPS at higher levels, but I’m not certain that my athletes are experiencing volumes and intensities that require load monitoring.”

Coach Hoover looked at me and smiled as if he had been waiting for that statement and said, “Coach, if you’re not measuring what your athletes are exposed to, at best, you’re just guessing (the game demands).” This hit me like a ton of bricks. All along, I had assumed that our athletes weren’t experiencing a meaningful nervous system impact. Again, ignorance on my part.

GPS is an increasingly common tool in the high school setting, and I can attest that GPS has helped us win ball games and keep athletes healthy at the high school level. Share on X

Fast forward a couple of years, and now GPS is an increasingly common tool in the high school setting, and I can attest that GPS has helped us win ball games and keep athletes healthy at the high school level.

GPS is a powerful tool, but without a streamlined organizational system to manage this data, coaches can be easily overcome by the amount of data and metrics a provider can give. Careful consideration should be taken when selecting providers to partner with to avoid simply going for a name brand at the cost of effectiveness and efficient use, ultimately leading to a poor consumer experience and poor use of what most of us are short on—funding.

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

I’ve worked as a Certified Athletic Trainer at the high school level for the past 17 years. Anyone who has spent a significant amount of time in or around sports is aware of the trickle-down effect: things that we used to only see at the professional level 15 years ago are now commonplace at the college level. In continuation, normalcies at the college level have trickled down to the high school level. A few of these normalcies—specific offensive/defensive schemes, technology, film/game prep, and sports-specific training—are now far more prevalent in high school sports.

For the most part, these are all good additions, as they have improved the game in most sports, enhancing skill development as well as the complexity and pace. The current-day high school athlete also has to train like never before to keep up with the evolution of high school/club/travel sports (i.e., train like a collegiate athlete). The only problem with this progression is that high school athletes do not have the same support structure in place as collegiate and professional athletes do, so they may have limited or non-existent access to things such as:

• Training table nutrition.
• Education on the importance of sleep.
• Athletic training service.
• Therapeutic/recovery modalities.

The only problem with this evolution of training is that high school athletes don’t have the same support structure in place as collegiate and professional athletes do. Share on X

A second problem for these athletes is that, as a society, we used to rely on experts in any given field for information or services, whereas now you can seemingly use Google for any question you have. Despite this access to information, most high school athletes do not possess the base knowledge to discern good information from poor advice. The various avenues to access this information range from forums to social media influencers to the advice of friends.

With this in mind, it is my goal to bring a sports nutrition expert to my school’s campus and provide access to quality information for student-athletes. Just this spring, when soccer was ramping up, one of my female soccer players—who typically has a solid grasp on training and nutrition—stated that she was about to start a cutting phase. Though it was the beginning of the second week of soccer, which undoubtedly requires the highest intensity of physical exertion, for some strange reason, she thought it would be a good idea to start this nutrition plan.

I informed her that if she did this, she’d be trying to perform at a high capacity while in a calorie deficit, and thus, I strongly discouraged her from making this decision. I took the time to explain why it was necessary, not only from a health aspect but also from a performance focus.  We talked about why an athlete must incorporate a substantial amount of protein into every meal, some healthy snack options throughout the day, and why carbs prior to practice/competition are so beneficial, with a big emphasis on how refueling the body after training/competition needs to be prioritized daily. Interactions such as these are less common than I would like them to be, and this particular conversation just added fuel to my fire.

The Importance of Connecting Nutrition as Fuel for Performance

Most athletic trainers should have a solid base understanding of sports nutrition, and I’d say mine is above average. This is great for fielding questions here and there and for having one-on-one conversations, but by no means do I have the experience or vast knowledge of a sport nutritionist/dietician. I knew going into my position that I would need to rely on someone else to gain the desired amount of traction on this topic for our community. I had done something similar at a previous school, but it was in a very rural area compared to my current school, so options in that community were limited (for example, 2–3 qualified people available to athletes).

I could’ve potentially just started cold calling/emailing sports nutritionists in my area to see if I could get anyone to bite, but instead, I decided to try some networking. Share on X

As I now live in the suburbs, the options for these athletes seem limitless. The first hurdle was figuring out the best way to make these points of contact. I could have potentially just started cold calling/emailing sports nutritionists in my area to see if I could get anyone to bite, but instead, I decided to try some networking. Every fall, we have an all-coaches meeting where I get the opportunity to address my entire coaching staff in the middle school and high school—this year, I added two points of emphasis in addition to the expected support information offered by the sports medicine program:

1. A warm-up geared specifically to reducing injury and increasing performance.
2. Nutritional education addressing the dietary needs of the present-day HS/MS athlete.

When I mentioned these two things, I certainly had their attention. As I provided an overview of my perspective on middle school and high school sports, I mentioned the need to engage the nutritional aspect of our programs to support athletes and that I really needed their help. I asked them if they knew of or already had a good relationship with a nutritionist/dietician, could they please share that contact with me?

It turned out to be the correct path to take.

I got connected with several different people and organizations close to campus: one was a local university grad program, and another was one of our lower school parents who is a dietician. I appreciated meeting with a Georgia State grad student and discussing options, but as the program progresses, this person might not be exactly what I was looking for to kick off the program.

I also had a couple of great conversations with that lower school parent who is a dietician and would be a wonderful resource and huge proponent of what I am trying to accomplish here. Despite this, she was the first to say sports-specific nutrition is not in her wheelhouse. The beauty of networking, though, was that she just happened to be great friends with a nationally renowned sports nutritionist with a highly impressive resume and amount of experience.

When I mentioned her name to my strength coach and that she might be coming to campus, he nearly jumped out of his chair; he was so excited. This strength coach at our school has tons of experience in strength and speed/agility and a solid breadth of knowledge in nutrition, so I respect his opinion immensely. Though the resume of that nutritionist speaks for itself, I felt further confidence in pursuing her expertise when I saw the excitement of our strength coach (who is not the most excitable).

Finding Room in the Budget

The next hurdle was cost…if you are lucky enough to find a professional of this caliber willing to work with you, it doesn’t come cheap. Her fee for coming to campus was commensurate with her knowledge and experience. If you are venturing out and attempting this yourself, do not let cost be a roadblock. If your school/organization doesn’t have it in the budget, go find a sponsor or ask the person you are working with if they know of any sponsors/scholarship opportunities.

If your school/organization doesn’t have a nutritionist in the budget, go find a sponsor or ask the person you’re working with if they know of any sponsors/scholarship opportunities. Share on X

Prior to this endeavor, I hadn’t thought about that, and even though it is a simple solution, I may not have thought of it on my own. The fact of the matter is that the sports nutritionist found one for us—when she contacted me to let me know she found a company to sponsor her talk, I wondered why I didn’t think of looking for a sponsor!

Sponsors are great, but they typically come with strings attached—this particular sponsor required the talk(s) to range from K–12, but I was only trying to reach my high school athletes for this first attempt. Implementing a K–12 talk is simple, but properly cultivating it into actionable changes for our student body isn’t. I didn’t want to have this great speaker on the front end of things without being able to follow through on the back end. We’re keeping the K–12 as an option but are currently looking for budget approval. If that fails, I’ll be searching for other sponsors.

In the meantime, I am currently in the information-gathering stage. My next steps will be getting an online survey’s simple 2–3 questions for athletes and separate questions for parents. This will clarify what the presentation ought to cover. After gathering information from this outreach, I’ll set a plan to find the best time, date, and location to address the most pressing topics for my community.

Takeaways for Your School

Maybe you’re not ready to put in the leg work on an endeavor like this, and it certainly has required a lot more work than I had anticipated. There is so much great information accessible, so breaking this task up into manageable pieces is paramount. A great first step would be getting this info out to your coaches, athletes, and parent groups from the Collegiate and Professional Sports Dietitians Association.

Take the time to highlight a few documents for coaches and athletes, leaving the rest of the info accessible for those few who want to dive deeper. As a next step, look for other good resources in your area by asking questions and broadening your network. Find one or multiple options in your community.

There’s so much information out there for us to consume, but not all of it’s good—so, having a reliable professional sifting through this content makes a huge difference. Share on X

There is so much information out there for us to consume, but not all of it is good—so having a reliable professional sifting through this content makes a huge difference. The most challenging step is getting started. Courageously start moving the ball; that’s the hardest part.

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

Chasing chickens, carrying logs in the snow, and hitting slabs of raw meat make great cinema, but it’s not how champion boxers train. Beyond these absurd Rocky workouts, there are many other myths about boxing that the entertainment media and even sports broadcasters have created. Having coached many of the best fighters in the world, I want to take some of the mystery out of strength and conditioning for this popular sport.

Chasing chickens, carrying logs in the snow, and hitting slabs of raw meat make great cinema, but it’s not how champion boxers train. Share on X

It’s impossible for me in one article to cover all the misinformation about boxing that the general public and the strength coaching community have been exposed to. That said, however, let me start with 10 insights I’ve learned in my long career as a strength coach of these athletes:

1. Professional fighters use periodization.

Periodization is not a mysterious, scientific formula taught in Ivy League kinesiology classes. Periodization is fatigue management, designed to break up training into phases (periods) because you can’t work all aspects of athletic fitness at the highest levels simultaneously.

After winning Olympic gold in 2004, Yuriorkis Gamboa competed in nine professional fights in a single year, gradually increasing the number of rounds in each fight. After that, he competed less frequently as it takes considerable time to recover from 12-round title fights. This is where periodization becomes especially important, as higher levels of intensity and volume can be programmed into longer, specific phases to produce stronger, faster, and more powerful fighters.

In the weight room, I use an approach developed by Canadian strength coach Charles R. Poliquin that breaks down the numerous loading parameters in each workout. Loading parameters include exercise selection, reps, sets, tempo (aka speed of movement), rest, and training frequency. Let me give you an example.

The early stages of training in preparing for a match could be considered the preparation phase. During this period, I would focus on heavy-bag training. In the weight room, I generally alternate between two-week periods of high-volume and high-intensity workouts to prevent training plateaus. Here are two examples of upper-body workouts I would use during this period, the first one emphasizes volume (accumulation), and the second emphasizes intensity (intensification).

Accumulation (High Volume)

Upper Body (Monday and Thursday)

A1. Decline press, dumbbells, 4 x 6–8, 30X0, rest 90 seconds

A2. Chin-up, semi-supinated grip, 4 x 6–8, 40X0, rest 10 seconds

A3. External rotation, infraspinatus, low pulley, 4 x 6–8, 30X0, rest 90 seconds

B1. Neck extension, Swiss ball, 4 x 4–6, 8 seconds, rest 5 seconds

B2. Scott Zottman curl, 4 x 6–8, 30X0, rest 90 seconds

B3. One-arm dumbbell press, 4 x 6–8, 30X0, rest 90 seconds

1. Grip hold (Atlantis), 3 x 1, 60 seconds, rest 60 seconds

Intensification (High Intensity)

Upper Body (Monday and Thursday)

A1. 45-degree incline bench press, with barbell, with bands, 6 x 3, 30X0, rest 10 seconds

A2. Medicine ball push (against the wall), 5 x 3, 40X0, rest 240 seconds

B1. Sternum or front lever pull-ups, 5 x 3, 30X0, rest 10 seconds

B2. Overhead medicine ball throw, 5 x 3, 8 seconds, rest 240 seconds

1. External rotation infraspinatus, cable or Cuban, 4 x 8–10, 30X0, rest 90 seconds

D1. Neck extension on Swiss ball, 5 x 3–6, 8 seconds, rest 90 seconds

D2. Seated dumbbell curl, semi-supinated, 5 x 1, 60 seconds, rest 60 seconds

D3. Dips, 5 x 1, 60 seconds, rest 60 seconds

1. Grip machine (Atlantis), 2 x 1, 60 seconds, rest 60 seconds

As a match approaches—the sparring phase—I have my fighters focus more on hitting double-end and speed bags. I also significantly reduce the overall volume and intensity of the weight training workouts so the fighters are not too fatigued to work on more explosive activities, such as plyometrics.

2. Winning in the amateur ranks does not guarantee success in the pros.

Success in amateur athletes does not necessarily guarantee success in the pros. Two examples are football and figure skating.

A college quarterback who excelled because of his running ability may not be considered for the NFL draft. Johnny Manziel was an electrifying college quarterback, rushing for 2,169 yards in his last two years at Texas A&M. As quarterback for the Cleveland Browns, Manziel threw only seven touchdowns (rushing for one) and was intercepted 15 times; his NFL career lasted only 15 games.

Figure skater Tonya Harding was the second woman to complete a triple axel in competition. But success as a professional skater is based more on showmanship and public image than jumping ability. Harding’s public image was so tarnished that a lucrative professional skating career was unattainable…and, oddly enough, she decided to try to become a professional boxer!

In boxing, even winning Olympic gold does not necessarily put a fighter on the fast track to professional titles. This is not just my opinion. A study that looked at 219 boxers who won gold in the Olympics since 1904 found that only 41 went on to win professional world titles, so 18.72%. One reason is the difference in scoring between amateur and professional fights.

In boxing, even winning Olympic gold doesn’t necessarily put a fighter on the fast track to professional titles. One reason is the difference in scoring; there is also the matter of conditioning. Share on X

Scoring in amateur boxing is determined by how many punches you land, not by how hard you hit. In the pros, the judges also look at the quality of your punches; thus, you get rewarded for trying to hurt your opponent. This distinction means that a professional fighter must be able to take more physical abuse than an amateur—a glass jaw doesn’t cut it in the pros.

There is also the matter of conditioning. An amateur fight lasts three rounds. A professional fight lasts at least four rounds and up to 12 for title fights. Except for power hitters like Mike Tyson and George Foreman, who tended to take care of their opponents in the early rounds, extended matches require a different emphasis on energy system training.

3. An elite boxer may not excel in MMA, and vice versa.

Conor McGregor is unquestionably one of the all-time great mixed martial arts fighters. He is known for his stand-up skills and punching power, with 19 of his 22 wins by knockout. On August 26, 2017, McGregor intended to “shock the world” when he took on the undefeated (49-0) world champion boxer Floyd Mayweather, Jr.

He didn’t.

McGregor landed few solid punches on the 40-year-old Mayweather and lost in the 10th round by a TKO, such that you wonder if Mayweather was holding back to give the crowd its money’s worth. If this were an MMA fight, McGregor would probably have finished the match in the first round. In fact, only about half of MMA fights go the distance, and it’s common for many to end in the first round!

The bottom line is that success in MMA involves excelling in many fighting skills in addition to boxing. In the early days of MMA, boxers who tried the sport could not defend themselves from fighters of other disciplines. “The stand-up fighters had almost no idea what to do on the ground,” said legendary UFC champion Royce Gracie in the early days of ultimate fighting.

4. Elite boxers adopt a healthy lifestyle.

To compete at the highest levels in boxing, fighters must take care of themselves outside the gym. They must eat well, get plenty of sleep, minimize stress, and avoid drugs and other “dissipations” that can affect their training. They also need to address soft tissue restrictions and use various recovery methods.

Because boxing is a collision sport, boxers are prone to developing chronic adhesions that can affect performance and cause pain. Traditional massage is helpful, but I’ve found the most effective way to release these adhesions is through Active Release Techniques® (ART), an aggressive, manual soft-tissue treatment created by Dr. Mike Leahy. I have access to an ART practitioner who helps my fighters stay in the game.

I teach athletes to use specialized breathing methods and cold exposure to improve focus, mental toughness, and endurance and achieve optimal health by enhancing the immune system. Share on X

Two forms of recovery I use with my fighters are breathwork and cold exposure. I teach athletes to use specialized breathing methods and cold exposure to improve focus, mental toughness, and endurance and achieve optimal health by enhancing the immune system (video 1). I was fortunate to learn from Dutch breathwork guru Wim Hof. Nicknamed “The Iceman,” Hof founded the Wim Hof Method. I not only took courses from Hof but became his friend and received additional instruction from him through mentorship. 

Video 1. Coach Moritz Klatten demonstrates breathwork techniques and cold exposure, which enhance recovery.

5. You don’t buy a pair of boxing gloves—you invest in several pairs, each with a specific purpose.

Boxers should purchase several pairs of specialty boxing gloves to perform their best and minimize the risk of injury. For example, it’s unwise to use the lighter speed-gloves for heavy bag training because they will increase the amount of stress on your shoulders, wrists, and hands. Likewise, the open-fingered gloves used for MMA training have no place in a boxer’s gym bag.

The type of glove used for competition depends on a fighter’s style. Gloves have weight limits, so how the padding is distributed is critical. A stronger puncher wants less padding at the front of the hands to maximize punching power and make it easier to open cuts. There is also additional padding around the wrist to protect it and increase the strength of the punch. Examples of a “puncher’s glove” are Cleto Reyes® and Grant®. Yuriorkis Gamboa won 17 of his 26 by knockout using a puncher’s glove.

Boxers who throw more punches, relying on their speed to score more points, would want more protection for their hands. In training, fighters often use gloves with more padding at the front of the glove to protect their hands, such as the Winning® glove. However, a fighter might use Winning gloves for training to protect their hands but use a puncher’s glove in the fight to cause more damage. Floyd Mayweather, Jr., who has suffered hand injuries during his career, has used Winning gloves in training and switches to Grant gloves for a fight to cause more damage.

Use the appropriate gloves for the specific type of training you are doing, replace worn-out gloves, and pay careful attention to how you tape your hands.

6. Beginners are at a greater risk of concussions than professionals.

Surprisingly, beginners are at a greater risk of concussion than elite boxers. Elite boxers learn to protect themselves, wear the appropriate gloves, and perform specialized neck work.

Surprisingly, beginners are at a greater risk of concussion than elite boxers. Elite boxers learn to protect themselves, wear the appropriate gloves, and perform specialized neck work. Share on X

Of particular concern are repeat concussions. I don’t like expressions such as “Getting your bell rung!” because a concussion is a traumatic brain injury that can lead to permanent brain damage. According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, “A repeat concussion that occurs before the brain recovers from the first—usually within a short period (hours, days, or weeks)—can slow recovery or increase the likelihood of having long-term problems.”

Most concussions in boxing occur when there is a sudden change in direction in the head, such as when a boxer receives a hit to the head without being braced to respond to the punch.

One way to reduce the risk of concussion, or at least lessen its severity, is by strengthening the neck. One study on football players at the University of Memphis saw a 50% reduction in concussions in a single year after implementing a neck-strengthening program.

Neck bridges are a specific skill in wrestling, and these athletes must practice these movements. I don’t like them for boxing because the exercise places unnecessary stress on the ligaments. Instead, I use a unique series of exercises for the neck performed on a Swiss ball. I also have athletes do exercises for the trapezius muscle, which fans out from the middle of the back to the base of the neck. Shoulder shrugs effectively work this muscle, especially with a hex bar that positions the hands at the athlete’s sides (rather than in front as with a straight bar). Also, the farmer’s walk will overload this important muscle group.

7. Grip work is essential to a boxer.

One of the major factors that should determine exercise selection for an athlete is to consider which areas are most vulnerable to injury. Whereas a sprinter may focus on hamstring exercises, a boxer needs to focus on strengthening the muscles of the wrists and hands.

Wrist curls and wrist rollers have their place, but I prefer to strengthen the wrists and hands with thick-handled equipment. The thicker diameters increase the work done by the fingers, wrists, thumbs, and forearms on any exercise, including presses. I recommend diameters of about 5–6.35 centimeters for dumbbells and 7.5 centimeters for barbells.

The thick-grip barbells and dumbbells in my gym have revolving sleeves, reducing elbow stress. I have kettlebells, but not the original ones, because the handles do not move.

Thick-handled equipment is expensive, but some attachments can be used with dumbbells and barbells to create the same effect, such as Fat Gripz™. The Fat Gripz attachments are made from a durable military-grade compound that feels like rubber. They have a slit on one side that enables you to slide a dumbbell or barbell shaft into it, at which point they close securely around it.

The farmer’s walk is one exercise I use to help my fighters strengthen their grip. Gamboa could carry cylinders that weighed double his body weight for 40 meters. Also, fighters must strengthen the muscles that extend their fingers to ensure structural balance. I use webbing and bands for this purpose.

8. Boxing is not aerobic.

On November 25, 1980, Roberto Durán conceded his WBC welterweight title in the eighth round to challenger Sugar Ray Leonard. Durán said he quit because of stomach cramps, but Duran allegedly told the ref, “No más” (which in Spanish means “no more”). For this reason, sportswriters have speculated that Durán may not have been in shape to go the distance with Leonard.

In boxing, a less powerful athlete with superior endurance can often win by outperforming their opponents in the later rounds. A boxing coach’s challenge is determining the type of endurance needed to perform at maximum capacity every round.

A boxing coach’s challenge is determining the type of endurance needed to perform at maximum capacity every round. Share on X

The textbook Interval Training for Sports and General Fitness by Edward Fox and Donald Mathews classifies the body’s energy systems to perform work as short-term, intermediate, and long-term or aerobic. Sports in which activities last less than 30 seconds primarily use the short-term energy system, events lasting about 90–120 seconds use the intermediate energy system, and events lasting more than 120 seconds primarily use the long-term energy system. These energy systems fall on a continuum, gradually progressing from the short term to the intermediate and long term.

Consider the following, perhaps surprising, energy system classification that Fox and Mathews gave popular sports.

A boxing round generally lasts more than 120 seconds, but there are many breaks and moments of lower activity in that bout that allow for recovery. Although accumulative fatigue develops during 12 rounds, increasing the contribution of the intermediate and long-term energy systems, about 70% of the energy contribution will be from the short-term energy system.

Boxers must be careful about aerobic work because it can make powerful fast-twitch muscle fibers behave like weaker, slow-twitch muscle fibers. In a decade-long Canadian study published in 1994 in the Journal of Sports Medicine and Physical Fitness, researchers found that subjects who performed regular distance running had 70.95 type I fibers compared to 37.7% in subjects in a control group. The researchers concluded, “The results revealed that endurance training may promote a transition from type II to type I muscle fibre types and occurs at the expense of the type II fiber population.” In other words, aerobic training can reduce punching power.

9. Knowing how to lose weight rapidly often makes the difference between winning and losing.

Whereas the heavyweights don’t have to worry about making weight, lighter fighters must do everything they can to be as light as possible during weigh-ins. It’s common to hear about fighters losing 4–6 kilos (about 8–13 pounds) the week of the fight through extreme dieting, cardio work, and dehydration.

If they have prepared intelligently, fighters will only have to lose about a kilo (2.2 pounds) the day before a fight. If they have not prepared well, they may be tempted to engage in methods that can be harmful, such as using diuretics or laxatives or spending excessive time in the sauna. Even the greats can make mistakes.

Before his loss to Larry Holmes in 1980, Muhammad Ali was taking a thyroid medication that speeds up the metabolism, causing weight loss. “I took too many thyroid pills,” said Ali. “Always used to double up on my vitamins. Bad idea with thyroid pills. Started training at 253, went down to 217 for the fight. Too much. People saying, ‘Oooh, isn’t he pretty?’ But I was too weak, didn’t feel like dancing. I was dazed. I was in a dream.”

Immediately after a weigh-in, boxers must consume carbohydrates to restore their glycogen stores. The amount to drink depends upon the athlete’s body weight and the product’s carbohydrate content—a carb percentage that is too high will reduce the rate at which the body absorbs the water (i.e., gastric emptying). Also, fighters should not gorge themselves, as this sudden increase in food may cause stomach upset.

After months of training for strength and technique, it all comes down to the last week before the competition. This tapering phase is all about hydration, nutrition, and weight. Pay attention to these final details and watch it all pay off.

10. The skills taught in boxing fitness classes often don’t transfer well to competition or the street.

Tae Bo® is a blend of Taekwondo and boxing created by Billy Blanks in 1976. By 1999, Banks’s workout videos had sold over 1.5 million copies. Can Tae Bo improve general physical fitness and be considered an alternative to aerobics classes? Sure. Are Tae Bo and other home-based workouts safe and an effective method of self-defense? Probably not.

A study published in the American Journal of Preventive Medicine in 2011 looked at boxing injuries in the U.S. over 19 years. In 2008, of the 17,000 reported injuries, 34% of those injuries occurred in home workouts. As for commercial gym boxing workouts, fitness instructors who teach these classes seldom have a boxing background and may teach punching techniques that place adverse stress on the shoulders, wrists, and hands.

Another issue with unqualified fitness instructors is that they don’t know how to teach their students how to defend themselves, which often results in serious injuries, particularly concussions. These classes can also create a false sense of confidence among the students in their ability to defend themselves in a street fight.

Being able to give a hit doesn’t necessarily mean you can take one. Boxers need special exercises for the neck to improve their ability to take a punch. Share on X

Finally, being able to give a hit doesn’t necessarily mean you can take one. Boxers need special exercises for the neck to improve their ability to take a punch, and they need corrective exercises to prevent muscle imbalances that can make them more susceptible to injuries, particularly to the shoulders.

If you want to see an example of a qualified coach, check out the YouTube videos of Eric Kelly. Kelly is a former world-class boxer who coaches at Church Street Gym in New York’s Financial District. His primary client base consists of businessmen with no background in boxing. Kelly’s methods may seem unorthodox to an outsider, and his potty mouth may offend some, but Kelly knows how to teach them not only basic boxing skills but how to defend themselves.

A win in boxing means money, fame, and a future. A loss means facing the bitter reality of not being good enough and the disappointment of coaches, trainers, and support staff. Losing once is bad news, but consecutive losses often lead to early retirement, as finding sponsors to cover training expenses becomes increasingly difficult. So, enjoy your action movies but consider these 10 training insights if you want to box or become involved in the sport in other areas.

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

Bysouth, Alex. UFC 1: “The Beginning: Playboy, Mortal Kombat and the hunt for an ultimate fighter.” BBC Sport. November 9, 2018.

Caine, Dennis John; Caine, Caroline G; Lindner, Koenraad J. Epidemiology of Sports Injuries. Human Kinetics, 1996.

Cidzik, Ryan. “Strong Necks.” Training and Conditioning. January 29, 2015.

Fox, Edward L; Mathews, Donald K. Interval Training: Conditioning for Sports and General Fitness. WB Saunders, 1974.

Fry, Andrew C. “The role of resistance exercise intensity on muscle fibre adaptations.” Sports Medicine. 2004 August;34(10):663–679.

Grant K, Habes D, Steward. LL. “An analysis of handle designs for reducing manual effort: the influence of grip diameter.” International Journal of Industrial Ergonomics. 1992;10(3):199–206.

Häkkinen K; Alen M; Kraemer WJ, et al. “Neuromuscular adaptations during concurrent strength and endurance training versus strength training.” European Journal of Applied Physiology. 2003 March;89(1):42–52.

Heads Up. A CDC website to help you recognize, respond to, and minimize the risk of concussion or other serious brain injury. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. http://www.cdc.gov/headsup/index.html

Jordan B, Voy R, and Stone J. “Amateur boxing injuries at the US Olympic Training Center.” The Physician and Sportsmedicine. 1990;23:27–34.

Kostov, Plamen. “How Long Do UFC Fights Last? Data From the UFC.” Sweet Science of Fighting. May 17, 2022.

Kraemer WJ, Patton JF, Gordon SE, et al. “Compatibility of high-intensity strength and endurance training on hormonal and skeletal muscle adaptations.” Journal of Applied Physiology. 1995 March;78(3):976–989.

Potter MR, Snyder AJ, and Smith GA. “Boxing injuries presenting to U.S. emergency departments, 1990–2008.” American Journal of Preventive Medicine. 2011 April;40(4):462–467.

Thayer R, Collins J, Noble EG, and Taylor AW. “A decade of aerobic endurance training: histological evidence for fibre type transformation.” Journal of Sports Medicine and Physical Fitness. 2000 Dec;40(4):284–289.

TSZ. Is Olympic Gold a Precursor to Becoming a Professional World Boxing Champion? The Stats Zone, 2016.

Vecsey, George. “At 39, Ali Has More Points to Prove.” The New York Times. November 29, 1981.

Viano DC, Casson IR, and Pellman EJ. “Concussion in professional football: biomechanics of the struck player, Part 14.” Neurosurgery. 2007 August;61(2):313–328.

When you feel tight, what do you do? When your hamstrings or hips or lats feel tight and restricted, how do you make them feel better?

If you are a competitive athlete in your teens, you probably stretch or foam roll to fix these issues, and it makes them feel loose again…but did you really fix the issue? While stretching and foam rolling can provide temporary relief and improve flexibility, too often, we have to do it every day—which means we’re not actually fixing the issue.

What Causes Tightness?

Many different mechanisms in the body can cause muscle tightness. One important thing to really understand is the brain’s influence on a joint’s range of motion—your brain and the rest of your body are in constant communication (the brain and spinal cord tell the muscle to contract or relax, and the Golgi tendon organs and muscles spindles tell the brain where you are at in space, how stretched a muscle is, or how tense a muscle is), and one of the brain’s primary functions is to keep you safe and keep you alive. If the brain doesn’t feel that a joint or a muscle is safe and strong in a specific range of motion, it won’t let you into that range of motion.

“A tight muscle is a weak muscle.” – Greg Roskopf

When a muscle is tight, it is not magically shorter today than yesterday or too short for your body; instead, the brain is restricting that muscle from being stretched further. The brain is trying to keep that muscle safe.

When a muscle is tight, it isn’t magically shorter than yesterday; instead, the brain restricts that muscle from being stretched further. The brain is trying to keep that muscle safe. Share on X

For example, the most common muscle athletes tell me they feel tightness in is their hamstring. If a muscle around the hip is weak, injured, or overused, the brain will use the hamstrings (in this example) to guard against a person getting into a specific range of motion. It’s like walking on ice: when you walk on dry pavement, you might have a stride length of about 1 yard, but when walking on slippery ice and trying not to fall, your stride might shorten to 1 foot. Your brain doesn’t feel safe; it takes in the sensory input of seeing the ice as well as feeling how slick it is when trying to walk. If your brain doesn’t feel safe, it will restrict your range of motion. Go to the local roller-skating rink and watch: you will see seasoned professionals gliding around with long elegant strides and newbies moving inch by inch.

If your brain doesn’t feel safe in a range of motion, it won’t let you get there; if you let the brain know you are safe and can control a range, it will most likely allow you to get there. There can also be structural issues that limit flexibility, like a joint capsule, bony structures, and asymmetries/misalignments—I won’t touch on those, as that is a little out of my wheelhouse, but I will give two ways to best improve and solidify range of motion.

Stretching/Foam Rolling AND Strength Training

The most common way people improve their range of motion is by stretching. It works. I don’t know how long the effects last, but it will improve range of motion. Stretching pushes your body toward being more parasympathetic—relaxed. So, as you stay in a stretched position, your brain becomes more and more comfortable with the joint being in that position.

Like stretching, foam rolling works; it will improve your flexibility, at least in the short term. Some claim that using the roller will break up myofascial adhesions (knots or trigger points). A study by Chaudhry et al. found that to produce even a 1% change in tissue, there needs to be a force of 8359 Newton (852 kilograms/1,874 pounds) on the body. Foam rolling, obviously, does not produce that much force.

Then, how does it work?

Think of a weighted blanket and how it is calming; you may use it to reduce anxiety in yourself, a child, and even a dog. Think of the often relaxing feeling of a hug, the calm that comes from this sort of pressure on the body. Most likely, this is how a foam roller works. The pressure applied to the muscles isn’t enough to break up the knots but can influence the central nervous system to relax the muscle.

The issue with only stretching and foam rolling is that you don’t address the original cause of what limited the range of motion. Your brain didn’t want you there for a reason—most likely, there’s a muscle weakness around the joint.

One way to increase the benefits of stretching and foam rolling is to strengthen the shortened and lengthened muscles in that position. More specifically, when dealing with tight hamstrings, I have athletes stretch or roll out to open up the range of motion needed. Then, I have them strengthen that range of motion with a single-leg Romanian deadlift for the hamstring in that new long position and the hip flexor in the short position with a kettlebell hip flexor raise. Not only have you increased your range of motion and flexibility, but you are also now stronger in that newly opened position.

Stretching doesn’t cause a tissue adaptation. In order to create a change—an adaptation—you need to stress the body. Getting strong in the new range of motion is an adequate way to stress the body in the new position.

To create a change—an adaptation—you must stress the body. Stretching doesn’t do that. Getting strong in the new range of motion is an adequate way to stress the body in a new position. Share on X

Isometrics

My favorite way to increase range of motion is through short-duration isometric contractions. Isometric muscle contractions are a great way to communicate with the brain that your joint is safe in a range of motion. Isometric, meaning not moving, are exercises where you actually don’t move but instead, you hold a position. Planks or wall sits are very common isometric exercises, but you can get very creative.

An isometric contraction in a stretched position is very similar to stretching but more effective. Methods such as muscle activation techniques (MAT), functional range conditioning (FRC), and proprioceptive neuromuscular facilitation (PNF) all utilize relatively short duration isometrics—under 15 seconds—and all are solid ways to improve range of motion. To briefly describe each (in an oversimplified way):

• MAT focuses on the isometric contraction of the shortened muscle.
• PNF contracts the lengthened muscle.
• FRC techniques contract both the shortened and the lengthened at different times.

For example, if you were sitting on the ground in the modified hurdler stretch position, MAT would look to contract the hip flexors, PNF would try to contract the hamstrings and glute, and FRC would contact the hip flexors for a certain period and then the hamstrings for the same amount of time.

Canadian chiropractor Dr. Ken Kinakin gave a presentation on increasing range of motion, and he referred to the technique he used as the “isometric agonist antagonist exercise.” This technique (similar to FRC ideas) involves getting the joint into the end range of motion in the specific area you want to increase and submaximally contracting the shortened muscle for five seconds by pushing into his hand, followed by submaximally contracting the lengthened muscle for five seconds by pushing the other direction into his hand. The patient or client performs a few repetitions in each direction, alternating between the shortened muscle (agonist) and the lengthened muscle (antagonist).

Video 1. Isometric agonist antagonist exercise for hamstrings and hip flexors, straight leg.

Video 2. Isometric agonist antagonist exercise for hamstrings and hip flexors, bent leg.

All of these methods, while distinctly different, utilize isometric contractions to improve range of motion. They all share the common theme of short-duration contractions, and most of these techniques prescribe low effort in these contractions: 20%–50% effort. These concepts all involve the idea of showing the brain that the joint is safe in this range of motion by proving that the muscles are strong here. The brain wants to keep the body safe and protected, so you just have to prove to your brain that the muscles can control and stabilize a range of motion.

Think about a crazy lower-body workout you have completed in the past…one of those workouts where it hurt to go up a set of stairs for a couple days afterward. How was your flexibility on those days right after the workout? It was probably near impossible to touch your toes, and it hurt to even think about trying. Your muscles are clearly damaged and temporarily weakened, and your brain knows this.

By proving you are strong in specific positions, your brain will allow you to be more and more flexible, says @steve20haggerty. Share on X

To minimize the risk of further damage (and potential injury), your brain doesn’t allow you to be flexible and reach certain ranges of motion. Your hamstrings didn’t become shorter because of the workout and need to be lengthened through stretching; instead, this is your brain’s way of trying to keep the body safe. By proving you are strong in specific positions, your brain will allow you to be more and more flexible.

Safety First

The brain wants to keep you safe. If it doesn’t feel safe in a certain range of motion, it won’t let you get there. Isometrics and strength training are good ways to solidify a range of motion by demonstrating that you’re strong and safe in that particular range of motion. For isometrics, a five-second contraction of the shortened (agonist) muscle followed by a five-second contraction of the lengthened muscle (antagonist) repeated five times will open up and strengthen a new range of motion.

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

The Future of Swis – The New Field of Weight-Training Sports Medicine 

Chaudhry H, Schleip R, Zhiming J, Bukiet B, Maney M, and Findley T. “Three-Dimensional Mathematical Model for Deformation of Human Fasciae in Manual Therapy.” Journal of American Osteopathic Association. 2008 Aug;108(8):379–390.

Inami T, Shimizu T, Baba R, and Nakagaki A. “Acute Changes in Autonomic Nerve Activity during Passive Static Stretching.” American Journal of Sports Science and Medicine. 2014 Jan;2(4):166–170.

www.researchgate.net/scientific-contributions/Takuya-Shimizu-2070675749

The first time I “met” Matt Gildersleeve was during the Coaches vs. COVID-19 clinic put on by Hawkin Dynamics, and his talk was world-class. When it comes to building out progressive ways to improve movement outputs that not only translate to the game but are measurable and quantifiable in competition, I will challenge you to find a better practitioner. I’m elated to welcome Coach Sleeve to CVASPS, not just because I know his presentation will be fantastic, but because he’s one of the best people out there in our vocation. Enough from me, though; let’s meet 2023 presenter, Kansas Football’s Director of Sport Performance, Matt Gildersleeve.

Matt Gildersleeve: First off, I would just like to thank SimpliFaster. What a great platform that continues to educate coaches from all over the world. So, it’s a tremendous privilege to be on SimpliFaster and also to talk about what a great opportunity we have with Jay DeMayo.

CVASPS: What are a handful of mistakes you routinely see made by strength and conditioning coaches in the United States and around the world? And what specifically do you feel should be done differently to correct these mistakes?

Matt Gildersleeve: The biggest mistake I constantly see is judgment without context. I believe we get these small glimpses and snapshots of programs, what programs do—whether it be professional, private sector, collegiate, whatever level that may be—and we see these small snapshots of what a particular coach or program does. And we make judgments on whether that’s good or bad or indifferent or anywhere in between.

The biggest mistake I see S&C coaches making over and over and over again is judgment without context, says @CoachSleeve. Share on X

I see this over and over and over again. And I do believe we have one of the most judgmental professions there are. I think we’re first to judge and defend. And it’s a mistake I see all too often.

So, what I would challenge people to do, even if they get a day, is spend it inside a program. There’s so much that goes into programming methodology, between culture and the different factors that go into what you do and how you do it, that even to be with a program for an entire day, there are certainly things that we can take and see and assess. But to try to make a judgment based on snippets and sound bites from programs or coaches, whatever that may be, it’s a very ignorant thing to do. And I think it’s one of the biggest mistakes we make because, if we dug a little bit deeper, I think that’s where we could find there’s a lot of value and resources in a lot of different places.

CVASPS: What advice would you give a coach to improve their knowledge as a process of continuing education? By which I mean, can you point our readers in a few concrete directions to find scientific and practical information to improve the methods used to improve performance?

Matt Gildersleeve: My absolute first recommendation would be anything and everything ALTIS. I know this is becoming a lot more popular than it was maybe five years ago when I started getting into all of this, but man, what an incredible resource in so many different ways. Every resource they have, that they put out—online courses that they do, podcasts that they’ve done, and even articles and email lists.

And I haven’t personally been out to one of their on-site clinics and conferences, but I’ve heard nothing but amazing things. All this is a great resource. And I promise you; they’re not paying me to say that. Other than that, the obvious answer is to join us at PLAE HQ this summer for CVASPS. It’s going to be an awesome weekend that I’m excited to be part of.

CVASPS: How do you feel coaches can find a path to being in a lead role in a department?

Matt Gildersleeve: While there’s absolutely significant value in finding a niche in the world of athletics, I think it totally depends on which route and which destination you want to end up in. In my particular case, to be a head strength and conditioning coach, especially in a football program—and I’m sure it applies to a lot of different paths—you really have to be a generalist in many different areas. Your job is to oversee the big picture of everything from sports science to strength and performance to speed development to conditioning to culture to management.… It’s such a large and vast role that if you get too detailed or specific in one particular niche, you can lose the ability to see the big picture.

So, I would say speed training and speed development as a whole are probably the things that I’m most interested in, and I really enjoy the on-field training. But if I say it’s my niche, I think when you specify in my role, that can cloud some things up.

I like to make sure that I’m constantly sharpening my sword in all directions. And I’ve heard some directors say it’s best to be dangerous at everything. That’s pretty important. I think if you have a very specific lens when you have to manage the whole process of total development, you lose the ability to look at things through a generalist lens of how the entire big picture works together.

I’ve always questioned, or just been curious about, certain programs that have a speed guy and a GPS guy and a weight room guy, and they program all those things separately. Well, those things all work in unison. And so that idea of unification in a program is, to me, very, very important. Sometimes when we get so caught up in niches, it can really cloud and complicate that.

That idea of unification in a program is, to me, very, very important. Sometimes when we get so caught up in niches, it can really cloud and complicate that, says @CoachSleeve. Share on X

I prefer when our staff programs all program together. Now, we have a guy who specifies more in speed, but we don’t just say, “You go write this, and you go write that.” It’s a power. We sit down, and we develop those things together. I do think, sometimes, developing and finding a niche can help you move up in certain areas—and if that’s your role and you love a specific thing, then follow your heart and follow that. But I believe there’s a ton of value in having more of a general perspective and lens when your responsibility is to oversee the entire department as a whole, to really give and be able to provide you with the perspective of the big picture.

CVASPS: Can you provide a sneak peek at the topic you will be covering at The Seminar?

Matt Gildersleeve: As I said, I’m so excited about this conference, this clinic, The Seminar. I just couldn’t be more fired up to get out there and meet everybody and talk and, honestly, to learn. In my presentation specifically, I’ll be covering a wide variety of topics, but it will mainly be related to developing and analyzing game speed. There’s such a large gap right now in our evaluation process of:

1. What we think speed is.
2. How we evaluate it.

We measure miles per hour. We measure 10-yard sprints. There are a lot of different measurements we take. And sometimes, we quantify those as getting faster.

Well, my personal definition of speed—at least, how we use it here at Kansas—is how it applies to your speed and your sport. And is that increasing or not? Because just getting faster, if it doesn’t cross over to actual development of game speed, I think we’re really missing the boat. And so, we will talk about a lot of things.

Just getting faster, if it doesn’t cross over to actual development of game speed, I think we’re really missing the boat, says @CoachSleeve. Share on X

We’re going to talk about what game speed is. We’re going to talk about how we go about developing it. But we’re going to spend a lot of time on how do we analyze that and how do we look at that in the evaluation process of how we are all doing our jobs. We’re gonna go down that rabbit hole of skill acquisition when it relates to your sport.

CVASPS: After reading this, I’m sure you understand why I’m so fired up to welcome Matt to CVASPS this July. He’s a leader in every sense of the word and an open, honest, and candid person to push the profession forward—not just by following the herd but by challenging the status quo to hopefully find better and more efficient ways for us to help our athletes.

We would love for you and your staff to join us at PLAE HQ in Canton, Georgia, on July 21 and 22 for this summer’s edition of The Seminar. It truly is a unique event.

For more info, tap the link, and be on the lookout for the next installment of our presenter Q and A’s here on SimpliFaster.

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

In addition to owning a private training facility for over 20 years, I am also a full-time strength coach in a high school. A typical day for me is coaching three groups and seeing 150+ athletes. Time is limited, with each session lasting only 45 minutes. Sometimes, an in-season team will go for 30 minutes. During certain phases of the year, I have groups of 90 athletes with no help—just me coaching a packed house of athletes with varying levels of training experience.

When I first started coaching at this high school about four years ago, the warm-up was extremely simple in the overly crowded weight room (benches and machines were packed everywhere). We did two exercises for the warm-up: pause squats and push-ups. The majority of the athletes (including varsity and upper-level students) struggled to perform a bodyweight squat to parallel. They struggled to perform a proper push-up.

When I started this new position, I remember thinking to myself, these kids are probably going to have a good idea of how to train.

Why? There’s so much information freely and readily available on YouTube and Instagram. I assumed the baseball players and their coach had read up on Eric Cressey. I assumed the football players understood that squats should be a full range of motion and that benching is performed without a back bridge. I assumed the athletes were bombarded with information on social media regarding how training with the correct technique is the best thing for them.

Instead, I saw athletes perform death-defying 1RM benching every day and then curling for 30 minutes. I didn’t see one athlete squat—or, for that matter, do any leg training at all—and I realized I’d been stuck in my bubble for way too long.

Welcome to High School

I had spent my time training athletes at my private facility and the D1 level. I was used to athletes who showed up ready to listen, ready to work, and ready to be coached. Once I began training teams, I had to change the culture and teach them like I taught middle school athletes to train at The Underground Strength Gym.

If you’re starting a new program or taking over an existing one, never assume that the athletes understand what proper training is. In fact, assume nothing! Share on X

If you’re starting a new program or taking over an existing one, never assume that the athletes understand what proper training is. In fact, assume nothing! Looking back at how shocked I was, seeing the difference in a high school compared to the athletes I trained at my private facility…now I shake my head and laugh at myself.

I’ll share with you my experiences and the mistakes I made so that you can hopefully avoid the same mistakes, save yourself time, and get results with your athletes at a faster rate.

Start Them from the Ground Up

Get great at calisthenics (push-ups, iso push-ups, recline rows, lunges, split squats, iso lunges, squats, pull-ups, etc.). Use calisthenics as a warm-up and then add them into the training program with low reps to accumulate volume throughout the training session. With large groups, I often use calisthenics added into the programming, where we sneak them in between sets of barbell and dumbbell training. With large groups, athletes can easily get distracted. Adding calisthenics keeps the athletes active, improves strength and GPP, and builds muscle with the added volume.

Use dumbbells to learn technique/movement patterns and build strength and size before “earning” the right to use the barbell (goblet squats, lunges, Farmer’s walks, military press, chest supported row, shrugs, curls, dumbbell benching at various angles). Have standards with the dumbbell training so athletes have to earn their way to the barbell. After talking with Jim Wendler a while back, I came up with some simple standards and modified them through experience. You can modify these as well to fit your philosophy and unique situation.

Squat Standards: Before an athlete can load their spine, I have the following standards:

• Goblet squats for 10 reps with 75 pounds (body weight under 175) or 100 pounds (body weight over 175).
• For girls, it is a 45-pound goblet squat x 10 reps.

My preference before loading the spine with a back squat is to teach the front squat, but this does not always go as planned. Some teams train year-round with me, while other teams only train in season. You learn to make decisions on the fly to avoid turning a training session into a teaching session. I firmly believe that athletes need to work, and sometimes that means the front squat will be introduced another day.

Bench Press Standards: Before an athlete can get under a bar and begin benching, here are the standards:

• Boys dumbbell benching with 40s in each hand for 10 reps.
• Girls dumbbell benching with 25s in each hand for 10 reps.

Do I ever break the “rules” and bypass the standards? Yes, mainly if I have a quiet group and it’s not a packed house, we might bypass the dumbbell standards and do technique work on the bench, squat, or front squat.

I will say this, though—anytime it’s crowded, and athletes try to sneak to the barbell without being anywhere near the dumbbell standards, we see a dangerous and poor technique. My advice to you is always lean toward earning the right to use a barbell.

My advice to you is to always lean toward athletes earning the right to use a barbell…It is a mistake to rush the barbell. Share on X

I began these standards with one set of the designated weight with dumbbells and realized that some athletes could almost get “lucky” doing one set at the standard weight, yet they don’t have enough experience in training. It is a mistake to rush to the barbell. So, here’s what I did instead; I transitioned to three sets of these weights/standards to ensure the athletes could handle this work for more than one set and to stop athletes from trying to rush to the barbell.

Do I sometimes make an exception? Yes. If I am lucky to have a group that isn’t so crowded or if an athlete shows up with great frequency and consistency, I will break up a group and teach the barbell lifts earlier or have experienced athletes bring them into their group. This is a reward for consistency coupled with a safe learning environment.

At my private facility, we have, on average, eight athletes per group. Some groups might be four athletes, while at certain times, there are 15–18 athletes. Training 60–90 athletes at one time requires you, as a coach, to be much stricter with your standards and training options.

Simple Training to Maximize Results

While training large groups, I had to become adept at simplifying the training and the explanation of exercises. Having large groups and limitations in terms of space and equipment, I learned to make choices in our training that were easy to teach and easy to learn. This does not mean you’re a lazy coach. It means you must find ways to produce results rapidly and build a broad base of strength and athleticism.

For example, instead of me getting into the fine details of sprinting, I had to take the groups outside to hill sprint and get them to race each other. By racing others or chasing to tag a partner, the athletes began to understand the effort needed to run fast and produce power. It’s easy as a coach to get overly complicated—if you’re short on time, you must make sure you spend time training and getting the athletes better!

Hill sprints became a regular for my athlete groups at the high school. Getting athletes to perform hill sprints is one of the most effective methods to increase their strength! I began with large groups racing each other. Then, I started to make simple changes, such as different starting positions. From there, we began chasing a partner.

All of these small changes improved speed and power. It wasn’t fancy or complicated, but athletes got faster and stronger. If you sprint regularly, you will learn how their sprint work directly relates to improving their strength in the weight room. We have a hill of about 125 feet directly outside our weight room. I keep the volume low, but we sprint 2–3 times per week for 3–5 all-out reps.

Most teams train 2–3 times a week with me in the off-season. Athletes quickly learn that we will never train in the weight room alone, and we often sprint hills, throw med balls outside, and do a wide variety of jump training.

Video 1. Belly Hill Sprint

We sprint from different positions, and I get the athletes to race in some shape or form. They might have to tag someone who starts three steps ahead of them; they might have to race against teammates or another team. I might split the groups between first- and second-year students and juniors and seniors. The key here is getting them to sprint hard and learn to exert force. This has an immense impact on their sports performance, regardless of their sport. I also noticed that regular sprinting boosted their strength in the weight room.

I learned long ago that the athlete who lifts the most weight is not the best athlete. I place a premium on sprints, jumps, and calisthenics. I like to see an element of speed in our training. Share on X

I learned long ago that the athlete who lifts the most weight is not the best athlete. The days of chasing the 1RM to become a better athlete are long gone, but athletes still think it is helpful. This is why I place a premium on sprints, jumps, and calisthenics. I like to see an element of speed in our training. Without any technology at my school, I use the coach’s eye and RPE, emphasizing leaving a rep or two in the tank on barbell lifts and minimizing reps that are grind reps.

Video 2. Hand walking.

After 6–8 weeks of dumbbell training with new athletes at the high school, I usually introduce the trap bar deadlift. Slow and steady is how I get new athletes going. Teaching the trap bar deadlift is easy because they’ve spent six weeks performing the kettlebell farmer’s walk. The start of the farmer’s walk looks the same as a trap bar deadlift. Squat down with a flat back and line up the feet, knees, and hips. Lift! I am essentially reverse-engineering the training system for the athletes.

At my private facility, I am not training 50+ athletes, so I can add sled drags every training session (both during warm-ups and as a finisher), back extensions, sandbag/D ball carries, and lots of band pull-aparts, face pulls, etc. All of these basic exercises build up a tremendous base of strength and stability and help me progress the athletes much faster toward barbell lifts.

At my high school, I have four sleds, but when groups have 60+ athletes, I tell athletes to sneak one or two sets of sleds before the end of the training session. Is it perfect? Absolutely not. The goal is to accomplish the work, not so much to have the most perfectly organized training plan. It’s an emotional understanding in your own mind as a coach that the training is flawed, but you’re getting the crucial aspects of work accomplished.

Athletic Warm-Ups for Strength, Power, and All-Around Athleticism

The power of an athletic warm-up is underrated—I have seen how power skips, hopping, and hand walking (bear crawls, lateral push-up walks) improve an athlete’s power and coordination. The athletic warm-up is not something you want to rush through.

In my early years of coaching, I used to view the warm-ups as exactly that—a warm-up, nothing more. We did 10 reps of squats, lunges, push-ups, ab work, and band pulls for shoulders, and it was all to prep the athlete to train with the weights. Through the years—and now the decades—of coaching, seeing athletes showing up weak and under-muscled, I now view our warm-up as something that builds strength and hypertrophy and preps the mind and body for the work ahead. I call the warm-up a “Prep,” and the athletes understand that it is a crucial part of our daily training.

I now view our warm-up as something that builds strength and hypertrophy and preps the mind AND body for the work ahead. Share on X

Some athletes are so tight in the ankles, hips, and hamstrings that bodyweight squats are not suitable for them. Instead, we use lunges as an exercise to strengthen the legs, stretch the hips, and improve ankle mobility and stability. Sled pushes and sled drags also improve ankle mobility and leg strength. I never imagined in my early years that a bodyweight squat would be a struggle for athletes, but the past 10+ years of coaching have proven me wrong.

When the freshman football players begin training with me at the high school in mid-June, we exclusively do bodyweight and dumbbell workouts. Almost everything is for sets of five, and then as we progress, I teach kids how to determine if they can do eight or 10 reps on a bodyweight or dumbbell exercise. The good ol’ 5 x 5 is GREAT for athletes, especially if you have a crowded weight room and need to keep the flow of the training session going to avoid kids waiting too long between sets and getting distracted.

For example, we have five adjustable benches at my high school. If we’re dumbbell benching or performing chest support rows, and I prescribe 10 reps instead of five, the wait time doubles. The athletes get distracted waiting their turn, as four or five kids might be in line for a bench. I came up with a simple system for training large groups where I can divide groups into two sections, and I vary where they start: sometimes they start with the main lift of the day, and other times they start with the assistance work. At the high school level, the world will not end if your athletes lunge before squats or do assistance work before benching or overhead pressing.

Below is an example of a lower body session:

1A) Pause front squat 4 x 4.

1B) ANY jump 4 x 4. (Athletes have a list of jump exercises they can choose from. Beginners do a basic vertical squat jump.)

1C) Push-ups or pull-ups/recline row (alternate each set) 4 x submax reps.

2A) Bulgarian split squats 4 x 10 / 10 (New athletes go bodyweight only.)

2B) ANY kettlebell carry 4 x turf. (New athletes farmer’s walk, experienced athletes choose from a variety of carries.)

2C) Biceps/triceps 4 x 10–15 reps. (New athletes perform hammer curls or push-ups, experienced athletes have a variety of exercises to choose from.)

I will review the workout in front of the whiteboard rather quickly to keep the athletes focused. My buddy Craig Fitzgerald spoke to me about this, as I told him how kids were fooling around as I broke down the daily training. He asked, “How long are you in front of the whiteboard?” I replied, “About 90 seconds.” Fitz said to me, “That’s too long. They get distracted too easily.” As a high school strength coach, you will constantly evolve as you learn more and experiment with what works and what doesn’t.

You will notice there is freedom and flexibility in exercise selection for experienced athletes, which the kids enjoy because it gives them the power to make choices. I encourage the athletes to have at least one partner so they can coach each other and help decide what exercises they want to use when they have the option to choose.

I encourage athletes to have at least one partner so they can coach each other and help decide what exercises they want to use when they have the option to choose. Share on X

If a dumbbell exercise is subbed for a barbell lift (such as front squats), you simply double the reps, so goblet squats would be eight reps in this example, where the front squat is four reps. The training is focused on the lower body, but high school athletes like to get an arm pump, so this is another opportunity to make them happy, which keeps them coming back. Athletes who are happy and having fun will return to train and be more consistent. Our school trains after school, so even if a coach organizes team training, it cannot be made mandatory. Some athletes can’t get a ride, and others have to go to work, etc.

Building Body Armor

Today, when an athlete tells me they know how to back squat, clean, or bench, I jokingly ask them, “Are you TikTok certified or YouTube certified?” The kids who train with me regularly know you must earn your way to the barbell. This standard might be viewed as “too much” or “he’s not nice,” but my first job as a strength coach is protecting the athlete. This means safety and consistency must precede complexity.

Video 3: Hill Race. We implement hill sprints on the regular, even during the winter—which, as I mentioned earlier, has proven to be one of the simplest and most effective ways to develop speed, strength, and power. Sprinting is good for ALL athletes, even if they are not field athletes.

At the high school level, don’t get overly specific with your hill sprints. Sometimes I cut the distance for the big football linemen, but Jim Wendler said something to the effect of, “If you’re in high school and you can’t run a mile or do 50 push-ups, what special program do you really need? How can your teammates trust you if you’re out of shape?” This reminded me how powerful and important it is for high school athletes to have a solid base of all-around fitness.

When I explain to parents at the pre-season football meeting that my number one job is to protect their son in a sport where kids have broken bones and even been paralyzed, I explain to them how this is accomplished. We get your son stronger, faster, and more confident, and we build muscle, aka body armor. I explain to them that this is a team effort, where Mom and Dad must cook and stock the fridge like their son lives on a farm. I expect their son to do extra stretching and calisthenics at home. Commitment and consistency must be present if results are expected.

Commitment and consistency must be present if results are expected. I can’t protect an athlete who lacks consistency, has poor listening skills, and tries to do their own program. Share on X

I can’t protect an athlete who lacks consistency, has poor listening skills, and tries to do their own program that they learned from Uncle Bob in the basement. Dumbbells and calisthenics are a must, and they are highly underrated. When an athlete shows that he is upset that he can’t bench or squat with his friends, I tell him, “Don’t be upset; go ahead and bench or squat the 100-pound dumbbells. Prove to me that you’re strong!”

Another tip Paul Kolody emphasized to me after I mentioned to him that some of my groups have up to 90 athletes was this: “Tell every athlete that they are a coach! You spot each other, coach each other, and help each other with proper technique.” Now the athletes tell each other to squat lower, keep a flat back, etc.

Getting Athletes to Believe in the Program

Today, we not only use speed and agility training (I prefer to call it game speed, like Tony Villani) to better prep athletes, but these game speed activities also get athletes to “believe” in the program. Why do we use “speed and agility”? Because this speaks the language of the athlete. This is what they see all day on social media, so we need to make an emotional and psychological connection with the kids.

Field athlete or not, we implement game speed. Sprinting and an athletic warm-up are among the best ways to develop athleticism (training that has transfer to sport).

• Hill sprints (various starting positions, races, etc.)
• Power skip (height, distance)
• Frog jumps and broad jumps
• Hopping on one foot
• Jumping rope (a lost art form!)
• Racing against others
• Tag games
• Hurdles coupled with sprints

When training large groups at the high school level, focus on training that is easy for you to teach and easy for the athletes to learn, especially in the beginning. This allows you to deliver results for the athlete, and in turn, they believe in you and the program and want to show up consistently. Once consistency and a solid foundation of strength, muscle, and athleticism are developed, you can begin teaching more complex movements to your advanced lifters. It’s easy to get caught up in what other coaches are doing, but it’s crucial to look at your situation and coach accordingly. At the end of the day, it’s ALL about the kids!

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

When should track athletes lift?

Is it before practice, when the work is performed without fatigue from sports practice impeding the quality of the lift? Or is it after practice, so athletes can train without fatigue from the weight room interfering with practice quality?

A seemingly simple question, this topic nonetheless remains a source of perennial battles between coaches and athletes, as well as strength and sport coaches.

The Current Rage

There are many great coaches—both strength and conditioning and sport coaches—who insist on exclusively lifting after practice; or, in team field/court sports, after the strength coach has conducted a speed or acceleration session. According to these coaches, the proper order is for the fastest movements always to come first. While this method works fine for team and court sports, it can be problematic when applied in a track setting for sprinters and jumpers.

My experience having participated in and coached every combination of training orders has framed what I view to be the best setup for sprint and jump athletes: SPLIT THE LIFT INTO TWO PARTS. Share on X

For full disclosure, I’ve been on every side of this debate. As a collegiate athlete, we lifted as a team after practice for my entire career. After college, I had to train around graduate school and work, often needing to lift in the morning before practice. As a coach, I’ve trained groups both before and after practice. My experience having participated in and coached every combination of training orders has framed what I view to be the best setup for sprint and jump athletes: split the lift into two parts.

Training Stressors

To understand why, it is helpful to first look at the major stressors induced by training that can impact decision-making, as well as what types of activities are most likely to create them.

1. Muscular fatigue. Local muscle fatigue resulting from blood acidosis is well known to impair muscle contraction. This is the burning sensation after a hard interval session or higher-rep weight training, especially if taken to failure. While this work can be neurologically taxing, it is always done at submaximal intensities—so the limiting factor in performance is how the body is able to prevent and clear the accumulation of acid in the blood and restore muscle glycogen.
2. Structural damage. Damage, or microtrauma, to soft tissues is a potent stimulus for growth. Over the long term, this can be a good thing when growth or hypertrophy is the goal. In the short term, though, microtrauma can lead to injuries when combined with high-intensity activities that further stress the already-damaged tissue.
3. Nervous system fatigue. All types of training ultimately stress the nervous system in some capacity. But true top speed and heavy strength training doesn’t create the same blood acidosis as the methods that create muscle fatigue (if it does, you’re probably doing it wrong), so the limiting factor leading to neurological fatigue isn’t depleted energy stores or acid in the blood. Neurological fatigue impairs the signals sent from the brain to the working muscles, which lowers the force and speed of muscle contraction. This is sometimes thought of as feeling “flat.”
4. Psychological fatigue. Psychological fatigue destroys focus and motivation, especially when intense training is reserved for the evening after a full day of class and practice. Attending class for 3–6 hours, then having a two-hour sports practice, and then going to the weight room is psychologically draining.

All these stressors can be created to varying degrees with different types of training. While these sources of fatigue and damage have different origins, all can lead to impaired motor control, throwing off movement quality as well as the weight and speed at which it can be performed.

Fears with Lifting Before Practice

With these stressors in mind, let’s look at the fears they inspire that lead many coaches to avoid lifting before practice.

1. Inducing injury. This fear is easily the most significant one, and it is a valid concern—particularly with hamstrings. Ask most sprinters or jumpers at the college level and beyond, and you’ll likely find an athlete who has experienced some degree of hamstring injury. This fear is usually centered on performing hamstring-intensive movements like RDLs before practice on high-speed or jump days. This can create enough microtrauma in the muscle tissue that the muscle can’t maintain structural integrity while sprinting or jumping, resulting in hamstring injuries.

2. Interfering with technical execution. I’ve seen this also referred to as a “tension-filled training session.” Essentially, lifting heavy weights creates a pump sensation and/or sustained muscle tension that throws off the contract-relax cycle necessary for efficient sprint mechanics. This lowers the quality of the session and has the potential to ingrain poor habits that can be hard to break.

Loss of motor control can also lead to degraded sprint mechanics. This, in turn, can increase demand on the hamstrings in a lengthened position while sprinting, creating another route for the dreaded hamstring pull.

3. Being unable to hit top speeds. This is influenced by the first two fears. The idea is that to improve top speed, athletes need to be fresh enough in practice to actually hit top speed. This process doesn’t work if only submaximal speeds can be achieved. The worry is that muscular or neurological fatigue from pre-practice lifting prevents this from happening and stunts speed development.

Timing Matters

For sprinters and jumpers, many training days are not short bouts of 10–30-meter flys and block starts that can “prime” the lift immediately after. Some are, but there are also fatiguing speed endurance and special endurance intervals, race models, and extensive jump and plyometric sessions that aren’t present in many field and court sports. A set schedule of lifting after practice often means lifting after these taxing sessions.

To the coaches who insist on training after practice to mitigate risk, your fears aren’t invalid. But performing high-intensity/technical movements in the weight room after practice isn’t risk-free either. The main problem when lifting after practice is that most of the time, lifting occurs immediately after finishing track work while muscular, neurological, or psychological fatigue still lingers.

The main problem when lifting AFTER practice is that most of the time, lifting occurs immediately after finishing track work while muscular, neurological, or psychological fatigue still lingers. Share on X

Pre-practice lifting, on the other hand, generally occurs in the morning. Especially at the high school and college levels, lifting before practice means having to plan around class schedules. This typically means there is a break of several hours from the end of lifting until the onset of sports practice, while athletes attend class and eat lunch.

In other words, there is time to recover after lifting in the morning that isn’t there in the afternoon. The same fatigue that coaches are trying to avoid by lifting before practice happens in reverse by having track practice before lifting. Only this time, there is very little time before getting under a bar.

Problems with Lifting After Practice

1. Sloppy technique. The risk of injury directly from the weight room skyrockets by creating an environment where sloppy technique is almost unavoidable. Poor motor control + heavy/fast movements = high risk. We’ve seen horror stories on social media of athletes breaking bones, tearing tendons, herniating disks, or giving themselves concussions from poor execution of heavy lifts.
2. Chronic undertraining. The logical response to being exhausted is to accommodate the debilitating fatigue by reducing load and/or the speed of the movements in the weight room. This isn’t ideal either, though, as it leads to chronic undertraining. If this happens on occasion, it may not be a big deal, but stack enough of those training sessions in a row, and it shouldn’t be a surprise when strength and power are significantly reduced.
3. Increased session cost. Long, drawn-out training sessions spanning three consecutive hours, aside from being tiring in the moment, can extend the amount of time it takes to recover compared to if there is a break between them.

Solving the Paradox

Here’s what we’re left with: we don’t want fatigue from lifting to ruin the quality of speed and interval training at practice or tissue damage to cause acute muscle and tendon injuries from microtrauma induced in the weight room. We also don’t want to hurt, chronically undertrain, or impede recovery by forcing athletes to perform heavy and technically demanding strength and power movements in the weight room after track work that is muscularly, neurologically, and psychologically debilitating.

So, what’s the solution? Split the lift into two parts.

Optimizing Training: Split the Lift

First, I want to make clear that splitting the lift means just that—taking what you would typically do in one training session and breaking it into two parts. It is NOT two-a-day with two full training sessions.

Here are a few recommendations to make this approach work:

1. Keep low-volume, high-intensity, compound strength and power movements in the morning before practice.

This type of training is the sweet spot for track athletes, especially in season. These adaptations are largely neurological, meaning training this way doesn’t generally deplete the athlete’s energy for practice in the afternoon or compromise tissue integrity. This limits the risk of lifting directly causing a hard death during intervals or creating enough damage to pull a hamstring while sprinting and jumping. For many athletes, minimizing hypertrophy is important in-season, and this low-volume, high-intensity approach limits the stimulus to grow while still allowing the athlete to gain strength through increased neurological efficiency.

To the extent that energy may be depleted, the several hours between lifting and practice allows it to be replenished. This ensures that the heaviest and most technically demanding movements can be performed fresh without lowering practice quality.

Many proponents of lifting after speed work make the claim that speed can prime the athlete for the lift. While this can work after true speed (not sloppy conditioning), the reverse can also be true; low-volume, high-intensity lifting can prime speed as well, given proper technical training, consistent exposure, and adequate fatigue management.

2. Avoid highly fatiguing methods like rep-outs, finishers, and other high-volume accessory work or conditioning.

Most strength coaches who work with track aren’t tasked with “conditioning” the athletes. That usually falls under the purview of the track coaches. If we try to turn the weight room into EMOMs, AMRAPs, or HIIT or consistently perform rep-outs and finishers to exhaustion, the athletes will struggle with whatever comes next. Even with a few hours between sessions, the stressor is enough to severely impact practice quality. If additional hypertrophy work needs to be done, save it for after practice.

3. Reserve direct hamstring training for after practice.

Especially if using accentuated eccentrics that are designed to create more damage on movements like RDLs, GHD hamstring curls, Nordics, and good mornings.

The importance of hamstring strength in preventing injuries cannot be understated. Neither can the role hamstrings play in improving sprint and jump performance. All these choices can be excellent additions to a program, but they must be carefully dosed and placed, as they are the movements that have the highest risk of directly causing an injury when performed before speed development and jump sessions. Moving these movements to after practice helps navigate this dilemma. Furthermore, moving RDLs to days where the next day is a recovery day is a good idea as well.

Another benefit of dividing the lift this way is that the block of lifting after practice usually only takes about 15 minutes, and the movements aren’t as technically demanding, says @matclarkansas. Share on X

Another benefit of dividing the lift this way is that the block of lifting after practice usually only takes about 15 minutes, and the movements aren’t as technically demanding. That is a much easier pill for athletes to swallow than having to muster the energy for a 45–60-minute lift when they are completely exhausted.

Here’s an example of what this would look like in-season:

AM portion:

Power Clean 4 x 2 @ 87%

Back Squat 4 x 3 @ 85%

Bench Press 4 x 3 @ 85%

Class, Lunch, Practice              

PM portion:                                                   

RDL 3 x 6

Single Arm Farmer’s Carries 3 x 30 meters

Hanging Knee Raise 3 x 10

Changing Perspective

While strength training is widely recognized as critical for performance improvement, there is often tension between the sport and strength coaches, and strength training turns into a pursuit that competes with sports training instead of enhancing it. To dissolve this tension, we need to reframe the way we view the time spent in the weight room.

Neglecting strength training can severely handicap the performance ceiling of the athlete, but forging a program in isolation from the demands of practice and the timing of the competitive season creates issues too. We need to view lifting weights as one piece of sports training: an invaluable component of performance, not a separate entity distinct from sports training that must be fit in somewhere on the periphery.

With this approach, the different training stimuli can be arranged and seamlessly fused into a larger training plan—one where strength and sport don’t have to compete with each other.

With this approach, the different training stimuli can be arranged and seamlessly fused into a larger training plan where strength and sport don’t have to compete with each other, says @matclarkansas. Share on X

Many coaches will attach the caveat that lifting isn’t sports practice, so it isn’t the priority. As a result, it is always devalued. While it may not be the primary driver of success, what’s the point in purposefully handicapping athletes by neglecting valuable strength and power work or forcing it to be done while they’re completely exhausted? Lifting weights while muscle contractability, energy stores, focus, and motor control are impaired is wrought with risk.

Sure, some people grind through it. But improving sports performance isn’t necessarily about how hard you can grind or how difficult you can make your training environment and endure. It is about doing everything possible to set up an optimal environment that allows you to train and recover effectively and efficiently. Grab the low-hanging fruit. Split the lift.

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

So, you’ve been tasked with creating a high school strength and conditioning program: you’ve worked out the logistics and the scheduling, spoken to the sport coaches, and gotten interest from student-athletes.

Next, to safely introduce the training you have planned, it’s important to get an idea as to where you’re starting from. Without a baseline of any type of assessment, there’s no accurate way to measure progress. A great way to do this is through a testing event or combine day. This article will provide a reason why this type of event is important, what exercises I recommend for assessing your athletes and why, and some ideas and solutions for organizing the event, such as athlete management software like Avolve Sports.

Without a baseline of any type of assessment, there’s no accurate way to measure progress. A great way to do this is through a testing event or combine day, says @strthcoachgreg. Share on X

Why Conduct This Testing?

First and foremost, this kind of testing allows you to engage positively with as many athletes as possible. In situations like this, think about testing that involves simple things such as bodyweight exercises, short sprints, or jumping.

Keep in mind that this may be the first engagement that a young athlete has with structured, or potentially, any sort of training in their lives, so this is a great opportunity to provide a positive first interaction. Your preparation and confidence in the details of your event will directly impact that.

Second, collecting some simple baseline measurements on your athletes will allow you to track progress and assess your program’s efficacy. Being able to show progress and improvement drives buy-in from the other stakeholders in the program, including the athletes themselves.

Lastly, if you’re not testing, you’re just guessing. If you go to write your program and assume that athletes have a certain level of competency and they end up not having it, you have to scrap your program. However, if you can assess their basic physical competencies and then correctly introduce training that improves these skills, then you’re off and running.

What Testing Should You Do?

Since you’ll be training the whole school, it’s important to test physical qualities that:

1. Apply to all sports.
2. Can be assessed with scalable tests.
3. Are easily repeatable.

Additionally, you want to select tests that can be administered and are scalable to athletes at different levels and abilities. You must also feel comfortable administering your selection of tests and properly explaining them to whoever can help you administer them. My suggestions below are about as basic as they come, as it’s important that you select tests you feel comfortable with and believe will give you the best outcome with your athletes.

The goal should be to test major athletic qualities in as few tests as possible. Three simple tests are sufficient for a healthy athlete, says @strthcoachgreg. Share on X

The goal should be to test major athletic qualities in as few tests as possible. Three simple tests are sufficient for a healthy athlete. You should look to test the upper body, the lower body, and an athlete’s straight-line speed. This way, you can get a more well-rounded idea of your athletes’ abilities. For the strength tests, the athletes will get one attempt to post a score, and for the sprint test, they will have two attempts.

Upper Body Test: Max reps push-ups in a minute/static push-up plank hold—done in the weight room (one attempt).

Push-Up Standards: Athletes begin at the top of a push-up with their thumbs under their shoulders. They then perform as many push-ups as possible in one minute. Record their score.

Be sure to watch and take note of what occurs at the low back and the shoulder of the athlete. Can they hold their torso in a straight line from their skull to their feet? Can they keep their elbows at a 45-degree angle to their ribs? Are they able to control their scapula through all the repetitions?

If the athlete is unable to complete any push-ups, have them adjust to doing them from their knees. If they still struggle from there, have them start from the bottom position and push up. Leave a section on the scoresheet to note all these things. It is important that each athlete receive some measurable score, even if that is “zero – could not complete 1.” You are looking for things they can improve upon, so having regressions and many things to observe is important to give them a runway to follow with their training.

Static Push-Up Plank Hold: The same starting position is used, and the athlete is instructed to hold their torso so that their elbows are completely locked out, and their back is flat with a straight line from the heels to the back of the skull. The goal here is to hold this posture for as long as they can. You will record the time it takes for them to drop to the floor or for their torso to lose any semblance of a controlled position. As with the push-up, note where their form begins to break first.

Lower Body Test: Max reps of alternating single-leg squats to bench in two minutes—done in the weight room (one attempt).

Standards: Athletes stand in front of a bench, and beginning with whichever foot they choose, they sit to the bench and stand up off the bench with the same leg, then switch legs and repeat for as many reps as they can in two minutes.

Things to look for: Can the athlete perform this test at all? If they can, does their knee stay stable in space, or does it move left and right? Does the athlete need to “check” their opposite foot on the floor to perform the test at all?

Speed Test: Twenty-yard dash—done in the gymnasium or an adjacent hallway (two attempts)

Standards: Use cones to measure 20 yards. Athletes start standing behind the line, and on their movement, they begin to sprint the distance. Record both of their times on your sheet. 

Note: It’s essential that you conduct this test in a location that is available year-round. If you’re conducting this testing in the fall, you may be able to go outside, but if you live somewhere where there’s inclement winter weather, you may not be able to go outside to retest them in December. A consistent running surface and location are important for gathering valid testing and retesting data.

While these tests aren’t flashy or all that exciting, the important thing is that the testing exists, is well-coordinated, and is safe for all the participants. You’ll get to the traditional testing with weights in the future, but this is truly a “Day 0” approach.

While these tests aren’t flashy or all that exciting, the important thing is that the testing exists, is well-coordinated, and is safe for all participants, says @strthcoachgreg. Share on X

These tests, or something similar to them, are also ones that you can easily implement in warm-up protocols or weekly check-ins with your athletes as you move through the training weeks. Additionally, as you get more comfortable with your program and testing athletes, it may be possible to build more advanced testing batteries for your athletes that are consistent with their training, especially those who stay consistent over their entire time with you.

Logistical Notes

Hopefully, there will be a lot of interest in your program, and you’ll need a few days to a week to get everyone through this initial testing. With these three tests, you will need at least three other coaches or adults to help you organize and score the testing. You can assign each of these three people to a drill. Then, explain to them the standards you are looking for in each drill and allow them to run their individual tests while you coordinate the rotation of everyone through the tests.

Example order for the testing of three groups: (Note that none of the groups go from the single-leg squat to the sprint.)

• Group 1: Push-Up –> Sprint️ –> Single-Leg Squat
• Group 2: Single-Leg Squat –> Push-Up –> Sprint
• Group 3: Sprint –> Single-Leg Squat –> Push-Up

I’d block off 30 minutes for a group of 30 athletes to complete the three tests. If you can get more than three people to help you, it would be advisable to have multiple stations for each test to facilitate getting people through the testing process more efficiently.

The equipment/tools you will need to execute the tests are:

1. A bench to have the athletes squat down to.
2. Two stopwatches—one to time the push-up test and one to time the 20-yard sprint. (If you have timing gates, this is a very practical time to use them.)
3. A measured 20-yard lane for the timed sprint.
4. Four coaches, including yourself, to assist in managing the testing.
5. A list of the athletes completing the testing.
6. A spreadsheet that includes the athletes’ names and a location for entering the scores for each of the respective tests.
7. Three clipboards and writing implements, each with one of these charts described above.

Avolve Sports Offers Solutions

One of the hardest parts of running these types of events is managing the collection method while the tests are going on and then the subsequent importation of the data when the testing has been completed. This process will likely have you creating the score sheets in Excel, printing them off to score everyone, then collecting the sheets and inputting all that data somewhere (likely back into the same Excel sheet you printed). This data entry and subsequent analysis in and of itself is a time-consuming process. Fortunately, training software has come a long way in the last handful of years, and there are software solutions for this type of event. One of them is Avolve Sports.

Avolve’s data collection is a native part of the software and doesn’t rely on APIs. This makes it possible to collect data even if you’re somewhere without internet or with spotty cell phone coverage. Share on X

Avolve, unlike other similar athlete management software programs, primarily focuses on collecting and organizing the data from combines, testing, or “events,” as Avolve calls them. Avolve also stands out because its data collection is a native part of the software and does not rely on APIs. This makes it possible to collect data even if you’re somewhere without internet or you have spotty cell phone coverage. With its workflows, you can easily organize the athletes into groups, collect the data, generate reports, and then draw corresponding conclusions from the data. With Avolve, all that’s required is the list of athletes participating in the event: the step-by-step process in the software makes it easy to organize everything from there.

Following is the workflow Avolve can offer to create and score an event, all without Excel.

1. Create an Event in the Groups Page

On this page, athletes can be grouped based on the day and times they will complete the testing and labeled accordingly. In this example, they were grouped by class. You’ll also notice a dedicated location to enter the equipment you need to conduct the testing, such as stopwatches and a bench.

2. Assign the Athletes to the Groups You Created

You select the athletes you’d like to place in each group and then assign them accordingly. Don’t worry: If an athlete is not listed in your premade groups and shows up on the day of the event, you can add them from the Scoretracker page shown below.

3. Select the Drills You Wish to Do in Your Event

You’ll notice that we selected the three exercises that were described above and applied them to all groups. Following this screen, you are shown a summary of the event you just created and then are presented with the opportunity to “publish” the event.

Once you publish the event, you will have access to the Scoretracker page for the event. From this screen, you can input the athlete’s scores and any notes regarding their attempts. (These notes could be things that you noticed the athlete did during the testing, such as the things to watch for I listed with the push-up test and the single-leg squat test.) Each coach helping score the event can access this page from the mobile app and input the scores as the athletes complete the testing, even without internet or cell phone coverage.

After you’ve created this event, it’s also possible to copy it so that you can repeat it at a later date to assess the efficacy of the training you’ve been doing with your athletes. Since the exercises apply to everyone and are easy to implement the second time around, you can track the efficacy of your program by using the same testing battery.

Once you complete this event and have collected all the data, it is imperative to have a plan to reexamine what you’ve done. Avolve also gives you an opportunity to produce reports from your testing instantly after you complete the event. From there, you can look for any trends you want to address with your training in the subsequent months leading up to the time you retest these same movements.

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

It’s springtime and getting close to the summer, which you and every coach knows is the prime time for speed training to help your teams roll into camp this fall looking and feeling faster than ever. You scour this website looking for the best sprint program, read all the articles you can on speed and how to make athletes faster, dive into the research, and even chat with your local school’s track coach to get as much info as you can before designing the perfect periodized sprint program.

You sit down with all your notes on drills, technique points, and progressions only to stare blankly at your computer, whiteboard, or paper (whatever you program with), lost in all the information. Paralysis by analysis might describe this situation, but I think the best description is simply information overload.

“So, sprint technique drills must be done before any specific sprint drills…but also are useless?”

“Never run after taxing your hamstrings maximally, like doing Nordics…but also do them as part of your warm-up?”

“Do a short-to-long approach…unless your athlete is better suited to a long-to-short approach, of course.”

Umm…what?

Yes, there is a lot of information on sprinting these days. One thing we can all agree upon is that all athletes—team or individual—need to do it to maximize their weight room transfer to sport. But that is about all we seem to agree upon.

If you are like me and work at a small school (which includes a small-school budget and limited access to a track or field), then this article is for you.

Keep It Simple

I will do my best to cut through the info and give you some basic tips on writing out a whole summer of sprint work for your team sport athletes, especially if you are new and don’t know where to start.

First, my disclaimer: I am not a track coach. I work with T&F athletes, but I do not program their sprint or drill work. That is for their sport coaches. I am not a speed expert. I have not developed multiple Olympians from the time they were 12 to becoming world champions. I am simply a university strength and conditioning coach who has learned how to keep it simple and get results.

First off, simplicity wins. Always, says @chergott94. Share on X

First off, simplicity wins. Always. Never been defeated in my realm. At the university level, most athletes want to get faster. Unfortunately, most athletes are already close to their peak levels of speed—especially in the team sport realm. Now, I am not saying athletes can’t get faster, because they all can. To what degree depends on many factors, such as their training age, genetic potential, work ethic, genetic potential, lifestyle factor, and even their genetic potential. Did I mention their genetics? Those play kind of a large role too.

All kidding aside, too often I meet with coaches who want their athletes to be faster (which is what I want too), but more often than not, the answer to their problem is: “Well, then you should have recruited faster athletes.” Obviously, I do not say that, believing that I am the one who can impact these kids and make them into speedsters. Of course, some do become much better. Some get a little better. And some don’t improve at all. That is just the nature of the game. Heartbreaking, really, but the uncertainty of the pursuit of athletic gains is what makes the job so fun (and frustrating).

Anyway, back to the nitty gritty. You have a team of athletes looking to get faster this summer. You have 12+ weeks to get the job done (May–August, depending on how your semesters are structured) and are looking for where to start.

Do we just sprint? Yes.

As fast as we can? Yes.

All summer? Yes.

You can’t get faster if you don’t practice the skill of getting faster, and the only true way to do that in any form that translates to sport is actually to put the boots to the ground and pound. So how do you do it?

Start simple and progress.

If you think of a team sport athlete, what do they need? They need to sprint fast over a short distance, usually 10–20 meters. They need to be able to decelerate, change direction, transition from back to front, front to back, crossover to sprint, sprint to shuffle, and everything in between. To fit it all in, it would take a lot of time and effort to plan out each progression and pattern. Believe me, it does, and it did.

For the first few years in my role as Head Strength & Conditioning Coach, I used to craft each sprint progression for the whole summer carefully. Start with a good field-based warm-up, and move to 5–10 minutes of plyos and bounding drills. Then, work my way into their speed drills so that each week we would progress volume by 10%, change patterns every 3–4 weeks, drop volume to have deloads, and then ramp up again. Linear day would be Tuesday, lateral/change of direction on Thursday. Crafted to perfection. Two days of speed training to ensure their strength gains transferred to the field/court/ice.

My reward for such time and dedication? About 20% of our athletes even did the sessions, and only 50% of those did it correctly. (“Wait, you did all 15 sprints in three minutes?? Okay, here’s the thing about speed training….”)

Needless to say, we did not get much faster.

At the university level, almost ¾ of our athletes aren’t local. The other ¼ must work to afford school, which means they may not be able to make our training times, no matter how flexible I am. Share on X

Why so much mess? At the university level, almost three-quarters of our athletes aren’t local. And the ones that are around must work to afford school, which means they may not be able to make our training times, no matter how flexible I try to be. Going back to my original research on this website and others like it (and this is not knocking it), most of the info or tips I got resulted in me saying, “Yeah, but….”

• Yeah, but what if athletes only do one session per week?
• Yeah, but what if they don’t do it at all?
• Yeah, but what if they are short on time?
• Yeah, but what if we don’t have the space to sprint 60 meters?
• Yeah, but what if all we have is a gymnasium?
• Yeah, but what if athletes go home and supervise themselves?
• Yeah, but what if unsupervised athletes do sprint drills incorrectly all summer long?

Sound familiar? These were the issues I kept running up against. So, I finally decided to make a change. I decided to reread the words that are my laptop background (“Keep It Simple, Stupid”) and apply them for real. No more confusing progressions people weren’t ready for. No more complicated drills. Time to get down to the basics. Here they are.

Instead of having separate speed days that lasted 30+ minutes and no one wanted to do, I stuck the sprint work at the beginning of each lifting session and made it 5–10 minutes, tops. That way, we hit it 2–3 times a week—and if athletes lifted (which most did), they would at least see the sprint stuff, increasing the chances that they would do it.

The following prep work was done each session (2–4 times a week; see later in this article for weekly breakdown) after a thorough general/dynamic warm-up.

Speed Prep

• Double leg pogos x 10 in each direction
• Double leg line hops x 5 front/back and side to side
• T hops (Hop front, back to middle, side, back to middle, other side, back to middle, back, back to middle—that’s one.) x 3
• Hop to tuck jump x 3

Following this prep work, we had either a linear or a lateral/agility focus for the session (one of the few structures I kept from before).

Linear

• Phase 1: Half kneel start 2 x 5 meters, 2 x 10 meters (2 = once on each leg) = 4 sprints, 30 meters total
• Phase 2: 2-point starts 2–3 x 5 meters, 2–3 x 10 meters = 4–6 sprints, 30–45 meters total
• Phase 3: Drop-in sprints 2-3 x 10 meters, 2–3 x 15 meters = 4–6 sprints, 50–75 meters total
• Phase 4: Flying sprints (10m fly-in) 2–3 x 5 meters, 2–3 x 10 meters, 2–3 x 15 meters = 6–9 sprints, 45–90 meters total

This linear progression allows you to start with the basics on the half kneel of working on a good setup, giving them lots of time to get into position and learn to drive out of a low position.

Moving to a two-point stance allows them to have an easier start, still using the same technique points you wanted in the half kneel but now at higher speeds, faster.

Drop-ins allow for the athlete to start moving, which generates greater speeds, especially right off the start.

Fly-ins start to cover more max velocity work, especially as you hit longer sprint zones of 15 meters.

Why only progress to a total of 25 meters? Our gymnasium is only 35 meters long, so we can’t physically do anything further without going outside into the parking lot or busy roads (which isn’t a great idea, trust me).

Lateral/Agility

This is a little more complex and will vary depending on the sport, but to give you some examples, it might look like:

• Phase 1: Shuffle shuttle (shuffle 5 meters and back as fast as you can) x 2–3 each way, 40–60 meters total
• Phase 2: Shuffle to sprint (shuffle 5 meters, sprint 5–10 meters) x 2–3 each way, 40–90 meters total
• Phase 3: Shuffle to sprint to shuffle (shuffle 5, sprint 5–10, shuffle 5) x 2–3 each way, 60–120 meters total
• Phase 4: Shuffle to sprint to backpedal (shuffle 5, sprint 5–10, backpedal 5–10) x 2–3 each way, 60–150 meters total

Once again, simple. Start with a basic concept: shuffling with a stop and start. (You could even break it down and just shuffle 5–10 meters as fast as possible for phase 1, depending on your athlete’s quality of movement.) Then we add in a transition to a sprint. Afterward, we get them to decelerate and transition back (like playing D in basketball). Finally, they go from lateral movement to forward, decelerate and go backward.

Nothing fancy, but something that teaches important movement qualities (transition, deceleration, acceleration, hip flip, etc.), is fun, and breaks up the monotony of just sprinting forward all the time. These are even better if you have sessions with multiple athletes and can get them to race while doing it. Competition is the best coach.

Structuring a Program for the Entire Off-Season

Breaking this down even more, if you used each phase for 3–4 weeks, slightly progressing the volume of each exercise within the phase itself (from 2–3 sets or 5–10 meters, as mentioned for each drill), you would have a 12–16 weeks off-season speed program all ready to roll.

And if this doesn’t seem like enough or your athletes want more, just repeat each session, depending on your weekly framework. For example, here are some sample weekly layouts you could use:

Three-Day Training Program:

Option 1

Day 1: Linear speed & full-body lift (squats are main movement)

Day 2: Full body (bench press main)

Day 3: Lateral speed & full body (RDL main)

Option 2

Day 1: Linear speed & full-body lift (squats main movement)

Day 2: Lateral speed & full body (bench press main)

Day 3: Linear speed & full body (RDL main)

Four-Day Training Program

Option 1

Day 1: Linear speed & lower (squat emphasis)

Day 2: Upper body

Day 3: Lateral speed & power (hinge emphasis)

Day 4: Upper body

Option 2

Day 1: Linear speed & lower (squat emphasis)

Day 2: Lateral speed & upper body

Day 3: Linear speed & power (hinge emphasis)

Day 4: Lateral speed & upper body

There are plenty of ways to structure the program each week to adjust the amount of exposure your athletes get. I have played around with each, depending on the sport and the time of year (early summer, only twice a week while we hammer a strength or hypertrophy block in the weight room, and then shift to 3–4 times throughout the summer to increase exposures and volume). All of them work; the main thing is that your athletes do it.

There are plenty of ways to structure the program each week to adjust the amount of exposure your athletes get. I have played around with each, depending on the sport and the time of year. Share on X

Now, some of you track coaches or more experienced practitioners might be thinking this is too simple and will never get the results needed for athletes at the university level. All I can say to that is that, after only a few years in my role (heading into year five), I have seen quite a bit. I know this may be simple, it might not have every drill necessary to elicit the perfect response from my athletes, and it might be undercooking them.

But this program has:

• A higher chance of getting done by everyone (because the keen ones will do everything anyway, and I am not worried about them).
• A higher chance of getting done well. (The volume is low, so they can focus on max effort for one drill, rest long enough without “wasting time,” and then move on to pumping the iron).
• A good chance of being enjoyable (which increases the other two).

And at the end of the day, getting athletes to buy in, enjoy training, and get at least some results is about all you can ask for in this job (until those coaches recruit better!)

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

Although it can be argued that running speed is the No. 1 component of athletic fitness, jumping ability rules in many sports. You don’t have many basketball, volleyball, or gymnastic coaches testing their athletes in the 40, yet there is cause for concern when these athletes unexpectedly lose 2 inches on their vertical jump. Besides assessing leaping ability, vertical jump test results can provide valuable insight into how to design better workouts. There’s a lot to unpack here.

“The vertical jump tells you how quickly an athlete can start a movement and apply force,” says sports scientist Jonathan Wahl, Ph.D. “It’s equivalent to that first step in tennis, that explosion off the line of scrimmage, and that leap out of the starting blocks.” In one 2015 study, researchers said jump tests “may be used by coaches for assessing and monitoring qualities related to sprinting performance in elite sprinters.”

My premise is that to design the best workouts for a specific sport, you should consider using multiple jump tests. Share on X

My premise is that to design the best workouts for a specific sport, you should consider using multiple jump tests. For example, you could make the case that the standing broad jump would be more specific to the start of a sprint, and the vertical jump would be more specific to the upright sprint position. Further, I’ve talked to sprint coaches who believe that a single-leg triple jump is a better test for assessing maximal acceleration than a standing broad jump.

With that sales pitch, let me show you how I’ve refined vertical jump testing over the past two decades to make it more sport specific. Let’s start by reviewing a bit of history on jump testing technology.

The Evolution of Jump Testing

In 1921, Dr. Dudley Sargent developed the Sargent Jump Test. It involves chalking the fingers of one hand and standing next to a wall. Without taking a step, you jump as high as possible and touch the wall at your highest point. The difference between your standing reach and your jump height is your vertical jump.

The next major evolution of this test is to hit a series of moveable plastic tabs, set a half inch apart and mounted on an adjustable pole; the more tabs you hit, the higher your score. This device is called a Vertec, and it is still used in the NFL Combine (image 2).

The Vertec was a dramatic improvement over the wall-and-chalk method, but one problem with both these tests is that it’s possible to cheat. Cheating is not an issue with how high you jumped (although with homemade and knockoff versions of the Vertec, I saw that athletes could often hit an extra tab by slapping it hard and upward). The problem is the starting measurement for the reach. Retracting your shoulders, leaning back, and slightly unlocking your knees can reduce your standing reach by several inches, thus giving you a higher score.

The contact mat, which involves a rubber mat containing sensors attached to a handheld computer (image 2), was the next “step” in vertical jump training. The athlete stands on the mat and jumps; how long they spend in the air determines their vertical jump.

Unlike the Vertec, a contact mat provides smaller jump increments. Instead of measurements such as 20 inches and then 20.5 inches, you can have 20, 20.1, 20.2, and so on. Because kicking your heels up as you jump could increase flight time, coaches should watch for this technique to maintain consistency among their athletes.

The athlete also doesn’t have to strike anything with a contact mat. This means you can perform a jump with your hands down to determine leg power more precisely (because the upper body assists in jumping). You can also measure upper body power (with a plyometric push-up) and use it as an electronic timing system for sprints and shuttle runs, and the one I used could measure multiple jumps.

Because an entry-level contact mat costs about the same as a Vertec and is more versatile, I’ll focus on testing with this device for the remainder of this discussion.

Fine-Tuning Jump Testing

As a starting point for personalizing your jump testing program, consider the sample testing form in image 3. The vertical jumps are ones I’ve been using for more than two decades, and the field tests are the ones used by Gabriel Mvumvure when he was a sprint coach at Brown University. Together, they provide an extensive assessment of athletic fitness for a sprinter.

Note that all the vertical tests were not performed monthly to save time. Rather, the vertical jump with arms is performed more frequently to give a general estimate of progress and determine if additional tests need to be performed. One of the problems with testing too frequently is that it can consume 1–2 days of practice time, and athletes often slack off on their training during the days before the test to score better.

One of the problems with testing too frequently is that it can consume 1–2 days of practice time, and athletes often slack off on their training during the days before the test to score better. Share on X

I organized the tests in this order for consistency. However, if a multiple jump test is included, it should be performed last because the fatigue it creates could influence the results of the other tests.

Let’s take a closer look at these vertical jump tests, along with some tips on improving their results:

1. Vertical Jump (No Arms)

Description: A standing vertical jump without the assistance of the arms

Athletic Quality: Leg power

Discussion: In many sports, such as hockey, the legs produce power without the arms extending over the head. Because it’s tempting to cheat with the arms at your sides, I have athletes perform this jump with their hands on their hips.

You can also use this test to measure an athlete’s strength deficit, providing insight into whether an athlete needs to focus on strength or explosiveness. I’ve read Eastern Bloc textbooks that use medicine balls of various weights to measure the strength deficit. If there is little difference among the distances the med balls are thrown, an athlete may need to work on explosiveness, such as with plyometrics. It can also suggest that an athlete is overtrained, so modifications must be made to the volume and intensity of their workouts. I saw a dramatic example of the need for such testing when I took Dr. Don Chu’s weight training class at California State University in the early ’80s.

Chu had three athletes perform a chest pass with a 16-pound medicine ball for distance. Two athletes were football players, and I recall one could bench press 380 pounds and the other 400. The other athlete was a javelin thrower who went on to make the Olympic team, weighed about 165, and allegedly only visited the weight room when he was looking for someone. The result?

The football player who benched 400 tossed the med ball 32 feet, and the other tossed it 28 feet. The javelin thrower tossed it 42 feet before it hit the wall! Even though this test was similar to a bench press motion, the football players’ relatively slow strength training methods didn’t develop the explosiveness that the javelin thrower’s training did.

As for jump training research on lower body explosiveness, one study compared the vertical jumps of powerlifters and weightlifters using body weight and an additional 44 pounds and 88 pounds of resistance. The researchers found that the weightlifters performed better in all three tests. Even though the powerlifters can usually squat more than the weightlifters, their training does not transfer as well to dynamic movements.

Although a weight vest can be used to test the strength deficit, the jump can be performed with a barbell on the shoulders (image 4). This method enables you to quickly and precisely add additional resistance, such as one-eighth of body weight and one-quarter of body weight. A hex bar can also be used (image 4). Athletes may find a hex bar more comfortable; however, the jumps may be higher because the traps are more involved.

2. Vertical Jump

Description: A standing vertical jump using the arms

Discussion: Using your upper body increases vertical jump height, which supports the idea that some upper-body training may be necessary to achieve maximum results in the vertical jump.

With sprinting and plyometrics, asking heavily muscled or overweight athletes to perform high-intensity/high-volume sprint or plyometric workouts is asking for injury. Box jumps are a safer alternative, where athletes jump onto a box and step (not jump) down. They are still performing an explosive concentric contraction, but there is minimal stress as their landing is only a few inches. Video 1 shows a conventional box jump and a weight-release box jump that provides a form of contrast training (post-tetanic potentiation).

What types of plyo boxes are best?

Solid boxes are better than open metal boxes because an athlete’s feet can easily get caught in an open plyometric box. With a solid box, an athlete’s feet slide down if they don’t jump high enough. The metal boxes tend to be cheaper, but the risk of injury may not be worth the savings.

A pyramid shape is more stable than a rectangular design (image 5), and a non-slip surface on the top makes it even better (although it increases the price). Also, with some plyometric boxes, a “booster” can add a few inches of height. Rather than purchasing higher boxes or boosters, some coaches will place thick bumper plates on top of plyo boxes, which should be considered a new level of stupid. This dangerous practice puts the athlete at a high risk of a horrific injury—Google “box jump fail” if you doubt me.

Sturdy foam boxes with a cloth covering are the best option (video 1), and many have Velcro to enable them to be securely stacked. Foam boxes are solid, and there is little risk of scraping your shins on the edges of these boxes (and I’ve seen some ugly scrapes in my day—one so bad that the bone was exposed!). The downside is that they are about twice the cost of wood boxes. However, the stacking feature reduces costs because they can be combined to create different heights.

Video 1: Foam boxes prevent scraping the shins and can be stacked securely. A conventional box jump (note the athlete steps down) and a weight-release box jump are demonstrated.

Next, there is weightlifting, and the jumping abilities of throwers and weightlifters testify to the value of these exercises for increasing leaping ability. I prefer the full lifts over the power versions, but both will increase the vertical jump and are less stressful for heavier athletes than many forms of jumping or plyometric training.

Because jerks are a more complex movement, another option is the push jerk, which can be performed by removing the barbell from squat racks (video 2). These movements work the ankle differently than cleans and power cleans, so I encourage athletes to perform some overhead work for more complete development. Because many sprint and jump coaches are reluctant to have athletes squat or perform any lifts from the floor during the season, push jerks are a good alternative because they produce less lower-body fatigue.

I must emphasize that push jerks (and jerks) are not upper-body strength exercises such as the military or bench press but dynamic lower-body movements involving a plyometric component. Share on X

I must emphasize that push jerks (and jerks) are not upper-body strength exercises such as the military or bench press but dynamic lower-body movements involving a plyometric component. Case in point: When I was 17 and weighed about 180, I jerked 335 pounds overhead but missed a 205-pound bench press in that same workout.

Video 2: Push jerks are an effective weight room exercise for increasing vertical jumping ability. The bar can be removed from squat racks or cleaned first.

3. Vertical Jump-Step

Description: A vertical jump using a one-step approach

Athletic Quality: Elastic properties of the lower extremities, particularly the soleus (lower calf muscle)

Discussion: This test involves taking one step and then jumping.

German sports scientist Dietmar Schmidtbleicher is one of the foremost experts on plyometric training. He says there are two basic types of jumping actions, which he refers to as stretch-shortening cycles. “Two types of stretch-shortening cycles exist, a long and a short one. A long SSC (e.g., jump to throw in basketball, jump to block in volleyball) is characterized by large angular displacements in the hip, knee, and ankle joints and a duration of more than 250ms. A short SSC (e.g., ground contact phases in sprinting, high jump or long jump) shows only small angular displacements in the above cited joints and last 100–250ms.”

This difference in stretch-shortening cycles was apparent in my work with figure skaters. As with high jumpers, figure skaters transfer horizontal speed to the vertical with a short stretch-shortening cycle. When only two females had landed a clean triple axel jump in competition, I tested the vertical jump of a Chicago female skater who did a triple axle in a practice session at the Olympic Trials. Her best vertical jump with a step: 18 inches!

Additional options to train this athletic quality include box jumps with one or multiple steps and, of course, bounding exercises. Chu’s classic book, Jumping into Plyometrics, demonstrates many jump variations. As shown in image 6, narrow foam barriers can be easily stacked, decreasing the risk of injury.

4. VJ-RT and VJ-LT

Description: A single-leg vertical jump

Athletic Quality: Determines muscle imbalances and foot arch function

Discussion: Muscle imbalances are considered a risk factor for injuries. There has been considerable interest in looking at strength ratios of the quadriceps and hamstrings using leg extension/leg curl machines. Sports scientists later expanded on this idea to include muscle imbalances between each leg. Let’s look at an example of how vertical jump testing can be used to assess imbalances.

With figure skating and the hurdles, the landing leg is often stronger than the takeoff leg because of the higher eccentric stress. In his senior year in high school, hurdler Bretram Rogers suffered a severe hamstring injury that he elected not to have surgically repaired but required many months of rehab. To avoid muscle imbalances, particularly for a hurdler with such an injury history, I included a lot of unilateral exercises in his workouts, and Coach Mvumvure addressed this issue in his sprint workouts. In his senior year at Brown University, after the indoor season, he jumped 24 inches on his right leg and 24.5 inches on his left. During the outdoor season, Rogers broke the 62-year-old outdoor record in the 110m hurdles.

I’ve also found that deficiencies in single-leg jumping ability are often caused by weakness in the muscles that extend (plantar flex) the foot and the muscles of the feet. I say this because by using postural insoles that stimulate the nerves in the feet to reform the arch, I’ve seen as much as 2 inches of improvement in single-leg vertical jumping and up to 3 inches in double-leg jumping in about 15 minutes with male athletes. (FYI: For a better assessment of arch function, I often have athletes perform single-leg vertical jump tests barefoot. Shoes often provide support that gives a false assessment of the postures of the arch.)

To better assess arch function, I often have athletes perform single-leg vertical jump tests barefoot. Shoes often provide support that gives a false assessment of the postures of the arch. Share on X

As for corrective exercises, using a mini-trampoline can be valuable for improving the function of the ankle during dynamic movements. Paul Gagné developed one series of box jump exercises using a mini-trampoline, which can also be performed barefoot (video 3). Says Gagné, “Yes, sports are played on a flat surface, but the elastic qualities of the mini-trampoline help improve the timing of the ankle and foot during dynamic movements, thus helping to avoid injury and improve athletic performance.”

Video 3: Single-leg trampoline jumps to a box help develop body awareness and timing to improve performance and prevent injuries.

5. Depth Jump

Description: Jumps performed off a platform

Athletic Quality: Fast eccentric strength

Discussion: Depth jumps are often used to develop the fast eccentric strength necessary to change directions in sports. Although some coaches have set specific heights using variables such as age and training experience, it’s better to be as specific as possible.

The depth jump test shows at what height jumping results decrease to help determine what height platforms you should use for depth jumps, which are high-intensity exercises (images 7a, 7b, and 7c). Thus, if your max depth jump height is 15 inches, you should keep your depth jumps to 15 inches or less in practice. Using a platform that is too high reduces the plyometric training effect because the athlete will spend too much time on the floor, dissipating much of the stored energy. (An analogy is downhill running. If your hill is too steep, you will expend too much energy braking.)

I once tested the vertical jumps of female gymnasts at an elite training club and found that many of these athletes were jumping higher without a step. This could be due to the lack of progressive overload in eccentric contractions, so exercises such as depth jumps could be useful in improving this athletic quality.

For example, I trained a 15-year-old gymnast who could vertical jump 22 inches with and without a step. After two months, she still had identical results in the vertical jump both without and with a step but was up to 24.6 inches. Because she was training 25+ hours a week, I could only add two 15-minute jump training sessions per week, and many weeks she could not handle any additional jump training due to a demanding competition schedule. Six months later, she jumped 26.5 without a step and 27.5 with a step. Had she not been practicing gymnastics, my guess is that there would have been a greater difference in the two measurements. 

Bonus Test #6. Lewis Formula

Description: Vertical jump and bodyweight formula

Athletic Quality: Power

Discussion: While sprinting speed is coveted in many sports, body weight must also be considered when assessing an athlete’s power. Case in point: New England Patriots running back Rhamondre Stevenson.

Stevenson participated in the 2021 NFL Combine, where the best 40 times for a running back was 4.38. Stevenson covered the distance in 4.64, ranking him 31st in that position. Nevertheless, he was considered one of the League’s best last year, with 1,040 rushing yards and 431 receiving yards. The difference is that Stevenson weighed 231 pounds.

Stevenson is better built to plow through an offensive line and break tackles than, say, a 185-pound running back who runs the 40 in 4.50. (FYI: The running back who ran 4.38 in that NFL Combine weighed 175 pounds. Although an accomplished college athlete, he spent most of his NFL rookie year on the practice squad and was waived the following year.)

The point is that besides sprinting speed, coaches should consider an athlete’s power. Power can be assessed with the Lewis formula (see my article on athletic fitness testing). The Lewis formula determines power with a formula that combines an athlete’s body weight and vertical jump. Stevenson had a 31.5-inch vertical jump, making him an especially powerful athlete. The Lewis formula would also be valuable for shot putters and discus throwers.

In the shot put, Ryan Crouser holds the current world record at 76.8 1/4 feet/23.38m (image 13). He weighs 319 pounds and has a 34-inch vertical. In 1988, Ulf Timmermann broke the world record with 75.6. At 262, he had a 36-inch vertical. In the early ’80s, when I lived in California, I trained at the Iron Works Gym in San Jose and worked at the San Jose YMCA. Among those accomplished throwers I often saw were Al Feuerbach (image 8b), Brian Oldfield, Mac Wilkins, Art Burns, and Richard Marks. These men are the athletic embodiment of power.

Additional tests many of these contact mats can provide are 60 jumps to measure muscular fatigue and four consecutive jumps to measure reactive ability. In the four-jump mode, the athlete jumps four times as quickly and as high as possible. The software will determine the average ground contact time and average jump height. This data has a specific application to basketball.

Chu said that in basketball, particularly women’s basketball, it’s often not the person who jumps highest who gets the rebound but those who can jump higher on the second, third, or fourth attempt to grasp the ball. As a result, Chu developed a specific jumping drill with a medicine ball to emphasize this athletic quality. (FYI: Chu was the strength coach for the Golden State Warriors for several years.)

As a matter of full disclosure, the 60-jump test is one I’ve never used. Instead, I did a double-leg 12- and 16-inch lateral box jump test for 90 seconds (which I learned from Chu). I found this test correlated well with the anaerobic endurance test used at the Air Force Academy with its football players. Their test involved three consecutive quarter-mile runs with a 60-second rest between reps.

Rise of the Force Plate

Technology has provided us with many exciting new methods of testing vertical jumps, including force plates that assess how you jump and fiber optic techniques that determine how you land. The data collected from these tests is believed to help determine an athlete’s risk of specific injuries, including those to the upper body. One system analyzes the forces produced by breaking down the three phases of a vertical jump (eccentric, isometric, and concentric).

Technology has provided us with many exciting new methods of testing vertical jumps, including force plates that assess how you jump and fiber optic techniques that determine how you land. Share on X

Brandon O’Neall is the head strength coach at Brown University. O’Neall has been an advocate of using the latest technology to enhance performance, incorporating velocity-based training systems with Brown athletes since he took the top position in 2011. Brown University recently acquired one of these sophisticated force plate systems, and it will be interesting to see what his data tells us.

Getting back to the present, there may be other jump tests you like that I didn’t mention, and certainly, there are many other athletic fitness training methods to improve jumping ability than the ones I’ve discussed. The takeaway is that by fine-tuning their vertical jump testing program to make it more sports-specific, a coach can better assess the physical preparedness of their athletes. From here, they can reevaluate their training methods to help athletes overcome weaknesses and achieve the “highest” levels of athletic performance.

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References

Goss, K. “The Case Against Stability Training.” Bigger Faster Stronger, March/April 2007.

Loturco I, et al. “Relationship Between Sprint Ability and Loaded/Unloaded Jump Tests in Elite Sprinters.” Journal of Strength and Conditioning Research. March 2015;29(3):758–764.

Hackett D, Davies T, Soomro N, and Halaki M. “Olympic weightlifting training improves vertical jump height in sportspeople: a systemic review with meta-analysis.” British Journal of Sports Medicine. July 2016;50(14):865–872.

Schmidtbleicher D. “Training for Power Events.” Strength and Power in Sport, 1992. pp: 381–395.

Chu, D. Jumping into Plyometrics, 2nd Edition, August 1, 1988. Human Kinetics.

Gagné, P. Personal Communication, February 2023.

Track and Field All-Time Performances Homepage, alltime-athletics.com.

Stone, Michael and O’Bryant, Harold. Weight Training: A Scientific Approach, Burgess International Group, Inc. 1984 pp. 166–168.