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Being a high school strength and conditioning coach is a highly rewarding career—we have the opportunity to not only make young people healthier, stronger, and faster, but also can instill lifelong values of hard work, overcoming adversity, teamwork, perseverance, and the ability to become the best at getting better.

Even with all those intrinsic benefits of coaching at the high school level, many coaches in this profession still have issues they often have to deal with, ranging from:

1. Sport coaches not trusting their strength coach and wanting to run their own strength program for their team.
2. Parents of student athletes not believing in the strength coach and wanting to tell them how best to do their job.
3. Student athletes not wanting to train at their school, believing that more is better and wanting personal training from a private sector coach.

I have been blessed to work at two different high schools in my career and can say that I’ve rarely had to face these issues. I don’t think that this is because I’m a better coach than my peers in the profession, but I do think part of the reason I haven’t had to deal with these challenges is that I am very open and welcoming to all parties in my weight room. Having an open-door policy has helped to gain buy-in from all parties involved and allowed our strength program to continue to grow and succeed.

Having an open-door policy has helped to gain buy-in from all parties involved and allowed our strength program to continue to grow and succeed, says @KurtzM3. Share on X

In this article, I will outline ideas and principles I have used to avoid regularly facing those common issues.

1. Have Core Values for Your Program and a Strength & Conditioning Philosophy—and Be Ready and Able to Explain It

I am entering my fifth year at my current school and I vividly remember having countless meetings with coaches, student athletes, and their parents explaining who I am and what my background is. I also had many meetings on how I design my strength and conditioning program. When meeting with the head sport coach, I wanted to convey to them how I can best help their team be successful. When meeting with the parents of student athletes, I had to convey to them how I can help maximize the potential of their son or daughter in their sport and in life.

I came to my current school after being named the National High School Strength Coach of the Year in 2016 and State Coach of the Year two times. This held some weight, but I still had to prove to everyone that I would be best for their team, their child, and for them personally. Some coaches may shy away from these conversations, but if we can embrace it, the buy-in and support will come much quicker.

I had and still have these conversations with our head sport coaches, the parents of my student athletes, and with my athletes. I want them to always understand the why behind my programming.

We base our training around our five core values. Those values are:

1. Protect. Every movement in the weight room is designed to protect the student from being injured in sports, the weight room, and everyday life.
2. Move Well. Students will be able to perform fundamental movement patterns with adequate mobility and stability in ways that will lead to a healthy, well-rounded lifestyle.
3. Move Strong. Students will perform multi-joint weight training exercises to develop the foundational strength base needed for optimal performance in all areas of life. Movements will be progressed and regressed according to a variety of factors, including age, movement competency, and trust level.
4. Move Fast. Our linear speed, reactive agility, and deceleration training will enable the student athlete to MOVE FAST in competition.
5. Thrive. Students will develop skills that will translate to improved sport performance, a lifetime of wellness, and the ability to overcome obstacles, maximizing their potential in all areas of life.

At the middle and high school level, one of the challenges for a strength and conditioning coach is breaking their athletic development program into different blocks or levels. There is a huge difference between training a 13-year-old freshman versus an 18-year-old senior.

There are several factors to consider when determining how to differentiate your program to meet each student athlete where they are. These include:

• Birth year age
• Developmental age
• Training age

As mentioned above, our first core value is for our athletes to be able to move well. Therefore, the main goals for our younger athletes are to teach them good mobility, stability, and proper fundamental movement patterns (like a bodyweight squat, lunge, hinge, push, pull). On top of that we want them to enjoy working out and training. We talk to them a lot about the coaching triangle of accountability, responsibility, and a non-judgmental environment.

The main goals for our younger athletes are to teach them good mobility, stability, and proper fundamental movement patterns, says @KurtzM3. Share on X

While some students may be at the same birth age, they may be at a different age in puberty development. Therefore, we need to factor that in to create a program that meets each of them where they are.

Additionally, some students may have been training with me for multiple years while some that are the same birth age may be just starting to train. This is what we call their training age and again must be considered in our programming in order to meet them where they are.

We also have our student athletes fill out questionnaires about themselves. This allows me to get to know them on a more personal level. Those questions can vary, but some of my favorites are:

1. Who do you look up to and why?
2. What is one thing most people don’t know about you?
3. What are the three most important things in your life?
4. How do you like to be coached?

The how do you like to be coached question is huge. Some athletes like a loud coach, some do not. I want to know what makes each student tick and how they are best motivated. Therefore, I use different coaching styles with each student athlete.

Some athletes like a loud coach, some do not. I want to know what makes each student tick and how they are best motivated, says @KurtzM3. Share on X

I want all of my student athletes and the sport coaches that I work with to know that my number one goal is to help them reach their goals in the fastest and most efficient way possible. I am their number one fan and am rooting for each and all of them to succeed.

2. Have an Open Door Policy for Coaches, Parents, and Community

While I am our school’s Head Strength & Conditioning Coach, I make it a priority to explain to every stakeholder that it is my job to help them reach their goals in the fastest way possible. I want to explain to the head sport coaches that I am their assistant coach. My goal as the strength coach is to put the head coach’s athletes in a position to be strong, fast, explosive, and durable for their sport. Therefore, it is my plan to be the head coach’s biggest competitive advantage.

My goal as the strength coach is to put the head coach’s athletes in a position to be strong, fast, explosive, and durable for their sport, says @KurtzM3. Share on X

Additionally, I know that I am not controlling the athlete’s playing time or who makes varsity and who does not—the head coach is ultimately deciding that. So, I want the head coach to also have a presence in the weight room during their team’s workouts. I do not want them to think that the weight room is my domain—I want them in the weight room with me, because if they show their athletes that it is important to them, then it will be important to the athletes as well.

A complaint from many high school strength coaches is that the parents of their student athletes do not trust their programming in the weight room. As referenced earlier, being able to explain the why behind what you do will go a long way in getting that support. But something that has helped me even more is inviting parents in to train with you as well.

Being able to explain the why behind what you do will go a long way in getting support from parents, says @KurtzM3. Share on X

At my previous school we would hold what we called Falcon Family Bootcamps. The parents and their kids (my students) would come and train with me in the evenings. At my current school, we hold what we call a Morning Machine Workout group for parents. Even though the program design is much different than how we train the student athletes, getting to know the parents has gone a long way in getting them to believe that I have their child’s best interest in mind.

Another way we have instituted an open-door policy in our strength and conditioning program is by hosting an annual Dad’s & Daughter’s Lift. On the weekend, we have our female athletes invite their father to a workout that is designed by me. While I design the workout, the daughters help to coach their dads through the workout. This is a great time for me to get to know the fathers and the fathers to get to know me as a person and a coach. Additionally, it’s amazing to see the interactions between the dads and daughters. Oftentimes, the dads hadn’t realized how strong and competent their daughters had become as lifters.

We also hold a community workout to support a worthy cause. Last Thanksgiving, we hosted a community workout where attendees brought canned goods or gift cards in to benefit needy families for Thanksgiving. This was an effective way for more of our parents and community to get a glimpse into our strength program and meet our coaches, and it was a way for athletes to learn that the weight room can be about much more than just becoming bigger, stronger, and faster.

Finally, anyone who has ever run a high school weight room has likely struggled with having upwards of 40, 60, or even 100 student athletes in the weight room at the same time. How can one coach properly supervise and coach this many athletes at one time? We love to get our sport coaches in the weight room to assist us, but oftentimes that is not enough. By holding our Falcon Family Bootcamps, Morning Machine Workouts, and Community Workouts, we have been blessed to have parents, current students, and older siblings want to volunteer in our strength program. This is amazing and allows me to get more eyes on our student athletes in the weight room.

3. Develop A Trust Level with Your Student Athletes and Private Sector Coaches

I hear this from many coaches I speak to: “I am having trouble getting my student athletes to be consistent in our after school or summer workouts. They want to go to XYZ private gym or personal trainer.”

I think everyone can agree about the countless benefits of training at school surrounded by your teammates. But we also don’t want to discourage our student athletes from always looking for the best options to become the best.

We don’t want to discourage our student athletes from always looking for the best options to become the best, says @KurtzM3. Share on X

One of the best ways to tackle this challenge is to develop trustworthy relationships with private sector gyms and coaches in the area. Some of my best friends in the strength and conditioning industry (Jason Brunson, Arena Athletes; Josh Ortegon, Athletes Arena; Langston Provitt and Trevor Anderson, TNXL; and Wes Murray, D1 Training) have been made through discussions about my student athletes training with them. Everyone in this profession wants the athletes they work with to become the best version of themselves. So, by our student athletes also training with private sector coaches, hopefully it can help them reach their promised land faster.

If the private sector coach and I are on the same page, we can work together to maximize the hours that athletes spend with us. We can have that open line of communication so we know what that student athlete has done outside of working with us. Therefore, we both can fill in the areas that could use extra time and work.

Empowering the Next Generation to Be the Best Version of Themselves

We are in a service industry and our goal is to maximize the potential of every person we work with. One of my favorite quotes is one from Theodore Roosevelt that many know: “No one cares how much you know until they know how much you care.”

We are in a service industry and our goal is to maximize the potential of every person we work with, says @KurtzM3. Share on X

It is my hope that when our athletes, students, coaches, and parents truly believe that our main priority is to not only make everyone we come in contact with the best athlete possible, but also the best possible version of themselves, many of the issues with buy-in will be eliminated.

Thank you to every coach in this industry. I truly believe we have the best and one of the most important jobs in the world!

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

As an athlete 20 years ago, I was taught never to false step because it’s wasted movement and will slow me down.

As a new coach 10 years ago, I taught athletes to never false step because it is wasted movement and will slow them down.

Today, I am writing an article about how beneficial, natural, and efficient the false step is for speed in sports and how it will undoubtedly make athletes faster.

So, what is all the fuss about the false step anyway?

What people refer to when they say a “false step” is a step, jab, or movement in the opposite direction of where an athlete wants to go. Many people still believe it is a wasted movement or a disadvantage to the athlete because of their lack of understanding of what actually happens during these false steps.

Many people still believe it is a wasted movement or a disadvantage to the athlete because of their lack of understanding of what actually happens during a false step, says @JustinOchoa317. Share on X

And the name doesn’t help. False has a negative connotation. False, after all, is wrong.

I really like the term that Lee Taft coined with the intention of replacing the use of “false step” while describing an actual positive athletic movement: the plyo step. Plyo step sounds athletic. It sounds positive. It sounds efficient. False step, again, sounds like a mistake. But it’s not a mistake at all.

They are technically the same thing, but as we know, our words matter. So our terminology matters too. A plyo step reframes the idea of a false step into something that makes sense from a physics standpoint as well as from a pure communication standpoint.

A plyo step is a step, jab, or movement in the opposite direction of where an athlete wants to go that allows the athlete to reposition their body for the most efficient propulsion in that direction. Instead of it being a wasted movement or disadvantageous, it actually helps the athlete naturally find the better angles and kinematic postures needed to accelerate into their next movement.

Newton’s Laws of Motion

I don’t know about you, but when we learned about Newton’s Laws of Motion back in ninth grade, I was probably in the back of the classroom in full REM sleep. But these three simple principles are so foundational for everything we teach as performance coaches, it’s pretty ironic how much I refer back to them today.

Newton developed these principles in 1666, and they are still relevant to all movements today. They make it especially easy to grasp the concept of why and how a plyo step works and why we’ll never get rid of it, no matter how much we try to coach it out of athletes.

Newton’s First Law—Inertia: An object at rest remains at rest, and an object in motion remains in motion at a constant speed and in a straight line unless acted on by an unbalanced force.

A great athletic example of this law is an athlete making a cut. Let’s say an athlete is running forward and wants to make a cut to the right. To do this, the athlete must plant their left foot in the ground to decelerate their forward motion and re-accelerate moving in a new direction.

Newton’s Second Law—Force: The acceleration of an object depends on the mass of the object and the amount of force applied.

In the example of a plyo step, the acceleration of an athlete is dependent on the amount of force they can apply and the direction in which it is applied. Force (N) in this case is equal to mass (kg) x acceleration (m/s).

Newton’s Third Law—Action & Reaction: Whenever one object exerts a force on another object, the second object exerts an equal and opposite on the first.

Now, the first two laws are obviously vital, but the third law is especially relevant to the topic of the plyo step because it’s a perfect depiction of exactly what is happening between the ground and the foot.

Video 1. When NASA launches a rocket, it relies on Newton’s third law. But you don’t hear anybody calling it a “false launch.”

For every action, there is an equal and opposite reaction. When NASA launches rockets into space, you see an explosion of flames, fuel, and energy coming out of the bottom of the space vehicle to propel it upward. You don’t hear astronauts calling it a false launch.

But for some reason, when an athlete puts their foot violently into the ground behind them to produce force for movement going forward, coaches lose their minds.

For some reason, when an athlete puts their foot violently into the ground behind them to produce force for movement going forward, coaches lose their minds, says @JustinOchoa317. Share on X

If we want to move efficiently, we have to work within these laws of motion. And the plyo step perfectly combines all three of Newton’s Laws of Motion into one beautiful, athletic movement.

The Plyo Step in Sports

Okay, Justin, you think you’re so smart because you referenced Isaac Newton in an article…but how does this even make sense in the world of sport?

This is so simple that it’s actually a bit lazy on my part. I searched “Best NFL Routes” on YouTube and watched the top result. Here it is. Every single route begins with a “false step.” The receivers step back, or sometimes even hop back, to better position themselves to create power and explosiveness coming off the line.

If we try to coach that out of our athletes in the name of “getting rid of wasted movement,” we end up telegraphing the upcoming route, lose explosiveness, and ultimately cause the athlete to overthink a simple, natural movement—possibly resulting in decreased performance.

Here’s another great visual example of a notorious LeBron James chase-down block.

Notice LeBron on the bottom of the screen. He plants his right leg outside his frame to project himself to the left and then performs a crossover step to get into his sprint to complete the amazing play.

That “false step” wasn’t wasted movement. That was the exact movement he needed to do to perform the crossover step. The crossover step could not have happened without the plyo step.

The right foot striking outside his frame allowed him to reposition his left foot under his hips to create a better driving angle as he transitions into a sprint. Without making that subtle plyo step, he may have lost acceleration speed and been a split second too late on that block.

Let’s take a look at soccer and the masterful goalkeeper, Ederson, from Brazil. In this video, he utilizes just about every example of a plyo step possible. He goes from static to forward with a linear plyo step. He goes from static to lateral with a lateral plyo step. He goes from shuffles to change of direction, backpedaling to shuffling, sprinting to jumping. He begins all of these movements with a plyo step. It’s all there.

There is a reason the plyo step continues to occur in all these high levels of sport. It’s natural. It’s efficient. Coaching this out of our athletes is counterproductive.

There is a reason the plyo step continues to occur in all these high levels of sport. It’s natural. It’s efficient. Coaching this out of our athletes is counterproductive, says @JustinOchoa317. Share on X

At this point, it’s hard for me personally to conceptualize any other footwork strategy in a lot of these scenario examples. After seeing these athletes perform the plyo step so well, it’s very tough to entertain other strategies, because they don’t even come close.

Cheetahs vs. Rhinos

While we can’t possibly put athletes into general categories and get it right every time, there are some basic distinctions that can help separate two very different types of movers.

You’ve got your cheetahs, and you’ve got your rhinos. Again, every athlete is unique, but these two categories are broad enough to create a little bit of separation in training and some semi-individualized programming.

The Cheetah

Your cheetah athletes are elastic and reactive by nature. They are super springy and fast, and they store and release energy extremely well.

A cheetah athlete makes great use of the stretch-shortening cycle. They probably have a great RSI score, good top end speed times on a flying 10, and a near-perfect plyo step with little to no coaching.

The downside? They may lack mass or structural integrity. If you help a cheetah gain some strength and robustness, you can help them support all of their speed and twitchiness. This ultimately allows them to reduce their injury risk and also helps them by adding a little bit more force qualities to their velocity-first tendencies.

The Rhino

Your rhino athletes are still good athletes but in a different way than the cheetah. A rhino athlete is more muscle-driven than elastic.

A rhino athlete excels at exerting force and moves well in a force-dominant environment. They are often strong accelerators but may not have the top end speed of a cheetah.

Reactiveness and elasticity aren’t the strong suits here, but these athletes are robust and strong. When it comes to the plyo step, since it’s an elastic movement, the rhino may not look as fluid when attempting this step.

Training the rhino to improve their reactiveness and elasticity can help them better utilize all of their natural force-producing qualities and ultimately give them what they need to become a better athlete.

Note: You can most definitely come up with a testing procedure to differentiate a cheetah from a rhino with RSI, speed, power, and movement testing. But honestly, the good ol’ eye test may be all you need. If you watch an athlete play their sport for 10 minutes, you’ll be able to tell almost all of the time.

Plyo Step Drills

Both cheetahs and rhinos will plyo step naturally more times than not, but the way we approach the coaching and training of each athlete is slightly different due to the natural strengths and weaknesses of each athlete archetype.

In the weight room, I would approach each athlete with programming that fills the gaps in their athletic profile. For cheetahs, try to build some structure and mass without losing their natural elasticity. For rhinos, try to expose them to faster RFD demands and velocity-based movements to show them how to use their force-dominant movement more efficiently.

However, in a drill setting, I like it the other way around, at least to start. Since the cheetah is a little bit better at naturally using the plyo step, their variations below will add an additional element of reactiveness to the drill to meet the level of the athlete.

Having these athletes simply do a plyo step may not be enough of a challenge. Like having a rhino with a 350-pound 1RM bench press do sets of five with 135—it’s just not enough stimulus.

Same for the rhinos. Since these athletes aren’t quite as natural at the plyo step, we start them off with the more basic fundamental drill variations without the additional reactive demands. Then they can progress to more advanced drills as they get better at the technique and their strength training starts to trickle over into their SAQ movements.

Hip Turns

Hip turns are a great way to transition from a retreat position to a catch-up position. For example, if a basketball player is in a defensive stance and gets a little out of position laterally, they will need to hip turn to reposition their feet to get into a movement—like a shuffle, lateral run, or sprint—that will help them catch up with the ball handler.

This is also a great movement strategy for getting from a bilateral or squared-up stance into a movement at an angle. Again, if a defender is square to the ball handler and they drive right, the hip turn is a great transition from that defensive stance into a lateral shuffle into the cutoff angle.

Below are two great drills, one for rhinos and another for cheetahs, to work on their hip turns.

For Rhinos:

Video 2. The hip turn to shuffle drill helps “rhinos” work on their hip turns.

For Cheetahs:

Video 3. The decel to hip turn to shuffle drill helps “cheetahs” work on their hip turns.

Linear Sprint

A linear sprint is obviously a crucial game-speed skill to have for all athletes.

But how do we get into that sprint?

In sports, there are hardly ever static starts for sprints outside of track and field, so the use of a plyo step to initiate the sprint action will almost always be the best movement solution.

In sports, there are hardly ever static starts for sprints outside of track and field, so the use of a plyo step to initiate the sprint action will almost always be the best movement solution. Share on X

Whether it’s a backpedal to a sprint, lateral shuffle to a sprint, or a sport skill action like a crossover dribble, all of these movements require an athlete to produce force down into the ground to propel themselves in the opposite direction—a plyo step.

Below are two great drills for rhinos and cheetahs to get into a sprint from a plyo step.

For Rhinos:

Video 4. This bilateral stance to plyo step with target drill helps teach “rhinos” to get into a sprint from a plyo step. (Note that this athlete is on a return-to-play program, so speed is appropriate for his stage of recovery.)

For Cheetahs:

Video 5. The reactive split stance reaction sprint drill teaches “cheetahs” to move from a plyo step to a sprint.

Lateral Sprint

Sometimes we need to bridge the gap between purely lateral and linear movements. In the chaos of sports, we don’t get to pick and choose how to move; we just take the opportunities presented by the sport and react accordingly.

A plyo step into a lateral transitional movement is a great way to blend lateral and linear in training. Below are two great drills for rhinos and cheetahs to get exposure to these gray area movements.

For Rhinos:

Video 6. The lateral plyo step to sprint is a great drill for “rhinos” to blend lateral and linear movements.

For Cheetahs:

Video 7. “Cheetahs” should use the continuous hip turn to reaction lateral sprint drill to hone their lateral to linear transition skills.

Helpful Tips

The drills featured here only scratch the surface of what you can do in training to continue crafting a great plyo step. Beyond that, there are two major things that have made a huge difference in training for our athletes.

The first is that we always try to use lines or visual feedback when working on our plyo steps or any type of repositioning of the feet. Lines are amazing for showing an athlete where their foot started, where it finished, and if needed, where it should have finished.

This is nothing new, though. A very similar technique comes from the weightlifting world when teaching the clean and catch position and how the feet should widen slightly on the catch compared to where they begin in the first pull.

We’ve used tape on courts and rubber surfaces, washable spray chalk on turf surfaces, and cones if tape or chalk isn’t available. Another great option, if time allows, is visual feedback on video. This really helps the athlete connect the dots, showing them what they actually did versus what they thought they did.

Another amazing coaching tool, if available, is objective quantification of these drills. The 1080 Sprint has been such a great tool for showing athletes immediate feedback on their force, speed, or power in connection with the video feedback of the rep. And we can store and compare them over time from a numbers standpoint and a technique standpoint.

Other ways to quantify things would be laser or manual timers, again, supported by the video of the rep so athletes can break down their actions and the results those actions got them. OnForm is a great app for coaches to really do all of this in one platform with slow-mo, built-in timers, and tools for displaying body angles.

I’d say it’s safe to move on from calling these steps false and start teaching them as the correct way to move, says @JustinOchoa317. Share on X

We know that false steps aren’t false. They are a naturally occurring movement that, in many cases, is the proper strategy for an athlete to use. Supported by physics and years of athletes’ experiences, I’d say it’s safe to move on from calling these steps false and start teaching them as the correct way to move.

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

Strength and conditioning in the private sector can provide a sustainable start to a coach’s career, allowing for more lifestyle flexibility, athlete accessibility, and programming freedom. After six years of coaching in the private sector, I know many of the skills and lessons I learned will carry me through the next phase of my career.

Even if you are working for someone else, taking responsibility for yourself as a business and developing your coaching craft is something the private sector doesn’t leave up to choice if you want to be successful. There are numerous facilities that have phenomenal continuing education programs and solid business structures already set in their foundation. Like anything, though, to excel at the profession, you have to use your own time to go above and beyond with additional continuing education and skill acquisition.

Taking responsibility for yourself as a business and developing your coaching craft is something the private sector doesn’t leave up to choice if you want to be successful. Share on X

Today, I can appreciate my time in the private sector more because, while it may have been frustrating to have to learn and develop on my own outside of work, it laid a foundation for years to come. If you take responsibility and treat your work and yourself as something more—studying on your own, learning other skill sets, building a brand, and taking yourself outside of your comfort zone—then you will have more to show for it when it’s all said and done. I have also learned that six key learnings will help you build your brand.

1. Embrace Sales

By far, my least favorite thing to do while in the private sector was sales. I would wager that this is a shared hatred of many coaches, but it’s a necessary skill. I’m still no expert, but I did improve from where I originally started. Just becoming more comfortable with the discussion of money and the value of the program demonstrated improvement in itself. Tracking indicators such as monthly commissions, closing rates, contacts met each week, and the results of those contacts helped make my sales interactions more efficient and far less uncomfortable.

Sales is an essential skill that runs much deeper than just money: everyone in the field would be better off if they put down the book on advanced periodization principles in favor of a basic sales book from time to time.

Everyone sells. Whether it be a tangible good or service, your program to a head coach, or yourself to an athlete, selling is a large part of what we do every day. When we realize that sales isn’t a dirty word and we begin to value our skills and profession, the transition to becoming a professional will become easier. There are some amazing, established coaches out there who downgrade their value by offering their services for far less than what their education and experience would dictate in other fields.

Whether it be a tangible good or service, your program to a head coach, or yourself to an athlete, selling is a large part of what we do every day. Share on X

Coaches should be compensated for their worth, like any job in any other respected field. The private sector allows you to learn sales and put it into practice daily. If I didn’t have the opportunity to fail at and learn in sales in the private sector, I know I wouldn’t be as good of a coach or as valuable of a staff member today.

2. People Are the Best Marketing

Like sales, marketing is something that I had no desire to be an expert in, but I had to develop and learn while in the private sector. Marketing depends on a host of variables that I cannot fully grasp, but for me, people have always been the best marketing tool.

I found success in first connecting to the people already in my network: my current and former athletes. Block off a small piece of time to email or direct message those clients for a quick check-in. I prefer this over a phone call because I am a millennial, but I also want this to be a quick conversation, and a 30-second phone call can be painfully awkward for all involved. Remember—this is just my preference and experience of what has worked for me.

All it takes is just being a decent person and reaching out to see how they are doing. Don’t bring up sales or the gym—unless they do—but make it clear that isn’t the reason for the contact. Some of these should already be paying clients, so it shouldn’t be stressful; just be genuine and leave it at that. Do this a few times a year (or more frequently, if appropriate), and I think you will be surprised what a little connection can do for a relationship and the marketing those individuals drive for your business.

3. Who’s in Front of You Doesn’t Dictate Your Value

Often, our abilities as coaches are judged by what athletes we train or what logo is stitched onto our T-shirts. This is just a micro-fragment of what defines a coach, and it doesn’t guarantee ability.

Like any job, there are those at all levels who are good…and those who are not so good. I have met amazing coaches with no Instagram following and who train middle school athletes all day. Each group of athletes presents unique challenges, and there is something to learn from everyone you step in front of.

Instead, coaches should be valued for their impact on their athletes and those they come into contact with. The physical improvements should still be considered when discussing impact, but just as a piece of it. Along with being mentors and supporters, the emotional and psychological elements should receive just as much praise—each piece is not as strong without the other’s support.

This occurs on all levels, and strength and conditioning coaches often wear several hats and must be excellent human connectors to be successful at their job. At the end of the day, whoever is in front of us deserves our respect and absolute best when it comes to coaching—whether they play on ESPN or are just trying to find their way in junior varsity sports.

4. Training Isn’t About Numbers

In the private sector, it’s important that your clients and athletes demonstrate improvements over time: people are paying you for a service and expect results. I learned, though, that in most cases, you are getting paid for something more important than numbers in a column.

While performance data has a place, training is about more than just the numbers. When sitting down with athletes and parents, you need to find their why. Why are they coming to you in the first place? Many of our athletes’ goals aren’t really to run a faster sprint time or to jump higher—it’s to improve in their sport, make the varsity team, or gain confidence and make themselves proud. They just believe that getting a faster sprint time or higher jump is the path to get there.

Yes, improved athletic attributes are a byproduct of that, but digging deeper to get to the roots of why and connecting to the individual’s emotional side is a recipe for a stronger connection. The cherry on top is improving the physical performance numbers as well, which will create a supporter for life.

5. Programs Must Be Flexible

Programming in the private sector offers some unique obstacles:

• Helping your athletes navigate around sporadic schedules.
• Having to adjust the plan due to their high school lifts or additional skill training sessions.
• Monitoring athletes who could be playing two to three sports at the same time.

It’s a never-ending science project most days, but it’s made achievable through flexible programming.

When programming for an individual or team, you must give yourself wiggle room. I have never been through a session from start to finish exactly as it was written. There is always some variable or exercise that needs to be adjusted to better fit the athlete at that time. Something that struck me early on was Strength and Conditioning Coach Joe DeFranco mentioning that it’s essential to write your programs in pencil, not pen.

The private sector will allow you to have flexibility in your programming and take control when needed. Having this adaptable mindset aids in the coach’s brand because it shows that you actually listen and care for your athletes’ needs but also are knowledgeable enough to execute an appropriate plan B or C. Doing this shows our loyalty to the athlete and not our own selfish egos.

This also bolsters your value as a coach because it demonstrates a skill set. People shouldn’t only be coming to you because of a great training program—you can find those easily with a Google search. They should be coming to you for your ability to manipulate and adjust that program to best fit the individual’s circumstances. Having a great recipe book doesn’t make you a great chef, and having the “world’s best” training program doesn’t make you a great coach. An adaptable mindset creates fewer headaches for you in the future and leads to more athlete success.

6. Fun Is a Training Variable

Fun is the unspoken training variable in the private sector. Especially for youth athletes, but even with older collegiate athletes, training isn’t part of their job, and they shouldn’t consider it an additional stressor. They should view it as a chance to better themselves and their team and also as a release from their day-to-day practices, schoolwork, and hectic schedules.

The art of coaching often gets placed behind the science, but ultimately this is what creates the greatest relationships with your athletes. In training, psychology will trump physiology. I am not saying that having sound training principles isn’t important, but in the private sector, your athletes are not forced to come to sessions—they can go anywhere they please. It is, therefore, critical that you create a relationship with them and have a fun and engaging training session.

Having purposeful training that happens to be enjoyable is not an impossible task. Share on X

Having purposeful training that happens to be enjoyable is not an impossible task. It’s essential to demonstrate not only the knowledge of why you’re doing specific drills or exercises but also the adaptability to make it relatable and reach the interest of the individuals.

I often put myself in the shoes of those I’m coaching, imagine how they would interpret this, and then reconstruct my presentation, my explanation, or the movement based entirely on that.

Moving On

I am incredibly grateful for the experiences the private sector offered. While building an extensive coaching resume, I also received a crash course in sales, marketing, and human relations.

Writing this isn’t so much a goodbye but more of an appreciation of how these six takeaways helped me prepare for the next step in my career. Looking forward, I have realized that regardless of the sector, I utilize these points every day in one way or another. Doing so helps me be a better coach for those I serve on and off the floor.

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

“Strength is measured in time.”

— Louie Simmons

Strength is important for every athlete, but even more crucial is displaying it over the course of time. For anaerobic dominant athletes, the ability to access strength immediately and accelerate through range of motion (ROM) is paramount. For the glycolytic-aerobic dominant athlete, maintaining output over the course of the event is key.

The application of strength in the first instance is known as Rate of Force Development—where he who turns their strength on immediately, wins. This will be witnessed in burst-oriented sports such as baseball, football, soccer, lacrosse, and basketball that rely on short-duration, explosive actions over the course of the contest. In the second instance, strength is accessed immediately and ideally maintained over the course of a distance-strength-endurance. Think stopwatch sports here: track, swimming, rowing, etc.

If the title quote holds true, then we can certainly appreciate the importance of time involved in applying and sustaining force. In essence, time can give us a way to quantify strength outside of the 1RM- or RM-type protocols.

While there is nothing wrong with max out sets or max rep sets, certain issues may mar their utility. Regarding a true 1RM, there is no strength test purer or more revered in the meathead psyche than crushing a big personal record (PR) single. The emotional euphoria coming off a big lift boosts the ego like nothing else, leaving you hungry to come back for more. A great state of being for sure, but how sustainable is it? We all know the answer: not for long. Dr. Bondarchuk even cited that the recovery time for a PR throw is about 15 days.¹

While there is nothing wrong with max out sets or max rep sets, certain issues may mar their utility. Share on X

While we certainly appreciate the 1RM mentality of our athletes in the weight room, a two‑week hangover will cost us valuable training time, especially if we are attempting to improve upon multiple bio-motor abilities at once. Not to mention the bulk of our trainees may not even possess the ability to recruit the high threshold motor units to benefit from maximal loading. In this case, what are we really testing (or training, for that matter)?² In my opinion, training should give more than it takes from you at every level.

Bar Speed and Velocity Based Training

If applied strength for athletes lies within producing it quickly, accelerating through the ROM, or maintaining output over time, then I would assume submaximal loads would be of the highest utility. If total reps (within a set) are kept within a range of quality, then it will be tough for things to go awry.³

One common new way to measure strength improvement is via bar speed through a velocity measuring device. These are great because you can extrapolate a “1RM” based on speeds you hit along a spectrum of submaximal loads and also manage loading for a particular training effect. This process is relatively simple if you have the tools—but what if you don’t?

One common new way to measure strength improvement is via bar speed through a velocity measuring device. These are great because you can extrapolate a 1RM based on speeds you hit along a spectrum of submaximal loads. Share on X

In the case of the author of the opening quote, Louie Simmons timed his world class bench press lifters and the same theme rang true—personal best and world record attempts were completed in no more than 3.25 seconds during the concentric, phase and if the effort went beyond this, then the lift would fail.⁴ From an absolute strength standpoint, this is a slow lift where extremely heavy weights are moved by those that possess the skill. From a special strength perspective, we can use the same line of thinking with submaximal loads. We can apply a time constraint within a given rep range; let’s say X number of reps within Y time.

In fact, Louie wrote about this as well to justify the rep range for dynamic effort work in the bench press and squat, keeping to the three-second rule for both. If the double in the squat or triple in the bench was significantly over this mark, then the weight is too heavy; if it was under the time cut, the load was deemed too light (keep in mind the time applies to the total reps within a set including the eccentric portion and amortization phase; we’ll delve into the details of this later).

Roots and Applications of Timed Max Effort

I must mention that this idea is not an original of mine, but a version of one I read about close to a decade ago. I can’t find the article I have in mind, but I believe it was written either by Dave Tate or Louie Simmons and titled either “The Timed Max Effort” or “Max Effort for Time.” It is also possible that title was a section of a larger article. My apologies to the original source for this imperfect citation, but I hope they know their variation lives on in spirit in these protocols.

At Performance Inspired Training, Inc., we routinely apply these protocols to the bench press, so I’ll present this as our example:

• Beginning with 50% body weight, we pick a range of 3, 5, or 10 reps depending on what we are trying to affect. We time the set with a stopwatch, aiming for one rep a second on the initial set.
• On the next set, we’ll add five total pounds and give an extra second to complete.
• If the previous set is completed within this time frame, then we add another five pounds and an additional second.
• We usually perform three sets but with the lower rep ranges we may go up to five.

The three- and five-rep protocols are obviously geared toward the anaerobic dominant athlete—the power athlete! We’ve used this with football players and baseball players to bridge the gap of general strength to applied strength that develops not only the RFD, but also the ability to “load” the eccentric rapidly. For the front seven players on the gridiron, the ability to absorb and control the impact of an oncoming opponent will determine the outcome of that interaction. For a baseball player learning to load the antagonist muscle groups for a throw with speed, the rhomboids, rear deltoids, and biceps will potentiate the stretch reflex of the prime movers in the throw (pecs, lats, triceps) for increased arm speed.

For the front seven players on the gridiron, the ability to absorb and control the impact of an oncoming opponent will determine the outcome of that interaction. Share on X

In the 10-rep protocol, the idea is the same but the effect is a bit different. For this timeframe, we are venturing into the endurance end of the spectrum. We are talking about the stopwatch sports like track and swim, where the ability to access power immediately and sustain it makes the difference between winning, placing, or neither. The concept is simple: the one who decelerates the least wins the race. By this logic, you’d better be able to stay strong for the time it takes to complete your race.⁵

We’ve applied this method in the training of male swimmers with some pretty good live results. This protocol was part of a proprietary program that helped lead to an Olympic Trials time cut in the backstroke for a 17-year-old high schooler. I have confidence in claiming this because this period of training was strictly in the gym during the lockdowns of 2020 when these kids were banned from training in the pool. We were able to sneak into a gym for three months of remote coaching, where this method was used throughout that period. When swim practice and meets commenced, it didn’t take long for this newly found power to be demonstrated as state and local pool records fell and the trial cut was attained.

We began as described above with ~50% body weight (100 pounds) for 10 reps in 10 seconds and climbed to a 30-pound increase over six weeks. After getting stuck at this mark for a couple of workouts we adjusted to a six-rep protocol using the same loading rules and improved to 175 pounds (~80% body weight) for six reps within six seconds. This process was interesting, as he was able to hit the 175-pound mark within three workouts (we used 10-pound increases at this point)—but was stuck for the remaining nine sessions before the six-second mark was cracked. My guess was that his system needed time to acclimate to stabilizing the load eccentrically for total power to be realized.

Timed Max Effort Protocols

In hindsight, this mode of work corroborates with DB Hammer’s definitions of work zones. Hammer classifies work zones as response and reserve.⁶ In my interpretation, we can understand this as:

1. Developing a surplus of strength.
2. Developing the ability to sustain it.

Some would argue, “Why not just do higher reps in general to effect strength endurance?” Hammer states, “A set of 10 squats vs a set of 10 shrugs are not equal.” The time demanded and systemic effect are hugely different given the difference in ROM and musculature used.

From a periodization standpoint, the zones of work (response and reserve) build on each other. Each time bracket is good for raising the capacity of work of the one beneath it. For example, work in the 9-25 second range is better for pure anaerobic development (4.5-9 sec.). The work in the longer periods allows some aerobic effect, allowing one to decrease recovery time between bouts of exercise and between intersession bouts, and to repeat outputs close to terminal level.⁶This gives coaches a working template to structure longer-term training cycles based on time where changes can be based on tracking performance effect. Like above, when my swimmer got stuck in the 10-rep protocol we dropped to a shorter time bracket of work and kept the needle moving forward.

Here are two protocols in live action:

Video 1. 10-Rep Protocol

We can see here that Pat progresses from 110 pounds in 12.55-13.07 seconds in week one to going sub-10 seconds with the same weight in the first set of the following week. In set two of week two, we move up to 115 pounds and add one second (10.62) to the time restraint. He hit the set in 11.10 seconds, so for the third set we kept the weight, which was hit for 10 reps in 11.66 seconds. Bar speed dropped a bit, but overall, a five-pound improvement in approximately one second less than the previous week. For week three, we will load the initial set with 110 pounds.

For MJ, his best set with 110 pounds was done in 13.63 seconds. His initial set in week two was performed in 12.30 seconds (1.33-second PR). We increased to 115 pounds with a time cut of 13.30 seconds and the time performance was the same as the first set. Given he made the cut within a second, we bumped the weight up another five pounds for the next set. It’s not in the video, but MJ pressed 120 for 10 in 13.43 seconds, which is 10 pounds heavier and one second faster than week one.

Just to be clear, I’m using the 10-rep protocol here with swimmers whose shortest race is in the 20-23 sec range. Their energy demands are different, as they must sustain power over time to cover as much “ground” as possible. This is known as stroke economy. This timed max effort feeds right into a racer’s mentality, allowing them to keep their mental focus sharp in training.

This timed max effort feeds right into a racer’s mentality, allowing them to keep their mental focus sharp in training. Share on X

Video 2. 5-Rep Protocol

Here we have a couple of multisport athletes, MS and Wheels, whose demands call for short bursts of strength where the tissues of the upper body must “load up” (eccentrically) in rapid fashion.

MS hits his initial set of 85 pounds in 4.06 seconds. This is very fast (and borderline too light)—but the key is that intent was applied and confidence was built. For set two we added five pounds and MS hit the set in 4.55—another fast one! Set three called for 95 pounds and another sub-five second performance, with 4.76. The next week we began with 95 and MS hit the five in 4.56—a two-tenths time drop! For set two, we jumped to 100 pounds for five timed at 4.73 seconds—which is just as fast as the previous week’s third set with five more pounds. For set three we added another five pounds for 105, which MS hit in 5.23 seconds. He is currently at 75% body weight with this effort.

For his training partner, Wheels, this was his first workout with this method. So, we established a baseline and were able to progress from 95 to 105 pounds within the course of the session. He was even able to hit his second set faster than the first.

Using time to quantify sets as opposed to pure load allows us to realize the benefits of dynamic effort and max effort simultaneously. Share on X

Using time to quantify sets as opposed to pure load allows us to realize the benefits of dynamic effort and max effort simultaneously. A maximal intent to move the bar as fast as possible within the given time frame can cover the short burst power spectrum to the special endurance. Not to mention, we have two ways to set a personal best every session—which helps in the incentive department. Give this method a try!

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

References

1. Mann, Bryan. “Testing & Statistics.” Strength Coach Network Fundamentals Level I.

2. Mann, Bryan. “Maximal Strength Development.” Strength Coach Network Fundamentals Level I.

3. Tsatsouline, Pavel. “The Origins of Strong First Programming: The Soviet System.” StrongFirst: The School of Strength. Retrieved from: www.strongfirst.com/the-origins-of-strongfirst-programming/

4. Simmons, Louie. Book of Methods. Westside Barbell. 2007.

5. Harvey, Nate. “How to Smash Track PRs with Timed Squats.” EliteFTS. Retrieved from: https://www.elitefts.com/education/how-to-smash-track-prs-with-timed-squats/

6. Buchenholz, Dietrich-Heinz. The Best Sports Training Book Ever. 2004.

Field and court sports share common goals: on offense create as much space as possible, and on defense close space between the defenders and the ball. We saw this when Michael Jordan created 4 feet of separation to hit the game-winning shot against the Utah Jazz in Game Six or when watching Darrelle Revis break up a pass by running the route for the WR. Al Pacino said it best in the movie Any Given Sunday: “The inches are all around us—one inch left you miss the ball, one yard too short you lose the game.”

This perspective puts a premium on the ability to sprint, accelerate, change direction, and decelerate. Improving general skills guides the planning process of off-season training. Being more skilled in sport means that an athlete has the ability to control their body accurately, efficiently, and in a timely manner, which provides faster sport motion. Zatsiorsky stated that “when sports performance improves, the time of motion turns out to be shorter.”

Breaking down sport, there appears to be a continuum of skills and capacities, with a capacity reflecting the amount something can produce. The capacities that contribute to the success of sporting movement are:

These capacities can be propulsive or decelerative, depending on the direction of the applied force. The capacities related to impulse cause change in movement and follow Newtonian law. As athletes get stronger and more powerful, they are able to increase their manipulation of momentum more successfully.

In my previous article, I went through the why of implementing decelerative-emphasized training. This article will go through the how of implementing decelerative training, breaking down how to classify, progress, and pair eccentric training elements with increased decelerative capabilities in mind.

Learning and Repping the Skill of Stopping

A skill is defined as “the ability to do something well, expertise.” As stated above, being more skilled in sport means that an athlete can control their body accurately, efficiently, and in a timely manner, which provides faster sport motion. In order to be proficient in any skill, the movement pattern must be rehearsed and fit a specific technical bandwidth that allows the athlete to express the necessary force to be successful.

Deceleration ability may be the biggest determining factor in performance when looking at general skills and their effect on sports, says @CoachJoeyG. Share on X

The reason athletes train is to prep for the demands of the sport while increasing the underlying factors affecting faster sports motion. Deceleration, in particular, is the underpinning factor in greater change of direction and max velocity speeds, which are directly responsible for creating and closing space.

Dr. Damian Harper defines deceleration as:

“[The] ability to proficiently reduce whole-body momentum, within the constraints, and in accordance with specific objectives of the task, while attenuating and distributing the forces associated with braking.”

Deceleration ability may be the biggest determining factor in performance when looking at general skills and their effect on sports. In the research article “COD task: does the eccentric muscle contraction really matter?,” Helmi Chaabene stated, “from a practical observation suggest that coaches should consider implementing eccentric strengthening, which is the main muscle contraction regime activated during deceleration, in their training program directed at promoting COD outcome.”

When looking at horizontal deceleration, research has pointed practitioners toward developing eccentric capacities specifically in the quads, hamstrings, and glutes. When the athlete has lower levels of eccentric strength in their lower body, it will cause reduced knee flexion in stopping movements, putting the majority of the mechanical stress on the hamstrings. Pairing this shallow knee flexion decel with poor trunk stability can lead to a dramatic increase in non-contact ACL injuries. Increasing eccentric force capabilities in key muscle groups and joints will increase performance and help mitigate several common injuries, such as hamstring strains and ACL tears.

Look at sprinting, as Peter Weyand and Ken Clark found that elite sprinters are able to decelerate the lower limb in the two-mass model faster than normal team sport athletes. The elite sprinter’s impulse curve or waveform should have much higher levels of eccentric peak force and eccentric rate of force (RFD). Contributing factors to great deceleration show up all over sports in a variety of skills.

Five Factors Affect How Well an Athlete Can Decelerate

Using the hierarchy developed by Al Vermeil, we see the progressions of how to increase braking ability, which will have a cascading effect on a player’s athletic abilities. This hierarchy is not limited to the lower body, as football blocking and block destruction both have decelerative actions, so apply the same methods to upper body training.

There is some crossover between the training elements in this hierarchy, as dynamic stability is present in all of these exercises and does not have its own catalog of exercises. I will focus solely on eccentric peak force and eccentric RFD, as plyometrics has been explored in recent articles. In the following sections, I will go through the exercises that have been implemented here at FAU and give examples and rationale on why we use them to develop deceleration capabilities.

Eccentric Peak Force

“Eccentric peak force allows athletes to harness gravity to create power.” – Antonio Squillante

From a kinetic perspective, peak force is the peak of the waveform curve or impulse curve. It can be described as the max amount. Traditionally, strength and conditioning coaches have measured this through 1RM testing. There is an understanding that the limiting factor in true training of peak eccentric force is the ability to complete the concentric phase of the lift. Research has shown that eccentrically, athletes can produce 120%–140% of a normal 1RM squat.

Peak force manipulation does not have time constraints, which is a major reason just focusing on strength production has limits when looking for transfer to sport activities, as sport has specific time windows for the application of force governed by movement. Getting strong just for the sake of getting strong will not guarantee better sports performance, as much as we would like to believe it will.

Strength is necessary, as the lack of it will guarantee failure in the ability to produce skills—but solely focusing on strength as the holy grail will reach a point of diminishing returns and lead to stagnation of performance gains. Strength and conditioning coaches do need to create reserves (or surplus) greater than what is demanded in sport to protect the athlete from injury. This also gives the athlete the ability to perform under some levels of fatigue if the capacity is developed to new and higher levels. These reserves are critical for performance, as athletes in field sports rarely are completely fresh during competition.

Strength and conditioning coaches do not want the first time that athletes experience 6x BW in eccentric forces to occur in competition, says @CoachJoeyG. Share on X

Building eccentric peak force is critical for enhancing the skill of deceleration, as peak force shows up in the later phases of horizontal braking in the steps leading to the penultimate step. As the ground contacts expand and the knee and hip angles deepen, the need for more force—specifically deceleration force—is pivotal in the athlete’s ability to manage the momentum. Deceleration forces have been recorded as high as 8x BW and occur between 50 milliseconds and 300 milliseconds. Neglecting the training of this sports phenomenon will most certainly lead to an increased risk of injury. Strength and conditioning coaches do not want the first time that athletes experience 6x BW in eccentric forces to occur in competition.

Peak force can be developed through two modalities:

1. Submaximal eccentric training
2. Supra-maximal eccentric training

Submaximal Eccentric Training

Submaximal eccentric training has been made popular by coaches like Charles Poliquin and Cal Dietz, and it is not a new training intervention. It can be applied to all exercises, and its reach is only limited by the strength and conditioning coach’s creativity. The greatest impact is on the implementation of tempo to compound lifts such as squats, hinges, presses, and pulls.

The benefit of using submaximal eccentric training is twofold.

1. 1. The structural adaptations that occur with increased time under tension. Using this method has a great hypertrophic response on the muscles. The time under tension stimulates an anabolic hormonal response, along with the increased tissue damage from the focused eccentric action, allowing greater size and strength adaptations to the CSA if adequate recovery periods are applied.

 

1. The adaptation of the tendon structures and motor unit recruitment, which, if implemented early in the training phase, can allow the strength and conditioning coach to be more aggressive in later progressions when programming plyometric activities, as GTOs are programmed to allow higher levels of stretch-shortening activities. The controlled lowering helps groove the pattern, increasing the technical proficiency of the lift, and is a great motor learning tool when teaching early progressions of exercises.

Using this method is a great alternative to the 3×10 rep prescription seen in the early offseason that is used too frequently, as it checks many of the same boxes as hypertrophy, tendon health, motor learning, lactate buffering, and even aerobic system development. This early intro to eccentrics at submaximal intensities accomplishes the adaptation of hypertrophy with higher intensities and sets the S&C up for supra-maximal eccentric training progressions later in the training cycle.

Squats are one of the most common means of implementing this method in the S&C community, but bodybuilders have been using tempo on isolated joint work for a long time. The load is less than 100% of 1RM, hence the name submaximal. The preferred intensity zones that we have found to be adequate in stressing the athlete safely were between 65% and 85% of 1RM. Once the 85% of 1RM threshold was crossed, it was extremely difficult for the athlete to complete the concentric portion of the lift. We use the rep range of 3–5, as 5+ reps dramatically increase the risk of injury due to fatigue. Sets of 5+ reps with tempo can expand past several minutes, which under significant load is not a safe environment for athletes.

Lower body examples:

Video 1. Squat.

Video 2. Sub max split squat.

Video 3. SL tempo RDL.

Video 4. R leans.

Video 5. Tempo side squat.

Upper body examples:

Video 6. Sub max bench tempo.

Video 7. Sub max DB bench.

Video 8. Tempo chin-ups.

Video 9. Submax tempo press.

Video 10. Sub max rows.

Supra-Maximal Eccentric Training

Using sub-max eccentrics is like eating appetizers at a restaurant: they are great starters, but you are still holding out for the main dish. Sub-max eccentrics set up athletes to handle higher-intensity training means like supra-maximal eccentric training and plyometric training. This style of training is defined as 100% of 1RM or greater: controlled lowering without the possibility of completing the concentric portion of the lift without outside aid.

Using sub-max eccentrics is like eating appetizers at a restaurant: they are great starters, but you are still holding out for the main dish, says @CoachJoeyG. Share on X

This is a very aggressive and intensive style of training that should be completed with minimal volume and carefully progressed. This method should be used with main core lifts such as presses, squats, and hinges. Coaches must have mature, attentive lifters, as equipment such as weight releasers or spotters is needed to accomplish this modality.

Supra-maximal eccentric training cannot be mentioned without bringing up Dr. John Wagle and his research pertaining to accentuated eccentric loading (AEL). Dr. Wagle defines AEL: “Accentuated eccentric loading (AEL) prescribes eccentric load magnitude in excess of the concentric prescription using movements that require coupled eccentric and concentric actions, with minimal interruption to natural mechanics.”

This style of training is supra-maximal eccentric and has, in several research papers, shown increases in strength and speed in field-based sports athletes. Eccentric training can lead to greater increases in total strength and, when paired with SSC activities, allows for more forceful and propulsive concentric actions. In Jamie Douglas’s research paper “Effects of Accentuated Eccentric Loading on Muscle Properties, Strength, Power, and Speed In Resistance-Trained Rugby Players,” he stated:

“The additional eccentric load afforded by slow AEL may provide a superior stimulus to the neuromuscular system, a stimulus that could be especially relevant to trained athletes simultaneously attempting to increase strength, power, speed, and aerobic fitness.”

Creativity must be at a premium when navigating equipment deficiencies and it shouldn’t push coaches away from using this training method, as it produces immense results.

Lower body examples:

Video 11. Squats with weight releaser.

Video 12. AEL supra max squats with SSB, no hands then hands.

Video 13. Supra max split squat.

Video 14. Trap bar deadlift AEL.

Video 15. Push press to controlled lowering supra max for press.

Video 16. Bench weight releaser supra max.

Video 17. Chin-ups partner pulldown.

Video 18. Deadlift to supra max RDL.

Video 19. AEL band-resisted box jump.

Video 20. AEL box jump.

Eccentric Rate of Force

Deceleration is a rate-dependent activity. From a kinetics standpoint, RFD is, in simple terms, how fast to peak force. There are several time brackets that people use to measure it between 50 milliseconds and 250 milliseconds. The steeper the slope, the more the athlete is able to express force faster.

Why is it important to manage force fast? In sports, there are limited time windows in which the athlete can apply force—if the window is extended, the movement slows down. Slower playing speed in specific situations like tackling, decelerating, or cutting can lead to serious injury. The main determinant of not being able to express force faster is slower skill execution, which makes it easier for the opponent to separate or close on you.

With eccentric RFD exercises, we want to increase the rate of the stop. These exercises must be performed with violent intent and have tremendous adaptive responses, such as increased muscle stiffness and higher recruitment of type IIx fibers. When classifying eccentric RFD exercises, the higher the jarring effect of the modality, the higher the demand of mechanical stress on the athlete and the increased GRF. These exercises fall into the classifications of altitude drop, snap downs, and rapid catch. Because of the high mechanical stress of the exercises, coaches only need to prescribe a small volume to elicit positive adaptation.

A simple way to conceptualize programming for snap downs is to prescribe them similarly to Olympic lifting variations. Quality over quantity is at a premium, as we don’t want to have these rapid decelerations happen with fatigue. Coaches can be extremely creative in the final position of the decel out of the snap down. We start with a square “athletic position” and move to a staggered stance. Limiting or removing the portion of the base of support has an increase on the dynamic stability demand. This exercise isn’t limited to the sagittal plane, as coaches can tap frontal plane decelerations as well.

Because of the high mechanical stress of eccentric RFD exercises, coaches only need to prescribe a small volume to elicit positive adaptation, says @CoachJoeyG. Share on X

When selecting drop heights for altitude drops and depth jumps, the most logical resource has to be Dr. Verkhoshansky. We looked at his recommendations and compared how applicable they would be in our specific setting and how compatible they would be with our intended training emphasis components. Dr. Verkhoshansky recommends that the drop should be 2.5 feet, or 30 inches, for explosive strength and reactive ability. For increasing peak force, the drop should be performed at 3.5 feet, or 42 inches!

As coaches can see, these aren’t small boxes to step off of. In the research paper “A methodological approach to quantifying plyometric intensity,” the authors found that a rebound vertical jump produced around 4.5x BW in GRF. If a vertical jump landing is more intensive than falling off a sub-vertical-height box, it didn’t make sense to start the altitude drop progression with anything short of the average vertical height for each position group. We add intensity to the exercise by increasing the height over the positional average.

Video 21. Drop landings.

Video 22. Altitude drops.

Video 23. Assisted snap downs.

Video 24. Tb snap downs.

Video 25. Db snap downs.

Video 26. Push-up drops.

Video 27. Bb drop rows

Video 28. DB drop rows.

Video 29. Full-speed decelerations.

Video 30. Decelerations.

Pay More Attention to Deceleration

As more light is shone on the sporting task of deceleration and its components, it is becoming more evident not only of its need on the training calendar but the performance benefit if this skill is improved. Field sports are about manipulating space, and deceleration not only increases COD but also improves speed. This is not a new training modality, as Loren Landow, Vern Gambetta, and Bill Parisi have been using similar training methods for decades—not to mention what the Soviets did for who knows how long.

Though it is not new, deceleration and its components often get neglected in the training process, says @CoachJoeyG. Share on X

Though it is not new, it often remains neglected in the training process. Thankfully, researchers like Damian Harper have brought notice to this neglected training element, and practitioners like Les Spellman and Jevaughn Pinnock are consistently creating new methods of training. As Dr. Harper stated: “You cannot speed up what you cannot slow down.”

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

Breath mechanics are at the literal core of the human body. Most obviously, they have a direct effect on the air coming in and going out of the body, but much more is going on. So much so that perturbed breath mechanics create a ripple effect that holistically and simultaneously impacts neurological, motor, and psychoemotional systems.

If coaches and athletes better understand how far-reaching the positive and negative effects can be, I’m sure that far more attention would be paid to teaching good breathing habits and alleviating poor ones. Even slight changes in breathing can yield significant long-term results—reaching far beyond the obvious and with a relatively low cost in time and effort.

If coaches and athletes better understand how far-reaching the positive and negative effects can be, far more attention would be paid to teaching good breathing habits and alleviating poor ones. Share on X

Conversely, compensatory and dysfunctional breathing mechanics in athletes have multiple adverse downstream effects on performance. Training for and competing in sports is stressful on the human body, and combining the repetitive and lopsided demands of all sports will create compensation. These effects are subtle and can be difficult to prioritize in the scheme of problems coaches face. Left unchecked, however, breathing compensations can aggregate like interest on an unpaid debt.

The goal for us as we study this subject here is to develop a basic understanding of the holistic nature of breath pattern dysfunction in athletes, some of the limitations it causes, how it presents itself on the field of play or in training, and what we can do about it within our scope of practice.

Athletic Breathing Dysfunction Overview

Let’s make sure we are crystal clear about what dysfunctional breathing is. It is “Inappropriate breathing which is persistent enough to cause symptoms, with no apparent organic cause” (Cliftonsmith & Rowley, 2011). This means that the athlete does not have an underlying disease state of which poor breathing may be an expression: for example, a metabolic disorder like diabetes that may cause a higher offload of energetic waste. Since many of these disorders are non-factors for athletic populations, most breathing issues can be attributed, at least in part, to poor mechanics.

As a point of conscience, though—if you have an athlete who consistently can’t breathe, send them to medical care!

The symptoms of poor breathing can be hard to spot because they can be situational and sporadic. However, breathing dysfunction can surface as shortness of breath during activity (duh), frequent yawing/sighing, chest and upper back pain, air hunger (“can’t catch my breath”), unusual fatigue, and anxiety/panic attack (this one is especially important in modern youth athletics).

The symptoms of poor breathing can be hard to spot because they can be situational and sporadic. But the energetic costs for poor breathing can aggregate. Share on X

Additionally, negatively altered breathing mechanics can result in altered motor patterns downstream that disrupt postural orientation as well as extremity coordination. Long-term hyperinflation patterns can result in poor length-tension relationships in trunk muscles and put undue stress on postural muscles in the low back especially. Poor breathing also does the obvious: you bring in less oxygen/per unit breath (aka vital capacity). In other words, you’re shallow, Hal. Last but not least, aerobic efficiency can become enfeebled over time, and energetic costs for poor breathing can aggregate.

The nature of the human body is so completely interwoven and interrelated that it can be difficult to say with absolute precision that “X issue” equals “Y problem.” However, identifying areas of emphasis can help coaches better understand the components of complex systems in a way that allows for better problem-solving and application of interventions.

Because ventilation is a foundational component of human anatomy and physiology, many things can cause and contribute to disordered breathing (and vice versa). More than just poor mechanics contribute to breathing disorders—everything from pain, autonomic arousal, and sinus dysfunction to pregnancy and diet can contribute to the etiology of breathing issues. Regardless of origin, the continuum of effects of altered breathing is varying degrees of physiological, psychoemotional, and biomechanical outcomes.

The best way to begin attacking these issues is by first identifying the ideal and moving toward that ideal with progressive skill. Don’t get too lost in the corrective weeds and steal all the fun from the sports physios out there.

Keep It Super Simple

All roads lead to Rome. Regardless of where an athlete’s breathing problems come from—or the direction they’re going—there has to be a mechanical change to elicit a positive response. This means that there’s a change in movement skill at the most fundamental level, and that’s where coaches live.

If you’re a coach, rather than focusing on the minutiae of correctives, use simple mechanical tools that athletes can learn and repeat accurately. Share on X

There is a vast literature on the many positive effects of “diaphragmatic breathing” as well as “chest breathing” and the negative ones. If you’re a coach, rather than focusing on the minutiae of correctives, use simple mechanical tools that athletes can learn and repeat accurately. As my friend Mickey Schuch says: “Is it robust? Is it reliable? Is it repeatable?”

A Word on Cueing

When I hear things like “use your diaphragm,” my neck hair stands on end a little. No coach worth their salt would ask you to run faster by “using your rectus femoris.” Instead, we provide cueing that gives a point of focus and movement instructions (constraints) that allow the athlete to envision the end result and then start iterating. It’s the same with breath mechanics.

Have an accurate and reliable ideal that you will use as a measuring stick. Most generalist coaches have neither the time nor the inclination to become breathing experts. However, a basic understanding is a must because of the breadth and depth of both the harm and the benefit from breathing.

A basic understanding of breath mechanics is a must because of the breadth and depth of both the harm and the benefit from breathing. Share on X

In that vein, let’s touch a little bit on identifying and cueing ideal mechanics—for the sake of brevity, we’ll cut right to the chase. (If you are looking for a more detailed reference on breath mechanics, check out this article.)

Three steps to keep it super simple:

1. Cue the ribs. Learn to move ribs, not bellies. Athletes brace their trunk position to deal with higher forces on their structure, so moving the belly is not a viable option under many circumstances, especially competitive ones.
2. Fill the bucket. Ribs should move in waves from bottom to top as well as up to the sides just like filling a bucket with water.
3. Control the flow. Imagine sipping air slowly through a straw (but with your nose). If you try to suck everything in at once, the straw will collapse. Keep the flow smooth and deliberate.

These three principles will help orient athletes toward breathing that primarily uses the diaphragm and intercostals while using accessory breathing muscles as, well, accessories. When you see breathing like this, the ribcage moves smoothly and evenly all the way around the torso. As we’ll discuss in more detail, the demands of athletics have some compensatory and dysfunctional patterns that can be easily redirected with simple, well-applied tools.

Video 1: Learn how to cue ideal mechanics before introducing any potential corrections.

As a final reminder: it’s easy to get stuck in the correctives without practicing the movement well and often. Use the ideal mechanics as a benchmark before and after any intervention, so you know if you’ve made a change.

Regardless of origin, you can alter breathing habits toward the positive with mechanical interventions that don’t require specialized expertise. The easy way to stratify these is through lower-body- and upper-body-focused interventions.

Lower Body Interventions

It might seem like the lower body has less implication for breathing mechanics and that improving them may not have much effect on issues in this area. Not at all. Well-implemented breathing strategies can dramatically and positively affect outcomes for lumbopelvic dysfunction. It may be truly impossible to separate the mechanical from the holistic outcomes of improved diaphragm engagement, but let’s start there.

Athletes who, through genetic anthropometry or movement history, develop local extension moments in the lumbosacral area often have increased tone in deep hip flexors that can put undue stress on the system and limit diaphragm excursion. Contrary to popular belief, athletes with a proclivity for spinal extension will not snap in half at the first sign of trouble. So, it’s important we alter our thinking from one of correction to one of integration. Is the system working together optimally? Is one spot stealing efficiency from another?

Contrary to popular belief, athletes with a proclivity for spinal extension will not snap in half at the first sign of trouble. It’s important we alter our thinking from correction to integration. Share on X

The psoas and the diaphragm share some important anatomy with serious implications for not only better breathing but also spine and hip function. The bottom of the diaphragm, called the crura, comes down like snake fangs between T10 and T12 and crisscrosses with the upper and medial portions of the iliopsoas, continuing upward toward the spinal origin of the diaphragm. Of course, also woven in are the usual suspects: QLs, transverse abdominis, latissimus dorsi, and the other members of the paraspinal gang. Most importantly, all that tissue interlocks with the thoracolumbar junction and acts like a Chinese finger trap to mechanically reinforce that area of the body.

The first lower body intervention we’re focused on here is a kind of pelvic “tempering” (a term coined by the legendary Donnie Thompson). Here we use direct pressure into the iliopsoas with hip and leg extension to deal with tissue stiffness. Due to the anatomical relationship with the breathing mechanism described above, maintaining smooth, controlled breathing is an absolute must to maximize this technique. If it feels like it’s too much, back off or stop.

Video 2. Iliopsoas Tempering.

The second lower body intervention is the classic deadbug, but with some applied nuance. Here we emphasize lumbopelvic positioning with breathing added in. This “core” exercise can be valuable if done with attention and intention instead of the lackadaisical approach of an actual dead bug that is all too common in even the fanciest training halls. Pressurize the trunk using the cueing from above and then move the hip into relative extension without creating local movement at the spine. This technique reveals some nuanced connections in the kinetic chain while at the same time creating a therapeutic input.

Video 3. Deadbug

These exercises can be used separately or in a superset fashion. I’ve had the most success with the latter application. The first technique creates some options for movement, and the second dials in the software. Going back and forth with low but focused repetitions gives the athlete a feel for the breathing’s new range and application without getting overwhelmed.

Application

Alternate

1. 1:00–2:00 body tempering/side (with 3–5 reps leg extension).
2. 6–10 deadbugs: Slow and controlled! Set posture, nasal inhale (fill the bucket), extend leg, return leg, nasal exhale.

Key Points:

• These exercises are subtle, not passive. Keep your and your athlete’s attention locked on the details.
• Do not approximate an arbitrary range of motion. Focus on the constraints given in the video to maximize the outcomes.
• Make the breath the center of the focus for the exercises and everything else secondary.

The lower body techniques described here are not intended as a panacea by any means, but they can move the needle on essential pieces of the breathing puzzle. I’ve found these exercises incredibly beneficial for not only helping athletes reset faulty breathing mechanics but also helping to create a more integrated relationship between the tissues around the trunk and the ability to manage pressure. This enhances overall stability and can diminish negative feedback from pain-sensitive tissues and increase mechanical breathing efficiency.

Bonus Technique: Super Lunge

You want to be super, don’t you? Good. Pay attention to the details of this exercise, and you will be.

Video 4. Super lunge: The basic lower body interventions use breath and movement together to progressively improve the coordination of the trunk to deal with force inputs more efficiently.

Upper Body Interventions

Athletes, in particular, often suffer from “hyperinflation” issues stemming from apical breathing. Apical breathing is when the mechanical load for ventilation is adversely distributed to the accessory muscles of the chest and shoulders. This cycle often results in poor and partial exhalation preventing the full contractile cycle of the diaphragm. Over time, this, combined with other mechanical inputs, can create aggregate compensations and potentially true dysfunction. These can limit performance through their contributions to mechanical issues in the upper body but also by restricting optimal energetic efficiency that is managed by breathing.

Most of the time, when we think of neck and shoulder problems, in particular, improving breath mechanics does not come to mind as a solution. However, simple interventions that improve breath mechanics have both holistic and direct mechanical benefits, specifically for issues in the neck and shoulder. Holistically, removing roadblocks to breathing efficiency takes the edge off the nervous system, yielding a net benefit to any movement strategy that may be used body-wide.

Simple interventions that improve breath mechanics have both holistic and direct mechanical benefits, specifically for issues in the neck and shoulder. Share on X

Additionally, many accessory breathing muscles have crossover functions in the upper body, the most obvious being the scalene, sternocleidomastoid (SCM), and pec major and minor. These muscle groups implicated in neck and shoulder dysfunction frequently have a breathing pattern disorder as an associated causal factor. Conversely, neck and shoulder dysfunction affects downstream breathing pattern issues.

Our first upper body intervention is to help bring awareness to and encourage the full range of motion in the ribcage. This includes the global sense of thoracic extension and rotation but also the more granular relationships of the ribs to each other. Larger tools like rollers tend to encourage global extension. To get more precise, a smaller fulcrum is necessary. For this, you can use a cheaper and more ubiquitous tool like a lacrosse or tennis ball or get something specifically designed for refined t-spine access.

Video 5. T-spine opener.

Key Points:

• Be purposeful. Don’t just slide all over the place like you’re getting moved down an assembly line.
• Use breath first. A full inhale will create pressure and traction in the area first.
• Pops don’t mean it’s working. Your indicator shouldn’t be that your spine sounds like a crackling campfire. Sometimes it does; sometimes it doesn’t. Can you breathe/move better?

The second upper body intervention is the neck peel. This is simply using a tool to create drag over the SCM and other regional tissues to relieve tension associated with apical breathing and neck/shoulder dysfunction. This technique is all about using the ball to wind up superficial fascia. This can be done almost anywhere, whether seated or standing, and in my experience, it gives tremendous relief from a variety of issues.

Video 6. Neck Peel.

Key Points: 

• Go slow. Three seconds to move an inch is a good rule of thumb.
• Create drag. Grab and slide the tissues; don’t push into the neck.
• Explore and move. Start with the traditional origin and insertion, but remember that the systems are interconnected. Go where things are sticky.

Some final words on applying these tools. Repetition over intensity: your athlete should be able to control their breathing the entire time. Order matters: do the steps given in the video in order—every time. The given order emphasizes tissues in very specific ways, so don’t just wing it.

Performance Anxiety

While performance anxiety doesn’t have as obvious of a mechanical cause as some of the issues we’ve already discussed, understanding the part that breath plays is essential for helping athletes on your roster who may suffer from this issue. Furthermore, it gives coaches and athletes access to a solution that is:

1. Free of stigma.
2. Accessible anytime and anywhere, whether in the field of play or not.
3. Within a coach’s wheelhouse.

Performance anxiety has multifactorial origins, and breathing dysfunction—while not the sole cause—usually plays some part in the propagation of performance-related anxiety. That said, there are definitely signatures patterns of shallow, inhale-focused breathing that cause dysregulation in carbon dioxide levels. Over-arousal of the autonomic nervous system expresses itself as anxiety on the psychoemotional level but as breathing dysfunction on the physiological level. This increased arousal response acutely upregulates the urge to breathe. Those suffering from performance anxiety are often referred to as “stuck on the inhale.” This means that they’re breathing in the upper part of the ribcage with the muscles of the neck and shoulders.

Breathing dysfunction usually has some part in performance anxiety. Making breathing the focal point turns what can be a hard-to-grasp problem of the mind into a physical skill the athlete can learn. Share on X

Self-perpetuation of these habits through behavioral-psychological-physiological loops can be interrupted by pulling on the lever of breathing. Making breathing the focal point turns what can be a hard-to-grasp problem of the mind into a physical skill the athlete can learn. This is really empowering because athletes know how to learn physical skills!

Video 7. Breathing intervention for performance anxiety.

When performance anxiety hits the breathing, symptoms tend to come as short repetitive urges to inhale. Trying to “take a deep breath” at that point can actually worsen the feeling of panic. Instead, “catch the exhale” by pushing air out with short, controlled bursts and then slowing things down progressively.

Think of it the situation as two spinning gears. One gear is the athlete’s anxious state: it’s spinning at 1,000 RPMs. The other gear is breathing. If you bring that gear in at 100 RPMs, they’re too far apart, and they’ll just grind each other up. Catching the exhale is like bringing the catch gear in at 950 and then slowing the whole thing down together. Pump the brakes—don’t smash them.

One more thing: Stop. Just stop. Unless your athlete has something life-changing on the line in this game or practice, have them discontinue play and regain their composure. The headlines are chock full of athletes who have pushed through mental health issues at a serious personal cost. No need to add to that pile.

Additionally, this generally moves away from thinking of athletes as commoditized sports robots and acknowledges that there’s a human being in front of you. This approach will undoubtedly build trust between you and your team on a deeper and more meaningful level.

Not the One but the Many

When it comes to an issue that has the potential to reduce function and efficiency system-wide, it behooves coaches to take notice and minimally learn the basics. Breathing pattern dysfunction is broad-reaching and nefarious. There is rarely a moment of catastrophic collapse. In most cases, they slink in slowly, under the radar. A little too much mouth breathing here, a little back or neck pain there, a bit more use of the inhaler, mix in some pre-game anxiety, and you have a nice little cocktail of issues that can put serious limits on athlete health and performance over the long haul.

It’s not one big swing of the axe. It’s death by a thousand cuts.

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

Resources

Bahr R, Andersen SO, Løken S, Fossan B, Hansen T, and Holme I. “Low back pain among endurance athletes with and without specific back loading—a cross-sectional survey of cross-country skiers, rowers, orienteerers, and nonathletic control.” Spine. 2004;29(4):449–454.\

Bradley H and Esformes J. “Breathing pattern disorders and functional movement.” International Journal of Sports Physical Therapy. 2014;9(1):28–39.

Cliftonsmith T and Rowley J. “Breathing Pattern Disorders and Physiotherapy: Inspiration for Our Profession.” Physical Therapy Reviews. 2011;16(1). doi:10.1179/1743288X10Y.0000000025

Hodges PW, Eriksson AEM, Shirley D, and Gandevia SC. “Intra-abdominal pressure increases stiffness of the lumbar spine.” Journal of Biomechanics. 2005;38(9):1873­­–1880.

During the first 17 years of my teaching and coaching career, I had little interest in privately training athletes. I related this to my experience as a math teacher: while I love teaching math, I didn’t tutor students privately because I prefer to have other mental stimulation after teaching similar content for five hours. The same could be said for training athletes—especially when I was in-season. I just didn’t think I would have the energy for it.

Then COVID-19 hit, and during my daily walks, I continued to run into the same neighbor. He recognized that I was a track coach (possibly because all I wear is Homewood-Flossmoor track and field attire)…and after a few conversations, he convinced me to train his child.

This was a blessing for me, as I needed the mental stimulation and coaching challenge to help fill the void that a canceled season created. Fast forward a couple of years, and I am still in the business of training athletes privately.

This article will not serve as a how-to but, rather, a reflection on takeaways from working through the process. Some thoughts may encourage you to start or continue training athletes privately; others may do the opposite.

Coaching Smaller Groups Has Helped Me Assess My Efficiency with Larger Ones

I coach a track team that typically has around 90–120 athletes, and my group on that team (jumpers) usually includes 20–25 athletes. I am used to working with large groups and managing multiple tasks within the same session. If you talk to most track and field coaches, they will say that they love the entire season, but championship season is extra special. One of the reasons why coaches enjoy championship season (besides the higher stakes) is because the athlete-to-coach ratio is lower.

Due to the design of my business—training 1–6 athletes at a time—I always feel as if I am in championship season during a session. Instead of feeling like I’m juggling 10 flaming bowling pins, I’m juggling three scarves, and it truly makes each session enjoyable.

I really feel like the additional practice has caused me to become more efficient in general and, more importantly, allowed me to identify the most critical issues to address for progress to occur. Share on X

One of the difficulties in coaching large groups is giving athletes timely feedback. The large number of athletes I have at track practice means that some of the video analysis and corresponding feedback must be done outside practice time and addressed during a later practice. Due to the smaller numbers I have in the private sector, this is easy to do within the session. While I have been giving feedback based on video during track practice most of my career, I really feel like the additional practice has caused me to become more efficient in general and, more importantly, allowed me to identify the most critical issues to address for progress to occur.

Improved Ability to Manage Training Loads for Track Athletes with Private Coaches

Another reason why I had some apprehension about training athletes privately was because of my experience as a high school coach. There is little more frustrating than an athlete having a fantastic track practice with a maximum velocity focus and then coming back absolutely fried the next day because of the 400 repeat session that was held after track practice with their private trainer.

Communicating with the athlete’s coach helps combat all-too-common issues like this. The coach can provide invaluable information in regard to what they see as strengths and weaknesses and what they feel the athlete needs to be able to do to receive more playing time or a more prominent role within the game plan. Another important question I ask is if the athlete wants me to communicate with their coach—sometimes they don’t, and it is my job to honor their wishes.

Even more important than communication with the athlete’s coach is communication with the athlete. The first four questions I ask each athlete in an individual/small-group session are:

1. How are you?
2. What have you done lately?
3. How do you feel today?
4. What’s coming up?

Based on these answers, we then end up doing 0%–100% of what I had in mind for the session. I have a hierarchy of activities based on intensity for common training themes/activities (acceleration, maximum velocity, curvilinear work, change of direction, etc.). Sometimes I have to switch to a different theme than planned; other times, I just work off the hierarchy of the theme that was planned.

To parents and athletes reading this, if your private trainer is not asking similar questions or is working off a prescribed program, that is a huge red flag. These questions are especially important if the athlete is in-season, but honestly, they carry close to the same weight when the athlete is in the off-season. What the athlete may be doing with the team in the off-season or in their physical education class must be considered for maximum gains to occur. While I firmly believe physical gains can happen during the competitive season, the off-season should be where the most occur. Do not let a lack of communication jeopardize gains at any point during the year!

At the end of the day, private trainers do not determine playing time, so potentially causing a conflict between the athlete and coach is doing the athlete a disservice, says @HFJumps. Share on X

The answers to the second and fourth questions can be activities that I deem questionable, but that’s irrelevant. My job is to take what I am presented with and create a plan of action to elicit the best possible outcome. While it may be difficult at times, involving myself in the process of questioning what the athlete is doing in their sports practice or off-season training will not help the situation. I would wave another huge red flag for any private trainer who actively initiates this conversation. At the end of the day, private trainers do not determine playing time, so potentially causing a conflict between the athlete and coach is doing the athlete a disservice.

Having a large toolbox to draw from is the best way of serving a client within the 0%–100% of what you may have planned for the session. It’s helpful to have a range of intensities for activities that focus on a specific issue. Most of my clients come to me to improve their speed. I am a firm believer that sprinting with maximum intent and intensity is the best way to do this; however, sometimes that is simply not an option based on the following:

• The weather (soon to not be an issue for me as my gym will have a Shredmill).
• How the athlete is feeling.
• What’s on the near horizon for the athlete.

Having a large toolbox allows for the session to be productive, even if it cannot be ideal.

• • Max-Velocity Sprinting: The Masters is said to be a tradition unlike any other, and in terms of training, sprinting at maximum velocity is a stimulus unlike any other.

 

• • Wickets: Most novice athletes operate at a submaximal velocity when sprinting through wickets. So, wickets can be a great option to rehearse the technical components of top-end speed while ensuring that the nervous system is ready to rock the following day.

 

• • Jump Rope Run and Med Ball Punch Run: Maybe the first two items are too intense because the athlete is in a return-to-play scenario. Both of these drills offer the opportunity to utilize foot strike mechanics and postures found during maximum velocity.

 

• Altitude Drops and Rebound Jump Test: Athletes may be in a situation where the cyclic nature of sprinting causes irritation. These two exercises allow for them to still be challenged with large forces.

Video 1. An example of an athlete performing an altitude drop, which is a fantastic way to allow an athlete to express force eccentrically. Coaches can match the angles found in the landing position with the training target. If it were maximum velocity, I would look for less bend in the knee and hip.

• Isometrics: My preferred method of isometrics is of the “extreme” variety, which involves an active action by antagonist muscle(s). It can be argued that even though the amount of movement is often minuscule, it is still considered high-velocity exercise.

The clients who have made the most progress are the ones I have seen at least twice per week. I understand this is not feasible for some athletes for a variety of reasons, so I do my best to devise an individualized plan for them to follow based on their entire workload. “Homework” can increase the rate of progress, but it does not replace in-person sessions. I know trainers who will not take on clients who cannot commit to meeting at least twice a week. While I don’t do that, I understand their position, and it may make sense for you!

4 Logistical Considerations for H.S. Track Coaches Pondering Private Training

There are other concerns you should be aware of if you’re considering starting to privately train athletes. These are less development-focused and more business-oriented.

If you’re starting to privately train athletes, you should open a separate bank account, start an LLC, obtain insurance, and have them sign a waiver, says HFJumps. Share on X

1. 1. Open a bank account. Do your best to run all of your financial transactions out of it. This makes it easier when tax time rolls around. Also, take advantage of the tax write-offs owning a business affords you! It is never a bad idea to talk to an accountant about this.

 

1. 1. If you are going to train people out of your home, start an LLC (or something similar). I used Legal Zoom. The LLC offers protection in case you get sued. Put simply, it separates your personal assets from your business assets.

 

1. 1. Obtain separate insurance. My uncle is a vice president of an insurance company. Instead of obtaining insurance through the company he works for, he advised me to use K&K Insurance. They offer $1 million in coverage for under $250. You can obviously go in whichever direction you want with an insurance provider, but this at least gives you a point of reference.

 

1. Consider having clients fill out a waiver. My wife is a lawyer—she tells me waivers are essentially useless. However, you may still want to use one for a small level of protection. A simple internet search on “personal training waivers” is a good place to start.

Whether you’ve been in the private game for a while, are new to it, or are considering getting into it, I hope some of the items mentioned here have sparked some thought. Since I am new to it myself, I would love for the comments to be filled with additional pieces of advice!

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

As I like to tell the athletes who undergo physiological testing with me, “this test is like a really long warm-up with 10 minutes of pain at the end.” On the last couple of steps, you can expect burning legs and lungs while your heart beats close to its maximal frequency.

When you go to the lab to get testing done, that’s usually what you remember: the pain and discomfort you experienced as you neared the end of your ramp or step test.

But behind this veil of sensory overload, there is a tremendous amount of information that we, as coaches, can collect through physiological testing.

There is a tremendous amount of information that we, as coaches, can collect through physiological testing, says @SeanSeale. Share on X

The purpose of this article is to share how I use a physiological profile test to individualize, optimize, and orient the conditioning training of the athletes I have the opportunity to work with.

The first section briefly introduces the intensity spectrum—the different physiological thresholds, intensity domains, and training zones—which will make the rest of the article easier to understand and follow. Even if you don’t have extensive exercise physiology or conditioning knowledge, this first part will provide a strong foundation to understand these concepts.

The second section explains what a physiological profile is, why it is useful to track our athletes’ fitness, and how that data can help us coaches make better decisions regarding training interventions and program design.

In the third section, I describe in full detail which test protocols I use and why I chose them over other available options. This section also covers which measurement tools I use to complete the physiological profile as well as their respective strengths and weaknesses. (In the interests of transparency, I’d like to mention that I collaborate with and am affiliated with Moxy Monitor, VO2 Master, and Breathe Way Better.)

This article wouldn’t be complete without including my process for interpreting the data collected during the test and how I organize it into a report for both the coach and the athlete. This will be covered in the fourth section.

To finish, I will provide some practical examples around training recommendations and planning for different types of athletes I’ve worked with and what results they achieved.

Section 1: Defining Thresholds, Intensity Domains, and Training Zones

Before we delve into the physiological profile and what it entails, we must establish some common ground and make sure we speak the same language. Let’s kick things off with a few definitions.

The term “threshold” gets thrown around a lot in conditioning and endurance circles, but it is seldom defined. Although it’s important to acknowledge the dynamic nature of thresholds, for simplicity’s sake, we will define a physiological threshold as representing the point of transition between two different intensity domains.

There are two primary thresholds (threshold 1 and threshold 2) that can each be measured at different levels of the organism, resulting in many other (and often confusing) names used to qualify them. The illustration below summarizes the most common terms used to define those two thresholds.

There are four exercise intensity domains. An intensity domain is an intensity range that elicits a distinct physiological response, commonly centered around the VO2 kinetics, or simply put, the way that the trend of oxygen uptake behaves in the body.

In the moderate domain (below threshold 1), oxygen uptake reaches a plateau shortly after exercise onset. In the heavy domain (between thresholds 1 and 2), we can observe a “slow component” or delayed steady state in VO2.

In the severe domain (above threshold 2), the slow component never settles, and if the activity is carried out for long enough, the athlete reaches their VO2peak and task failure shortly after. The extreme domain is characterized by intensities so high that the subject reaches task failure before manifesting their VO2peak (peak oxygen uptake).

Together with thresholds, these concepts form a practical model to individualize the training intensity distribution of our athletes accurately. Since training in different domains triggers different physiological responses, we can use this model to target the specific intensity that will, in turn, elicit the training adaptations we’re looking for.

Once we have defined thresholds and domains, we can cut these up into training zones to simplify training prescription and application. As Jem Arnold stated, “intensity domains are descriptive while training zones are prescriptive.” Different coaches use different numbers of zones; I will be talking about seven distinct training zones.

You can also learn more about thresholds and training zones here.

Section 2: Defining the Physiological Profile

Now that we have a common understanding of what those terms mean, let’s talk about the physiological profile, what it is, why it’s important, and what it’s composed of.

What Is a Physiological Profile?

A physiological profile is a test (or series of tests) that allows us to measure and analyze an athlete’s unique conditioning profile within a given modality. If we want to plan training intelligently, we can gain a significant advantage by knowing what is going on “under the hood.” Referring to section 1, we want first to define the athlete’s thresholds, intensity domains, and training zones.

We also want to know the athlete’s respiratory capacity, how they use it (respiratory coordination), how much oxygen they consume at different intensities, and how metabolically efficient they are.

Using the data collected during a physiological profile and knowing the athlete’s needs, we can make informed decisions on how to orient their training relative to the adaptations we seek to elicit. Share on X

By using the data collected during a physiological profile and knowing the athlete’s needs (sport, competition calendar, strengths/weaknesses, etc.), we can make informed decisions on how to orient their training relative to what adaptations we seek to elicit.

For this article, I’ll refer to testing being done on a bike. I like using the Concept 2 BikeErg for its versatility, simplicity of use, and availability in local gyms. Since I’m working primarily with CrossFit and combat sports athletes at the moment, this modality works quite well. 

Why Is the Physiological Profile Important/Useful?

Conditioning training is often prescribed on the basis of heart rate zones given as percentages of the athlete’s maximal heart rate. To draw a parallel to strength development, this is the equivalent of prescribing squat weights as percentages of the athlete’s body weight. For some, it will be right on the money, but for the vast majority of people, it will either be too high or too low.

To give a concrete example of this, the percentage of max heart rate equivalent to threshold 1 (or the transition from zone 2 to zone 3) in the athletes I’ve tested so far ranges from 65% to 85%.

This is why it’s imperative to establish an athlete’s individual intensity profile. We want to be sure that the training we program is the stimulus needed on an individual basis to drive specific athletic and physiologic adaptations.

Fixed percentages of max heart rate are not only an oversimplification, but they also don’t reflect the adaptive nature of human physiology.

As you train consistently over time, your physiology (hopefully) changes. This has to be reflected in your individual intensity profile for your training to stay “true” to your abilities.

As you train consistently over time, your physiology (hopefully) changes. This has to be reflected in your individual intensity profile for your training to stay ‘true’ to your abilities. Share on X

So first and foremost, a physiological profile provides us with the athlete’s unique intensity distribution profile. This is then organized into training zones for practical reasons. The zones will usually be defined through power/speed AND heart rate values to help with programming, progress tracking, and autoregulation when necessary.

In addition to providing individualized training zones for the athlete, the physiological profile will also help our decision-making process when deciding what qualities need to be developed in that athlete. Knowing “what to do next” has to be contextualized relative to the competition calendar and time of the season, but if we can SEE where our athlete is strong and where he needs work, this does help us program in a more coherent way overall.

Another benefit of the physiological profile is that it provides us coaches with a substantial amount of data that can be tracked and compared over time.

It’s also a great way to know if your training interventions are ACTUALLY making your athletes better. And more specifically, what aspects of their physiology you’re able to change/improve through specific training means.

Now that we understand how a physiological profile can benefit you and your athletes, let’s look at the testing protocols and why we’re using them.

The Testing Protocol

The physiological profile I’ve been performing with endurance athletes, CrossFit athletes, and combat athletes alike consists of three main parts that each serve a specific purpose.

• • The critical power test provides us with performance metrics and helps calibrate the step test. It also informs us on the athlete’s athletic profile (endurant vs. powerful).

 

• • The spirometry test gives us the athlete’s respiratory capacity.

 

• And finally, the 4-1 step test is where most of the physiological data is collected to create the athlete’s full physiological profile.

Now let’s look at each of these in more detail.

Critical Power, or the Power-Duration Relationship

The athlete does this first part autonomously before meeting with me. This helps us establish some performance metrics, informs us of the athlete’s athletic profile, and calibrates the longer step test where most physiological measurements will take place.

In case you’re unfamiliar with the notion of critical power, it’s the intensity above which you can no longer maintain your metabolic homeostasis (or internal balance). That is not to say that no fatigue is experienced below critical power, but once you cross that “threshold,” the effort simply elicits a different kind of fatigue.

To learn more about critical power, I recommend this fantastic video by Mark Burnley.

Critical power will usually be close to your best 30-minute to 60-minute power on a bike or 10k pace on a run (in which case we call it critical speed).

To find that critical power, I use a 3-minute and a 12-minute test performed on separate days, as described in this research paper. (The equivalent test for running is a 1200-meter and a 3600-meter effort done for time, as described here.)

The reason I’ve decided to use this method is simple: It’s easy to apply, and everyone can do it with virtually no equipment. If we want to increase the accuracy of the method, we can get the athlete to perform those same tests a few days later, which will help them express their full potential through better pacing. But since the primary role of this stage is to ESTIMATE critical power and calibrate the step test, I usually stick with one trial on each effort the first time around.

Once the athlete has completed their 3-minute and 12-minute efforts (or 1200-meter and 3600-meter efforts for a running test), we can calculate their critical power and W’ using their average watts at each effort.

W’ is a fixed amount of work (expressed in Joules or kJ) that one can perform above critical power. Think of it as a savings account. Below critical power, internal homeostasis is maintained (the checking account is doing its job), and the savings account isn’t needed. But once we exceed the capacity of the checking account, we have to dip into our savings. That’s W’ in a nutshell.

Image 7. Metabolic reactions above and below critical power. Adapted from Jones et al. (2008).

Knowing an athlete’s W’ can be a precious piece of information to help us plan HIIT and orient training, especially if we have such data for multiple athletes in a given sport. Given that two athletes with similar critical powers can have very different W’ values, this should be reflected in our programming and what we can expect to see in training and competition from each athlete.

So, we’ve now determined the athlete’s critical power and W’ via the 3-minute and 12-minute tests. We have gained some insights into their athletic profile (endurant vs. powerful) and can use the data collected to help us calibrate the step test.

Before we talk about the step test, how it’s built, and how to calibrate it, let’s look at why I also include a spirometry test in my protocol and what this data can add to the global picture.

Spirometry Test

Spirometry is the most common type of pulmonary function test. This test measures how much air the athlete can breathe in and out of their lungs as well as how fast they accomplish this movement.

Since we will be measuring ventilation (or how the athlete breathes) during the step test, we need to have a reference point to interpret this data. Without knowing how much lung capacity the subject possesses, it’s impossible to say whether the way they breathe is optimal or not, let alone determine what should be done about it.

In addition to helping us interpret ventilation data, the spirometry results inform us about the athlete’s lung capacity relative to their size and weight. The app comes with a database built in that enables us to compare the athlete’s data to their corresponding demographic. That way, we know if they are presenting with a respiratory capacity limitation or not.

The 4-1 Step Test

The protocol I use is an intermittent step test composed of four-minute constant load intervals interspersed with one minute of passive rest. The ideal test goes on for 9 to 11 intervals where the athlete reaches task failure at the end of the last step and is unable to start again. Note that I only care about completed intervals for reasons I’ll come back to when discussing data collection.

I settled on four-minute intervals because it’s long enough to allow for all physiological systems to reach a balance while keeping the total test time under one hour.

When we start a constant load effort, it takes between 90 and 120 seconds for the oxygen delivery (respiratory and cardiac) and utilization (metabolic) systems to find their equilibrium. By using four-minute intervals, I’m able to observe what happens to the different metrics collected in the last two minutes of each step in a balanced state.

The minute of rest allows me to take a clean lactate measurement on the athlete while also observing their heart rate and muscle oximetry recovery kinetics.

Back to calibrating the steps.

Calibrating the step test is one of the most critical parts of the system I’m presenting in this article, says @SeanSeale. Share on X

In my opinion, calibrating the step test is one of the most critical parts of the system I’m presenting in this article. Through trial and error, I’ve figured out that setting the eighth step to be equal to the CP value calculated for the athlete at hand usually works quite well. Athletes often complete two steps above their critical power, which lands us right around that “ideal” 10-step mark.

If the test is much shorter than the 10-step target, the gaps between each step might be too big, and the data collected might not give as precise a picture as we hoped. On the flip side, if the test runs for much more than 10 steps, we’re looking at a test that exceeds one hour in length. This would be suboptimal from a logistical standpoint but also in terms of accumulated fatigue for the athlete, who might not be used to these types of efforts.

The starting power of the step test will usually fall around 35% of the athlete’s calculated critical power. When testing on the bike, I also look at relative power (watts per kilogram) to pinpoint the appropriate starting power for each athlete. The spectrum of power on the first step of the test ranges from 0.5 w/kg to 1.5 w/kg, depending on the conditioning level of the athlete I’m testing. Someone completely out of shape will start at 0.5 w/kg, while an elite cyclist would use 1.5 w/kg as their first step power.

When in doubt, I get the athlete to spin on the bike at a low power until their heart rate settles at 100 beats per minute. I then use this power value at the start of the step test.

When performing a running test, I start all non-elite runners at 6–7 km/h.

As you can see, calibration isn’t an exact science, but the general rule of thumb is that the starting power should be on the low end. If we start too high, we will miss some important information about the athlete’s physiology that is pivotal in individualizing and optimizing their training.

I think it’s important to highlight that this is ONE testing protocol available among many others. Each coach needs to find the protocol that makes sense for the data they wish to collect while respecting the constraints within which they operate. Know your protocol’s strengths and weaknesses, and you will always collect better data than if you try just to grab “the best protocol” off the shelf.

Now we know HOW the test will take place. Let’s look at WHAT tools I use to collect physiological data during the 4-1 step test.

Section 3: The Measurement Tools

Over time, I’ve added different tools to my assessment arsenal.

Here, I’ll give an overview of the gear I use, what I like about it, and what kind of limitations I need to be aware of when using it.

Polar H10 Chest Strap

Heart rate data is the most accessible physiological measurement out there, and you should collect it whenever possible. In the context of building the athlete’s complete physiological profile, heart rate is a central metric to assess cardiac function and prescribe training intensities that will correspond to specific internal states.

I’ve been using the Polar H10 with great success for some time now. It’s currently the best HR belt out there relative to its price, and it has a hidden (or seldom-mentioned) feature that enables you to sync it to more than one app at a time. This can be a handy feature.

MIR Spirobank Smart

As I described earlier in the article, using a spirometer is a simple and fast way to assess an athlete’s respiratory capacity. After a couple of trials with other devices, I’ve settled on the MIR Spirobank Smart. This compact tool comes with single-use turbines for better hygiene and safety.

The dedicated mobile app requires you to input your personal information (weight, size, height, origin, etc.) so that it can compare spirometry results to its database.

VO2 Master

The VO2 Master is a fantastic piece of equipment that opens the door to measuring and analyzing ventilation and VO2 in real time without the constraints of bulky lab equipment. The VO2 Master Pro connects directly to its dedicated mobile app via Bluetooth and is calibrated through regular breathing in under two minutes. After that, you can see breath-by-breath data of oxygen consumption, respiratory frequency, and tidal volume (volume of air per breath) streamed through the app.

As mentioned in the spirometry section, knowing how someone breathes at different intensities and relative to their lung capacity helps us give specific recommendations where appropriate.

VO2 is a measure of how much oxygen the body absorbs, transports, and utilizes per unit of time. This allows us to calculate an athlete’s economy (“cost of effort”) and also determine the percentage of VO2 that is being utilized at each threshold (called fractional utilization).

VO2 measurements can also be combined with ventilation data to help pinpoint ventilatory thresholds, which we will discuss in the following section.

One weakness of the current VO2 Master unit is that it does not (yet) possess a CO2 sensor. Expired CO2 provides important information regarding substrate utilization (fats vs. carbs) as well as additional information regarding respiratory thresholds. This feature is being worked on as I write this blog post, and it is much anticipated for future testing.

Moxy Monitor

The Moxy Monitor is a NIRS device. NIRS stands for near-infrared spectroscopy, which measures the balance between oxygen delivery and oxygen utilization at the level of the muscle capillaries. This tool can be used to measure muscle oxygen saturation locally (when placed on a locomotor muscle) as well as systemically (when placed on a non-involved muscle).

When testing athletes on a bike, I often place a Moxy on each vastus lateralis (locomotor muscle group) and a Moxy on each shoulder (non-involved muscle group). For runners, the rectus femoris and the forearms are usually a great choice.

Moxy data trends show some interesting correlations with lactate and ventilation/VO2 data regarding threshold determination. More on that in the next section of the article.

A current weakness of the Moxy Monitor (along with other NIRS devices in the context of exercise physiology) is the lack of consensus surrounding the interpretation of the data collected. Although there are some exciting papers and projects in the works, more collaboration between the protagonists in this field needs to take place for a more practical application of the data to emerge.

Lactate Scout 4

The Lactate Scout 4 is a lactate analyzer. This tool measures blood lactate concentration (BLa) via a small droplet of blood taken from the athlete’s earlobe or finger, in this case, at the end of each work interval.

Contrary to common belief, lactate is not a harmful by-product of metabolism but an important fuel source and signaling molecule for the human body. An excellent summary of our current understanding of lactate can be found in this paper.

Blood lactate is the difference between the lactate produced by the body through glycolysis and the lactate recycled by our mitochondria. BLa does not give us any information on lactate production or clearance rates.

The weaknesses of lactate measurements reside primarily in the measurement procedure itself, as each blood droplet can be contaminated by sweat or skin tissue. This usually results in a BLa value much higher than expected. Another drawback of this method is the numerous interpretation methods that exist to analyze a lactate curve. This will become rather clear in the next section of this article.

Image 14. Lactate curve with possible interpretations from ExPhysLab.com.

Rating of Perceived Exertion

Despite the subjective nature of RPE, I believe it to be one of the most important metrics that a coach can collect during a training session test. As exemplified by Alex Hutchinson in his fantastic book Endure, effort perception might well be one of the most essential factors in sports performance, especially in events and disciplines practiced over longer time domains.

Despite the subjective nature of RPE, I believe it to be one of the most important metrics that a coach can collect during a training session test, says @SeanSeale. Share on X

I use a simple 1 through 10 RPE scale that includes descriptions of effort perception and respiratory status (inspired by Daniel Crumback’s work) to guide the athlete in choosing the rating that matches their sensations. It’s also a good add-on since some athletes have difficulty “listening to themselves.”

Now let’s look at what I do with the data we collect using the above tools.

Section 4: Interpreting Test Results

Once the athlete has completed the tests, it’s time to look at the collected data and, more importantly, interpret it.

From experience, I can tell you that the last thing athletes and coaches want following a physiological test is a bunch of raw data thrown at them. Instead, what they want (and what they should get) is actionable information to help them individualize, optimize, and orient training in the best way possible.

The data interpretation process is pivotal to bridging the gap between the “lab” and the “field.” Here’s how I proceed through it.

Thresholds and Intensity Distribution Interpretation

As we’ve seen in section 1, it’s important to determine an athlete’s individual intensity profile if we want the training to be practical and match the athlete’s current abilities. To do so, we have multiple data sets and methods of analysis at our disposal to define thresholds and break up the intensity spectrum into distinct domains.

What I do first is look at each data set independently from the others and figure out where the inflection points (or thresholds) are.

For lactate, I’ll use the Bsn+0.5 method for threshold 1 and the Modified DMax method for threshold 2. A great tool for this is ExPhysLab.com.

For VO2 and ventilation, I look for inflection points in their relationship, as shown below, and match them up with the correct intensities.

For the Moxy Monitor data, I look for distinct changes in trends from step to step. I also look at the non-involved muscles and how the oxygen trend behaves, which can often inform me about intensities taking place above threshold 2.

I also consider the critical power calculation as a reference for the second threshold.

Once I’ve looked at the different data points cited above, I draw my interpretation of threshold 1 and threshold 2 relative to power, heart rate, and percentage of VO2max for that athlete.

This intensity distribution profile is then cut up further into training zones to render the information as practical as possible for both the coach and the athlete.

Some might say I should stick to one metric—for example, blood lactate—and base all my interpretations on this metric alone. I think it’s a valid criticism of my approach. But at this stage, I wish not to “pick a side” or a method and simply try and make the best interpretation possible from a holistic point of view.

Physiological thresholds are NOT fixed points on the intensity spectrum; they are transition zones (not linked to training zones) where the body shifts from one internal state to another. Share on X

I’ll state it again: physiological thresholds are NOT fixed points on the intensity spectrum. Instead, they are transition zones (not linked to training zones) where the body shifts from one internal state to another. All thresholds (lactate, ventilation, etc.) do not always line up with each other, and there can even be significant differences between two methods that are supposed to illustrate the same thing (MLSS vs. critical power, for example).

This is why it’s essential to keep the big picture in mind. We also don’t want to get lost in the details—we want actionable information for the coaches and athletes we work with.

Regardless of the method(s) I choose, what remains important is to record all the interpretations I make on each system or metric available so that I can compare those interpretations at a later date after a retest. That way, even though my global interpretation might not be based on a single data point, I still know what each method “tells me” and can accurately compare it when future tests are performed.

Interpreting Heart Rate Data

As I stated earlier, heart rate is a very accessible physiological metric that should be used to inform conditioning training whenever possible.

In the case of this 4-1 step test, I average the last minute of each stage and use this value as a reference for the corresponding power output.

I also look at how fast the heart recovered during the fixed one-minute rest intervals. This can be compared in future tests.

Interpreting VO2 Data

The advantage of the VO2 Master is that it provides you with the breath-by-breath raw data that was collected. The disadvantage of the VO2 Master is that it provides you with the breath-by-breath raw data that was collected.

Let me explain…

In the world of sports technology, different companies operate in different ways when it comes to the data that their devices collect. Sometimes, you get some very actionable information but have no idea what was done to the data. Was it smoothed? How was it interpreted? What algorithms were applied? How did they deal with noise/artifacts/missing data? Who knows…

Other times, you get the raw data and have to figure out what to do with it yourself.

There obviously exists a spectrum between those two “extremes,” but it’s essential to understand what you’re dealing with to make informed decisions about the data you collect.

Personally, I like the raw data. It’s more work to process, but at least you know exactly what went into your model, what analytics you applied, and what you got out on the other side. You have complete control through and through. If you want to change the way you analyze a data stream, you can do so and re-run all your prior data through that new filter. You can’t do that when all you have is the final output.

So back to the VO2 Master data.

Before I look at the numbers, I apply a 30-second rolling average to the data set. This helps offset any significant second-to-second variations because of the breath-by-breath measurement.

As with other metrics, I then take the average value on the last 60 seconds of each work interval as my reference value for the corresponding power.

The highest VO2 value expressed during the test is called VO2peak.

Going back to understanding the strengths and weaknesses of your approach, it’s important to point out that this longer test with four-minute stages will tend to underestimate an athlete’s VO2max relative to what could be measured on a short, 9- to 12-minute step test with no breaks.

To make it easier to grasp, we can say that VO2peak is specific to the protocol that was used to achieve it. Researchers have shown that different maximal VO2 values can be elicited in the same individual by changing the test’s duration, structure, and intensity. So as long as we only compare values coming from the same testing protocol, in the same conditions, and using the same measurement devices, we can have a high degree of confidence in our analysis.

Since I work with different athletic profiles (CrossFitters, combat sports athletes, endurance athletes, etc.) across many levels, I see a wide range of VO2peak values on those tests. I’m starting to see trends and know what to expect for each category of athlete, but it wouldn’t be wise, in my opinion, to compare the VO2peak of a fighter to that of a cyclist, even if they both performed their tests on a bike.

In the case of a cyclist, I would like to see a high VO2 value in the last stage, which would be a good indicator of performance potential. But for a fighter, since there isn’t a strong correlation between VO2peak on a bike and sports performance, I might instead want to see a large enough value to allow for sufficient work capacity overall.

That said, VO2peak is not necessarily the most interesting metric related to oxygen uptake.

Some might argue that it’s even more interesting to look at the percentage of VO2peak that is manifested at each threshold. Relative VO2 at thresholds 1 and 2 are important fitness metrics that can help guide and individualize the training process for each athlete relative to their needs.

These values should be tracked and will help us assess an athlete’s progress over time. Think of this as a “how many reps can I do at 80% of my 1RM squat” equivalent for endurance sports. In the endurance world, the higher the percentage of VO2peak you express at each threshold, the better.

Now that we’ve looked at VO2peak and fractional VO2, let’s look at spirometry and ventilation data.

Spirometry Results

There are three main metrics of interest provided by any standard spirometer: FVC6, FEV1, and FEV1/FVC6.

FVC6 stands for Forced Vital Capacity in six seconds. It is expressed in liters (L) and tells us “how much space” the athlete has available in their lungs. In short, their respiratory capacity.

FEV1 stands for Forced Expiratory Volume in the first second of the exhale. It is also expressed in liters, giving us a measure of expiratory power (thanks to Daniel Crumback for that term).

FEV1/FVC6 is the ratio between those two values (expressed in %) and gives us an idea of how one compares to the other. Is your capacity low relative to your expiratory power? Or vice versa?

The results are then compared to the standard tables. For athletes, I like to see FVC and FEV above 110% of the predicted norm. For non-athletic clients, 100% works well as a separator between “good” and “not good enough.”

While respiratory training falls outside the scope of this article, there are definitely some interesting interventions and tools that can be used to address respiratory capacity limitations.

Next, let’s link respiratory capacity to respiratory coordination. Here, we want to assess whether the athlete is actually using their capacity effectively. To do so, I calculate 80% of the athlete’s measured FEV1 score. This is the volume that they should theoretically be able to “move” with each breath during a dynamic effort.

For example, if my FEV1 is 5L, I should manage to get 4 liters of air in and out of my lungs with each breath during the step test. With this, I can now look at the ventilation data collected and assess whether the breathing performed was optimal or not.

Ventilation Data

Ventilation from the VO2 Master provides us with two direct measurements and one calculated value: respiratory frequency (RF) expressed in breaths per minute, tidal volume (VT) expressed in liters, and ventilatory exchange (VE) expressed in liters per minute, respectively.

Since we don’t often speak of those values, we can draw a simple parallel with the heart.

Respiratory frequency is the equivalent of heart rate, tidal volume is the equivalent of stroke volume, and ventilatory exchange is the equivalent of cardiac output.

Throughout the step test, we should see a progressive increase in respiratory frequency (to match the intensity) while VT stays relatively high and constant, close to that 80% FEV1 mark I mentioned earlier.

There are multiple reasons I like to see this pattern of breathing.

Breathing Deep and Slow

First, breathing high tidal volumes allows the lungs to be completely filled with fresh air through each breath cycle. Compared to shallow breathing, this means that we can increase the exchange surface between the alveoli and the capillaries, where the oxygen passes into the bloodstream.

Second, high tidal volume breathing requires optimal diaphragmatic excursion (or range of motion). In almost all cases, this should be prioritized over “thoracic breathing,” which mainly recruits accessory breathing muscles. These are nowhere near as powerful or enduring as the diaphragm.

And lastly, breathing deeply and slowly will tend to increase CO2 retention. So, each minute, less CO2 is expelled, and the CO2 levels inside the body increase slightly.

The effect this has is very interesting.

In short, more CO2 retention means that your hemoglobin becomes less “sticky” to oxygen. In that way, the unloading of oxygen at the muscle (in the capillaries) is facilitated, and a higher fraction of the oxygen entering the body is actually utilized.

We know that O2 availability in the muscle directly influences substrate utilization. It has been recently discovered that oxymyoglobin (or myoglobin bound to oxygen) facilitates the transport and oxidation of fatty acids. Maybe something to explore regarding breathing efficiency?

Lastly, it’s important to realize that respiratory frequency is tightly linked to our rating of perceived exertion. By controlling one’s breathing and slowing it down, not only will you experience the benefits listed above, but you will also make your efforts FEEL easier.

It’s important to realize that respiratory frequency is tightly linked to our RPE. By controlling and slowing down our breathing, we will make our efforts FEEL easier, says @SeanSeale. Share on X

As we know, our perception IS our reality. So why not make our reality during exercise just a little bit less painful than it actually is by breathing slower and deeper?

Respiratory Coordination

Sometimes, the athlete can maintain tidal volume at lower intensities but loses coordination at higher intensities.

When an athlete presents with a respiratory pattern that deviates significantly from the expected standards I outlined above, I take it as an opportunity to open up a conversation with them about how they breathe, how they feel relative to their breath during exercise, and what can potentially be done to improve their awareness, control, and/or coordination.

I often recommend that athletes work with a respiratory training tool such as the Breathe Way Better to improve their movement (or “breathing technique,” if you will), their coordination (maintaining VT at all intensities), and their endurance.

Image 24. Ironman U24 2022 World Champion Jameson Plewes training with the Breathe Way Better.

Now that we’ve looked at both spirometry and ventilation, let’s do a quick overview of what we can expect from muscle oximetry data provided by the Moxy Monitor (or any other NIRS device).

Muscle Oximetry Data

The Moxy Monitor provides us with two metrics: SmO2 and THb. We will focus on SmO2 today, which stands for muscle oxygen saturation.

SmO2 is expressed on a 0 to 100% scale and indicates the balance between oxygen delivery and utilization. The absolute numbers are influenced by adipose tissue thickness, so it’s best to focus on trends rather than the numbers themselves. In short, is the trend going up, staying stable, or going down? And how is that changing over the course of the test?

As I mentioned above, I use the Moxy data mainly to pinpoint my threshold 1 and threshold 2. When I test sports other than cycling or running, it’s also a good opportunity to analyze specific task demands and see what muscle groups are involved and to what degree.

Now that we’ve looked at how I interpret the data collected, here’s an example of the test report I provide to both coaches and athletes.

We’ve seen the results and how I communicate them to athletes and coaches, so let’s look at how I orient the programming for different athletes and needs.

Building the Training Plan

This is where the rubber meets the road. Test results are great, but if you don’t know what to do with them, they won’t be much use to you or the athletes you’re working with.

How to Set Training Priorities 

“What should we do next” is always the big question following a test of any kind.

To answer, we need more information than what the test alone can provide.

To determine what we should do next, we need more information than what the test can provide. That’s why I always send athletes a questionnaire to fill out before our testing session, says @SeanSeale. Share on X

That’s why I always send athletes a questionnaire to fill out before our testing session. The information that will help me strengthen my decision-making process regarding the planification of training includes:

• What are the athlete’s perceived strengths?
• What are the athlete’s perceived weaknesses?
• What sport do they compete in?
• When is their next competitive event taking place?
• How much time do they dedicate to training each week?
• How do they distribute their training intensity across sessions?
• What type of conditioning training have they been doing recently?
• What type of conditioning training have they not done in a while (>3 months)?

With these questions answered, I already have a good idea of what the athlete will NEED next, regardless of their test results (that might be less true for elite athletes who have already been following a well-thought-out and balanced training plan for years).

Just as I did when interpreting the thresholds earlier, I’ll look first at what their questionnaire says and second at what their physiological profile indicates. Then, I can cross-reference the two to decide what training intervention they should go through next.

Programming Conditioning Training for CrossFit Athletes

Since this is the primary demographic I currently work with, I’ll focus on CrossFit athletes for a moment as an example.

The sport itself (or at least the way in which most competitive CrossFit events are currently built) centers around a time domain between about 3 minutes and 20 minutes of intense effort. This usually involves different movement patterns and exercises organized in varying ways from event to event.

If we leave aside max strength/weightlifting lifts and pure gymnastic events, this means that, from a cardiovascular and metabolic standpoint, CrossFit LIVES in the upper Heavy and Severe domains (or in zones 4 and 5).

And it turns out that the conditioning training performed by most CrossFit competitors also falls in that time domain and intensity range.

So naturally, those athletes will greatly benefit from exploring training intensities and durations that they don’t use much (if at all).

As Alex Hutchinson said in a podcast I recorded with him, “the best stimulus is the one you never had.” I would add “and/or the one you haven’t had in a while.”

Video 1. Upside Strength podcast with Alex Hutchinson.

Put simply, if there are gaps in your conditioning that need to be filled, you will do well to work on those first. A training intensity you haven’t worked on in a long time (or ever) is bound to yield significant returns in the early stages of training without requiring too much volume to achieve it.

In line with that thinking, I often program some longer efforts for CrossFitters who are deficient in this area (tempo + threshold training). For those who display a real lack of power or intensity tolerance, sprint interval training (both short and long sprints) can be a potent and beneficial intervention.

The intensities are obviously individualized based on the test results and feedback on the first few sessions via heart rate and RPE monitoring, allowing us to make sure they are training at the intensities that we wanted to target in the first place.

Another staple absent from most CrossFitters’ training plans is low-intensity continuous training, also called “Zone 2” training. As a brief reminder, zone 2 is located below the first threshold and is characterized by low blood lactate levels (usually close or equal to resting levels), very easy breathing, and a parasympathetic-dominant state. This low-intensity training serves as the BASE for all the higher intensities expressed in training and competition.

Some common feedback I get from athletes who start including this type of training in their weekly training:

• Better sleep.
• Better recovery between sessions.
• Better recovery between work sets.
• Better tolerance of overall training volume/intensity.
• Better intensity performance.

Those adaptations usually take 8–12 weeks to manifest themselves with as little as one to two hours of Zone 2 training per week.

Tracking Progress over Time

After the training block is completed (usually between 8 and 16 weeks later), it’s time to assess the athlete’s progress.

Some might come back from a complete profile immediately, although there are ways to quantify their evolution without needing all the measurement tools.

I’ll then have the athlete redo their 3-minute and 12-minute efforts and recalculate their critical power. From there, they can also do the step test again while just measuring heart rate and RPE. I can then compare their HR and RPE data to what I had initially collected to detect meaningful changes in their intensity profile and adjust the following training sessions accordingly.

Case Studies

Here are a few examples of the progress different athletes have achieved following these ideas and training interventions.

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“What is the most effective way to make an athlete more powerful?” This was the question that sparked the idea to conduct a case study among our male multisport high school athletes. We chose to compare two methods that both fall under the “dynamic effort” umbrella. The first was a more traditional means of training for power, using bands for accommodating resistance. The second method was a more novel training method, launching the bar using a self-spotting rack called the XPT half rack. (Check out a full review of the XPT here.)

These two methods allowed us to program the same movements with the same volume of sets and reps, as opposed to other methods (such as contrast training) that would make it more difficult to ensure equivalent volume between groups. We also chose not to use any Olympic lifts or their derivatives since they are different movements altogether.

The question ‘what is the most effective way to make an athlete more powerful?’ sparked the idea to conduct this case study on two dynamic effort methods of training, says @Brandon_L_Pigg. Share on X

When discussing training methods, it is difficult to truly say one is better than the other. There is always an argument from silence that even if you saw better results using one set of methods one year than you did with other techniques in previous years, you cannot say that one is definitively better than the other since other external factors may have influenced the outcomes.

This problem is the foundation of all research. It is also why we wanted to conduct this case study and see which method would yield better results when all other external factors were equal. While this case study does not meet the standards of peer-reviewed literature—as I will discuss in the methods section below—it does show reasonable expectations for results between the two methods.

It should be noted that while the overall format of this article will be similar to that of a peer-reviewed research paper, I am leaving room to inject my own opinions and experiences alongside the data since this was an informal, in-house case study.

Background

With the increased accessibility to technology that allows for velocity-based training (with devices such as the Vmaxpro and GymAware), many coaches have begun to pay closer attention to dynamic effort training methods. Training for power typically involves:

• Moving a lighter load fast, with or without accommodating resistance like bands or chains.
• Ballistic methods with lighter implements such as medicine balls or weighted balls.
• The use of weightlifting movements and their variations.

Some heavier ballistic methods are also common, such as a barbell jump squat or trap bar jump. Of the two, the trap bar jump is probably preferable because the barbell squat jump has a component of dynamic spinal loading during the landing. There also aren’t any common means for upper-body ballistic barbell movements. While heavier ballistic methods were previously limited in number, accommodating resistance has historically been a popular option due to its association with Westside Barbell and its low-cost barrier to entry.

One of the main proposed benefits of using the XPT trainer: you can accelerate throughout the entire range of motion and ballistically launch the bar instead of slowing it down, says @Brandon_L_Pigg. Share on X

While accommodating resistance has shown solid results for barbell lifts, some coaches feel that since you have to eventually decelerate at the end range of motion of the lift, you are actually teaching the brain to do the opposite of what it does during natural movements like sprinting or jumping. This is one of the main proposed benefits of using the XPT trainer: you can accelerate throughout the entire range of motion and ballistically launch the bar instead of slowing it down. If you would like to read more about what training with the XPT looks like, you can view some demonstrations here.

Methods

Recruitment and Selection

This is one area where we deviated from standard research operating procedures. Under normal circumstances, participants would have shown interest after being recruited and joined the study at their own discretion. Groups would have either been completely randomized, or they would have been formed so that, after pre-testing, the average metrics between both groups would be similar.

As a former research assistant, I fully understand the need for randomization to avoid bias or juicing one group’s results over the other. As a high school strength and conditioning coach, I’ll plead my argument for why we didn’t do this.

Under normal research circumstances, participants in a study like this would be recreational athletes at best and, at worst, couch potatoes who knew you needed more participants. This allows the researchers to set standards that any exercise or training during the duration of the study should be limited to, or non-conflicting with, the training done within the training intervention sessions. With high school athletes, this is not the case. As for recruitment, it’s hard to set exclusion criteria that say, “Naw, bruh, we can’t trust you.”

In the high school setting, the bandwidth of maturity has a wide span. We chose to hand-select 14 male athletes who had multiple years of training experience and whom we felt were all capable of completing the study with good effort and good attendance. Instead of randomizing them, we chose to separate them so that both groups had an equal number of athletes in in-season sports, off-season sports, or preparing for college athletics. While we could have tagged each of them with one of the variables and randomized from there, we chose hand selection because the athletes trained during different class times, and we wanted to ensure there was enough rack availability for each class. Not being able to limit these extracurriculars was a limitation of this case study, but balancing each group was the closest we could come to washing these variables out.

Pre- and Post-Testing

Both pre-testing and post-testing were conducted on the XPT half rack using a Vmaxpro to capture bar speed metrics. The metrics collected for analysis were peak power, average power, peak velocity, and average velocity. Metrics were collected on a bench press launch at 40% and 60% of bench press one rep max (1RM) and on a box squat launch with 60% of back squat 1RM. Percentages were selected to be between the traditionally accepted peak power range of 40% and 60% 1RM. The pre-testing was conducted after one week of familiarization with launching the bar on both bench presses and box squat jumps.

In testing, each participant completed two repetitions (reps) of the bench press launch at 60%, followed by two reps of the bench press launch at 40%, and then finally two reps of the box squat launch at 60% 1RM. As each rep was completed, I collected results on a data sheet for each subject (figure 1).

Intervention Design

Each group trained in class as usual (twice a week for 60 minutes). Lifting sessions were conducted after a dynamic warm-up, resisted sprints, medicine ball throws, hurdle hops, and three 15-yard sprints, which was the training format for the preceding five months leading up to the study. Both groups were given a one-week introductory period before pre-testing. This allowed the athletes to familiarize themselves with the XPT and what it feels like to actually launch a barbell on a bench press or squat.

This familiarization period was essential, as some athletes were initially tentative and needed time to trust the machine. The banded group always used a red Westside Barbell band anchored, so the bench press was approximately 60 pounds higher than the bar weight at the top, and lower-body movements were around 100 pounds higher than the bar weight at the top. Individual differences may have occurred due to height or limb length.

The lifting protocols for each group were as follows (sets and reps are listed as sets x reps):

Banded Group

Day One:

Banded Bench Press

• 40% Bench Press 1RM 3 x 3

Banded Box Squat

• 40% Back Squat 1RM 3 x 3

Chin-ups

• Body weight 2 x 2–3 reps in reserve

Landmine RDL with Viking Press attachment

• 8–12 reps with two 45-pound plates loaded on the bar

Day Two:

Banded Bench Press

• 60% Bench Press 1RM 3 x 3

Banded Split Squat

• 40% Back Squat 1RM 3 x 3

TRX Rows

• Body weight 2 x 8–12 reps

Dumbbell RDL

• Weight that allows 2 x 6–8 reps for each leg with 2–3 reps in reserve

XPT Group

Day One:

Bench Press Launch

• 60% Bench Press 1RM 3 x 3

Split Squat Launch

• 60% Back Squat 1RM 3 x 3

TRX Rows

• Body weight 2 x 8–12 reps

Dumbbell RDL

• Weight that allows 2 x 6–8 reps for each leg with 2–3 reps in reserve

Day Two:

Bench Press Launch

• 45% Bench Press 1RM 3 x 3

Box Squat Launch

• 45% Back Squat 1RM 3 x 3

Chin-ups

• Body weight 2 x 2–3 reps in reserve

Landmine RDL with Viking Press attachment

• 8–12 reps with two 45-pound plates loaded on the bar

For the XPT group, percentages were selected to match the average velocity of banded movements using pilot data conducted with the Vmaxpro. These two days were repeated using the same loads for the duration of the study, which was four weeks long.

Exclusion Criteria and Dropouts

The criteria for being excluded from the study without completion were as follows:

• Poor attendance resulting in fewer than six completed sessions over the four weeks of training.
• Injury.

Each group began the intervention with seven subjects. Three subjects were excluded from post-testing due to attendance, one was excluded for an injury, and one dropped out due to a college strength coach requesting he start doing a new workout program in class. This left the Banded group with five participants who completed post-testing and the XPT group with four participants who completed post-testing.

Statistical Analysis

P-values were calculated using Google Sheets’ T-Test function. We used a paired samples t-test. This is input with the function =TTEST(Range 1,Range 2,2,1). Range 1 is the pre-test values; range 2 is the post-test values; the “2” means it is a two-tailed test; and the “1” selects a paired samples t-test.

Results

The results were as follows. Power metrics are reported in watts. Velocity metrics are recorded in meters per second. Statistically significant measures (p-value < 0.05) are highlighted in yellow.

Statistical Significance

Percent Change Pre/Post

Discussion

The results were a tale of two different beasts. Both groups saw solid improvements in some or all bench metrics. Neither group saw meaningful improvements in the box squat metrics. While only six total metrics had a p-value < 0.05 across both groups, I would focus on percent changes from pre/post.

Given that these athletes completed 6–8 sessions, seeing changes of this magnitude in the timeframe equivalent of a single block of training is quite impressive, says @Brandon_L_Pigg. Share on X

Looking at the percent changes, I think any reasonable strength coach would say that the XPT group saw meaningful improvements in all metrics for the bench press, and the Banded group saw significant improvements in average metrics for the bench press. On each of the metrics, the XPT group had between a 25.54% and 48.79% change in both the 40% and 60% 1RM bench press launch. While the Banded group did not do nearly as well in peak metrics for the bench press, it saw impressive jumps in the average categories with percent changes between 26.03% and 56.69%. Given that these athletes completed between six and eight sessions, seeing changes of this magnitude in the timeframe equivalent of a single block of training is quite impressive.

As for the box squat launch, the XPT group effectively saw no difference aside from average power, and the Banded group saw small changes in power. There are a few potential reasons for this discrepancy between the bench and squat results. As a whole, the previous training probably develops lower body power more so than upper body power. The only real upper body power work we did in previous blocks was medball work and landmine jerks. With all the sprinting, resisted sprinting, and jumping we do, there was likely just less room to develop lower body power than there was for upper body power.

As to why I think the XPT group performed worse on the squat compared to the Banded group, I think it may have been in part to some of the kids having experience with the rack. The half rack is not as tall as the full rack version of the XPT rack. You have about 6 feet of space from top to bottom, which leads to the bar smacking the top of the rack on any type of jump with a bar on your back or in a rack position.

There were also a handful of incidents where kids just locked up and death-gripped the bar, preventing the catching mechanism from engaging and letting the bar freefall after the jump. I believe this could have resulted in some hesitancy to go all-out in both training and post-testing. I think this issue is easily avoided with the full rack.

The XPT brand is also in the process of releasing adaptor kits that can fit onto common brands of power racks, allowing you to have self-spotting capabilities on your current racks. Given the XPT group’s results in the bench press, I would have definitely liked to have conducted the study on one of these taller models to test if my hypothesis of hesitancy is correct.

Future case studies should potentially consider having a Banded XPT group to see how adding accommodating resistance to a ballistic launch could impact testing outcomes. It should also be noted that the brake handles on the XPT increase the diameter of the bar by about 0.5 inches. To equate this, the banded group should use an equivalently sized Fat Gripz-type device on all upper body lifts to tease out any effects that could come from a different bar size.

Given the large response on bench press metrics, it could also be worthwhile to run an initial block using neither ballistic nor accommodating methods. This would provide measures to eliminate any murkiness as to whether or not previous programming simply failed to address upper or lower body power and left a higher or lower ceiling for development.

While this is just pilot data in a small cohort of participants, I believe there are a few practical takeaways. First, each coach should occasionally perform a SWOT analysis of their weight room and what they are and aren’t able to train. (A SWOT analysis means to look for strengths, weaknesses, opportunities, and threats that all need to be addressed.) My approach to programming is to always attempt to invest time in exercises that will give the athletes the biggest return on their effort investment. Your time, space, equipment, and other logistical restraints will always determine much of what you can do, but this is why the SWOT analysis is so critical for each coach to perform instead of copying and pasting another coach or program’s training.

As I mentioned, since we performed sprints and resisted sprints year-round, our lower body power may have already been one of our strengths. While medicine ball training and landmine jerks are great for a number of reasons, it is clear that there was a significant opportunity to improve vertical pressing power in our athletes.

SWOT analysis is so critical for each coach to perform instead of copying and pasting another coach or program’s training, says @Brandon_L_Pigg. Share on X

I have moved on to a new school this current school year, which has impacted my programming. We do not have Exer-genies or other means of performing resisted sprints on our speed days. This means that there may be an opportunity and need to increase lower body power through other means, so we have incorporated more speed squats, split squat jumps, trap bar jumps, and trap bar speed pulls in our training.

Recognizing that upper body horizontal pressing power was already a big opportunity in the previous setting, I suspect it will be even more so at my new school. We do not have bands or a good space to throw medicine balls, so speed bench and more frequent jerk/push press variations have been integrated into our training. Those programming methods reflect the restraints of our program.

Some methods may be more efficient at yielding results than others, and acquiring the means to perform them should impact how you budget and allocate funds once you’ve identified weaknesses, opportunities, or threats to your current programming. This is an ever-evolving process for all coaches, and I hope case studies like this one will help us all grow in that process.

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