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The feet can easily be labeled as the most important body part when considering human performance. In addition to being the literal base of support for the body, they play a major role and are typically the limiting factor when examining dynamic movements such as sprinting, jumping, and cutting.

Additionally, the feet are also responsible for contributing sensory information that provides biofeedback of the world around us. If the feet are suffering from any issues, it will eventually work its way up the chain and become present in other areas, such as the hips and knees.

If the feet are suffering from any issues, it will eventually work its way up the chain and become present in other areas, such as the hips and knees. Share on X

I claim no specific expertise in this subject—people devote their entire body of work to the feet and podiatry—but I do have experience in taking the training and development of the feet a step further than the average strength and conditioning coach. In this article, I’ll cover some of the methods I use.

Barefoot Training

For simple, everyday foot care, it is optimal to be barefoot as much as possible. Shoes—especially fashionable high tops—imprison the ankles and foot, preventing many natural movements of development in the foot from occurring.

This is connected to the first step in proper foot strengthening and works to increase the mobility of the foot. While I do recommend barefoot training—or at minimum performing the warmup or certain exercises without the restrictions of shoes—too much of this can be dangerous.

Whenever a new athlete, especially those who are untrained, begin with the program they will typically go 2-4 weeks performing the warmup or exercises still in their shoes before exposing them to any barefoot movements. If this isn’t done gradually, it could create the perfect recipe for overuse injuries such as shin splints, or potentially cause structural damage to the feet!

Exposing the athletes to barefoot training, when appropriate, is a step in the right direction for training the feet.

Exposing the athletes to barefoot training, when appropriate, is a step in the right direction for training the feet. Share on X

Self Massage

Another area of focus is self-massage (though many rely on this too much). While it can be beneficial, just rolling your foot out on a lacrosse ball will not solve all of your problems. Performing self-massage exercises will, however, help initially increase range of motion for that day. This is important because, over time, increasing range of motion for the other exercises that day will help enhance the progression of the training.

The lacrosse ball is the most common self-massage tool for the feet; other tools such as foam rollers, massage sticks, and hard rubber medicine balls can be used on the other important muscles of the lower leg, the calves, shins, and perennials.

Video 1. Lacrosse ball foot rollout.

When beginning to roll out the feet, it is important to work the entire foot. Roll out the toes, the edges of the foot, and of course spend additional time on any tender areas. I will tell athletes rolling the foot out for the first time that there is no right or wrong when performing self-massage, that it is more just self-discovery and finding where they need the work.

There is no right or wrong when performing self-massage, it is more just self-discovery and finding where they need the work. Share on X

Video 2. Manual self-massage, lacrosse ball.

When massaging the lower leg, it’s important to hit it from all angles. Simply turning the foot in or out when rolling will adjust the musculature of the lower leg. This area is extremely tight so typically not much pressure is needed. Starting with a lacrosse ball or a massage stick and performing manual massage would be the least amount of pressure since you can better dictate the pressure being applied, then progress to a foam roller to roll out the areas before moving on to the medicine ball.

Video 3. Medicine ball rollout, lower leg.

The medicine ball works fantastic because it is basically a giant lacrosse ball and is easy to flow throughout the areas. Perform anywhere between 30 seconds to 2 minutes depending on the time available and what is necessary for the individual.

Mobilization

Following self-massage, mobilization of the foot and its surrounding structures of the big toe and ankle will be the necessary requisites to begin strengthening the feet.

Big Toe

If you have ever injured or even just stubbed your big toe, then you have firsthand experience in the importance of this seemingly small and insignificant body part. The big toe plays a major role in helping to maintain balance, arch support, and push off when sprinting, jumping, and even just walking.

If you have ever injured or even just stubbed your big toe, then you have firsthand experience in the importance of this seemingly small and insignificant body part. Share on X

Here are a couple exercises to develop this forgotten part of the foot.

Video 4. Big toe mobilization stretch.

For this stretch it is best to perform it with a yoga block or plyometric box. Start by jamming your foot up against the object, crunching your toes back as if they were going to touch your shin. Continue driving the knee over the foot throughout the stretch as you open the toes up and stretch the fascia of the bottom of the foot. Hold for 30-60 seconds each side.

Big toe lift offs: Big toe lift offs seem silly when performing them for the first time, but you feel helpless once you realize it is easier said than done. For this exercise you’re going to lift the big toe off the ground while keeping the remaining four toes glued to the floor.

If you can easily do this, attempt to lift each toe up in its own individual manner.

Perform 10-20 reps. While not the best, this is something you can do with shoes…you could even do it right now while reading this article.

Ankle

Moving up the chain from the big toe, we reach the ankle. The ankle is important because if it’s immobile, then the foot will be limited in its ability to move and produce force (as well as potentially causing issues in the hips and knees in the future). An applicable example of this is that many athletes in the weight room suffer from poor squatting patterns due to poor ankle mobility, hindering them from getting into those proper patterns. This is an easy sell to your athletes who want to squat a house but slack on the smaller, less exciting exercises.

The ankle is important because if it’s immobile, then the foot will be limited in its ability to move and produce force. Share on X

Here are some exercises that can help improve the ankle mobility.

Video 5. Seated ankle CARs.

Taken from Functional Range of Conditioning protocols, ankle CARs are a focused approach to the ankle circle. When many athletes perform ankle circles, there is unnecessary movement from the leg; performing them instead from a seated position and holding the shin in place will allow you to completely isolate the ankle and focus on each portion of the rotation.

Perform slowly for 3-5 circles each way.

Video 6. Supported ankle rolls.

This is an advanced movement and great for mobility of the ankle. Holding on for support, you will drop into a low squat position, then begin driving the knees forward as you roll onto your toes as far as possible. Once that range is met, slowly roll out of the position and repeat.

Perform slowly for 5-10 reps—keep this for athletes who it is appropriate for.

Video 7. Slant Board Exercises.

The slant board is such a diverse tool that can be used for stationary exercises and more dynamic movements to intensify an athlete’s landing. It’s a relatively new tool for my programming, but I have seen great improvements and confidence given to my athletes thus far. This is particularly true for athletes in sports like basketball and soccer, where ankle injuries are common and the foot gets contoured in odd positions. Performing some stabilization bounds with the slant board can better prepare them for when situations are less than ideal.

Foundational Foot Strength

Once the surrounding structures of the foot become more mobile, then more load can be placed through those ranges.

Stress the importance of training the feet to your athletes. Even in the weight room, having weak feet can lead to poor knee and foot position in compound movements like the squat and deadlift. Not correcting the issue just continuously reinforces these poor movement patterns and compensations throughout time, so not only are the athletes not getting as much benefit out of the movements, but you’re also putting them in a poor environment that could lead to issues later.

Here are some exercises to help create a solid foundation of foot strength. Many of these exercises will have an isometric counterpart, single leg counterpart, and can be progressed through the addition of load or by increasing the total work that is being completed. Before progressing, though, make sure each movement is performed with control throughout the entirety of the range.

When loading these exercises, I personally like using a belt squat machine or a safety squat bar set up with support, so balance is not an issue. They can also be performed with dumbbells or other means, but the more that balance gets challenged, the less the athlete can actually focus on perfecting the exercise at the foot.

The more that balance gets challenged, the less the athlete can actually focus on perfecting the exercise at the foot. Share on X

Heel Toe Rocks: Heel toe rocks focus on transitioning between plantar and dorsiflexion. When performing, keep the knees extended and have full control at each end range. The most common flaw of this movement is the athlete pushing their butt back while raising the toes off of the ground, taking the emphasis off of the feet.

Perform these reps slowly, between 5-10 reps.

Video 8. Heel to Toe Walks

Taking it a step further from stationary heel toe rocks, performing the heel to toe walks will have you moving down the field. Focus on an exaggerated walk, initially striking with the heel before rolling the foot flat and finishing by pushing through the toes and getting as much lift off of the ground as possible.

Perform for 10-20 yards.

Video 9. Heel Walks & Toe Walks

These walks will isolate one specific movement, so either walking fully on the toes or on the heels. Either way, ensure that the knees stay extended and keep the feet straight when performing.

When walking on the toes, I cue athletes to imagine as if they were trying to spread their toes out like their fingers of their hands. For heel walks, I cue to take the toes and pull them up to their shins.

Perform these walks for 10-20 yards.

Video 10. Calf Marching

Marching on the toes is beneficial for building more endurance in the feet. Athletes should focus on avoiding their heels from collapsing down and touching the ground if possible.

You can also perform these movements in a single leg isometric march position, flexing the hip up and holding for time.

Perform for 5-10 reps per side or timed sets of varying amounts from 20-60 seconds.

Video 11. Sled Calf Push

This is one of my favorite exercises to get athletes to feel muscles of their feet that they didn’t even know existed. Pushing even an empty sled down the field while up on the toes will torch the toes and feet. Though normal sled pushing or pulling also effectively trains the feet, this variation is more direct because it places such a high emphasis and isolates the foot in the exercise.

Perform for 10-40 yards.

Video 12. Supported Calf Raises (DL, SL, Straight, Bent Leg)

Calf raises are the standard lower leg exercise—if you were only performing one of the exercises on this list today, it would probably be the calf raise.

Don’t get me wrong, I love the calf raise. It should be varied, though, and given more focus as far as modifying:

• The foot position;
• The time held; and
• Whether it is bent leg or straight leg.

This will ensure total development from this staple exercise.

When performing these calf raise variations, be strict about going slowly through each phase: the raising, the hold at top, the lowering, and the stretch at the bottom.

When performing these calf raise variations, be strict about going slowly through each phase. Share on X

Perform for 10-20 reps, but this will vary depending on the variation selected.

Video 13. Ankle Spring Series (from Cal Dietz)

I first read about the ankle spring series from Cal Dietz on his YouTube page, so if you want more information on this exercise, you can go research it from the man who invented it.

After first performing the series myself and feeling the weakness in my feet, I began implementing it with our college athletes who were home over summer break.

What I liked about it initially is that the athletes feel the intensity and “burn” immediately. When prescribing most foot exercises, athletes aren’t as involved since it doesn’t feel as tough as cranking out 100 pushups.

When prescribing most foot exercises, athletes aren’t as involved since it doesn’t feel as tough as cranking out 100 pushups. Share on X

Not the case for the ankle spring series.

The athletes dreaded doing it throughout the weeks, but got much stronger as the weeks progressed in the various positions. If I have limited resources when programming for a new athlete and can’t do many exercises, I always make sure that this series is a part of that program one way or another.

Start slow, only holding each position for 10 seconds and performing it with bodyweight only and begin progressing time from there.

Video 14. Split Squat Iso with Heel Lift

Performing the split squat isometric hold with a heel lift can be done for reps or total time. When going through the exercise drive through the toes as if you were trying to crush the ground beneath you.

Perform for reps ranging from 5-20 and time held from 10-60 seconds. This is a broad range because if the athletes are just using their bodyweight, then the higher end of the range can be done; on the other hand, if they’re loading it heavy, then they will be working in the bottom range.

Video 15. Ankle Inversion / Eversion Hold

Wince we’re examining the actions of the foot, we also need to look at inversion and eversion (or the ability of the foot to withstand or restrict rolling in this case). Performing these holds off of a board is great to begin building the resiliency of the edges of the feet.

Start by placing the inside or outside edge of the foot on the board. You want to get as close to being off of the board without actually falling off. Once held for the desired time, switch sides.

Perform for 10-30 seconds each side.

Earlier I spoke about how if there was one exercise you were probably performing from this list then it would be the calf raises. If there is an exercise or muscle action that you probably aren’t performing is their opposite, dorsiflexion raises, or toe raises.

Similar to the idea of having a healthy ratio of pulling to pushing exercises in a program for shoulder health, you want to make sure to implement a dose of toe raises to focus on health of the shins and feet.

Many of my athletes—especially in track, basketball, and football—love performing these exercises because they feel it immediate burn through their lower shin. They also will typically claim they feel better after performing. Whether that has any merit or not, placebos are real and how they “think” they feel is also important to me.

Video 16. Wall Toe Raises

Performing toe raises off of the wall is a great starting point because there is no equipment needed and they can even do this exercise at home.

Start performing these for sets of higher reps, 15-25, and begin progressing by either taking the feet out farther from the wall or increasing the reps.

Video 17. Seated KB Dorsiflexion

The next progression will be adding some load; this can be done by placing a kettlebell around the foot to perform the exercise. Make sure that the athlete has most of their leg on the bench and they focus on just isolating the foot. The common mistakes are too much knee involvement, and shin rotation when raising up.

Perform for 10-15 reps, increase reps before attempting a heavier kettlebell.

For athletes who are new to this training, they will typically experience soreness in their calves and typically be surprised by the lack of controllable range they possess when performing some of the basic exercises like the heel to toe rocks or heel walks.

Dynamic Foot Strength

It is great to train the foot complex with these isometric holds, and slow, controlled exercises for strength. This is done to prepare them for more high-speed exercises that better resemble the demands of athletic actions.

It is great to train the foot complex with these isometric holds, and slow, controlled exercises for strength. Share on X

On the athletic field, everything is performed at full speed. The actions of change of direction, acceleration, and deceleration are performed maximally, and the feet must be conditioned to deal with these stressors. Exposing the feet to more aggressive and high-speed training must be a gradual process that is monitored closely.

Here are some exercises that can help raise the foot’s threshold and ability to handle high speeds.

Video 18. Pogo hop series.

Pogo jumps are submaximal jumps being performed through the ankle and knee. These are done to help build up that threshold in the feet to withstand force and should be built up gradually.

These jumps can be performed though various directions, stationary or moving, various body positions, and off of either double or single leg positions. Take it one step farther by performing them off an incline or step.

Video 19. Stair hop series.

With younger athletes, just getting them to jump rope is a great athletic building exercise which is often forgotten.

Video 20. Assisted pogo jumps

Once a base has been built through unassisted pogo jumps, adding some assistance to create an overspeed effect can be done through band assistance or by getting support on a racked barbell.

Perform jumps for timed sets between 5-10 seconds, or total reps 5-10. This can be raised of course as time goes on but initially less is more.

The feet are responsible for so much regarding athletic performance and overall health. Prioritizing them in our training programs is a must. Share on X

Final Thoughts

The feet are responsible for so much regarding athletic performance and overall health. Prioritizing them in our training programs is a must. It’s not a bad start to get out of our shoes and perform self-massage. Following that, begin to mobilize the surrounding structures. Then, once you begin focusing on strengthening them, move from a foundational base of isometrics and slow movements to more applicable high speed, dynamic actions.

These exercises can be easily placed in the beginning preparation of the workout or ending post exercises. Since there is so much that you can cover with training the feet, I would recommend sprinkling exercises of different focus throughout the training week and focus on building those specific exercises that you select.

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Whether in training, a profession, or in life itself, balance is a key piece to sustained longevity. The pendulum can’t swing too far in one direction or else it leaves us susceptible to unfavorable outcomes (injuries, burnout, chronic stress, cognitive bias, etc.). For us coaches that train team sport athletes, balance is a major concept on which we hang our hats. A really solid team sport athlete is typically a Swiss army knife throughout their development. They are solid at just about everything, from both a physical and mental standpoint: they are simply what used to be called “athletic.”

For us coaches that train team sport athletes, balance is a major concept on which we hang our hats. Share on X

This athleticism is built through many sports, activities, and life experiences that have left them with a diverse toolbox to pull from in terms of movement solutions. As coaches, understanding this contrast can vastly improve the quality of athletes in our communities, along with the way we shape the development of these athletes from adolescence to their adult years.

Yin and Yang

Dating back to 3rd century BCE (or even earlier), Yin and Yang was a fundamental concept found throughout Chinese philosophy. The principle of Yin and Yang is that all things exist as inseparable and contradictory opposites, for example:

• female-male
• dark-light
• old-young

The pairs of equal opposites attract and complement each other. Neither Yin nor Yang is considered to be superior to its counterpart; instead, a correct balance must be struck between the two in order to achieve harmony. I posit that as physical preparation coaches, the most powerful fundamental understanding to have is that of finding the contrast and applying the contrast within your programs.

Organization of training

My decision to start the Common Sense Training podcast was partly influenced by my desire to highlight great coaches from all over the world. These coaches have had continued success and longevity over decades of working with athletes. One coach that I wish I could have had the opportunity to speak with was the late Charlie Francis. Charlie’s approach was unique in that it was applicable across any sporting activity and could be adapted easily by us coaches.

One of the hallmarks of Charlie’s coaching philosophy was his high-low approach to program design. In this polarized design, intensities would work in a contrasting manner in order to support the natural stress-adaptation rhythms of the human body. Some examples of the high intensity elements would include:

• maximal sprinting
• plyometrics
• medicine ball throws
• heavy strength training
• sport practice
• competitions

Low intensity elements would include:

• tempo runs
• aerobic activities
• strength circuits
• abdominal work

When utilizing this approach, it doesn’t mean that there aren’t certain forms of moderate intensity elements added in when needed.

Some reasons why contrasting intensities for athletes might be favorable are:

• If athletes are performing quality high intensity efforts, sustainability of those outputs must be preserved.
• Too much high intensity and volume can lead to excess fatigue, injury, burnout, etc.
• In terms of resource allocation, athletes only have a finite amount of energy which should be spent on the stimuli that can get them the biggest bang for their buck.
  • Low intensity elements can be general in nature which can be used as a low cost means to build strength, lean mass, work capacity, etc. (doesn’t empty the “cup”).
• Athletes need to recover in order to adapt. Low intensity provides that buffer and assists in the adaptation process.
  • Low intensity promotes recovery, resets tone, and helps rebound from high intensity sessions.

If athletes are performing quality high intensity efforts, sustainability of those outputs must be preserved. Share on X

In a recent conversation with coach Joel Jamieson, he talked about his recovery-driven process to training. Obviously, as coaches we have to give our athletes something to recover from in training. However, Joel makes a great point in saying an athlete can only get to a higher level of performance based on the status of their recovery from previous stressors.

Let’s use arbitrary numbers to work this out. Say an athlete has a readiness score of 100. They do a high intensity session and it brings that number down to 60. After a true high intensity session, an athlete might need 48-72 hours to fully recover (athlete depending). So, let’s say after 48 hours they have a recovery score of 80. They do another high intensity session and it drops them down the same 40 points as last time. This time, however, they started in a deficit—so now their readiness sits at a 40. You see where I’m going with this.

Yes, human beings aren’t so simple as a number on a page, but if you dig yourself deep enough into the rabbit hole of recovery, bad things tend to follow. We didn’t even take into account mental stress and how lifestyle choices affect the body’s ability to function. There is a point of diminishing returns. More is not always better. Having contrast in a program might help offset that if done properly.

Where We See Contrast in The Trenches

Contrast is present in many of our programs, even if we don’t realize it. Let’s take a look at some common forms of contrast that we may see in a physical preparation program.

Simple-Complex

In the words of legendary coach Boo Schexnayder “you can either be fancy or you can be intense.” The simple tools in training, like maximal sprints, jumps, tempo runs, squats, deadlifts, presses, chin ups, and many others, are fantastic ways to allocate your training resources. These menu items are simple to teach and oftentimes feel innate to athletes if they had appropriate exposure during their development.

Simple training can be used for all qualifications of athletes. If you are lucky enough to work with elite athletes, the simple training elements are ways to get in training while not zapping precious energy resources that are needed for their sport. Simple doesn’t necessarily mean easy. Simple means making training cut and dried enough where athletes can focus on execution and outputs.

Two major forms of simple and complex are home base-diversity and general physical preparedness-specific physical preparedness. Home base is your simple, yet effective training modalities that are present throughout the entire program. If you know the vertical integration concept popularized by Charlie Francis, these would be the major components that are threaded block to block.

Every once in a while, diversity is needed in a program. Diversity can break up training staleness or be the trump card needed to drive a favorable adaptation. An example might be acceleration and max velocity. In team sports, acceleration training would be the home base. However, on a frequent basis you would want to sprinkle max velocity sprints to aid in top speed and to inoculate against soft tissue injury.

Diversity can break up training staleness or be the trump card needed to drive a favorable adaptation. Share on X

The other form that us coaches should all be familiar with is GPP-SPP. How this fits into the simple-complex framework is in the specificity of work. GPP will consist of general training aimed to boost general qualities. Typically, GPP work will be far away from the sporting actions, although it may hit on a specific quality like regime of muscular work or energy system development. The goal of GPP is to prepare the body for SPP.

SPP is what it sounds like. On the sliding scale of training, athletes will now begin training more concentrated activities and abilities that hopefully will transfer over to successful sporting outcomes. The distribution of GPP to SPP will be different for every level of athlete. Striking that balance of what needs to happen will take shape after a detailed needs analysis.

An easy example of a GPP exercise for a football lineman is a squat variation. It strengthens and prepares the hip and knee extensors. A squat variation can then transfer into a heavy prowler push in SPP. A coach can then match the sets, reps, distance, and rest intervals to match that of a football game. The exercise still focuses on the lower body, but in a more specific manner. It is important to note that true specificity is found in the sport itself—anything done in the weight room or during S&C drills is relatively still general in its application.

It is important to note that true specificity is found in the sport itself—anything done in the weight room or during S&C drills is relatively still general in its application. Share on X

Acute-Chronic

The sport science sector has begun to peel away some of the layers that relate to player loading and potential for injury. One area that has received a lot of interest is that of acute versus chronic stress. Acute simply means short term. Chronic would then be a long-term view of the stressors applied. It is important for us coaches to begin with the end in mind when it comes to preparing our athletes for their sport.

I recently recorded a podcast episode with coach Aaron Wellman where he explained the importance of gradually building up workloads as opposed to acute ramp-ups like we see in many training camp environments. Aaron uses the phrase “callous don’t blister” when talking with coaches. We also talked about the role of sport science in physical preparation. The goal of collecting data isn’t to give our athletes more time off or less work; the goal is to properly progress them in a safe manner that allows them to do more work over time.

The goal for collecting data is to properly progress them in a safe manner that allows them to do more work over time. Share on X

That is the ideal situation. Having enough to slow cook athletes and nudge the needle to a place where they are hopefully prepared for the sport. It is important to remember that the first week of training camp is often the most intense period that an athlete will face all year due to the abrupt spike in stressors.

Another important area that Aaron believes to play a huge role in athletic performance is the accumulation of life stress. Training is just one spoke of the wheel. The sport they play is another. Mental stress, emotional stress, social stress, and lifestyle choices are all additional spokes to the performance and wellness wheel.

Visualize a full cup of water. The cup is our capacity to handle stress. Water is our energy. As we get stressed, we dump some of the water out. What happens when it’s all gone? Performance tanks, our bodies lose their ability to function optimally, we could get sick or run down, our resiliency is diminished, etc. Having that awareness as a coach will put us in a better place in terms of loading and having conversations with our players.

One small example for me personally is training my athletes during finals week. From a mental standpoint they are shot, but I have this wonderfully periodized plan and it is a high intensity day. Well, something has to change on my end. Not drastically though. Remember plan B is as close to plan A as possible. There is time where we can make some of this up; it doesn’t, however, have to be today. There’s a quote I like that says: “The intensity doesn’t come from the sheet of paper, it comes from the athlete.”

The intensity doesn’t come from the sheet of paper, it comes from the athlete. Share on X

Fast-Slow

There are many training modalities that come to mind when I think of fast and slow. My initial thought goes to a broad brush of what many team sport athletes might need: alactic power/capacity and aerobic capacity. Where these qualities may appear to be on opposite ends of the spectrum, you can adapt training to include both.

Alactic efforts are those that are very intense and brief in nature. Think maximal sprints, jumps, lifts, etc. Aerobic endeavours are best served at lower intensities with varying durations. The building or maintenance of aerobic capacities will support alactic outputs and allow for a condensed recovery period between repeated bouts. Aerobically driven activities are also non-competitive to the main alactic stimulus if programmed properly.

To paint a picture, think of training for sprinting-based activities. Our fast actions will include hard accelerations and maximal velocity sprints—these are meant to raise the ceiling of performance. But they also come at a high cost. To counterbalance our fast work, I will use “slow” training means. By slow, I am thinking of smooth tempo runs or running drills done extensively. Both serve as an important stimulus if dosed appropriately.

Another example of fast and slow could involve muscular actions—more specifically, eccentric and concentric. Both of these muscle actions are crucial in sports and movement in general. Eccentric muscle actions are typically done through lengthening and are fairly damaging compared to other muscle actions. Eccentrics are often referenced when we talk about “force absorption.” Concentric muscle actions are typically done through muscle shortening.

The concentric action is most commonly thought of as “force production.” There is growing interest in the eccentric portion of movement and its role in injury and performance. Something I hear frequently from coaches is that an athlete can only produce as much force as they can absorb—when that balance is too asymmetrical, that’s when injury risk creeps up.

There is growing interest in the eccentric portion of movement and its role in injury and performance. Share on X

The weight room is an obvious place to implement fast and slow movements. A good example could be shown with the squat exercise. To make a squat fast, you need to reduce load. Dynamic effort squats are done with 40-70% of your 1RM, using a controlled eccentric and a high intensity, fast concentric. This helps in the recruitment of motor neurons.

To slow the squat down, we can add a rep tempo. The rep tempo would bias towards a fairly slow descent; maybe like 4-8 seconds depending on load. This style of squat is often called eccentric training. Loading could be around 70-90% of 1RM and could even go as high as 120% of 1RM in qualified athletes.

Another form of fast and slow is French Contrast training. French Contrast utilizes varying loads and velocities in an attempt to hit each major landmark along the force-velocity curve. Two major differences in French Contrast worth noting are that heavier loads are used without a slow eccentric. The heavy load itself will slow the movement down. The second difference is the use of assisted movements. These assisted movements help velocities reach a level that wouldn’t otherwise be hit. Here is a basic template of what a French contrast series might look like for the lower body.

Short-Long

Charlie Francis would often use a short-to-long or long-to-short approach with athletes. The basic premise was to manipulate sprint volumes in order to properly progress training in an effort to avoid “too much, too soon.” For team sport athletes, the short‑to‑long approach seems to make sense based on the running demands.

In many sports, the furthest an athlete might run unabated might only be about 50 yards. That number generally seems to be much less than 50 yards, but my recommendation is to train those longer distances for the “break glass in case of emergency” situations so the athletes don’t get injured. The two major variables to consider in a short-to-long program are volume and intensity. In sprint training, depending on the level of athlete, I’ve seen average volumes hover between 200-500 yards per session.

Developing athletes are able to handle higher volumes because they have less horsepower and won’t do as much damage as an elite athlete. The higher volumes also allow for more repetitions to develop proper motor patterns and sprint postures.

Developing athletes are able to handle higher volumes of sprint training because they have less horsepower and won’t do as much damage as an elite athlete. Share on X

Intensity relates to the velocity achieved during sprints. Maximal velocity typically means anything over 90% of an athlete’s fastest time. It has been said many times, but in most cases, to get fast you have to train fast. That comes with increased risks—especially if the athlete is not prepared. Where the art of coaching comes in is how you manipulate each variable. Developing constraints or intensity limiters are a great way to program sprint training. You can do this by utilizing:

• Timed sprints (record performance drop-offs)
• Build up sprints
• Resisted or hill sprints
• Yardage limiters (athlete is asked to do a 40 yard-sprint and is told that the 20‑yard mark is where they can no longer accelerate past; whatever speed they built up to in that initial 20 yards is what they maintain for the second 20 yards)
• Play with complete and incomplete recoveries (rest intervals)

The key here is to slow cook progress and to not overlook technique. Running fast is much more than force production and rate of contraction-relaxation.

One other form of short-long that many of us coaches use is during ground contact times for plyometrics. Shorter ground contact times are found in movements like sprinting, depth jumps, hurdle hops, jumping rope, and other forms of extensive hopping. Longer ground contacts can be found during weighted jumps, broad jumps, and any jumps that aim to generate force over a longer time scale. Both are very important when it comes to training for general athleticism. A big push in the strength and conditioning field is using data to quantify if an athlete is force dominant or velocity dominant. Depending on what you find, training can then be specific to the needs of that athlete.

A coach that does a great job at this is Aaron Wellman. Aaron has found a way to seamlessly introduce data collection into his training sessions. Each athlete might be doing a jump exercise, but the emphasis area will differ for each group. One group might be doing a hurdle hop with jump mats. Another group might be doing weighted box jumps. This is just a small example of using short-long ground contacts within a session.

Stiffness-Compliance

The emergence of tendon research has brought this next form of contrast front and center: stiffness and compliance. I think a well-rounded approach to training muscles and tendons will serve your athletes better than simply focusing on one. Commonly, in a tendon-muscle relationship, there is both stiffness and compliance. Where the muscle meets the tendon, there must be some pliability there; where the tendon meets the bone calls for more stiffness. How these are trained will differ a bit.

If we have strong muscles but not enough tendon integrity, we can see injuries in these connective tissues. For increased stiffness, think dynamic movement. Dynamic in the form of sprinting, jumping, cutting, etc. This fast coupling is what builds cross links in the tendon, making it stiffer. As it turns out, inactivity also increases stiffness, but not in a positive way. Keith Baar has shown that tendons don’t need much more than 10 minutes of loading to see benefits.

If we have strong muscles but not enough tendon integrity, we can see injuries in these connective tissues. Share on X

This has interesting implications in the return-to-play world. From what I’ve gathered, it also seems that female athletes may be predisposed to tendon/ligament injuries because of an interaction with hormones and the development of cross links within connective tissues.

Compliance is another, equally important aspect of tendon-muscle training. If we make a tendon stiffer than a muscle is strong, muscle pulls can happen. An example of this might be observed during mini-camps in the NFL. Players are primarily doing fast, dynamic movements that increase stiffness. The weight room is often one of the first things to go. Without slower strength work, the muscle-tendon junction may be vulnerable to soft tissue pulls. The general recommendation to balance out stiffness with compliance is slow movements.

Heavy weight training can be applied as one means. Another is the use of isometrics. Holding an isometric for 30-40 seconds can be enough loading in the tendon to break cross links and build compliance. Again, Keith Baar is an excellent resource on all things tendons. A good rule of thumb for coaches is:

• First, prepare the athlete’s tendons and tissues to match what they will experience in their sport.
• Next, give the athletes what they aren’t getting in their sport.

If they are basketball players and are jumping all the time, plug in exercises for tendon health and compliance. A balance of the two seems to be a good starting point.

Lifestyle

It is often said that in life we need to find balance. While that holds true for a majority of situations, there are however some instances where contrast plays itself out in our lives.

The first example of that is in the contrast between sleeping states and states of wakefulness. Sleep and its importance in performance and health has been a big topic of conversation over the past few years. Matthew Walker has done a wonderful job of laying out actionable information for the layperson. Sleep is a vital aspect of our lives and, if possible, shouldn’t be compromised.

Sleep is a vital aspect of our lives and, if possible, shouldn’t be compromised. Share on X

On the other side of sleep—and an area that offers an interesting point—is the state of wakefulness. Wakefulness is exactly as it sounds. How we spend our day, more specifically our early and late hours, will either support or hinder the quality of sleep we receive each night. Our bodies are programmed to follow a certain cycle or rhythm. The basic term that represents this cycle or clock is called the “circadian rhythm.” This clock dictates specific functions and actions of our bodies that are important.

As we wake up, we need natural light exposure in our eyes. This light exposure helps initiate our clock and sets the stage for sleepiness to occur some 12-16 hours later. Without adequate light exposure we experience a delay or lag in wakefulness. We also need some natural light exposure in the early evening hours. Seeing the sun at a low position in the sky is useful for the body and its preparation for sleep.

It is important to get light in both the early and later parts of the day. A common recommendation is to get 10-15 minutes of exposure at both times. Depending on how much light is available in your area, that threshold will expand out to get sufficient lux.

Another way we can “hack” the body’s current state is through breathing. Breathing is another vital part of life and is something that has a massive impact on our quality of life. It seems that a more optimal form of breathing should be more or less reflexive and heavily involve the diaphragm. Breath is a way to use our physiology to shift into what is required of us in that specific context.

How we cadence and perform each breath can place us into a more sympathetic- or parasympathetic-dominant state. Generally speaking, sympathetic is our body’s “fight or flight” mode and parasympathetic is more of our “rest and digest” mode. Both are very important.

If we want to heighten our arousal levels, focusing on the inhalation portion of each breath will help us achieve this. A popular technique known as the Wim Hof method, uses a fast cadence in order to hyperoxygenate our bodies. This leads to a more “alive” feeling.

We can also use breath to down-regulate ourselves, which is very much needed in the high-stress environments that we all face in today’s society. To shift ourselves into a more parasympathetic state, our focus then slides to the side of exhalation. By extending and slowing down the rate at which we exhale, we tend to offload more carbon dioxide.

We can also use breath to down-regulate ourselves, which is very much needed in the high-stress environments that we all face in today’s society. Share on X

Stanford neuroscientist Andrew Huberman explained a specific action for dampening the stress response known as the physiological sigh. A physiological sigh is a pattern of breathing in which two inhales through the nose are followed by an extended exhale through the mouth. Huberman explained that the double inhale portion of the physiological sigh pops the air sacks (called alveoli) open, allowing oxygen in and enabling you to offload carbon dioxide in the long-exhaled sigh out. These are just a few examples of how contrasting our breath can alter our current status.

Finding Contrast In Your Life

Contrast exists in most dimensions of life. Without it, we have little context for comparison in our perceptual field. Our goal as coaches is to leverage contrast and use it most effectively with our athletes. These are only a few examples. I challenge you to find more within your programs and develop a fundamental understanding of how to apply them.

“The greater the contrast, the greater the potential. Great energy only comes from a correspondingly great tension of opposites.” – Carl Jung

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

German Volume Training, German Body Comp, and four-digit strength training tempo prescriptions are training methods commonly practiced today. What do they all have in common? Charles Poliquin, a Canadian strength coach who introduced these ideas and many others to the athletic and physical fitness communities.

For those new to the Iron Game, Poliquin coached Olympians in two dozen sports and hundreds of elite athletes in other sports. In track and field, he worked with 2004 gold medal winners Dwight Phillips (long jump) and Adam Nelson (shot put), and in 1999 worked with Jamaican hurdler Michelle Freeman, an Olympian who now coaches at the University of Virginia. But we’re getting ahead of ourselves. As a strength coach, Poliquin “talked the walk” and, spouting 19+ inch bone-crushing pythons for arms, “walked the talk!”

In contrast to today’s abundance of strength coaching and personal training organizations offering journals edited by PhDs, muscle magazines were one of the primary sources of training information in the early days of strength coaching. Flex, Iron Man, Muscular Development, and Muscle Media 2000 were among those publications treasured by strength coaches responsible for getting their athletes competition ready. Poliquin became one of the most popular writers for these magazines, and in 1997 assembled his best writings into his classic, The Poliquin Principles.

(Lead photo by Miloš Šarčev.)

Charles Poliquin distinguished himself from his colleagues with the use of precisely controlled ‘loading parameters.’ Share on X

Poliquin distinguished himself from his colleagues with the use of precisely controlled “loading parameters.” Loading parameters include training variables such as reps, sets, tempo (lifting speed during all phases of an exercise, a system he modified from a three-digit formula developed by Australian strength coach Ian King), and rest. For example, an exercise prescription for the upper body might look like this:

A. Dumbbell Bench Press, 45-Degree Incline, Pronated Grip, 5 x 6-8, 3101, rest 45 seconds

This formula would tell you the exercise order, name of the exercise and type of resistance, body position, grip, sets, repetition range, speed of muscular contractions (eccentric, isometric, and concentric), time under tension, and rest period. For example, here is a leg workout Poliquin wrote for Phillips, the gold medal winner he started training in February 2004.

A. Power Clean from Above Kneecap, 4 x 4-6, 40X0, rest 120 seconds
– Make sure shoulders are ahead of the bar at the start

B. Telemark Inertia Quarter Squat, 4 x 4-6, 40X0, rest 120 seconds
– Go to ankle flexibility

C1. 1 ¼ Front Squat, 4 x 4-6, 40X0, rest 120 seconds
– Quarter rep in the bottom position

C2. Atlantis Kneeling Leg Curl, Neutral, 4 x 4-6, 40X0, rest 120 seconds
– Foot is pointing away and neutral

Before writing an athlete’s workout, Poliquin performed a muscular balance assessment, a system inspired by the training programs of European weightlifters. Poliquin believed that to achieve optimal performance with minimal risk of injury, you must address specific ratios of strength imbalances between muscle groups.

Poliquin believed that to achieve optimal performance with minimal risk of injury, you must address specific ratios of strength imbalances between muscle groups. Share on X

Consider the bench press: Poliquin found that if the muscles that externally rotate the shoulders were weak, this imbalance could affect bench press performance and increase the risk of injury. When pro hockey player Jim McKenzie met Poliquin, he could lift 280 pounds in the close-grip bench press (hands about 14 inches apart). That result is quite remarkable for a hockey player, but Poliquin wasn’t impressed.

During his assessment, Poliquin found that McKenzie’s rotator cuff strength was especially weak. As a result, for the next three months, McKenzie did not bench press; instead, Poliquin had him focus on improving his rotator cuff strength. However, at the end of this training period, McKenzie bench pressed 331 pounds; again, no bench pressing. At this point, Poliquin reintroduced bench pressing, and six weeks later, McKenzie close-grip bench pressed 380 pounds!

Included in Poliquin’s assessment are what could be considered “functional tests.” Upon his initial assessments for long jumper Phillips, Poliquin found a muscular imbalance between his hamstrings and a quadriceps muscle called the vastus medialis oblique. Before prescribing exercises to help Phillips run faster and jump higher, he began with corrective exercises to address these imbalances.

I first saw Poliquin demonstrate several of these tests at a seminar I attended in the early ’90s in California. One of the critical tests for the lower body he taught was an expanded version of a knee stability test developed by Lois Klatt, Ph.D.

The Klatt test is performed barefoot. Standing on the edge of a low platform, Poliquin had the trainee extend one leg at a 15-degree angle, then hop off. How the trainee lands determines what muscles are weak and what corrective exercise should be prescribed. For example, leaning forward as they land could suggest a weakness in the gluteus maximus; corrective exercises could be reverse hypers or good mornings. Hopping forward could suggest a weakness in the hamstrings; corrective exercises could be leg curls or Romanian deadlifts.

Before getting into some of Poliquin’s most popular workouts, let’s explore how he became a strength coach.

The Education of a Strength Coach

As an athlete, Poliquin dedicated himself to learning the martial arts, and at age 14, he became the second-youngest athlete in Canada to earn a black belt. His sensei was Web Corcoran.

Poliquin took the bus to the dojo. During one snowstorm, the buses were not running, so he walked. However, no other students showed up. Rather than conducting a private lesson, Corcoran invited the future strength coach to lift weights with him. Poliquin was hooked and set out to pack on muscle and become as strong as he looked.

It was only natural for Poliquin to major in exercise physiology in college. For his master’s thesis, he examined the optimal loading variables for developing strength. During his studies, Poliquin discovered that the best research on resistance training could be found in European sports science journals, particularly those from Germany. Unfortunately, only the abstracts of these studies were published in English and French, so his passion for knowledge led him to learn German.

His education didn’t end there.

Not only would Poliquin travel the world to attend seminars, but he would also seek out experts in fields he was interested in and offer to pay them for personal consultations. Share on X

Not only would Poliquin travel the world to attend seminars, but he would also seek out experts in fields he was interested in and offer to pay them for personal consultations. For example, twice I recommended he consult with athletic fitness experts I knew, and he flew to both ends of the United States to see and learn from them. I should also note that Poliquin was also a voracious reader, often devoting one full day each week to study (advice he gives to his students, explaining that “Learners are earners!).

With what could be considered a photographic memory and a mastery of speed-reading techniques, Poliquin read and retained the knowledge of hundreds of books each year. During question-and-answer sessions at seminars, Poliquin often looked upward and off to the left—which he said was the side of the brain that held memories—to recite specific passages from research studies. He also hired graduate students and colleagues to collect research papers, and he would read them during long flights. I met one of these helpers at an NSCA convention, and he showed me a foot-high stack of documents he collected for Poliquin.

From Theory to Practice

While attending the university and lifting weights, a volleyball player was impressed with Poliquin’s strength and asked Poliquin to write a workout for him. He quickly became the team’s strongest athlete, so other athletes asked Poliquin for workouts. Word spread, resulting in Poliquin being hired as the official strength coach for the national team to help them prepare for the 1984 Olympics.

Athletes and coaches from other Olympic sports in Canada learned of Poliquin’s abilities. Of the 118 Canadian athletes who competed in the 1992 Olympic, he coached 78, and five won medals. Two years later, seven of his athletes won medals at the 1994 Olympics. By then, the Canadian government pressured him to become a full-time civil servant. To keep his revenue stream growing, he looked for an opportunity to move to the United States.

On one of his visits to Colorado Springs, I introduced Poliquin to Dr. Mike Leahy, a chiropractor who developed the popular soft tissue treatment called Active Release Techniques (ART). Poliquin set out to master ART, which led to him eventually leaving Canada to work out of Leahy’s sports medicine facility. Also working out of that facility was Tim Patterson, best known for the popular website Testosterone.

Poliquin eventually decided that although Colorado Springs was a good place to work, Phoenix, Arizona, was better (although he seriously considered Las Vegas). The reason was that the airport was convenient for his national and international clients, along with the many pro athletes who lived in the area. So Poliquin set up his training gym a few miles from the airport in a quiet business district. I should mention that it was a private gym: no sign out front, just a number; so, if you didn’t know that number, you would never find it. One concern Poliquin had with the sports celebrities that trained there was that he didn’t want them distracted by fans.

The way clients would work with Poliquin was distance, but the difference was you had to fly out to see him twice a year for an assessment. Thus, you would fly out to his facility and  go through testing that often included lab testing. One beneficiary of this testing was Adam Nelson. After his eventual gold in the 2004 Olympic Games, Nelson visited Poliquin in Arizona.

Nelson always had an issue gaining muscle, so Poliquin had Nelson submit to lab testing. The testing revealed that Nelson had a bacterium affecting his ability to assimilate protein, so he had his doctors treat this problem. Within three months, Nelson gained 25 pounds of solid muscle and decreased his body fat by 5%! Poliquin also found that Nelson had a shoulder injury that affected his pressing ability. He treated that with ART, and Nelson made dramatic strength improvements immediately.

Of course, Poliquin could only train so many athletes—so, to expand his audience, he focused on writing articles and books and giving seminars worldwide. In 1994, he told me he earned enough frequent flyer miles to travel around the world twice!

Of course, Poliquin could only train so many athletes—so, to expand his audience, he focused on writing articles and books and giving seminars worldwide. Share on X

I met Poliquin at a strength coaching seminar in 1988. I was a strength coach at the Air Force Academy at the time, responsible for writing and supervising the workouts for all the major varsity sports. To give my athletes an edge, I did extensive research at the Olympic Training Center Library in Colorado Springs to find everything Poliquin ever wrote and began calling him weekly.

Over the next two years, my long-distance bill to Canada equaled a month’s salary! But this investment was worth it, as I wanted to thoroughly understand what he did with athletes and why he did it. Further, with an athlete base that expanded to 875 athletes during my final year, I could effectively assess the effectiveness of Poliquin’s training methods. Two of these methods were the German Volume Training (GVT) and German Body Comp (GBC) programs.

The German Connection

Shortly after I started consulting with Poliquin, I spoke to him about a minor league hockey player, Craig Shepherd, who wanted to bulk up to market himself as an enforcer. Poliquin told me about a program he called German Volume Training. It involved executing a few “best bang for your buck” exercises, such as squats and bench presses, and performing them for 10 sets of 10 reps.

In less than three months, my hockey player gained more than 40 pounds of body weight, power cleaned 285 pounds, and bench pressed 400 pounds! Interestingly, later in his career he lost all that weight and got recruited to play for Moscow Dynamo in Russia. After that, he became a professional skater in pairs competition, teaming up with 1992 Olympic champion Natalia Mishkutionok.

The next German-inspired program was called German Body Comp. I had called Poliquin about the female figure skaters I was working with who needed to lose body fat. He told me about a program using short rest intervals designed to lose body fat quickly without compromising strength or muscle mass. In 10 weeks, without significantly changing her diet (in fact, we increased her calorie intake significantly), one skater went from 148 pounds to 104 pounds. I wrote an article about the program for Skating magazine and a mainstream fitness magazine (although I called it the German Body Shaping System), and later Poliquin and I teamed up to produce an article for Muscle Media 2000.

Poliquin’s books and seminars were financially successful and influenced countless coaches and athletes. For three decades, I was Poliquin’s primary editor. I helped him write articles, books, training courses, and countless question-and-answer columns. I’ve lost track of how much material we produced (much that was never published), but I’d estimate it was north of a quarter of a million words. We parted ways in 2013 when he started a new company called Strength Sensei, Inc., but Poliquin continued producing written material, particularly with Testosterone and former Muscle Media 2000 editor T.C. Luoma.

Throughout our three decades together, Poliquin championed other programs that many strength coaches or personal trainers were unaware of, including the 1-6 Method, the Patient Lifter Method, cluster training, and the Modified Hepburn Method. He also wrote and lectured extensively about lifestyle, nutritional supplements, and how to use body fat testing to assess hormonal balance. Poliquin left us on September 26, 2018, passing his company to his daughter Krystal.

Charles Poliquin’s pioneering training methods and commitment to teaching helped shape the modern world of strength and conditioning. Share on X

Poliquin “talked the walk” and “walked the talk” in the world of physical fitness and athletic fitness training. It’s been said that “legends never die,” and in the case of this remarkable strength coach, it’s true. Charles Poliquin’s pioneering training methods and commitment to teaching helped shape the modern world of strength and conditioning.

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

In this new series, I will be reaching out to coaches all over the country to see what it takes to go from having an idea for your facility design to making that idea a reality. Spanning full designs from scratch to larger remodels, we will cover facilities from all over the profession: colleges, high schools, private, tactical, and even home gyms.

All facility designs come with questions and decisions to be made, such as:

• How big can or will the space be?
• What type of equipment do I need to purchase?
• Which brands, purveyors, and manufacturers should I choose?

I want to highlight how to answer those questions and many more during the design process. First, join me in looking at how and why those decisions were made at Urbandale High School in Urbandale, Iowa.

Facility Finders reached out to Urbandale Director of Strength and Conditioning, Pete Traynor, because his space is rare—especially at the high school level. I also wanted to spotlight the unique relationship his facility shares with the school board, which was consulted before the hiring of Coach Traynor to have the facility constructed in a way that would serve the needs of both the strength and conditioning department and the greater community.

Video 1. An inside look at the Urbandale High School performance facility.

Facility Decisions

Among the most time-consuming tasks of designing a new facility is figuring out how to pay for everything. For Coach Traynor, that was made possible by a school district-wide building/remodeling plan that included their weight room at Urbandale H.S. and updates across the districts, which also encompassed building two new elementary schools. Once the school board decided on the budget and what the project entailed, Coach Traynor needed to prioritize his needs. He determined the top three considerations were:

1. Quality of equipment
2. Branding capabilities
3. Costs

“We know that this is a once-in-a-25-plus-years type of project, so we had to ensure that the equipment we purchased was of the highest quality,” said Traynor.

Among the most time-consuming tasks of designing a new facility is figuring out how to pay for everything, says @johndelf99. Share on X

Because this is a community project, customized district branding—for example, the high school’s logos—was used to help separate the spaces to be utilized mainly by the public, like the studio connected to the facility, and keep people out of the high school weight room. At Urbandale, Coach Traynor works with more than 75 athletes at a time, which requires space to flow properly and efficiently.

Some of the specialty equipment that Traynor uses daily with his athletes are the belt squat station from Dynamic Fitness & Strength and flywheels from Exxentric. He believes both are useful pieces of equipment for intro-level athletes learning how to move.

“Having another joint-friendly option that works all three types of muscle contractions helps us in multiple areas of our programming,” Coach Traynor says about their two Exxentric kBoxes.

The belt squat is a piece of equipment that allows any athletes with upper-body injuries to still be able to squat. It is also a safe tool for beginner athletes. Some exercises that use both the kBox and the belt squat are eccentric-focused squats, RDLs, bent-over rows, and biceps/upper back work.

Take a Look Around

The biggest piece of advice Traynor offered for coaches undertaking a design project or remodel was to tour other facilities and meet with coaches who have been in your shoes—they can tell you about all the mistakes they wish they’d never made! Urbandale High School ended up purchasing from Dynamic Fitness & Strength, which Coach Traynor never even knew existed (shoutout to Coach Joe “Big House Power” Kenn).

Coaches undertaking a design project or remodel should tour other facilities and meet with coaches who have been in their shoes. Share on X

This company is based out of Eau Claire, Wisconsin. Traynor mentioned that the quality of equipment and their ability to customize the space ultimately led to Dynamic winning the job over their competitors. When all was said and done, Coach Traynor visited 39 separate facilities before his facility was finished, and if it wasn’t for all of those facilities, he never would’ve heard about Dynamic Fitness & Strength.

“Visiting so many different weight rooms allowed me to truly get an idea of how we were going to train our students here at Urbandale,” Traynor said when asked about his key takeaways from those tours. “Being able to see how other coaches were utilizing their space, along with different methods being used, allowed me to zero in on what methods we would be able to utilize at Urbandale to train the most efficiently and keep our students engaged. The flow of the room, safety, efficiency, and student-athlete engagement and participation were some key factors in how we wanted to design our room.”

A Dream in the Making

This endeavor with SimpliFaster is something that has been a dream of mine for a while, and now that I am involved in a capital project at my school designing a facility, this series is a way for me to learn alongside our readers. This dream stems from working alongside SimpliFaster, which provides the best information for coaches by coaches—and while I do this firsthand, I can learn from and educate other coaches at the same time. I also want to make a positive contribution to the profession and that means going out and meeting new coaches to see how their personal training style can be matched with an incredible facility.

Right now, I am meeting with companies and suppliers—quality of equipment is the top priority—while I also establish the new construction and budget for the project. I have used software called SketchUp to roughly design my plans to help the “non-athletic department” people see the vision and the need for this space.

Please comment below with other questions y’all would like answered or facilities you’d like to know more about in our future episodes.

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

When I entered the strength and conditioning field, I was told the best way to improve the vertical jump is to squat. If our squat numbers improved, our verticals would follow—and, up to a point, this is absolutely true. For athletes who are relatively weak or relatively young, developing stronger legs (along with a heightened nervous system) will lead to better jumps.

Over time, though, I found this wasn’t always the right solution. Athletes would increase their squat, but their jumps would flatline. These athetes were strong in the squat, so why weren’t they jumping higher? I saw this play out time and time again. Once my athletes obtained certain strength levels, jumping ceased to improve.

On top of that, I used to only measure jumps every 8-12 weeks. If jumping is considered a key performance indicator (KPI) in our program, why wait three months to see if it improved? What if their best day was actually three weeks into the program? What if the athletes had a bad week and that’s when we tested?

I want to know how we’re performing every week and if my program is doing what I say it’s doing.

I want to know how we’re performing every week and if my program is doing what I say it’s doing, says @coachrgarner. Share on X

Eventually, this led me to the works of Joel Smith, Cal Dietz, and Chris Korfist. These coaches drastically influenced my thought process on jump development because they were the first coaches that said heavy squats aren’t the only way to develop the jump. Instead, they discussed a variety of techniques, biomechanical and physiological differences, and key movements needed to be a successful jumper.

In my eyes, this shifted jump development from strictly a strength issue to a multi-faceted problem requiring multiple solutions. If you want to learn more about jump development and technique, I highly recommend “Vertical Foundations” by Joel Smith.

Improving the Vertical: This Should be Easy, Right?

In sports performance, the two hardest skills to improve are sprinting and jumping. These are also the most important skills to master for on-field success. Skill is defined as “the ability to do something that comes from training, experience, or practice.” For any skill, it takes substantial time, effort, and technical knowledge to create long-lasting change.

The difficulty in training these skills stems from the fact that athletes have been running or jumping their entire lives. This means techniques, habits, and neural pathways are engrained long before coaching interventions occur (which can be a good thing). In my experience, the average male and female will jump 23-25 inches and 18-20 inches respectively. Once they reach this point, we’ll see a stall in progress if we’re not training with a purpose.

For jumping-based sports like volleyball, an athlete’s technique and habits will be reinforced countless times in practice and games. An outside hitter can jump up to 120 times a match, and for players on the club circuit who play six games over a weekend, that’s 720 jumps. This further ingrains neural pathways and solidifies jumping technique and outputs. On top of that, the majority of these jumps will be submaximal, which may decrease their vertical over time. If the athlete doesn’t have a strong foundation of strength and technique, this could lead to problems down the road.

For jumping-based sports like volleyball, an athlete’s technique and habits will be reinforced countless times in practice and games, says @coachrgarner. Share on X

In most cases, the responsibility of increasing the vertical jump falls on the shoulders of sports performance coaches because jumping is typically viewed as an outputs (force) issue. Although this is a factor, it does not fully encapsulate jump development. There are a variety of strategies which can be employed to train jumping (such as techniques specific to muscle- versus tendon‑driven athletes), and it becomes even more complex as we dive into standing versus approach jumps.

Within the weight room, I believe the coach’s focus should be on developing the standing vertical, as this is the floor of jumping potential while the approach jump is the ceiling. The approach jump is a technical-driven skill which requires significant time and effort to improve. Meanwhile, the standing vertical has a lower technical barrier and is a reflection of raw power which makes it a useful tool to measure the impact of a training program.

This leads us to our main question: How do we improve a skill that has been performed thousands of times?

We refine technique, strengthen key muscles and joints, practice jumping skills, and measure jumps regularly.

Refining Technique for Takeoff

Technique is the most influential factor in improving jump height. No matter how powerful our athletes become, they cannot out-jump poor technique. The same goes for any skill in sport. When we clean up technique, athletes automatically jump higher.

When we clean up technique, athletes automatically jump higher, says @coachrgarner. Share on X

Maximizing jump height begins with refining technique at the bottom of the jump. By optimizing this position, our athletes have better chances to be successful on takeoff. The goal is to have the torso and shins at the same angle at the bottom before pushing upward, as shown in Figure 1. I learned this concept from Chris Korfist, and now it’s the first thing I notice when watching jumps.

When athletes jump, particuarly poor to average jumpers, typically their torso is bent over while their shins are more upright (see Figure 2). Instead, we want to see their torso and shin angles matching, knees over toes, and a push from the ball of their foot into takeoff. The most explosive actions in sport are the result of knees over toes and force from the balls of the foot.

Why is this important to jump height?

By syncing the torso and shin angles at the bottom, the athlete is setting up for a syncronized takeoff, which makes them leave the ground faster and ultimately get to the point of attack faster. If they are bent over, then the torso has to travel further upward before the legs begin extending, leading to an inefficient and slower takeoff. In sports, we want to improve our ability to display power quickly by limiting the amount of time it takes to complete explosive movements.

In sports, we want to improve our ability to display power quickly by limiting the amount of time it takes to complete explosive movements, says @coachrgarner. Share on X

Once we establish a solid bottom position, we need to shift our focus to the takeoff. The key to an explosive takeoff is syncing up the torso, arms, and legs when leaving the ground. All of the athlete’s body parts should be fully extended as they are jumping. By doing so, all of the body’s energy will be unleashed at the same time.

The arms play a significant role in aiding the jump. Their main job is to make the body “lighter” as we’re driving up. Think of the arms as serving the same purpose bands do for band-assisted jumps. The momentum of the arms allows the legs to uncoil faster than they would normally. However, if the legs extend before the torso and arms, then the athlete’s feet will leave the ground before they are finished applying all their potential momentum. This is why an athlete’s jump dramatically improves when they start jumping regularly. As they get a feel for it, they’ll begin syncing up their arms, torso, and legs upon take off, leading to higher and faster jumps.

Note: When measuring standing verticals, athletes tend to over-exagerrate the dip, which can lead to an extremely bent over torso as shown in Video 1. However, they can still have an incredible jump. The athlete in the video has a standing vertical of over 40”, but is spending more time on the ground than what is available in sport. This is useful in terms of total-body development, but not for specifc sport application—something to consider when developing the jump.

Video 1. This is a 40+” vertical on a Just Jump Mat. As you can see, he over exaggerates the dip, but still jumps well.

Isometrics Set the Floor

One of my mentors always says that “eccentrics and isometrics develop and concentrics express.” If we’re not training all three phases of the muscle contraction, then we’re not developing our athletes optimally. Eccentrics increase strength potential and the ability to absorb force. Isometrics improve the body’s ability to withstand and reapply force, and recruit more muscle fibers at once. Isometrics provide a powerful stimulus with two significant benefits to jump development:

1. Isometrics raise the work capacity that our tendons and muscles can handle. With standard repetitions, we’re training the weakest position of the movement for a split second. After several reps, there’s only a few seconds of full tension at the weakest point. This means the amount of capacity developed is limited. With isometrics, we’re placing constant tension on the muscles and tendons, meaning every second spent in the position is causing a training effect while raising capacity.

2. Isometrics improve the structure and function of tendons leading to healthier athletes.¹ When we hold positions, our muscles are continuously contracting; as they’re contracting, the muscles are shortening, but the tendons are lenghtening. The slow lengthening repairs the tendon’s structure, leading to improved function and longevity. This is opposite of what explosive actions do to tendons, as they improve stiffness (which leads to higher jumps). As sports performance coaches, we must balance between explosive movements and isometrics in order to keep our athletes healthy over the long run.

Key Isometric Movements

We have three isometrics that are staples in our program:

• Spring ankle series
• Split squats
• Mid-thigh pulls

The spring ankle series, developed by Chris Korfist and Cal Dietz, strengthens the feet, ankles, and knees while teaching the proper bottom, middle, and full extension positions of the jump. Studies have found that isometric holds strengthen the joints 10 degrees above or below the given angle. By using various heights, the spring ankle series develops the entire spectrum of jump depths and joint angles needed to be a successful jumper.

Video 2. Spring Ankle Series Position 1 & 2. Notice how the shin and torso angles are matching. This reinforces the bottom position we want to see in the jump.

The key to implementing this series is matching the torso and shin angles, further engraining proper positioning and strengthening the muscles and tendons at the specific joint angles. We have to coach this up every day because athletes will struggle to maintain posture or keep the knee over the toe. Posture equals power. When introducing this:

• Start with 3-5 sets of 10 seconds, which keeps movement quality high.
• Each week, add 5 seconds until you reach 30 seconds.
• Once they’re able to hold the position for multiple 30-second sets, start over at 10 seconds and add load.

Isometric split squats provide a high return on investment because they train several areas at once. Depending on your goal, these can be performed as yielding, overcoming, or oscillating isometrics. Yielding is the preferred method for teaching positioning and posture. For maximal effort, overcoming is the way to go. My suggestion is to perform yielding isometrics until the athletes have mastered the position, and then introduce the overcoming variation.

Isometric split squats provide a high return on investment because they train several areas at once, says @coachrgarner. Share on X

In our program, we perform isometric split squats with the front heel elevated so the athletes are strengthening their feet, ankles, and calves. They are also actively pulling in their front foot to contract the hamstrings, which improves their strength and capacity. For the rear leg, they are stretching their hip flexors while driving the big toe into the ground, leading to improved mobility. We work up to holding this position for 60 seconds, and then we can add load and shorten the time. If I use this as a warm-up, we’ll hold the position for 30-60 seconds with just bodyweight. If this is part of the workout, we’ll add load and hold for 10 seconds or less.

Mid-thigh pulls are a powerful overcoming isometric. This movement creates a total body training effect and elevates the nervous system. Before implementing this movement, make sure the athletes have strong foundations in posterior chain development and can maintain good posture when applying maximal effort. Remember, posture equals power. The last thing we want is for their backs and shoulders to be too round while they are pulling against the bar.

Although this isn’t a variation I use often, I’ll go through phases where athletes perform this once a week within a circuit. My suggestion is to perform 3-5 second pulls with a 3-second build up. This means athletes will slowly build up to max effort over 3 seconds and then pull as hard as they can for 3-5 seconds.

Concentrics Raise the Ceiling

Concentric movements refine the nervous system and display max outputs. Concentric actions need to be smooth as they’re what are the most visible in the end. For concentric power and strength of the quads and glutes, there are countless movements and strategies to use. As the coaches, it’s our job to determine what the best method is for our athletes. We’ve heard coaches say “the best method to use is the one you believe in” and the same applies here.

The main lower body movements in our program are the split squat and trap bar deadlift. I believe these movements are the best options to train the lower body, because we’re using both unilateral and bilateral positions. Unilateral positions are arguably more athletic in nature, but bilateral positions may transfer to the jump more effectively. By using both, we make sure our athletes are getting a well-rounded program.

Unilateral positions are arguably more athletic in nature, but bilateral positions may transfer to the jump more effectively, says @coachrgarner. Share on X

In our program, the split squat is considered our strength movement due to the time under tension and the amount of load our athletes can handle in this movement. I predominately load split squats in the strength zone (>80% relative intensity or RI) for 1-5 repetitions, but we’ll also use lighter loads for power development.

I prefer split squats because it takes the low back out of the equation, and I’ve never had an athlete be unable to perform them due to mobility issues. The learning curve is minimal and most athletes are able to handle more weight in a unilateral squat versus bilateral squat. In addition, we can implement a floating heel which further strengthens the feet, ankles, and calves.

Most athletes are able to handle more weight in a unilateral squat versus bilateral squat, says @coachrgarner. Share on X

For trap bar deadlift, we typically perform sets in the power zone (60-80% RI), but we’ll also use loads greater than 80% RI for 1-5 repetitions to train strength qualities and potentiate the nervous sytem. If we’re training heavy squats during the week, we’ll keep our deadlift lighter and vice versa.

Due to the high handles on the bar, most athletes will be in a half or quarter squat position, which is exactly what we want. The bottom position of the jump will be around these depths. By using the trap bar, we’re training the body to produce high levels of force at joint angles that align with jumping.

Measure and Track Jumps

In any training program, we must measure and track what we deem important. What we measure is what improves. With technology like the Just Jump Mat available, jumps are easier than ever to track. In our program, we use the Jump Mat almost every day, and we can quickly measure a room of 30-40 athletes without any disruption in training. This data shows us how our program is impacting our athletes, but also tracks the readiness of each individual.

What we measure is what improves, says @coachrgarner. Share on X

We can use this data to guide our programming decisions as well—the more data points we have, the more informed our decisions can be. If we’re seeing a downward trend in jump height, do we need to switch up modalities or are the athletes just tired? As numbers rise, we know what we’re doing is working and we don’t need to make any changes until we see stagnation or regression.

As previously stated, jumping is a skill; we need to let athletes practice and train this reguarly. Our athletes will perform either broad or vertical jumps every workout as part of a circuit or superset. This gives us 5-8 high quality jumps every session, with each one being measured. By incorporating the jumps into a circuit or superset, we’re potentiating the nervous system which leads to better performance over time.

At the end of the day, what’s the best way for athletes to improve their jump? Let them jump frequently, measure every jump you can, and progress accordingly.

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

1. Oranchuk DJ, Storey AG, Nelson AR, Cronin JB. Isometric training and long-term adaptations: Effects of muscle length, intensity, and intent: A systematic review. Scand J Med Sci Sports. 2019

Training for speed should be a non-negotiable for any team sport athlete. There are big mistakes still being made in training for speed, however. Once they’re corrected, it can springboard your athlete’s development.

1. Training Speed After Lifting

The biggest mistake I continually see in training is trying to do speed work following lifting. There are four primary reasons that this becomes a problem.

1. Athletes need near maximal speeds to develop that quality.

• To raise the ceiling of maximal velocity, speed training requires the body to be fresh from fatigue.

Why?

• Developing speed is highly intensive and demanding on the nervous system. The faster the athlete, in fact, the more demanding it is. Lifting creates fatigue—impulses sent through the nervous system between the brain and muscular system don’t move as fast when fatigue is present.

Lifting not only fatigues the CNS but also creates damage to the muscle fiber itself. Tired and damaged muscles don’t have the ability to contract and relax at the speeds necessary to develop the quality of maximal speed. Valuable training time and energy are spent trying to run fast without being able to do it.

2. Heavy lifting beforehand creates a tension-filled training session.

We’ve all left the weight room with that tight, blood-filled, muscled-up feeling. Top end speed relies on the ability to stay relaxed. Reactivity is a key ability in elite-level sprinters. It is the ability of the muscle to cycle through contraction and relaxation. That happens faster when athletes are relaxed in motion, not when they are tight and tense following a heavy weight session.

3. The risk of hamstring injuries following a fatiguing lifting session rises exponentially.

It doesn’t take a genius to understand the risk to the hammies after you’ve done heavy sets of five on the RDL before sprinting. The faster the athlete, the greater the risk. They don’t take thoroughbreds off the plow just prior to running in the Derby.

The risk of hamstring injuries following a fatiguing lifting session rises exponentially… They don’t take thoroughbreds off the plow just prior to running in the Derby, says @ZachDechant. Share on X

4. Field work such as sprinting should be the priority with all team sport athletes because that truly is their sport…sprinting on a court or field.

They don’t lift a barbell or bench press on the field/court. Lifting should always be supplemental to the movement patterns and speeds that are in the game.

CNS fatigue from highest to lowest should dictate the order of training. To maximize training, movements that happen at high speeds should be early in the training sessions when athletes are freshest. The order that we use is as follows:

2. Not Giving Enough Rest Between Reps

To get the desired training effect of speed development, rest intervals become critical. Too little rest between sprints and fatigue begins to accumulate, causing quality to diminish. When it comes to speed training, QUALITY is the most important aspect. Coaches often see the low volumes and long rest periods as not hard enough and eliminate proper rests.

There are many ways we can fill the rest intervals to have the appearance of being busy. Joey Guarascio has a great article on SimpliFaster detailing his approach to team speed training. Waterfall starts are an idea he discusses that we have used for many years. These not only allow us to view each athlete’s rep individually, but they take up more time as well. That extra time adds up to longer rests and higher-quality work.

A great benefit that rarely gets talked about is each athlete gets to watch their teammate’s previous rep. We all know that teaching is best done through watching, listening, and doing. Watching the previous athletes perform the movement and get coached adds another level of development for each person waiting in line.

A second method we’ve utilized to enhance rest times is super setting non-competing work like medball throws and/or jumps. Our athletes perform their sprint, then walk to another area of the field and perform a few reps of a medball throw variation or jump variation. The long walks between stations add to recovery time, while adding in throws/jumps allows us to attack another issue.

Developing speed is not meant to be extremely fatiguing on the muscular and cardiovascular systems. Athletes should not be tired when training to get fast, says @ZachDechant. Share on X

Developing speed is not meant to be extremely fatiguing on the muscular and cardiovascular systems. Athletes should not be tired when training to get fast. Mental toughness does not apply during speed training, although many coaches make the mistake of cutting rest times because it’s “too easy.”

The ideal guidelines that we have traditionally tried to follow are one minute per 10 yards of distance. A 40-yard sprint requires four minutes of rest prior to another sprint.

This becomes incredibly difficult within the time parameters that team sports must currently follow at the collegiate and high school levels. In essence, we have modified those original parameters to fit our needs. The modified rest parameters that we currently use include a leisurely walk back to the start along with a short rest when there.

Shorter distances from 5-20 yards aren’t as demanding on the nervous system as longer full-speed sprints, so we have more freedom in rest periods. The key is to make sure athletes have not only caught their breath but feel restored before the next rep begins. The ultimate goal is speed development, not just running, so restoration means attaining the highest possible velocity in the next rep. When it comes to speed and acceleration development, quality over quantity always.

3. Not Consolidating Like Stressors

On the topic of rest and recovery comes consolidating stressors during the week. The best way to ensure recovery for training sessions is to organize training and practices properly. That means organizing high-intensity elements together and low-intensity elements together.

All too often, the silos of sports performance override this. The weight room is programmed separately from sport practices, with each coach having their own agenda. When we don’t have high-output days surrounded by either rest or low-intensity days throughout the week, fatigue accumulates. When fatigue accumulates, intensity/maximal outputs suffer, injury risk goes up, and performance gains cease to exist. For ultimate athlete health and performance, all areas need to be aligned holistically.

This applies not only in the weight room, but in sport practice as well. Not adhering to this model between ALL training comes at a cost. If sport practices and training don’t consolidate stress, athletes rarely get a chance to recover. Between sport practices and training, it’s not unusual for athletes to experience high-intensity sessions every day when we don’t adhere to a holistic model.

It’s not uncommon to see the above example on a weekly basis for team sport athletes. Coaches believe that to get better, they must attack each element with high intensity on alternating days. The thought process of why can’t we train with high intensity when we have a high-intensity practice day exists. The inherent problem that this creates is when do the athletes have a chance to recover? This is why sport/skill coaches and performance staff must all be on the same page with the weekly plan. Consolidating ALL stressors throughout the week is a must for recovery.

We must keep in mind that athletes do not just experience stress in sport. Stress is holistic for all aspects of life, and we must program accordingly, says @ZachDechant. Share on X

We must keep in mind that athletes do not just experience stress in sport. Stress is holistic for all aspects of life, and we must program accordingly.

4. Believing Submaximal Training Has No Role

Athletes don’t break PRs every single time they train. The intent may be maximal but realized intensity as a percentage of their absolute best may fall just short. By nature, if they aren’t breaking PRs, then their training is submaximal.

Regardless of semantics, that’s not the submaximal I’m referencing in this instance. We’re talking about one click underneath maximal intent. I would classify most maximal intent sprints at 96%+ and submaximal speed work in the 88%–95% range. Many people think submaximal sprint training is a waste of time. Earlier in my career, I would have agreed. However, thanks to ALTIS and Stu McMillan, I’ve come to realize there are benefits to submaximal speed training.

Sprinting—and especially maximal velocity sprinting—is a skill. As such, that skill often needs to be refined and/or altered. Any skill is difficult to change or refine when performing it at absolute intensity.

Certain drills can play a role in decreasing maximal intensity and helping to build technical proficiency, including:

• Wickets.
• PVC runs.
• MB runs.
• Technical buildups.

These drills are generally performed at submaximal velocities, either because of the constraints of the drill or purposely at lower intensities to allow for skill enhancement.

For real-world evidence, look no further than a recent study done by Jurdan Mendiguchia: “Can We Modify Maximal Speed Running Posture? Implications for Performance and Hamstring Injury Management.” The study aimed to examine whether a specific, six-week intervention of combining lumbopelvic control and running technique exercises could induce changes in pelvic kinematics at maximal speed and improve sprint performance.

The results of the study speak for themselves. Not only did the researchers have success showing that they could refine and improve maximal velocity mechanics, but they also had significant decreases in time, resulting in improved performance.

The way in which they achieved their results is what we’re after here. In the technical warm-up for a training day, the study used traditional drills that many coaches use on a regular basis with their athletes. These included variations of the A-series and dribbles. The main portion of the sprint training, derived at maximal outputs, included many drills and again dribble variations. These drills give credence to the fact that submaximal speed training can be very useful for speed gains.

Creating Adaptations

Following a few key principles with speed development will create a better chance for your athletes to create specific adaptations:

1. Order training from fastest to slowest.
2. Quality is the most important variable, which means optimal rest times in training sessions.
3. Consolidate stressors (both on and off the field).
4. Use the range of opportunities to develop speed submaximally.

Lead photo by Juan DeLeon /Icon Sportswire.

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

References

Dechant, Zach. Movement over Maxes: Developing the Foundation for Baseball Performance. 2018.

Mendiguchia J, Castaño A, and Jimenez-Reyes P, et al. “Can we modify maximal speed running posture? Implications for performance and hamstring injuries management.” International Journal of Sports Physiology and Performance. July 2021. doi:10.1123/ijspp.2021-0107

“Almost every significant breakthrough in the field of scientific endeavor is first a break with tradition, with old ways of thinking, with old paradigms.” – Stephen R. Covey

The concept of unilateral training continues to gain greater mainstream acceptance every year. In 2009, when I sarcastically said, “bilateral squatting is dead,” I was laughed at. To understand that reaction, we can turn to German philosopher Arthur Schopenhauer, who proposed the idea of three stages of truth:

Stage 1: Ridicule – When I began to espouse my thoughts on unilateral training in the early 2000s, most strength coaches simply made fun of me: I was soft. I was not a good enough coach. If I were a better coach, my athletes wouldn’t have back pain. Many said this even though they silently suffered with back pain themselves.

I was ignored by many but continued to build a following. The “meathead” crowd simply laughed at me, up until they realized that lots of coaches were listening to my message. That’s when the attacks really started. Conventional, bilaterally oriented coaches questioned my character, my motivation, and even my coaching skills because…

Stage 2: Opposition – As more coaches listened, thought, and experimented, the old guard became nervous. This was when the negative YouTube videos started, and I was invited to debate the old go heavy or go home crowd on podcasts. One clown on YouTube went so far as to say that my anti-squat stance meant that no one could ever use a toilet again. Others referred to me on their podcast as a p**sy. I was now portrayed as a salesman, hustling for likes, views, and customers. But I was still “anti-squat” because I couldn’t coach difficult-but-important lifts.

Stage 3:  Acceptance (or Self-evidence) – We are almost there, but not quite. The old powerlifting/football crowd is still firmly stuck in stage 2.

The reality is that we have found unilateral movements to be not only safer, but more effective, says @mboyle1959. Share on X

The reality is that we have found unilateral movements to be not only safer, but more effective. It’s important to note that we do continue to do bilateral power exercises (Olympic lifts and variations), as well as both unilateral and bilateral jumps, hops, and bounds. In addition, with healthy athletes, we continue to use trap bar or hex bar deadlifts.

What we don’t do are bilateral squats! So, let’s get to the misconceptions.

1. Unilateral Training Traffics in Likes, Clicks, and an Agenda

The number one misconception of unilateral training—particularly as it applies to me—is that I’ve advocated unilateral training in order to create controversy and further my career. That could not be further from the truth. In fact, nothing generates likes and views like telling a bunch of people what they want to hear. The man who thinks he is right loves affirmation. I could have generated far more approval through the years by simply catering to the status quo.

My agenda is attempting to help teams win and athletes stay healthy. In the interest of full disclosure, I do also sell information products—trust me, though, they do not represent a majority of my income. Additionally, I do not sell equipment. I do, however, work for an equipment company (I’m a speaker for Perform Better), but I have not ever been involved in equipment sales as a profession.

2. Unilateral Exercises Are Less Effective

I think one of the biggest misconceptions about unilateral exercises is that they are less effective than the bilateral versions. Like many of the misconceptions about unilateral training, this belief is generally put forth by those who don’t use unilateral exercises. I love people who insist something doesn’t work in one breath, but then proceed to mention that they have never tried said method.

The research reads differently. In the past five years, I have seen and read numerous studies that compare bilateral exercises (primarily squats) to unilateral exercises (primarily split squat variations). In almost every study, unilateral exercises were, at worst, equal to bilateral exercises in the areas studied.

If we can use a lift that is safer, uses less load, and provides the same result, doesn’t common sense tell us to do it?, asks @mboyle1959. Share on X

If we can use a lift that is safer, uses less load, and provides the same result, doesn’t common sense tell us to do it?

3. Unilateral Exercises Produce an Inferior Hormonal Response

Many of the bilateral defenders espouse the hormonal benefits of heavy bilateral lifting. The thought process seems to be that hormones have load receptors and that a load in a unilateral exercise is not recognized like a heavy bilateral load in an exercise like the back squat. I can’t tell you how often I have seen the hormonal response idea used to validate heavy bilateral lifting.

Although evidence exists that heavy lifting produces a positive hormonal response, there have been no studies that I know of on unilateral versus bilateral training in regard to hormones.

There is support for the idea of heavy lifting producing positive hormonal responses. There is also some data showing that unilateral and bilateral are similar in this regard.

4. You Use Less Weight in Bilateral Exercises

Are we soft or are we smart? In our “hardo” strength coach world, things like unilateral training or functional training are seen as soft. Real men and women use big loads in big exercises.

This is another misconception that shows the bilateral crowd’s lack of math skill. Most experienced unilateral lifters will expose the target muscles (glutes, quads, hamstrings, etc.) to far greater loads than what can be seen in bilateral exercises.  However, because coaches don’t multiply by two, the load is perceived as less. The key is to look at weight lifted per leg, not weight lifted. Alex Natera has done some excellent work to make this math easily understood.

What does not get exposed to higher loads is the spine. Take a look at some of the “Hatfield Squat” videos on the internet. I will 100% guarantee that the lifters in the videos are using far more than 50% of their best bilateral squat.

The load per leg in unilateral exercises can be much higher than in bilateral exercises. If we agree that the target of squats is the lower body, than this is very much in line with my “force transducer” argument from 2009.

I stated in 2009 that the back was a bad transducer (a transducer moves force from one area to another). The back is the transducer from the bar to the legs, and the reality is that it does a bad job. When the back fails, the failure often results in injury. If the target is not the back, why force the back to be the transducer at all? Why not allow the back to deal with half the load?

The back is not an effective vehicle to get force from a bar held on the back to two legs. That is just reality. The back becomes the limiting factor in squatting. That is not opinion; that is fact. You can watch hundreds of failed squats and you will rarely see the legs give out, while the torso remains solid and erect. I have competed in powerlifting and have watched literally thousands (maybe millions) of squats, and the vast majority of the time, failure occurs via a rapid lumbar flexion.

Frans Bosch states, “not only is the value of deep squats questionable, but so is the claim that double leg squats are particularly suitable for improving strength in the legs. Strength in the back muscles may be the limiting factor, rather than strength in the legs, and so double leg squats may in fact be a maximal strength exercise for the back muscles.”

5. Unilateral Exercises Are Fine…for Everything but American Football

Football strength coaches cling to the back squat for all the reasons above and probably a few more. Many strength coaches who do not have to deal with macho football coaches who grew up on back squats can easily switch to a unilaterally oriented program.

Any attempt to have a back-squat-less football program is immediately viewed as soft. One thing to try to remind sport coaches is that the most desirable ability in sports is availability. Great coaches understand that you win when your best players are playing!

Many strength coaches who do not have to deal with macho football coaches who grew up on back squats can easily switch to a unilaterally oriented program, says @mboyle1959. Share on X

Conclusion

I love the Henry Ford quote: “If I had listened to everyone else, I would have invented a faster horse.”

All I ask is that you give unilateral training a real try. So many of the opponents of unilateral training fight something they have never tried. Forget your bias. Forget what you like. Forget what your high school or college coach did. Give unilateral training an honest attempt.

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

Speirs DE, Bennett M, Finn CV, and Turner AP. “Unilateral vs. Bilateral Squat Training for Strength, Sprints, and Agility in Academy Rugby Players.” Journal of Strength and Conditioning Research. 2015 Jul 11. (Epub ahead of print).