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In the world of strength and conditioning for football, the true definition of “conditioning” has been lost. A lack of understanding for the true demands of the game runs rampant, as these prehistoric prescriptions of “conditioning” fail to solve the problems of football fitness that are associated with robustness and performance in the sport. How many 110 tests and 300-yard shuttles does it take to see that we, as S&C coaches, are not coming close to the metabolic or mechanical demands that sport will determine as fit?

As Tony Holler says, it’s easy to get someone tired, but does it serve the purpose of preparing the athlete for the game?

Let’s look at the root of the problem and acknowledge that most S&C coaches don’t truly comprehend the definition of the word “conditioning.” According to Webster, conditioning is to: “train or accustom (someone or something) to behave in a certain way or to accept certain circumstances.” The key words in this definition are accept certain circumstances, as this idea that coaches are conditioning for games is insane!

Football players practice four times the amount that they play. It is naive to think that the full residual effects of our summer training will still be in place five weeks post-summer. S&C coaches have a responsibility to bring these athletes into a desired state where they cannot only withstand a practice but thrive in it!

Coaches recruit speed, but then encourage training programs that not only dampen speed and power but increase injury risk by not preparing the player for the speed & violence of the game. Share on X

Many components of training are missing in the traditional run them into the ground approach. Football is a game of repeat speed bouts and repeat explosive bouts, yet we don’t identify these abilities as “conditioning.” Games are won with explosive plays by explosive athletes. Coaches recruit speed, but then encourage and welcome training programs that not only dampen speed and power but increase injury risk by not preparing the players for the speed and violence of the game. Plyometric exercises are as much conditioning as running 110’s, and a modern approach will consider two crucial factors for each position prior to prescription of conditioning means:

1. Metabolic demand of the position.
2. Biomechanical demand of the position.

Key Factors to Assess

To know how to condition, the S&C coach must know what is happening in practice. An in-depth analysis of the specific practices your organization conducts must be performed. Communication on the ebb and flow of practice from the head football coach is a necessity prior to planning out a training program.

The following general components will give the S&C coach the perspective they need:

• Duration (total time on the field)
• Time of day (determine sun exposure)
• Dress of the day (collisions increase stress)
• Type of offense/defense (main factor determining metabolic stress)
• Tempo of practice (two spot: running plays with the ones and twos simultaneously/recovery times between reps in individual periods)
• Depth of position groups (how many athletes will determine rep count)

This alone will only provide the S&C coach with a piece of the puzzle. Remember, it’s the S&C coach’s responsibility to elevate the athlete into a desired state to perform at a high level, not just survive. Understanding positional differences is crucial in the preparation process. Football is a game of many games. The demands are not the same throughout—in fact, they are very different. O-linemen and D-linemen play in a 10-yard box, whereas a DB may cover up to 80 yards on a given play.

Remember, it’s the S&C coach’s responsibility to elevate the athlete into a desired state to PERFORM at a high level, not just SURVIVE, says @CoachJoeyG. Share on X

The problem manifests itself in the fact that there is a disconnect between general off-season training and skill development. A great painter paints every day—meaning, if you want to become better at any activity, there must be deliberate practice of that activity.

As a reminder, the definition of conditioning is to become accustomed to certain circumstances. How can a player become accustomed to the demands of their position if they only practice the skill in camp and in-season? The strength and conditioning coach must develop the underlying abilities of sports skill such as speed, strength, and power. Just developing general abilities and hoping that they transfer is like playing Pin the Tail on the Donkey in the dark. Have periods of planned skill development through exposures to game movements and situations.

S.A.I.D. and Energy System Development

The beauty of programming is that there are scientific principles that govern decisions (or there should be). One of these gives us the answer to the question in the above scenario: the S.A.I.D. principle (specific adaptation to imposed demands). In its simplest form, the S.A.I.D. principle holds that the athlete’s body will adapt and become more robust to the training element it is most frequently exposed to.

So, in the absence of exposure to the most important training element, coaches can’t expect their players to be “in shape” for the actual training stimulus. S&C coaches are scared to give up “their” time to increase specific skill development for fear of feeling less valued. There must be a harmonious relationship between all coaches, as the end goal is to produce better football players and win more games.

Having an open mind to ideas and advice from the sports coaches themselves will only benefit the S&C coach and the players. Alex Bliss and Rob Harley stated, “Strength and Conditioning Coaches are encouraged to work closely with skills-based coaches in the development and implementation of appropriate small-sided games to help enhance and maintain aerobic fitness while affording physical and technical benefits.”

It’s the S&C coach’s responsibility to not just elevate general athletic qualities, but also increase robustness for the game—and the only way to do this is by exposure to regressed versions of the game. Most coaches have experienced that moment when they’ve looked around practice at the players looking gassed on day 1 and wondered how do we look out of shape with all that running we did during the summer training phase?

This all comes back to the fact that conditioning for football is more than just volume. Intensity can crush players. Coach Tom Myslinski, longtime NFL S&C coach for the Jaguars, has said: “the intensity and deliberate practice of NFL practices crushes rookies because they have never been exposed to these elements.”

This basically states that small-sided games provide growth in specific skill development and in specific fitness levels of the sport. Start with general modalities and work toward specific modalities. The puzzle becomes how to incorporate small-sided games (conditioning for specific energy system development) and technical/tactical development into your micro cycles to be compatible with the speed and power training performed in the week.

The puzzle becomes how to incorporate small-sided games and technical/tactical development into your micro cycles to be compatible with the speed & power training performed in the week. Share on X

We utilize a high/low approach where we stack our conditioning days (small-sided games) on Tuesday and Friday prior to off days. Though the volume is higher on these days, the intensity is lower, which gives great complementary training stimuli throughout the week and does not cause interference with speed and power training being performed on Monday and Thursday.

Conditioning for football is not implemented just to increase the aerobic state of the athlete. Yes, aerobic capacity will play a huge part in the replenishment of ATP throughout the duration of practice, but if the coach focuses solely on this biomotor ability, several other issues will arise. Fatigued is defined as one’s inability to maintain a desired intensity, or the body’s ability to replenish energy sources for a given rate of work. If the preparation lacks intensity, the athlete will not be prepared for the degree of stress and will look unfit when exposed to intensity in competition.

There are many examples of this, as the start of camp yields a plethora of cramps and soft tissue injuries. Conditioning supports the athlete’s ability to be explosive repeatedly, but the athlete must train explosive to raise power and speed abilities as football fitness rises. You are what you train most, so depleting metabolic resources solely on conditioning will have a negative effect on what wins games: explosive ability.

You are what you train most, so depleting metabolic resources solely on conditioning will have a negative effect on what wins games: explosive ability, says @CoachJoeyG. Share on X

The practice of building a base has been around since the creation of training, but a base is the foundation of something: meaning it is a remedial version that lacks the intensity of the event one is working toward. Due to its lower intensity, the base can be performed at a much higher volume. This is applicable as the S&C coach starts to program and prescribe volume to specific training elements.

Understanding the Two Factors Affecting Fatigue

Fatigue is multifaceted, as there are two types of fatigue: CNS and peripheral.

“Central nervous system fatigue, or central fatigue, is a form of fatigue that is associated with changes in the synaptic concentration of neurotransmitters within the central nervous system (CNS; including the brain and spinal cord) which affects exercise performance and muscle function.” (Davis J. M., Bailey S. P. (1997)). This is the intensity! To prepare the athlete for practice and be conditioned is to expose them to similar levels of intensity that will stimulate the nervous system in a way that will cause similar fatigue levels.

Looking at the chart of Al Vermeil’s hierarchy of athletic development (figure 6), training, speed, reactive strength, and explosive strength should hold more importance when planning the buildup of sport-specific fitness levels. Injuries happen at fast speeds, not at a jogging pace. Training speed and explosive abilities conditions the athlete for the tissue stresses of practice, serving as a multi-purpose function of the training process.

Video 1. Speed training is conditioning (an accumulation of high-speed demands).

It’s extremely important to understand the intensity requirements of each position group, because this is more important than just accumulating lower-intensity volumes. The athlete must be accustomed to these stresses before they set foot in the practice itself. Creativity in training comes from researching the actual demands of the game for each position. There can be no purist when it comes to increasing the durability of a football player.

Creativity in training comes from researching the actual demands of the game for each position. There can be no purist when it comes to increasing the durability of a football player. Share on X

During the course of a single practice, football players are exposed to all three elements in the above chart from Charlie Francis (figure 7). Saying it is only alactic is missing the boat—alactic abilities can determine performance, but only if they are sustainable throughout the game. Aerobic development and glycolytic development are paramount for football players to thrive in practice. To say a football player will not be exposed to extreme levels of lactate is to not understand practices. Lactate training isn’t the devil and is unavoidable in the sport. Take a player’s mmol levels after a no-huddle, 10-play drive and see if lactate training is necessary.

The second type of fatigue to consider is one S&C coaches are very familiar with: “Peripheral fatigue results from an overactivity-induced decline in muscle function that originates from non-central nervous system mechanisms” (Randall E. Keyser). This is the volume! Football S&C coaches must know and research what movements are being performed with high volume and what the average volumes are. These will be accounted for in the total volumes accumulated throughout the training week and are not limited to just yardage. Total load in the weight room will build up the body’s ability to cope with peripheral fatigue. Targeting potential injury areas that have overuse injuries will be a high priority in the weight room.

Know the Demands, Condition Accordingly

The only way to be prepared for the rigors of football is to play football. Take the demands of each position and reverse-engineer them to the remedial versions and train them. Stop doing things because someone else did it or you think it may work. If it’s not close, it’s not close!

Intensity and volume of each position group will give the S&C coach the map to proper preparation. Train general qualities, but do not neglect specific skill development.

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

Time moves in one direction. We wish we had more. We also believe that we can cram everything into these short time periods. The reality is that whether you are a coach, an athlete, or a person who works a 9-5 job, time will always be a limiting factor.

I had an aha moment during my recent podcast with legendary coach Dan Pfaff, in terms of using density patterns as a main driver in training. These frequent “hits” of training can be used as daily vitamins for athletes. I began to brainstorm ways in which I can pilot this approach into my own specific situation. The article that follows will hopefully outline my thought process and ways to implement the micro sessions into a physical preparation program.

My Situation

I am lucky enough to teach at a K-12 school where I also have the opportunity to coach athletic teams:

• Middle school (grades 6-8, ages 11-13)
  • Track & field
  • Golf
  • Girls’ basketball
  • Girls’ soccer
• High School (grades 9-12, ages 14-18)
  • Boys’ basketball
  • Boys’ lacrosse

With that being said, there are challenges when it comes to training student-athletes. I work at a smaller school that relies on multisport participation to field full teams. This makes for limited opportunities to expose athletes to consistent training, whether it is on-field work or in the fitness center. The emergence of club sports and non-school-related athletic programs has also muddied the waters.

Time is a major variable…and being concise is important. So, I had to ask myself, ‘how can I trim the fat off my training program to tick off the most boxes for athletes?’ Share on X

Time is a major variable for me as a coach. I always wish I had more. I also have to take into account the athletes’ time. In today’s climate, life is lived in 280 characters. Being concise is important. So, the question I had to ask myself was, “how can I trim the fat off my training program to tick off the most boxes for my athletes?”

It took some time to fully accept that there will be trade-offs and that it wouldn’t be the perfect training program according to the textbooks. But I have to live in reality here.

How It Came Together

After talking with Dan Pfaff, I started thinking about how manipulating training density patterns could fit into a developing athlete’s preparation. The concept of microdosing that has made its way into the physical preparation profession immediately came to mind. For those new to the microdosing concept, I’m not talking pharmacological intervention—I am simply using the general idea as a framework to plan athlete training. Derek Hansen has written extensively on the topic for those seeking clarification or a more detailed description.

Dan John’s “one lift a day” program completely eliminates fluff and forces you to really think about what’s important to accomplish for that day. That simplicity struck me. Share on X

Around the same time, I was preparing for an upcoming podcast with Coach Dan John. Dan is an avid writer and is well-known for his book Easy Strength. I was reading some of Dan’s work and I stumbled across one of his articles, “The One Lift a Day Program.” In it, he basically lays out that you pick one movement for that day and do it. It completely eliminates any fluff and forces you to really think about what’s important to accomplish for that day.

That simplicity struck me. There was no sense chasing my tail trying to fit all these pieces into my daily sessions. It was time to reevaluate my program (and my ego).

Where to Start?

As an assistant sport coach and lead strength coach, most of my training window falls within school and after-school athletic hours. There were two major time periods where I could insert this approach daily. The first was prior to school. This works particularly well for older varsity athletes who can drive themselves to school. The second was immediately after school or as a part of an extended warm-up before sport practice. We have the middle-schoolers during the final period of the school day, and I see my high school athletes immediately following the end of the school day.

An example of a typical daily training window is:

The most time I have on any given day is around 30 minutes. The low end would be 15 minutes. The next question is what are the essential KPIs that we want to improve? With that information and a general needs analysis, I could start thinking about how training would look.

One important piece of the puzzle reveals itself once you’ve reverse-engineered back from the target date. Your KPIs will fluctuate quite a bit if you only have six weeks with an athlete versus, say, four years. An example is if you had six weeks to make someone a better basketball player, then the bulk of your time should probably be spent on the game itself. In my case, I had to respect both the short and long term. I can slow cook development while also picking my spots to push the envelope a bit.

Two models that I’ve found useful in determining where to direct your training are Dan Pfaff’s generational framework and Dr. Bondarchuk’s exercise classifications. They both seem to get at what the differentiation between general and specific training means. In Dan’s model, the first-generation items are closely related to the sporting actions. The second generation gets less specific. The third, fourth, etc. generation menu items are basically general training means by their nature. Bondarchuk’s model provides a similar representation.

What Does It Look Like?

Once I figured out some of the training ergonomics, it was time to start determining how the program would look. Below are two examples—one lifting and the other running-based—of how I planned out these micro sessions. The first is during an off-season period. The second is during a pre-season period.

The training menu that I usually pick from contains the following main categories:

• Sprint training
• Tempo running
• Jumps/plyometrics
• Strength training
• Medicine ball training

The exercises/movements I choose will have to fit my athletes and their needs. Based on those categories, what do I believe will give them the most bang for their buck? It’s difficult at first to only choose one to two things. Mapping out a cost-benefit analysis helped ease any second guessing and kept me seeing things in a more objective light.

The amount of time I have during each daily session will dictate my options for training. This program relies heavily on consistency of training. Below is a diagram that outlines how training could be allocated based on time constraints.

Off-Season, Boys Basketball – General Strength

Here is an example of a 20-minute after-school strength training segment for grade 9-12 varsity boys’ basketball players. The goal during this period is to raise general work capacity in our main lifts. An easy way to do that is to add a set each week. These sessions served as a main stimulus for some students, and for those playing other sports or pick-up games it acted as an extended warm-up and/or maintenance.

As coaches, we can play with set/rep schemes in order to accommodate different athletes. If I have a large group without enough equipment, I’ll have some athletes start with different movements so that our rotations are staggered. Instead of doing movement A on Monday, for example, movement A will be a Thursday choice for some athletes.

When doing a program that is highly dependent on time, I found that keeping a running clock was the best way to keep things on schedule. For example, if we are doing 8×2 on the squat, I set a countdown from eight minutes, and the athlete will do a set EMOM (every minute on the minute) style. If there are two athletes working, set the clock to 8:30. One starts on the minute (00:00, 01:00, 02:00, etc.) and the other starts at the 30-second mark (00:30, 1:30, 2:30, etc.).

Video 1. Sped-up version of EMOM “daily vitamin” lift.

Exercise choices can be switched once we get through the fourth week. Examples of some transitions are deadlift to clean variation, strict press to push press, inverted row to chin-up, split squat to front squat, and bench press to incline press. Again, the goal is simplicity and compliance. The sets and reps may look low and in favor of max strength, but that’s not entirely the case.

I believe strength is a skill. Each set should work toward “greasing the groove.” We should never miss a training rep. On some days we can push the gas and work up above 85% 1RM, while on others we will drop the weight well below submaximal and add in a slow rep cadence for recovery. That’s what makes coaching a science and an art.

If I have an injured athlete or a first-year lifter, I move to plan B. However, I need to make plan B as close to plan A as possible, so I can still give the athlete something to adapt to—the flexibility of this type of program is another benefit.

One caveat is the possibility of soreness when you are doing one lift a day and that lift once per week. It’s important to progress the volume, intensity, and exercise choice appropriately. Share on X

One caveat I want to point out is the possibility of soreness when you are doing one lift a day and that lift once per week. It’s important to progress the volume, intensity, and exercise choice appropriately. Again, each training session should be in service to your major KPIs and the needs of your population.

Pre-Season, Girls Soccer – Acceleration Training

Here is an example of a 25-minute acceleration training segment during the pre-season period for some middle school and varsity girls’ soccer players.

The weekly template is planned to follow a high-low intensity scheme. The orange blocks would be considered a medium intensity. The red blocks are high intensity. The blue block acts as a low-intensity, active recovery session.

We are still following the “daily vitamin” approach during the weekly sessions, only the dosages will vary to allow the athletes to recover and adapt. To reiterate, daily vitamins in this context is an allegory that describes using small, frequent training sessions on a consistent basis. A daily vitamin is as easy as waking up, getting it, and taking it. It’s simple and easy, and the same idea applies with training sessions. You get in and you get out.

To reiterate, ‘daily vitamins’ in this context is an allegory that describes using small, frequent training sessions on a consistent basis. Share on X

Starting on Monday, the team will go through their on-field warm-up. The end of the warm-up period is when we dose in some short accelerations. The girls follow the field work with a brief strength training session. Deadlifts are done with moderate loads (80%-85% 1RM) and athletes drop the bar at the top of each rep. The press can be either horizontal or vertical. The weight will be moderate, and the focus will be on smooth, quality reps.

Tuesday is player-led pick-up games. This day is treated as a “high” intensity day.

Coming off playing on Tuesday, Wednesday is a tempo-based recovery day. Based on how the girls feel, the session will be a mix of linear and multidirectional drills. Each drill is done below 75% effort, and the focus is on movement efficiency and exposing their tissues to a variety of planes, postures, etc. Most of the movement sessions will be time-based. The total yardage is kept fairly low, between 750 and 1,200 meters, compared to a traditional off-season tempo run sessionfor a soccer player (3,000-4,000 meters).

Wednesday’s session ends with medicine ball throws. The typical menu items for throws include:

• Overhead backward throw.
• Broad jump forward throw.
• Between legs forward throw.
• Overhead step/throw.
• Rotational low to high throw.

Thursday is a similar session to Tuesday. The only difference is we use a squat variation with a lighter weight and a slow, controlled rep cadence. During these recovery squats, I like to have athletes go pretty deep so that the hamstring and calf meet.

A progression I like to use is from Coach Alan Bishop. I have athletes start with an elevated heel front squat and slowly progress to a feet flat back squat. Alan’s article outlines the full progression. The girls also perform a vertical or horizontal pull exercise. My go-tos are any chin-up or inverted row variations. If we chose a horizontal row, I might bump the reps up to 8-10 in order to build some volume and balance out the back musculature.

Video 2. Part of a “daily vitamin” squat progression.

Friday is our gas pedal session. We do hard accelerations out to 20 yards. Rest periods between sprints range from 60-120 seconds. After the first set of five sprints, the girls have a five-minute break to act as a buffer. After the break, we complete the second set of sprints. Our high-intensity acceleration day finishes up with some standing broad jumps up a hill. I typically start out with single jumps, then progress to doubles and triples once they look smooth.

Each session is subject to change based on countless factors. The training sets, reps, and volumes will fluctuate, but the graphic displays a solid general template. Based on your situation, you can expand or condense this template to fit your program’s schedule.

Practical Applications

Spots where these “daily vitamin” training sessions can fit into your program:

• The warm-up.
• During sport practice.
• During training sessions.
• During the summer or periods where you are away from athletes.

The warm-up is a perfect time to plug in some extra work. Whether it’s adding in movements that act as a screen or having athletes perform accelerations, the warm-up is an underutilized piece of a session. With more research focusing on soft tissue injury, many elite coaches are using top speed running to act as a type of “vaccination” to hamstring injuries. What this means is that athletes perform a baseline number of max velocity efforts that, in turn, expose their tissues to those high velocities and contractions.

Whether it’s adding in movements that act as a screen or having athletes perform accelerations, the warm-up is an underutilized piece of a session. Share on X

In talking with Dan Pfaff, he found having athletes perform five runs out to 40-50 yards at top speed once a week was enough of an exposure to keep them fit throughout the season. Dan has also collected data from many European sport athletes that suggests three to four accelerations out to 20-30 yards, three to four times a week was enough to maintain that sprinting quality.

Both accelerations and top speed runs can be done at the tail end of the warm-up, prior to practice. Another alternate warm-up method is to use the weight room as a bridge to sport practice. I remember listening to NBA strength coach Cory Schlesinger talk about how he had athletes come in and do a mini training session before practice. These mini sessions substituted for their traditional warm-up. In doing this, Cory not only got their strength/power work in, but he also broke up the staleness that comes along with doing the same warm-up day in and day out.

Another opportunity to microdose certain qualities is during the sport practice itself. From a purely training perspective, exposure to max velocity is a great example of this. Like Dan Pfaff said, if you have high intent and accountability, you can ask athletes to sprint out a few reps in practice to get those max velocity exposures. These longer top speed runs should be done during the first part of practice so that the athletes are fresher.

If you are lucky enough to be a sport coach, you can plan drills that will incorporate specific training targets within practice. Soccer coach Raymond Verheijen does a wonderful job laying out his principles of “football fitness.” Raymond uses the game itself to help athletes gain specific fitness. Raymond begins playing 11v11 for a set timeframe to start developing work capacity. He will use, say, a 3v3 to intensify practice and work on higher, more frequent outputs.

A perk of giving your athletes these daily vitamins is that they are easy to understand and are brief enough to hold the athletes accountable. One to two movements a day can build consistency and habits that can roll over into other aspects in life. It can also improve focus during sessions. If I only have one lift of seven sets today, I need to really focus in order to get the most out of my workout.

One to two movements a day can build consistency and habits that can roll over into other aspects in life. It can also improve focus during sessions. Share on X

If you lose your athletes during the summer or breaks, giving them one movement a day can open the door for them to film their sessions and send it to you for feedback. Again, they have to meet you halfway and make an effort. I am lucky enough to work with some students who are gym rats. I give them the one or two movements I think will help them the most and then they can go do whatever else they want. You want to do the “German Volume Arm Blaster 5000”? Go right ahead but do your sprints and squats first.

Less but Better

I try to read and consume as much information on training and the human body as possible. That has led to me trying to jam way too much into my programs. My aim was to make my athletes masters of everything. The reality was that we became masters of none.

There is a phrase in the book Essentialism that I have taped on my office wall. It reads: Less but better. Instead of trying to stuff 10 pounds of crap into a 5-pound bag, I had to identify the glaring gaps and try to fill them as best I could. For some, it is running based; for others, it could be a weight room intervention. In my limited experience, the two major limiting factors for athletes have been:

1. How they play their sport.
2. Their mental/psychological fitness.

All training goes to the wayside if they aren’t competent performers and if they don’t have the toolbox to navigate mental/emotional landmines.

If you’re looking for a switch up or you feel like you are getting lost in the granular details, try this approach. If the daily vitamins don’t work, then move on down the road. Like Bruce Lee said, “absorb what is useful, reject what is useless, add what is essentially your own.”

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

Acceleration work has undeniable value to both field sport and track coaches. If sports can be chaotic and unpredictable, then movement variability should move beyond just drills and movements. Always running the same acceleration variations would seem to put a limit on solutions and scenarios to pull from in a game setting—sometimes, in the chaos of a game, athletes don’t have time to draw or rearrange their bodies into the perfect position. They just have to GO.

Sport coaches looking to transfer their speed training to the field will reap the benefits of toying with new starts. If an athlete is going to learn to accelerate effectively, then coaches must employ a vast array of starting variations that contribute to the athlete’s long-term development. Some are going to make coaches feel good because they have an air of specificity about them, while others are just plain fun.

If an athlete is going to learn to accelerate effectively, then coaches must employ a vast array of starting variations that contribute to the athlete’s long-term development, says @grahamsprints. Share on X

I must lend credit to coaches like Carl Valle and Latif Thomas and the ALTIS program for opening my eyes to many of these variations.

Various Position Starts (Disadvantageous Positions)

I have always said coaches don’t have to feel like they need to be the entertainment committee—games and activities can be fun, but athletes still want purpose, and a coach’s value is in the teaching.

Sometimes, early in the season during lower-intensity training weeks or before main sessions, we utilize disadvantageous start positions, such as the ones listed below. I classify these as such because the starting positions make it challenging to overcome inertia. These variations are a hit with all training groups, but the younger crowd and field sport athletes really seem to like them—they add just enough spice without being ridiculous or pandering.

I will admit to the field sport athletes that some of the skills and acceleration techniques that we address through track and field rarely occur in a perfect setting on the turf or court; however, we are always trying to optimize lines of attack within some acceptable bandwith. These variations shift the focus away from some perfect technical model to one that emphasizes power, separation, and balance. A coach can still use whatever cues they typically use with their athletes with these positions. The best an athlete can usually do is move with intent and achieve some fraction of proficiency.

1. Up and Go from Stomach: The athlete lies on their stomach, and their eyes should look down at the turf. The foot should be dorsiflexed so that the big toe joint has an easier time helping to separate from the ground. This is a very difficult position to accelerate from, but athletes should try to optimize getting their hips and chest out together.

2. Up and Go from Back: This is similar to the stomach variation, but it adds a layer of difficulty, as the athlete has to rotate their body while beginning to drive forward.

3. Push-Up Position: This one begins in the “up” position of a push-up and requires the athlete to fight the fall forward once their hands are removed.

4. Quadruped Roll: The athlete should start in a table-top position, with their hands under their shoulders and knees under their hips. The coach can signal the athlete to just raise their knees up and then roll in the direction of choice. The bottom of the toes should again stay down into the turf.

5. Cross-Legged Reading a Book: The legs are all pretzeled up in this variation, which adds even more difficulty to the already deadweight static position.

6. Front Roll: Athletes should first be exposed to some basic rolling. I usually have them pretend they just got pushed from behind and need to chase the action in front of them.

Coaches can explore and experiment with these as they captivate the athletes and allow for some competition. I always do these on turf since athletes occasionally fall as they are learning.

These starts are all completely static positions, from a seated or lying arrangement. For me, the common language I use with my athletes is to be powerful and not quick (push or punch, don’t spin), get the hips and chest out together (balance with projection), create pressure with the feet, keep a low shin angle the first few steps, and think about gaining ground. These variations are also indicators of who possesses a decent level of strength.

A common early session I do with athletes is run a set of five different variations for 10 yards each (60-90 seconds of rest). Run each variation one time or run a couple variations more than once.

After this set and an intermediate rest period (3-4 minutes), I have them run five variations from those listed later that are either along the lines of “the real thing” or at least more advantageous. This setup almost overloads the sprint on the first five variations before allowing them to apply it in a more traditional manner on the second set.

Video 1. Various position, disadvantageous starts are fun and challenge the athlete to overcome difficult positions. Coaches can turn them into competitions as well, so I encourage you to not hold back with creative ideas.

Various Position Starts (Advantageous Positions)

These variations are a step down on the crazy scale, but still are very fun. I classify these as advantageous positions since there is something about the movements that make the start easier to get out of. This could be forward momentum or some loading via the stretch-shortening cycle.

7. RDL Start: The RDL start allows for a big range of motion and explosion from the hip, and the athlete nearly throws themselves into a violent acceleration.

8. Parallel Start: The parallel start allows for a natural reposition step behind the body. When the foot resets, the Achilles and calf allow that stored energy to drive aggressively forward.

9. Jump Back: The jump back start builds on the same concept as the parallel start but allows for an even more dynamic loading of the lower leg since the athlete pops back into their two-point setup. Be sure that they actively POP back rather than slide back.

10. Kick-Up: The kick-up start is done out of a four-point position. The kick-up is advantageous, since when the feet contact the ground, the chest has already begun unfolding and driving forward. The hips just have to match.

11. Kneeling Start and

12. Lateral Kneeling: On both kneeling variations, I usually cue athletes to create pressure with their big toe joint and bend the shin to match the torso. If the shin is too vertical, they pop up—although some athletes prefer to roll their body and shin down from an upright position even in these variations.

13. Hip Flip: The hip flip is a great way to teach acceleration out of an athletic position. I instruct the athlete to think about separating their upper and lower body at the beltline and pulling themselves into a nice acceleration position.

I always have athletes do these on turf, and I use these variations much like I use the first group. With younger athletes, sometimes these serve as a main course; with older athletes, these could just be the last piece of the warm-up before the spiked session.

Video 2. These are a little less crazy than the disadvantageous starts but require the athlete to have a decent understanding of how to accelerate. They are closer to the real thing, but the prior movements allow for an easier time in hitting the ground running.

Drop-In/Movement Starts

On the field or court, athletes commonly accelerate out of athletic movements. A basketball player on defense may be skipping backward during transition when, suddenly, the opportunity for a loose ball presents itself, and they must drive forward.

A running back might side shuffle into a blocking position before wheeling out and catching a pass in the flat. These starts allow them to perform these movements as fast as possible with a lot of intent, which doesn’t happen in a game setting.

These starts allow them to accelerate out of athletic movements as fast as possible with a lot of intent, which doesn’t happen in a game setting, says @grahamsprints. Share on X

I always want my athletes to be as prepared as possible for anticipating sprint opportunities in game, but also be able to optimize their acceleration ability.

An added benefit of the movement in these variations is that, by not utilizing a static start, the athlete can reduce strain and extend these reps to 20 yards or so. These also start the process of blending drills to sprints, but I keep the “entry zone” really short, usually to 5 yards. These are not true blends or bleeds since the posture changes as the athlete accelerates.

14. Side Shuffle-In: The athlete doesn’t need more than a few steps of the side shuffle. At the coach’s cue, the athlete can rotate their body while repositioning their front foot under their hip, drop-step style.

15. Straight Leg Shuffle-In: The shuffle is about frequency and not power, so I usually ask the athletes to keep a high rate of switching at the hips. At the coach’s cue, athletes should accelerate out without much delay.

16. Gallop-In: The gallop-in is similar to the straight leg shuffle, but the added vertical displacement of the gallop allows the athlete to draw into a bit of a deeper position before projecting forward. They should aim to hit the ground running.

17. Walk-In: The walk-in reduces the need to overcome inertia. Athletes should walk and then let their shin and torso drop as they begin their acceleration.

18. Skip-In: The skip-in feels similar to the walk-in, with a tad more velocity upon entry. The transition should again be seamless, as the athletes roll themselves forward into a more advantageous position to push from.

19. Backward Skip: Athletes should commit to the backward separation by pushing through the big toe joint. At the coaches cue, the athletes will hit the brakes. This draws them into a nice, deep setup. I usually cue them to keep their eyes on the turf as they begin to project forward.

20. Drop-In: The drop-in features a walk followed by a subtle hop that raises the center of mass just enough to set up a two-point start that uses the stretch reflexes and momentum from the prior movements. I enjoy using drop-ins to accumulate acceleration volume early in the season. They are especially effective when done at the bottom of a hill.

21. Drop-Down: I use two variations. One utilizes a step off the bench or bleacher. The athlete should lean as they fall, so their foot slots a little behind their body. The second one involves them dropping down into a split two-point stance. The aim is to hit the ground running in both variations.

Video 3. These variations will still draw from previous acceleration teaching, and athletes should be encouraged to execute each variation with power and purpose.

I often include a clap cue for an athlete to respond to on the gallop, skip, and shuffle variations, but I am fine with a preset 5-yard entry distance as well.

Variety in your accelerations will give your athletes more solutions and more confidence to motor around at high velocities as they enter the fray, says @grahamsprints. Share on X

The one variation that I spend the most time teaching (beyond just plain skipping and galloping skills) is the drop-in. I prefer my athletes start with a walk, then raise their center of mass with a subtle hop, and from there drop to their usual two-point stance. This added drop makes this an extremely safe longer acceleration option, and this one works especially well on hills.

Medball Starts

Throwing a medball is generally without much risk, but it is still a skill. As a result, I am fairly picky with how circusy I get here. With all medball throws, the athlete is throwing with the hips and legs, while the arms generally stay relaxed, securing the ball or at best following through.

These four are pretty much the only ones I utilize:

22. Parallel Squat Throw Accel: The squat throw is really more of a squat/hinge hybrid.

23. Split-Stance Throw Accel: On both this and the squat throw, I have the athletes start with the ball straight out, and they draw it in for dramatic loading effect. I usually like to see the elbows in rather than flared, and this helps put the shoulders in a more stable position. Both of these variations allow the athletes to roll their shins and torso forward until they explode out like they were in a cannon. They are essentially throwing themselves into a sprint.

24. Underhand Forward Scoop Throw Accel: With this, I like the ball to be set up between the feet, more toward the toe. If the ball is placed too far in the back of the toes (under the body) the athlete has to almost reach through their legs, which causes them to drop their chest, lose the core, and put the lumbar in a precarious position. They should meet the ball on the way down.

25. Underhand Forward Throw Accel.

These throws often don’t yield great-looking positions—especially with the first few encounters—but the power created through the hips is enough for me to warrant their occasional inclusion. I will reserve these for athletes who know how to hinge, squat, and throw a medball with some proficiency.

Video 4. Medball starts are a great way to just encourage more OOMPH. Throw with intent and connect the chaos to the acceleration.

Resisted/Hill

Hills and resisted starts should be absolute staples of any program. Obviously, hill and sled accelerations are well known and can be tied into many of the prior variations, but the ones below are some variations that coaches can begin to think about including in their programming.

26. Heavy Sled: Heavy sleds are great for short accelerations runs—I usually go 10 yards here. I wish I could say I sit and calculate specific loads, but I don’t. I use the Gill Low Drag Speed sleds, which feature a single, small knob for plate loading. The sled weighs 7 pounds and adding a 25- or 35-pound plate usually does the trick with my male athletes without destroying their weight room session. This allows for a decently high speed without double support steps, and the ankle gets much more information about working with the earth/turf to separate. I often pair these with an unloaded rep later in the season.

27. Light Sled: Light sleds are great for extended acceleration reps of 20 yards or more, and with some athletes I even do extended runs to 50 yards. Light sleds (as little as 5%) allow for just enough resistance to help arm action, relaxation, and posture.

28. Drop-In Sled: I use drop-in sled reps if an athlete has great early acceleration that then levels off late during acceleration. The entry angles will not be as deep, and the rep can end as soon as they are upright so that it stops short of a maximum velocity style item.

29. Continuous Sled and

30. Continuous Hill: On both continuous variations (sled and hill), the athlete gets a chance to work initial acceleration in small doses close to one another. This kind of feels like using EMOM-style reps to groove a movement, like a clean or front squat. I have run three sets of 3 x 3-5 pushes this summer for both. The second and third pushes within the set almost always look better as the athlete self-organizes.

There is also opportunity here for coaches to run a cluster of multiple variations within each set.

• Five-step two-point rollover start with sled/hill
• Decelerate
• Five-step two-point start with sled/hill
• Decelerate
• Five-step three-point start with sled/hill

Video 5. Hills and sleds are excellent acceleration tools in the first place, so coaches can’t go wrong playing around with workouts and variations within this framework.

The Real Thing

I put these last in the article, but the reality is that these are the start variations that allow you to teach and refer to when exploring the other possibilities. If you are a track coach, then your block progressions probably start here as well.

31. Two-Point: The two-point position is important for field athletes like wide receivers, and I often use it at track meets with my middle school/freshman athletes who aren’t ready for blocks. This actually shifts their hips closer to the finish line as well.

I like to see a nose-to-knee type crouch setup. Many new athletes will use a hinge-like setup. Athletes should bend the shin and bend the torso to match. There should be about 12 inches or a little more space between the feet. If the feet are too close, then the athlete will take a reposition step anyway. If there is too much space, then the first step is long and loopy, often with a vertical shin cast out from the body.

The two-point start is one you want to work a lot since it is used often on flies and during jumps approaches. The shallow depth allows for an easier time overcoming the static position compared to a three-point or block start.

32. Two-Point Rollover: The athlete starts upright and rolls down into their usual two-point setup. Many jumpers use this in their approach to pattern a deliberate and consistent early step rhythm. The rollover allows the athlete to have a little momentum and a more dynamic push.

33. Three-Point Start: When coaching the three-point start, I have sprinters drop down from a two-point start. They should position their hand under the shoulders and bend the shins to an angle where they feel balanced. When they move their opposite hand back, I usually like to see a wiggle of the fingers in the free arm to get them ready to have a quick hand as the ground hand is removed.

34. Standing Block Start: The standing/rollover block start is a great first encounter with a set of blocks and how to load the whole foot with the heels down before springing forward. In video 6, I use a partner variation, but the athlete can also simply just back into the blocks while standing and perform a rollover start.

35. Opposite Leg Start: The last way to add variability to your starts is to occasionally have the athletes switch their feet so that their weak leg gets a chance to be the star. Getting better at starting with both legs can benefit the entire acceleration run. Girls often use a nine-step approach to hurdle one when they are first learning the event, which requires them to switch legs. Men who move away from the eight-step will also utilize the opposite leg to hit the odd number step pattern of seven. I run five-step start variations with advanced hurdlers to really challenge them to continue their drive through and off the hurdle and clear the next hurdle off a shortened approach.

These variations add just enough variety to keep athletes on their toes and use one position to solidify another.

Video 6. Especially for track athletes, these are your bread-and-butter starting positions. Specificity still has a range that should be explored, and a good two-point start can improve a block start.

Exploration Yields Learning

As mentioned previously, coaches are only limited by their imagination. I have many starting variations I use that didn’t make the cut in this article, and I look forward to hearing the variations that other programs use. Variety in your accelerations will give your athletes more solutions and more confidence to motor around at high velocities as they enter the fray.

The various position starts are fun and create buy-in; they also give coaches a glimpse into the general power, strength, and coordination that an athlete possesses, says @grahamsprints. Share on X

Hunting for sport specificity when sports are chaotic and unplanned is a fool’s errand. Athletes and coaches should work together to optimize as many movements as possible. The various position starts are fun and create buy-in; they also give coaches a glimpse into the general power, strength, and coordination that an athlete possesses.

• Medball starts are a great way to place the emphasis on power and projection.
• Movement starts are another great way to blend sport and speed, while also slightly reducing strain compared to static starting positions.
• Hill and sled starts should be a program staple, but there can be more creativity and variety than meets the eye.

Not all of these accelerations are rooted in perfect technical execution, but all contribute to the overall development of the athlete. Of course, you should push athletes to the edge of their ability and address technical issues as well. There is a time and place for each of these variations, and some of them will take some thought to work through.

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With a few years of experience under my belt now, I’m a little better equipped to think about the question I’ve already spent countless hours trying to answer: What does training load monitoring and injury prevention mean in the context of professional team sports?

I still don’t have a definitive answer, and I realized that the more I knew, the less certain I was. However, there are some interesting avenues for using some of the tools and techniques that are popular today—and there are plenty of reasons to question others.

Why do we need such a flawed system for monitoring training load?

Early in my career, I caught the diagnostic virus. Busy, hurrying through the corridors of Allianz Stadium, a black briefcase filled with GPS in one hand and a computer in the other, I could already see myself making the front pages of popular scientific journals: “Pierre Austruy, the Sherlock Holmes of Physical Preparation.” In my head, as a young graduate not yet dented by the reality on the ground, I imagined an ideal and perfect monitoring program. It was all about clues to find, details to highlight, probabilities to calculate, and—voila!—the game would be played and injuries and poor performance would be avoided.

Tired of accumulating data that, in the end, is often not that insightful, I dream of a monitoring routine that is both innovative and refined. Share on X

My ambition echoed the common practice in most sports teams (and practices still widespread), consisting of prescribing players a wide range of weekly tests in order “to not miss anything.” Today, I feel like I have been cured. Tired of accumulating data that, in the end, is often not that insightful, I dream of a monitoring routine that is both innovative and refined.

Functional Movements Test vs. Individualized “Risk Zone” Monitoring

This type of test is a bit like an IQ test: having a great score makes you superior in theory, but rarely extraordinary in practice. (And, by the way, are there any movements that are not, in one way or another, functional?) Very high IQs often make their commute to work standing in a crowded bus, sweating in their tight three-piece suits. They are very good employees but remain anonymous. The geniuses we admire, on the other hand, may not have the most flattering score, but their remarkable creativity or special intelligence reflects their extraordinary mental abilities.

When we consider very high-level athletes, we are dealing with “monsters”: individuals with dimensions and physical and mental potential outside the norm. And it is possible that certain imbalances between one limb and another, certain limitations in range of motion, or even certain unconventional movement strategies are what ultimately make the player remarkable. Why aim for balance and normality as the criterion for satisfactory monitoring, when the desired performance requires the exceptional and the extreme?

I don’t, however, think musculoskeletal system testing should be eliminated from a monitoring program altogether. Having tangible confirmation that, on a biomechanical level, an athlete is in a compromising situation—and therefore, being able to intervene with the individual (specific exercises, massages, etc.) or with training (load, volume, exercise selection, etc.)—is an essential part of injury prevention. I would, though, advocate a minimalist approach, far from the classic spider-web strategy where quantity trumps quality, by adopting as a mantra the sentence, “Better is less, but better!” Couldn’t weekly or daily prophylaxis only focus on previously injured areas?

I have, for example, 100 data points on ankle flexibility for players who have never missed a single practice session due to ankle problems. Does this mean that I am very good at my job and that the monitoring program in place prevents ankle injuries? Or does it mean that, for these players, ankle flexibility is not a good indicator of their readiness?

What is the first predictor of an injury? A previous injury and usually in the same place. As soon as we suffer structural damage, we are forever compromised. Sure, things get better, and we can “fix” a problem for a while (years in some cases), but we never go back to the state we were in before the injury. Perhaps a previous injury should dictate which monitoring tests are truly representative of individual-level readiness and health?

Additionally, each player faces different biomechanical challenges, whether due to anatomical constraints, compromised tissues, or poor movement habits. Just as the annual blood test your doctor prescribes doesn’t include testing for tropical diseases if you haven’t traveled abroad, why not just limit monitoring tests to specific potential problems instead of carrying out a more general screening?

Checking a bit of everything all the time “just in case” so as to “not miss” a threat of injury, in my opinion, only serves to make us feel as we are very professional and conscientious. We proudly distribute our endless spreadsheets and multiple reports, but their actual usefulness is limited. As the season progresses, players lose interest in the procedure, we have more and more data and less and less time to analyze it properly before making decisions, and injuries still aren’t eradicated.

Perhaps focusing monitoring routines on the individual profile based on injury history and biomechanics would give us better play participation and more profitable data. Share on X

Perhaps focusing monitoring routines on the individual profile based on injury history and biomechanics would give us better player participation and more profitable data. A player with a history of hamstring injuries, but who has never experienced upper body issues, may skip a shoulder mobility test to focus on a more specific exercise such as a Nordic hamstring curl before continuing on with their day. Most likely, if they were to sustain an injury in training, previously compromised tissue would be among the determining factors.

The Need for More Internal Data

Since a well-designed monitoring program includes much more than simple movement tests, let’s continue our rethinking of current practices with the same desire for renewal. Physiology may well be the mother of sports sciences, but it is poorly represented when it comes to monitoring (which is regrettable). Many practitioners are content to estimate the physiological state of an athlete through markers that are external to them, such as GPS data or RPE and wellness questionnaires (which, for a long time, was my case as well). And when taking the time to study the internal load, these practitioners are satisfied with the minimum.

Heart rate is a great indicator, revealing valuable information through a multitude of clues. Young “sport scientists” new to the world of professional sport know this well. And that’s why they eagerly pounced on studying cardiac data early in their careers. Very often, however, faced with the reluctance of players (a heart rate monitor is uncomfortable, especially in contact sports) and the poor reliability of the data (poorly placed heart rate monitor, loss of signal, etc.), the interest in the cardiac response to exertion tapers off and remains under-interpreted.

Resting heart rate then seems the easy solution, but because it’s extremely subject to fluctuations, it does not provide much critical information. Nowadays, more and more teams use a standard running test (type “box run”), always carried out on the same day in a week of preparation (in general, 48 hours post-match), during which the players are equipped with cardiac monitors. Different data, such as average or peak heart rate, is collected and compared to previous datasets.

An increase in average heart rate during this test compared to the previous week, for example, then indicates less recovery. While this procedure is a step forward, it is subject to variability, which makes the conclusions difficult to interpret.

1. If the test is performed on-field, the properties of the surface at the time of the survey partly explain the fluctuations in the results, with heart rate being related to energy demand—the latter itself being related to mechanical demand. The humidity level, the height of the grass, and other environmental concerns have a direct impact on heart rate.
2. To obtain quality data, it is necessary that the climatic conditions are standardized. The temperature outside, the dryness or humidity of the air, and even the wind partly determine the heart’s response.
3. The individual training load that precedes the test should be similar from week to week. As the goal of the procedure is to produce a physiological index capable of attesting to the player’s state of fitness, it is important to consider the context. For example, if before the previous test a player participated in 30 minutes of the match, and this time they are tested after a match in which they played 60 minutes, should we expect the same results?

Producing a better strategy to recover valid physiological data requires eliminating these fluctuations as much as possible. A stationary bike, Watt bike, or rower has the advantage of having stable physical characteristics, and an indoor test eliminates weather considerations. Instead of a collective test at a standard time, it may be better to perform an individual test when the training loads over the previous seven days are comparable: a monthly test is sufficient. It is also necessary to ensure that no psychological factor too strongly impacts the cardiac response. Conducting this test immediately after a meeting with the coaches, or a review of a match, is not a good idea.

On the other end, checking wellness questionnaires before deciding to go on with the testing procedure is a necessity. If we were to see in them unexpected levels of stress or soreness reported by a player, we would be better off reprogramming the test to a later date for that individual.

Finally, while observing average heart rate during exercise is relevant, looking at recovery heart rate is probably more informative. Recovering heart rate after exercise involves a coordinated interaction of parasympathetic reactivation and sympathetic withdrawal. Since the autonomic nervous system is linked to many other physiological systems, its ability to maintain homeostasis can provide information on the level of muscle inflammation, the amount of plasma creatine kinase due to multiple collisions, and the state of the central nervous system (parasympathetic or sympathetic inhibitions).

The two-minute recovery heart rate test is simple and effective. The athlete provides a maximum effort of two minutes on an ergometer (static bike, rower, etc.), at the end of which the heart rate is recorded (HR1). Two minutes after exercise, the heart rate is recorded again (HR2). Subtracting the HR2 from the HR1 determines a basis for improvement. For example, if HR1 is 150 beats per minute and HR2 is 95, then the recovery heart rate is 55.

Note that for athletes in high-intensity, intermittent sports, the ability to reduce heart rate between strenuous efforts is one of the most critical qualities required to perform, make a good decision under fatigue and pressure, and not get injured. This index therefore allows both monitoring the state of form and predicting the level of performance of the athlete.

It is not mandatory to turn to an active procedure that requires the player to make an effort to collect a picture of their physiological state. Some biological markers do very well and are detectable with a simple blood or saliva test. Admittedly, going down this road requires collaboration with an analysis laboratory and comes with significant costs, but many clubs fund without flinching the frequent trips their players take to and from the clinic for DEXA scans and other anthropometric tests as costly as they are futile. I can observe with the naked eye a worrying fat gain (unless I am its victim, in which case I prefer to doubt such visual evidence…). on the other hand, I am quite unable to estimate a level of blood heat shock proteins (HSPs).

HSPs participate in a cell protection system induced by the presence of reactive oxygen species (ROs), cytokines, or hyperthermia. HSPs increase stress tolerance and contribute to cell repair processes. In addition, HSPs are involved in the remodeling associated with exercise training, where they facilitate mitochondrial biogenesis, regulate apoptotic pathways, and induce improvements in insulin sensitivity. Muscle damage and stress resulting from exercise are considered two of the many stimuli that induce the synthesis of HSPs. Sustained high synthesis of these proteins may indicate a state of inadequate regeneration, even after several weeks of recovery from exhaustive exercise.

HSPs are a critical physiological marker for monitoring the athlete’s state of recovery and adaptation to training. As the understanding of the role of these proteins grows, it wouldn’t be surprising to see more and more teams take an interest in them. Along with HSPs, other reliable indicators of muscle damage can be:

• A measurement of the level of circulating creatine kinase (CK).
• An evaluation of the levels of interleukins (IL) and TNF alpha as representatives of inflammatory markers.
• A measurement of immunoglobulin A (igA), providing information on the state of the immune system.

A monthly or even quarterly profiling of the levels of HSPs, CK, IL-1, TNFa, and igA would make it possible to assess the readiness of a player in a much more relevant way than any rough estimate drawn from subjective questionnaires or derived from specious algorithms.

Glucose Continuous Monitoring

While nutrition is indeed considered one of the cornerstones of recovery and adaptation to training, it does not appear to be a priority in monitoring practices. When claiming to assess an athlete’s level of recovery, not studying what is considered a major factor in recovery is quite paradoxical. If the daily weigh-in gives relevant information to the farmer about his turkeys as Christmas or Thanksgiving approaches, such a monitoring tool is much less relevant for professional athletes.

Body weight fluctuates considerably and constantly, for obvious reasons (which I will be careful not to expose here in case you are finishing your Niçoise salad). Substantial and sudden weight loss is likely to indicate a state of overtraining or a health problem, and players generally have an optimal body weight in competition that is best kept under control. But when it comes to problematic weight loss, it usually occurs with other detectable symptoms—and when it comes to a healthy weight, players themselves pay special attention.

New glucose monitoring technologies open up new perspectives on athlete nutrition management never before considered. Share on X

New glucose monitoring technologies open up new perspectives on athlete nutrition management never before considered. The use of the continuous glucose monitoring (CGM) test makes it possible, for example, to study the evolution of the blood glucose level 24 hours a day, without resorting to an invasive method such as blood sampling. This is because the CGM machine is inserted into the back of the arm and measures glucose levels every 1-5 minutes, discreetly measuring the contents of the subcutaneous tissue.

Initially developed to support the treatment of diabetes, this technology is now used by a growing number of athletes, nutritionists, and sports scientists to assess individual responses to different nutritional strategies. As the blood glucose level is also affected by stress, this type of test makes it possible to evaluate the effects of a variety of constraints (emotional stress, jet lag, overtraining, lack of sleep, inflammation, etc.) on the metabolism and the physiological state of the athlete.

Observation of the behavior of a physiological variable for 24 hours in the real life of the athlete—and not only in a controlled environment—is a considerable asset in understanding the possible reasons for poor performance and injuries. A fasting blood glucose level of 6.1 mmol/L is considered to be normal, and within two hours of ingestion of 75 grams of glucose as part of an oral glucose tolerance test (OGTT), the glucose blood level should not exceed 7.8 mol/L. Although sports are often cited as excellent for glycemic control, several studies^1,2,3 report more mixed conclusions. Four in 10 athletes have blood glucose levels above 6 mmol/L 70% of the time under control, according to a recent study⁴, and some researchers have advanced the theory that genetic makeup associated with exceptional performance in power or endurance in elite athletes could also reflect their metabolic characteristics.

Elite power athletes appear to be more resistant to insulin than elite endurance athletes. The training loads act as a stress factor influencing insulin sensitivity—in particular, the repetition of intense efforts that generate a significant release of catecholamines and result in post-exercise hyperglycemia and hyperinsulinemia, as well as nutritional strategies based on the high consumption of carbohydrates. The use of a glucose test is important to explore the different nutritional strategies to optimize the performance of the athlete and to prevent a decrease in insulin sensitivity, which would have significant consequences on their recovery, health, and energy.

But the applications in high-performance sport related to these new technologies do not stop there:

• What strategy should coaches and athletes adopt when traveling to limit fatigue and stress?
• Does the training schedule negatively affect players “sleep quality”?
• Do we train too hard the day before the game?

All these questions can be examined through continuous glucose monitoring. Stress, through the production of glucocorticoids as well as inflammatory markers, acts on the levels of glucose and insulin, which makes the observation of glucose a remarkable physiological test for the sport scientist.

Designing Better Subjective Questionnaires

Finally, there can be no conversation about monitoring without discussing the use of subjective questionnaires. Ah!!! Running after athletes who did not complete their questionnaires on time is the flagship activity of today’s sport scientists. The idea that, coupled with objective measurements, subjective cues make it possible to pinpoint revealing discrepancies (for example, the difference between an athlete’s physical output and their feeling of fatigue) is attractive, and not devoid of practical interest.

However, are the questionnaires used ideally composed?

Let’s stop asking questions we can’t answer ourselves! For the sake of data accumulation, I felt like I was guilty of nonsense. Wellness questionnaires, RPE, play rating scales, emotional profiling… I asked a lot of questions. I thought these numbers would inform decisions about training load, player tracking, and individual management. But what kind of valuable information can you get from a crappy question (forgive my vocabulary!)? As Yogi Berra said, “If you ask me something that I don’t know, I won’t answer.”

Seriously, a lot of us have a question on our wellness questionnaire that sounds like this: “How would you rate your energy level today?” Have you tried to answer this question yourself? Personally, I don’t know if my energy this morning was a 6 or a 7 out of 10. Maybe it was even a 5. And are you talking about my energy before the first coffee or after the fourth? Before making the trip home to the gym while listening to an exciting podcast or after collecting a tax notice in my mailbox? How do we define energy itself in relation to this question? Is there a clearly defined equivalence between each number on the scale and a given series of events? What distinguishes a 7 from a 6?

Another pearl: “Rate the quality of your sleep on a scale of 1 to 10.” What sort of question is that?! We know that it is very difficult to estimate your own sleep quality. It is not something we can clearly state. Collecting RPEs after each session does not provide a complete, individual, and subtle understanding of each player’s response to training.

To me, it has become obvious that most players pick a number at the start of the season and just stick to it as their default value. And when they come up with a different number, the surprise effect isn’t there—obviously, the session was designed to be easier than usual or much more difficult. The default value strategy makes sense. Can you distinguish a “moderate” session from a “somewhat difficult” session? I’m not sure I’ve ever had a “somewhat difficult” session myself…in the Borg scale, 7 and 8 have the same definition. What, then, justifies choosing one over the other?

Players already face enough daily demands that we should not prompt them to think about this type of senseless choice. I debated which statistical methods to use and spent time on “actionable strategies,” gently and indulgently prepared Excel tables and made pretty, colorful reports filled with data that had no real value. Asking ill-conceived questions can quickly make you mistake a noise for a song.

If the primary function of a wellness questionnaire is to generate a discussion with the athlete, what prevents us from getting straight to the point with our questions? Share on X

If the primary function of this type of questionnaire is to generate a discussion with the athlete—and this exchange should shed light on the measures to be taken—what is preventing us from getting straight to the point? A coach can verbally ask his players black and white questions, the kind that demand a clear answer: Is there any reason for me to worry about your readiness to train today? These are the types of questions that identify players who are in a physical or psychological state that does not meet expectations and that is not directly the result of training loads or a clearly identifiable reason.

As for the RPE, it is difficult to question it, as it is central today in the management of training loads. This approach, however, can still be improved. The purpose of the RPE is to assess an athlete’s fatigue state by comparing the session performed to the athlete’s feelings. Then, by multiplying the number chosen by the duration of the session, an estimate of the overall workload (at least from a subjective point of view) is proposed. But is the question “Rate your perceived feeling of exertion on a scale of 1 to 10” the only or the best way to evaluate fatigue? I don’t think so.

Besides the limitations inherent in the Borg scale discussed above, this question does not really give athletes the opportunity to communicate on the reality of the effort they put in. Maybe, objectively, I spent 10 minutes above 80% of my maximum heart rate in a 45-minute session containing three 30-second blocks of runs with 30-second recovery at 100% of my maximum aerobic speed (VMA). Let’s call this workout W1.

Consider workout W2, where I do the same work, at the same intensity, and hit the same objective markers. The only difference is that the session is performed on a rower. In this case, very few athletes will score these two sessions identically, where except for the exercise mode, all other things are equal. Those who like running will find W1 easier; others will prefer session W2. From this point of view, the RPE therefore leaves a difference in taste to dictate, at least partially, the estimate of a training load.

In addition, the environment, climate, time of session, or cumulative effect of previous sessions weigh on the choice of RPE. For two similar sessions, the athlete may give two different scores—not because they feel more or less intense physical or psychological fatigue, but simply because their interpretation of elements beyond their control varies. In addition, the view that the physical trainer has of the physical demands of a session does not necessarily match the feelings of the player who goes through it. Sometimes, this discrepancy reflects something in the realm of fitness, but quite often it highlights a difference in appreciation. The RPE also contrasts what the strength and conditioning coach expects from a session with what the player feels. Two different individuals, two different understandings—a clue very open to interpretation indeed.

A more complementary RPE strategy would be to compare the expectation that the player places on themselves before the session with their feelings at the end of it. Share on X

A more complementary strategy would be to compare the expectation that the player places on themselves before the session with their feelings at the end of it. Questions could include:

• “How satisfied were you with your performance during the session?”
• “Rate your performance during the session on a simple rating scale from 1 to 10.” (Or even better, from 1 to 5 to avoid the always convenient choice of average.)

Here, the players face themselves. By entering the field and knowing the environmental factors, the type of session, and the expectations of the strength and conditioning and technical staffs, they form an idea of ​​what they are capable of delivering in terms of performance. While making their way out of the training field or court, they are in a position to take a step back from their production, estimate the differential between before and after and between expected and actual, and verbalize their scores accordingly.

Why put the feeling of the fatigue aspect into perspective in order to refocus on the appreciation of the performance aspect? Well, personally, if I have a very tired team that wins every weekend, that’s fine with me. I dare say that even if you are a sensitive soul and have a remarkable capacity for empathy, you would be comfortable in this scenario as well. On the other hand, if my team is a cohort of guys in great shape that do not win a match, I would be very worried.

Complementary to the observation of the relationship between intensity of a workout and subjective fatigue, studying the relationship between intensity of a workout and athletic performance would provide useful and relevant information for directing a physical preparation program. Understanding the effect of training load not only on a subjective fatigue level but on a player’s perception of their own performance opens up new perspectives, and when asking the athlete about their performance, two important indications for a monitoring program appear.

First, a simple number reflecting the performance level of each athlete for each session is created. This score can be analyzed in relation to other training load indices. Unlike the RPE, it does not refer to the concept of “load” itself and breaks away from the purely physical preparation aspect, which makes the comparison with other markers, such as those obtained with GPS, more balanced.

Second, this approach allows, in a mediated way, the detection of certain traits associated with abnormal psychological or physical fatigue, thus complementing the RPE data. Ask a genuinely tired player if they found a session tiring, and the chances are high they’ll say “no.” True competitors, often proud and sensitive, sometimes prefer to curl up when they are not feeling their best. But if this fatigue is indeed present, it probably leads to a decrease in performance, and the athlete knows this. To admit, on top of that, that they are suffering from the difficulty of training is akin to an admission of weakness and sounds like a message directly addressed to the coach: “Don’t select me for Saturday’s game!”

Only the star players and those indisputable spot-holders can afford to be tired. The rest—those who are fighting for their place in the selection—will likely line up with the ratings given by their competition instead. On the other hand, this same competitive spirit makes the players very critical of their performances. Everyone hates being the weak link, but they know that overestimating their performance is frowned upon in the coaching office. Caught between disappointment at a poor score and fear of an overrated score, the athlete is forced to be honest about their performance.

So when by analyzing the data collected we see that for the same typical session a player rates their performance differently, we can make assumptions. If the score is lower, as the player certainly was not intentionally less precise in their tasks, this loss is probably the result of physical or mental discomfort. If there is no clearly identifiable injury or psychological stress, then we are probably finally in the presence of this harmful fatigue that we dread.

To end with this review of a classic monitoring program, let us insist on the fact that the absence of objective measurement of the cognitive state of the athlete is justifiable only because of the absence of technology. This does not prevent us from dreaming a little, and with one foot in the future, from considering a few options.

The Future of Monitoring?

When looking at the next generation of monitoring, I begin with blink rate as a measure of cognitive fatigue. Spontaneous eye blinking occurs much more often than is necessary to maintain the tear film over the eyes. Various factors, such as cognitive demand, level of concentration in performing a task, and fatigue, influence the spontaneous blink rate. When it comes to competition day, decision-making, reaction time, and vision are as important (possibly much more important) than muscle glycogen content or strength level.

When we look at the future of athlete monitoring, blink rate as a measure of cognitive fatigue has real possibilities. Share on X

We are good at monitoring physical readiness and making sure we don’t compromise match day performance by creating too much fatigue beforehand in training. Physical fatigue is relatively easy to detect with field tests or in the weight room. In contrast, we tend to forget about cognitive load monitoring. Did we do too much video analysis this week? Is this the best time to add individual technique sessions? What about the weight of meetings?

So far, we’ve relied heavily on subjective measures such as wellness scores to try to identify this cognitive fatigue. Measuring eye blink rate can be done like any other monitoring procedure, through a simple protocol where the athlete performs a cognitive task and eye tracking technology is used. As research on this topic develops, we can imagine that an easy-to-implement system will eventually become available in the market.

If language is preferred over the study of the gaze, a system of discourse analysis could be revealing. A recent study questioned the possibility of detecting fatigue and drowsiness in airline pilots by observing their communication with the control tower.⁵ Considering that fatigue and drowsiness are the main factors in human-caused air crashes, the researchers undertook a retrospective analysis of pilot communication just before an accident.

The pilots’ speech was analyzed 35 hours before the fatal flight in normal conditions (control condition) and compared to a recording approximately one hour before the fatal flight and during the accident (drowsiness condition). The analysis focused on the temporal organization of speech: hesitation, silent pauses, prolongation of the last syllables, and speed of articulation. The results show that the speech on the day of the accident was characterized by slower speech and significantly slower articulation speed than on the previous days.

Other research, particularly in the military field⁶, has also successfully explored the relationship between speech characteristics and fatigue, demonstrating that inter-individual variability in speech, choice of vocabulary, and rhythm of syllables is an effective means of measuring cognitive fatigue. What comes up over and over in interviews with strength and conditioning coaches is that nothing beats direct contact with the player and the exchange of a few words to determine their state of form.

Perhaps. But then, if this is so productive that the exchange can also be objectified, isn’t that ideal? Create three standard questions, ask each athlete on a standardized day of the training week, record the answers, then pass these samples to a revealing system for analyzing speech and syllable flow rate…. Here, in part, perhaps lies the future of monitoring in terms of cognitive fatigue.

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

References

1. Lime-Ma F, Cotter J, and Schick E. “The Effect of Acute Hyperglycemia on Muscular Strength, Power and Endurance.” International Journal of Exercise Science. 2017;10:390-396.

2. Steffes GD, Megura AE, Adams J, et al. “Prevalence of metabolic syndrome risk factors in high school and NCAA division I football players.” Journal of Strength and Conditioning Research. 2013;27(7):1749-1757.

3. Buell JL, Calland D, Hanks F, et al. “Presence of metabolic syndrome in football linemen.” Journal of Athletic Training. 2008;43(6):608-816.

4. Thomas F, Pretty CG, Desaive T, and Chase JG. “Blood Glucose Levels of Subelite Athletes During 6 Days of Free Living.” Journal of Diabetes Science and Technology. 2016;10(6): 1335–1343.

5. Vasconcelos C, Vieira M, Kecklund G, and Yehia HC. “Speech Analysis for Fatigue and Sleepiness Detection of a Pilot.” Aerospace Medicine and Human Performance. 2019;90:415-418. 10.3357/AMHP.5134.2019.

6. Greeley HP, Friets E, Wilson JP, Raghavan S, Picone J, and Berg J. “Detecting Fatigue From Voice Using Speech Recognition.” International Symposium on Signal Processing and Information Technology. 2006.

All training falls onto a spectrum. Categorizing exercise along a spectrum allows us to better program for specific adaptations and helps us organize our programs and ideas more efficiently—the individual and their needs determine where training will fall on the spectrum. We understand that the sled is a multifaceted tool for resistance training that can develop several attributes and serve as a solution to many problems, and sled training should have its own training spectrum to help lay out exercises in a structured manner.

Coaches should view the sled training spectrum as ranging between two categories of movements: those developing strength and those developing power. Share on X

Many coaches still use the sled in a one-dimensional manner, prescribing the same training plan and load for all their athletes. This isn’t an effective way to structure training, as athletes have different needs and benefit from a more individualized training approach. Instead, coaches should view the sled training spectrum as ranging between two categories of movements:

1. Those focused more on developing strength and strength qualities such as strength endurance.
2. Those focused on developing power and power qualities such as power endurance.

Some other factors, such as biological age, training age, time of the year in regard to season, and individual weaknesses, will also be relevant.

Categorizing these exercises isn’t news to coaches—it’s common knowledge that the heavier a load is, the less speed the athlete will be able to achieve (and vice versa). Putting exercises onto the spectrum, though, is the next step past common knowledge, and this starts creating a system for accurate, actionable steps.

This article will begin laying out that spectrum of exercises for sled training, showing examples of how this can be utilized throughout training year-round and within a larger team setting.

Sled Training as Special Strength

First, I think it is important to note that I will be categorizing sled training here as special strength exercises: exercises that just so happen to be utilized throughout speed and movement sessions. Any time there are restrictions, such as load limiting maximum velocity from being reached, then that exercise is not a great option to directly train for maximum velocity. Although the power-based movements are closer to this objective, nothing will be as effective as flying sprints, or high-quality sprints without restrictions, to build that top-end speed.

In my experience, though, sleds have been effective for indirectly helping build that top-end speed by developing acceleration speed and enforcing better sprinting posture. They have also worked exceptionally well with youth athletes and field-based sport athletes.

The Strength Side of the Spectrum

Beginning to lay out the spectrum, we will start with the far side of strength. These movements have a greater reliance on force and are more general in nature. Exercises categorized by strength have longer ground contact times, are higher in load, and are performed at slower speeds.

Youth and less-experienced athletes tend to require more strength-based exercises—especially since many of these athletes aren’t yet fully mature and aren’t fully prepared for the adaptations that come with highly specific power-based movements. For them, using the sled is more of an unloaded, strength training exercise.

Some examples of these exercises include (but are not limited to):

Push Sled

The push sled starts the spectrum and can be broken down into a few separate series. Sleds can be categorized by:

• The body position they’re performed at (low, neutral, high).
• The position of the arms (either bent or straight).
• The speed at which they’re performed (marching, jog/bound, or sprinting).

Each position and speed has its own place on the spectrum and targets close, yet separate, performance abilities.

The lower the body position, the more strength-based it will be due to the increase in shin angle and longer ground contact times required to push due to the position. The arm position will also influence the exercise. Bent arm position movements lead to longer ground contact times and being more strength based. This is typically due to the increase in weight since the entire body can be used to drive into the sled. Straight arm position is typically associated with quicker ground contact times and puts more stress across the trunk and spine to stabilize, as the load is farther away from the body.

You can use a variety of sleds—it isn’t necessarily about the sled you have, but rather how the athletes position themselves with the sled. Share on X

The videos demonstrate a variety of sleds being used to show that it isn’t necessarily about the sled you have, but rather how the athletes position themselves with the sled.

1. Push Sled Low – Straight Arm Position

2. Push Sled Neutral – Bent Arm Position

3. Push Sled Neutral – Straight Arm Position

4. Push Sled High – Bent Arm Position

5. Push Sled High – Straight Arm Position

Most of these movements will fall in the middle ground of 10-20 yards, but it all depends on how the athlete performs them and the goal in mind.

Pull Sled

Pulling the sled is usually associated with more of the power-based exercises, but the acceleration drags and basic forward walks are used to develop strength and the ability to produce high amounts of force into the ground.

Each variation will require a strong, neutral body position to optimally pull the sled down the field, can be loaded extremely heavy, and will be painfully slow in comparison to actual sprinting.

Forward

1. Acceleration Drag

2. Forward Walk – Waist

Dragging the sled backward is great for durability of the knees and can be used to strengthen the knee extensors, as you have to drag it by stepping toe-to-heel and deliberately extending at the knee. Like the push sled, there are various positions and speeds that you can use with dragging the sled backward.

Dragging the sled backward is great for durability of the knees and can be used to strengthen the knee extensors. Share on X

Each position will affect the efficiency of the movement, but also the other muscle groups that are involved. The pull and underhook variations will require more upper body strength and stability than dragging it with a belt around the waist. And while all the variations can be done at various speeds, having the belt around the waist will allow the arms to be involved in the exercise and make it more accessible to increase the speed of the movement.

Backward

1. Back Drag – Pull

2. Back Drag – Waist (Slow)

3. Back Drag – Waist (Fast)

4. Back Drag – Underhook

These exercises can be performed for longer distances if trying to build up strength endurance or loaded heavy to pull for short yardage to increase strength. Use them at your discretion but keep your goal in mind.

The Power Side of the Spectrum

Power-based movements are defined by:

• Being velocity driven.
• Having shorter ground contact times.
• Being performed with less load.
• Being performed at higher speeds.

These movements are more specific, and elite athletes have the most to gain from them. Some examples of these exercises include:

Pull Sled

If you have athletes pulling the sled to develop power, they have to do it with lighter weight and in a more rapid, aggressive manner. Each movement is focusing on quick hip flexion and short contact times of the foot reflexing back off the ground.

Many of the speed exercises your athletes perform, such as skips and bounds, can also be performed towing a sled; they just have to be done in an appropriate manner focusing on quality of movement.

1. Marching

2. Skips

3. Bounds

4. Sprint—moderate to light weight

Perform for sets of 10-20 yards with light to moderate load.

Piston Sprint

The piston sprint is a pull sled variation that emphasizes aggressive ground contact frequency. For each variation, you want to maintain strong body posture. Pulling will naturally be more upright compared to the push and focus on repetitions into the ground with a full range of motion.

Perform for sets of 5-15 yards with light to moderate load.

1. Push

2. Pull

Chains

I know putting chains on this list is technically cheating, but chains are a great alternative to sleds for sprints where you want to gain more of an upright body position with less drag. Since chains are lighter and have a length to them, the resistance is more spread out as opposed to a single dense weight you have to pull.

Perform for 10-30 yards with one to three chains.

1. Sprints

2. Bounds

The spectrum is not limited to the exercises shown above, and you can easily add several other movements. Even the exercises shown on this spectrum could be used for the opposite adaptation if performed properly—it is how the exercise is performed that drives adaptation, not exercise selection. However, I selected and placed some exercises on the spectrum because they better fit the need to develop those specific adaptations due to the body position, arm position, or load used.

How to Apply the Spectrum in Your Training

When implementing the spectrum in your programming, it is best to go on a case-by-case basis. Some athletes already have an acceptable level of strength and can begin with more power-based exercises. These exercises are not inherently better or more difficult than another—they are just focused on different adaptations. That also doesn’t mean that those individuals should neglect the opposite side of the spectrum; instead, they should spend most of their efforts on the exercises where their weaknesses are and try to do the minimum to maintain their strengths.

Instead of neglecting the other side of the spectrum; athletes should spend most of their efforts on the exercises where their weaknesses are and do the minimum to maintain their strengths. Share on X

You will rarely find an athlete who is completely on one side or the other. It is usually a mixture of various strengths and weaknesses.

Programming Examples

General eight-week program for a field-based sport athlete.

Ratios: (Strength: Power)

The ratios refer to the percentage of volume of exercises being performed on that side of the spectrum, not weight-based percentages. So, an athlete who is eight weeks away from season will spend 90% of their time working to develop strength-based qualities by performing movements such as heavy sled pushes from various positions and acceleration sled drags. Meanwhile, they will only spend 10% of their time working to develop power-based qualities with exercises such as lighter sled skips and bounds.

Never leave any quality out, although as they get closer and closer to the season, that spectrum will see a shift in the volume of work being performed in each category (becoming more specific in nature as the season approaches). Many strength training programs follow similar principles and will consolidate nicely.

Week 1 – 90%: 10%

Week 2 – 90%: 10%

Week 3 – 75%: 25%

Week 4 – 50%: 50%

Week 5 – 50%: 50%

Week 6 – 25%: 75%

Week 7 – 10%: 90%

Week 8 – 10%: 90%

This is a basic example and won’t fit all athletes, but it gives you a general idea of how you can lay out training. More elite athletes would spend less time with the strength side of the spectrum and younger, less experienced athletes would spend more time there.

Also, if you find an athlete who is already strength-sufficient but lacking in the power and speed department, then that athlete can start farther down the spectrum, closer to the power qualities.

Programming Applications for the Private Sector vs. Collegiate

Implementing this spectrum in the private sector has worked extremely well, as I am not limited by time of the session or what I can do with my athletes. Even in my largest group of 12 athletes, I can still take my time to equip each with what will fit them best at that moment. However, the private sector does lack the frequency of training, as many athletes are not on a consistent schedule. This is why I never recommend leaving any training quality out—while not as efficient as putting all of our eggs in one basket, I need to spread my eggs out and make sure athletes are prepared at all times. Many athletes play sports year-round and unfortunately won’t get a two- to three-month off-season to develop physically.

In the larger collegiate setting, on the other hand, each team can begin with more strength-based exercises to develop the strength needed to enhance the power exercises later down the road. In that environment, I know I’m going to have my athletes for at least a few weeks of consistent training before games, school, and personal lives get in the way.

Even with that said, creating a semi-individualized training approach could serve your athletes better. Start by profiling your team and putting athletes into two groups: one strength-focused and one power-focused. Place each group on the spectrum where you want them. I would recommend just having two groups—trust me, you do not want to spread yourself too thin. When selecting exercises, either use different movements from the spectrum or the same exercises but forced to fit within the demands of the adaptation, so the groups are performing the same exercise at different speeds, weight ranges, and ground contact time periods.

When selecting exercises, either use different movements from the spectrum or the same exercises but forced to fit within the demands of the adaptation. Share on X

In each cycle of training, an athlete could change groups. This will be based on your testing and profiling of your athletes (as discussed further in the next section). That way, you are constantly attacking the athlete’s weaknesses and never fully neglecting an adaptation.

I understand that this is not an exact science, but it will serve your athletes far better than having them follow the same program and load prescription regardless of needs or experience.

Profiling on a Continuum

I’m sure you’re wondering how to actually profile your athletes by strength or power needs. Common knowledge and the coach’s eye go a long way, but I’ve found success using Cal Dietz’s free calculator. This tool examines an athlete’s 10- and 20-yard splits to profile them within a specific training range.

Once given that range, it is easier to place them along the spectrum based off their need to develop one of the training qualities. The goal for using this spectrum and sled training in the first place is to enhance their speed, so having a 10- and 20-yard time is a good start. Defining their needs first puts you in a better position to have a why in prescribing exercise selection, load, and goals.

Training is complicated enough. There are so many branches of physical preparation that intertwine with each other, with other training models, and even with other professions. The layout of the spectrum will help save you time and more accurately prepare for your individual athlete’s needs, both of which can help make training a little less complex.

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

Every year, as my soccer or softball teams roll through tournament play, we stumble through one of those dazed, listless, and dead-legged performances that inspire “the talk.” As I gather the girls together for our discussion on the connection between nutrition and performance, one of the players who’s been with me through multiple seasons will anticipate what’s coming and chime in are you going to tell the hamburger story again?

And yes, I am—because it’s a useful story.

Years ago, the starting left back on my club soccer team was one of our fastest players—a previous coach had nicknamed her “the dream killer” for her ability to materialize out of nowhere and chase down opposing strikers, disrupting what otherwise appeared to be a sure breakaway goal. A tall, mature 13-year-old, she also played tennis and loved to do treadmill and bodyweight workouts on her own.

During a weekend road tournament, we wrapped up our opening game at 11 a.m. and had our next match scheduled just a couple hours later. Not much time to leave the venue and track down lunch in an unfamiliar neighborhood…and the field complex conveniently had rows of concession tents and food trucks set up. Like many athletes, shortly after competing, her appetite spiked: a food truck char-grilling meat, smells amazing. DONE! She was all over a burger and fries.

When our 1:00 p.m. game kicked off, as play on the turf picked up speed…my fast and fit left back looked like she was fording a waist-deep river of pudding. Laboring, just to move veeeeerrrry sloooooow. The first ball that came her way careened off her shin like it was entirely the wrong size and shape. The next skimmed straight past.

My center backs and holding mid began looking frantically at me on the sidelines, as they were having to pick up extra marks in transition who kept blowing right past her. After five minutes, I had to sub her off the field—she was sweating the wrong kind of sweat and her expression was equal parts physical discomfort and genuine confusion.

And that was it for her game.

Why the Hamburger Story Is Important

Coaches constantly hear discussions about the *big rocks*—sleep, nutrition, hydration, recovery, heard it heard it heard it heard it. We hear it over and over.

But the hamburger story isn’t a story about impulsiveness or self-indulgence or a deliberately risky decision—coming off the field, the confusion on my left back’s face was authentic. She was truly baffled about why her body was suddenly incapable of doing the very routine things her brain was telling it to do.

Because, until that day, she had lived her entire life without ever being told about how the timing and substance of what you eat will directly impact how you perform (and this was a smart girl from a great school district and a family of successful medical professionals). Across the youth sports landscape, despite the costly tournament entries and club dues, the private skills trainings and complex travel schedules, the $350 bats and $250 cleats, there is still a widespread lack of education on how that 75-cent donut they grabbed for breakfast can undermine all of that prior effort and expense.

Across the youth sports landscape…the players often do not yet know how to eat in order to put themselves in the best position to succeed on game days, says @CoachsVision. Share on X

At the adult level, poor nutrition choices are rightfully identified as action problems as opposed to knowledge problems: If a grown-up chooses to eat a bag of Cool Ranch Doritos instead of a bag of carrot sticks, it’s not that they don’t know that it would be healthier to eat the veggies—they just choose not to act on that knowledge. Relative to nutrition and performance in youth sports, however, there remains a genuine knowledge problem: The players often do not yet know how to eat in order to put themselves in the best position to succeed on game day.

Even among that percentage of parents who do prioritize nutrition in their family’s food choices, most often their definition of *healthy* will be based on concepts from weight loss, commercial meal plans, or food sensitivities…all of which are very different than fueling for competition.

That knowledge problem is then multiplied by the realities of competitive youth sports—local and regional travel, pre-dawn breakfasts in the car, hotel grab-and-go’s, eating out of coolers, eating at snack shacks, finding takeout places that can quickly turn around orders, finding restaurants that can accommodate sweaty and exuberant large groups, games stacked on top of games, games scheduled at 8 a.m., noon, and 6 p.m.… Logistically, the variables for proper meal-planning quickly spiral out of control.

Given the realities on the ground, I like to tell the hamburger story because it paves the way to discuss a few concepts that kids can immediately grasp:

• What happens when your “rest and digest” system fully kicks in, and why you can’t simply choose to override that natural process when the next whistle blows.
• That nutrition for sports is not about being told what you can and can’t eat so much as knowing when to eat what you like to eat. Rather than black and whites of good vs. bad, kids find it interesting to learn that, in fact, the same thing that can be a good choice 12 hours before you play could be a bad choice two hours before you play.

From a coaching standpoint, there’s very little I can do about what the players regularly eat (nor should there be). But if I can impact their approach to when they eat some of the things that they eat, that can lead to more consistent performances on the field.

If I can impact the players’ approach to WHEN they eat some of the things that they eat, that can lead to more consistent performances on the field, says @CoachsVision. Share on X

Timing. Hydration. Repetition.

The hamburger story is, more than anything, a story about timing. That helps it resonate—why the exact same hamburger two nights before you play or two nights after is a totally different thing than that burger two hours before you play. With kids, it also doesn’t hurt to throw in a word or two about ice cream, which I happen to think is a great thing on a Sunday afternoon after wrapping up multiple games on a hot field.

If you tell your players there’s a very good time for burgers and ice cream, they will be more receptive when you tell them there’s also a very good time for pasta with grilled chicken or for scrambled eggs and fruit or for half a turkey wrap and a few cucumber wedges.

In fact, I do this over and over and over.

• We’ll be playing at 9 and 10:30 tomorrow morning. Tonight would be a good night to have pasta with meat sauce or chicken and a big serving of brown rice…

• Our first game is at 1:00 p.m. tomorrow. Try to have a substantial breakfast when you wake up and then something light like a wrap and some fruit close to an hour before warm-ups…

• Our game is at 7:30 tomorrow night. Even though it’s way easier for your parents to feed you an early dinner right beforehand, try to save that full meal for after the game instead…

Within this continual process of repetition and tying timing to nutrition, the easiest of the *big rocks* to nail is hydration—no one much likes being told what to eat or when to go to bed, but there’s very little pushback to drinking plenty of water.

So, I make that part of our team culture. In all of my practice designs, I write in a water break every 15 minutes. I work with very athletic girls; we play fast, and we practice at high speed—and we take a lot of breaks. In Southern California, we compete in full sun and afternoon heat, and while repeating drink lots of water, stay hydrated, I make sure they players have every opportunity to drink lots of water and stay hydrated.

From the connection between playing hard and staying hydrated, it’s then a shorter step to the connection between playing hard and proper fueling. With the hamburger story, the important thing is not just telling it one time—the key is the repetition. Like most coaches, I have phrases and concepts I repeat again and again, focusing on communication, controlling the ball, moving with purpose, creating space—these key points become the hallmarks of my teams because I emphasize those qualities over and over.

The more you repeat simple messages, the more cognizant players will be of when and what they eat—to the point that it can become part of your team culture, says @CoachsVision. Share on X

Nutrition for performance is no different. The more you repeat simple messages, the more cognizant the players will be of when and what they eat—to the point that it can become part of your team culture.

All Those Hamburger Stories That Don’t Fit the Narrative

Amid the worst of the 2020 COVID-19 lockdowns, Victoria Hayward—a starting outfielder on Canada’s National Team and an all-around spark plug in Athletes Unlimited—generously took the time to come on a Zoom Q&A with my softball team. This was a rough stretch, as all the local fields were sealed off with caution tape and the girls weren’t supposed to see their friends. Victoria was a shining light who appeared on their computer screens to deliver an inspirational message. She answered all of their questions about the range of sports she played growing up, how she learned which positions she was the best at, whether she ever gets nervous in the on-deck circle, how she was training on her own for the Olympics, and, yes…her favorite pre-game meals.

Sure enough, Victoria had a hamburger story.

Hers, however, was a laugh-out-loud funny story from playing at the University of Washington and scarfing down a burger not too long before a game, despite knowing better. She then went on to play the game of her life. Of course, she warned the girls it was a fluke coincidence and not something they should go and do…but her hamburger story underscores one of the realities of sports: talented individuals can regularly succeed in spite of their habits.

When it comes to motivating your players to make better food choices, one massive challenge is that their parents will be able to see your hamburger story and raise you a whopping success story during which they threw every big rock straight out the window. Due to the cost and commitment of competitive youth sports, many of the players have parents who are quite driven in their own lives—and successful academic, financial, and career performance are frequently fueled by high-octane s**t.

Your second baseman’s mom will have her own story of how she passed the bar exam while living on Skittles and Red Bull. Your goalkeeper’s dad will have stories of how he survived his hospital residency on black coffee, peppered jerky, and the occasional IV. That one kid whose dad actually did play a few seasons of minor league ball will tell you how he bunked with seven roommates and all they ever ate were corn dogs and frozen hash browns.

And not only did they succeed, but succeeding while thoroughly ignoring all sound nutritional and lifestyle habits is a specific point of pride. Your second baseman’s mom loves to tell that story of how she crammed all night and was seeing tracers from the overload of taurine and citric acid, yet still managed to step up and ace the test. All those crucial final exams she passed where she started studying earlier in the week, while also eating and sleeping normally? Meh, boring! Those are stories she never bothers to tell.

We had another hamburger story on my U12 softball team this year. During a tournament stop 60 miles up the coast in Laguna Niguel, we had games at 3:20 and 5:10, and our power-hitting shortstop/catcher made a special lunch stop there at her all-time favorite burger place, Smashburger. This was important to her, as all the Smashburgers in San Diego had closed down and, like many, her family hadn’t traveled widely the previous 16 months.

The home run she launched in the 3:20 game will be, I am certain, the longest ball I ever see a 12-year-old hit. It soared over the fence in left, cleared a 10-foot retaining wall another 30 feet behind that home run fence, and then disappeared down a canyon. We wanted to retrieve the ball for her as a souvenir, but no one from the tournament had ever seen a ball go over that retaining wall, and therefore had no idea how to even access the canyon in the first place. In her first AB of the 5:10 game, she hit a three-run laser that rocketed over the center field fence and set us coasting to a win.

I’ll see your hamburger story, coach, and raise you a couple bombs.

On Picky Kids and Pragmatism

Along with the big rocks, another oft-repeated training phrase is that kids are not mini-adults—what works for college and pro athletes often doesn’t scale at the youth levels.

When nutrition information does finally get passed along to youth athletes, however, it still tends to be based on more cultivated adult palates. Eat the rainbow. Salmon and avocado and Omega-3s. Start your day with this açaí bowl or those morning oats or that spinach and feta scramble. Snack on cut veggies and hummus.

When nutrition information gets passed along to youth athletes, it still tends to be based on more cultivated adult palates…Instead of suggesting what they won’t eat, recommend what they will. Share on X

If your kid will eat those things, God bless ’em. Many, however, will be super-picky, particularly the younger they are. Some of that is just stubbornness and wanting to control one of the few things in life they can control (what goes in their mouths)—but that pickiness also has roots in biology and natural selection, taste and texture sensitivities, digestive ease, dealing with braces and retainers, and countless other factors that dictate what they’ll put on their forks.

My older brother didn’t eat a bell pepper or an onion until his 40s—as an adolescent, all his stomach could process and tolerate were the bland whites: grilled cheese and quesadillas, plain pasta and white rice, lots of apples and bananas. He was also a varsity wrestler in an era where every dude in a singlet was on a Vision Quest to cut weight and wrestle Shute, so he was already spending his high school years in a state of alarming caloric debt. For my parents, feeding him the nutritional mediocrities he would actually eat wasn’t an act of pampering—we would sit at the table eating grilled steak, green beans, and potatoes and roast the kid for wanting just a bowl of mac and cheese. But, giving him what he would eat was a better fueling option than giving him what he would not.

While less extreme, much the same will hold true with a large number of youth athletes. Instead of suggesting what they won’t eat, recommend what they will. If you have a cut-vegetable-and-hummus-eating team, fantastic, that’s a great between-game snack. If three-quarters of your team would just as soon swallow a handful of infield dirt, however, bananas, grapes, and goldfish crackers may be a better choice and will at least keep them out of the Oreos. Salmon pasta checks a lot of boxes both the night before competing and following a long day of exertion…unless your players are going to poke at the fish like it’s still swimming and then barely touch the now-contaminated noodles. In which case, fine, a full serving of plain pasta with some grated cheese is the better choice.

Take your pragmatic victories. You don’t have to shoot for quinoa (yet)—if you can get them to start having white rice on their plate the night before a game instead of curly fries, that’s a win.

During our nutrition talk, I tell my players the original hamburger story because it’s by far the most extreme and vivid example of meal choice impacting athletic performance that I’ve personally witnessed. More often, though, we’re talking about subtle gradations of performance—and how eating Pixie Stix or Flamin’ Hot Cheetos or Krispy Kremes or KFC can lead to those so-so and sluggish showings that would have been sharper if they had simply eaten differently.

One Last Hamburger Story (At Least Until the Next One)

During this same 12U softball season, in part by taking hydration, nutrition, and sleep seriously, my team battled through five games in 110-degree heat on a Sunday in Lancaster, CA, to come in second place in USA Softball’s Southern California B-State championships, advancing on to Western B-Nationals (and the crazy need to play five games in a single day will be the basis of a future article).

At the Nationals tournament in Roseville, CA, we were finally knocked out with a 2-1, seven-inning loss to a well-disciplined and fundamentally sound team from the San Fernando Valley. Afterward, our starting pitcher stopped at In-N-Out for a post-game burger, breezed on through the front doors and…what appeared to be the entire opposing team was already there, eating at the tables inside.

Cue the Grampa Simpson burlesque house gif. She 180’d directly back out, having zero desire to sit and eat amongst the team that had just squashed our extended tournament run. On her way back to their car, she looked at her mom and said, “I can’t believe they’re all eating hamburgers. They have a game in two hours. They’re going to lose.”

And, they did.

Following our crisp, error-free 2-1 game, that San Fernando Valley team then lost 9-6 to a team we had already beaten numerous times. So, the next time they begin rolling through tournament play, it’s likely that their coach will now have a hamburger story of her own to tell.

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

Broadly speaking, when we enter a collegiate weight room in the U.S. while a team is training, it is abundantly clear who the strength coach is. For the most part, this is how it should be—we should ensure our athletes adhere to the program we have written, that they perform these movements safely, and that they give great effort in the training session. The longer I spend in this profession, however, the more I’ve come to believe that the weight room should also be a place of culture development and safeguarding by the players themselves more than any coach.

I’ve come to believe that the weight room should also be a place of culture development and safeguarding by the players themselves more than any coach, says @SCoach_Aldo. Share on X

I am a 32-year-old Englishman who has played football (the real football) all my life: I have no college eligibility, every time I shoot a basketball it looks different, I never practice with the team, and I certainly never get any game time. The weight room should never be ME focused, it should be team focused. Accordingly, I want to give my guys the wheel, give them ownership of that space and their development, and be like a driving instructor sitting in the passenger seat ensuring they stay on the right track and are safe while doing so.

This is where autonomy in the weight room comes in for me—giving the athletes a say in their own development. My coaching style is democratic, not dictatorial: to get to where we want to go as a program—winning championships—the players MUST lead the way.

Simple Ways to Develop Autonomy

I have promoted autonomy with the team at various points in my career as an S&C coach in men’s basketball at Furman, incorporating it into my program through:

• Gameday lifts with the development group (low-minute guys) – “Do what will make you feel great for the game tonight.”
• Gameday lifts with the walk-ons – “Let me see you guys put together a body comp workout.”
• No set warm-up protocol in the time before a lift starts. Guys report 10 minutes before we start the session—autonomy here with stretching, foam rolling, bike, etc.
• Week of the conference tournament—whiteboard lifting options:
• “Choose your A1 and A2 exercises” – low reps (prescribed by me, specific to the exercise chosen).
• A1 – heels-elevated back/front squat, KB goblet squat, or trap bar deadlift.
• A2 – GHR, leg curl, or RDL.

This last example was an idea I got from Travis Knight at Gonzaga—arguably the best holistic development program in the country. He has really encouraged me to explore autonomy with my guys, and I am very grateful to him for that.

At the end of last season, I wanted to get a better idea of what the players valued about the weight room, how I could improve in my coaching provision for the team, and what their goals were for the upcoming off-season. So, at the end of April and start of May, I had player meetings with them all and asked them seven questions. For this article, I will just highlight the question that is relevant to this topic: What do you like doing in the weight room that you feel transfers best to on-court performance?

Here are a few of the answers:

• Prowler races: “Gives me confidence, feeling the pump in my legs and getting into my wind.”
• Cable woodchopper: “Love doing rotation work in here.”
• Power clean and hang clean.
• Chain Squats: “Feel bouncy afterward.”
• Prowler: “Competitive aspect.”
• Single leg work + SL power: “Quick burst off the ground.”
• Add a resistance band to all roller work to make it harder.
• Back squat: “Feel most springy.”
• Raptor conditioning: “Train conditioning more in the summer.”
• Medicine ball complex: “Conditioning and pump.”

My initial response was to think how cool it was that each athlete valued different things in the weight room. I certainly don’t want to become robotic with my programming, and I believe variety is important to optimally progress an athlete throughout an extended training period. Seeing the responses also made me reflect on how little I do of certain exercises, how some of these have been new concepts we’ve tried out, and how much value prowlers can have for development (and not just seen as a consequence for being late!).

Now that I’ve given you some background information, I want to share four specific ways I feel autonomy in the weight room can be a game-changer for your program:

1. Buy into training.
2. Weight room culture.
3. The weight room as a learning environment.
4. New training buckets.

1. Buy into Training

I just finished my third off-season with the Furman men’s basketball team, and we recently completed an intense, eight-week block of training during which I trained my guys in the weight room anywhere from 4-6 times each week. We had four mandatory lifting days: Monday, Tuesday, Thursday, and Friday, plus I was available for optional lifts on Wednesday and Saturday. In previous years, I would send the team a group text informing them when I would be around if they wanted to get some optional extra work in.

This summer I let the players come to me if they wanted to get some extra work in. I was curious to see who really WANTED to get extra work in rather than feeling they HAD to come. Share on X

This summer I did it differently—I didn’t send out the group text; instead, I took a step back and let the players come to me if they wanted to get some extra work in. I was curious to see who really wanted to get extra work in rather than feeling they had to come.

Below is a breakdown of the participation numbers for the optional lifts this summer. As you can see from the table, the numbers grew to the point at the end of the summer where I had 90% of the team lifting 5-6 times a week.

For the first few sessions, I told the guys to come in with an idea of what they wanted to focus on. The first few weeks, they had a conditioning improvement goal, which I programmed accordingly for them. After that, however, I had the whiteboard out there and asked them each to come up and write what they wanted to do that day.

It got to the point with these optional lifts where some guys saw the whiteboard and said, “Oh we got autonomy today. Sweet!”

The energy and intensity in the sessions were excellent, the guys were self-sufficient and attacked their sessions with focus, and I even jumped in on the Saturday sessions by doing an exercise from each of their individual sessions. The weight room became a place of development where they wanted to go and train, not a place they had to.

I feel there is a misconception with giving athletes autonomy and the thinking that they would just abuse that freedom and sit on a foam roller for 45 minutes. From my experience, this couldn’t be further from the truth. Take for example my “bigs” this summer: I had them on a high-volume 6-12-25 program for the last two weeks of the semester. Not one time during this method did they come in and “recover” for 30 minutes. Instead, they choose to train how they wanted to train: some did power cleans and box jumps, some did barbell squat jumps, some did DB bench and military press.

I can’t encourage you enough to give athletes a say in their own development. Let them write their own workout and see what they value, says @SCoach_Aldo. Share on X

I can’t encourage you enough to give athletes a say in their development. Let them write their own workout and see what they value. I guarantee, some will surprise you with the exercises they choose and what they see as being important to their own development.

Video 1. Athletes taking ownership of their development with exercises they’ve selected to perform in the weight room during off-season training.

2. Culture

Earlier, when I mentioned that this has been my third season with the team, I did so to highlight that I have trained these guys for a while and know what our team leadership looks like. We want the old to teach the new, and we want recruits coming here and feeling something different about our team. As much as I love coaching, if I can program a lift and let my older guys run it with the high standards and the deliberate improvement now mentality that I expect, then I am all for that. We seek to be a player-led program, and I take this development model seriously; as an extension of the coaching staff, I am a culture carrier and enforcer for my head coach.

These extra lifts are a great time for me to put this model of leadership to the test and let them run with it. From the outside looking in, one of these autonomy sessions would seem as if there is no coach in the room, with the players running it themselves and encouraging each other. Hear me out here. I am there in the room coaching up what I need to and ensuring safety at all times, but I am consciously taking steps back to let the guys own the room and take the wheel.

If we all want athletes who take ownership of their craft and are responsible for their development, we need to provide an environment where they can actually be exposed to building these qualities, where they can experience trial and error, and where they feel like they are the ones in charge. I want to use the weight room to expose them to this stimulus, to problem-solve, and to take charge of their strength and conditioning for a moment and show a deep care in their personal growth. Trust me, when you see the whole team in there getting after it through player-led leadership and not through your own means as a coach, that’s an incredible feeling.

Trust me, when you see the whole team in the weight room, getting after it through player-led leadership and not through your own means as a coach, that’s an incredible feeling, says @SCoach_Aldo. Share on X

Younger guys partnered up with older guys, different position groups did core work together, I let them choose the music they wanted. The older guys decided how long they would all train for (which was generally 25-40 minutes of work), and they called everyone in at their discretion. We had partnered raptor work, prowler races, guys wearing weight vests. I did all I could to encourage ownership of their development by creating an environment where they would enjoy being in the weight room.

As for the actual training sessions they wrote up and performed, our culture appeared strongly with this too, which was obviously pleasing to see. The guys didn’t come up and just write a ton of bi’s and tri’s (Muscle Beach)—they thought about what they wanted to do but also what they needed to do. My post players generally focused on more hypertrophy work while my guards did additional lower leg stiffness exercises and barbell/MB complex work. My freshman either joined in with older guys or asked can we keep doing what we’ve been doing? I presented them with some options, but it was always their choice what exercise they performed. They wrote it down on the whiteboard, and off they went to set up and get after it.

3. The Weight Room as a Learning Environment

When a student-athlete leaves college, my main aim is for them to at least be able to cook for themselves and know what a healthy diet looks like. Yes, I know I’m not a registered dietician, but please come work at the mid-major level as a strength coach and tell me you’re not leaned on for nutrition advice every day. On this same train of thought, I don’t expect them to be able to write out a six-week diet the same way I don’t expect them to be able to create a six-week training program. However, from a training perspective, I would love for them to have a baseline understanding ingrained in them of the importance of full range of motion and tempo when training.

The use of the whiteboard and the guys writing down their own programs has been a great learning experience for them. The wide array of questions when they physically have to write down and run their own session gives me a good picture of how well (or how poorly) I have taught them so far in their career. Questions such as:

• Can I do box jumps after my power cleans?
• How many reps do you think I should do on each?
• What goes well with lat pulldown?
• Should I do 20/40 on the bike?
• How can I make this exercise harder?

All of these questions were normally answered by a question from me, back to them, beginning with what do you think…?

It was interesting to hear their thoughts and push them cognitively to reflect on what we’ve done in the past. Some of our guys have gone on to play professional basketball in Europe: some of these teams had optional lifts with a local trainer, and some of them didn’t offer even that supervision. In order to best prepare our athletes to play at some pro level—or at the very least, to continue healthy habits of training and exercising after their college careers are done—the education piece of what we do as strength and conditioning professionals cannot be undervalued.

I want my athletes to see the weight room as a place of learning and development, a place where they can improve, get better at their sport, and be challenged physically and mentally every time they train. If they see it as a place of pain and a space where I try and break them off every session, then I have done something seriously wrong!

4. New Training Buckets

Another crucial element of giving athletes autonomy in the weight room is it reflects their desire to train in ways that perhaps I haven’t programmed for. In looking back at the list of exercises my guys felt best improved their on-court performance, one of my starters loves to do power cleans and other Olympic lifting derivatives. I’m not a fan of power cleans for power development with my athletes, and it’s never been a training method I like doing personally or with my teams. I wasn’t going to now give this player Olympic lifting derivatives four days a week in his A series; I did, however, make a note of this, and whenever the player came in for optional lifts and wanted to do power cleans and box jumps, I fully endorsed it and coached him up.

I was really encouraged by doing this, as the autonomy in these sessions gave the athletes variation in their programming from what they usually do. Some exercises were, of course, repeated in the program I had them on, but some weren’t, and it was cool to see them filling other training buckets with their choices.

Another example of this was the use of barbell and medicine ball complexes, combined with bike/ski machine/jump rope/rower/prowler to improve their conditioning. In my eyes, the summer strength and conditioning program is about growth and development; it’s about changing their bodies, and it definitely prioritizes strength. The pre-season period for me is about speed development and getting them conditioned to start full team practices, prioritizing the conditioning element more. So, to have guys want to do some weight room conditioning work was great, as again it filled a bucket that is required for high performance but isn’t emphasized as much in the June-July training period within my programming.

My final example is from my last Saturday lift with the team, when three of the guards decided they wanted to do a 1RM bench press to see what they could get up to. The team camaraderie at the end of that optional session was as good as any coach-led weight session we had all summer. The whole team was hyped and even jumped in for a rep or two themselves. Optional sessions don’t equal lazy sessions, optional sessions showcase where your strength and conditioning program is at, what the culture of it is, and whether your athletes want to push themselves because they want to improve or because a coach is making them push.

From Motivation to Action

Every strength and conditioning coach wants a healthy, high-performing team that wins championships, but the ways we all reach those end goals are different. Our training philosophies mixed with our personality and coaching style are so individual and unique—I thrive on the creativity of this job and having a blank canvas to choose what road I want to go down with all aspects of the role. The key is to listen to your athletes, to really listen, then guide them and take a step back to oversee what they are doing. Let them take the wheel in their development, let them use intrinsic—not extrinsic—motivation to guide their growth. Allow them to take ownership of optional training, then sit back and observe some high-level training sessions that you facilitated.

Guide your athletes to see the weight room as a place of development—a place that keeps them healthy and performing their best, says @SCoach_Aldo. Share on X

Guide your athletes to see the weight room as a place of development—a place that keeps them healthy and performing their best. They are at this level for a reason: they are physically gifted and they know their bodies better than we do, so find some sessions in your schedule to let them train how they want to train.

If I was presenting at a strength and conditioning seminar and asked the audience who likes always being told what to do?, would anyone raise their hand? Our athletes have the same perspective. My hope is that after reading this article, you experiment with at least one thing in your program centered on giving athletes autonomy in the weight room. Remember who is actually playing the sport—it isn’t us, it’s our athletes. We can all learn a lot from them if we give them an opportunity to show us.

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

During full range of motion (ROM) bilateral lifting exercises such as squats and deadlifts, a neutral spine posture—defined as an individual’s relaxed standing posture where the stress on the spinal column and muscular effort required to maintain this alignment is minimal²⁶—is commonly included as part of the technical model. However, lumbar spine flexion away from the neutral posture is unavoidable during these exercises.²³ During heavy squatting and deadlifting performed through a full ROM, the lumbar spine will typically flex between 50% and 80% of maximum flexion.¹⁵ In fact, even when people are coached to maintain a lordotic posture during lifting, flexion relative to a standing posture still occurs.^14,22

As spine injuries are common in sports where heavy lifting exercises are performed, avoiding end range flexion could be an important strategy to reduce lifting-related injuries. Share on X

Although spine flexion during lifting exercises is commonly thought to increase injury risk, submaximal amounts of lumbar flexion may improve lifting performance and possibly lower injury risk through the following mechanisms:

1. Decreasing the external moment arm of the barbell relative to the lumbosacral and hip joints, allowing more load to be lifted.¹⁸
2. Maximizing the hip extensor internal muscles moment arm⁹ by decreasing the amount of hip joint flexion required to lower the center of mass a given distance²⁸.
3. Lengthening the erector spinae muscles, resulting in greater torque generation capability.²⁷
4. Potentially facilitating the contribution of the lumbodorsal fascia in providing an internal extensor moment, enhancing metabolic efficiency.¹⁴
5. Optimizing load sharing by reducing the compressive loading on spinal structures such as the facet joints and the posterior annulus of the disc.²

While it is important to acknowledge the advantages of lifting with moderate amounts of lumbar spine flexion, it should also be recognized that maximally flexing the spine under the extremely high compressive loads seen in the weight room may increase injury risk. As spine injuries are common in sports where heavy lifting exercises are performed (e.g., weightlifting and powerlifting¹), avoiding end range flexion could be an important strategy to reduce lifting-related injuries. This article will present evidence for the potential risk associated with lifting in a maximally flexed posture and provide tools that coaches can use to help athletes avoid end range flexion during bilateral lifting exercises.

How Does Maximal Spinal Flexion During Lifting Increase Injury Risk?

During heavy lifting exercises (“heavy” is defined in this article as loads exceeding 10RM), the compressive forces are incredibly high¹³, surpassing the ultimate strength of the spine reported in cadaver studies²⁹. This disparity can be explained by the osteoligamentous structure’s capacity to remodel following exercise, over time building the spine’s tolerance for the compressive loads experienced during lifting.¹⁸ While it is important to appreciate the adaptive capacity of the body, it should not be regarded as infinite. Therefore, lifting technique should complement good programming to help mitigate injury risk and develop robustness.

The primary concern with maximally flexing the trunk during heavy lifting exercises is the tolerance of the spine to compressive forces. When fully flexed, the compressive strength of the passive spine has been shown to decrease by approximately 23%-47% in cadaver models compared to an alignment where the end plates are positioned parallel to each other (which represents a slightly flexed position).¹⁹

The primary concern with maximally flexing the trunk during heavy lifting exercises is the tolerance of the spine to compressive forces, says @LouisHowe_SandC. Share on X

One reason for this is that as the posterior ligaments are recruited with full spine flexion, they increase the intradiscal pressures, resulting in a diminished capacity for loading.⁷ This occurs as the posterior ligaments of the neural arch provide an internal extensor moment to counteract the flexion moment that occurs with lifting. However, the posterior ligaments possess a shorter moment arm relative to the extensor muscles and, consequently, a very high compressive penalty.¹²

Importantly, this only occurs as we get closer to end range flexion. At 50% and 75% of maximal lumbar spine flexion, ligaments are less strained, resulting in only marginal increases in intradiscal pressures relative to a position of 0% flexion.⁷ This is one reason why no difference exists in the ultimate compressive strength of the lumbar spine when comparing postures of 0% and 75% of maximal flexion.⁷

Stress concentrations may also increase on specific spinal structures with a maximally flexed posture. When the lumbar spine is moderately flexed, the superior and inferior endplates are parallel to each other, resulting in an even distribution of load across the disc.⁵ However, when the spine is maximally flexed, stress concentrations occur at the anterior aspect of the interbody joint, further diminishing the compressive strength of the lumbar spine.

Adams and Hutton⁴ found end range flexion at a spinal segment increased compression on the anterior annulus by approximately 30%, while stretching the posterior annulus of the intervertebral disc by 50%. This is one reason high compressive forces can cause wedge fractures of the anterior vertebral body when motion segments are fully flexed¹⁸, and why full flexion combined with compression can cause posterior disc herniation³.

Another consideration is the anterior shear loading imposed by the supraspinous and interspinous ligaments when recruited with full lumbar spine flexion. Relative to compression, the lumbar spine has a low tolerance threshold for anterior shear forces (approximately 2,000-3,000 N)¹⁷ that may be approached with heavy lifting.¹⁶ The interspinous and supraspinous ligaments are oriented such that when the lumbar spine is fully flexed, these ligaments pull the superior vertebra forward relative to the vertebra below.²¹ Consequently, full spine flexion will increase the anterior joint shear forces, increasing the loading on the structures of the neural arch.¹⁷

This may explain the findings of Potvin et al.³⁰, where anterior joint shear loads were greater when the lumbar spine was fully flexed compared to a less flexed posture. Lumbar flexion does have advantages when considering shear loading, as it reduces the anterior shear forces imposed by gravity.⁸ However, there may be a compromise for managing these loads, where joint shear forces can be reduced by allowing moderate flexion to decrease the loading caused by gravity, while avoiding maximal recruitment of the ligaments.

Lastly, when hyperflexion occurs as it can during heavy lifting¹², the supraspinous and interspinous ligaments may be the first structures to be damaged⁶. This risk can be attenuated by avoiding end range flexion at each motion segment by just a few degrees.¹²

How Can We Coach Athletes to Avoid Full Spine Flexion?

While avoiding maximal spine flexion has the potential to reduce injury risk, moderate flexion (60%-80% of maximum flexion) can improve lifting performance while encouraging optimal load sharing at the spine.² Consequently, coaches should encourage athletes to maintain a spine alignment that resides within the physiological limits of their ROM during heavy lifting. Generally, allowing the lumbar spine to flex to the point it flattens enables moderate flexion to occur, while avoiding a kyphotic posture of the lumbar spine will help prevent reaching end ROM.²

Coaches should encourage athletes to maintain a spine alignment that resides within the physiological limits of their ROM during heavy lifting, says @LouisHowe_SandC. Share on X

Below is a range of approaches that coaches can incorporate into their practice to help athletes develop coordination strategies that may reduce their injury risk when learning lifting exercises. Importantly, these strategies should be considered in the context of a sensible lifting program that incorporates progressive overload to drive structural adaptations.

I will also present evidence to support each approach. To accomplish this, I’ve provided images and data taken from a single athlete to demonstrate the effectiveness of each coaching tool. To record lumbar spine posture, peak flexion angles for each movement were calculated using two inertial measurement units (IMUs) positioned at L1 and S2. All values were normalized to the athlete’s standing neutral posture and the maximum flexion angle achieved during the standing flexion test.¹²

1. Cueing

While obvious, cueing spine posture is well-supported by the literature as a strategy to avoid end range spine flexion. For example, asking athletes to lift “without rounding the lower back” and “maintaining the arch of the spine” has been shown to reduce lumbar spine flexion when lifting a 7.3-kilogram box from the floor.¹⁰ While this evidence doesn’t directly relate to heavy deadlifting or squatting, it does provide proof of concept—lumbar spine flexion during lifting can be decreased with appropriate cueing. Depending on the lifting exercise and the athlete’s interpretation, cues that prevent spine motion and/or facilitate lower extremity contribution to lowering the center of mass should be used help each athlete identify movement strategies that avoid end range spine flexion.

2. Develop Awareness for Spine Position

While cueing lumbar spine posture will help most athletes avoid full spine flexion, tactile feedback can also be used to develop the proprioceptive awareness needed to prevent end ROM flexion from occurring during lifting exercises. Example strategies include placing a PVC pipe longitudinally along the spine or applying tape to the spine in order to provide feedback on when the athlete is approaching end ROM flexion during hinging and squatting exercises.

Like cueing, taping the lumbar spine (as shown in figure 2) has been shown to significantly reduce lumbar spine flexion while increasing hip and knee joint flexion during a lifting task.²⁸ Technology like IMUs has also been used to provide real-time feedback to help individuals develop lifting strategies that avoid maximal spine flexion.¹¹ These strategies should be used as a teaching tool, and in most cases, only 1-2 sessions are required to have lasting effects. Figures 2 and 3 demonstrate how tape can be applied to the lumbar spine to help athletes develop an awareness for when their posture approaches end range flexion.

Coaches can apply tape to the lumbar spine to help athletes develop an awareness for when their posture approaches end range flexion, says @LouisHowe_SandC. Share on X

 3. Tailor Exercise Selection to the Athlete

Exercise selection will have a large influence on spine posture when lifting for individuals with limited mobility relative to the exercise. For example, a snatch-grip deadlift demands large amounts of hip flexion that, if lacking, will drive compensations at neighboring joint segments. For this exercise, lumbar spine flexion is a common strategy for lowering the hands to the barbell when hip mobility is restricted.

4. Customize ROM

This builds on the previous point and is a similar strategy that you can use to control for spine flexion. There is no rulebook saying that athletes should perform all deadlifts from the floor with 17.7-inch plates. For hypomobile or tall athletes, pulling from blocks or squatting to parallel may be needed to help avoid end range spine flexion.

Coaches should consider an athlete’s capacity to avoid a kyphotic spine posture when deciding on the end ROM of the exercise, says @LouisHowe_SandC. Share on X

As spine flexion gradually increases when lifting,¹⁰ reducing the ROM of the lifting exercise will decrease the amount of spine flexion.³¹ Therefore, coaches should consider an athlete’s capacity to avoid a kyphotic spine posture when deciding on the end ROM of the exercise. Figure 4 demonstrates the effects of lifting ROM on spine posture by comparing lumbar flexion during trap bar deadlifts performed on the ground and from a 4-inch platform.

5. If Needed, Develop an Athlete’s Ankle and Hip Mobility

Having sufficient ankle and hip mobility is crucial for avoiding end range spine flexion when performing full ROM lifting exercises. For example, when ankle dorsiflexion ROM is restricted, it limits the forward displacement of the knees, causing the pelvis to move further back relative to the base of support. To maintain balance, excessive forward lean of the trunk is required, which may result in end range spine flexion.²⁴ Similarly, when hip mobility is limited, early posterior tilt of the pelvis can occur during squatting, increasing spine flexion.²⁵

Movement to Protect the Spine

The spine is incredibly robust and can bear extremely high loads in a range of different postures. During full ROM lifting exercises, lumbar spine flexion is unavoidable and has the potential to improve lifting performance. However, athletes who lift heavy with a maximally flexed lumbar spine posture may have a greater risk of injury, as the compressive strength of the spine is compromised, and the intervertebral discs and posterior ligaments are stressed/strained.

Avoiding end range lumbar flexion can be achieved by developing movement skill through coaching coordination patterns that optimize load sharing at the spine and selecting lifting exercises that account for the athlete’s physical attributes. This can be supplemented, where appropriate, with mobility exercises to help athletes access greater lower-extremity contribution to lowering the center of mass during lifting exercises.

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

References

1. Aasa U, Svartholm I, Andersson F, and Berglund L. “Injuries among weightlifters and powerlifters: a systematic review.” British Journal of Sports Medicine. 2017; 51:211-219.

2. Adams MA and Dolan P. “How to use the spine, pelvis, and legs effectively in lifting.” In: Movement, Stability and Lumbopelvic Pain. Churchill Livingstone, Edinburgh, pp. 167-183, 2007.

3. Adams MA and Hutton WC. “The effect of posture on the strength of the lumbar spine.” Engineering in Medicine. 1981;10:199-202.

4. Adams MA and Hutton WC. “Prolapsed intervertebral disc: a hyperflexion injury.” Spine. 1982;7:184-191.

5. Adams MA and Hutton WC. “The effect of posture on the lumbar spine.” The Journal of Bone and Joint Surgery, British volume. 1985;67:625-629.

6. Adams MA, Hutton WC, and Stott JR. “The resistance to flexion of the lumbar intervertebral joint.” Spine. 1980;5:245-253.

7. Adams MA, McNally DS, Chinn H, and Dolan P. “The clinical biomechanics award paper 1993 posture and the compressive strength of the lumbar spine.” Clinical Biomechanics. 1994;9:5-14.

8. Arjmand N and Shirazi-Adl A. “Biomechanics of changes in lumbar posture in static lifting.” Spine. 2005;30:2637-2648.

9. Arnold AS, Salinas S, Hakawa DJ, and Delp SL. “Accuracy of muscle moment arms estimated from MRI-based musculoskeletal models of the lower extremity.” Computer Aided Surgery. 2000;5:108-119.

10. Beach TA, Stankovic T, Carnegie DR, Micay R, and Frost DM. “Using verbal instructions to influence lifting mechanics–Does the directive ‘lift with your legs, not your back’ attenuate spinal flexion?.” Journal of Electromyography and Kinesiology. 2018;38:1-6.

11. Boocock M, Naude Y, Taylor S, Kilby J, and Mawston G. “Influencing lumbar posture through real-time biofeedback and its effects on the kinematics and kinetics of a repetitive lifting task.” Gait & Posture. 2019;73:93-100.

12. Cholewicki J and McGill SM. “Lumbar posterior ligament involvement during extremely heavy lifts estimated from fluoroscopic measurements.” Journal of Biomechanics. 1992;25:17-28.

13. Cholewicki J, McGill SM, and Norman RW. “Lumbar spine loads during the lifting of extremely heavy weights.” Medicine & Science in Sports & Exercise. 1991;23:1179-1186.

14. Dolan P, Mannion AF, and Adams MA. “Passive tissues help the back muscles to generate extensor moments during lifting.” Journal of Biomechanics. 1994;27:1077-1085.

15. Edington C. “Lumbar spine kinematics and kinetics during heavy barbell squat and deadlift variations” (Doctoral dissertation), University of Saskatchewan Saskatoon; 2017.

16. Edington C, Greening C, Kmet N, et al. “The effect of set up position on EMG amplitude, lumbar spine kinetics, and total force output during maximal isometric conventional-stance deadlifts.” Sports. 2018;6:90.

17. Gallagher S and Marras WS. “Tolerance of the lumbar spine to shear: a review and recommended exposure limits.” Clinical Biomechanics. 2012;27:973-978.

18. Granhed H, Jonson R, and Hansson T. “The loads on the lumbar spine during extreme weight lifting.” Spine. 1987;12:146-149.

19. Gunning JL, Callaghan JP, and McGill SM. “Spinal posture and prior loading history modulate compressive strength and type of failure in the spine: a biomechanical study using a porcine cervical spine model.” Clinical Biomechanics. 2001;16:471-480.

20. Hales ME. “Improving the deadlift: Understanding biomechanical constraints and physiological adaptations to resistance exercise.” Strength and Conditioning Journal. 2010;32:44-51.

21. Heylings DJ. “Supraspinous and interspinous ligaments of the human lumbar spine.” Journal of Anatomy. 1978;125:127-131.

22. Holder L. “The effect of lumbar posture and pelvis fixation on back extensor torque and paravertebral muscle activation” (Doctoral dissertation), Auckland University of Technology; 2013.

23. Howe L and Lehman G. “Getting out of neutral: the risks and rewards of lumbar spine flexion during lifting exercises.” Strength and Conditioning. 2021;60:19-31.

24. List R, Gülay T, Stoop M, and Lorenzetti S. “Kinematics of the trunk and the lower extremities during restricted and unrestricted squats.” The Journal of Strength and Conditioning Research. 2013;27:1529-1538.

25. Mata AJ, Hayashi H, Moreno PA, Dudley RI, and Sorenson EA. “Hip flexion angles during supine range of motion and bodyweight squats.” International Journal of Exercise Science. 2021;14:912-918.

26. Panjabi MM. “The stabilizing system of the spine. Part II. Neutral zone and instability hypothesis.” The Journal of Spinal Disorders. 1992;5:390-397.

27. Parnianpour M, Li F, Nordin M, and Kahanovitz N. “A database of isoinertial trunk strength tests against three resistance levels in sagittal, frontal, and transverse planes in normal male subjects.” Spine. 1989;14:409-411.

28. Pinto BL, Beaudette SM, and Brown SH. “Tactile cues can change movement: An example using tape to redistribute flexion from the lumbar spine to the hips and knees during lifting.” Human Movement Science. 2018;60:32-39.

29. Porter RW, Adams MA, and Hutton WC. “Physical activity and the strength of the lumbar spine.” Spine. 1989;14:201-203.

30. Potvin JR, McGill SM, and Norman RW. “Trunk muscle and lumbar ligament contributions to dynamic lifts with varying degrees of trunk flexion.” Spine. 1991;16:1099-1107.

31. Yanagisawa O, Oshikawa T, Adachi G, Matsunaga N, and Kaneoka K. “Acute effects of varying squat depths on lumbar intervertebral disks during high‐load barbell back squat exercise.” Scandinavian Journal of Medicine & Science in Sports. 2021;31:350-357.

It is no secret that any fighter—or any athlete—must become strong to be effective, and the indisputable truth is that achieving this requires lifting weights. But, in my time, I’ve seen countless athletes who can easily back squat enormous loads shake like jelly when they try to do a simple bodyweight lunge because they lack stability and body control. Their strength is useless because it cannot be expressed properly.

This is where bodyweight training comes in. By wisely incorporating a few exercises into your training, you will develop the awareness and proprioception needed for gains to properly manifest.

By wisely incorporating a few bodyweight exercises into your training, you will develop the awareness and proprioception needed for strength gains to properly manifest. Share on X

Plyometrics, isometrics, and slow eccentrics play a key role in counterbalancing the lack of external resistance, since they are methods that can effectively stimulate the muscles involved. What follows are 13 of my favorite bodyweight movements for martial artists, self-defenders, and combat sports athletes, presented in order of neurological demand (which would also usually be the order of execution during a workout).

Lower Body Plyometrics

Lower body plyometrics are inherently explosive, which can place high demands on the nervous system. This is why they are best performed at the beginning of a workout, right after warming up, when the athletes are still fresh.

The idea is to perform low reps with maximum intent on each set. Excessive reps will cause fatigue, and the nervous system will lose the ability to effectively recruit the maximum amount of high-threshold muscle fibers, which results in you getting slower overall.

1. Skater Jumps 

Skater jumps are often found in martial arts training programs, and for good reason—they can teach the ability to quickly move out of the line of attack in order to evade an incoming strike. If you’re fast enough, there’s a high probability that you can launch a successful counterattack as well. I also like this movement because it utilizes the frontal plane, which can be neglected sometimes as people tend to emphasize forward and backward motion.

Video 1. In order to perform the skater jump, bend one leg behind the other at an angle, but don’t touch the ground. This way, all your weight is now on the supporting leg.

Have your athletes load their weight on their hips by hinging, then launch sideways and land on the other leg by bending their hips and knee to properly absorb the force, and finish in a mirrored starting stance. Try not to touch the ground with both legs at any time during the set.

• Do 12 sets of four explosive reps (two per side) with a 45-second rest between them, starting from the opposite side every time.

2. Backward Broad Jump

Most athletes are already familiar with the classic broad jump and its benefits, but not many practice the backward variation. Jumping in the opposite direction will significantly test your coordination. That’s not the only benefit for a fighter though, as it also teaches them to quickly pull their legs out of their opponent’s reach during a takedown attempt.

Video 2. Place your feet at about your squatting width. Start from a semi-squat stance and propel yourself backward as far as possible.

Taking care to not let their knees cave in, athletes should immediately perform the next jump in a set, minimizing contact time with the ground in order to also work on their reactive strength. After the last jump, stick to the landing position for a moment. Keep in mind that the backward broad jump is far more challenging than the original, so you will not cover as much distance as you might expect. Start slow and progress in baby steps to minimize the risk of injury.

• Perform six sets of three repetitions each, with a 30-second rest in between.

3. Sprawl to Staggered Broad Jump

The sprawl to staggered broad jump is an advanced plyometric exercise designed to not only teach the athlete to move out of harm’s way when facing a takedown attempt, but also to get back up as fast as possible and generate force immediately after.

Video 3. Assume a staggered stance. Crouch and place your hands on the ground, then quickly shoot your legs back. Your front leg should extend all the way to the back, instep touching the floor, while your back leg should bend to the side for balance and support.

In the movement, make sure the athlete lies down completely, touching both belly and chest on the ground. To finish the sprawl, they get back up on their feet in a fighting stance as fast as humanly possible. Have them instantly create momentum by swinging their arms and jumping as far as they can. Although they started the jump from a fighting stance, be sure they land with both feet in line, just like in any normal jump.

• Perform eight sets of two reps with 45 seconds of rest between sets.

Upper Body Plyometrics

As with the lower body plyos, we’re talking about violent movements, so these are best performed at the beginning of your workout, preceded by a good warm-up. Plan them for after the lower body plyos if you’re doing both in the same workout.

Again, the high-sets, low-reps protocol remains. Take plenty of rest between sets—even more than what is prescribed, if necessary—in order to be as aggressive as possible in every single repetition. Just be mindful not to overdo it, as too much rest will allow their nervous system to completely relax, taking their mind out of “the zone.”

4. Plyo Push-Ups

The plyo push-up is considered a staple movement for developing upper body explosiveness. Mimicking the motion of a punch or a shove, the horizontal push is one of the most fundamental human movement patterns.

Video 4. Begin from a classic push-up position, placing your hands just outside of your sternum and keeping your legs next to each other. Lower yourself until your chest—and only your chest—barely touches the ground.

The athlete’s hips and quads should stay off the floor at all times, and their elbows should have an angle of approximately 45 degrees to the back at this point. In other words, if an observer were to look from above, they should look like an arrow. This position protects the rotator cuffs from excessive internal rotation, which can lead to injury over time.

If you find their arms are flaring out too much, have them turn their palms outward in a slight angle, which will help minimize the problem. As soon as they reach the bottom of the range of motion, they should violently push the earth away to propel into the air.

Some athletes feel the need to clap while airborne, but clapping doesn’t add any benefits to the exercise, and nobody deserves applause for completing a single push-up. (Plus, if you fail, you may literally find yourself facing off against the ground, which is not an opponent you can defeat.) So, it’s best they keep their hands in position, ready to help with the landing. As soon as they reach the ground again, they should lower their weight once more as they enter their next repetition.

• Perform eight sets of three reps each, taking 30 seconds of rest.

5. Inverted Plyo Pull-Ups

Pulling is equally important as pushing in terms of performance, but twice as important in terms of preserving the structural integrity of the body. Practically speaking, martial artists often need to pull their opponent violently to control or grapple with them. This is where the inverted plyo pull-ups really shine.

Horizontal pulling exercises greatly alleviate the muscular imbalances that athletes tend to develop due to constantly rounding their shoulders while delivery countless strikes forward. Share on X

Furthermore, horizontal pulling exercises greatly alleviate the muscular imbalances that athletes tend to develop due to constantly rounding their shoulders while delivering countless strikes forward. Add our daily habit of being hunched over our computers or phones to the mix, and you can clearly see why the anterior chain gets way more stimulation than the posterior in total, making it unevenly stiffer.

Therefore, this list would be incomplete—and probably dangerous in the long term—if it didn’t include some pulling exercises (which your workout program should include, no matter what you’re training for).

Video 5. Stabilize a bar on a rack at about your belly button’s height. Get underneath, grab it with a slightly-wider-than-shoulders grip, and place your heels on a bench so that you find yourself in a fully extended supine position, parallel to the ground. Pull explosively until your chest almost hits the bar.

Ideally, the athlete should let go of the bar momentarily as they reach the top, as if wanting to launch through it. Then, they grab it again and slowly descend back in place in a controlled manner. Their body should be in a rigid plank stance throughout the move, keeping the chest out and shoulders back. Also, this probably doesn’t need to be mentioned, but you can never be too safe: Make sure they are properly aligned with the rack during the execution to avoid displacing the bar and risking injury.

• Perform six sets of four reps each, and rest around 30 seconds in between.

Lower Body Strength

We are now moving into standard lower body strength development. Slow eccentrics and isometric holds are key in this part, as they are an excellent way to stimulate the muscles when no external resistance is available. These exercises should follow the plyometrics if you decide to perform both in the same workout.

6. The Copenhagen Hold

This version of the side plank primarily targets the adductors and will, in turn, make any stance that requires inner thigh strength very effective, like the guard position or the triangle choke for ground fighters.

Video 6. Begin from a standard side plank position, resting your upper body on your forearm with your elbow placed exactly under your shoulder. Place the upper leg on top of a bench and press into it so that you lift yourself off the ground.

The athlete should keep their whole body completely extended in this movement—no hinging the hips and no leaning the torso forward. They will raise their lower leg as well, so that it makes contact with the bottom of the bench. Hold this position for 30 seconds on each side while squeezing both legs into the bench as hard as possible.

If they find this easy and need a progression, have athletes place their top leg in the handle of a suspension trainer. Being unstable by nature, the suspension trainer will offer a much bigger challenge. If, on the other hand, you are looking for a regression, simply reduce the length of the lever by resting the knee on the bench instead of the foot.

• Rest for a full minute between sets and go for a total of four to five sets.

7. Kneeling Leg Extensions

The kneeling leg extension is a great bodyweight quad builder, but what I like about it the most is that it keeps the core and glutes actively engaged at all times, which is very reminiscent of the way the body works during combat. No matter what maneuver a fighter performs, it is never led by a single, isolated muscle or muscle group—it is always a full body movement.

No matter what maneuver a fighter performs, it is never led by a single, isolated muscle or muscle group—it is always a full body movement. Share on X

Video 7. Begin by dropping on your knees and keeping your feet flat on the ground, all the way to the toes. Tighten your core and glutes, keep your hands by your sides, and lower yourself backward in a slow and controlled fashion.

The athlete should keep their body straight and not hinge the hips. This eccentric phase should last for three seconds. When they reach the lowest possible point, they should stay there for one more second and then come back up in normal speed. If they find it hard to do, you can give them some help by attaching a band to a stable object in front of them—they will hold this with their hands extended in front of their chest.

• Perform 10 reps, rest for 90 seconds and repeat for three sets.

8. Nordic Curls

It would be unwise not to include a leg exercise for the posterior chain, and in my opinion, the Nordic Curl is one of the best of its kind. Just like the kneeling leg extension, not only will it torch your hamstrings and glutes, but it will also demand that you keep your core braced throughout the movement.

Video 8. Kneel on a soft surface, stand tall, and wedge your feet behind an immovable object.

If you’re at the gym, you can use a standard, plate-loaded bar—just be sure to secure it safely in place. If you or your athletes are doing this at home, any sturdy object that can support your weight will do, but there’s always the alternative of having a partner hold your legs down tightly.

To do the Nordic curl, athletes should squeeze the glutes, hamstrings, and abs and begin leaning forward, reaching as low as possible, to the point where they are unable to hold the weight anymore. They should get there slowly, taking a full three seconds. As soon as they are out of control, they should use the hands to break the fall and immediately push back up, just enough so the muscles can take over again and return to the starting position.

Again, have them resist the urge to hinge the hips, especially during the concentric part (when it is the most tempting). This cannot be stressed enough: In order for this to work, they must involve the hands as little as possible.

If they are having a really hard time with this and/or range of motion is too small, you can always tie a band directly behind them and around the chest so that it slows the descent and helps on the way up.

• Perform four sets of 10 reps and take 90 seconds of rest.

Upper Body Strength

Keep this part for after you’re done with your plyometrics and your lower body strength. Once again, slow eccentrics and isometric holds will trigger muscle growth more effectively and lead the nervous system to faster adaptations.

9. Diamond Push-Ups

The reason you will find many push-up variations on this list is because I am a firm believer that, as far as bodyweight exercises are concerned, they are a great tool for developing strength, explosiveness, and muscular endurance in many of the muscle groups that are involved in punching. They mostly include, but are not limited to, the chest, triceps, and front deltoids. This does not mean that the push-up is the only exercise that matters, or that you should be doing it every day: I’m just presenting some options.

As far as bodyweight exercises are concerned, they are a great tool for developing strength, explosiveness, and muscular endurance in many of the muscle groups that are involved in punching. Share on X

There are many other important upper body muscles to consider when building striking power, like, for example, the serratus anterior. With that said, when it’s time to emphasize triceps development, look no further than the diamond push-up.

Video 9. Assume a standard push-up position, but this time open your palms and bring them together so that the thumbs and index fingers touch, forming the shape of a diamond. Place your hands directly below your chest.

If the athlete performs this correctly, their elbows will point backward, not sideways, when bending them. Once more, they must take three seconds to get to the ground and, once down, stay still for another two seconds, obviously without touching the floor. Then push and get back up in normal speed. This is one rep.

• Perform four sets of 12 and rest for 90 seconds in between.

10. Wide Push-Ups

Just as before, the setup and technique are identical.

Video 10. The only difference with the wide push-up is that the hands are to be placed even wider than in a standard push-up, as the emphasis shifts to the pectorals.

Once more, the eccentric phase lasts for three seconds, and the isometric hold at the bottom lasts for two.

• Perform four sets of 12 and rest for 90 seconds in between.

11. Hollow Body Pull-Ups

As stated before, even though isolation work does have its merits, the bulk of a fighter’s program should include exercises that involve the entire body. In this sense, the hollow body pull-up is superior to its traditional, bodybuilding-oriented cousin—plus, it enforces more lat engagement.

Video 11. Grab the bar with a shoulders-width grip. Compress your abdominals, which will cause your chest to drop forward a little bit, just like when performing the first part of a crunch.

The athlete will keep their legs straight, glued together, and bring them slightly in front of them, with the toes pointed. Next, they will pull the bar until their chin is above it—if done correctly, their elbows will be pointing forward in a 45-degree angle and not sideways like in the traditional pull-ups. They should stay on the top for three seconds and take another three to slowly return to the bottom position with fully extended hands.

• Perform three sets of six to eight reps and rest for up to 90 seconds.

Core Strength

This last category of exercises focuses on the core. Keep them for the last part of your workout, after you’re done with your plyometrics and strength exercises.

12. Arch Rocks

When we think about core strength, we tend to bring the abs and general anterior chain to mind. But the core actually consists of anything that is not our arms, legs, and head; therefore, the importance of the posterior is immense too. I’m also a big fan of isometric strength, because it gives an athlete the ability to grapple more effectively and take less punishment when absorbing hits.

I’m also a big fan of isometric strength, because it gives an athlete the ability to grapple more effectively and take less punishment when absorbing hits. Share on X

Enter the Arch Rocks: a great tool for strengthening the posterior chain isometrically. As far as your back is concerned, this one will work your spinal erectors, lats, and traps, but it also greatly involves the gluteals and hamstrings.

Video 12. Lay in a prone position, with your legs stuck together and your arms fully extended above your head, biceps always maintaining contact with your ears.

The athlete will lift their legs off the floor, so that their quads aren’t touching it—same for head, hands, and chest—until their body forms a smooth, long curve reminiscent of…you guessed it, an arch. Gently rock back and forth while maintaining a rigid body.

Perform five sets of 30 seconds for max repetitions—the reason I prescribe time instead of a fixed number of reps for this one is that the quality of the movement matters greatly in order for it to work. So, instead of fixating on a number, just make sure the technique is perfect and the muscles tense, and they continue until it’s over. Take one minute of rest between sets, and if you would like to progress further, have athletes try holding a weight with their hands. Be warned, loading this exercise makes it very difficult, so start with a small plate as light as 2.5 pounds.

13. Alternating Hanging Knee Raises

Finally, it’s time to take care of the anterior. The alternating hanging knee raises will require total core strength, but they will mostly tax your hip flexors, which are key for kicking, bending, and swiveling the hips. As a side note, be aware that plenty of martial arts practitioners suffer from tight hip flexors, which can lead to many issues, including low back pain. So be mindful and keep them strong, but also mobile and flexible.

Video 13. Hang from the bar using a full grip, thumb fully wrapped around it. Bring your left knee up momentarily, as close to your chest as possible, and return the leg to its starting position.

The athletes should perform the movement slowly to avoid kipping. Repeat on the right side, and continue in this fashion, always alternating the legs.

• Do three sets of as many reps as you can endure, taking a full minute of rest in between.

Drawing Conclusions

The performance-based advantages of training without equipment were highlighted earlier, so no need to be redundant here. Still, there is one more key benefit of bodyweight exercises, and it’s pretty important nowadays: recent global circumstances have taught us that access to the gym can sometimes become a rare commodity. In those instances, we now know that we should have a backup plan for working out at home.

Recent global circumstances have taught us that access to the gym can sometimes become a rare commodity. Bodyweight exercises can help you get in great shape until you return to routine. Share on X

In such a setting, can bodyweight training completely substitute for weights? No, it cannot. If you are in pursuit of the best version of yourself, you need both. But it can certainly help you get in great shape until you can return to your standard routine. These are by no means the only exercises you’ll ever need, but hopefully this list has given you some ideas to create your own bodyweight-only workout, or perhaps add to the one you already stick with. Good luck!

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

A young trainer grew dissatisfied. The gym he worked at was moving in a direction he didn’t agree with and he became more and more unfulfilled at work with each passing day. Plus, his family was growing and he needed more income than his employer could provide to sustain his family’s modest lifestyle.

He considered options. Having family-first priorities, uprooting and leaving town wasn’t on the table. Working at a competing gym? That wasn’t a better option than where he already worked. Starting his own business? That didn’t feel wise or realistic.

He felt trapped.

The very thought of changing careers made his stomach churn: he’d poured his heart into training—it was his passion, his hobby, and his profession. And yet his family was more important, so he job shadowed and interviewed for positions outside of the performance and fitness realms.

None of it felt right, but the jobs paid the bills. He’d have done anything to protect his kids, including changing careers, but it would’ve come at a price: a piece of his soul. Then, he caught wind of a sports performance-based physical therapy clinic opening in town. He knew the owner of the PT practice and got in touch.

The only problem? The owner wasn’t looking to hire a trainer.

But he did welcome someone he could trust to build the business while he wasn’t in the building—someone who would carry the torch in the right direction, a leader who could help turn a beautiful but empty building into a bustling, healing, and athletic development environment.

He was looking for someone who thought like him: a business owner.

I fit that bill, and that wasn’t by accident.

Being an Asset

I’ve made diligent study of seven areas that helped transform me from “just a trainer” to an asset for any business:

1. Leadership
2. Business Development
3. Sales
4. Copywriting
5. Marketing
6. Communication: Verbal and Written
7. Management

As a result of these skill sets (all of which have nothing to do with training), I was able to negotiate a salaried position that paid significantly more than what I was previously making. I have benefits (including a healthy retirement match), my income supports my family, I make breakfast for my kids every morning and tuck them in every night, I’ve played an instrumental role in building an amazing business that does great work for the community, and I didn’t have to sell my soul and become a person who looks forward to Friday just to make ends meet.

When God opened the door, I didn’t have to get ready. I was prepared to walk through it. Are you preparing yourself to walk through the right doors?

Are you preparing yourself to walk through the right doors? @KD_KyleDavey Share on X

Pro or Bust

Most trainers get into this business at a young age with aspirations of working in professional or Division 1 sports. The allure is understandable: you want to work with the best, share in their limelight, and—although we know in our hearts this isn’t true—the illusion that working with the best makes us the best is a captivating one.

As a young buck with nothing but time (and student loans), it’s no problem to pick up and move across the country to work for pennies (or nothing—what we in the United States call an internship). After you’ve got that experience on your resume, you might even land your first job and make $30-40k per year.

Living the dream, baby.

Division 1 or professional sports. Drive right up to the plane, no security. Wi-Fi on the whole flight. Hotels. Fans. TV. The whole nine. But along the way, you have to ask yourself what are my values in life? What brings me joy, fulfillment, and meaning? Does my career path align with those values? Do I want a family? If so, does my current role provide the time, income, and benefits necessary to meet my vision for family life?

And, perhaps most importantly: what is my purpose? 

Without clarity in these domains, you will never find happiness or fulfillment. I’m not discounting the idea of working at a high level; rather, I’m pointing out that arbitrarily making that your goal is superficial and will not result in fulfillment. Just like money doesn’t equal happiness, D1 or pro sports doesn’t guarantee it either.

Just like money doesn’t equal happiness, D1 or pro sports doesn’t guarantee it either, says @KD_KyleDavey. Share on X

The private sector can afford you a more compatible lifestyle, but whether you choose to open your business or work as an employee, you have to earn and be worth it. That’s got very little to do with training skill and very much to do with how you can impact a business.

Harsh Realities of the Private Sector

Let’s get this out of the way first: status as an ex-D1 or pro sports strength coach (or player) is NOT enough to land you a dream job in the private sector.

Thinking about starting your own business? I won’t discourage you from doing so, but I will caution you to familiarize yourself with the realities of running a business. If you think talent as a strength coach is predictive of running a successful strength and conditioning business, you are in for a rude awakening. Stretch shortening cycles and velocity-based training don’t pay the bills. We must know these and other concepts to deliver on the promises we make when selling our services, but the reality is that understanding S&C is not a prerequisite for landing sales, filling your schedule, and making money.

Isn’t Business Ownership the Dream?

Business owners often work 12-16 hour days, 5-7 days per week. This is especially true for relatively young businesses (under three years old or so). Further, sometimes owners go without a paycheck for several of the first months of business. Even further, there is typically a significant financial risk involved with starting a business. Someone has to pay for the space and equipment, and that someone is you.

If you’re the entrepreneurial type, by all means, dive in. However, starting a business isn’t a journey everyone wants to take. If you’re someone who loves S&C but doesn’t care to run a business, working as an employee may be a better fit.

I reject the notion that owning your own gym is the “next step” and pinnacle of working in our sphere. If you choose (or have chosen) to start your own show, that’s fantastic. But there is absolutely nothing wrong with finding meaningful, fulfilling work as an employee, doing a damn good job, being appreciated, and getting paid well for it.

I reject the notion that owning your own gym is the “next step” and pinnacle of working in our sphere, says @KD_KyleDavey. Share on X

Good business owners have established a strong vision. They know what they want to accomplish and what impact they want to make in the community and on the world.

In my opinion, the greatest opportunity to be successful lies in aligning your work with your personal values and vision. As an employee, that means finding a business whose values and vision you share. If you do, it will be easy to buy in 100% and pour your heart into your work and company.

That gives you potential to become indispensable. But heart alone won’t get you there—you need heart and a skill set.

Becoming Indispensable

While big businesses can afford specialists, small businesses—like most S&C operations—often cannot. A jack of all trades thus provides tremendous value. I’ve identified seven skills that will transform you from a “trainer” to someone who will be indispensable in any strength and conditioning or fitness business.

The goal isn’t to become an expert in any one of these areas; instead, you want to be like a heptathlete, above average in each. You’ll notice not one of these categories is training related—we need to be good at that function of our job, of course. But the reality is that being a good trainer is not a prerequisite for running a successful training business.

1. Leadership

A leader is someone who influences the emotions and behaviors of others. Simon Sinek describes leaders as those who “draw people into a circle of trust” and who make their employees feel safe. What Sinek means is that leaders remove unnecessary fear and tension from the workplace, allowing everyone to be fully comfortable and do their best work.

Easier said than done.

Sinek’s book, Start with Why, details the underlying principle he believes unites people in business. In his own words: “people don’t buy what you do, they buy why you do it.”

Compare these two sentiments:

• I train athletes to be as fast and explosive on the field as possible.
• When I was a kid, sports were the only thing that got me through. They taught me how to push myself beyond what I thought was possible, and I’ve carried that lesson my whole life. Now, I want to give back and do my part to teach kids that they can achieve more than they ever thought possible.

People don’t care what you do, they care why you do it. Staff members will work harder and be more motivated if the business has a strong “why.” Community members will be more supportive and potential clients more likely to purchase services as a result.

People don’t care what you do, they care why you do it, says @KD_KyleDavey. Share on X

In short: you’ll make more money and have a better time doing it.

Another of Sinek’s works, Leaders Eat Last, is more of a how-to guide that provides real-life examples of leadership at work, giving big picture strategies as well as practical advice on how to become a more effective leader for your team. As you can imagine from the title, taking care of those around you is a critical element of effective leadership.

A coworker recently mentioned that people notice the energy I bring to work. I smile and say hello to nearly everyone. I go out of my way to make conversation and introduce myself to people. And I make it a point to walk around the building and ask “How are you?” to each of my coworkers, first thing, every morning (which one of them eventually admitted was annoying at first, until he realized I actually cared about his response).

Some may call this habit “wasting time”—on the contrary, it is creating an atmosphere for success.

“You probably don’t know it, but those little things go a long way,” is feedback I’ve received.

I do know it. That’s why I do it.

2. Business Development

You probably have a sense of how to assess and progress an athlete—do you also have a sense of how to assess and progress a business?

• Does the business have a strong employee culture?
• Is the client experience amazing?
• Is the process from I’m curious about this place to I’m now in the building as easy and seamless as possible for potential clients?
• Are there systems in place to ensure that the business won’t crumble if an employee calls out sick or quits unexpectedly?

Good to Great by Jim Collins is widely regarded as one of greatest business books ever written. Collins analyzed businesses whose stock returns beat the general stock market by an average of seven times for 15 straight years. In other words, he analyzed businesses that did exceedingly well (in terms of money earned) for at least 15 years in a row.

The book pinpoints several commonalities between these companies. What they did, and what their competitors did not do, is what helped them take the leap from a good company to a great one. A few key elements for a company to become great were:

• Strong leadership.
• A laser-like focus on a few clear goals.
• A culture of discipline.

After reading this book while on a vacation, I came back re-energized and with a new gameplan. Following five straight months of generating lower revenues than the previous month, my team turned a corner and broke the streak. Our revenues then increased for six straight months, setting company records along the way.

All I did differently was apply the lessons learned in Good to Great. Namely, I identified each of our team member’s why, created a common goal that encapsulated each of them, and rallied our team around that goal. The vibe in the office shifted, we recommitted to our purpose and work, and the money flowed from there.

Another worthwhile read, Never Lose a Customer Again, forces you to face the reality that you probably aren’t knocking your clients’ socks off. Businesses that create fans and treat their customers amazingly are more successful than those that take a more traditional, transactional approach. Exceeding expectations and delivering a little bit of shock and awe will keep clients around longer and generate new clients faster.

Exceeding expectations and delivering a little bit of shock and awe will keep clients around longer and generate new clients faster, says @KD_KyleDavey. Share on X

People talk. Fewer clients cancelling training and more clients signing up = money in the pocket.

Never Lose a Customer Again provides a step-by-step guide designed to help you assess the client experience you deliver. Then it teaches you how to make it better. Two other amazing resources are Grit, by Angela Duckworth, and The E-Myth Revisited, by Michael Gerber.

Running a business isn’t for the faint of heart. In Grit, Duckworth defines exactly what grit is and then gives you the tools necessary to develop it so you may be successful in the long run.

She teaches how to get up after getting kicked in the face over and over and over again.

The E-Myth Revisited defines the difference between working in your business and working on your business. Many entrepreneurs make the assumption that being a good technician (for us, being a trainer) means they can run a successful business. As discussed earlier, that’s not the case. Gerber discusses the evolution of a business, how to avoid common-yet-fatal pitfalls, and how to think big, like a leader and manager should.

Lastly, Pete Dupuis, co-owner of Cressey Sports Performance, puts out an excellent newsletter once per week in which he shares the four most valuable pieces of content he’s consumed during the week. Pete is not a trainer, he’s a business guy who runs a highly successful training facility, and his insights are both practical and relatable.

3. Sales

Sales are both an art and a science, much like training. A gifted salesperson is an excellent conversationalist and an asset to any company. The most obvious link is to selling services or products, but the value does not stop there.

Any time you represent your business, you are essentially in a sales scenario. Giving a tour to a local sports club, presenting at a rotary meeting, or talking with a parent before or after a game are all opportunities to, well, sell yourself.

The better you are at this, the more value you bring to your company. The word salesman carries a negative connotation for many people: a sleazy guy trying to coax you into buying a crappy car for more than it’s worth (and with a high interest rate to boot).

But that’s not what sales is. Sales is simple problem solving.

If you have a problem and I have a solution for that problem, let’s do business together. If not, let’s not. To find out if we fit each other’s needs, let’s have a conversation about it. That’s all sales is. It’s helping people who want and need your help.

I’ve read a lot of sales guides, and the absolute best I’ve encountered is SPIN Selling by Neil Rackman. Rackman is a scientist who spent his career studying successful salesmen. He discovered the best are excellent listeners: they read between the lines, ask great questions, and understand what someone is trying to say but can’t quite articulate. Through simple, non-confrontational conversation, they learn where their product would benefit the customer (what problems it solves), and they help the customer realize the same.

The best rarely have to “close the sale”—instead, the customer usually asks how to sign up. These successful salesmen ask four types of questions (in order, hence the acronym SPIN):

1. Situation questions.
2. Problem questions.
3. Implication questions.
4. Need payoff questions.

These questions move the customer from “here is my situation” to “yes, that is a problem” to “wow, you’re right, that is a really big problem” to “yes, I definitely need to solve that problem. Can you help me with that?”

Once there, if your product delivers a solution, the sale becomes the logical next step.

4. Copywriting

Copywriting is essentially sales, but over a written medium such as email, a web page, or social media. Copywriting is much, much more challenging than in-person sales because you aren’t actively talking to someone. Instead, they’re reading words you’ve written. You don’t get to ask questions and read their tone. It’s a one-way conversation, and you have to be right on the money to be successful.

Copywriting is very powerful when executed well. Good copy grabs the reader’s attention and directs him or her down the desired path: subscribing to a newsletter, clicking a link to go to another webpage, following a social media account, or making a purchase.

Good copy grabs the reader’s attention and directs him or her down the desired path, says @KD_KyleDavey. Share on X

Bad copy doesn’t get read beyond the first few words and results in nothing but the browser closing. Being a decent copywriter puts you miles ahead of not even knowing what copywriting is. You may not land a million-dollar gig writing an email campaign (yes, such jobs exist), but with just basic copywriting skills, the engagement on your IG content will go up and your website will receive more “contact me” requests from prospective clients.

If you’re an absolute beginner, a good place to start is Why Do You Hate Money by Joey Percia. Percia is a trainer-turned-copywriter, and his book is written specifically for fitness and performance professionals. Percia teaches formulas for writing headlines that draw the reader in, tips and tricks of writing the type of copy that keeps the reader’s attention, and some technical skills (like creating effective sales funnels and email marketing campaigns).

For a more in-depth and advanced look at writing effective copy, The Ultimate Sales Letter by Dan Kennedy is a phenomenal tool. Kennedy is a copywriting and marketing legend. His track record of writing highly effective copy—meaning, composing paragraphs that result in people sending money to other people—speaks for itself. He’s also mentored hundreds of copywriters who became great. He knows what he’s doing and how to teach it to others.

Understanding the basic principles of writing effective copy makes you the clear go-to for marketing and effectively running social media platforms and online sales campaigns for your company.

5. Marketing

Marketing is an umbrella term that encapsulates every aspect of a company’s outward appearance, from social media presence to the logo to t-shirt design to the website appearance, etc.

One of my favorite marketing books is Magnetic Marketing by Dan Kennedy (author of The Ultimate Sales Letter). The premise of Magnetic Marketing is that if you have a clear understanding of who your target audience is, what pains and what motivates them—and, how you can help—then you can establish marketing materials which speak directly to these people and attract them to your business.

Hence, you need not market to everyone. You probably don’t want to do business with everyone, anyway. Instead, figure out exactly who you do want to serve, what they feel, want, and need, and then speak to them directly in your marketing materials.

Magnetic Marketing walks you through this process.

For free, highly practical tips, I’ve greatly enjoyed www.marketingexamples.com (which I discovered from the Pete Dupuis newsletter). If you sign up for the newsletter, the first five emails cover specific topics, like how to design an effective sales page, and tips for writing more effective copy.

A great resource that is specific to fitness is The Wealthy Fit Pro’s Guide To Getting Clients and Referrals by Jon Goodman and Mike Doehla. Early in Goodman’s career as a personal trainer, he recognized that most of us in fitness are pretty terrible at all things business. He founded the Personal Trainer Development Center and has since taken it upon himself to empower trainers with the business and marketing savvy necessary to financial success.

Split into three sections, the book is business and marketing 101 specifically for those of us in the fitness and performance realm:

1. “How to Get More People to Buy From You”
2. “50 Proven Ways to Get More Clients”
3. “How to Get More Referrals”

Brilliant marketers also have a firm understanding of human psychology. Knowing a bit about what does and does not make people tick provides a grasp on the underlying principles of human behavior. There are more books on psychology and behavior than anyone can read, but an absolute game changer for me was Influence: The Psychology of Persuasion, by Robert Cialdini.

Cialdini, a psychology professor and acclaimed sales coach and marketing consultant, teaches what he calls the six universal principles of influence, and how you can use them to influence others.

Would you ever agree to put a freeway billboard in your front yard to promote safe driving? You’d be shocked to hear over 90% of folks asked said yes, they indeed would put a freeway sized billboard in their front yard, because they had been subtly buttered up to the idea over the course of a few weeks.

If this sounds crazy, it’s because it is. Who in their right mind would agree to a billboard that says “drive safe” in their front yard? When the right psychological tools were in play, it became an obvious choice for them. This is what brilliant marketers do: they set the right psychological tools in place to make their business the obvious choice. Influence will teach you these tools and how to use them to drive clients your way.

Brilliant marketers set the right psychological tools in place to make their business the obvious choice, says @KD_KyleDavey. Share on X

6. Communication: Verbal and Written

Effective communication is the ability to understand others, be understood, develop deep relationships, and influence actions and behaviors. Poor communication means you have little influence over the way people think and feel and are thus less effective in achieving any desired outcome.

Poor communication means you have little influence over the way people think and feel and are thus less effective in achieving any desired outcome, says @KD_KyleDavey. Share on X

Strong communicators make very effective leaders. Obtaining buy-in from staff members and clients alike is critical to achieve business and training success.

Communication is how you get it.

The book Just Listen radically changed my life: it’s made me a stronger husband, father, son, manager, employee, and leader. The book teaches you how to deeply connect with people so that they trust, respect, and like you. As the title implies, closing your mouth and listening to others is the first step. By doing so you allow the other person to feel understood, which is a building block for bonding and developing a strong relationship.

Without feeling understood, behavior is unlikely to change, whether it’s a marital spat or a poor habit at work. Hence, listening is a critical skill for effectively communicating and eliciting behavioral change.

I would be remiss not to mention perhaps the most famous book on communication, How to Win Friends and Influence People. The timeless advice given is easily digestible, highly practical, and quickly applicable. From simple suggestions, like smile more, to deeper concepts, like asking questions that entice others to open up to you, this book is full of advice.

Conscious Coaching by Bret Bartholomew is another great resource specific to S&C. The book is specifically written about connecting better with athletes, but the general skills he teaches are equally applicable to everyone you interact with. Bartholomew identifies several different types of athletes (from easygoing to entitled to hard-working to lazy) and lays out how to connect with each. These personality archetypes also exist in our employees and other co-workers, so knowing how to positively interact with them is valuable.

Communication via a written medium is part of daily life for us: text, email, social media, etc. Possessing strong writing skills effectively conveys your intelligence and helps you better express yourself.

Elements of Style by William Strunk teaches you how to let your own voice come through in your writing. It also touches on some technical concepts, like best uses of semicolons and commas, but it’s mostly written to teach the reader how to confidently express him or herself via writing.

7. Management

In my opinion, management is really just a combination of leadership and communication. Anybody can learn to make schedules or crunch numbers in a budget. That’s not what management is about. Management is about motivating a crew of people to do their best work so the business thrives. Thus, the manager’s dilemma is to increase employee satisfaction (so employees are happy and stick around) and create a culture of excellence.

Management is about motivating a crew of people to do their best work so the business thrives, says@KD_KyleDavey. Share on X

First, Break all the Rules: What the World’s Greatest Managers do Differently is the culmination of over 80,000 interviews conducted by the Gallup Organization. They narrowed down what effective managers do and do not do. Some of the key concepts include treating every employee like an individual, focusing on enhancing strengths vs. improving weaknesses, and measuring and rewarding desired outcomes.

Sounds basic, but when executed well, these tenets have profound organizational effects. They keep employees happy, engaged, and motivated, which is a key part of the recipe for business success.

Effectively managing people is essential for smooth business operations and is a highly sought after skill. Being a strong manager makes you a more attractive candidate in the job marketplace.

Go, Do, Be

The most successful businesses have great cultures and happy employees, are led by strong leaders, and have fantastic sales and marketing systems that drive customers toward the business.

If you possess each of these qualities and skill sets, you bring tremendous value to the workplace. You put yourself in a position to demand and deserve a great salary—especially if you also deliver training such that you offset the cost of your own salary.

No savvy employer wouldn’t at least consider such an employee. A jack of all trades is what small businesses need, and if you become that jack you are indispensable.

Become indispensable and create your dream job and dream life.

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