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A constant phrase that I hear muttered across the sports performance and strength and conditioning field is “polishing the basics.” This is a topic that the strength coaching community needs to address before we lose our heads over what it actually means and why it is being harped on at an absurd rate. Multiple coaches continue to use this phrase, and I personally believe it is being abused and athletes are losing out on development because of it.

This article will explain why polishing the basics is something we must move on from at some point soon. I’m not sure where this came from and how it became such a popular mantra, but I am going to just come out and say it…

Are you “polishing the basics” or are you incompetent as a coach?

Before someone loses their ever-loving mind on me, I want to preface this with the understanding that the basics are IMPORTANT. Everyone needs a foundation. Everyone needs that 101 course to get them started. Every athlete needs to learn how to squat, lunge, hinge, push, and pull. If you think I am getting away from that, you need to check your ego at the door.

Part of performance coaching is teaching movement. It is imperative that we ingrain good movement patterns and habits as soon as possible. But remember, the basics are simply that—the basics. You must move on from them at some point in order to continue development. If not, you and your athletes are going to get left behind, and you’ll be left wondering what went wrong.

Remember, the basics are simply that—the basics. You must move on from them at some point in order to continue development, says @clh_strength. Share on X

Let me paint this picture for you: In your college education, you only take general education courses for 2-4 semesters. In the military, the average basic training lasts about 10 weeks. There aren’t any engineers who only took pre-algebra in high school. Why do we believe that this is the best way to approach training for our athletes? Let me answer that for you…it’s not. I am going to go through what a progression with a team in the weight room may look like, and why polishing the basics for so long will not only yield smaller results but may even stop development altogether.

Let Me Give You Some Context

I took over the strength and conditioning program here at Madison Academy back in May 2018. It became my fifth stop in two years as a strength and conditioning professional. At that point in my career, I was spending just enough time somewhere to see traction begin to set in….and then I’d get another job.

This happened three times, and it became apparent that I had not been anywhere long enough to see any fruit from the seeds that I had planted in those places. I made the move to the high school ranks knowing this was where I wanted to stay, so I decided to approach it a little differently than those other places. Little did I know how much I would learn about who I was as a coach and how I was going to get results.

I told myself that the first few months were going to be about—yes, you guessed it—polishing the basics. Ha! Funny, right? We were going to become masters at movement patterns because this is what high school kids need the most, right?!

Well, it became apparent that I was partly right. These kids knew how to move decently well, for the most part. Fortunately, there was a qualified strength coach who came before me, setting these kids up for success and ingraining the idea of developing movement patterns before adding load. This is good and all, but I had a decision to make when I arrived that May:

1. Start everything over, implement my system, and teach everyone the very basics.

or

2. Just begin training and teach as we go.

I chose the latter.

We began to train with the frame of mind that we needed to get used to movement WITH LOAD. I quickly began to see who could handle it and who could not. This is where my differentiated leveling system was born.

My athletes fall into three different categories: novice, intermediate, advanced. I initially placed them into these categories based solely on two factors: movement complexity capability and effort. Who could sequence the clean right now? Who could squat to depth with great control right now? Who could hinge and hold pelvic stability right now?

I made these evaluations on the fly and we began to TRAIN. I did not stop and make everyone do a PVC clean; I did not have everyone do 1,600 bodyweight squats. We just began to train, and the training allowed for development to begin without losing time.

We just began to train, and the training allowed for development to begin without losing time…now all of my students are competent movers, says @clh_strength. Share on X

Fast-forward two years, and now all of my students are competent movers. We load every main movement in some capacity and polish the basics no more. The basics are important to cover, but why do coaches stay on them forever? My guess is they are scared and insecure. It’s as simple as that.

A Story of Two Coaches Who Are Both Wrong

I currently see two philosophies across the board when it comes to strength and conditioning, especially at the high school level and other developmental models. Let’s call them Coach A and Coach B.

Coach A is the old-school coach who wants to chase numbers and solidify himself as a hard-nosed, tough coach who gets his athletes to work hard. Coach A believes that reaching a specific number on the squat, clean, and bench will automatically make the football team better. We can all argue that this is not the best approach to performance training and that Coach A may get his kids hurt. Coach A does not focus enough on movement. Coach A does not consider prehab to be beneficial. The numbers he chases are arbitrary, and the return on investment is not as high as he believes it is. Most professionals would agree that Coach A needs to check his ego at the door and seek some growth on human and athletic performance.

Then there is Coach B. Coach B considers himself a human performance specialist, with certifications in everything from corrective exercise specialist level 12 to backyard nutrition with four distinction asterisks. Coach B believes that the basics are what is best because they keep athletes the safest. Coach B focuses a lot on ankle mobility rocking drills and PVC movements on the whistle. It takes two years to “earn the barbell” because mastering a goblet squat is really difficult to do. The elite athletes of the group do more complex movement such as catching tennis balls while doing footwork on a Bosu ball, because of the vestibular adaptation. But this coach’s athletes are never sore and do not have injuries in the weight room. This coach seems to be praised more in the online performance setting because polishing the basics is what keeps athletes healthy…

Which coach would you want developing and coaching your athletes? My answer? Neither.

Alright, I know I was a tad extreme there, but you get my point. Unfortunately, I see a lot of coaches out there who share a lot of characteristics with Coach B. They use phrases such as “Earn the barbell.” Although this is good in theory, barbell movements still require a level of skill that athletes can only acquire from experience with a barbell in their hand.

Although “earning the barbell” is good in theory, barbell movements still require a level of skill that athletes can only acquire from experience with a barbell in their hand, says @clh_strength. Share on X

I see many coaches who believe that there needs to be some revolutionary program that spends hours and hours on push-ups and bodyweight squats. Shall I say the “Block Zero” approach may be a little ridiculous? The strength community may disown me for saying it, but I believe you are wasting your time after a certain point and need to get under a bar and learn what a bar feels like. Many coaches love the term “Block Zero” that was coined by Joe Kenn. Unfortunately, some of the “Block Zero” programs I see today are simply a waste of time.

Let me give you an example. In my program, the front squat is a high priority. I see my students as early as eighth grade. When they begin with me, we do four weeks of goblet cyclist squats to drive volume and kinematics then go straight to the barbell. It is going to take time for my middle schoolers to feel what is demanded in a great front squat, so guess what we do? We rep it for months, at different speeds, different loads, different volumes, and different intensities. I see many coaches who goblet squat their athletes for an entire year. You can’t practice checkers to be good at chess even though they are both strategy board games.

I recently spoke to Brandon Reyes, Graduate Assistant Strength Coach for the D2 National Champion University of West Florida Football Program, and he spoke highly along the same lines of using bang-for-your-buck movements that you can load:

“We were able to continue to load our guys throughout the season, moving heavier weight faster, and that eliminated having to do more exercises in-season because of the qualities we were developing through our experience with a loaded bar.”

There is a distinct difference between establishing the basics and polishing the basics. Some coaches spend too much time in the basics and forget the principle of progressive overload and the law of accommodation. The basic movements that coaches teach are not fundamentally tough enough to get good at with little to no load. The kinematics of the movement change as load increases. In order to see adaptation, whether that is strength, rate of force development, power, or what-have-you, there must be some experience with those load zones.

There is a distinct difference between establishing the basics and polishing the basics, says @clh_strength. Share on X

The greater the athlete’s skill with the handling of load, the higher their training capacity will be. The higher their training capacity is, the higher potential for adaptation. The only way this happens is if the athlete gets some experience with the bar in their hands. Does this excuse bad training? No. Does it excuse poor movement patterns with poor intensity prescription? Not at all. But load is important and must be practiced just like anything else. Let me give you some examples of where I think coaches miss the boat when they believe they are “polishing the basics.”

The Perfect Push-Up Must Come Before the Bench Press

This is probably the most asinine concept that I can think of. I have heard countless coaches argue that if an athlete cannot handle their body weight in a push-up, then they have no business loading up a barbell. I can give you a few reasons why this concept does not make sense. Let’s compare the two and I will show you.

The push-up is a movement that requires anterior core strength, pelvic control, and upper body strength in order to properly complete it. The push-up position is used as a core stability exercise by itself, so moving through a range of motion in that position will require even more stability. Stability must be present in order to produce high levels of force, and it is hard to do that in a push-up, especially for a young athlete whose relative body strength is low. There is a reason why your lightest athletes can bang out push-ups with no problem, but your heavier, and sometimes stronger, athletes cannot. Many coaches say that they do not allow their athletes to bench press until they can complete 10 bodyweight push-ups. Let me use some numbers to open your eyes on this ridiculous concept.

The push-up requires you to lift 65% of your body weight (Zatsiorsky, 2006). Let’s say I have a freshman athlete who weighs 235 pounds. In order to pass the 10-rep prerequisite to bench press, I must keep great technique while doing 10 reps at 152 pounds (65% of BW). Because of the nature of the push-up, the stability and anterior core demands may be too much for this athlete to complete really well right now.

The push-up prerequisite for bench press wastes your athletes’ time and leads to you leaving so much development on the table, says @clh_strength. Share on X

So how should we approach this? Train both at the same time! While my athletes are learning to do the push-up and gaining anterior core stability, they are also gaining relative upper body strength with the bench press due to the greater capacity to train it. The push-up prerequisite for bench press wastes your athletes’ time and leads to you leaving so much development on the table.

‘Earn the Barbell’ – Long Squat Progressions

Another popular concept is for athletes to earn the right to use a barbell in training by mastering the movement in unloaded fashions. The biggest example is mastering the bodyweight squat before adding any load, much less using a barbell. Once again, why is this a thing? I understand that squatting is a motor pattern that needs to be mastered, but why don’t we understand that the movement changes as different loads are added to it?

You can bodyweight squat all you want, but as soon as you add load, something is going to change. For example, getting to depth with a bodyweight squat is more difficult than using an anterior loaded goblet squat. Why? Counterbalance force. When load is added in front of the body, it is easier to stabilize in deeper ranges of motion.

I do not do any bodyweight squats in my program. Zero. We begin with some kind of load with every student, athlete or not. Load gives feedback to the body and allows the athlete to figure out how to move with it. This is why load is important once you have introduced the movement. Furthermore, transitioning to a front squat is a demand that must be worked on through repetition.

Guys, you cannot goblet squat your way into a great front squat. It just does not translate. The rack position demands more thoracic extension and differentiation of scapular upward rotation and lumbar extension. Most athletes who cannot get into a front rack position are very poor in these demands. So, it must be trained. As soon as they are competent, it must be loaded in order to progressively overload. Unfortunately, we have coaches who continue to goblet squat athletes to death and leave mounds of development on the table.

You cannot goblet squat your way into a great front squat—it just does not translate, says @clh_strength. Share on X

The sooner I get my athletes under the bar, the closer they get to development. Do I use the goblet squat for accessory volume? Sure. Is it our primary lift for the lower body? Absolutely not. My eighth graders begin feeling a front rack position as soon as the fourth week of school. I did not do this last year, and I am seeing this year’s eighth graders much further along than this year’s ninth graders.

We established the basics, but we do not polish them. We polish habits every day through high integrity of training. Once our athletes are competent, we load in order to prepare their tissues for the demands of their athletic careers. This is what is going to reduce injury; this is what is going to enhance performance. Not your fancy PVC drills and empty filler mobility super sets.

Qualified S&C Coaches Are Essential

Once again, I want to reiterate that basic movement patterns are essential. It is important that we continue to teach these movement patterns to our athletes, but if we do not get our athletes to a competent point to handle load, we are not doing our jobs as strength coaches. I firmly believe that the majority of coaches who claim they are “polishing the basics” are just afraid they are going to get their kids hurt due to their inability to know how to progress. This is why it is essential for qualified individuals to be running performance and strength programs across the country.

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

The 300-meter hurdles is the toughest race in high school track and field.

I mean no disrespect to runners of the 800 or the 400—both of those are tough races, but neither compare to what is nearly an all-out sprint with eight barriers in the way.

Too many athletes approach the 300-meter hurdles without a tangible plan. To be successful, a five-phase race model helps athletes break this seemingly impossible task into smaller, more manageable ones. But no matter how great the athlete’s race plan, it means nothing without proper training. Since the race is so physically demanding, speed endurance is essential. The challenge for coaches then becomes training athletes for a race that requires every bit as much lactate tolerance as the 400 and nearly as much alactic speed as the 200—a task that’s nearly as tall as the final hurdle seems.

It goes without saying that every coach will approach this challenge a bit differently. Some coaches train 300-meter hurdlers like 800 runners. To a certain degree, I understand the instinct to gravitate toward mid-distance training for this particular event, considering the grueling nature of the race. Practically speaking, however, if kids are running the 300-meter hurdles, they’re most likely also running the 100-/110-meter hurdles. Maybe they’re on the 4×200 or the 4×400 relay team. With that in mind, mid-distance training is counterproductive to everything else your 300-meter hurdlers do. Consequently, I don’t recommend it.

My core philosophy? Train hurdlers as sprinters. Most days, what my hurdlers do in practice is exactly what the sprinters do, because hurdlers are sprinters first, says @TrackCoachTG. Share on X

My core philosophy? Train hurdlers as sprinters. Most days, what my hurdlers do in practice is exactly what the rest of the sprinters do, because hurdlers are sprinters first. We do not hurdle every day, and we do not perform drills ad nauseum. Quite frankly, some of the slowest kids I’ve ever coached looked really pretty over the hurdle. The perfect athlete has both speed and technique, but if I have to choose one or the other, I’ll take a speedster with average hurdling form every day of the week.

Since speed is king, I am a big believer in Tony Holler’s Feed the Cats training program, prioritizing speed over everything else. Within that speed training, we aim to build anaerobic endurance through a handful of lactate workouts sprinkled strategically throughout the season. What I want to share with you are three hurdle-specific lactate workouts you can use to help your 300-meter hurdlers be as competitive as possible.

Workout 1: Phase-Specific 6×100 with Hurdles

The 300-meter hurdle race is made up of five distinct phases: the start, the backstretch, the curve, the homestretch, and the finish. This workout will allow you to work on both speed and lactate tolerance while coaching athletes on the specific phases of the race, cementing the five-phase approach into your athlete’s mind. The six total sprints are broken into three sets of two, with each set focused on different phases of the race.

For the first set, your athletes will run 2×100 out of the starting blocks over the first two hurdles. This covers two phases of the race: the start and the backstretch. Out of the blocks, we emphasize accelerating to maximum velocity and aiming to be the first person to the first hurdle. Coming off the first hurdle, athletes need to run tall and maintain their speed heading into the second hurdle.

It’s important to note here that we should never finish a repetition upon touchdown; we want to reinforce the notion that the last hurdle is not the finish line. To make it a full 100 meters, place cones 20 meters after the second hurdle and encourage sprinting to the finish. Time your athletes, and as always with the Feed the Cats program, you should plan to record, rank, and publish your sprint times.

Time your athletes, and as always with the Feed the Cats program, you should plan to record, rank, and publish your sprint times, says @TrackCoachTG. Share on X

The walk back to the starting line is a time when you can coach your athletes. Find something positive to accentuate, as well as one thing to focus on improving in the second rep. Standing up out of the blocks? Slowing down between the first and the second hurdle? Trail leg is a hot mess? Now is your chance to correct these things. Give athletes three minutes to rest, then line them up and go again.

After the second repetition out of the starting blocks, you’ll move on to the next set: 2×100 through the curve. Start 10 meters beyond hurdle 2, sprint over hurdles 3-5, and finish 15 meters after that. You should continue to emphasize speed and quality here and remind athletes of their curve mechanics. Just like in the first set, use the time between repetitions to coach your athletes. Allow three minutes of recovery and go again.

The final set is 2×100 over the last two phases: the homestretch and the finish. This set occurs almost entirely on the straightaway. I always place cones around 10 meters beyond the finish line to encourage athletes to continue sprinting after the last hurdle and past the finish line. Truth be told, this repetition is slightly longer than 100 meters, but as long as you measure it consistently each time you do this workout (maybe twice a season), then your records will be valid. Generally speaking, the walk-back, coaching, and rest between repetitions is the same in this set as in the other two, but you can consider giving an extra minute of rest if your athletes need it.

I have two final points of clarification for this workout. First, while the rest between repetitions should be three minutes, I typically give around eight minutes of rest between sets. Next, it’s important that your athletes perform the reps in the order I described. Do not perform one repetition from each phase, followed by a complete second set. Why? Simply put, even though it’s a lactate workout, we want our kids as fresh as possible out of blocks and as tired as they’re going to be in the finish, because it more closely mimics how they’ll feel in a race. Asking them to use blocks after they’ve already put in 300 meters of sprint work is not a productive way to conduct this workout.

Workout 2: 4×150 Fly with or without Hurdles

Like the first workout, I break this into multiple sets. In this case, it’s two sets of 2×150. With a 10-meter run-in, athletes sprint 150 meters at or near their top speed. Then they rest for three minutes and do the same thing again. Piece of cake—for coaches, that is. For athletes, this will be tough.

I’ve done this workout in a number of ways, using all the hurdles, none of the hurdles, or some of the hurdles. For example, I might use the very first hurdle to continue to teach acceleration mechanics and being the first person to the first hurdle. I might include a hurdle or two through the curve. I might only include the final hurdle of the 300-meter race. I might include hurdles 2, 4, 6, and 8. If variety is the flavor you crave, you can play around with this and ultimately never run it exactly the same way twice.

The start and finish for each repetition depend upon how you’ve decided to use hurdles. If you’re not using any, begin 10 meters behind the starting line for the 300-meter hurdles, run in, and sprint 150 meters, finishing at the hash mark where hurdle 4 would normally be placed. You can do the same thing if you’re only using some of the hurdles, so long as the fourth hurdle isn’t one of them. However, if hurdle 4 is part of the equation, have athletes begin at the starting line for the 300-meter race, with cones placed 10 meters beyond the starting line. You should also place cones 10 meters beyond the fourth hurdle, because we always sprint off the hurdles. You’ll time athletes from cone to cone, which will add up to 150 meters.

The second repetition begins where the first one ends. After finishing at or near the location of hurdle 4, have athletes rest for the prescribed three minutes. Then, have athletes start at the hash mark, place cones 10 meters beyond it, run in, and sprint for 150 meters. This means you’ll place cones 10 meters beyond the finish line, which helps instill in athletes the need to sprint through the line.

Again, you can use any combination of hurdles here, and in this case, the finish does not need to be adjusted regardless of your hurdle arrangement. The second set will look just like the first, but you need to give plenty of recovery time. I recommend 15 minutes here, which will give athletes enough time to get a drink, walk around, catch their breath, and curse your name for taking them to the lactate war zone.

Workout 3: 200/100 with Hurdles

There are lots of ways to break up a 300. In fact, we’ve already seen two ways in the previous two workouts: 100/100/100, and 150/150. If you want to use those divisions, go right ahead. But in this section, I’ll talk about a final variation: 200/100.

Set up all eight hurdles for a full 300-meter race. If you can manage it and can occupy four lanes of track for this, that’s great, because it means you can run two lanes of boys and two lanes of girls. If not, one lane of each will work just fine.

For the 200/100 workout, athletes will start in the blocks and run the first three phases of the 300-meter race: the start, the backstretch, and the curve. They’ll finish 15 meters past the fifth hurdle, which you will mark with cones. You can check my math if you want, but that’s 200 meters.

At that point, allow five minutes of rest before sprinting the final 100 meters. While it is important to time each piece of the workout, the time I record, rank, and publish is the final 100 meters. With a competitor and a clock in play, athletes have some added motivation to give everything on this sprint even though their legs won’t feel great. I’ve also found that some kids take pride in how they finish workouts, and this is a good way to keep those kids engaged, even if they’re not your flat-out fastest kids in a 40-yard dash.

This repetition seems easy enough: 100 meters to the finish. But as I’ve said before, I never like to end a rep at the finish line. Instead I like to finish 10 meters past the line, so as not to develop the nasty habit of slowing down off the last hurdle. Therefore, you’ll start 10 meters prior to hurdle 6 and finish 10 meters after the finish line. If you’re concerned that the start is too close to the hurdle, have athletes back up another 10 meters and turn it into a 100-meter fly. Record, rank, and publish those times. 

Adding Lactate Workouts to Your Practice Schedule

As I mentioned toward the beginning of this piece, these aren’t workouts your hurdlers will do all the time. If you try to do these too often, you’ll end up beating your hurdlers down and making them slower, which is obviously not what we want to do. Remember, most of the time your hurdlers should be doing whatever sprinters do. To incorporate hurdle-specific lactate work, remember a few basic principles:

• No more than two lactate workouts in a week.
• Meet days count as lactate workouts.
• Always take the day off (and sometimes two days) after a lactate workout.

At the start of the season, before meets begin, it’s much easier to mix these into your weekly routine. But once those meets start filling your schedule, things become much more difficult.

If you happen to have only one meet (a Friday invitational, for example), you could run a lactate workout on Tuesday. You’ll be off on Wednesday, and then working on speed and pre-meet prep on Thursday. If you have a Tuesday meet, you’d be off on Wednesday and could go lactate again on Thursday or Friday (preferably Friday). If you have two meets in a week, you don’t get to do a lactate workout in practice, and you don’t need to. They’ll get all the lactate work they need during their competition.

Keep in mind, also, that you don’t have to run the same workout for all of your athletes. If you’re traveling on Saturday to take a handful of your best kids to a super-competitive invite, there’s no reason the kids who aren’t going couldn’t do a lactate workout on Friday.

If you err in your estimation on how many lactate workouts to do in a season, err on the side of too few, not too many, says @TrackCoachTG. Share on X

Most importantly, if you err in your estimation of how many lactate workouts to do in a season, err on the side of too few, not too many. Yes, speed endurance matters. Lactate tolerance is important. But slow, tired, and sore don’t win races. Keep them fast, keep them healthy, and keep them competitive in practice. They may not like how they feel when they cross the finish line, but they’ll like how it feels to win the hardest race on the track.

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

The popularity of unilateral lower body training as it relates to athletic performance is at an all-time high, and rightly so. In comparison to bilateral alternatives, single-leg exercises are generally heralded as being more “functional” and specific to sport, safer to perform, and better for injury prevention/reduction (among other benefits). As a result, exercises like split squats, lunges, and rear-foot elevated split squats have become a staple in most modern-day strength training programs.

What’s often overlooked, however, is that while all of these exercises are undoubtedly phenomenal, they’re not entirely unilateral due to the support (albeit small) of the non-working leg. For example, it’s been estimated that the back leg takes on about 15% of the load in a rear-foot elevated split squat and up to 40% of the load in a regular split squat. Granted, that enables them to be loaded to a greater extent, which is advantageous for a number of obvious reasons. Still, they’re only partially unilateral, or—as some coaches have categorized them—“supported” single-leg exercises (credit to Mike Boyle for coining these terms).

“True” unilateral exercises, on the other hand, are entirely unsupported—meaning they force the working leg to take on all of the work without any assistance. As a result, these unsupported options—namely single-leg deadlifts, one-leg squats, and skater squats—offer some unique benefits. That’s not to say that unsupported exercises are better than their supported counterparts by any means, but rather that they should be a part of virtually all athletes’ training in order to round out a well-designed program.

*True* unilateral exercises, on the other hand are entirely unsupported, meaning that they force the working leg to take on all of the work without any assistance, says @CharleyGouldSCC. Share on X

In particular, here’s what separates unsupported single-leg exercises from the rest of the pack:

• True “sports-specificity.” Most movements that occur in sport—sprinting, changing direction, etc.—take place almost entirely on one leg. This makes unsupported single-leg work as “sports-specific” as it gets in the context of the weight room.
• Pelvic stability. Pelvic instability diminishes the amount of force that can be absorbed, stored, and released, which subsequently results in longer ground contact times and shorter stride lengths. In this respect, unsupported single-leg exercises are unparalleled due to the fact that their pelvic implications—and thus their ability to improve pelvic stability—are entirely different than those present in supported single-leg alternatives.
• Inter- and intra-muscular coordination. Unsupported single-leg training challenges inter- and intra-muscular coordination—the coordination between and within muscles, respectively—unlike any other lower body exercise. Considering that the growing consensus in the sports performance world is that muscle coordination patterns (i.e., getting the “right” muscles to contract and relax at the right times) are among the most important determinants of sprinting speed, this makes unsupported single-leg training a must-do.

Unsupported single-leg training challenges inter- and intra-muscular coordination unlike any other lower body exercise, says @CharleyGouldSCC. Share on X

• Tri-planar stability. Unsupported single-leg exercises occur in the sagittal plane, but they’re essentially tri-planar in that they force the lower body “stabilizers”—namely the hip rotators, adductors, and glute medius—to resist movement in the frontal and transverse planes. On top of the fact that these multi-planar demands are valuable for enhancing joint stability, they also have a direct carryover as it relates to the sprinting motion. The functions of the hip rotators and glute medius, for example, include abducting the hip, stabilizing the pelvis, and eccentrically controlling hip internal rotation and adduction. Likewise, the adductors (primarily the adductor magnus) have been shown to act as the third most powerful contributor to hip extension, which is obviously a critical component of the sprinting motion.
• Body awareness and proprioception. The proprioceptive benefits of unsupported single-leg exercises could make for an entire article, but the premise is that—when performed properly—the exercises spur a cascade of positive adaptations throughout the entire kinetic chain. They improve motor control and body awareness, reinforce “feeling” the entire foot, promote core stabilization in all three planes, and strengthen the intrinsic muscles of the feet, which can work wonders for improving function from the ground-up.
• Injury prevention/reduction. It goes without saying that injury prevention/reduction is an incredibly complex topic. Still, there are a handful of tried-and-true principles that are widely accepted as a means to reduce injury risk, such as reinforcing optimal movement mechanics, minimizing potentially harmful asymmetries/imbalances, enhancing joint stability, strengthening the muscles and connective tissues, and improving decelerative and landing abilities. Unsupported single-leg exercises address all of these components (and more) to an even greater extent than their supported counterparts—which, to be clear, are still valuable for reducing injury risk—and are thus a potent tool in the injury prevention/reduction toolbox.

The Big Three: Single-Leg Deadlifts, One-Leg Squats, and Skater Squats

The unsupported “Single-Leg Trifecta” of single-leg deadlifts (SLDLs), one-leg squats, and skater squats are all unique in that each involves a different movement pattern. As a result, all three exercises have a number of distinct benefits.

Within each description detailed below, there are three components:

1. What separates them (and why it matters)
2. How they can be progressed/regressed
3. The main points of focus.

Single-Leg Deadlift

Also known as single-leg RDLs, SLDLs are the most hip-dominant movement in the unsupported single-leg category. Like any other hip-dominant/hinge movement, they primarily target the glutes and hamstrings. Unlike most hip-dominant/hinge movements, however—most of which are bilateral—they do so in a unilateral fashion.

Benefits

Aside from the hip-dominant element, three other qualities separate SLDLs from one-leg squats and skater squats.

1. They’re the easiest of the three movements to load sufficiently. In fact, many advanced athletes are able to handle loads of greater than 50% of their 1-RM conventional deadlift with SLDLs, which—in and of itself—makes them a game changer for building single-leg strength.
2. They involve more muscles/muscle groups than their unsupported counterparts. The hamstring group is stretched while working to stabilize the knee joint, the glutes are acting concentrically to extend the hip, the lumbar extensors (low back) are working to keep the spine in neutral, and the upper back is tasked with stabilizing the scapula while keeping the thoracic spine in extension. Moreover, SLDLs place an increased emphasis on activation in the feet, ankles, and calves, which subsequently enhances neural drive and motor unit recruitment all the way up the kinetic chain. In other words, SLDLs are far more than a posterior chain exercise—they’re a full-body exercise.
3. SLDLs are arguably the most “acceleration-specific” exercise from a muscular standpoint. The posterior chain is providing all of the horsepower, the hips are moving in a reciprocal fashion akin to a sprint (alternating between flexion and extension), the pelvis and lower back are working to maintain a neutral spinal position, and the core is resisting external rotary forces while linking up the upper and lower halves. Most importantly, all of these muscular actions are taking place while the body is simultaneously working to generate force.

SLDLs are arguably the most *acceleration-specific* exercise from a muscular standpoint, with the posterior chain providing all of the horsepower and the hips moving in a reciprocal fashion akin to a sprint, says @CharleyGouldSCC. Share on X

Progressions

SLDLs are meant to be performed in an unsupported manner, so the initial focus should be placed on grooving the single-leg hinge pattern without support before adding load.

Video 1. There’s no shortage of options when it comes to regressing and progressing SLDLs, but the sequence here is generally enough to move from point A to point B without overcomplicating things.

• TRX-assisted (with one arm): progress when the athlete can perform the movement without support
• Reach to target: progress when the athlete has mastered the pattern to a low target
• 1-DB/KB:* progress when the athlete is able to use heavier loads (general guideline: .5x bodyweight)
• 2-DB/KB: progress when the athlete is able to use heavier loads (general guideline: .75x bodyweight)
• Barbell/trap bar

*Many athletes find it harder to balance with one DB/KB compared to two, so using two lighter DBs/KBs can be useful as a teaching tool.

Points of focus

• Keep a slight bend in the knee of the support leg; not straight or overly flexed
• Bring the weights down in line with the toes/mid-foot; avoid forward drift
• Maintain level hips and a neutral pelvis; avoid rotating in the torso or rear leg
• Keep the shoulder blades pinned back; avoid excess thoracic flexion
• Stay within an optimal range of motion; avoid excess depth at the expense of stability

Additional notes

• With one DB/KB, contralateral loading is typically better for athletes due to the fact that 1) most movements are contralateral and involve reciprocal patterning by nature, 2) it emphasizes pelvic internal rotation and glute activation on the working side, and 3) it challenges rotary control to a greater extent (whereas ipsilateral loading does not).
• Keeping the rear leg bent is generally preferable to keeping it straight, as it’s more akin to sprinting (reciprocal hip extension and flexion), facilitates better mechanics, and promotes increased activation in the hip extensors of the support leg.

One-Leg Squat

One-leg squats—which, for the record, are not the same as pistol squats—are the most knee-dominant movement in the unsupported single-leg category. Despite that, however, one-leg squats have actually been shown to activate the glute medius to a greater extent than SLDLs.

Benefits

1. They involve an upright torso. One-leg squats involve an upright torso position, which requires the working leg to generate force from above-to-under the hips as the chest remains tall. In a sense, this mimics the actions that occur while an athlete is at top speed. Think about it: during the sprinting motion, a powerful and stiff foot strike occurs underneath the hips while the torso remains upright. At the same time, the pelvis remains fairly neutral as the hips work in a reciprocal fashion. Moreover, the glutes—which do the majority of the concentric “pushing” during a one-leg squat—play a huge role in contributing to a powerful foot strike during the sprinting motion.

2. They up the ante on the stability and proprioceptive demands. One-leg squats challenge motor control and joint stability unlike any other movement. Whereas single-leg deadlifts require tri-planar stability to a degree, one-leg squats amplify those demands due to the extra knee flexion and inherently upright torso position. In turn, there’s a higher center of mass, which makes the one-leg squat significantly more challenging in terms of loading, stability, and balance.

3. If SLDLs are the most acceleration-specific exercise from a ‘muscles-involved’ standpoint, one-leg squats are the most sport-specific as it relates to positioning. When an athlete is changing direction or transitioning between acceleration and top speed, they’re standing on one leg and performing a partial squat while simultaneously generating force. In addition, most of the jumping and landing that occurs in sport—as well as in training, for that matter (e.g., bounds)—involves a partial, one-leg squat in similar fashion.

4. They involve a greater range of motion than virtually every other unilateral alternative. When an athlete gets to the point where they can perform one-leg squats throughout a full range of motion, they’re reaching a parallel femur position. This involves a larger range of motion than other knee-dominant exercises like split squats, rear-foot elevated split squats (for most individuals), and even skater squats, once progressed. As a result, one-leg squats increase the need for pelvic stability—which, as mentioned previously, plays a huge role in sprinting and changing direction—and enhance joint stability in a manner that’s tough to replicate.

One-leg squats increase the need for pelvic stability—which plays a huge role in sprinting and changing direction—and enhance joint stability in a manner that’s tough to replicate, says @CharleyGouldSCC. Share on X

Progressions. Like SLDLs, one-leg squats are meant to be performed without support from the non-working leg, which means that the initial focus should be placed on being able to reach a parallel femur position (unassisted) before adding load.

Video 2. This sequence for the one-leg squat begins with TRX assistance and progresses to loaded movements.

• TRX-assisted: progress when the athlete has the pattern down
• Kickstand/ball-support: progress when the athlete no longer needs support
• One-leg squat to box: progress when an athlete can reach a parallel femur position
• One-leg squat off box: progress when the athlete can reach a parallel femur position
• Add load via weight vests, chains, or goblet loading

Points of focus

• Hold 5-10 lb. plates/DBs as a counterbalance to shift the center of center of mass forward
• Press the counterbalance out to about shoulder height on the eccentric
• Use the box as a target; avoid “resting” or sitting down
• Maintain level hips and a neutral pelvis; avoid excess rotation
• Keep the spine in neutral; avoid lumbar/thoracic flexion
• Maintain a stacked position at the ankles, knees, and hips; avoid valgus collapse

Additional notes

• If a lack of ankle mobility is a hindrance to depth, slightly elevate the heels.
• When standing on an elevated surface, dorsiflex the ankle of the non-working leg and lightly tap the heel on the ground to minimize its contribution.

Skater Squat

Skater squats are unique in that they’re a hybrid movement between one-leg squats and SLDLs. Although unilateral and involving lighter loads, in a sense skater squats are a lot like trap bar deadlifts in that they mesh the squat and hinge patterns while challenging both the anterior and posterior chain.

Benefits

While this hybrid component doesn’t necessarily make skater squats better or worse than their unsupported counterparts, what it does do is give them three particular benefits.

1. From a muscular standpoint, they do it all. By meshing the squat and hinge patterns, skater squats hammer the quads, glutes, and hamstrings with constant tension and high levels of intra-muscular activation on each rep. This makes them an especially joint-friendly option for spurring hypertrophy in the lower half while placing virtually zero stress on the spine. Mike Boyle, for example, has used skater squats as an alternative to trap bar deadlifts for athletes with low back pain.

2. They challenge dynamic cross-body stability. Whereas one-leg squats and SLDLs primarily involve flexion and extension at the knees and hips (respectively), skater squats emphasize both actions across the body and within the same movement. In other words, the skater squat involves more “moving parts,” so to speak, which increases the cross-body stability demands. As a result, the core is forced to maintain stability on both sides of the body while the lower half moves dynamically and in a reciprocal fashion, the same of which can’t be said about SLDLs or one-leg squats.
3. They’re “self-correcting.” Due to the highly technical nature of the skater squat, it’s virtually impossible to get away with less-than-stellar movement mechanics. If there are any breakdowns in technique—whether it’s valgus collapse, lumbar flexion, subpar core stiffness, or passive foot mechanics—skater squats will expose them. This makes them very self-correcting, as they heighten body awareness, provide immediate feedback, and reinforce optimal technique almost by default.

Skater squats are *self-correcting*—due to their highly technical nature, it’s virtually impossible to get away with less-than-stellar movement mechanics, says @CharleyGouldSCC. Share on X

Progressions. As is the case with SLDLs and one-leg squats, the first priority should be to own the unsupported skater squat before adding load. The following sequence of progressions should do the trick:

Video 3. This sequence of progressions should help your athletes “own” the unsupported skater squat.

• TRX-assisted, decreased range of motion: progress when the athlete no longer needs assistance to reach the set target
• TRX-assisted, full range of motion: progress when the athlete can reach adequate depth (a 2-3” pad) without assistance
• Baseline skater squat*: progress when the athlete can perform 6-8 unsupported reps (to a 2-3” pad)
• Increase the range of motion: progress when the athlete can reach a parallel femur position
• Add load via weight vests, chains, or goblet loading

*If necessary, an intermediary option is to do eccentric-only reps as a transition into the full skater squat

Points of focus

• Hold 5-10 lb. plates/DBs as a counterbalance to shift the center of center of mass forward
• Press the counterbalance out to about shoulder height on the eccentric
• Keep the rear leg bent at about 90 degrees
• Use the pad as a target; avoid “resting” or sitting down on the rear leg
• Maintain level hips and a neutral pelvis; avoid excess rotation
• Keep the spine in neutral; avoid excess lumbar/thoracic flexion
• Place an increased emphasis on maintaining a neutral knee position; avoid valgus collapse

Programming Recommendations

Like any other exercise, the simplest answer to when and how unsupported single-leg exercises should be programmed is “it depends.” Generally speaking, however, a good strategy is to include both unsupported and supported options into a well-rounded program to maximize their respective benefits.

Some athletes who perform split stance movements more frequently in their sport—like baseball and softball players, for example—may benefit from placing a greater emphasis on supported single-leg exercises like split squats and rear-foot elevated split squats. On the other hand, athletes who move primarily on one leg at a time—sprinters being the most obvious example—may find it worthwhile to include more unsupported options into their training. Regardless, all athletes can (and should) perform a hefty dose of both, given that there are tremendous benefits to each.

Generally speaking, weaker athletes or athletes with subpar movement quality may benefit the most from performing unsupported single-leg work at the beginning of their training when they’re fresh, says @CharleyGouldSCC. Share on X

In terms of how unsupported single-leg exercises should be programmed, there are two different approaches. Generally speaking, weaker athletes or athletes with subpar movement quality may benefit the most from performing unsupported single-leg work at the beginning of their training when they’re fresh. Stronger and more advanced athletes, on the other hand, tend to able to successfully perform unsupported single-leg exercises regardless of how they’re programmed. For these athletes, programming them at the tail-end of a session may be more beneficial to “fill in the gaps,” so that the primary focus can be placed on heavy supported single-leg work (due to their higher loading capacities). SLDLs may be the one exception due to their similarly high loading capacities, in which case they can fit in exceptionally well as a primary strength movement.

Still, regardless of how they’re programmed, each of the three unsupported single-leg exercises are all but guaranteed to provide massive benefits for all athletes no matter their age, sport, skill level, or starting point.

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