During the time I was in high school my father met a young power lifter named Jeff Lewis. Jeff's personality was as big as his massive frame. Jeff and I lifted at the same gym for a number of years while I was in college. My friends still marvel at the weight he was pushing. Over time Jeff became a house hold name as "King Louie" the strongest natural power lifter in the world. He spent a lot of his time talking to kids about doing the right thing and steering them away from steroids. He used to joke about his powered by Pizza system and it quickly became a slogan (he used to work at a local pizza carry out). After a number of top flight performances his squatting career was cut short by a horrible injury due to bad spotters in major competition. Most athletes would have let such terrible luck derail their life by becoming bitter and angry. "King Louie" is not known for that type of personality. Instead he decided to give back to his community by helping open a power lifting/speed ...Keep Reading

The key to management of the recovery process is a sound system of monitoring training to accurately assess the stress of training. Monitoring is analogous a compass that keeps training on the correct path. It occurs on several levels, all of which are important. The simplest level is just recording the results of the workout. This is a dual responsibility – for the coach and the athlete. It is not an option, it is essential! Monitoring does not always provide immediate feedback; it takes time for patterns to emerge, so be patient.

In training there is an immediate residual and cumulative training effect, the ultimate goal of training in the long-term adaptation or the cumulative training effect. Monitor each of these effects in order to assess the program of training. Monitoring training will allow control of the training process and ensure a proactive adaptive response. Planning the training and implementing the training are only two prongs of a three pronged attack. ...Keep Reading

The global objectives of recovery/regeneration and the general strategies to address them are:

1) Restore Glycogen Levels -. The goal of recovery is Glycogen levels to at least to pre exercise levels. In order to be effective carbohydrate (CHO) should be taken within a 2-hr. window after exercise. Low Glycogen will result in fatigue, tiredness, dizziness, light headedness, sleeplessness and muscle soreness. The guidelines for replenishment of glycogen levels to pre exercise levels are: 1grams of carbohydrate per kilogram per hour for first 2 hours post-exercise. 1.2 grams of carbohydrate per kilogram of bodyweight per hour in 15-30 min intervals for up to 4 hrs post exercise.

2) Minimize the Breakdown of Muscle - This is a cumulative process; it is seldom one workout than can cause this. The stress of several hard workouts or a very demanding competition, especially a hard endurance sessions or heavy lifting sessions, put the body in a catabolic state where tissue is broken ...Keep Reading

I want to preface this series of posts with some global comments . Today recovery has taken on a life of it own, with recovery sessions planned after remedial workouts that minimally stress the athlete. There are now muti-million dollar recovery centers manned by "recovery specialists." Is all this necessary? I have my questions. Recovery must be put in the perspective of the training and the training age of the athlete. In this series of posts I will lend my perspective on recovery which will hopefully provide a better understanding of the role and the process as well as stimulate some healthy discussion.

Recovery is a key factor in performance. It is during the recovery that adaptation to training occurs. Recovery is the process over time needed to repair damage to the body caused by either training or competition. After the work the rest should be easy, sometimes it is not because it is not thought of as part of the training process. To insure the highest quality training and ...Keep Reading

Each training session should a have general theme. This general theme in turn should be supported by objectives for each component of the training session that are very specific and measurable. When planning an individual training session, ask yourself what do I most need to accomplish? How does that fit into the bigger picture? Carefully consider the time available. The key is to design the sessions so that there is a seamless flow from one workout into another, so that even though the focus is on that individual workout it is always placed in the context of the workout leading into and out of it. The ultimate goal is the cumulative training effect, which is what occurs in the long term. Where does the workout fit within the Microcycle plan? The workout is only one component of the big picture. To achieve this look carefully at complementary components that make up the sessions, both intra and inter workouts.

Training sessions are classified as to the emphasis of the session. ...Keep Reading

Speed First! Yes you must work on speed first and foremost. It must be part of every training cycle. I find it quite amusing when I hear a runner say that I have been working on base work, but I have not started speed work yet. The problem with that approach is that they are not training to run fast, they are training to run far, and they hope that the fast will come. The inevitable result is undue soreness and greater risk of injury because of the abrupt change in the training program when they do start to run fast. The key is to never get too far away from running fast. It should be part of the first training cycle of the year and be a part of each subsequent training cycle. Speed development work can be as simple as sprint drills, light acceleration drills, or simply finishing each run with 8 –10 x 100 meter fast strides.

It may be a coaching cliché, but the winner of the race is the person who slows down the least. Therefore I think it is helpful to think of running at a ...Keep Reading

The training environment, depending on the situation, lies on both ends of the spectrum of control and influence we as coaches have on a practice session. The real art is managing the environmental factors that are both active and passively affecting what is taking place and what is being produced during the session. What can you do to maximize or create positive influence of the training environment? Conversely, what can to you do to minimize or dismiss negative influence of the training environment? Before tackle these questions, there’s a couple things we need to actively, not passively, acknowledge.

1) All learning takes place in a physical environment with quantifiable and perceptible physical characteristics. Whether sitting and watching film in a small room, outside in 80 degree heat, having music blaring from a loud system or stereo, or in the presence of other training groups training simultaneously, students are engulfed by environmental information. Specific ...Keep Reading