Last year I read Malcolm Gladwell's excellent book Outliers. In it he talks about success and some of our (mis) conceptions. At one point he talks about IQ and says, "Over the years, an enormous amount of research has been done in an attempt to demonstrate how a performance on an IQ test... translates to real life success." He then goes on to explain some scoring ranges (e.g., people below 70 a [...]

What is it? It is the athlete knowing their body in respect to their sport. Knowing how to push the envelope in order to get better. Are you born with it? Some are innately better than others but we know from research and best practice that everyone can get significantly better. Tough to measure drive and determination, the athlete with supposed limited physical abilities who can just a find a way [...]

The Henk Kraaijenhof's video is a great resource, and with added Pierre-Jean's Vazel Notes I know it's a great value. I am adding another special, the grab bag. Each order will be sent with a special CD full of great information that is included at no charge, and the grab bag is not random, but a custom batch of research, presentations, and videos that I find to be enlightening. Anyone interest [...]

I can't say enough good things about the USATF schools. I am one third the way into my career and I learn something every day from guys like Randy Gillon and Kebba Tolbert. Other great minds are also teaching at the USATF schools and it's awesome to learn so much from not only the instructors but fellow coaches. The Level III school from Las Vegas was a true brain blast that inspired me to keep [...]

Over the past couple years I've noticed an interesting phenomenon that I don't have a research-based physiological explanation for. I've noticed that people tend to perform better at slightly higher body fat percentages. Not "big" or "fat" by any means but slightly higher than rock bottom, paper thin-skin body fat values. In fact, other than some rare cases, most athletes don't seem to per [...]

I read this yesterday. After the initial couple of chapters pointed at the jolly jogger I found it quite interesting. I think the authors do an outstanding job of taking current scientific research and making it understandable. Really enjoyed the parts on muscle soreness and recovery, hydration, lactate, central governor theory and the immune system. The authors are way out of their element when [...]

The foot creates a chain reaction in regards to ground reaction forces going up the kinetic chain. Bozos that have,under documentation, have missed the big picture in regards to dorsiflexion with running, jumping, and throwing. It would be great if we could do foam rolling, static stretches, and isolated muscle exercises and create magic. In fact a lot of the short term self mobilization exercises [...]

Be very wary of coaches who take absolute stances. You see this with many sprint coaches and strength coaches now a days. They are terrified of fiber type conversions, when in reality it is just a gross simplification of the process. Fiber changes are very complex. - Steve MagnessLatif Thomas, a sprint coach offers a structured approach in developing a sprint stable at the HS level with cross coun [...]

This is a list of books that are in my library that I suggest everyone interested in Athletic Development should read.Historical WorksBunn, John. (1955) Scientific Principles of Coaching. New York, New York: Prentice Hall, Inc.Dintiman, George B. What Research Tells The Coach About Sprinting. AAHPER, Washington, D.C. 1974Doherty, Ken. Track & Field Omnibook (Fourth Edition). Los Altos, CA. Tafnews [...]

Can someone share with me the research and practical examples of how PH disruption (lowered) workouts from speed endurance like methods creates an anabolic primer? I mean how is a lowered PH better for muscle growth as it's not on the WADA list? Also, all the talk about detraining and fiber conversion seems to confuse me when from a practical standpoint 3 month layoffs are suppose to convert peop [...]