A private meeting was in the Concord and Lexington area, purposely located to symbolize the future of what is happening in Boston. I predict that more private style workshops such as the one hosted by Ricardo will be the future. Flying halfway around the world needs to be more than just visiting a professional team and doing a keynote, the bar is raised as hotel and airports are not enough to make [...]

Yesterday I was sent a link to an article of why cleans may not be the best option for everyone. What was concerning is that many coaches are shying away from the olympic lifts more and more, and now lifting in any form besides single leg options with light loads is the new normal. No exercise is magical, and ten years ago I wrote an article about overzealous coaches demanding that everyone do oly [...]

One of the mysteries of Sprinting is how brain-derived neurotrophic factor (BDNF) is elevated at rest with international level sprinters in Brazil over their domestic counterparts? With strength training not showing any real changes or adaptations to BDNF, why are they elevated? Some things are brewing for Rio. One sub 10 sprinter recently tested at 4800 pg/mL at rest and nearly 8000 pg/mL post r [...]

This past weekend, I presented at the NSCA BC Provincial Clinic on Biomotor Development for Speed Power Athletes. Here's my slidedeck from the presentation. As usual, I'll try to answer any questions on the presentation in the forum. Biomotor Development for the Speed-Power Athlete from Mike Young [...]

I didn't get to make it to the Central Virginia seminar but much of the speaker notes are available online right not so people can see what might be at BSMPG this May and what may be talked about next year. With all of the player tracking nonsense I see on twitter, it's important to create a foundation of what is real and what is coach candy, cool stuff that has very little impact in the game. P [...]

Some interesting studies on fiber changes makes me wonder what are the best ways to develop an athlete over years? Charlie was convinced that weights were less important twenty years after Seoul, and much of the talk in blogs is about what is happening with monitoring bar speeds with Gymaware. For example, the biochemical and histological changes of training are just as important as the biomechani [...]

No clever blog title, just the man. I have been reading and following Benke for a while now and his presentation on Hurdles a few years ago was excellent. Like most coaches, sometimes we are force to reread the good materials over and over getting each drop of knowledge to problem solve things. Right now I have mixed feelings about the seven or eight step discussion because we don't have the data [...]

I love James Bond movies as they are a nice blend of story, action, gadgets, and one liners. Taking a mental break I watched Skyfall and loved the plot and of course the fresh look at the darker James Bond. In the story without giving away spoilers, James is injured and returns. It's an interesting take on the pros and cons of technology, testing validity, resourcefulness, and experience. If you [...]

One of the biggest gripes I have is short sprinters with bad starts. If you run the 400m" just be legal and consistent", I don't agree but understand. Still, in the 100m or 40 yard dash the start is everything. Not only does it set-up the run and have heavy time influences, it is perhaps the least athletic component in terms of mechanics. Clearing the blocks and starting is a different componen [...]

Andrew Flatt alerted me to a great video that was thought provoking. Andy O'Brien does have some interesting ideas about brain waves, HRV, and pressure profiles of hockey. I am no expert in hockey, but when center of pressure discussions came up and explaining that vertical lifts not creating horizontal speed could create some application of training problems with coaches. The General versus Spec [...]