Thanks to our friends on Elitetrack.com we have more Guru Gotcha moments with this Santa Claus training program. After this link was posted on the blog discussion thread I had to professionally refute this method of training. I am not sure if Coach Dos is getting ready for Reindeer Combine training after the holidays but this nonsense is an example of what I call entertrainment. Entertrainment is [...]

Approach with 8 StepsApproach with 7 StepsWhen looking at speed over the hurdle is to look at the hips as they are the center of mass. We are going to use 8 steps to keep him consistent this year but from a long term approach I don't want to limit his college coach if a few years from now 7 is the new 8. I will review a more advanced hurdler and share what we plan to address in detail later. [...]

KRAENZLEIN, ALVIN 1876-1928Track-and-field championHurdling InnovatorAlvin Kraenzlein is one of the pivotal figures in the development of track and field. Historians of the sport recognize him as the father of straight-lead-leg hurdling (in which the first leg over the hurdle is kept straight and parallel to the ground). Hurdlers continue to employ this technique, which permits the athlete to clea [...]

Water is an excellent medium that provides unique qualities that athletes can exploit for various needs such as conditioning, specific strength, joint mobility/flexibility, and rehabilitation. What I like about the zealous enthusiast is that they explore all the possibilities that water can do, even if another option is superior. This is important for well rounded programs, as even if a tool or pr [...]

How to Push 5.47I am very sure that their is a better method of pushing a sled but I will share my thoughts on what has worked in the past as history is more important than theory. What I do know is a former Division II level basketball player can push 5.47 without drugs (but a obnoxious regeneration budget similar to Dara Torres does help!) with the help of iMovie, a calculator, ping pong balls, [...]

One aspect with Bobsled that I wished was further explored is rendering a formula to improving push clearance with the start. Oddly their is very little research and proposed theories on the best way to get a sled to it's fastest "escape velocity". Unlike track where countless conferences exchange great kinetic and kinematic data, the sport of bobsleigh doesn't have the economic resources to i [...]

I've started writing for an Australian E-Mag, Bare Essentials, my first article titled "The Science of Sprinting" can be found in the November / December issue (page 69). This magazine is geared towards health and general fitness (with a focus on women) but there are quite a few athletic development and performance related articles in there as well. While the article may be pretty simple for so [...]

Marion Jones was on Oprah Winfrey show yesterday lying through her teeth about her performance enhancing drug use. It's really quite ridiculous now. Before the interview I had a tiny bit of sympathy for her but not any more. The way she continues on with her charade even after she's been outed in a court of law and public opinion makes me think she must be a pathological liar. Did she really thi [...]

Imagine that you are at a concert in Sevilla, after a stunning flamenco performance, clapping at a fast uniform pace, much like a heart beat while jogging. Even better, try it out right now, but stop after you reach twelve claps. Then do it again but this time execute the first, third, fifth, eighth, and eleventh claps loudly, and the remaining seven claps softly. Your clapping patte [...]

The take off in the hurdles represents the highest cause of errors in hurdles, yet they are rarely mapped out from a cause and effect point of view. Most hurdlers look visually at tape and assume that the what you see is a product of what you are trying to do. Regardless of what one feels, the underlying elements must be based on motor learning theory and practice with a backbone of physics. The p [...]