Much of what many track and field coaches of speed-power athletes do has what I'd call an "Endurance bias" in that they are using training protocols and methodologies directly from or influenced by the training theory and methods of an endurance athlete. Because the physical capacities necessary for success in speed-power activities is very different than those of endurance events, this approac [...]

Keep it basic. The complexity will come by combining foundational elements. Be targeted and focused. Never lose sight of the goal: to prepare the athlete to be taken to their physical, technical and psychological limits in the competitive arena. Training is a means to an end – nothing more, nothing less. Constantly apply this litmus test to your training: Is what I am doing in training nice to d [...]

Training is just that training, not an end unto itself. Training is a mindful pursuit of specific goals intended to prepare you for competition. Any bozo can work hard. If every workout is a test of courage, a time to put your back to the wall so that you end up puking, that is not training. Training is a cumulative process. There has to be a yin and yang to what you do. Hard days followed by easy [...]

I will never do an exercise or a workout because some guru posted on his for pay web site or a saw it on you tube. That is pure and simple insanity. Step back and think about all the implications of the exercise or the workout. The key word here is THINK, don’t be like a bunch of sheep and blindly follow the ram, he my not know where he is going. This is precisely why we are where we are in this [...]

Stimulus threshold is the optimum training load required to elicit an adaptive response. There is a different stimulus threshold for each capacity, in the same manner there is a different time to adaptation for each capacity. There is an art and science to this. But the simple rule of thumb is that it is optimum not maximum that we are seeking. [...]

There is so much mumbo and confusion in this whole area I am not sure where to begin. Perhaps these thoughts will lend some clarity.Lets start by defining Periodization, it is the planning and organization of training into a cyclic structure to develop all biomotor qualities in a systematic, sequential, and progressive manner for optimum development of performance capabilities.Another way to look [...]

Many current gurus provide sample speed/power plans that recommend volumes of speed/power elements that I find paltry for the majority of situations. I think a lot of this bias can be traced back to incomplete backgrounds heavily centered toward the force end of the force/velocity curve (weightroom centric strength and conditioning backgrounds, heavily powerlifting based backgrounds, etc..) If [...]

The concept of continual adaptation is something I have been working to get my arms around since we all met to plan the Michigan Women’s swim dryland program this past September. Jim Richardson, Women’s swim coach at Michigan got me thinking about this. Continual adaptation is not continual improvement. Continual adaptation is a viable concept because different physical qualities adapt at diff [...]

Training is a cumulative process. The workout is one piece of a much bigger picture. Training is not one spectacular or particularly tough workout, rather it is a succession of workouts designed to fit into the overall plan in pursuit of specific training objectives. Anyone can make a workout hard, but the essential element is context. Where does it fit? One workout cannot stand alone. One great w [...]

This Christmas, like many men across the globe, I received some new razor blades in my stocking. These are always a welcome gift because I generally prefer to use a blade over my electric razor. My razor of choice has 5 blades. I've been using this kind for the past 18 months or so. Before that I used a blade by the same company that had only 4 blades. At the time this was the latest and greatest [...]