http://www.elitetrack.com/blogs/ en kebba_t@hotmail.com Copyright 2010 2010-03-11T06:27:41+00:00 http://www.elitetrack.com/blogs/details/5031/ http://www.elitetrack.com/blogs/details/5031/#When:05:27:41Z I recently picked up a book You Haven't Taught Until They Have Learned by S. Nater and R. Gallimore. I've read a few chapters, faxed a few chapters to friends, and started some interesting discussions. Wooden was the consummate teacher who was organized, demanding, yet humble. One of the best chapters is "It's What You Learn After You Know It All That Counts Most". I think back to some earlier years where I said to myself "ok, I've got this figured out" only to realize years later that I wasn't even close. Many passages in the book provide opportunities for self-reflection and self-improvement. This book was originally mentioned in The Talent Code (J. Coyle) which is another great read as Vern suggested several weeks ago. After we master biomechanics, training theory, sets, reps, meters, foot contacts, rest:work ratios, therapeutic methods, testing, etc... we still have to go out and teach. That's really the essence of what we do. Those who have talent and can teach, who can get their message across... those are the master teachers. Wooden was, Wooden is a master teacher. Guest Blog, Kebba Tolbert's Blog 2010-03-11T05:27:41+00:00 http://www.elitetrack.com/blogs/details/5030/ http://www.elitetrack.com/blogs/details/5030/#When:20:03:31Z For a limited time this month I am offering a DVD set with Tom Tellez, Dan Pfaff, and Boo Schexnayder. Tellez - Methods to Improve Sprint Starts and Sprint/Hurdle Mechanics (2 DVD set) Over 2 hrs of lecture, demonstration and video analysis by the master. Pfaff - Technical Problem Solving - 80 min lecture on how to detect and solve technical errors... covers a myriad of overlooked topics. Pfaff - Technical and Training Aspects of Sprinting with Power Schexnayder - Triple Jump (a great clinic presentation) Bonus, the first 20 orders will receive a CD with over 4 hours of audio from a high-level master coach. Topics covered include cueing, training design and progressions, and biomechanics. The price for this set is $85. As with the other DVD offers a portion of all sales will be donated to help Mike's athlete. If you would like to order simply for details. Orders will be taken through March 16th only. Guest Blog, Kebba Tolbert's Blog 2010-03-08T20:03:31+00:00 http://www.elitetrack.com/blogs/details/5029/ http://www.elitetrack.com/blogs/details/5029/#When:16:23:00Z Stumbled on this picture today while searching the internet for something in preparation for my talks this week. This is Kip Kieno and I think Peka Vasala from the early 70's, may actually have been 72 Olympic games. Regardless this picture speaks a thousand words. You don't get this from doing drills, you get this from running fast!Look at this from the PAL Paradigm. P = PostureA = Arm ActionL = Leg Action Vern Gambetta's Blog 2010-03-08T16:23:00+00:00 http://www.elitetrack.com/blogs/details/5027/ http://www.elitetrack.com/blogs/details/5027/#When:16:24:10Z 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 at it, it is the timing, sequence and interaction of the training stimulus to allow optimum adaptive response in pursuit of specific competitive goals. It is not about time, it is about timing. It definitely is not random, it is always undulatory in nature based on how the body adapts. You can write a linear program, but the body adapts in an undulatory manner. Despite all that is written about the difference between undulatory and linear periodization, in my opinion those are term of convenience, that confuse rather enlighten. All components must be trained during all phases, only the proportion changes with the training age & stage of training. There is synergy between all systems of the body and a synergistic relationship between all biomotor qualities. According to Olbrecht, different qualities have different curves of supercomensation (Olbrecht p.5). Because the various qualities have different times to adaptation and fitness decline much slower than fatigue it is possible to achieve continual adaptation. I use this rule of thumb regarding adaptation time - Tasks that require complete recovery – Usually are high NEURAL demand. Tasks that can be trained with incomplete recovery - Usually are of high METABOLIC demand. Wave Principle - Continuous alternation of increased and reduced training loads throughout the various training cycles to insure continual adaptation. Steering Principle - Adjustments in training & competition based on the difference between the planned training & competition results and the actual achieved training & competition results. According to Olbrect ”Every loop provides feedback, which is used to plan the next cycle in order to fit in the training process with the individual trainability and so improve the training efficiency and return.” Vern Gambetta's Blog 2010-03-05T16:24:10+00:00 http://www.elitetrack.com/blogs/details/5026/ http://www.elitetrack.com/blogs/details/5026/#When:01:58:52Z I have a couple things that might be of benefit for professional development for some of our members. SOLD OUT Dynamic Warmup Considerations for Speed-Power Athletes DVD for only $14.95 My DVD publisher misprinted several of one of my DVDs such that the DVD has the content of Dynamic Warmup Considerations for Speed-Power Athletes but the label of Maximal Velocity Sprint Mechanics is on the cover. The DVD is fully functional otherwise so if you were interested in purchasing a copy of the Dynamic Warmup Considerations for Speed-Power Athletes DVD and don't care about the imprint or case then here's a great opportunity to get the thing for very cheap. Click here for the discounted DVD. There are a limited number of copies so act fast if you want one. USA Weightlifting Sport Performance School on March 13-14 My training center, Athletic Lab, is hosting a USA Weightlifting Sport Performance Coach Course on March 13th and 14th. Early registration is over but you can still sign up for the course until the 12th of March. USA Weightlifting is the national governing body for the sport of Olympic Weightlifting and its sport performance coach course is the leader in technical coaching development for the foundational movements of sport performance. The course will prepare you specifically to coach the Olympic lifts as well as other derivative movements. For more information on the course click here. USA Triathlon CEU Seminar on April 11 In addition to the weightlifting course, Athletic Lab will also be hosting a Triathlon seminar that is available as a USA Triathlon Continuing Education Course. The theme of the seminar is Supplemental Training for the Triathlon. Topics covered will include: Yoga and Flexibility Training for TriathletesCore and Strength Training to Benefit TriathletesRunning Form and Speed Drill Training for Triathletes For more information click here. 4 Upcoming Level 1 Schools Lastly, I'd like to announce 4 upcoming USATF Level 1 schools. Here's the info (click on the link for the brochure PDF): Villanova University; Villanova, PA on March 19-21 with Andrew Allden, Glen McAtee, Loren Seagrave and me Long Island University Brooklyn Campus; Brooklyn, NY on March 26-28 with Andrew Allden, Glen McAtee, Loren Seagrave and me University of Central Florida; Orlando, FL on May 21-23 with Andrew Allden, Glen McAtee, Ron Grigg and me UNC Greensboro; Greensboro, NC on June 20-22 with Andrew Allden, Glen McAtee, and me Mike Young's Blog 2010-03-05T01:58:52+00:00 http://www.elitetrack.com/blogs/details/5024/ http://www.elitetrack.com/blogs/details/5024/#When:11:14:25Z Over the course of my career I have used various forms of assessment to determine the athletes readiness to train and compete. Sometimes they looked more like something you would see in physical therapy clinic and other times it was just pure end range jumping, throwing and running tests. I kept searching for an assessment tool that would give then information I was looking for. A few years ago someone suggested I look at The Functional Movement Screen, that did fit the bill for me. Too one size fits all and based on some questionable assumptions’ about the body and how it moves. I knew Kelvin Giles had started work on a Physical Competency Assessment when he was head of S&C at the Queensland Academy of Sport. It seemed to make sense, I was missing the overview and explanation that I needed to begin to implement it. Then I met Kelvin a few years ago when we were both presenting to the English Institute of Sport S&C coaches. It was like a light went on. His physical competency approach to assessment was brilliant in its simplicity and the myriad of applications possible. It does not seek to predict potential injury, instead based on the level of the athlete’s physical competencies they are placed on an exercise continuum. It is adaptable to a wide range of sports and physical education. It is now used extensive in England and Australia. The point is that all the athletes have to reach the same destination but they will have different rates and means of progressing to that destination. I will let Kelvin explain it from here. I put the PCA stuff together not to be any kind of 'predictor' at all. I started to look closely at movement efficiency in squat, lunge, push, pull, brace, rotate and range plus other exercise modalities - landing, jumping etc to simply allow me and my colleagues to prescribe a more accurate program for the athletes we were coaching. My choices were confirmed by some of the great sports medical practitioners in Australia as being appropriate. There was a nice link back to the typical muscular-skeletal screening they were doing in the clinic environment as a back up. The assessment was also put together for another 'strategic' reason - I needed some evidence that the 'basics' that were supposed to be being carried out at the earlier stages of the athlete's development simply weren't being done. Training at these early stages was mostly skill and tactical specific with a little bit of Olympic Weightlifting or 'madhouse' circuits being done. By showing the movement limitations (the radar graphs) to the coaches at the earlier stages I had some chance of getting them to change things. 'Prediction' stuff is daft - you can have all the evidence you like about an athlete and then tomorrow it all changes. I have some evidence that the more competent you are the less likelihood of suffering a 'controllable' injury you have. The assessment is used to 'ring warning bells' - e.g. can't squat - WATCH OUT!......can't land a Hop & Stick - WATCH OUT! It makes us more aware of exercise selection and program construction once we know some limitations. The assessment is there to make us stop and think. For some sports it has allowed some decision makers to track the athletic development of squad members nationwide which assists in the fight against sole tactical / technical development with the developing athlete so I guess there is another little use for it. So...nothing clever at all in all this - certainly never created to be a panacea or another spell potion or gadget, just a simple tool for a teacher / coach to make a smarter decision. Some people got interested so I wrote as much down as I could and took some pictures and made a manual for them. Got fed up with difficulties in measuring so worked out the Gauges on my kitchen table with by brother-in-law. Don't overestimate it's role - you've got to be able to coach / teach in the first place! I use it to get the basics right first - not as a 'new' approach. I just want to know 'where are they now?' before making training decisions - nothing flash at all. You can purchase the Physical Competency Assessment manual and gauge on my website. The teaching of this methodology of assessment is an integral part of the GAIN Apprentorship program. In addition we will be doing workshops on the Physical Competency Assessment later in 2010. Keep checking the web site and blog for sites and dates. Vern Gambetta's Blog 2010-03-03T11:14:25+00:00 http://www.elitetrack.com/blogs/details/5019/ http://www.elitetrack.com/blogs/details/5019/#When:16:22:17Z It is always interesting at this time of the year at the start of spring training and with the NFL combine to read the stories of how people have changed their technique. I have been following the Tim Tebow story with great interest. Apparently he has a team of “experts’ who have completely revamped his throwing style. He is not going to unveil his new technique at the NFL CONbine, but will wait for another three weeks, choosing a more controlled environment for the great unveiling. Let's look at this with what we know of motor learning and skill acquisition. First of all he acquired his old patterns and grooved them for twenty plus years. You cannot unlearn and relearn a new technique in six weeks. You can make some style changes, but to go from a side arm slinging motion to a classic “overhead’ action will take years. The other factor is all this has been learned and practiced in a non-pressure environment. What will happen in the chaos of the game where everything is in fast forward mode? I wish I could be a fly on the wall on this one. Was there a baseline biomechanical analysis of his old throwing motion done? By that I mean 3D analysis. How much real time video analysis and feedback is he getting? To make real changes takes thousands of hours and directed practice. I maintain that the changes he is making are probably very cosmetic and he will revert to his old patterns under game pressure. For years I watched our pitching coaches when I was with the White Sox work on pitching mechanics. We had the advantage of biomechanical analysis as a baseline, but in still took time and thousands of repetitions and constant cueing. It can be done, it just can’t be done in six weeks! Vern Gambetta's Blog 2010-02-27T16:22:17+00:00 http://www.elitetrack.com/blogs/details/5015/ http://www.elitetrack.com/blogs/details/5015/#When:12:07:12Z Functional training is training. All training is functional, it is just that some training rates higher on a continuum of function than others. If you are not sure how to make your training more functional here are a few tips that should guide you. This not rocket science, I think you will see when you analyze successful long term athletic development programs that all these elements appear in some way, shape or form. Incorporate fundamental movements and build on them. Walk, jog, run, sprint in all directions from varied starting positions and with varied rhythms. Pull and push. Bend and reach. Lift and drop. Creep and crawl. Start and stop. Hop, jump and bound. Put and throw. Roll and tumble. Do all of these movements in all planes of movement, change speed and rhythm, add or reduce resistance and systematically vary the mode of resistance. Explore all dimensions of movement in a mindful manner. Master each element. Gradually increase the complexity of the movement problems the body must solve. Combine all of this into a systematic approach that has a clear progression to a specific goal - excellence in the competitive arena. Vern Gambetta's Blog 2010-02-25T12:07:12+00:00 http://www.elitetrack.com/blogs/details/5012/ http://www.elitetrack.com/blogs/details/5012/#When:16:17:58Z The latest buzzword is corrective exercise. Is corrective exercise the latest fad like “drawing in “ was a few years ago? What exactly is corrective exercise? I think I know, but it is a misleading concept. What exactly are you correcting? It sounds to me like another reductionist approach to the human body based on pseudo scientific principles and marketing. The exercises that I see labeled as corrective are remedial exercises that should be part of a training progression, not separated into a category all their own. I think we are forgetting the most important principle of training and rehab which is progression. Exercises should be set-up in a hierarchical progression from the most simple and remedial to the most difficult and complex. Not every athlete starts at the same place in the progression but they are all expected to end up the same destination – the competitive arena fully fit and ready to compete free of any physical limitations. I do not think the “corrective exercise’ approach does this. In many situations I have seen athletes with perceived deficiencies who are taken out of normal training to do “corrective exercise, “ yet they are still expected to participate in practice and yes, play the game. The end result of all this madness is the plethora of injuries we see today. The so called “corrective exercises’ need to be a transparent part of training, not separate. Each athlete can and should expect individualized programs based on their ability to perform certain movements. For example today with volleyball it is squat emphasis day. I have 24 girls’ of widely varying ability. Some are squatting with a mini band above their knee, some not, some squat full others to parallel and some will not squat yet. All of this is based on a Physical Competency Assessment. This PCA is not just a one off process, the movements are part of warm-up and I evaluate daily to assess readiness to train and progress to the next step in the progression. Once again I implore you to keep the big picture in mind and do no harm. Vern Gambetta's Blog 2010-02-22T16:17:58+00:00 http://www.elitetrack.com/blogs/details/5009/ http://www.elitetrack.com/blogs/details/5009/#When:20:18:37Z We often think of Plan B as something we go to when things go wrong (e.g., when athletes get beat up, weather conditions, injuries). But what about going to Plan B when things go right? Yesterday we had a Sprint-Float-Sprint workout planned with 6-8 mins break. The first run went so well, exceptionally well, that I had to make an important decision. I could: a) adhere to the rest/recovery time on the paper (this would be foolish) b) stop the workout and go to something else (this was considered) c) lengthen the rest interval (this is what I chose...we went to 10-12 mins break btw runs) Maybe if it were later in the year (e.g., summer or near outdoor ncaas) i may have chosen "b", but I wanted to extend specific work capacity and felt that this was the right time. Anyway, it just got me thinking that sometimes Plan B is for when things go well, too! Guest Blog, Kebba Tolbert's Blog 2010-02-21T20:18:37+00:00 http://www.elitetrack.com/blogs/details/5008/ http://www.elitetrack.com/blogs/details/5008/#When:15:00:36Z Here is the scenario. I wake up log unto How2BHurt.com and get the workout of the day. Mind you this is the same workout if you are 17 or 70, male or female, an endurance athlete or a speed/power athlete. I am amazed at the number of people that do this. Stop and think for a minute, what is wrong with this picture? Logic and best practice tells us that one size does not fit all., then when would anyone do this? That is not even taking into account the actual workouts on some of these sites. This is not training. Training must have clear progression in incremental steps toward measurable goals. If you are a coach or an individual following this madness take a long hard look at why you are doing what you are doing and when? I maintain training is a mindful process that should incorporate variability and variety with a purpose. Canned programs that assume that one size fits are a misfit. Evaluate these programs using good training principles and see if they stand up. Don’t get caught up in the hype, find a program that fits you and your specific needs. Just because it is hard is hard does not mean it is training. Frankly it is easy to design a program to bury someone, that is not training, it is abuse. Vern Gambetta's Blog 2010-02-21T15:00:36+00:00 http://www.elitetrack.com/blogs/details/5007/ http://www.elitetrack.com/blogs/details/5007/#When:14:40:32Z 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 are often considered mentally disabled while 115 may be needed to succeed at a competitive graduate school program). He goes on to warn us, "but there's a catch. the relationship between success and IQ works only to a certain point. Once someone has reached an IQ of somewhere around 120, having additional IQ points doesn't seem to translate into any measurable real-world advantage." I thought about this and understand what he means. It easy to get caught up with numbers. They're tangible - It's easy to say, you've improved this much in SLJ or the Clean to an athlete. It's hard to say exactly how much an athlete has improved mentally or technically, So this pushes us into a constant quest to stimulate-adapt. As Dan Pfaff has been saying for years, sometimes we need to let things stabilize. This is when we often see rapid improvement in the actual competitive performance. I have gotten caught up in the biomotor numbers game in the past, at my own peril. Numbers matter, trust me - it's hard to run under 11.00 with a 30-fly of 3.30. But how much better is 2.92 vs. 2.97? There are other factors that come into play that we must consider. Guest Blog, Kebba Tolbert's Blog 2010-02-20T14:40:32+00:00 http://www.elitetrack.com/blogs/details/5006/ http://www.elitetrack.com/blogs/details/5006/#When:07:06:05Z Everyone who has ordered so far will have their dvds shipped on Monday. I have received some emails and queries from people about getting individual dvds instead of the whole set. Here is what you can do: Boo Schexnayder - Planning Microcylces/Speed & Power Development/Training Design (2 dvd set) - $45 Dan Pfaff - Training Design, Injury, and Plan "B" - (2 DVD set) - $45 Dan Pfaff - 200m and up Training Design - $30 Dan Pfaff - Sprint Start Biomechanics - $30 As with the other dvds, a portion of each sale will go to help Jade Ellis. I have been having some problems with private messages... so if interested Guest Blog, Kebba Tolbert's Blog 2010-02-20T07:06:05+00:00 http://www.elitetrack.com/blogs/details/5005/ http://www.elitetrack.com/blogs/details/5005/#When:15:29:25Z When people post video of an exercise or a description of a workout that is just a snapshot of a feature length movie. The snapshot has no context, Where? When? How? Who? Most importantly of all – Why? I notice when I do presentations and put a workout on the screen people will frantically scramble to write it down before I go to the next screen. The same with the video clips. Everyone wants copies of the clips because that it is a cool exercise. I can’t tell you how many “cool exercises” have blown up in my face. Why because I tried to use the “cool exercise” arbitrarily without taking the time to put it in the context of the system. For example I just saw a clip of Daron Robles, World record in 110 meter hurdles, doing a series of drills over one hurdle in place. It was poetry in motion, one of the coolest series of hurdle drills I have ever seen. I took a deep breath sat back and starting thinking with whom, how and where would I use it. Certainly with no one I have ever coached. This drill was obviously something he had grown up with and mastered as part of his whole routine. Therefore I filed it under very cool exercises in my library. For all you middle distance and distance coaches the current infatuation with GS – General Strength exercises and random medicine ball drills would fall under the same category. Why are you doing what you are doing when you are doing it? I see coaches finding another way to make to make the athlete tired rather than systematically addressing specific needs for the various distances. As I have implored you many times in this blog think, think think! It is always more than an exercise or a drill. Vern Gambetta's Blog 2010-02-18T15:29:25+00:00 http://www.elitetrack.com/blogs/details/5004/ http://www.elitetrack.com/blogs/details/5004/#When:15:12:44Z 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 to get it done. Look around you and read the sports pages, you will see examples of this all the time. It is definitely not genetic; it is also the environment, if you don’t believe me read The Talent Code: Greatness Isn't Born. It's Grown. Here's How.. The athlete with an insatiable desire to succeed coupled with guidance in the form of good coaching and teaching will prevail. You can significantly raise you athletic intelligence through specific directed practice. It is not easy but the path has been traveled before, you must learn to read the road signs along the way. Gaining athletic intelligence and expertise is not mindless; it is a very mindful process. Everything must be connected to the desired end result. It is not a robotic process; it is a process of tuning into the wisdom of the body, respecting the body and all its self-organizing capabilities. It is not focusing on what we cannot do; it is optimizing what we can do by a focus on the process. It all comes down to the three R’s: Routine, Repetition, and Refinement. Vern Gambetta's Blog 2010-02-18T15:12:44+00:00