ELITETRACK: Sport Training & Conditioning

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...

Published - Tuesday, 02 December 2008 on Carl Valle

Tired of Tires

Tire flips are not an exercise that should be placed in a program to add spice or "entertrain" kids . I am not an expert on tire flips but when I see poor technique I will call out any guru no matter who it is. The attached photo (1) is an athlete doing a tire flip with dangerous form. First, the motion should be like a front squat, using the chest (friction) to push the side of the tire up 45 d...

Published - Monday, 01 December 2008 on Carl Valle

Dynamic Posture and more Spine Tuning

Posture training requires a lot of time and effort, so it is more likely to see transformations with body composition than body alignment. The focus now is on getting thoracic motion to a spine that is likely to be too kyphotic. I believe that the spine will move properly if you train properly. Instead of focusing on corrective exercise prescription I focus on improving technique. The lumbar, cerv...

Published - Sunday, 30 November 2008 on Carl Valle

Nero Fiddled

I need to preface this post by saying that in 2004 - 05 I worked for the New York Mets, not the greatest of times, but a big time learning experience. I also want to emphasize again that this is not a political blog, but sport and society are intertwined. This also could be interpreted as another baseball bashing, so be it. When I found out that Citibank, the latest financial institution to go on ...

Published - Saturday, 29 November 2008 on Vern Gambetta

Pretension and Joint Flow

Stiffness and mobility are often looked as isolated modalities but they are a complex interaction when trained. It would be convenient that one can just do some mobility drills or bridges to become a great athlete but that is far from the truth. Reducing muscle slack at key times and allowing controlled motion requires very good coaching abilities, hence why interns at various performance centers ...

Published - Friday, 28 November 2008 on Carl Valle

Convenient

What is convenient is not always right. Just because something is easy to measure does not mean it will improve performance. If we train for what we measure then hopefully that will improve, but if what we measure is not relevant to the sport we are training for, then we have the athletic equivalent of no child left behind - a bunch of athletic dolts who can do mindless repetitions of cone drills ...

Published - Friday, 28 November 2008 on Vern Gambetta

Ostrich Award

I have decided to institute a new award among the numerous awards given in sport. I am sure this sure will soon rival the ESPY’s in prestige. It will not be an annual but will be awarded more frequently to honor those who have buried their heads in the sand as deep as possible to avoid the most obvious of problems. The first winner is George Mitchell, that tireless anti- drug crusader who d...

Published - Wednesday, 26 November 2008 on Vern Gambetta

2 Great Quotes

I’ve thrown for forty-five years on an average of 10,000 throws a year. That’s 450,000 throws and not one of those throws has ever been perfect. There was always something else I could have done to make the prior throw just a little bit better. I think if we attack life in that same manner we can do some wonderful things on this earth. -Al Oerter Four time Olympic Gold MedalistLeader...

Published - Tuesday, 25 November 2008 on Vern Gambetta

Stayability or Stability

Stayability = This is a posed fixed position, there is not very much transfer to real world athletic movements. There are not very many sports where you stay there. Artificial and sterile.Stability = This represents an instant in time, it is not a position or a posture, it is definitely not a still picture. A javelin thrower or a swimmer needs great shoulder stability, the ability to maintain inte...

Published - Tuesday, 25 November 2008 on Vern Gambetta

Closed Systems, Tangled Hierarchies, Killer Bees

Training should be a simple as possible but not simpler. I personally have a vendetta against those who pontificate KISS and other approaches to training design and programming. The stupid in this world haven't don't much so why are we trying to dumb things down? I would rather clarify than to simplify. With three requests for my training system I got this weekend I say with dramatic pause, the ...

Published - Tuesday, 25 November 2008 on Carl Valle

2008 Olympics: Usain’s Insane 100m

Well, by now everyone in the world knows that Usaine Bolt is not a human being. At least not by the standards we have been using for the last couple millennium. His 100m performance of 9.69 was just mind-boggling. 9.69 beat Bolt's previous world record by 0.03 seconds and is faster than the WR of just last year by 0.05 seconds. That's like a swimmer breaking a world record by 4 seconds...never m...

Published - Monday, 18 August 2008 on Mike Young

Coaching Characteristics

Spend some time at a track meet and see if you don’t notice the samecharacteristics of these event coaches. Makes you wonder if coachesfind an event based on their personality or vice versa. Heregeneralization and stereotypes.Distance CoachesThese ones are the easiest to pin down. Roll into theoffice with a big cup of coffee. Read letsrun.com and other sitesfor an hour. Stress about recent w...

Published - Friday, 14 October 2005 on Todd

IAAF World Championships Day 7- World Record

Theweather took a turn for the better last night. No rain, sun, and mid60's for the temps. It was still breezy but not as bad as previousnights.Isinbayeva sets another WR!Quote of the Day:"There is the Americanteam........and there is the baton on the track." This quote came from the English speakingannouncer at the stadium as the exchange for the American 4 x 100 relay was replayed ...

Published - Thursday, 11 August 2005 on Todd

Rise and Shine

hey Carl what could i do to build work capacity and recovery btw my high int days besides tempo - i heard u had some great ideas.?Thanks for the first question. It's been a long time since I have posted on a blog so you will have to be patient. I will try to answer questions instead of ranting but I may vent some frustrations from time to time.Two key elements you stated you wish to improve on...

Published - Saturday, 07 October 2006 on Carl Valle

IAAF World Championships Day 9- The Good, The Bad, The Ugly

The last day of a great week of track and field ended yesterday. It wassomewhat sad to have it be over, because as a track and field addict, Ineed my fix everyday.Wariner pulls away in the 4 x 400m relayI'll skip to the action, since I have packing to do and a flight to catch.The race that I came here for was the women's marathon to support my wife Turena who was running.The Events:Radcliffe spr...

Published - Saturday, 13 August 2005 on Todd

Dallas Robinson

I rarely come on ET asking for money. I want to keep the site as free as possible. In fact, the only time I can remember doing it before was for a Red Cross Hurricane Katrina Disaster Relief fund. At the time, I was living in Baton Rouge and I saw first hand the destruction and displacement that Katrina and the subsequent flooding caused. Thanks to a handful of ET members close to a thousand dolla...

Published - Wednesday, 05 March 2008 on Mike Young

US Health Crisis to Blame for State of American T & F?

Jeremy Wariner: Atypical AmericanI love track. I'm passionate about it. There's nothing I'd rather do than coach track and field. Watching elite level track and field doesn't rank far behind. So why I've wondered, am I and others like me so rare in this country the very same country with the most dominant track and field team in the world? While there are certainly a multitude of explanations...

Published - Friday, 16 September 2005 on Mike Young

Track and field: Top 100 times by teenagers or high school sprinters

A new sprint phenom or a flash in the pan. Read this article from the San Antonio Express News and decide for yourself:Here are the 100-meter times of top U.S. sprinters as teenagers or high schoolers (and what happened to each sprinter since): Rynell Parson, Stevens, March 3: 9.99 (Hand-timed and wind-aided at the East Central Invitational. His automatic 10.43 was the nation's fastest ...

Published - Friday, 16 March 2007 on Mike Young

Performance Enhancing…..uniforms?

If you’ve been watching the 2006 Torino Olympics you mayhave noticed some of the interesting sports gear used by the athletes. This isnothing new….many Winter Olympic sports lend themselves to technologicaladvancement. Whether we’re talking about clap-skates used for speed skating,aerodynamic bobsleds, or specialized helmets for your various sliding sports,the Winter Olympic spo...

Published - Monday, 20 February 2006 on Mike Young

Coaches Ed Follow-Up

Sorry for the delayed follow-up. Harrisonburg, VA- What abummer. The USATF Coaches Ed school sure was a waste of time. Here Iwas expecting big things and the whole thing turned out to be a dud. JUST KIDDING!!! The school in general and the Level 3 in particular lived up to all the hype. How could it not?Here are some notes I took from two of the lectures Dan gave at the Level 3 school:DAN PFAFF on...

Published - Sunday, 10 July 2005 on Mike Young

2008 Olympics: Usain’s Insane 100m

Published - Monday, 18 August 2008 on Mike Young

14 reasons why Jamaica is the Sprint Capitol of the World

At this past Olympics, Jamaica put on a show. The tiny island with a population of less than 3 million people won more Olympic medals than every other country not named USA, Russia or Kenya. And when you consider the QUALITY of their medals, things are even more astounding. Consider these points:If we use the point system I described HERE, Jamaica (24 points) is actually the 3rd best track and fie...

Published - Wednesday, 10 September 2008 on Mike Young

Tyson Gay’s 100m performance in Eugene

We've recently been spoiled by the amazing feats of Asafa Powell's 9.72 personal best in Lausanne and Usain Bolt's string of sub 9.85s. So much so that it's easy to forget that someone other than these two actually produced the fastest 100m ever. EVAR. Tyson Gay. Remember him? He's that guy who didn't make the final at the Olympics due to lack of race fitness caused by an injury at the U.S. ...

Published - Thursday, 04 September 2008 on Mike Young

6 Reasons Why Jamaicans Dominate the Sprints

Yesterday I posted a couple videos with some insight in to what MVP club coach Stephen Francis is doing with his athletes. The discussion on this blog entry got me off my butt to write another blog that I've been meaning to write for some time – The Reasons Why Jamaicans Dominate the Sprints. In case you were in a cocoon in 2008, you witnessed one of the greatest sprint years by a single ...

Published - Wednesday, 01 October 2008 on Mike Young

Top 10 Myths of Sprinting Mechanics

On my way back from Sarasota today I came up with a list of the top ten myths I hear about sprinting mechanics. Check it out and let me know what I left off. The elbow angle must stay at 90 degrees. Who came up with this? What’s the rationale? What’s the benefit? Ask someone to provide answers to those questions next time you hear that ridiculous idea. Not only is it not beneficial, it...

Published - Wednesday, 25 July 2007 on Mike Young

Pre-Season Testing

Summer’s over. It’s Fall. On college campuses all across the country, pre-season track training has begun in earnest. And with pre-season training comes the battery of tests that most good coaches use to assess progress and program effectiveness and provide a competitive opportunity to athletes who might not otherwise compete for another 4-6 months. I personally love test week. In my setups, ...

Published - Monday, 15 September 2008 on Mike Young

American Track Demise?

Yesterday, I blogged about America's track performance in Beijing and whether it was really as bad as it seemed. I kinda steered towards an optimistic view yesterday. Today, I'm back to give the other side of the argument. The answer to whether Beijing was a complete meltdown isn't real simple but I think it's safe to say that something wasn't wright in Beijing. First off, America has histori...

Published - Thursday, 28 August 2008 on Mike Young

Hard Boyled and Over Cooked?

Due to the large increases of "pleasant" emails and forwarded replies from others to my inbox I will share my thoughts on the current material proposed by Mike Boyle and Gray Cook. Since this is business and I have nothing personally against Mike and Gray I will focus on the information proposed by them in order to keep things fair. Some of Mike's material is fantastic and I suggest being part...

Published - Tuesday, 14 October 2008 on Carl Valle

Fighting Fear

Relax and win? Only if you know you are ready to compete. Training requires the athlete to emotionally know they are ready. I like testing daily and measuring elements in an audit to see if the athlete is ready to compete. Many times they will not test well even if the training is going great just because they are not in competition mode. Time trials, invited guests, cameras, and surprise testing ...

Published - Tuesday, 21 October 2008 on Carl Valle

Thoughts on Being the Best

Control what can, not what you can’t! Be Smart. Work on something specific each day. Have a plan! Train with a purpose. Improvement is incremental. Small steps lead to big steps.Pressure - Pressure is what you make it! Use the pressure to make you better, internalize it and use it as a positive influence.Belief – Think you are the best and you are on your way. Confidence, believe in ...

Published - Tuesday, 11 November 2008 on Vern Gambetta

Muscle Injuries: Optimising Recovery

Author: Aarimaa, Ville, Jarvinen, Markku, Jarvinen, Teppo, Jarvinen, Tero, Kaariainen, Minna, Kalimo, Hannu, Vaittinen, Samuli
Type: Research Literature
Source: Best Practice & Research Clinical Rheumatology
Topic: Flexibility, Sports Science, Muscle Dynamics, Restoration
Level: Medium

Author: Andrews, Warren, Hori, Naruhiro, Kawamori, Naoki, McGuigan, Michael, Newton, Robert, Nosaka, Kazunori
Type: Research Literature
Source: Journal of Strength and Conditioning Research
Topic: Sprints, Jumps, Sports Science, Biomechanics, Strength and Conditioning
Level: Hard, Medium

Static Stretching Impairs Sprint Performance in Collegiate Track and Field Athletes

Author: Landin, Dennis, Nelson, Arnold, Schexnayder, Irving "Boo", Winchester, Jason, Young, Michael
Type: Research Literature
Source: Journal of Strength and Conditioning Research
Topic: Flexibility, Sprints, Sports Science, Muscle Dynamics, Biomechanics
Level: Hard, Medium

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