All training is about improving movement. Training movements not muscles is not my idea that comes from the literature, neurologically the brain does not recognize individual muscles, it recognizes patterns of movement. I think the mistake we make is thinking that training is an end unto itself; training is ALWAYS a means to an end. We have to focus on the fact that we are preparing the athlete to thrive in the competitive arena, to be highly adaptable and efficient in all aspects of performance. That demands a multifaceted training program that challenges the athlete to solve increasingly complex movement problems. There is nothing wrong with measuring strength, or jump performance or any other physical quality that can be measured, but those measure must be put in context. Just because you bench press X amount or jump Y height does not necessarily mean you will be a better player. The problem is that it is easy to get caught up chasing numbers like this and be fooled. Essentially these are random numbers unless placed in context. We must also remember that most of our classical performance tests measure one part of the performance paradigm – force production. We know from biomechanical analysis and experience that force reduction is a bigger limiting factor and proprioception lends quality to the movement. Both are more difficult to measure, so they are often ignored. Sound training should balance out all elements of training and recognize that we do not train various systems of the body independently, the endocrine, hormonal, nervous, muscular and cardiovascular system all work together synergistically to produce performance.
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