Good review. There were a few items that caught my attention that I hope you will explain. For example, you stated that “As with most works from Soviet origins, there is a heavy emphasis on Soviet research or scientific understanding of the time (a small amount of which has since been refuted)”. Can you give a few examples of what has been refuted?
you stated that “… I’ve largely transitioned to a training philosophy molded by the teachings of Western coaches like Boo Schexnayder, Dan Pfaff, and Tom Tellez,…”. Can you briefly describe what this training philosophy is? I have not seen a unified philosophy.
I am very familiar with the specialized strength training as brought out by Verkhoshansky. I first learned of these exercises back in the early 1980s and according to the Soviet coaches it was the reason for their success after dumping the greater volume philosophy. I too have found specialized strength training to be the key to successful development of the athlete. This is one reason why they are featured so heavily in Explosive Running.
However, I have also found that most coaches do not understand this concept — especially adherence to the criterion that the exercise duplicate the same neuromuscular pathway as seen in execution of the skill. I believe it may be important to bring out the criteria as brought out in the book to distinguish these exercises from the general exercises that many people call specialized.
Thanks for your attention to these comments.
