Categoriescoaching Conditioning

Why You Should Train Like an Athlete, Even If You Aren’t One

You don’t have to be playing in front of thousands of people or sign a seven-figure contract in order to train like an athlete.

Although, lets be honest: both would be nice.

I’m often asked how I go about writing programs for my athletes as opposed to by everyday regular Joes and Janes; how much do they differ?

Well, not as much as you think!

Rest assured there’s a lot of attention to detail when training anyone – regardless of athletic background. It’s important to take into consideration one’s injury history, anthropometry (anatomical differences), training experience, goals, and a host of other variables.

However, with regards to athletes, I’d be lying if I said we didn’t have to be even more meticulous with their programming at times. When you’re dealing with a million dollar arm – literally – for example, the last thing you want to do as a strength & conditioning coach is place the athlete in peril, performing exercises with high-risk/low-reward value.

(For the record, peril in this case doesn’t mean life threatening or anything. Just, you know, you don’t want to do stupid shit with them, like juggling chainsaws on a BOSU ball, or using a BOSU ball in general).1

Not to mention you have to respect the ebbs and flows of off-season vs. in-season program design, and the unique stress each sport places on the body.

I.e, how you write a program for a football player will differ quite a bit from a baseball player…based off the demands of the sport.

All that said, the principles I follow whether I’m training an athlete or general pop client don’t differ much.

My male and female clients still squat, deadlift, row, press, perform farmer carries, toss med balls, push the sled, and otherwise vomit (not literally) strength and conditioning all over the place.

Likewise, while I may not clock their 40 yd times, I still have them skip, shuffle, jump, and move around like athletes.

Life = The Ultimate Game

Am I right, or am I right?

Training like an athlete provides many benefits: (generally speaking) improved muscle mass, strength, body composition, bone health, CNS inter/intra coordination, better balance, and an overall sense of athleticism.

It also makes you a better dancer. #truestoriesitellmyself

Lets face it: after a long day at work and using all your will power not to stab your boss in the throat with a stapler, what sounds more enticing….heading to the gym to perform a few sets of this and a few reps of that with no rhyme or reason or lifting something heavy with some purpose and tossing/dragging stuff around?

 

On a related note: wanna know what my litmus test is for athleticism in my “non-athletic” clients?

It’s not 1RM testing on anything, and it’s not testing their vertical jump.

It’s a simple drill that everyone has done at one point or another in their lives………….

Skipping

And I’m not talking about “Dorothy skipping down the yellow brick road” skipping. I mean, athletic skipping.

 

The saying is true: “if you don’t use it, you lose it.” (<– trying really hard to refrain from a penis joke here).

Athleticism is one of the first things to fade as we grow into adulthood. We trade in fields and courts for filing cabinets and coffee mugs that says “World’s Best Boss.”

One of the first drills I use with my general fitness clients to help build up their athleticism is plain ol’ vanilla skipping.

Along with shuffling, medicine ball drills, jumping, kettlebell swings, and uphill sprints (less wear and tear on joints).

Many people are programmed to think that training has to be analogous to calculus: “x”reps for “y” sets, done with the same machines, in the same order, time and time and time again. Boring.

It’s amazing to see my clients become invigorated and enjoy their training sessions again by having them perform more un-traditional exercises/drills. They think they’re training like athletes….

…..because they are.

Why You Should Train Like an Athlete

My good friend, Jen Sinkler, is involved with a new project coming out soon called Lighting & Thunder.

Below is a link to a short video you can watch explaining some of the benefits of training like like an athlete, even if you’re not.

NOTE: no spam involved here. Jen hates spam as much as she hates not wearing lip gloss.

—> CLICK ME <—

CategoriesUncategorized

Are Speed and Agility Drills Necessary to Get Faster?

“I need my kid to be faster!”

It’s a statement that I hear on an almost daily basis at the facility from numerous parents whenever I ask what their (and their kid’s) goals are moving forward.

My business partner, Eric Cressey, wrote a fantastic blog post last year titled “Make My Kid Faster” so I won’t belabor many of the same points here because he already did most of the work.  And, speaking truthfully, there really isn’t much more I can add to what he already said.

That said, I recently wrote an article for Stack Magazine which tackles the same question – albeit in the context of a young baseball player asking how he can go about lowering his 60 time.

I wanted to make sure that my answer addressed the fact that GETTING STRONGER is a sure-fire way to get faster.  For me, many of the “speed drills” that are popular in today’s youth athletics are nothing but smoke and mirrors designed to look cool and to give the illusion that something is happening.

It all comes down to how well (and efficient) one is at developing force.  If an athlete is weak, it’s going to be hard to develop any force regardless of how many ladder drills are done.

Force production is all about how much of it one is able to generate into the ground.  Sure, there are a multitude of exercises we can implement that will help and will undoubtedly get the ball rolling in the right direction, but if an athlete is weak from the start (has no horsepower), there’s really no reason to get cute programming.

What good is it going to do to tell little Jonny to work on his foot speed if, once he’s out on the playing field, he can’t even change direction without crumbling to the ground like a Jenga game gone awry?

How is a ladder drill going to help someone throw a ball harder? Or run faster?

Now, I’m not throwing all these types of drills under the bus – there is a time and place for them, of course.  But when we’re talking about young athletes and even upwards on up to the high school and collegiate ranks (and yes, even the pros), learning how to squat or how to perform a push-up properly takes more precedence in my eyes than running against a parachute.

But I digress.

In the article linked to below I give some further insight on my thought process on the matter, but I also throw a bone and offer some “speed” drills that I find efficacious for baseball players on improving their 60 time.

And, as always, whenever I link to an article I’ve written on another site, I’d really appreciate if you’d “Like” the article (on the actual site) and share it on your social media if you so choose. Anything that helps spread the word would be great, and if I ever meet you in person you’re totally getting a hug.  Thanks!

—> Tony, Make Me Faster! <—-