Mainly I'm posting this so that I'll be able to access the information easily. I'm going to think more about this race and then do an overall evaluation once I've spoken with with Kyle about how he felt during the race. It's a pain to be several states away when you are trying to coach/help some one run faster!
Monday, July 26, 2010
San Francisco Half Marathon
Mainly I'm posting this so that I'll be able to access the information easily. I'm going to think more about this race and then do an overall evaluation once I've spoken with with Kyle about how he felt during the race. It's a pain to be several states away when you are trying to coach/help some one run faster!
Monday, July 12, 2010
Developing Athletes
This summer I have been blessed with a construction job. That's given me an immense amount of time to think. At the national coaches convention this past year I had a conversation with a coaching friend of mine and mentor Lucky Huber. The discussion centered around the development of strength in athletes and more importantly the question of what is enough strength.
Currently we are toying with some ideas about strength levels. Obviously there are differing levels based on events for each athletes. My friend and coworker Greg Binstock mentioned to me in a conversation this past year that it was not until his male high jumpers could put up 400 lbs in squat that they were really able to jump in the 7' range. This past year those same athletes saw a de emphasis in their training on strength at I would suggest the result was a terrible season of jumping.
Recently we went to a summer track meet and long jumped. One of my girls that has made substantial strength gains mentioned that every thing felt easy now that she is so much stronger. She felt that all of her movements were more controlled and thus effortless requiring far less concentration of the CNS.
So here we go. I'll dish out some quick numbers. I think that with your ladies it is not out of this world to suggest that they be able to squat 3-400 lbs for a set of 4 and for your men I think a great goal is 5-600 lbs. These strength levels need to be acquired during the summer when they can focus solely on strength. These strength levels should allow us to focus on a period during the year when we move to plyometrics and from there to more event specific activities. The thing that excites me the most is the idea that we will be able to increase the density of our training. In other words I think that this great strength base is going to enable us to work more on event specific activity and on sprinting repetition which should result in a greater adaptation in speed and power.
The main question that has been continually posed to me concerns the reduction in range of motion and increase in mass. We have tracked our weight gain over the summer and since the substantial increase in strength we have seen no increase in overall mass, rather a change in body composition. I would suggest that as we move from a power/strength phase to a speed/endurance phase we will see a reduction in body fat and an increase in power output/lb of body weight. This should result in an increase in our standing long jump, STJ, flying 30m and 30m from 3 pt. Basically it should make our kids more athletic.
The biggest reason that we have been focusing on strength this summer is that of all the variables that are part of the athletic equation, strength is the least developed in high school kids that come into our program. Most are able to run jump and perform technical aspects of their events, they are, however, limited by their strength. I expect that after the fall all of my women are able to squat between 185 and 255 lbs for a set of 4 and my men to be able to squat 300 - 400 lbs for a set of 4. Those athletes that struggle with more weight have been put on a higher rep endurance lifting regimen. I have them perform sets of 4-5x12 for 185-225. This results in the development of the necessary muscle structure and suppport muscles to support greater weight. It also develops the endurance to perform many body weight reps.
Auxillary Days
I have yet to have athletes develop too much upper body mass. I have them lift bi's tri's and shoulders on their auxillary days. They also include a bar workout which is an abdominal workout. I find that sit ups are not sufficient in the development of abdominal strength. We never do anything with our back on the floor so I have them perform abdominal movements with no support. T his develops the musculature completely. On a later date I will go into further detail on this matter and my findings.
Currently we are toying with some ideas about strength levels. Obviously there are differing levels based on events for each athletes. My friend and coworker Greg Binstock mentioned to me in a conversation this past year that it was not until his male high jumpers could put up 400 lbs in squat that they were really able to jump in the 7' range. This past year those same athletes saw a de emphasis in their training on strength at I would suggest the result was a terrible season of jumping.
Recently we went to a summer track meet and long jumped. One of my girls that has made substantial strength gains mentioned that every thing felt easy now that she is so much stronger. She felt that all of her movements were more controlled and thus effortless requiring far less concentration of the CNS.
So here we go. I'll dish out some quick numbers. I think that with your ladies it is not out of this world to suggest that they be able to squat 3-400 lbs for a set of 4 and for your men I think a great goal is 5-600 lbs. These strength levels need to be acquired during the summer when they can focus solely on strength. These strength levels should allow us to focus on a period during the year when we move to plyometrics and from there to more event specific activities. The thing that excites me the most is the idea that we will be able to increase the density of our training. In other words I think that this great strength base is going to enable us to work more on event specific activity and on sprinting repetition which should result in a greater adaptation in speed and power.
The main question that has been continually posed to me concerns the reduction in range of motion and increase in mass. We have tracked our weight gain over the summer and since the substantial increase in strength we have seen no increase in overall mass, rather a change in body composition. I would suggest that as we move from a power/strength phase to a speed/endurance phase we will see a reduction in body fat and an increase in power output/lb of body weight. This should result in an increase in our standing long jump, STJ, flying 30m and 30m from 3 pt. Basically it should make our kids more athletic.
The biggest reason that we have been focusing on strength this summer is that of all the variables that are part of the athletic equation, strength is the least developed in high school kids that come into our program. Most are able to run jump and perform technical aspects of their events, they are, however, limited by their strength. I expect that after the fall all of my women are able to squat between 185 and 255 lbs for a set of 4 and my men to be able to squat 300 - 400 lbs for a set of 4. Those athletes that struggle with more weight have been put on a higher rep endurance lifting regimen. I have them perform sets of 4-5x12 for 185-225. This results in the development of the necessary muscle structure and suppport muscles to support greater weight. It also develops the endurance to perform many body weight reps.
Auxillary Days
I have yet to have athletes develop too much upper body mass. I have them lift bi's tri's and shoulders on their auxillary days. They also include a bar workout which is an abdominal workout. I find that sit ups are not sufficient in the development of abdominal strength. We never do anything with our back on the floor so I have them perform abdominal movements with no support. T his develops the musculature completely. On a later date I will go into further detail on this matter and my findings.
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