Ask any trainer/strength coach about why they got into the industry and I guarantee not one of them will say "the money." And as Mike Boyle often says, not many of us gave up brain surgery to start training athletes.
So why do we do it?
I've always known what my motivation was, but the other day it was reaffirmed by one of my young "athletes".
I recently wrote about the value of praising effort over performance, an idea I took from the book Nurture Shock. I gave a story of a young (9 year old) athlete who was struggling, and getting frustrated when he couldn't perform certain coordination drills or games. And I think I pointed out how much more effort he put in when I made it clear that effort was all I expected, and how he continued to get himself up time after time after falling down (literally a couple dozen times in a single "workout").
Well a couple of days ago, with the same class and young athlete, we did a similar workout to the one from a few weeks ago (including a lot of ladder drills, and some linear acceleration games/ball drops, etc.). The same drills that led to Ryan falling down so many times before, were almost perfected by him on Monday. And let me tell you, his eyes lit up like the 4th. His footwork was almost flawless and his feet were much quicker-and I don't think he fell once.
This isn't the first time I've seen this, but it never gets old. This is why we need to stay patient with our kids. Statistics say that Ryan will probably never be an "elite" athlete, and many parents and coaches see this as enough reason to not pay for training like we give. And many of Ryan's friends, maybe even parents, won't notice much of a difference right away, making it difficult to put a value on the training he's been given.
But I bet if they do notice anything, it's that he's willing to try anything now because he knows a concentrated effort will be rewarded in the end. It's not magic, voo-doo, or slight of hands tricks. It's simply allowing each kid to try to reach their own potential. We'll never know what the ceiling is for most of these kids, but the least we can do is get them to try to find it for themselves.
Thursday, October 29, 2009
Wednesday, October 28, 2009
Top 9 Reasons the Yankees will win
Top 9 Reasons the Yankees will win the World Series that don’t include money…
2. Philly Fans are outmatched. For as much credit as Philly fans get for being insolent and completely obnoxious about their sports (which is true), I think they have been weathered a little bit after being spoiled last year by being spoon-fed in the world series by the awe-struck Tampa Bay Rays. Besides, their fans still fall a distant second to some of the crazies that frequent the Bronx.
3. Ryan Howard won’t know what to do with the short porch in right. Ever hear a hitter talk about what happens when you start trying to hit home runs? You don’t think this will happen when Howard looks down the right field line?
4. Winning the Quadruple-A (some call it the National League) title does not mean you were playing real baseball.
5. Pedro Martinez is Philly’s number 2. Really? This is what they’re coming with? One good start in the playoffs (at age 50 I think) and he is now the savior. He was old in 2004. That was 5 years ago. Yanks will be into the Phils bullpen by the 4th inning.
6. On that note, the Philly’s don’t win without 4, 8 inning starts out of their pitchers. Their bullpen is about as useful as a screen door on a submarine.
7. Their nickname is the Phillies. This is the best they could do? They’re either named after female horses, or they were not creative enough to come up with a name so they just used the abbreviated version of the city name. Either way, let’s get real.
8. Derek Jeter. 9 Years without a World Series ring is considered a great career for most. That’s a drought for the Yankee captain. Plus he once said something along the lines of, "I'm not going down the Miss Universe road again." How many people can utter that phrase? The guy's a winner.
9. Kate Hudson. She gets full credit for the Arod turnaround in the playoffs. Seriously, I’d hit .450 in the postseason too if I knew I was going home to that every night.
1. Star factor…Stars seen at regular season Yankee games include Jay-Z, Kate Hudson, Spike Lee, Billy Crystal, Adam Sandler, Chris Rock, Jack Nicholson, and Paul McCartney. At Philly, they’ll be lucky to get a decrepit Sylvester Stallone. Now that I think about it, if Philly decided to show this face on the Jumbo-tron while the Yankees are hitting, they may be in trouble.
2. Philly Fans are outmatched. For as much credit as Philly fans get for being insolent and completely obnoxious about their sports (which is true), I think they have been weathered a little bit after being spoiled last year by being spoon-fed in the world series by the awe-struck Tampa Bay Rays. Besides, their fans still fall a distant second to some of the crazies that frequent the Bronx.
3. Ryan Howard won’t know what to do with the short porch in right. Ever hear a hitter talk about what happens when you start trying to hit home runs? You don’t think this will happen when Howard looks down the right field line?
4. Winning the Quadruple-A (some call it the National League) title does not mean you were playing real baseball.
5. Pedro Martinez is Philly’s number 2. Really? This is what they’re coming with? One good start in the playoffs (at age 50 I think) and he is now the savior. He was old in 2004. That was 5 years ago. Yanks will be into the Phils bullpen by the 4th inning.
6. On that note, the Philly’s don’t win without 4, 8 inning starts out of their pitchers. Their bullpen is about as useful as a screen door on a submarine.
7. Their nickname is the Phillies. This is the best they could do? They’re either named after female horses, or they were not creative enough to come up with a name so they just used the abbreviated version of the city name. Either way, let’s get real.
8. Derek Jeter. 9 Years without a World Series ring is considered a great career for most. That’s a drought for the Yankee captain. Plus he once said something along the lines of, "I'm not going down the Miss Universe road again." How many people can utter that phrase? The guy's a winner.
9. Kate Hudson. She gets full credit for the Arod turnaround in the playoffs. Seriously, I’d hit .450 in the postseason too if I knew I was going home to that every night.
Thursday, October 22, 2009
Get better!
I talk a lot about the difference between training and working out. If you are charging people to come to you, you better deliver "training" and not "workouts."
What's the difference? Really it comes down to having long term goals, knowing what you need to improve on, and taking steps to actually get better at what you do. Does this mean getting as tired and sore as you can in a workout? Sometimes. But it shouldn't be the only goal of your program. You will burnout quick, and you may not even necessarily be getting any closer to your goals (depending on what they are).
I deal with a lot of athletes, who all have fairly similar goals (with some variation). They want to get better at their sport by getting (some combination of) faster, stronger, quicker, bigger, smaller, etc.
Piggy-backing with my last post regarding crossfit, where I pointed out the need for quality movement versus high training volume, there are ways to get closer to these goals without running the athletes into the ground.
Here's an example of a recent workout I did with some high school athletes:
I work with a small-school, varsity level high school team. This particular day, the seniors were missing for college visits and I was only left with 2 girls; both sophomores of really slender build and a general lack of strength. This is in contrast with a lot of the other girls that normally come (who I had originally planned that class around). I immediately shifted the focus of the day by asking them individually what their goals were. I knew what I was going to do with them, but I wanted them to know as well. (Good coaching tip: if the athletes feel involved in the process, their commitment level is much higher).
They both gave me great goals. Specifically, they wanted to get better at multi-directional speed. So after a good dynamic warm-up, I had a couple of options. Sure, I could've thrown some cones out there and ran them through countless repetitions of cutting drills. They would've gotten their change of direction reps in, been tired, and been nice and sore the next day from all the decelerating. But would that have made them better? Not necessarily.
With their willingness to learn, I thought it would be effective to take the time to actually break down the mechanics of a cut, have them practice it piece-by-piece until they were working at full speed. We started by learning the correct angle to place the feet when cutting, working in rehearsed patterns (where they knew where to cut), and finally to reactive full speed games (like mirror drills).
They barely got tired and would not get sore, but they both felt they got better, and that's all we can do as coaches.
After we finished this, they completed a great strength workout where they worked on improving movement patterns that we all need; lunging, pushing, pulling, and core stability.
So I hope you take the time (for yourself if not for athletes) to set goals with your training, and life for that matter, to make it easier to attack the goals aggressively but not always with misdirected wreckless abandon, as we've seen with a lot of group exercise/training classes. But if you need more visual reinforcement, here's a link that Brian "Sticks" Matthews shared with me. It contains videos that certain trainers are proud of. Hope you know enough to judge for yourself...
http://www.facebook.com/l.php?u=http%3A%2F%2Fvimeo.com%2F1869376&h=1ec9c17d4d3711a56205b3f3db9139ad
Jon
What's the difference? Really it comes down to having long term goals, knowing what you need to improve on, and taking steps to actually get better at what you do. Does this mean getting as tired and sore as you can in a workout? Sometimes. But it shouldn't be the only goal of your program. You will burnout quick, and you may not even necessarily be getting any closer to your goals (depending on what they are).
I deal with a lot of athletes, who all have fairly similar goals (with some variation). They want to get better at their sport by getting (some combination of) faster, stronger, quicker, bigger, smaller, etc.
Piggy-backing with my last post regarding crossfit, where I pointed out the need for quality movement versus high training volume, there are ways to get closer to these goals without running the athletes into the ground.
Here's an example of a recent workout I did with some high school athletes:
I work with a small-school, varsity level high school team. This particular day, the seniors were missing for college visits and I was only left with 2 girls; both sophomores of really slender build and a general lack of strength. This is in contrast with a lot of the other girls that normally come (who I had originally planned that class around). I immediately shifted the focus of the day by asking them individually what their goals were. I knew what I was going to do with them, but I wanted them to know as well. (Good coaching tip: if the athletes feel involved in the process, their commitment level is much higher).
They both gave me great goals. Specifically, they wanted to get better at multi-directional speed. So after a good dynamic warm-up, I had a couple of options. Sure, I could've thrown some cones out there and ran them through countless repetitions of cutting drills. They would've gotten their change of direction reps in, been tired, and been nice and sore the next day from all the decelerating. But would that have made them better? Not necessarily.
With their willingness to learn, I thought it would be effective to take the time to actually break down the mechanics of a cut, have them practice it piece-by-piece until they were working at full speed. We started by learning the correct angle to place the feet when cutting, working in rehearsed patterns (where they knew where to cut), and finally to reactive full speed games (like mirror drills).
They barely got tired and would not get sore, but they both felt they got better, and that's all we can do as coaches.
After we finished this, they completed a great strength workout where they worked on improving movement patterns that we all need; lunging, pushing, pulling, and core stability.
So I hope you take the time (for yourself if not for athletes) to set goals with your training, and life for that matter, to make it easier to attack the goals aggressively but not always with misdirected wreckless abandon, as we've seen with a lot of group exercise/training classes. But if you need more visual reinforcement, here's a link that Brian "Sticks" Matthews shared with me. It contains videos that certain trainers are proud of. Hope you know enough to judge for yourself...
http://www.facebook.com/l.php?u=http%3A%2F%2Fvimeo.com%2F1869376&h=1ec9c17d4d3711a56205b3f3db9139ad
Jon
Tuesday, October 20, 2009
Assess before you guess
One of the most polarizing topics in the world of fitness and exercise science is the practices of the wildly popular systems put in place by Crossfit. Crossfit classes are characterized best as extreme interval/strength training in a group (often large group) setting. In fact, I've seen Iphone apps where you can download the workout of the day that may include upwards of 50 reps (or more) of exercises such as clean+squat, pull ups, sit ups, box jumps, etc.
Don't get me wrong, exercising is better than sitting around watching reruns of, well anything. But we hear of great success stories from systems like this at what cost? The programming of Crossfit is debatable; I'm not a big fan, but there are different philosophies on training out there and that's great. What's not debatable is the detrimental effects of performing programs like this poorly, which is inevitable in a group setting or when you encourage unsupervised weekend warriors to attempt some of these exercises. Also, the inclusion of exercises with known harmful effects to the low back, like the picture below. The science is there; the lumbar spine needs stability, not mobility. So why are we programming hyperextensions still? I guess it's because they're "hard" and the client can "really feel it," so it must be good.
Another favorite exercise complex that's a staple with crossfit is a hang clean+front squat. This is a tough exercise to master (even if you have the hip, ankle and T-spine mobility) that can take weeks to learn the right way. Now I've heard the teaching progressions are solid, but there is no way to monitor so many people and make sure it is being done safely. The first picture (pulled from a local crossfit website) below looks fairly benign at a quick glance, until you see how far onto her toes she is leaning, with her elbows dropped (all while wearing shocks-a whole other beast). Attempting to keep the bar up in this position adds a lot of compressive and shear forces to the low back. Now multiply that by probably 50 reps, and you can imagine there'd be some problems down the road.
This next picture is just ugly. If you think it's a good idea to kill yourself in an exercise session doing exercises with form like this, you might as well start booking PT right now.
Remember, the higher the reps and higher the intensity, the more perfect your form needs to be to avoid any injuries from a training program. Does stuff like this fit the bill? Before you start a program, I hope you have the awareness to realize this if your trainer doesn't, otherwise this is where we hear about those "mysterious" low back injuries and pain that "just shows up" for no reason.
There is always a reason.
Friday, October 16, 2009
Gettin' ready for the weekend
A few things to think about before the weekend...
1. While I really respect the amount of effort and schooling doctors have to go through to get to where they are, it's important to remember they are experts at only what they do. This past summer I had an athlete who worked extremely hard to recover from ACL surgery that was done in February. Attempting to get back in time for soccer season (the season started at less than 5 months post-surgery), she had a doctor her clear her for full activity. But what did he use to assess her ability to play? A quick manual muscle test on the injured knee. The ligament seemed strong, so she was good to go, right? Well what he failed to do was assess her overall movement quality (and maybe that's out of his realm) which is a huge part of assessing risk of future injury. I tried explaining this to the athlete and father, that her muscular endurance was not adequate and she was still favoring the leg, even if only for a lack of confidence. Understandably they went with the Doctors advice (why wouldn't they-it seemed more favorable to her situation, and he is of course a Doctor). Well after not hearing anything for a few weeks, and assuming no news was good news, I called to see how the soccer season was going. Long story short (too late, I know), She had just had surgery on her other ACL. I feel awful for the athlete and luckily with the timing of this one there is no reason to rush back. But I can't help but wonder if this all could have been avoided...Lesson: Ask questions and get a few different opinions from specialists before accepting a prognosis.
2. I just saw an ad for the Wii Fit Plus (or Pro, I don't know). Who are they trying to kid with this? Are people really buying this in an effort to get in shape??? I can only imagine what these meetings at Nintendo are like: "Let's take overweight kids who are already confined running around the house, and put them on a 2'x2' plate so they can't move at all, but we'll add the word 'Fit' to the system and it will be awesome." I don't even have anything intelligent to counter that with because it's not worth my thought process. If you think the Wii Fit is a good idea, then I can't help you either.
1. While I really respect the amount of effort and schooling doctors have to go through to get to where they are, it's important to remember they are experts at only what they do. This past summer I had an athlete who worked extremely hard to recover from ACL surgery that was done in February. Attempting to get back in time for soccer season (the season started at less than 5 months post-surgery), she had a doctor her clear her for full activity. But what did he use to assess her ability to play? A quick manual muscle test on the injured knee. The ligament seemed strong, so she was good to go, right? Well what he failed to do was assess her overall movement quality (and maybe that's out of his realm) which is a huge part of assessing risk of future injury. I tried explaining this to the athlete and father, that her muscular endurance was not adequate and she was still favoring the leg, even if only for a lack of confidence. Understandably they went with the Doctors advice (why wouldn't they-it seemed more favorable to her situation, and he is of course a Doctor). Well after not hearing anything for a few weeks, and assuming no news was good news, I called to see how the soccer season was going. Long story short (too late, I know), She had just had surgery on her other ACL. I feel awful for the athlete and luckily with the timing of this one there is no reason to rush back. But I can't help but wonder if this all could have been avoided...Lesson: Ask questions and get a few different opinions from specialists before accepting a prognosis.
2. I just saw an ad for the Wii Fit Plus (or Pro, I don't know). Who are they trying to kid with this? Are people really buying this in an effort to get in shape??? I can only imagine what these meetings at Nintendo are like: "Let's take overweight kids who are already confined running around the house, and put them on a 2'x2' plate so they can't move at all, but we'll add the word 'Fit' to the system and it will be awesome." I don't even have anything intelligent to counter that with because it's not worth my thought process. If you think the Wii Fit is a good idea, then I can't help you either.
Normally I try to be PC, but if you think this is going to get you in shape, you're an idiot
3. Is it always this cold in October? Already snow around the Northeast and there may end up being 2 or 3 (if not more) playoff baseball games snowed out. I think I need to learn to ski to help me get through another winter in the adirondacks, because this isn't going to cut it.
4. If you're looking for a good read, check out Born to Run, by Christopher McDougall. Even as a coach who focuses on speed and explosiveness, it's a great look into what people were put on earth to do; run. There's a great chapter detailing the problems that started to arise when we started wearing running shoes (and paving more roads). The story itself is really enthralling as well, it's not just for runners.
3. Is it always this cold in October? Already snow around the Northeast and there may end up being 2 or 3 (if not more) playoff baseball games snowed out. I think I need to learn to ski to help me get through another winter in the adirondacks, because this isn't going to cut it.
4. If you're looking for a good read, check out Born to Run, by Christopher McDougall. Even as a coach who focuses on speed and explosiveness, it's a great look into what people were put on earth to do; run. There's a great chapter detailing the problems that started to arise when we started wearing running shoes (and paving more roads). The story itself is really enthralling as well, it's not just for runners.
Tuesday, October 13, 2009
It's all about the Effort
Alright, time to get back to writing. I've been slacking for a few hectic weeks but I make no excuses.
One book that I've finished in recent weeks is called Nurture Shock, by Po Bronson. Bronson explores the typical fashion in which kids are raised in the 21st century, and attempts to debunk a lot of the myths that have been perpetuated through folklore and passed down from generation to generation.
One topic that is directly applicable to the world of strength and conditioning is the argument for positive reinforcement. It seems that lately most people would agree that positive affirmations are a good way to get results out of students/athletes/kids, but what exactly does this mean? I think we all know not to call our kids or clients idiots, and tell them how terrible they are. But what kind of positive reinforcement is actually effective?
I was somewhat surprised when I read exactly how crippling it can be to tell a young student, or athlete, how good (or smart) they are at whatever it is they might be doing. Taking this approach actually leads to worse performances in the future.
Why?
Bronson makes a strong argument that this leads the kids to infer that intelligence, or in my case athletic ability, is entirely innate. In other words, you're either good enough or you're not, and there's not much you can do about it. As soon as they fail at something (do poorly on a test, lost a game, etc.) they are crushed and assume it's because they didn't have the ability in the first place.
Now, what should we do as coaches and parents to avoid this? The research was incredibly clear. Be positive about effort. I've heard many coaches and parents act disgusted when they hear people say things like "Nice try, Johnny!" after striking out, and I sometimes see their point. But, it pays off exponentially if you praise the effort of young kids, whether they ace the test, win the game or not. The key to making it effective though is Being Sincere. Kids can sniff out B.S. compliments from a mile away. If they worked hard at something, let them know. Highlight improvements. This might sound like coddling, but it is absolutely crucial to make kids understand that with consistent effort they will improve.
I saw this work first hand in the last couple weeks with a 10 year old boy that I've been working weekly for a couple of months. In his first group class, he struggled with coordination (and not to mention behaviour) and this frustrated him (and myself to a point). If he couldn't perform a skill on the first attempt he wanted no part of it, and would give up. I decided to try this approach, pulled him aside, and explained to him that all I was looking for was effort. It sounds simple, but I stuck to the approach.
After a few weeks of trying to remain patient, I noticed something.
This kid fell down more times than I've ever seen in a 45 minute class. He hit the ground, hard, a minimum of 15 times. But that's not what I noticed.
If he fell 15 times, he got up without missing a beat 15 times, and probably got up faster after the last time than the first. He kept working hard and knew I wasn't going to get on him about his skill, only his effort. He had fun, was attentive, and got better because of it. It was a very simple approach that worked wonders in this case and is supported by plenty of psychological research.
Hopefully you keep this in mind when working with your own kids or athletes!
One book that I've finished in recent weeks is called Nurture Shock, by Po Bronson. Bronson explores the typical fashion in which kids are raised in the 21st century, and attempts to debunk a lot of the myths that have been perpetuated through folklore and passed down from generation to generation.
One topic that is directly applicable to the world of strength and conditioning is the argument for positive reinforcement. It seems that lately most people would agree that positive affirmations are a good way to get results out of students/athletes/kids, but what exactly does this mean? I think we all know not to call our kids or clients idiots, and tell them how terrible they are. But what kind of positive reinforcement is actually effective?
I was somewhat surprised when I read exactly how crippling it can be to tell a young student, or athlete, how good (or smart) they are at whatever it is they might be doing. Taking this approach actually leads to worse performances in the future.
Why?
Bronson makes a strong argument that this leads the kids to infer that intelligence, or in my case athletic ability, is entirely innate. In other words, you're either good enough or you're not, and there's not much you can do about it. As soon as they fail at something (do poorly on a test, lost a game, etc.) they are crushed and assume it's because they didn't have the ability in the first place.
Now, what should we do as coaches and parents to avoid this? The research was incredibly clear. Be positive about effort. I've heard many coaches and parents act disgusted when they hear people say things like "Nice try, Johnny!" after striking out, and I sometimes see their point. But, it pays off exponentially if you praise the effort of young kids, whether they ace the test, win the game or not. The key to making it effective though is Being Sincere. Kids can sniff out B.S. compliments from a mile away. If they worked hard at something, let them know. Highlight improvements. This might sound like coddling, but it is absolutely crucial to make kids understand that with consistent effort they will improve.
I saw this work first hand in the last couple weeks with a 10 year old boy that I've been working weekly for a couple of months. In his first group class, he struggled with coordination (and not to mention behaviour) and this frustrated him (and myself to a point). If he couldn't perform a skill on the first attempt he wanted no part of it, and would give up. I decided to try this approach, pulled him aside, and explained to him that all I was looking for was effort. It sounds simple, but I stuck to the approach.
After a few weeks of trying to remain patient, I noticed something.
This kid fell down more times than I've ever seen in a 45 minute class. He hit the ground, hard, a minimum of 15 times. But that's not what I noticed.
If he fell 15 times, he got up without missing a beat 15 times, and probably got up faster after the last time than the first. He kept working hard and knew I wasn't going to get on him about his skill, only his effort. He had fun, was attentive, and got better because of it. It was a very simple approach that worked wonders in this case and is supported by plenty of psychological research.
Hopefully you keep this in mind when working with your own kids or athletes!
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)
