Category: Sports Performance Training

Creating Break Away Speed: A How-to Guide for High School Football Coaches

I recently saw a post in a Facebook group for football coaches that asked a very simple question: "Anyone got something to increase speed?" Being a speed coach, my interest was peaked. I saw just about every answer you could imagine in the comments. Plyos, heavy weights, light weights for explosiveness, the dot drill (remember … Continue reading Creating Break Away Speed: A How-to Guide for High School Football Coaches →

Motor Skill Acquisition: Method of Amplification of Error

You ever had the experience where no matter what you said or did with an athlete, the desired motor output was not achieved? In other words, your coaching sucked was ineffective in guiding the athlete towards hitting the correct positions? Be honest, I know I'm not alone in this. And I know I'm not the … Continue reading Motor Skill Acquisition: Method of Amplification of Error →

Speed changes following 4 weeks of resisted and overspeed sprints

This summer I trained a D1-bound female soccer athlete whose primary goal was improved speed. We worked together twice per week. One session involved resisted sprints at max power while the other was overspeed sprints at 105-110% max velocity, both utilizing the 1080 Sprint. I like this combination of training because it covers both ends … Continue reading Speed changes following 4 weeks of resisted and overspeed sprints →

Does Strength Training Too Young Limit Long-term Athletic Potential?

Dr. Anatoliy Bondarchuk is an Olympic Gold and Bronze medal winning hammer thrower and a highly accomplished coach in the former Soviet Union who now coaches in Canada. His book Transfer of Training was translated to English by Dr. Michael Yessis and his work has heavily influenced the sports performance world (certainly my views, which … Continue reading Does Strength Training Too Young Limit Long-term Athletic Potential? →

Six Lessons I Learned in my First Year of Training Youth Athletes (That Have Nothing to do With Actual Training)

I’ve been a personal trainer for ten years, but for the first nine I trained almost exclusively adults who wanted to lose weight and feel better. Last year I transitioned into a role where nearly 100% of my clientele is youth athletes. Coming into this role I knew how different training for athleticism is than … Continue reading Six Lessons I Learned in my First Year of Training Youth Athletes (That Have Nothing to do With Actual Training) →

Power, not strength, is the #1 training goal for explosive-sport athletes

Click here to be notified when new posts go live. Strength is important to sport performance, but only in that it serves to improve force production within sport-specific timeframes. Training is only effective when it results in an increased force expression within said timeframes; when pushing 1RM higher ceases to do so, training should change … Continue reading Power, not strength, is the #1 training goal for explosive-sport athletes →

Force Application Time: The Principle of Specificity

Click here to be notified when new posts go live. Specificity of training is a core principle that dictates training should enhance a specific aspect of athletic performance or a specific physiological / biomechanical outcome. The term "sport-specific training" gets thrown around frequently, but there is not a clear definition of what "sport-specific" means. I … Continue reading Force Application Time: The Principle of Specificity →

Applying Bondarchuk’s Exercise Classification System: A Thought Experiment and Why Most Training Doesn’t Work

Click here to be notified when new posts go live. My last post discussed the end goal of training for athletes: playing your sport better. That statement sounds like a no brainer, but all too often athletes (and their trainers) don't approach off-season training with this mindset. Instead, they make a lot of assumptions (read: … Continue reading Applying Bondarchuk’s Exercise Classification System: A Thought Experiment and Why Most Training Doesn’t Work →

Keep your eye on the prize: Enhanced gameplay–not performance in the gym–is the end goal

Click here to be notified when new posts go live. Antoliy Bondarchuk developed a brilliant exercise classification scheme. Check it out below: This classification system is intriguing on many levels, the pyramidal structure being insightful in and of itself. At the top of the pyramid sits "Competitive Exercises", which includes playing the sport during live … Continue reading Keep your eye on the prize: Enhanced gameplay–not performance in the gym–is the end goal →