Keats Snideman and I just did a quick two-part video on the Kettlebell swing.  We go over a few teaching cues and supplemental exercises to help you perfect your swing technique.

Hope everyone has a Happy New Year!

Young athletes practice long and hard to try and improve their sports skills. Coaches and parents will typically encourage long practices as,“practice makes perfect.”  Often, the emphasis on practicing a specific skill or task is done so at the risk of not focusing on other things that may additionally help the athlete improve their athleticism and abilities.  For example, incorporating appropriate strength and power training into the practice (which should be addressed during the offseason as well as the inseason).

Since we don’t have winter and snow here in Phoenix, it is not uncommon to drive down the street and see some of the club and high school teams practicing on the various fields this time of year.  Observing these practices is an interesting peek into the mind of the coach.  A typical practice usually looks like this:

• A relatively non-specific warm up (jog two laps around the field)
• A bunch of basic sports dills
• Finally some sort of scrimmage or drill that simulates game-like circumstances

In my opinion, the recipe could be better.  Unfortunately, the cook, I mean coach, usually doesn’t understand how to blend the spices together to make a great tasting meal.

One of the most important things that can be emphasized in youth sports practice is dropping the non-specific warm up (the 2-lap plop around the field) and starting to use a more movement based warm up (consisting of various exercises and mobility tasks) to not only enhance the overall movement capacity and awareness of the young athletes, but to serve as a segue into some basic plyometric drills to help teach them how to appropriately absorb and apply force.  I talked a little bit about this in my article on the importance of deceleration training, “We can’t stop.  It’s too dangerous.  We’ve got to slow down first!”

A current study published in the Journal of Strength and Conditioning Research evaluated the influence a short-term plyometric training program – included within a normal 90-min soccer practice – would have on inseason youth soccer athletes.

The athletes (13yrs old) were placed into one of two groups

• A control group who performed the normal 90-min soccer practice, twice a week, for the entire 8-week program.
• A training group who substitute the first 20-25min of their normal soccer practice with a variety of plyometric drills, twice a week, for the entire 8-week program

The athletes were tested before and after the 8-week period using 6-tests to evaluate explosive actions

1. 10-meter sprint
2. Agility test
3. Squat jump
4. Countermovement jump
5. Jump contact test
6. Multiple 5-bound test

The training group performed a periodized plyometric program, which was carried out following the warm up.  The program consisted of:

• Ankle hops
• Vertical and lateral hurdle hops
• Horizontal and lateral bounding
• Skipping
• Footwork (speed ladder)

All exercises were performed on the field, and each session was composed of 4-different exercises for 2-4 sets x 6-12 repetitions.  Because the athletes had no prior training in plyometrics, the 4-main points were stressed:

1. Correct posture (IE, spine erect, shoulders back) and body alignment (IE, chest over knees) throughout the jump
2. Jumping straight up for vertical jumps, with no excessive side-to-side or forward/backward movement
3. Soft landings including toe-to-heel rocking and bent knees
4. Instant recoil preparation for the next jump

Following the 8-week training program the plyometric training group saw decreases in both 10-meter time and agility test time (meaning they got faster!), significant improvements in countermovement jump height (7.9%) and, while not statistically significant, the plyometric training group improved their multiple 5-bound test by 4% and their jump height after rebound in the jump contact test by 10.9%.

The control group showed no significant improvements in any of the explosive power tests and their performance left much to be desired.  Their squat jump and countermovement jump height actually decreased by 4.5% and 3.8% respectively, over the 8-week training period and their agility test time actually INCREASED significantly by 2.8% (meaning they got SLOWER!) following the 8-week training program.

Practical Application

This study is helpful for sports coaches in that it can allow them to draw up practices that are not only time effective, but focus on a variety of essential factors which will aide in developing youth athletes.

The nice thing about this study is that it takes away the excuse, “There isn’t enough time.”  Ninety minutes is the typical amount of time allotted for youth sports practices, and with proper planning the coach should be able to devote the first 30-minutes to a sufficient warm up consisting of basic movement preparation exercises and followed by a safe and progressive plyometric and agility training program.

I do however urge coaches to learn as much as possible before implementing this sort of training program with their youth athletes.  The program in this study was periodized in a manner that allowed the athletes to adapt to slight increases in plyometric volume and intensity over the 8-week period.  The athletes did not just go out and start jumping around.  Each session was rated for intensity on a 1-5 scale and each session built its volume on that of the previous sessions so that the young athletes could properly adapt to the stresses that were placed on them.  Additionally, the coach should have a thorough understanding of how to teach jumping and agility activities safely, so that proper technique is re-enforced, as “Practice makes permanent.  Only perfect practice makes perfect!”

If possible, attempt to contact a qualified strength and conditioning specialist to consult with your team or work with your team on the development of a safe and effective training program.

Remember, coaching youth athletes is about setting them up for success in the future.  I know one junior high lacrosse coach in town that is using some of the agility drills I have worked on with him as part of the teams practice (following the warm up).  These young athletes will surely be astep-ahead of others in their age group when they move onto the next level.

Reference

Meylan C, Malatesta D. Effects of In-Season Plyometric Training Within Soccer Practice On Explosive Actions Of Young Players.J Strength Cond Res 2009;23(9):2605-2613.

Interval training, in the form of repeated sprints, is a common modality used in training programs for those in team sports.

You certainly can’t discount the fact that these athletes need more than the long-slow aerobic type of training that was more common years ago.  Most team sports are intermittent in nature, so various forms of interval training lend themselves well to preparing the athletes to do work at a high or relatively high intensity, recover quickly (sometimes in a minute or less) and then perform a high amount of work again.

There is certainly enough research over the past few years to support this contention.  Here is a brief synopsis of two articles on the subject of interval training and team sport athletes:

• Continuous training (aerobic work for 20-25min) was compared with Interval Training (10sets x 10sec max pedaling on a bicycle ergometer followed by 20sec of recovery) in Eighteen lacrosse athletes.  Vo2max increased significantly in both groups during the aerobic exercise test (incremental cycling test to exhaustion), while maximal anaerobic power only increased significantly in the interval-training group.  Additionally, the interval-training group saw improvements in maximal power in both the early and late stages of the intermittent exercise test (10sets x 10sec max bike sprint followed by 40sec rest).  The researchers concluded that, “Ball game players should therefore improve their endurance capacity with high-intensity intermittent exercise, and it is insufficient to assess their capacity with only Vo2max or continuous exercise.”

• Female college hockey players participated in a study evaluating the relationship between aerobic capacity – measured by Vo2max – and recovery from high intensity intermittent exercise.  The athletes were asked to skate 5-one lap intervals around the rink, separated by 30-seconds of recovery.  The researchers found that aerobic capacity was not significantly related to the ability to recover from high intensity exercise.  Thus, they concluded that, “Coaches and trainers probably do not need to include aerobic training in their practices, because high intensity interval training commonly seen in hockey training also improves aerobic capacity, as reflected in the Vo2max values of these subjects.”

Over Doing It?

As they say, “To much of a good thing can become a bad thing.”

I have gotten the impression that with all the research about interval training and sports preparation, some may be overdoing it, as it is not uncommon to see people programming intense interval workouts daily or several times a week (oftentimes in addition to the athletes regular sports practice).

It is important to remember that interval training can place a high amount of fatigue on the body.  If an athlete is not recovering from this type of training, there is a potential for overtraining.

One particular study looked at the muscle damage following a bout of sport specific repeated sprints.  The subjects performed 15 x 30m sprints with a 10m deceleration zone.  The deceleration zone was used as way to simulate sports specific activities, since team sports often require change of direction, cutting and high amounts of deceleration.  This is also the reason many coaches favor shuttle runs as a means of interval training, as it simulates the dynamic environment during game situations.  Each repetition in the study was followed by 60-seconds of rest.  The researchers measured maximum isometric force (MVC), serum creating kinase activity, muscle soreness (DOMS) and limb girth before training and at 24-hours, 48-hours and 72-hours after exercise.

Creatine Kinase and DOMS were elevated above baseline for 72-hours post training, while maximum voluntary contraction showed a decline at 24 and 48-hours post training, and limb girth was elevated for 48-hours post training.

These results led the researchers to conclude that, “These data show that the repeated sprint protocol with a rapid deceleration precipitates significant levels of damage in the days following the exercise bout and therefore may be used as a suitable alternative to examine the damage response from a sport specific repeated sprint mode of exercise.”

Conclusions

Much like resistance training, you can’t go heavy everyday or  all the time.  Your body needs a break and either you give it the break it needs (proper programming) or it forces you to take that break (injury).

Interval training is a very specific modality that has many applications.  Obviously, identifying the intensity of the intervals is important.  This is one of the reasons why I advocate grading the intensity of the training as “High/Medium/Low”.

Two high days in a row will certainly be pushing the envelope (not that it can’t be done) and would certainly warrant a low day or off day at the completion of those two training days.

Typically I am a fan of sequencing between days of high intensity work and days of low intensity work.

High intensity work would be things like heavy lifting (especially lower body lifts), olympic lifting, intense plyometrics, interval work, sprinting, etc.

Low intensity days would be things like body weight circuits, low intensity medicine ball circuits, tempo runs, etc.

Medium days would fall somewhere in the middle where the intensity is moderate or moderate to high and/or the volume is low.

One thing about the tempo work is that you need to be objective with yourself and perform within the appropriate intensity.  I believe Charlie Francis said something like, “Most people’s tempo work is to high of an intensity to be considered tempo work and to low of an intensity to be considered speed work.”  Basically, we are working harder than we should, instead of backing off the intensity during the tempo work and allowing ourselves to develop an appropriate work capacity and recover adequately so that our high intensity days will not be compromised.

In the article Cardio: Intervals, Tempo Work and Steady State I get more into making the distinctions between these types of things, as well as give some practical application of these training modalities.

In a nutshell, understand the training objectives and modalities you choose to prescribe to your clients/athletes.  There is nothing wrong with backing off the intensity and allowing the body to recover, as the body can only adapt to so much stress at one time.

References

Tanisho K, Hirakawa K. Training Effects of Endurance Capacity In Maximal Intermittent Exercise: Comparison Between Continuous and Interval Training. J Strength Cond Res2009;23(8):2405-2410.

Carey DG, Drake MM, Pliego GJ, Raymond RL. Do Hockey Players Need Aerobic Fitness? Relation Between Vo2max and Fatigue During High-Intensity Intermittent Ice Skating. J Strength Cond Res 2007;21(3):963-966.

Howatson G, Milak A. Exercise-Induced Muscle Damage Following a Bout of Sport Specific Repeated Sprints. J Strength Cond Res 2009;23(8):2419-2424.

Fillers are extra movements in a training program that can be added in between exercises, as active rest.  I typically will pick a mobility drill that focuses on an individual’s limitation as a filler exercise, or occasionally some sort of core exercise.

The biggest benefit of “fillers” is that you can continue to hammer out a particular limitation that the individual has and that active rest in between exercises ensures that you don’t waste time standing around during training (*Not that rest is bad!  In some phases of training, you may want/need to take full rest periods of nothing to ensure that you are fully recovered prior to the next lift or sprint).

An example of filler exercises for an individual thas has increased hip flexor tone and poor ankle mobility, would be to perform a split squat and then follow it up with psoas active isolated stretching, and wall ankle rocking, before repeating the split squat.  It would look like this:

1a) Split Squat

1b) Psoas AIS

1c) Wall ankle rocking

I have to admit, I am horrible about doing this stuff in my own training program!

I write it into all of my clients programs, but when it comes to my own, I usually don’t do it.  I will often just take normal rest and then repeat the exercise.  The unfortunate thing is that when I don’t do it, I notice it!  I get beat up much easier in training and my durability is poor.  When I am more focused on including my filler exercises, I move much better and I have less aches and pains from hard training.  So, I have decided to get serious and add them back into my training program.

Give some “fillers” a try in between your normal exercises and see how they feel to you.

The arguments for or against sit-ups and other various spine flexion exercises have raged on for some time now.

In light of this current battle, I found an article published in a recentMedicine & Science in Sports & Exercise to be rather interesting – Effects of Sit-up Training versus Core Stabilization Exercises on Sit-up Performance.

This study evaluated the effects that core stabilization training would have on the traditional sit-up test utilized by the armed forces.  1467-subjects, ages 18-35, completed the 12-week training program and final testing.  Of the 1476-subjects, 761 were placed into a core stabilization program and 706 were placed into a traditional sit-up program used to prepare soldiers for their physical fitness test.

The Exercise Groups

Traditional Exercise Program

The traditional exercise program group performed sit-ups, sit-ups with trunk rotations and abdominal crunches in their training program

Core Stabilization Exercise Program

Those in the core stabilization exercise program performed a variety of stabilization exercises such as side-bridges, glute bridges, bird-dogs, woodchoppers, and abdominal crunch draw-ins.

Results

As expected, both groups significantly improved their sit-up performance after the 12-week training program.  Interestingly, the sit up performance was not significantly different between the two groups, even though the core stabilization group did not even perform sit-ups in their training program.  In fact, the core stabilization group demonstrated a significant improvement in sit-up pass rate by 5.6% compared to the traditional sit-up training groups 3.9%.

Researcher’s Conclusions

“Incorporating a core stabilization exercise program into Army physical training does not increase the risk of suboptimal performance on the Army’s fitness test and may offer a small benefit for improving sit up performance.”

My comments

One of the arguments that those in favor of spine flexion exercises make is, “Athletes go through this movement in sport, and so we need to make sure they train it so that they are prepared for it when it happens.”

Who is not prepared for spine flexion?  Seriously!  I haven’t done sit-ups in years, but I know that I can get down and bang them out if I absolutely need to.  This study clearly demonstrated that 12-weeks without performing sit-ups had no negative impact on sit-up performance.

In addition, we spend most of our days in flexion (seated).  Why do we need to train that movement more in the gym?  Shouldn’t we try and break that pattern in the gym and do something else?

Obviously, there are some people who can go through life and do sit-ups everyday and never have a back problem.  As well, there are those that may do all the stabilization training in the world and still sustain a back injury.

I think of it like smoking – some will get cancer and others will smoke 2-packs a day until they are 80-years old with no ill effects (I call those people cockroaches).

At the end of the day, you need to evaluate your exercise menu and determine if this is a movement that you want to program or not.  Whether we are talking about sit-ups, back squats or bench press, everyone will have a different risk vs. reward when it comes to training and as long as you have a good reason to do what you are doing, then go for it.

I dropped the sit-ups a long time ago and I feel very confident about my decision based on the things that I have read.  Having a strong core goes way beyond sit-ups or plank exercises.