Very pleased to announce an article which i wrote is now in Spanish on an sport performance website based in Argentina. 

http://www.entrenamiento-total.com/VerDoc.asp?hdnDoc=271

Click HERE to read this months FAB 5 Questions.

Septembers issue of the MONTHLY FAB 5 will be published this coming Friday on SPEEDENDURANCE. I am sorry for a slight delay. Thanks for all the questions and please keep them coming.

I've long been intrigued with training set-ups and weekly schedules. I have done extensive research on how elite groups arrange their training during the week and I wanted to share some of the more effective ways.

There are 2 key reasons why a coach should be able to implement their system in various weekly set-ups. Firstly, not every athlete you work with will have the same schedule or be able to train the same amount of time. Understanding how to get the most out of a less than optimum schedule is an extremely valuable ability to have. Changing or alternating training set-ups throughout different phases is another reason for varying set-up options. I came across several coaches who include this variable set-up design within their training system. This particularly intrigued me as I believe it will go along way to preventing a plateau and staleness within training.

Below are several training set-ups which work with different schedules:

I am very pleased to announce that JumPR Publishing and  HPC SPORT are partnering in the selling of my Horizontal Jumps Book. HPC SPORT and founder Dr Mike Young are leaders in the sport performance field. Mike has coached many elite level athletes ranging from the sport of Track and Field to Bobsled.

I worked closely with Mike for a couple of years and I can honestly say he has been the most influential figure in my development as an athlete and coach.  

There are obvious reasons why athletes who sprint while participating in their sport should be sprinting regularly during their training sessions. However, it is not so obvious why other athletes should include sprint training as part of their workout. Athletes who participate in sports such as Volleyball, Rowing, Martial Arts, Tennis, Golf, Pitchers in baseball, Dancing, Gymnastics, Hockey, Cycling, Skiing and a variety of others are aren’t necessarily required to sprint in their sport should all include sprint and speed training into their training routine.

Here are 5 important reasons why:

1) Train fast to be fast – There aren’t too many sports out there where speed in some regard is not important for
success. Therefore, by training fast and explosively during sprinting workouts the athlete not only develops the ability to sprint but also to move and react in an explosive manner. The ability to produce power, which is developed through sprint training, can be directly expressed through other skills such as hitting a baseball, jumping for a rebound, and striking and soccer ball. 

2) Develop coordination on multiple levels – Sprinting is a highly complex skill that requires the movement and coordination of multiple body parts. Being able to control your own body at high speeds is an essential ability that can be transferred to virtually all sports.

3) Variation of training overload – In order for the body to adapt to training it must be overloaded. By that I mean an external stress must be placed on it that promotes adaptation. A common way to stress the muscles is to add an external load like lifting weights in the gym. However, the body is very smart and needs multiple stressors in order to reach its adaptation potential. Sprinting adds variety to the training routine and is a great method of overload. 

4) Develop the prime athletic muscles – By prime athletic muscles I of course mean leg muscles and core. Even with sports that are upper body dominant, it is the lower body and core that drives the ability to produce power. Sprinting develops these key athletic muscles in a dynamic way that will transfer across all sports.

5) Improve in-game movement efficiency – Improving acceleration speed, maximum speed, and/or change of direction speed will improve an athlete’s efficiency while performing at sub-max or game speeds. This will improve the ability to play harder for longer during games.

20 Speed related articles added to a new SPEED section in the articles page.

I am very pleased to announce that JumPR Publishing and  VS ATHLETICS are partnering in the selling of my Horizontal Jumps Book. VS Athletics is a California based Track and Field equipment and merchandise retailer.  It is fantastic to have such local support from a greatly respected company like VS Athletics.  

This time for the elite coaches Q&A series I interviewed great jumps coach Irving "Boo" Schexnayder. I am sure many have heard of coach Schexnayder as he was the of LSU and developed such jumpers as Walter Davis, John Moffit, Brian Johnson, Miguel Pate, and Jeremy Hicks. For more on coach Schexnayder please visit his website HERE 

(There is one more question to come, I will add that when I get it)

1) If you had a jumper that was extremely developed in maximum strength and acceleration ability but lacked in explosiveness and elasticity how would you program differently for this athlete as compared to a jumper who was more balanced across the board? 

BOO: I think the issue is more about training balance than the balance of the athlete. I work hard to make sure that all of the training components, including those you mentioned, are addressed in the proper ratios in the training program. I know the usual course of action is to work hard on the power and elasticity components, but this is easily overdone and typically those athletes aren't capable of handling much of that type of work or else they wouldn't be in that condition in the first place, so what you do must be well planned and purposeful.

2) Can you explain your training system around multiple meets, flights, and traveling (for example when your athletes jump on the European circuit). Are there any lessons or tips you have learned throughout your experience? 

BOO: I use a four day rollover, with 4 different training themes addressed in rotational sequence. I also have a few set rules, governing situations such as set post meet or pre meet days. I don't even try to write day-by-day training because of the unpredictable nature of the schedule and the athletes condition. Time has taught me that travel is often tougher on the body than training, and I try to teach athletes to listen to their bodies and make wise training decisions in those situations.

3)  If you could list the top 5 most important training components for a horizontal jumper in order what would they be (for example: bounding, max strength weights, technical jumps, fly sprints etc).

BOO: I respectfully don't want to answer this, because the nice thing about training design is that you aren't limited to 5, and I definitely can't choose a first place winner here. I understand one's curiosity on the subject, but its like asking if you could only keep 5 body organs which would you choose... you need them all to live! Each of these is the most critical at the time it's being done because it is then (hopefully) fulfilling a specific purpose in the training program. Even if I choose 5, the would vary greatly at different times of the year. I know this sounds like a cop-out answer, but my feelings are sincere. There are many pieces to th puzzle.

4) Can you explain your methods of periodization? Are there any changes you have made over the years and generally how do you cycle your training? 

BOO: Basically I try to be systematic and change certain variables progressively over the course of the year. I try to treat periodization like a lab experiment, with constants and variables. Over the course of the developmental training period I progress focus from acceleration to speed to speed endurance and I try to progressively increase the lactate the athletes are subjected to. One thing I do a little differently than most, I train power before other advanced forms of strength. I think it sets the table better for later speed and absolute strength gains. I keep the general training components in play at all times, because I feel they provide rcovery and endocrine support. As far as most other training agents, I just try to give the athletes steady doses of them over time. Since I figured out why it works, I have pretty much stayed with this basic scheme, with slight individual adjustments. These usually depend on training age.

5) What are your thoughts on the current standard of world class long jumping and in particular the mens long jump result from the recent Olympic Games. Is it training? culture? PED or something else related? 

BOO: I read nothing from the results of this year's Games, I consider it a statistical quirk, compounded by tough jumping conditions. I think the biggest problem is talent drain away from the jumps into the more visible and financially lucrative sprints, not only at the elite level, but at the grassroots levels of the sport. Since you asked, in the longer-term picture it would be foolish to think that reduced PED usage might not have something to do with what we see in top to bottom results, I say this while making it perfectly clear I am generalizing only and am making no inference to any particular person(s), event, or era.

6) What is the most difficult aspect of coaching elite jumpers and how do you overcome it?

BOO: The most challenging part of coaching elite jumpers is training management.  With these people you are always pushing the edge, and at times they are older, and don't recover as quickly. They have already developed strength and  speed levels to near their genetic potential, so further development is  tough  and creativity and variety is needed to prevent injury because of the high  training intensities. Also, training strenght and speed at such high levels  puts one at risk for elasticity and mobility losses. At the same time  training readiness to tough to
accurately gauge.

Click HERE to see the new Jumps articles added to the Articles page.