Earlier this month the annual GAIN Swimming event took place. Over the past decade, GAIN has become the leading name when it comes to dry land training. On this week’s podcast Chris Webb and Vern discuss what GAIN Swimming is all about and how they are trying to reinvent dry land training for swimmers of all levels.
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It is quite common that former players, once their playing career is over, transition to a coaching position to give back to the sport. For many of them, they might coach a youth team sport in a recreational setting where kids are there to have fun and play the game.
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A lot of information is out there about session planning for strength training. But that is only part of the equation for athletes and coaches. A bigger question is how can we better plan skills training to enhance motor learning? On this week‘s episode Professor Kevin Becker joins us again to brainstorm how we can rethink traditional session plans to help athletes acquire and improve skills.
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Reading is pretty easy. Most of us have done it so long it’s second nature. But being able to read doesn‘t mean you can write a good novel. The same goes with training. Training is pretty easy. We‘ve all done physical activity our entire lives. But that doesn‘t mean every athlete can pull great training sessions out of their back pocket.
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LTAD has almost become a cliché. Everyone has an LTAD program and they all look the same. How can that be? Because the models assume a linear march to the top of the athletic achievement pyramid. In reality it is a very chaotic process at best, full of detours, false starts and redirection. On this week’s episode we look at rethinking long-term athlete development with some practical examples from yesteryear and the present.
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Good training sessions have a flow. A flow in intensity, a flow in organization, and they help athletes find a flow state as well. On this week’s podcast we sit down with Steve Myrland to exchange ideas on session planning and a few tricks we all have to optimize training session planning and execution.
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Whilst watching this year’s weightlifting European Championships this spring, the commentators spent a lot of time talking about an app-based 20-week training program. Apparently, if you entered your details, the app could provide an ‘individualized’ training program. It was a struggle for me to see how this concept would work since I have yet to see any program I design last more than two sessions before we (the athlete and me) have to start making adjustments.
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The individual session is the core element of training. It is how coaches deliver their programs, build athletes, and connect with people. On this week’s GAINcast we look in detail about how we can rethink and improve upon training session and microcycle design.
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John Larralde has spoken at GAIN on preparing his milers to win California State high School championships. In his words: “Sometimes in the peaking process is not what you do it is what you don’t do.” Below are some thoughts on peaking and tapering, with some special considerations for how it applies to swimming.
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In the last few years Ryan Crouser has cemented himself as the top shot putter in the history of the sport. Behind the scenes along the way has been his father, helping him from his first throw to his world record. On this week’s episode Mitch Crouser joins us to discuss his own throwing career, the long-term development plan he put in place for Ryan, how they developed their technical model, and what the future holds for the both of them.
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