Tag Archive for: General Strength

HMMR Podcast Episode 243: Learning to program (with Michael Conroy)

Develop competent, confident, and effective coaches, and then competent, confident, and effective athletes will follow. As a director of coaching education at USA Weightlifting, Michael Conroy’s mandate didn’t just need to teach coaches about technique, he needed them to learn how to program creatively. On this week’s episode he walks us through the scaffolding of programming and the key elements all good programs in any sport should contain.

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HMMR Podcast Episode 242: The influencers

Creating your own program takes a lot of leg work. It isn’t just about adapting a template to your situation; it is about seeking out influences and inspiration from numerous sources and making them your own. On this week’s episode we dive into the program at Notre Dame High School by analyzing some of the foundational influences and how they have been adapted, as well as important elements done on the periphery.

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Work capacity: the concept

Work capacity is the ability to tolerate a workload and recover from that workload. In order for an athlete to improve they must be able to do a certain threshold amount of work. They must be able to work at a level that will ensure enough stress to achieve an optimum adaptive response. If they cannot do the work, they will not improve. Therefore, the goal with this type of individual would be to build a work capacity base that fits the specific demands of the athlete’s sport. Read more

GAINcast Episode 126: The basics checklist

The basics are crucial in training. If you don’t get the basics right then everything that follows will be compromised. But with all the talk of basics, what exactly are they? On this week’s GAINcast we look in depth at Vern’s eight key components of the basics, and related training factors. Read more

Training for strength and robustness with mini bands

I joined this week’s HMMR podcast to share some ideas with Nick and Martin on my approach to training. We spent a good deal of time talking about how I’ve rethought the role of the barbell in training and how this has led me to use different types of functional equipment such as the aquabag, kettlebell, sticks, straps, and more. As I put it during the interview: functional equipment asks your body what it can do; less functional equipment tells your body what it can do. Read more

GAINcast Episode 92: Athletic Development for Endurance Athletes

The central component of training for endurance athletes will be building specific endurance, but research has continued to show that athletic development and strength training play a vital role for endurance athletes. The benefits are numerous, such as improvement movement economy and helping prevent injuries. On this episode the podcast we explain the benefits of athletic development work, discuss different modes of training, and provide examples of progressions and workouts. Read more

HMMR Podcast Episode 104: Breaking Down Sports

Working with a new sport or athlete requires that you understand what they are working towards; the coach has to break down and analysis the needs of that sport. This is the first step in creating a sport-specific plan. On this episode of the podcast Nick and I share our process for analyzing a sport and walk through each element step-by-step. Read more

GAINcast Episode 13: Athletic Development

We need a revolution. We are involved with developing athletes, yet so many people are focused the qualities in our job titles: strength and conditioning. No single component of conditioning can be solely responsible for the athletic development of any team or individual. On this episode Vern makes the case for why we need to redefine our profession.

This Episode’s Question: Why should our profession change its name from strength and conditioning to athletic development?

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GAINcast Episode 10: What is strong?

Ever since athletes began strength training, coaches have been debating the role of strength in training. The questions come back over and over: What is strong? How much should we train strength? How strong do we need to be? On this week’s episode of the GAINcast Vern takes a look at this topic and provides some guidelines coaches can use to implement a balanced approach to strength training in their plans.

This Episode’s Question: What is strong and how much strength is enough?

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Ask Martin Vol. 31: General Prep

Do you have a question for me? “Ask Martin” questions are chosen from inquiries submitted by members. So join now and you’ll also get access to a wealth of other training information.

Hey I was thinking about something that you said in your last Podcast. You said that at an elite level, nothing that is done in the weight room has very much positive correlation, which is of course one of the first things that you notice when you read Transfer of Training. Obviously, although there isn’t significant correlation of any single exercise once you reach an elite level, the thought must be that the entirety of the experience has some positive correlation or that there are benefits of weight training that are more indirect but still important. Is that the case? –Coach Dan Read more