The year is coming to end, which means it is time for our annual combined episode of the GAINcast and HMMR Podcast to discuss the state of training for sports. We share highlights from our favorite episodes of the year, discuss training trends like isometrics, microdosing vs. split training, and what we’ll be trying out in 2023.
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Throughout October and November we looked at periodization and planning. Periodization is a topic we come back to over and over on this site, as the long term planning is one thing all sport coaches have to do, but one also stuck in traditions. We recently put together new articles and podcasts all around the topic of periodization and planning. You can find links to all new and archived resources on the topic below.
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As the year comes to close, we look back to share some quick tips from what we learned this year, new things we are trying out, lessons from the John Smith interviews, and how to successfully blend different training methods.
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Too often when we begin a new training program or a new training phase, we look at the exercise menu and try to include too much. Too many exercises or too may sessions with the result a diluted training program that does not achieve the desired training effect. It is preferable to use what I call the Priority Training concept. Have a well-defined global theme for the phase of training regardless of the length.
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We often think about periodization and planning as a process of prediction. The longer I coach, the more I see we need to reframe periodization as a process of learning. The best coaches implement planning methods that allow them to learn. It took me too long to realize this distinction, but the sooner as coaches understand it, the sooner they can take their athletes to the next level.
Last month Ole Miss coach John Smith joined our podcast for a rare interview looking at his unconventional approach to strength and power training. The conversation got a lot of people thinking and left us with many more questions. Thankful we were able to get him back on this week’s episode where we dived into many more throws-specific topics such as throwing heavy and light implements, peaking strategies, individualization, technical models, motor learning, and more.
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Yesterday Vern and I put on a workshop about periodization and planning here in Zurich. Over the last decade we have seen more and more critiques of periodization come out. On the outside some of the cracks are starting to show in traditional approaches to planning. But at the same time coaches keep coming back to it. With that in mind we kicked off the day with looking at busting some myths of periodization. If know you where something has flaws, you have a better chance to address those in your own planning. Below are 5 major myths that coaches need to understand and address in order to improve their planning.
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It’s time to open the listener mailbag again. On this episode we answer listening questions, with a focus on questions about planning, organization, and even throw in a rant to top things off.
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Planning strategies in sports have been fairly stagnate over the last few decades; often still relying on outdated Soviet-based models. In the search for fresh ideas, more and more coaches are looking to realms outside of sport for inspiration, be it from the military, business, or finance.
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When we chase power we often look to strength coaches for the answers. But some of the most powerful athletes in the world are throwers. Coach John Smith thinks we’re asking the wrong people; we should be looking to the throwing coaches for the best examples of how to develop powerful athletes. Smith is one of the most successful in the NCAA. On this week’s episode he talks about how he developed his unconventional approach to strength and power training, and much much more.
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