The training camp is an integral part of the training process in many sports. But how can you get the most out of it? On this week’s GAINcast we share ideas around planning training camps to get the most out of them with swim coach Chris Webb. In addition, we look at optimal planning of multiple short training sessions, strategies to increase training quality, how much warmup is needed, and more.
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Training the overhead athlete is a topic that is shrouded in myths and misconceptions. On the week’s episode coach Dan Noble joins us to discuss how his training methods for overhead athletes have spanned the whole spectrum and how he came to his current approach. In addition we talk about the nuances of sports-specific preparation, the bench press, preparing athletes for training camp, and more.
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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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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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When I think of jumping for throwers, Werner Günthör is the first athlete that comes to mind. The 130-kilogram Swiss shot putter could almost fly and this explosive strength helped him capture three world titles. Jumping is perhaps the ultimate expression of power and can play an integral role in preparing throwers. But as with anything, it needs to be adapted to the needs of the sport and athlete, especially in a sport whether athletes can be massive. Below are a few considerations for integrating jumps into the physical preparation of throwers.
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When it comes to the jumps in track and field, it is hard to beat the track record of coach Jeremy Fischer. Over the last two decades, Fischer has guided numerous world champions and Olympic medalists across the long jump, triple jump, and high jump. On this week’s podcast he breaks down how he puts together a training week, his strength training philosophy for jumping, and much more.
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Where do you start when training athletic development for a new sport or athlete? Vern Gambetta’s athletic development paradigm gives coaches a 4-pronged analytic tool to make sure you develop a plan that fits the sport, position, and athlete. On this week’s GAINcast he breaks down all four elements with examples from his experience working in a variety of sports at the highest level.
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Swedish speed skater Nils van der Poel was one of the most impressive athletes at last month’s Winter Olympics. After obliterating the field and setting records at both the 5000 and 10000m events, he released a free eBook detailing his training plan and philosophy. One important point he made was in what tools he choose. There is a role for nearly every tool in training, but you have to choose the right tool for the purpose at hand. He used the analogy of a sculptor to get his point across:
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Medicine balls are one of our favorite training tools. Throughout May we’ve had many of our site contributors share how they use medicine balls in training, and also released a new video lesson on advanced medicine ball training. On this week’s podcast we reflect on our favorite ideas for medicine ball training we picked up this month, as well as some insights from our new video.
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Tennis is the sport I have been involved in my whole life as an athlete, a teacher, a coach and now on the athletic development and performance side of the sport. Throughout the journey, the medicine ball has played a crucial role and has evolved into an almost daily part of our program both on court and in the gym.
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