If you think developing power/strength for your sport is weight room specific only then you are gravely mistaken. Why do I say this? I’ve been doing some thinking after reading some posts recently and, more importantly, I just finished a 6 week study/observation specific to this. Read more
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?
Earlier this month Irish strength coach and academic John Kiely provided a biting criticism of periodization as it is known by most people. While we like to think of it as scientific, it is based on a shaky foundation that favors the plan rather than the process. You can read the critique in its entirety here. But as frustrated as Kiely is with the common talk about periodization, he is also optimistic about the way forward. When we continued our discussion, this was his main focus. Read more
While I coach the throwers at Notre Dame High school, my main role is actually as head strength coach for the school’s athletic teams. From baseball to water polo I get to work with hundreds of athletes each year at a critical time in their athletic development. For the vast majority athletes this is the first time they have seen the inside of the weight room or done any supplemental work. Therefore it is critical start out on the right foot. This is the topic I focused on for my presentation at GAIN 2015 last week. Read more
In the athlete development process Olympic style weight training has occupied a large role. This has both good and bad implications. Olympic style weight lifting is a training method that is excellent for developing power. Competitive Olympic lifting consists of two movements, the clean and jerk and the snatch. The derivatives of those movements are what make up the majority of the training exercises. There is no question of the inherent value of these exercises as a tool to raise explosive power, but the method must be kept in context and reconciled with the overall goal of the strength-training program. Read more
Last week I posted some links and quotes about data collection, analysis, and use in training. This week I thought I would post some more excerpts from what I’ve been reading on training methods and planning. Read more
Earlier in the week we posted part one of a training talk with Dave Tenney, the Sports Science and Performance Manager for Seattle Sounders FC. In the first part we focussed on his philosophy on sports-specific training and how he implements that in training. In this final part we continue the discussion and also dive into topics like individualization, and both the state of the sport and the role of strength and conditioning in it. Read more
The strength and conditioning community in Seattle has grown considerably since I moved away in 2008, so when I finally make it back to town my agenda is full of visits to different coaches and gyms. On my trip to Seattle in December I had one name high on my list to visit: renowned soccer strength and conditioning coach Dave Tenney. Read more
You’d think that making presentations is about teaching others, but for me it is as much an exercise in improving my own knowledge. I get to meet new people, hear new ideas, and, most importantly, the act of presenting helps me understand what I know and what I don’t know. This final point inevitably leads me to pick up more books to fill my knowledge gaps. In preparing for presentations this fall, one of my weaknesses related to the basic science of strength training. Therefore I decided to recently reread a classic in this area: Science and Practice of Strength Training, Second Edition by Vladimir M. Zatsiorsky and William J. Kraemer.
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Editor’s Note: Zac Brouillette is HMMR Media’s newest writer. He recently joined the Innovative Athletic Performance Institute in Florida as the Director of Speed, Strength, and Conditioning. Prior to that he worked as the Director of Sports Performance at Ohio University. But, most importantly, he was a hammer thrower in college. Now he is taking that background and applying it to athletes in a multitude of sports.
To start out with, we thought it would be helpful to have Zac answer a few questions to learn about his background, his viewpoint, and his experiences. Check it out below. Zac also has been blogging for a little while on his own blog, and we’ve copied his archive over to HMMR Media. Read it here, or go to directly to some of the more popular posts about his brick method, healthy eating, or lessons learned from Dan Pfaff. Read more
