The purpose of this series is to get you to think “outside the box” (man, I hate that saying). Hopefully, it will give you some organizational tools that you can use to systematically structure and identify the key components in your strength programs that are going well or not so well.
Now stay with me—this first part is pretty tedious.
In the first installment of this article series, Corporate Strength—Gartner, we defined and created the Strength Quadrant (derived from Gartner’s Magic Quadrant). The Strength Quadrant will be used to define and analyze how “functional” specific exercises are for each individual athlete’s strength program.
It progresses an exercise accordingly: Target musculature => effort => strength development goal => functional movement pattern => SPORT SPECIFIC.
What potential adaptation are we trying to achieve by incorporating a specific exercise into a routine? If it doesn’t fit, why do it?
Now, we are going to look at another tool that manufacturing institutions have been using for many years to drive down the instances of “defects” in their products and processes. (More recently, corporations have utilized the same methodologies for their project work.) The result is increased customer satisfaction, identified cost reduction strategies, set upper and lower control specification limits, centralized knowledge repositories (eliminated silo’d information), and improved profitability.
Six Sigma
Six Sigma is said to have been created by Bill Smith, a guy who worked for Motorola in 1986. It is still debated as to whether he “invented” it or not. But, he was definitely the one who pulled all of the processes together and implemented them successfully for manufacturing process improvements at a large corporation. The goal was to continuously drive toward improving the business by improving product quality.
“Six Sigma at many organizations simply means a measure of quality that strives for near perfection. Six Sigma is a disciplined, data-driven approach and methodology for eliminating defects (driving towards six standard deviations between the mean and the nearest specification limit) in any process—from manufacturing to transactional and from product to service.
The statistical representation of Six Sigma describes quantitatively how a process is performing. To achieve Six Sigma, a process must not produce more than 3.4 defects per million opportunities. A Six Sigma defect is defined as anything outside of customer specifications. A Six Sigma opportunity is then the total quantity of chances for a defect.
The fundamental objective of the Six Sigma methodology is the implementation of a measurement-based strategy that focuses on process improvement and variation reduction through the application of Six Sigma improvement projects. This is accomplished through the use of a Six Sigma sub-methodology—DMAIC.”(1)
So, if we eliminate process defects (or get as close to zero as possible), the business prospers. Similarly, if we “eliminate” our athlete’s “defects,” they excel.
Six Sigma utilizes a methodical, systematic process to structure how they approach each task or project. This process is summarized using the acronym DMAIC.
DMAIC is simply defined (for our discussion) by the following steps:
Define
What problem needs to be solved?
Measure
What is the capability of the process?
Analyze
When and where do defects occur?
Improve
What are the vital factors?
Control
What control can be put in place to sustain the gain?
Or visually by this flow diagram:
Now, what does any of this have to do with strength and its development for athletes? Maybe nothing, maybe everything! It is not the connection to manufacturing that is important. It is the process! We can derive huge benefits from this process if we recognize the importance of structure, repeatability, and control. Like Six Sigma, we must also be diligent and methodical when preparing our athletes for sport.
Key note: Different people view, understand (absorb), and apply knowledge in their own way. Some people can understand rows and columns of data (nerds), and other people are more visual. They watch other people do something, and they can repeat it. Or they assimilate data through the use of charts, graphs, or visual aids. Our purpose is to take a complex concept, like the preparation of athletes, and express it visually to make it easier to understand.
So let’s look at our application.
DEFINE
- Need analysis of the athlete
- Need analysis of the sport
- Short term/long term/competitive goals of the athlete
(More on the DEFINE step in the next article, Corporate Strength—Projects.)
MEASURE
- Current training state
o current 1 rep max (3RM,5RM)
§ Where do they fall on the force velocity curve?
o current aerobic capacity (VO2 max)
o current anaerobic capacity
- Current flexibility state
- Current mobility state
- Current agility state
- FMS™
- Body composition
ANALYZE
- Analyze data from define and measure steps
- Create periodized comprehensive training protocol for the athlete that addresses and develops (eliminates) weaknesses while preparing for the demands of their sport.
IMPROVE
- Analyze, reevaluate and improve data from
o strength program to adjust for new percentages
o set new goals for athlete (goals will change as weaknesses are developed and new goals and process improvements must be defined!)
- Read and watch everything! Books, manuals, DVD’s, transcripts, and articles from the leaders in the industry. Anything you can get your hands on. Never rest. Like Alwyn Cosgrove says, “When you think you know everything is when you know the least!” You owe it to your athletes to continue to learn all things current and old and then innovate. Be the benchmark!
CONTROL
- Closely monitor athlete’s development
- Maintain strength developed in each phase, training, block, microcycle, and macrocycle
- Test, audit, and update any (and all) aspects of the program periodically to ensure validity
- Demand accountability by assigning key tasks to the coach (yourself or your coaching staff) and the athlete.
Now for the good stuff. DMAIC utilizes many different charts and graphs to express the compiled data that they have gathered from their (manufacturing) processes. One of the best diagrams for isolating an issue in DMAIC is the cause and effect diagram.
Cause and Effect (Fishbone)
When investigating the root cause analysis of a “defect” in a process or product, a cause and effect (fishbone) diagram is used.
The fishbone will help to visually display the many potential causes for a specific problem or effect. It is particularly useful in a group setting and for situations in which little quantitative data is available for analysis. (1)
Now let’s look at our application.
What are Causes? = main categories
Example: athlete’s strength
What are Factors? = The key components that make up the causes. Ask yourself what? where? when? how? why? If your gathered group of experts (skill/strength coaches) are having trouble starting, ask them, “why does this [cause] happen?” or “what in [cause] is making this happen…?”
Example: athlete is strong but cannot express speed
What is the Effect? = The problem statement you are trying to analyze.
Example: John Doe strikes out repeatedly
Sit down with the skills coach(s) and your team and put together a cause and effect diagram for each of your athletes.
Step:
Now you can see the benefits of laying out your strategies (visually) to address the needs of your athletes as they pertain to their respective sports. The Six Sigma approach is logical and systematic. And we can pull tools from this process and adjust them for our purposes.
In the next and final installment, we will discuss the complex world of corporate projects, their structure, and our adaptation. Thanks for reading this article series, and thanks to Elite FTS.
Jim “Smitty” Smith is a strength coach and cofounder of the Diesel Crew (www.DieselCrew.com). Developing athletes for the last six years using a variety of training methodologies, Jim is an active student of strength athletics. He is always seeking new ways to innovate and provide a unique perspective. The Diesel Crew also regularly speaks at clinics and seminars about the importance of grip strength in athletics.
References:
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