I’m talking about the athletes that play one sport and one sport only year-round. In short, build trust and DON’T be afraid to lift your athletes. Here’s what a yearly plan looks like.
To reach peak performance, you must build a solid foundation dedicating time to GPP. Here’s how to widen the base with GPP, when to use it, and how to implement it. Download the GPP Giant Circuit to get started.
Our revisited phase 2 will give you good ideas as to how to start your teams back up after an extended layoff. Waverly had one of their best years in school history following this.
Hip thrusts are my go-to exercise for minor league baseball players to improve strength and acceleration. Here’s a typical progression I use for my players. And no, we don’t load this movement at the start.
Now, it’s time to expect the unexpected, ask questions, be proactive, continue your own education, take it to the edge, sacrifice, present yourself accordingly, hustle, and seven more to-dos (part three of three)!
Now, it’s time to get our hands dirty… Let’s start with the internship search. You have to ask yourself what you want. Assuming you want to be a strength and conditioning coach, ask yourself the following questions (part two of three).
I was very lucky to come from a great undergrad program, which prepared me to handle the demands of big-time strength and conditioning programs. Here’s a reference for the college student aspiring to be a strength coach (part one of three).
My football players were being held back by strength deficits that are left underdeveloped in most high school programs—development of speed and maximal strength in the weight room. Here’s how I filled in the gaps.
In 2021, we as coaches need to find out what makes our athletes tick and then continue to throw logs on that fire. Some guys need a little, and some need a lot. Over the past 25 years in this business regarding leadership, this is the difference between winning and mediocrity.
What’s the point of putting all that work into thinking and planning an in-season program if 90 percent of the people aren’t going to do it?
Here’s what to do and what not do as an intern, graduate assistant, and assistant as you try to climb the ranks. I didn’t find these tips by reading a manual, but through the first-hand experience as an intern at Florida International University and an assistant for the Division I HBCU North Carolina Central University.
The program within is called One Big, One Small—there is one major movement, and a secondary movement supports this major movement. It can be used by anyone irrespective of sport or training goal to improve performance or get bigger and stronger.
If you watch games, particularly college football games in the 80s, everyone looked strong. I know they had big pads and all, but so many players just looked the part. They definitely kept strength leakage to a minimum. How?
What athletes can I use this with? How do I know how much weight to use? How do I peak for an event or playoffs? I thought you’d never ask.
I believe that the individualization of programming in team sports is the real holy grail of strength and conditioning. The application of the 3×3 programming matrix will ensure that each player will have the best opportunity to improve in the areas of dire need.
During my time in Indianapolis with the Firebirds, I came across pit crews that were training at the same place we were. I volunteered my time to help with training for a season then went on to work exclusively with Chip Ganassi about 16 years ago.
Private gym owners, Chris Janek and Steve Konopka discuss the relationships they’ve built with high school strength coaches, parents, and athletes to maintain one mission: help athletes reach their full potential in sport.
You will most likely never find yourself in a situation like this. Don’t feel bad for yourself by not having access to the weight room and your teammates/coaches. Your competition is probably not training right now. TAKE ADVANTAGE!
We have been analyzing data, scientific and non-scientific research, burned up phone lines talking to everyone and anyone to see what they are doing, and also getting guidelines from our prospective schools or employers about what to do. In the spirit of Leeroy Jenkins, it’s time for action!
Just like early specialization in youth athletics stunts a child’s athletic development, the same holds true for coaches. Coaches, don’t set your own ceiling.
I’ve said for years that my job (both current and previous careers) is very easy. What I do is not life or death. What I do is empower those around me to improve. So daily I ask myself, what have I done to help?
I write this after fielding many questions during this COVID-19 lockdown period from young strength and conditioning coaches who have either lost their jobs or are at a crossroads of confidence. In some 30 years, I’ve had 17 strength and conditioning jobs…
When an athlete bends over, it shows who is weak. We didn’t want to have our athletes appearing weak, so we made them stand up. Maybe we’re wrong about that.
A belt is a support mechanism. Your trunk still supports, contracts, and strengthens while wearing a belt and gaining strength. Again, when not used properly, a belt is useless and has downsides. Here’s what to know as a coach with a listing of the belts I recommend for high school athletes, college athletes, and lifters.
From football and baseball to NASCAR, learn from Greg as he continues to climb (and race) the strength and conditioning ranks.
Here’s a don’t: If you are waiting until the summer to begin preparing for the fall, you’re already behind the eight ball…
The last time I checked, there are places that squat, don’t squat, wicket run, don’t wicket run, Olympic lift, Conjugate, Triphasic, unilateral, bilateral, and whatever else…BUT ALL OF THEIR ATHLETES SEEM TO DEVELOP.
What if the lineman loses 35 pounds as a result of not having adequate food. Are they ready for the upcoming season? Are they going to be able to perform optimally if that 35 pounds was force-producing muscle mass? Most likely not.
Here’s an excellent example of how to place extra workouts in a weekly off-season football training schedule along with what an extra workout accomplishes (or should).
Coach Micah Cloward has experienced invaluable lessons nearly paving the way for his strength and conditioning career. Read his 13-year journey that continues to unfold.
The weight room that I worked in was a 3,000-square-foot facility that housed 20 teams and more than 400 athletes. Even though the weight room was built to optimize the space, as you can imagine, things got really tight.
Where do all of the football players go when they are unable to reach their playing goals in college or the National Football League?
Don’t just know the strength and conditioning coaches you hope will help you out. Invest in the world of strength and conditioning, powerlifters, strongmen, weightlifters, athletes in your desired sport, and check out their routines and habits.
Here’s the standard week-long plan with a seven-day turnaround between games, optimizing a balance between recovery both physiologically and psychologically.
Albert Einstein says it best, “Out of clutter, find simplicity. Out of discord, find harmony. In the middle of difficulty lies opportunity.”
Without a culture, we are just hamsters on a wheel. Working hard and going nowhere. Our teams may train hard and get after it, but year after year, they will fall short on the playing field.
Speed is king, right? Then you’d better train it. I have some medicine ball throws to get your athletes up to speed. Make sure those movements are crisp and fast! Go, go, go!
The path to becoming a strength and conditioning coach at the collegiate level is unique to everyone. However, there are some similarities and tips that this strength and conditioning coach wants you to know.
In this phase, we’ll be introducing the back squat, hinging motion, and more plyometric work.
I promise that these seven thoughts won’t be perfect, but they may help you along your path of becoming a better “boss.”
As a strength and conditioning coach, your job takes on the journey of a metallic ball on a playfield inside a glass-covered cabinet — never traveling in a straight line. Strap in as the ride will get bumpy!
I wanted to write an article that impacts all of the sport teams I work with but can be used across really any team setting. This is going to be a general guideline I use for my entire program.
In designing programs for my players, I discuss with the player, the medical staff, and the coaching staff the areas they see as major ones to work on. All 10 programs are based on the emphasis given to each of the three key areas of weight room programming: neural, mechanical, and metabolic.
Have you ever asked the question, “How should I adjust conjugate for X sport?” Find your answer? If not, here’s what I’ve found to be the most productive and efficient way to adjust things.
You found a new fancy-looking exercise on the ‘gram, so you do it. Then, you have your athletes do it. But you don’t know the exercise’s common technique flaws or how to fix them — all you know is how the person looked and how you felt doing it.
Becoming a strength and conditioning coach is not the path for everyone. However, for those ready for the challenges, here is some advice from a young coach.
My hope is that this article will help new coaches or aspiring coaches with their transition into strength and conditioning by highlighting some barriers and providing a personal example of how those barriers can be overcome.
In phase I of Nate Harvey’s Waverly Project, it’s all about movements; getting them down properly before moving on. Phase II is where the work really comes in for student athletes.
The journey of being a strength and conditioning coach is different for everyone. However, there’s something to be gained from sharing what you’ve learned along the way.
In this phase, we will focus on developing more stability. We’ll also introduce movement patterns that the athlete will need down the road.
It is the one chance each year that sports practices do not take priority or leave players fatigued that they cannot give 100 percent to the physical development program.
Chris Bartl is an experienced powerlifter dedicated to teaching high school kids the proper way to lift weights. More than that, he’s teaching them life lessons they’ll take with them well past graduation.
As with training any new client, there is a trial and error process to see what is effective and what isn’t. In this case, the training system I have put in place for my swimmers has supported them in breaking multiple national records in various events.
Stepping away from collegiate strength and conditioning, I’ve had time to reflect. In this article, I’ll delve into programming — the good and the ugly. Program-wise, exactly what are your goals?
This is a question that we need to ask ourselves as many times as possible year after year because everything we do on a daily basis needs to be grounded on our answer.
Most college programs that I’ve seen basically run three sets on all accessories. I didn’t want to be most college programs. I had to find a way to do a ton of work and build work capacity but also not run the kids into the ground. That’s where waving volume came into play.
In a published journal article, we examined 31 football players on the 225 Test (and we also collected some velocity data, so hold on to your hats for future publications from this data set) to see if this test made any difference in playing time.
Running sports are tangential in nature, so in order to optimize transfer from the weight room to the field, both vertical and horizontal movements need to be considered. To this end, the program I am going to outline will look at elements of training to ensure all bases are covered.