Strength Training for Fitness: 3 Things You Should Know before Beginning Your Program
You know that it is time for change. You have finally motivated yourself to start going to the gym, may be a little nervous underneath, but ready to start the journey.
You have a $20/month membership to XX gym that you have been paying for for the past several months, but only went here and there and hopped one of the 50 treadmills usually isolated from the rest of the gym.
Finally this time you go in, and you are ready to begin a REAL program…but there is just one problem.
You don’t really have any idea where to start.
Here are 3 things you should be pretty concise on before you even begin your fitness program:
1.) Be Very Clear and Very Realistic About What You Want To Do
This is where a good amount of people struggle. You walk in the gym and start doing exercises but fail to understand why you are really doing them.
Establish your goals.
Do you want to “lose weight”?
Do you want more energy?
Do you want to get “toned”?
Put something down. But also keep in mind that the more specific you are in your goals, the more clearly you will be able to see them.
Lose weight is vague.
Losing 10 pounds in 2 months is a lot more specific.
Don’t just workout to workout.
Work out to achieve something.
Also, be realistic about your goals. Do not try to look like the girl from the video on Facebook or Instagram doing burpee backflips through a swing set and bound up 10 steps at a time.
Thats not for everybody. In fact, that’s not for a lot of people.
Keep it real with yourself.
2.) Understand the Body and How Different Types of Training Affect It.
Announcement: Treadmills and running are not THE solution to complete fitness.
If you are trying increase your energy levels, or accelerate fat loss and put on more muscle, understand that you will need to incorporate resistance training into your routine.
While running makes for a good aerobic exercise and is a solid way to lose some calories, you won’t get “leaner” just from cardio.
When you have a better understanding of the different energy systems that the body uses and the adaptations that take place, then you are better able to manipulate your results.
For instance, knowing how to increase or decrease reps during sets will affect your strength and or endurance.
Knowing when to decrease rest in between those sets will also not only effect muscle growth, but also fat burn long after the workout is over.
Steady state, or cardio training lacks this effect.
If you are training for strength, use challenging resistance with low to moderate reps but increase your rest between sets to allow for adequate recovery.
If training to get toned or muscle growth, you can increase the amount of reps, while also reducing the amount of rest between sets, and slowly progress your work to rest ratio to increase the challenge.
Knowing this simple fact can greatly change your results.
Understand the difference between fat loss and weight loss. Though they are closely related, fat loss is not necessarily a result of weight loss, since you can burn fat without actually losing weight. If your aim to to get lean and you are looking to accelerate fat loss, then incorporating the right strength training program is essential.
…which is a good lead into our next point.
3.) Incorporating Loaded and Unloaded Power Exercises
Adding explosive exercises to your program like box jumps, kettle bell swings, burpees, hang cleans, squat jumps are a great way to stimulate muscle growth and really activate the central nervous systems and elicit different hormonal responses within your body.
They can be a combination of Olympic lifts like barbell deadlift, to hang cleans, or if not that advanced yet, partial Olympic lifts like clean pulls.
Essentially, full body explosive movements will recruit more muscles and promote muscle growth and accelerate fat loss.
Advanced explosive exercises like hang cleans or power cleans/snatches should only be performed if properly coached and your are ready.
Starting off with simple bodyweight squat jumps, or box jumps are still an extremely easy and efficient way to train explosive muscles.
As you start to get adjusted then you can simply add resistance through holding dumbbells, increasing height of the box, increasing weight of the dumbbells, or move on to more advanced exercises.
The following are Power exercises that you can add to your routine in order of beginner to more advanced.
Beginner:
Squat Jump
Box Jump
Single Leg Box Jumps
Hurdle Jumps
Lateral Hurdle Jumps
“Burpee”
Intermediate:
Hang Pulls
Clean Pulls
Clean Shrugs
Clean High Pulls
Dumbbell High Pull
Bounding (Body Weight)
Kettle Bell Swings
Push Press
Advanced:
Hang Clean
Power Clean
Dumbbell Snatch
Seated box Jump
Though these might seem like an extensive list, these are just a few that we sometimes use at WPT.
Incorporating full body explosive movements in your routine as they target large and small muscle groups, stimulate muscle growth, and also can enhance overall movement patterns.
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So the next time you walk into your gym, take these few simple tips and incorporate them into your routine.
One of the best things you can do is arm yourself with knowledge, which will give you the ability to directly manipulate he results you want.
7 Things To Know For A Successful Fitness Journey
Over years of training I have been able to find consistencies between people who achieve the fitness results that they want and those who don’t.
Getting there is a process that takes consistency, patience, and effort.
Here are 7 things you should know if you want to begin a successful campaign to “get in shape”.
1.) There is no room for excuses.
This is probably the biggest hurdle of them all. At the end of the day, the results that you want are up to no one or nothing else but you. Putting forth the effort and convincing yourself why you can’t or didn’t do something is just an excuse.
People who are hitting goals don’t make excuses.
They make reasons WHY they want and need to accomplish something.
Avoid excuses.
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2.) It won’t happen overnight
Patience is key. There is no substitute for hard work despite the fact the fitness industry is full of gimmicks.
It takes time to get worthwhile results.
Achieving your goals, the work involved, the set backs are all a part of the process.
Do not expect it to happen in a week, a month, sometimes even a few months.
Give your all every day and trust the system and the results will come for sure.
3.) Eating is Key
80 percent of your training results will come from how you eat. Whether you are training for “weight loss” or to burn fat, your nutritional intake should be in sync with the demands you put on your body.
Don’t confuse “diet” with nutrition.
Yes there are times when eating less calories (negative caloric balance) will be key for losing weight, but eating the RIGHT kinds of calories at the RIGHT time is key.
If you have not already, I recommend looking over the nutritional guide I created earlier this year as an additional resource.
4.) You Need Resistance Training Not Just Cardio
Cardio ALONE just will not get it done. Yes cardio is an efficient way to burn some fat but also is efficient at burning away muscle.
Resistance training stimulates muscle growth. In short, muscles require more energy to exist than fat does.
This means having an increased lean mass will cause you to burn more calories at rest (for those of you who like the thought of calorie burn)
Resistance training is also conducive for joint integrity, better stability and coordination, bone density, as well as quality overall movement.
So whether training for fat lass, muscle gain, or just trying to get more energy, you gotta push some weight.
5.) Sleep is a Must
The burn happens while you are training. The recovery happens when you are sleep.
Try to get at least 8 hours of sleep to allow your body to recover from training.
Falling short of these sleep hours means your muscles aren’t getting adequate time to repair themselves.
This is a very underrated portion of the fitness journey.
6.) Stop Obsessing Over the Damn Scale
Don’t OBSESS over weight. And don’t hop on it every day.
Body composition and in some cases BMI Is a more effective way of tracking fat loss and muscle gain, and strength gains.
The reason why you should not only rely on the scale for progress is firstly, weight fluctuates throughout the day from water retention and perspiration.
You can weigh one thing at the beginning of the day and another by night time.
Tracking your energy levels, muscle gain*, and fat loss is the most significant way to track progress.
Again, I understand how tough is to avoid the scale trips when always being bombarded with “weight loss” this and that, an products with little to know proven research consistently being thrown in your face, but don’t be fooled.
*do not think of muscle gains only in terms of bodybuilding.
7.) Aim for a lifestyle change, not JUST weight change
Becoming fit does not have a single destination. It’s a constant journey.
There are more variables than just “I wanna lose 10 pounds” or “I need a summer body”.
You’ve got to want something more and be intrinsically motivated.
Saying you want to “lose weight” but constantly eating the wrong things or even having a negative attitude will hinder your progress.
I said this before and will say it again:
Weight loss, a stronger you, burning fat, having energy is a side effect of a balanced lifestyle.
Make it happen.
-Coach
Strength: The Different Types and the Common Misperceptions
I
was listening to a really great podcast the other day about strength. What it means to be strong. What you should do to get strong. The different types of strength. And what relative strength is.
There are a good amount of people who only equate strength with being “weight room” strong, when the reality is that strength has more aspects to it than that.
Hence the term relative strength.
There are also those people who believe, parents and coaches in particular, that kids should not strength train because they are not biologically ready for strength training and it could stunt growth or cause injury.
A few things on both of these issues:
1.) There is more than one type of strength. To put it simply, there is weight room strong, and there is being strong for your sport. Both are interdependent to an extent.
If you are weight room strong but not able to carry that strength over to your sport, then you need to work on fundamental strength.
Fundamental strength involves body control, motor coordination, and a solid plyometric foundation.
Because being able to push weight is a bit easier to quantify in terms of specific measurement, too often do athletes and coaches chase ONLY numbers in the weight room.
While bench pressing and Olympic lifts are certainly important in improving strength, just because you produce high numbers does not mean you are the best athlete on the field or court.
However, I am NOT discrediting this strength component by any means, but…
If you can not maneuver around efficiently using your own bodyweight, then the transfer between the weight room and field will be more difficult to execute, and increase your chances for injury.
2.) That same fundamental strength is a significant factor for performance for any young athlete who participates in sports.
A solid training program that builds fundamental strength for youth athletes is important for their sport and in helping prevent injury.
To say strength training will increase chances for a kid to get hurt, but consume him with sport practice every day is contradictory.
You don’t get stronger or faster playing or practicing it. You just get better at that sport.
And to meet the demands of that sport, you should be fundamentally strong and train the muscles to fire efficiently FOR that sport.
The problem comes when coaches and parents equate strength directly to training with weights, when the truth of the matter is a solid body weight and plyometric program when executed correctly is key.
Building fundamental, or basic strength is not always the most exciting process, but is absolutely necessary in preparing the body FOR sport.
3.) There should be a solid base of fundamental strength, and movement efficiency before doing in heavy strength or overspeed training.
Often parents will say that “my kid needs to get faster and better footwork” by some set amount of time, and often will expect right away for the kid to be going through some type of insane sled pushing, or ladder drill as if that is the immediate solution and see half a second off of their forty time.
While there is definitely a time for this when the athlete is ready, if the child can not even lift her leg and have stability at the hip joint which is crucial in any speed movement, then training starts there.
What you end up seeing is coaches and trainers throwing kids through these motions who aren’t ready (mainly because lack of assessment), strapping them up to whatever machine, burning them out, and saying this is “speed training”.
I will also get the “My kid needs to get stronger. His bench press is only 90 pounds”
In my head I’m thinking, do you want your kid to become a better athlete, or get better at the bench pressing?
This goes back to separating weight room strength with transferable strength.
Not every drill to build fundamental or even sport specific strength will “look” that appealing, but it does have a specific role.
Developing basic strength, then weight room strength, and doing specific drilling to properly execute that new found strength is the trick.
Once again, if the athletes is struggling to remain stable during a basic push up exercise, then they are not quite ready to overload on weights just yet.
A good amount of time should be devoted to each component of strength training, and put together to meet the demands of sport. Too much time in one phase can create and imbalance that is sure to get exposed during competition at some point.
Death of the Defensive Lineman: 3Aspects of Your Game You Should Improve to Become the New Prototype Scouts Want
The game is changing. Athletes are becoming faster, quicker, more explosive, and powerful than ever. All across the board at every position. However, most notably on the defensive front.
Not too long ago, the average defensive lineman was heavier and strong, but lacked the athleticism of today’s players.
Today’s game requires that a defensive lineman have extreme reactive skills with a balanced combination of lower and upper body strength, speed, dynamic flexibility, a well-trained power base, and outstanding quickness.
This is best exemplified by this year’s Super Bowl MVP Von Miller, who single handedly changed the outcome of the game.
At just 6’3 and 245 pounds, Von Miller possesses a dangerous combination of speed, power, explosion, and exceptional reactive ability. He also has a tremendous balance between upper and lower body power, enabling him to be disruptive against the run, while also being a dominant force when rushing the passer.
Now, while all defensive lineman certainly do not possess all of the traits of Von Miller, each defensive lineman that succeeds at their respective roles, whether interior or exterior, possesses the physical traits that meet and exceed the demands of that position.
With this said, the various positions at the defensive front require athletes to have certain attributes to be effective players. More specifically, the defensive scheme run by teams greatly effects those physical traits that coaches look for.
However, for this post, we will predominantly focus on the defensive end/outside linebacker position.
It is a given that as an effective defensive lineman today, you need to have a mass combination of power, speed, and strength. But here are 3 other skill sets that you should master to become a standout player.
3 Aspects of Your Game You Should Constantly Improve To Become Effective
1.) A Quick First Step aka “Get Off”
As a defensive lineman, your first step of off the ball can be the difference between winning and losing the battle. A quick first step is an expression of explosiveness, specifically demonstrating the ability to rapidly accelerate in a split second.
Having a quick first step will give you the advantage against an offensive lineman as it allows you to become a force against the run, and a force in the pass rush. This demands that an offensive tackle honor your speed, with him having to “get a jump” on you to keep you from reaching the quarterback quickly in the backfield.
A quick first step is one of the attributes that scouts look for at the next level. An athletic defensive lineman will have an explosive first step, accelerating to top speedalmost instantly as the ball is snapped, minimizing the delay between the time the center hikes the ball and it touches the quarterback’s hands.
Winning the battle at the line of scrimmage changes the game. And one of the most effective ways to do this is from beating an offensive lineman off of the ball. An explosive first step is a trainable effect that can be enhanced through specific drilling. As a defensive lineman, you should work on this every day.
2.)Exceptional Hand Speed and Quickness
One of the most important attributes that you should constantly improve as a defensive lineman is your hands. Using your hands efficiently not only enhances your overall game, but can make up for areas where you may lack the necessary speed and quickness.
Playing in the trenches is different than most positions on the field. In the trenches, you need to have ninja like hand to hand combat skills on top of solid hand strength. And just like any other skill, this is an extremely trainable action that takes practice to develop overtime.
Typically, in a practice setting, you drill specific hand moves against a partner that is staged by the position coach. However, in a game scenario, there is no such thing as a perfect hand move.
It is all about reaction and hand timing.
When a lineman shoots his hands in an effort to latch on to you, you have a split second to react to either knock them down, or use his lengthy reach as leverage against him.
Having sharp hands is a unique combination of hand quickness, upper body explosiveness, strength, and reactive capability.
Scouts and recruiters salivate when they see this on film. Especially at the high school level as most athletes have not really developed this particular skill at this yet, taking years to develop.
We spend a significant portion of training developing rapid hand speed and technique with our defensive linemen here at Willis Performance Training giving them the ultimate advantage.
3.) Reactive Ability
Your reactive skills are ultimately what will separate you as an effective defensive lineman.
From the highest level and down, the best defensive lineman have highly efficient reaction skills. Reaction skills physiologically are the ability for the senses to work together and produce a specific movement upon receiving an outside stimulus. In other words, it is the ability for you to see and or hear something, and respond accordingly as quickly as possible. However, as a defensive lineman, this becomes more amplified as you often work in confined spaces and must redirect in an instant when you recognize certain plays, while a 300+ pound offensive lineman is trying to stop you.
Powerful defensive lineman are able to burst, accelerate, rapidly decelerate, redirect, and accelerate to full speed in less than a few seconds. Essentially, reactive ability involves a large component of “agility”which is another highly trainable effect. And whether you are the fastest athlete on the field, if you lack the ability to know when or how to use it in enough time for it to be effective, then you are as good as slow.
Aside from the redirective aspect, reactive ability would also apply to hand timing as knocking down a lineman’s hands involves seeing your target on the move and responding appropriately to get them off.
Improving reactive abilities that involve sudden change of direction can be enhanced through drilling open skill agility drills (reacting to an unpredictable stimulus). Additionally, increasing strength in the appropriate areas in order to capacitate the sudden demands at the joints should be a primary goal in order to MOST effectively redirect.
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While it is given that increasing your strength, speed, and quickness will without a doubt put you in the best possible positon to succeed as a defensive lineman, your first step, hand development, and reactive ability take those traits to a further level, helping to separate you as the prototype that recruiters are searching for, killing the old expectations of what a defensive lineman should be. As the game evolves, so does the athlete. Stay ahead.
About the Author:
Coach Armond Willis is founder and owner of Willis Performance LLC located in Marietta, Georgia where he develops elite level athletes of all ages and runs a comprehensive adult fitness program. Coach Willis advises high school and collegiate coaches on incorporating training programs for athletes. Coach Willis is also a guest writer for PR Sports Performance a 100% online elite level training platform for athletes of all sports.He has authored over 5 ebooks on performance and nutrition. He is a Level 1 Certified Coach under Bommarito Performance Systems, Master Certified XPE Trainer, Certified by the International Association of Fitness Sciences, and soon to be Certified Strength and Conditioning Coach.
Tempo: What Is It and How You Can Use It To Manipulate Your Training Results.
The common method for most people when it comes to gaining strength and size, both athletes and general population, is to lift as much weight as possible as many times as possible.
While this standard of strength training does create the intended results and necessary adaptations for size and strength when used properly, there are other variations of strength training that will produce the same strength, size (hypertrophy), and power effect based on the principle of tempo lifting.
In simple terms, tempo refers to the time under tension for each phase of the lift, more specifically eccentric (downward portion), isometric (amortization), and concentric portion.
Utilizing tempo during lifts is a great way to manipulate the intended goals of your training program. Whether athlete or for general fitness.
Understanding the 3 phases.
ECCENTRIC |
AMORTIZATION |
CONCENTRIC |
1.) Eccentric Phase
As mentioned before , this phase involves lowering the weight, or moving the weight opposite to the muscle contraction.
2.) “sticking point” or amortization Phase
This portion of the lift involves the pause or isometric contraction between the first phase and third.
3.) Concentric Phase
This phase involve moving the weight or bar up, or the actual muscle contraction. During a squat, the concentric phase would be the upward motion of the squat.
To identify the length of time to dedicate towards each phase of the lift, 3 numbers can be assigned to indicate how many seconds to dedicate to each one.
For example, a 2-1-2 tempo would mean 2 seconds for eccentric, 1 second isometric, 2 second concentric. A 1 or an “x” could also indicate an explosive descent or ascent during the eccentric and concentric phases respectively.
Why This is Significant:
By manipulating how much time you spend completing a rep (time under tension), you will get variable muscle response and variable training adaptations.
Tension is what forces your muscles to contract. More significantly, it also factors into muscle fatigue, which causes the actual response to training, whether for strength, mass, or power.
The common perception is to lift as heavy as weight as you can for a low amount of reps.
However, through the manipulation of tempo and time under tension, you can also get effective results from doing less weight with slower tempo.
Example:
Bench Pressing 300lbs 3 sets of 4 reps at the traditional 1-0-1 tempo that you mainly see used in high school training and or your typical membership gyms
Vs.
185lbs 3 sets 10 reps performed at a 3-2-3 tempo.
Even though less weight, the amount of time under tension maneuvering the weight is greater than the first example, causing a more intense response.
If training for strength and or hypertrophy, slower tempo is an efficient solution for that goal. I generally utilize moderate tempos like this during general preparation phase for my athletes or for general clients looking to increase muscular size or strength (yes that includes women ).
In developing pure concentric power, or training for explosion, strength endurance, or power endurance, I use faster tempos. These tempos would come for more advanced clients during a more dynamic phases.
As you can see, adjusting tempo can be an effective component for any program, whether for athletes or general clients.
It is a very simple system to implement and a good variation to “traditional” weight lifting and exercise.
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Nutritional Periodization: How It Works
During the season, however, maintaining energy and mass are of extreme importance, so increased calories from carbohydrates are critical, while increased protein to help prevent muscle breakdown and injury are important as well.
Below you can see an example of a nutritional periodization program for a football athlete. It should also be noted that nutritional needs vary by position, and the amount of carbohydrate, protein, and fat intake will vary depending on the specific position and goals of the athlete.
While this is an example of how nutritional periodization works for the football season(s), all athlete dieting plans should have some sort of fluctuation to match the demands of training as well as the intended goal.
Proper nutrition is tantamount for optimizing not only strength, speed, and body composition, but also recovery.
The Most Underrated Performance Enhancement: Sleep.
As the title of this article indicates, quality sleep is one of the most overlooked aspects of everyday performance. Studies have even shown lack of sleep can not only cause decreased performance , but also poor ability to utilize nutrition, decreased executive function, memory loss, improper recovery, and even depression.
The human body can go several weeks without food and a week without water, but can only go four days without sleep.
For a growing adolescent athlete, quality sleep is crucial for growth. Physiologically during these years, the body is growing at a very rapid rate, and for teenage athletes with high levels of activity, sleep is pivotal for recovery and growth. The below Infogram reveals a few statistics on teenage sleep patterns as well as the 4 stages of sleep:
Here are two ways that you, or your young athlete can enhance sleep.
- The Melatonin Wave
When melatonin is released form the pineal gland deep inside of the brain, it makes you relaxed, drowsy, and ultimately fall asleep. It is an organic drug produced internally. Simply learning to notice it and paying attention to when the melatonin wave hits the shores of your conscience can help you to get quality sleep.
- Turn off ALL screens 60 minutes before bed
Initially, the sun was the only light setting your neurological clock. However, now smart phones and computer screens threaten this natural rhythm. Each of these screens emits high levels of blue light waves, which in turn suppresses the pineal gland. This then decreases the production of melatonin.
Even though a very difficult task to do, turning the phone off before bed will greatly help increase sleep quality.
Conclusion:
Most teenagers, even grown adults consider performance to be based around how well you train, or how good you eat. While both of these are extremely valid components to performance, SLEEP is the one of the most underrated aspects of performance enhancement that the body physiologically needs the most.
How many of you are reading this from bed on the phone?
Go to sleep.
Don’t Be A Statistic: Train Smart
One of the mantras at Willis Performance Training is prevention and intention.
The training systems are designed to enhance athlete performance by taking measures to prevent injury, and articulating workout scripts where every single exercise has a definite intention specific for athlete goals.
Everything from Functional Movement Screening to training “progressions” based on athlete and client rate of development, are utilized with the intent to safely advance the athlete to the next phase or level of training.
However, when it comes to injury, certain groups or populations of athletes are at a higher risk for injury because of certain variables, specifically grade school and adolescent athletes.
Reasons for the higher incidences of injury can range from improper training, poor nutrition, failure to properly warmup before practice (majority of high school athlete injury happen during practice), bio mechanical disposition (specifically females because of knee to hip joint angle), to physiological reasons.
Because bones and muscles are growing at a faster rate during adolescence, teenagers and middle schoolers can be more predisposed for injury. The physical growth can affect coordinative ability, which greatly affects overall movement mechanics.
The below WPT infographic provides insight on the statistics of injury for high school athletes.
While it is impossible to prevent ALL injury, there are certainly measures that can be taken to help PREVENT injury, especially for teenage athletes who are at the most risk.
– Proper Warmup before exercise
– Staying Hydrated
– Proper training technique
– Safe training progressions
– Flexibility
– Proper Nutrition
Injury prevention should be a staple of any training program, as this is the real basis of efficient performance for athletes and the general population.
What injuries has you kids or yourself personally experienced?
Leave a comment and let me know if you have any questions for me.
–Coach Armond Willis
Willis Performance Training Founder
www.willisperformance.com
Don’t Let Your Child Down: 3 Things Missing From Your Traditional Speed Agility and Strengthening Program
In my years as a performance coach, I have noticed that there is a common and oft misguided perception of what it means to “train” and “workout” from both athletes and the parents of each athlete, especially at the high school level
My biggest dilemma is that most of the views on performance training, strength training, speed agility training or whatever most call it today is very one dimensional and does not always address the particular needs of the athlete and or sport, and they utilize the same modes of training with no real progression based on athlete rate of development.
FROM WHAT IVE SEEN PERSONALLY, there is a lack of needs analyses performed for the athlete to best prescribe workout programs that are suited for their particular needs and goals to help them SAFELY and EFFECTIVELY become the best athlete that they can be.
Preadolescent and adolescent athletes are constantly being coached into a “one Size Fits All” workout program in the weight room in an attempt maximize strength and speed.
The reality of it is, each athletes’ body responds and adapts in a different way than the athlete next to her. And while the program may involve many of the core exercises needed to build power and strength, there are a handful of athletes whose development falls through the cracks because of the lack of time to really work with their mechanics.
The culture of most high school training is this go hard or go home mentality that often leads the athlete to want to outdo himself in order to meet the expectations of coach yelling at them or to separate themselves as one of the chiefs on the team.
The philosophy, especially for football players, is simple: lift as much weight as possible, increase my one rep max, get stronger.
The ultimate problem are the physical issues that come along with this culture: muscular imbalance, asymmetries, injuries and not being able to detect problems early on in the program.
Strength on top of dysfunction will lead to malfunction.
With that said, this is one of the reasons why I think it is important for the parents and athletes to understand why getting outside help in addition to the standard training programs, in any sport, can be particularly helpful in terms of injury prevention, and specificity of training for high school athletes.
Here are 3 things your kids High School program may NOT be doing effectively.
Needs Analysis
As before mentioned, each athlete is different and may require specific training to address their particular needs. In a high school setting, there are a number of athletes, and it is difficult for a coach see every single athletes’ deficiency and or address their specific needs.
Specialized Training
It is no secret why many of the high school defensive linemen that I train excel during the season. They participate in a training program that develops the key areas that are needed to excel at their respective position.
We have looked at and analyzed the necessary movement requirements for that position, and put together highly specific programming for it. Not the mundane drills used in most practices.
Everything from hand technique, to ankle mobility and strengthening (crucial for any athlete of any sport) to specialized mechanical training, it is implemented into the program.
There is just no time to attack these aspects of development in a high school setting. Unless the athlete is exceptionally gifted, each athlete for the most part can always use specialized training to develop into a better athlete.
Injury Prevention
While this in theory should be the part of the goal of any strength and conditioning program, because of the way some programs are executed, poor movement mechanics can be overlooked, and overloading an athlete with deficient mechanics is only reinforcing the patterns causing the same poor mechanics.
In a setting where there may be 50 plus kids using the weight room, outside of a physical test from the team doctor, movement mechanics or asymmetries in an athlete are not always recognized and evaluated.
A program should screen or assess the mechanics of an athlete before overloading him before they are necessarily ready for it.
At Willis Performance Training, we use specialized screening, assessment, and evaluation processes to most effectively prescribe workout scripts for athletes and clients.
I recommend making sure that any program that a young athlete participates in have relevant evaluation and assessment techniques in place in order to safely and effectively develop the athlete, as well as proper testing procedure to effective measure progress.
The 3 Essentials to Becoming a Better High School Athlete: Words from a Former Professional Basketball Player
For a while now I’ve been telling my older brother JK to share
the story of his basketball journey with other kids. I even tell him he is selfish if he doesn’t because he has knowledge and power that can change another kid’s life. An incredible athletic story, his journey will inspire many other young athletes trying to succeed.
So one day, I ask my brother this question:
“If a kid came up you and asked ‘What does it take for me to play at the next level?’ what would you tell them ?”
His answer to this question would motivate ANY athlete who gets to hear what he ultimately calls his 3 Essentials to Succeed.
But before I break down what those 3 essentials are, here is a quick background of JK Willis:
Jeffrey “JK” Willis is a collegiate and professional success story that should inspire many young athletes.
Despite the numerous odds against him to making it in college and professional basketball, he did it.
Standing at 6’8″ tall, Jeffrey worked extremely hard and networked his way to opportunity.
Countless hours of practice, drilling, studying other players, overcoming an environment where coaches did not believe in him and his talents, and fueled by sheer determination, Jeffrey earned himself a scholarship, and created NBA opportunities with the Los Angeles Lakers, Phoenix Suns, and the Detroit Pistons and had a very successful All Star playing career overseas in Portugal, Turkey, Lithuania, and Mexico.
What is more impressive is the fact that he didn’t go to a major university. He began his college career at Maryville College in Tennessee before transferring after his sophomore year to Barry University located in Miami FL for a better opportunity.
From there he had a successful overseas career and doors opened up for him with the NBA for the Detroit Pistons and LA Lakers. And even though he did not make the final rosters, he continued on to have a successful playing career overseas.
So, JK’s answer to that question and the 3 Essentials that helped him get there….
“Firstly, I would ask the kid why are you NOT where you want to be. What are you doing every day to make your team better? You are either getting better, or you are getting worse every day. You are never the same.”
You have to establish three key things:
1.) Establish a work ethic of consistency. Look where you want to excel in the game and work on the weakness. Talk to your coach and ask how can I get better and what my role is, and try to become a star in your role.
2.) Make the players around you better. Add value to the intangible side of playing by helping you teammates to improve upon their talents. Be a leader by example.
3.) And the Most important thing is you have to allow yourself to be coachable and be able to accept criticism”
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Having been an up and coming athlete myself, I will also tell you that those three essentials are crucial to your development as an athlete and professional.
Work Ethic
Leadership
Being Coachable
Take it from someone like JK Willis who has been there. Do those 3 things, and give yourself a better chance at having success as an athlete. My older brother is one of the reasons I am who I am today.
What traits do you think are necessary for a high school athlete to have in order to be successful ?[/fusion_text][/fusion_builder_column][/fusion_builder_row][/fusion_builder_container]