STS 9-12-08

"Strength training= coordination training with resistance" - Frans Bosch

Here's a great breakdown of sport-specific speed from Vern Gambetta. These skills are truly use-it-or-lose-it. Which area(s) is missing from your training?


Noteworthy links:

- More on strength-training from Vern. Like the man says: it's only about the application of strength. Strength is nothing if you can't do anything with it.

- The hang snatch. Looks like coordination training to me. Check out the part on the Triple Extension.

- Awesome article on positive running. Very interesting stuff.

- understanding pain. Good stuff for all those crazy-ass 8-games-in-2-days things we call tournaments. Hector is dead-on with match play being the way to go for the future of the sport.

- The pistol squat. Hip stability at it's finest.

- Interesting article on some rules of rest. I much prefer to keep the tempo as high as possible always but it's good food for thought nonetheless.

Warmup:

We just jumped right into the medicine ball starting with standard chest passes moving to overhead passes, vertical tosses, downward slams, & twisting throws etc. Mixed in jump rope, bodyweight squats & split-squats, handstand pushups, and finished with 1 arm throws (squat-to-throw, 2-touch throws, etc) good stuff.

Plyo Skills & Drills

Bosu Lateral Bounds:

I got this one from LT's trainer: we set up 2 bosu balls next to each other about a 2 feet apart and did Single-leg lateral bounds from one to the other (like this, but landing on the inside of the bosu ball). Focus is on minimal contact time & moving explosively with proper landing mechanics. So awesome cuz if you didn't land properly & explosively you either bounced straight off it or fell straight on your ass. Apparently LT is so ridiculous at them that his trainer throws med balls & weighted footballs at him in different sequences and he catches & throws them back in mid-air. Just. Dirrrty.

Now think about your lateral training, where could you go with it? Here's a starter to get ya thinkin'. No. Limits.

Functional Lifts

1A: split drops- same as these but split-squat instead of regular squat and the bar in front
1B: Jumping tuck pullups

2x's through alternating forward leg on the split drops

2: hang cleans

2 sets, threw in a couple jerks at the end of each set also.

Squat complex:

3A: OH Squat
3B: Superman Pushup (from standing, walk hands out to SP, do 1, then walk hands back)
3C: Pistol squat (sitting onto box behind for beginners)

8 reps of each, moving directly to the next with no rest. 2x's through.

Core Circuit:

Finished with a quick circuit of:

- Hanging leg raises
- Side twists w/weight
- GHD's

2x's through.

This Week:

Monday: Bikram (am) throwing workout (pm)
Tuesday: Field workout with plyometric emphasis
Wednesday: Heavybag work
Thursday: Workout Above
Friday: Throwing & Recovery
Saturday/Sunday: Sectionals "I do what I do and you do what you can do about it" - Lil' Wayne

Stay Frosty,
#40

STS 9-5-08

"A good hockey player plays where the puck is. A great hockey players plays where the puck is going to be" - The Great One

Noteworthy links

- Cool breakdown on bounding. You can really see how maximum impact it is and how well bounding improves both running & jumping simultaneously.

- Wooden's pyramid. Again. Because I can never look at it enough. The HBO documentary on his dynasty is truly amazing. Some of the best examples of Flow in sports ever.

- Bolt's NFLability

- More on Bolt, still flying fast. But not at the speed limit just yet.

- Great article on muscle balance with pretty informative ratios broken down by muscle groups.

- Decent article on lifting for beginners. Lots of good info with a bit of fluff thrown in. There's also 2 really good photos of cable punches. Instead of just flat-footed like photos think about being able to explode into the different footwork positions (when your form is good enough to allow you to progress) You want rotational strength? then do cable punches. Want to train your entire upperbody & core in 1 move? then do cable punches.

- MJ's old workout program

Workout:

Movement Prep:

Shot some hoops for 15 minutes

Med-ball

Trained with a partner today and did all 1 armed throws n' catches. Focus was on generating torque & rotational ability, catching everything while centered, and always moving explosively. Lots of throws, squat to throws, twisting throws, and 2-touch throws (catch with left hand immediately transfer to right and explode out, repeat opposite arm)

Cables/Plyos

Mixed in cable punches, squat-to-punch, with lateral shuffles for 40 seconds with mini-bands above knee. 4 sets moving from punches to shuffles, resting 30 seconds, then repeat.

Metabolic Circuit

My legs were still pretty rocked from Labor Day to go heavy so we set up a full-body circuit instead. We were working out at an MMA studio so we had access to a heavybag and lots of open space, which was awesome.

Round1 (1 min each, no rest till finish)
Heavybag: power punches (1 min)
Kettlebell swings (1 min)
Jump rope (1 min)

Rest 1 min

Round 2 (1 min each, no rest till finish)
Heavybag: speed punches
Hang snatches
Jump rope

Rest 1 min

Round 3 (same as before)
Heavybag: switch-kicks
OH squats
Decline sit-ups

Rest 1 min

Round 4 (same as before)
Heavybag: speed combos
backwards walking split-squats
Jump-rope

Round 5:
Heavybag: switch-kicks
kettlebell swings
GHD's

Finished with 3 rounds of plyometric arms swings (30 seconds on: 30 seconds rest)

This week:
Monday: Recovery
Tuesday: Yoga (am) pickup basketball 1/2 court (pm)
Wednesday: Workout above
Thursday: field workout w/acceleration & deceleration emphasis
Friday: Weights
Saturday: pickup basketball & beach volleyball. Endless summer out here. :)
Sunday: More beach.

Stay Frosty,
#40