Archive for May, 2008
« Previous Entries Next Entries »Stop Fast To Improve Your Stopping Speed
Wednesday, May 21st, 2008If you are slow when you need to change directions, then you probably have poor stopping speed. Basketball players, in particular, have many stops, cuts and starts during a game. The best players (defensive and offensive) are able to decelerate quickly and then accelerate with power in a different direction. Great stopping speed requires postural control, core strength, dynamic balance and speed strength.
Deceleration is required to stop, slow down, or cut. Deceleration becomes more complicated when you must dribble or kick a ball. That’s why drills should be done with the ball (basketball and soccer in this case). The body must be aligned properly to decelerate and accelerate with quickness and power. Failure to align the body properly will subject the athlete to injury.
I will use this example: The Side Shuffle
This is an athletic movement common to many sports. If the athlete is moving to her left, the left leg must be in a position wide enough to stop momentum (just wider than the hips). This is commonly known as the athletic position. The left foot should also be pointed straight ahead and the ankle should be pointed upward (with weight on balls of feet). Pointing the ankle upward will help avoid sprained/rolled ankles and make the push off powerful.
The knee should be aligned inside the plant foot to avoid ankle rolls and to take pressure off the hip. One common mechanical breakdown is when the knees protrude far in front of the feet when decelerating. The hips need to remain level throughout the movement to avoid yo-yoing and inefficient movement.
The athlete needs to control the shoulders (no swaying, etc.) with a strong core. This way, the athlete can decelerate and accelerate with power and efficiency. In the same way, the head should be still (no bobbing and weaving) to allow the athlete to focus on the intended target (ball, goal, net, etc.).
A good strength foundation (including core strength) is needed to maximize power and speed. Now, hurry up and stop!
Improve Your Closing Speed To “Make The Play”
Tuesday, May 20th, 2008Have you ever thought Deion Sanders was beat by the receiver but by the time the ball arrived, Deion had an interception. That is closing speed! The ability to kick it “into another gear” to make the play. This can be practiced with run and sprints. Run and Sprints work this way:
Run and Sprints - Set a distance of 50 yards. Start out running and build up to near full speed at 40 yards. Sprint full speed the final 10 yards. The final full speed sprint is the “close.”
Closing speed can also be practiced during acceleration speed training.
Most of the time, an athlete is not running full speed during the game. But sometimes, it is necessary for the athlete to accelerate to full speed (or near full speed) as quickly as possible in order to “make the play.” Going back to the Deion Sanders example, he was able to accelerate quickly to make the interception. If you do a search on the internet and put in “closing speed” (on Yahoo), Deion’s YouTube video (closing to make an interception) will be one of the choices.
Playing speed is multi-faceted and the athlete needs all aspects of playing speed to be successful.
The 2008 Bay to Breakers (aka, Bleeker Returns)
Monday, May 19th, 2008Article Series–Strength and Power For Baseball Players, Part 5
Monday, May 19th, 2008Baseball requires a series of rotational and lateral movements. Therefore, the baseball player needs a strong core to generate rotational and lateral speed and power.
The physical demands of baseball are: starting ability, acceleration, stopping, cutting, stride rate, stride length, sprinting form and speed endurance.
Most explosive movements occur after some other movement (swinging, sliding, etc.). Maximum velocity is rarely reached except in the case of hitting a triple, inside-the-park homerun or running down a long fly ball. Therefore, starting ability and acceleration should be emphasized during training. Download my 2 eBooks on athletic strength, power and speed.
In part 5 of this article series, I will detail the physical demands for infielders and outfielders. The ideal baseball infielder or outfielder would possess all the necessary tools to play the game well. This would be known as a 5 tool player. A 5 tool player has great speed, can field, throw, hit for average and hit for power. A modern day 5 tool player would be Alex Rodriguez. Not many players possess all 5 tools. If you can do two of these tools well (like hitting for average and fielding), you have a chance to make it to “The Show” (Major Leagues).
Following is a short list of some requirements of major league baseball infielders and outfielders:
1. Running speed in the 60 yard dash: 6.5 - 6.8 (good); 6.3 - 6.4 (excellent)
2. Home to first speed: 4.1 (Left handed batter), 4.2 (RHB) is good
4.0 or less (LHB), 4.1 or less (RHB) is excellent
3. Throwing velocity: Infielders, 82-84 mph (good); 85 mph or better (excellent)
Outfielders, 85-89 mph (good); 90 mph or better (excellent)
It should be noted that these fielders need good dynamic balance, agility and throwing accuracy.
Infielders and outfielders should use the offseason to improve strength, dynamic flexibility, dynamic balance, endurance, power and speed. The focus should be on building full body strength and endurance that will aid the baseball player in improving power and speed. Maximum muscle growth (i.e. 1-rep max) is not needed for baseball players. A critical part of the strength program is strengthening and conditioning the throwing shoulder (see this post).
A sample offseason workout program for infielders and outfielders would be:
1. Full Body Circuit Weight Training (2 days a week). Interval aerobic training would also be done on these days.
2. Speed Training (2 days a week)
3. Plyometric Training (2 days a week)
In season conditioning would include split routine workouts to maintain strength gains made in the offseason. Split routines work the upper body one day and the lower body the next day. Speed workouts would be limited to 1 day per week at the most.
In part 6 of this series, I will take a look at the physical demands for pitchers and catchers.
Improve Athletic Performance With Leg Circuits
Friday, May 16th, 2008I was working out the other day when a familiar question was asked to me: “How much do you max on the bench press?” My answer was puzzling to him: “I don’t max out on the bench press anymore.” Let me explain.
From my experience of playing football at the Division I level in college as a defensive back, a big-time bench press max had little to do with successfully playing the game. And on the occasions that bench press strength came into play, such as taking on a tight end, leverage and body positioning was more important than bench press strength. My bench press max in those days was 400 pounds. A 300 pound max would have been enough to succeed. Power (how fast your muscles can produce force), dynamic balance and speed endurance are more important athletic traits.
The same principle applies to squats. Don’t focus too much on your squat max. Leg circuits are a tried and true method to improve your athleticism, burn more leg fat, increase strength/endurance and improve heart health. So, how do leg circuits work? The good news is that you only need 20 minutes! The better news is that you will have chiseled glutes, hips, hamstrings, quads and calves if you stay with it! You will also be more athletic and flexible in your movements. Athleticism wins games!
Since this workout is circuit-style, you also get the benefit of a great cardio workout. Do each exercise (10-12 repetitions) one after the other with little or no rest between exercises. Rest 2-3 minutes and do the circuit again. Here is a representative leg circuit program:
–Walking Lunges
–Bodyweight Squats
–1 Legged Glute Bridge
–Dumbbell Deadlift
–Reverse Lunges
–1 Legged Split Squats
–Front Step Ups
–Side Lunges
–Lateral Step Ups
–Transverse Lunges
–Leg Curls
–Calf Raises
Do less heavy weight leg work and add leg circuits to your overall athletic exercise program!
The Hack Squat Machine - Do You Use It?
Wednesday, May 14th, 2008For those of you that are gym members, you know that there are several leg machines available for use in most gyms. One of them is the hack squat machine. I tried this yesterday and only did a few reps because I was doing it all wrong. I could feel it in [...]
Download “Sports Fitness Hut’s Speed Training For Athletes”
Tuesday, May 13th, 2008If you thought you needed to “run on your toes” to increase your speed, then you need to download “Sports Fitness Hut’s Speed Training For Athletes” eBook! If you didn’t know that inadequate core strength is one of the major reasons you slow down when you’re tired, then download this eBook! And, guess what? You don’t have to be the fastest person in the 100 meter sprint to win the race. These are just a few pointers you can read about in my new eBook. Download it at the top of this page!
You can also download my companion eBook, “Strength and Power Training For Athletes,” on this same page. It covers the details about the strength and power you need to improve your speed.
Straight-ahead speed is important but there are other types of speed such as starting speed, acceleration speed, top-end speed, change-of-direction speed, stopping speed, closing speed and speed endurance. You should train for all types of speed particular to your sport. Quickness, which is reacting explosively without hesitation should also be trained for and will enhance your overall speed.
These two eBooks are great tools for coaches, parents, athletes and exercisers!
Tight Hip Flexors Diminishes Athletic Performance
Monday, May 12th, 2008Great athletes dominate athletic movements with the hips, glutes, quadriceps and hamstrings. All of these muscle regions need to work properly or you will not compete on a high level.
The gluteus maximus is the largest muscle in the body. The anatomy of the gluteal region (gluteus maximus, gluteus medius, gluteus minimus) is shown below:
The glutes don’t fire properly when the hip flexors (psoas, iliacus, tensor fascia latae, etc.) are overactive or tight. This can happen due to poor flexibility or prolonged sitting. When the hip flexors don’t work properly, its antagonist (mainly the gluteus maximus) becomes weak. This is known as reciprocal inhibition (when muscles on one side of a joint become tight or overactive, it shuts down the muscles on the other side of the joint). When a prime mover (such as the gluteus maximus) becomes weak, other muscles (synergists) take over the function that the prime mover should be doing. Some injuries that occur because of inactive glutes are hamstring injuries, piriformis syndrome, knee ACL tears and low back injuries. Okay, enough of the technical stuff!
So, what do you need to do to fire up your glutes?! First, you need to understand why your glutes are not firing properly. They are probably not receiving the neural drive from your central nervous system. So, it is probably not an issue of strength. Their are some exercises you can do to correct this problem. First, you need to lengthen tight muscles. The stretches are listed as follows (use self myofascial release with foam roller before doing these stretches):
1. Hip Flexor Stretch
2. Quadriceps Stretch
3. Bodyweight Lateral Lunges (for adductors)
Then, you need to activate (fire up) your glutes with these exercises:
1. Glute Bridge
2. Opposite Leg Opposite Arm Raise
3. Glute Kickbacks
Lastly, exercise the fired up glutes with these exercises:
1. Bodyweight squats
2. Lateral tube walks
3. Walking Lunges
DNF at the Quicksilver 50m
Monday, May 12th, 2008Ultramarathons gaining in popularity, competitors (Sacramento Bee)
Monday, May 12th, 2008« Previous Entries Next Entries »