This article will combine the information from Pt 1 on Adaptation and Applied Stress and Pt 2 on Mechanisms of Fatigue If you haven’t already, I would recommend going back and reading those articles before progressing through this one. Assessing Athlete Needs “What gets measured gets managed” is a truism that abounds in the training world, and for … Read moreMoving The Levers of Training Pt. 3: Methodical Progressions
If you haven’t read part one of this series on Adaptation and Applied Stress I would recommend you do so by clicking the link here During World War II General George Patton said to his troops, “Fatigue makes cowards of us all, men in condition do not tire!” …and he was right! In combat sports … Read moreMoving The Levers of Training Pt. 2: Mechanisms of Fatigue
Training is all about adaptation! When we train, we are not merely exhibiting what we are capable of at that moment in time, we are attempting to provide a stressful stimulus that is great enough to drive our bodies to get better but not so stressful that we cannot recover from it. The principle of … Read moreMoving the Levers of Training Pt. 1: Adaptation and Applied Stress
“Come gather ’round people Wherever you roam And admit that the waters Around you have grown” Bob Dylan I have been weight training consistently for 16 years, have been training family and friends since I was in high-school, and have spent the last 8 years professionally coaching others full time. By way of this, I’ve … Read moreLife Changes and Training
In her book The Right Call, author Sally Jenkins quotes her father, the great sport writer, Dan Jenkins asking a young Sally, “Who can describe the athletic heart?” While Sally offers an extraordinary answer in the rest of her book, I’d like to ask and answer a secondary question; “Who can describe the Amateur’s heart?” … Read moreThe Amateur’s Heart
Decision Bias, Problem Solving, and Training During WW2 the United States Navy had a problem to solve, aircraft were not returning home at an adequate rate and the military was hemorrhaging money on aircraft and pilot losses. In order to remedy this they brought in a team of expert engineers to assess the planes that … Read moreProblem Solving and The Whole Picture
An athlete’s ability to maintain their center of mass over their base of support is a universal critical indicator of performance. An example from my coaching this month: During training with the partner blocking drill (pushing her around a bit as she comes in for the shot) Fanny said “I feel like I’m having trouble … Read moreCenter of Mass and The Athlete
Practice makes perfect, perfect practice makes perfect, 10,000 hours of training are needed, repetition, repetition, repetition etc…. Truism’s abound when it comes to discussion surrounding skill development, but what actually works? In his book How We Learn to Move: A Revolution in the Way We Coach and Practice Sports Skills author Rob Gray introduces the concept of … Read moreBecome a Movement Degenerate
Structures, Functions, Actions, and Patterns The human body is comprised of bones, organs, connective tissue, fat, muscle, and nerve tissue. This is a reductionist summary with the point being that the vessel of the body is made of liquid, solid, elastic, and gaseous materials which compress, expand, and move around each other. The intention of … Read moreSynchronous Systems Development Model Excerpt
In Joshua Metcalf’s book “Chop Wood, Carry Water”he tells the story of a great and talented carpenter who has worked many years building the most elaborate, robust, and beautiful homes in his village. The carpenter is known for pouring his heart and soul into his homes by paying attention to detail and completing every task … Read moreChop Wood, Carry Water : Character is Greater than Talent