Repetition Integrity

in·teg·ri·ty

noun

1.adherence to moral and ethical principles; soundness of moral character; honesty.

2. the state of being whole, entire, or undiminished: to preserve the integrity of the empire.

3. a sound, unimpaired, or perfect condition: the integrity of a ship’s hull.

     The repetition is the most basic unit of function that the Strength and Conditioning Coach has to build and forge his Athletes.  No different than a nail is to a carpenter, the repetition is critical to developing a strong structure to your Strength and Conditioning program.  Only after hundreds of sets and thousands of reps will the Athlete begin to notice a change in size and strength.  Poor reps put the Athlete at risk for injury.  With this being said, it is imperative that you adhere to the principal of the repetition.  Strength and Conditioning Coaches allow poor repetitions to happen, the athlete is not the one to blame.  Correct it or allow it to happen.  If half or three quarter reps are allowed to happen every day, every week and every month then the accumulation of those missed inches will be very large, hence cheating the Athlete out of possible gains.  Oppositely, if every rep is coached to its maximum range every set, every week and every month, the Athlete will then have fulfilled their potential gains.  As a Strength Coach you must develop a sense for what separates a great rep from a good rep and an average rep from a bad rep. The greatest Strength Coaches in the country are the ones that understand the importance of Rep Integrity and they pursue its perfection daily.  Could you imagine buying a house that was built by a carpenter that didn’t pound in every nail. 

Rep Integrity will differentiate between exercises and the goal of the exercise.  The Strength Coach must stick to the proper way to do the Repetition.  Basic Guidelines follow:

1)  Coach all Athlete’s Reps, regardless of status.

2)  Be consistent day to day

3)  Train through a full range of motion on strength movements, pause at the top to allow for full contraction and control movement down during eccentric portion.

4)  Spot Athletes through difficult reps, force reps when necessary.

      5)  Coach technique first, then coach effort. 

Hammer the integrity in and out of every rep and slowly they will be forged to fulfill their purpose.   

Summer Speed Development: Week 3

Week 3:
Dynamic Warm-Up
Jog x30yds
Backward Run x30yds
Drop Squats x10
BW Goodmorning x10
Walking Knee-to-Chest x10yds
Skipping Knee-to-Chest x20yds
Walking Toe Touch x10yds
Skipping Toe Touch x20yds
Build-Up to 75% x30yds
Rollbacks x10 (all split)
In & Out the Window x10 each
Russian Hamstring x10 each
Build-Up to 80% x30yds
A-March 3x10yds
A-Skip 3x10yds
A-Run 3x10yds (max reps)
Build-Up to 85% x30yds

Jump Training/Plyometrics
*Teach take-off & landing tech
Hurdle Jumps 1x5 (stick landing)
Hurdle Jumps 3x5 (continuous)



Wall Drills
*Teach acceleration angle &
Wall Drill mechanics
Single Leg March 2x10
Alternate Leg March 2x10

Acceleration Drills
*2pt Staggered Stance
2pt Accelerations 3x15yds, 3x20yds

Overhead Squat: Part 2 of 3 - Execution

     We always begin teaching the Overhead Squat by using a dowel rod or PVC pipe.  It is critical that the Athlete understands why we are doing the overhead squat, what the overhead squat is and most importantly how it is done properly.  If you get the Athlete to understand why they are doing something, then they will care more about their technique.  Technique is paramount in any Strength and conditioning area, from large scale introductions to elite details, technique must be priority in all movements.

 

1) It all starts with the grip.  Finding proper hand placement for the overhead squat is identical to finding the grip for the snatch.  USAW teaches equally displacing the distance over the bar for the following measurement: abduct one arm from your side so that it is parallel to the ground, then make a fist.  Measure from the end of your middle knuckle to the tip of the opposite shoulder, across the back.  This will give you a good guideline for your hand placement.  However, many times I have to widen our larger athletes hand placement on the bar.  I try to find a comfortable position for the athlete where the bar is between 5-7 inches above the head.  Turn the wrists over so you are supporting the bar by having 'bone on bone.' 

2) Next you have to actually get the bar overhead.  This is a very similar motion to the jerk to get the bar overhead, especially the higher the weight becomes.  Once the bar is overhead it is crucial that the elbows are locked out, as if you do not have an elbow, just one long arm bone.  Next you want to “stretch the bar,” and “show me your armpits” as Mike Burgener would coach you to do.  This will create a platform for the load of the barbell to sit on. 

3) You have to make sure that the head is “through the window” of your arms, you have shrugged into the bar and ideally you want the head neutral with the spine.  Once you have supported and locked in the arms, shoulders and head now you can begin your repetition.  Just like any squat you want to inhale and support the spine via the valsalva maneuver.  From there you begin your squat…’butt back, knees out, heels drilled in.’  These are the cues that need to be used in this movement.  The body will manipulate itself around the center of gravity of the bar (bar path).  It is useless to coach where the knees should be because it is different for every athlete based on their anthropometry.  You want the torso to be as vertical as possible and the heels to be down.  On the concentric portion of the movement you want to ‘drive through the bar’ and be ‘strong through the foot’.  

Overhead Squat: Part 1 of 3 - Purpose

The overhead barbell squat is an exceptional strength movement due to its carryover effect to so many other strength and power movements.  I always try to use the overhead squat as the number one teaching tool for the squat in general.  In a comprehensive Strength and Conditioning Program there is always some form of squatting involved.  Front squat, Back Squat, Zercher Squat, Box Squat, Band Squat, Dead squat, take your pick…the overhead barbell squat will teach you and prep you to be successful in all of these.  The overhead barbell squat is the most complex squatting movement because it has the most joints involved.  The back squat has the bar fixed on the upper trap and the main joints that are in charge of completing a successful repetition are the hip and knee.  Obviously the musculature that inserts and originates around, on and across these joints are the reason that tension is developed and transferred within the joints but the hip and knee joints are synergistically “doing their job” throughout the squat.  In a front squat the shoulders must maintain extension, the elbows must successfully flex and the wrist must accommodate both the shoulder and the elbow with it’s extension so the bar is successfully placed in the proper center of gravity on the body so that the body can optimally overcome the load of the barbell.  But still, in the front squat, once the shoulder’s, arm’s and wrist’s are in place, the anterior shoulder will house the majority of the load.  The overhead barbell squat is significantly more difficult.  Literally every joint in the body is engaged in supporting the weight of the barbell or executing the eccentric or concentric portions of the squat.  The distribution of the load is distributed between all these joints and the mobility of these joints is what is going to determine whether or not the squat is successfully completed or not.  The overhead barbell squat serves two purposes: 1. To increase the mobility, strength and injury prevention of the muscles and connective tissues around all joints of the body, all while teaching the body how to support spinal load efficiently.  2. The overhead squat movement is critical in teaching the receiving position of the Snatch.  I am confident that once an Athlete has mastered the overhead squat, they will have a great chance to be successful at any Olympic Movement or Barbell Strength Exercise.  

Summer Speed Development: Week 2

Week 2:
Dynamic Warm-Up
Jog x30yds
Backward Run x30yds
BW Squats x10
BW Goodmorning x10
Walking Knee-to-Chest x10yds
Skipping Knee-to-Chest x20yds
Walking Toe Touch x10yds
Skipping Toe Touch x20yds
Build-Up to 75% x30yds
A-March 3x10yds
A-Skip 3x10yds
A-Run 3x10yds (max reps)
Build-Up to 85% x30yds

Jump Training/Plyometrics
*Teach take-off & landing tech
Tuck Jumps 1x5 (stick landing)
Tuck Jumps 3x5 (continuous)

Wall Drills
*Teach acceleration angle &
Wall Drill mechanics
Single Leg March 2x10
Alternate Leg March 2x10


Acceleration Drills
*2pt Staggered Stance
2pt Accelerations 2x10yds, 4x15yds

Track Speed vs. Football Speed

There are various theories and training methods in the Sports Performance field regarding how best to train Athletes for Speed. Resisted sprints w/ parachutes, bullet belts & sleds, overspeed training with bungees, high speed treadmills & declines, etc... Some of the most impressive Athletes on the planet are those you will see here next weekend at the U.S. Olympic Trials and later this Summer in London. Usain Bolt running a 9.58 100m & 19.19 200m are no doubt unbelievable numbers, but can he stop & start or change direction like an elite NFL player??? We say no, so training a Football player the same way one would train an elite sprinter does not compute.

We're going to tell you what we think is the best way to train Speed for Football. Maximal force development and Acceleration in multiple directions are the keys to Football Speed. Football is a sport where plays are made in short bursts and powerful expressions of force. It is our opinion that overspeed training and the gimmicks that are implemented, although they may have merit in a Track setting, are a waste of time and money when considering how to train DB's or WR's for the demands they will face on the field. We have seen many former Track Athletes who were "fast" guys as far as the 40 is concerned but when you turn on the film, they don't express that same speed.

We hang our hat on a few things when it comes to training Football Speed:

1. 2 point stance vs. 3 point "40" stance

• Training a Skill Athlete out of a 40 stance is only beneficial if training for the 40 itself. The game is played in varying forms of a 2 point stance whether it is a WR releasing off the line of scrimmage or a DB planting & breaking to make a play. Training them for their sport in anything other than what the sport requires doesn't make sense.

2. A-Series (A-March, A-Skip, A-Run) vs B-Series or top end running mechanics

• Since we put such an emphasis and focus so much on acceleration, teaching top end mechanics in our opinion is not a great use of time. Most Athletes, even after drilling top end mechanics, revert back to how they have run for their entire athletic careers.

3. Woodway Force Treadmill vs any other motorized treadmill

• Motorized treadmills that can be used for overspeed training can lead to poor foot strike and mechanics where Athletes reach in an attempt just to stay on the machine for fear of falling off.
• The Woodway allows us to coach our Athletes into an aggressive lean and push against a programmable load. We can provide the Athlete with real time feedback as they accelerate since we can see every step of of every rep right in front of us.

4. Incline Sprints on varying degrees of hills

• Running sprints uphill provides a strength component similar to what the Woodway can provide yet it helps to add some variety to our training. Pitting Athletes against each other and competing to see who gets to the top of the hill 1st. We also have the ability to add weight to certain Athletes with our Sparq vests to accommodate different levels of strength.

5. Deceleration

• Track Athletes never have to worry about getting to top speed just to stop on a dime and change direction and accelerate again. They can decelerate after they cross the finish line. We spend just as much time working to help our Athletes control their body and cut or come to balance at full speed as we do in developing max acceleration. If you are going to develop a high performance sports car, you better put some high performance breaks so you don't end up in a ditch!

We don't claim to have the secret weapons or formulas that will succeed in every setting. We are all at the mercy of what the Athletes we work with are born with genetically. We can drill and train all we want but some kids really just are born fast. Our job is to provide them with a safe and sound structure where we can enhance their given ability. Keep pushing, PTG!

Truck Push

When training Athletes there is sometimes a lack of motivation for them to get under a bending squat bar, pick up a heavy trap bar deadlift, a heavy clean or push a prowler...why? Because it is uncomfortable.  The perfect Athlete to train is always the one who seeks comfort in discomfort, but that is not reality.  Truck Pushing is a great way to motivate your Athletes to work, and when I say work I mean actual physical labor!  Who doesn't want the satisfaction of singlehandedly pushing a large vehicle.  Time it for a certain distance and I guarantee you will have no problem squeezing every last bit of effort out of your Athlete's or yourself! PTG.

Summer Speed Development: Week 1

Summer training is crucial for success. Every High School & College program in America is conditioning at 6am or in the heat of the afternoon in preparation for Fall Camp. When the Football season starts in August we want our teams looking like the fastest and best conditioned group of men possible. We all know how important speed is in a sport like Football but Summer speed training gets put on the back burner in favor of lifting and conditioning times. A high level of conditioning is very important when it come to Football but training for speed during this time can often be overlooked. Most people spend a majority of the Winter/Spring focusing on Speed Development but stop training speed for the last 8-10 weeks leading up into the season. We know the value of speed and its importance in a well developed and comprehensive program. Over the next few weeks we will be putting a week by week program to follow in order to maximize the time remaining before the season starts to continue and develop speed. PTG!

Week 1:
Dynamic Warm-Up
Jog x30yds
Backward Run x30yds
BW Squats x10
BW Goodmorning x10
Walking Knee-to-Chest x10yds
Skipping Knee-to-Chest x20yds
Walking Toe Touch x10yds
Skipping Toe Touch x20yds
Build-Up to 75% x30yds
A-March 3x10yds
A-Skip 3x10yds
A-Run 3x10yds (max reps)
Build-Up to 85% x30yds

Jump Training/Plyometrics
*Teach take-off & landing tech
Squat Jumps 3x5 (stick landing)

Wall Drills
*Teach acceleration angle &
Wall Drill mechanics
Single Leg March 2x10

Acceleration Drills
*Teach 2pt Staggered Stance
2pt Accelerations 4x10yds

Program Developed by Bryan Fitzpatrick & Kevin McCadam

We're back!

Sorry we took such a long break in bringing you content here on PTG over the last couple months. It's time to get back to posting relevant and useful information to help people who train Athletes with the intent to increase their overall performance. We are looking forward to what we have planned so stay tuned. PTG!