Mike,
What’s your take on balance training? Do you use devices like th indo board in your athletes’ training?
If so why and how?
Mike,
What are the top 5 things trainees are doing completely wrong when it comes to training for strength?
Thanks!
[quote]Mike Robertson wrote:
When I was at Ball State, the girls volleyball team did plyos almost daily in practice. However, their strength program sucked (due to a GA who didn’t have the guts to get them to work hard). When I came in, I had them squatting 2 times per week in season, and within 3 weeks we put an AVERAGE of 1 INCH on their verticals! Mike[/quote]
Mike-
What did the overall squat program look like that you put the girls on as far as number of sets, reps, and progression scheme?
I can chime in on this; Kenn’s book is great. We’re using a variation on it with our soccer guys right now; get ready for an NCAA championship!
[quote]kbattis wrote:
Mike,
What’s your take on balance training? Do you use devices like th indo board in your athletes’ training?
If so why and how?
[/quote]
I’m not Mike, but I’ll chime in on the balance training question. Right now, I’m in the process of completing a very big article on the problems of the current functional training craze. Specifically, I’m looking at the [mis]use of unstable surfaces, and the fact that all these people preaching balance training really don’t understand what balance, stability, and equilibrium are. Admittedly, it’s an area that warrants a lot more attention in research, but I’ll toss out some recommendations at the end nonetheless based on the data that is available. Suffice it to say that these implements are grossly overused, but do merit inclusions in specific circumstances.
Eric,
Thanks for your thoughts on the balance training.
I too agree that it is grossly overused and have had long discussions with Coach Charles Staley on this topic.
I work for a physical therapy clinic and we do some balance training for REHABILITATION but when I go to the gym to train I see “trainers” having their clients perform feats of balance that just do not make any sense to me.
Charles Staley told me that balance is not terribly trainable after the age of 12 (I think he quoted some research from one of Thomas Kurz’s books). So my question is that if it is a fintess quality that isn’t trainable, the client has no know pathology (vestibular problems, etc), then why are so many “trainers” using balance training in their programs?
Just trying to understand the madness!
When will the article be coming out Eric? I look forward to it.
Mike, any thoughts on this one?
[quote]Saltman wrote:
Greetings Mike:
I was curious to know if the next two articles would delve into the integration of posture with proper movement patterns. What are your opinions (if any) on the myriad of protocols available (e.g. Feldenkrais, Body-Flow, Laban, Alexander, BrainGym, PNF, etc.)? [/quote]
Saltman,
The next two articles primary purpose is to give T-maggers a training program that will address their postural flaws, while still striving to improve their strength and physique. Most tend to go so over the top on one that the other is lost.
The assessment and training protocols I use are those developed by Janda, Liebenson, etc., with my own little tweaks plugged in throughout. Unfortunately, I can’t comment on the training protocols you listed because I’m not very familiar with them. If you would send me a link I’d like to check them out, though.
Stay strong
Mike
[quote]Saltman wrote:
On another note, I have suddenly come to realize that I have terrible ankle stability. Despite being rather well coordinated (a martial artist/boxer for most of my life), I’ve noticed that I’m horrible at transferring power from the ground through my body, often covering it up with movement (e.g. falling step, waist rotation, lunge, etc.). In fact, the joint integrity is so poor that both feet actually roll very slightly when walking, let alone balancing on one leg. Ironically, this laxity was somewhat helpful during my basketball days, as I never once suffered a sprained ankle, even when landing on someone’s foot and having nearly 90 degree supination(?)! Now, however, I desperately need improved stability. Any ideas? Wobble discs, balance boards, orthotics, anything? [/quote]
Do you want increased stability or STRENGTH? A simple exercise I used with my volleyball girls was manual resistance in all directions. Have a partner hold onto your foot and then work to roll your foot in and out while you resist. Simple, yet effective.
This also makes me think have you ever sprained your ankle? Often when your sprain the ankle ligaments you lose some of the proprioceptive ability around the joint. If that’s the case, then some simply balance progressions may be in order to retrain the proprioceptive ability around the joint.
Stay strong
Mike
[quote]kbattis wrote:
Mike,
What’s your take on balance training? Do you use devices like th indo board in your athletes’ training?
If so why and how?
[/quote]
I typically only use balance training in a rehabilitative setting (when someone has sprained or torn ligaments, tendons, muscles, etc.) or with the elderly.
There are probably a few cases in which balance training is necessary and productive for athletes (and I’m sure EC will fill us in on those) but I think it’s also very gimmicky and helps trainers sell programs. Unless you are David Wells and getting bombed before the game, chances are you have more than enough balance to succeed (and hell, he pitched a perfect game under the influence, so how important can it be?) Just kidding…
Stay strong
Mike
Because they’re commercially-driven idiots. If one can spark an interest in flavor of the week training - no matter how worthless it is - they can push it to anyone and everyone, including athletes. Sad, but true.
As soon as I find a few minutes to finish it! Right now, it’s about 19 pages in Word, and I’d say it’s about 80% finished.
[quote]kbattis wrote:
Mike,
What are the top 5 things trainees are doing completely wrong when it comes to training for strength?
Thanks![/quote]
I…love…strength…
Ok sorry, here’s the answer to your question:
- Performing too much bodybuilding work (e.g. too many sets/reps, worrying about tempos, etc.)
- Not including prehab/injury prevention work in their program
- Not using enough big, multi-joint lifts
- Not making recovery a priority
- Not having the confidence they will succeed!
Does this answer your question? I could go into more detail if you like as well. Let me know!
Stay strong
Mike
[quote]kbattis wrote:
Mike,
What are the top 5 things trainees are doing completely wrong when it comes to training for strength?
Thanks![/quote]
I…love…strength…
Ok sorry, here’s the answer to your question:
- Performing too much bodybuilding work (e.g. too many sets/reps, worrying about tempos, etc.)
- Not including prehab/injury prevention work in their program
- Not using enough big, multi-joint lifts
- Not making recovery a priority
- Not having the confidence they will succeed!
Does this answer your question? I could go into more detail if you like as well. Let me know!
Stay strong
Mike
Mike-
What did the overall squat program look like that you put the girls on as far as number of sets, reps, and progression scheme?
[/quote]
It was nothing extravagant…the girls didn’t need bells and whistles, they needed to get stronger! I believe the actually program looked something like this:
Week 1, Day 1 - 3x10@75%
Week 1, Day 2 - 3x5@77.5%
Week 2, Day 1 - 3x8@77.5%
Week 2, Day 2 - 3x4@80%
Week 3, Day 1 - 3x6@80%
Week 3, Day 2 - 3x3@82.5%
It’s a mix of linear and undulating periodization. However, these are fine to use considering the low initial strength levels of the athletes coming in; again, they didn’t need anything fancy. I believe we also put an average of 10#'s on all their squats during this time as well.
Obviously I would’ve liked to do more with the girls, and their verticals actually continued to improve throughout the season. We followed this phase up with a decrease in volume while maintaining the intensity to stabilize the training effect (3 weeks). In the peaking phase they only squatted doubles or triples, and then we used the majority of the other training season to work on unloaded jumps (another 3 weeks). By the end of the season they were not only jumping just as high, but we’d also increased their power and rate of force development (RFD) so they were uber explosive come tournament time.
Stay strong
Mike
Mike, first I love the neanderthal series. On to my question, I very recently injured my knee (unsure the extent, waiting on an MRI) anyway I wanted your thoughts on training the uninjured leg during recovery if I have surgery. Do I perform things like one leg squats (pistols) and one leg RDlLs etc that can be done with no load on the injured leg or do I lay off it to avoid an even greater imbalance between the two legs when I can return to normal activities?
[quote]fastken77 wrote:
Mike, first I love the neanderthal series. On to my question, I very recently injured my knee (unsure the extent, waiting on an MRI) anyway I wanted your thoughts on training the uninjured leg during recovery if I have surgery. Do I perform things like one leg squats (pistols) and one leg RDlLs etc that can be done with no load on the injured leg or do I lay off it to avoid an even greater imbalance between the two legs when I can return to normal activities?[/quote]
Fastken,
There’s actually been research that shows muscle contractions of one muscle group (say, the right biceps) leads to similar electrical activity in the left biceps! Definitely something to think about. Here’s an example.
A few years ago I sprained a few ligaments in my wrist and was forced into performing single-arm work with the opposite arm. It took about 6 weeks to heal, but in the long run I still hit a PR in the bench several months later, even after losing that training time.
Another option is to focus on something else while you can’t load the injured leg. Try to hit a new PR in the bench, bang out a few more pull-ups, improve your grip strength, etc. Sometimes a shift of focus will stimulate some big-time gains!
Keep us posted on the leg and best of luck with any rehab.
Stay strong
Mike
Mike,
What do you think are the top 6 exercises for increasing speed and strength. Also, what is your take on Olympic lifting and as a side note, how do you feel about overhead squats?
hey mike…
my tris are flat and no mass to them …so here is the question I want to add mass to my tris any tips…thanks
kevin
Mike:
Can one increase aerobic fitness and strength at the same time?
Would Powerlifing and running 30 miles per week be compatible?
I know that the aerobic running would change some of the muscles fibers toward aerobic endurance and that would be detrimental to my powerlifting progress. Can I still increase strength?
Thanks
[quote]CU AeroStallion wrote:
Mike,
What do you think are the top 6 exercises for increasing speed and strength. Also, what is your take on Olympic lifting and as a side note, how do you feel about overhead squats?[/quote]
If I could only include 6 exercises, it would probably look like this:
- Squats
- Cleans
- Snatch
- Bench
- Pull-ups/Chin-ups
- Jerk
Between the standard versions and all their variations, this list could keep you training hard and heavy for years to come. However, I would never let myself go long with out injury prevention/prehab work in my program.
As far as overhead squats, again, I feel they are somewhat gimmicky. Are you an Olympic lifter? If so, go ahead and work towards improving it. If you want to do something different, go for it. Just don’t build your entire training program around it.
With that being said, I wouldn’t use it for too long in training my athletes because it’s a jack of all trades exercise, but master of none. You get a little bit of strength, balance, and flexibility, but it doesn’t significantly improve any of them, in my opinion.
Stay strong
Mike
[quote]kpd315 wrote:
hey mike…
my tris are flat and no mass to them …so here is the question I want to add mass to my tris any tips…thanks
kevin[/quote]
Kevin,
As CW said in a recent article or interview, train them HEAVY! Rack lockouts, dips, close-grips on all benches, etc. will all develop the tri’s to a high degree. Train them hard and heavy, then get the hell out of the gym and let yourself recover.
Stay strong
Mike