I kinda have the same question as jessjudy:
What type of exercises would help kicking power (talking soccer, or field goal kicking). I’ve heard that sprinters shouldn’t sprint with a sled (because it messes up motor units or something along that line), but would the same be true with kicking with a band attached to your leg?
Thanks a bunch
EC.opinion on something I have allways had a bigger 1 rep max after 7 to 10 days of no lifting and I am suspicous of this does it sound all that unusual.
When a client comes to you, do you have a template you follow for assessing him/her? i.e. length-tension tests. If so, can I have it? Ha! But really, an article or info. on how you go about this would be great!!!
Thanks,
Danny
I assume this is for someone with no existing imbalances?
[quote]buckeye75 wrote:
Could you give an example of setting up a workout for both the upper and lower body movements?
Thanks[/quote]
Even better…how about you throw out a sample set-up and I tell you what I’d change to make it more appropriate?
[quote]Eric Cressey wrote:
I assume this is for someone with no existing imbalances?
buckeye75 wrote:
Could you give an example of setting up a workout for both the upper and lower body movements?
Thanks
[/quote]
One of the important things to remember about a performance enhancement coach’s philosophy is that it is always impacted by what a head coach of the sport. You’d be surprised how few athletes have a true off-season; our soccer guys play a pretty rigorous 8-week spring schedule. We actually tied or beat two MLS teams and had games against several semi-pro teams. The guys also traveled to Germany for three weeks in May-June for games against Bayern Munich’s junior squad and the U-21 National team from China. So, as much as it might not be “optimal,” a lot of these guys have to worry about being in game shape for most of the year, especially if it means having the opportunity to play against some of the best squads in the world.
With that said, this past spring was kind of all over the place from a scheduling standpoint. The first six weeks were constant MWF lifting. Our head coach prefers to use this time of year to harden guys to some extent, so they were also going three times per week at 6AM for anaerobic energy systems work (we used a lot of strongman stuff in the process…e.g. sandbag-sprint variations). Remember, this is dictated by the head coach and the spring schedule - not by what we necessarily perceive as optimal. Twice per week on “off-days,” players would come in for individual tactical work with assistant coaches. Obviously, goalie training was markedly different.
As we got to the spring season, the metabolic conditioning emphasis tapered off and we stuck with MWF lifting. Games were frequently on Saturdays, so we had to modify Friday sessions accordingly. Okay, more to come…
[quote]jessjudy wrote:
EC, What would your ideal weekly training split be for a collegiate soccer team during the off season. Your work with the UConn team has peaked my curiosity as to your basic philosophy: 3 days total body & two days speed or a Defranco type split with one lower body & two upper body days. Would you be likely to use any type of strongman exercises or olympic lifts? Thanks for all of the outstanding info you have provided over the past year, it is greatly appreciated. Coach JJ[/quote]
Okay, now what I would prefer:
Athletes spend too much time specializing nowadays. I’d prefer to see already-skilled players spend less time actually playing the game in its full metabolic capacity. In other words, skill work and shortened field drills are awesome for the off-season; sprinting end-to-end is not.
Nobody wins championships by being conditioned in the off-season; it’s best to use this time to enhance various strength qualities (this will enhance strength endurance indirectly), improve structural balance, and build muscle mass (as desired).
I submitted a comprehensive two-part article about off-season training to TC a while back. Personally, I feel it’s one of my best pieces to-date; hopefully you’ll get to check it out soon.
But, to answer your questions directly…
I’d go two lower body days regardless…sometimes even three. Just because they’re training lower body doesn’t mean that they’re doing a ton of work in each session. It might just be one exercise, but there is rarely that much “isolation” in any program I write.
I like strongman stuff, especially when I can integrate it with energy systems work.
I’m not a big O-lifting guy.
[quote]jessjudy wrote:
EC, What would your ideal weekly training split be for a collegiate soccer team during the off season. Your work with the UConn team has peaked my curiosity as to your basic philosophy: 3 days total body & two days speed or a Defranco type split with one lower body & two upper body days. Would you be likely to use any type of strongman exercises or olympic lifts? Thanks for all of the outstanding info you have provided over the past year, it is greatly appreciated. Coach JJ[/quote]
I wouldn’t mess with the kicking motion at all. Soccer players spend their entire lives kicking; why would we do that in the weight room, much less with added resistance that could negatively affect form?
We will occasionally use resisted single-leg motions to improve hip flexor drive, and this would presumably carry over well to kicking. It’s different enough to avoid interfering with sporting form, though.
The kicking motion itself can actually lead to some pretty significant overuse issues. Bursitis is extremely common in the dominant plant leg’s hip.
[quote]lefty04 wrote:
I kinda have the same question as jessjudy:
What type of exercises would help kicking power (talking soccer, or field goal kicking). I’ve heard that sprinters shouldn’t sprint with a sled (because it messes up motor units or something along that line), but would the same be true with kicking with a band attached to your leg?
Thanks a bunch[/quote]
That’s just classic fitness-fatigue (call it supercompensation if you want). Fatigue masks fitness; sometimes you have the strength, but you’ve accumulated too much fatigue for your CNS to allow you to display it fully. Ever wonder why powerlifters take full weeks of rest prior to each meet?
[quote]carpenter480 wrote:
EC.opinion on something I have allways had a bigger 1 rep max after 7 to 10 days of no lifting and I am suspicous of this does it sound all that unusual.[/quote]
I might run them through a few simple drills, but to be honest, I can tell a ton by what I see when they walk through the door or go through a dynamic fleixbility circuit. A few easy examples from the past week alone:
A woman active in mixed martial arts came through the door with some knee issues that had started about a month prior. She hadn’t even been to the doctor yet. I took her through a few dynamic flexibility drills, noted where she had some irritation, and wrote down my “guess” (not a diagnosis) on a piece of paper for her: condylar lesion and medial meniscal tear. A few days later, her doctor ordered an MRI. The result? Degenerative medial meniscus and condylar lesion to go along with a chronic ACL tear (she was asymptomatic for it). Two out of three isn’t bad at all, is it?
This one is classic. A 17 year-old runner came in complaining of Achilles tendon pain after his first race of the year. I automatically assumed that it was just a case of “too much, too soon.” Then, I met him for the first time and saw what he was wearing on his feet: Nike Shox. I asked him how long he’d had them and he responded “Less than a week.” I asked if he had worn them for the race. He said yes, and it was the race after which he was in pain. No 3-hour assessment needed.
Honestly, any PT who needs to take a client through a complete session to assess his weaknesses is either:
a) stupid, and can’t work from his mind (needs his notes)
b) looking to increase business by wasting a session
c) trying to BS the client into thinking that what he/she is doing makes him/her a more thorough and caring trainer
A good coach will be able to tell you a ton “on the fly” and will be able to have you leave after your first session a few steps closer to your goals.
[quote]Dboy wrote:
When a client comes to you, do you have a template you follow for assessing him/her? i.e. length-tension tests. If so, can I have it? Ha! But really, an article or info. on how you go about this would be great!!!
Thanks,
Danny[/quote]
EC, Thanks for the insight into your “team training” philosophies. I’m looking forward to your article, it sounds awesome. Coach JJ
EC,
I went to an ART website and noticed that some of the practicioners are also chiropractors.
What is your opinion on chiropractics? Some people think it is quackery. Do you agree/disagree? Or does it depend on the individual practicioner?
It definitely depends on the individual. I’ve seen good ones and terrible ones. Unfortunately, the only way to know for yourself is to check one out. Word of mouth beforehand is always a good thing, though.
[quote]basementD wrote:
EC,
I went to an ART website and noticed that some of the practicioners are also chiropractors.
What is your opinion on chiropractics? Some people think it is quackery. Do you agree/disagree? Or does it depend on the individual practicioner? [/quote]
EC, here is what I came up with (assuming the athlete is pretty healthy)
Day 1 (upper body)
Floor Press - 6x3 (H Push)
Seated Row - 4x10 (H Pull)
4 Board Press - 3x5 (H Push)
Chin Ups - 4x10 (V Pull)
Prehab work (ext. rotation/scap work)
Day 2 (lower body)
Front Squat - 6x3 (quad dominiant)
Straight Leg Dead’s - 4x6-8 (hip dominant)
Lateral Lunges - 3x6 each leg(single leg)
Reverse Hypers - 3x12 (hip dominant)
Prehab work (knee’s, glute acivt)
Day 4 (upper)
Push Press - 5x3 (V push)
Lat Pull Downs - 4x10 (V pull)
DB Presses - 3x6 (H push)
Face Pulls - 4x10 (H Pull)
Prehab Work (same as day 1)
Day 5 (lower)
Snatch Grip Deads - 6x3 (hip domninant)
Step Ups - 4x5 each (single leg)
Single Leg Squats - 3x8 (quad dominant)
Pull Throughs - 3x12 (hip dominant)
Prehab Work (same as day 2)
Ok, thats what I got. I just went with one vertical press exercise because of the trauma they can cause to the shoulder (from Coach X at elite). Plus my shoulders started to feel better after I dropped my overhead exercises.
What do you think about this. I didn’t know how many of each movement to include per workout and I wasn’t sure about the total volume per workout. As of now it seems pretty low. Thanks for the feed back
EC i’m looking for a specfic book. One that basically shows you what to look for in muscule function assessment and how to pick the issues up then treat. Does any such book exist. I know you have Gray’s total body functioning I remember seeing you say that unless you knew what to look for that it was’t helpful
Any chance that a book I want exists?
[quote]Eric Cressey wrote:
That’s just classic fitness-fatigue (call it supercompensation if you want). Fatigue masks fitness; sometimes you have the strength, but you’ve accumulated too much fatigue for your CNS to allow you to display it fully. Ever wonder why powerlifters take full weeks of rest prior to each meet? [/quote]
Thanks kinda had a feeling that I might have been overtraining for awhile and feel more comfortable shutting it down for a week or so every six or eight weeks never really put as much stock in cns recovery until coming to T-Nation but it just makes sense.when you get burned out with work you take a vaction from it but you know that it cant be that attitude and wouldnt listen to my own body. Appreciate your time THANK YOU
That’s actually not too bad from an exercise selection standpoint. I don’t particularly like the loading parameters, and I don’t do lateral lunges as a main movement (because it doesn’t allow considerable external loading and acceptable tension development; it’s best used in warm-ups), but all in all, pretty good stuff. The extra hip dominant stuff is good; most athletes need that anyway.
[quote]buckeye75 wrote:
EC, here is what I came up with (assuming the athlete is pretty healthy)
Day 1 (upper body)
Floor Press - 6x3 (H Push)
Seated Row - 4x10 (H Pull)
4 Board Press - 3x5 (H Push)
Chin Ups - 4x10 (V Pull)
Prehab work (ext. rotation/scap work)
Day 2 (lower body)
Front Squat - 6x3 (quad dominiant)
Straight Leg Dead’s - 4x6-8 (hip dominant)
Lateral Lunges - 3x6 each leg(single leg)
Reverse Hypers - 3x12 (hip dominant)
Prehab work (knee’s, glute acivt)
Day 4 (upper)
Push Press - 5x3 (V push)
Lat Pull Downs - 4x10 (V pull)
DB Presses - 3x6 (H push)
Face Pulls - 4x10 (H Pull)
Prehab Work (same as day 1)
Day 5 (lower)
Snatch Grip Deads - 6x3 (hip domninant)
Step Ups - 4x5 each (single leg)
Single Leg Squats - 3x8 (quad dominant)
Pull Throughs - 3x12 (hip dominant)
Prehab Work (same as day 2)
Ok, thats what I got. I just went with one vertical press exercise because of the trauma they can cause to the shoulder (from Coach X at elite). Plus my shoulders started to feel better after I dropped my overhead exercises.
What do you think about this. I didn’t know how many of each movement to include per workout and I wasn’t sure about the total volume per workout. As of now it seems pretty low. Thanks for the feed back
[/quote]
You need to walk before you can run. In your case, this means that you need to learn functional anatomy first - inside and out. I’ve gotten to where I am from taking six years of coursework, interacting with a ton of highly-respected professors, spending six months of my life with dozens of cadavers for ten hours/week, training with experienced lifters, coaching/observing thousands of athletes and clients, and experimenting in my own training. One book isn’t going to teach you that; be patient and follow the appropriate progressions. I say this not to blow sunshine up my own butt, but to just reiterate how important it is to pay your dues. I’m still paying mine; I learn something new EVERY day.
Start with that Fundamentals of Orthopedics book.
[quote]bigpump23 wrote:
EC i’m looking for a specfic book. One that basically shows you what to look for in muscule function assessment and how to pick the issues up then treat. Does any such book exist. I know you have Gray’s total body functioning I remember seeing you say that unless you knew what to look for that it was’t helpful
Any chance that a book I want exists?[/quote]
EC, thanks for the crituqe.
Could you please describe the problems that you have with the loading prameters/volume? As well as the changes you would make to make it more effective.
My body is acting funny. I feel like I don’t want to train, and when i do every 2 weeks or so I need a break because i feel like I have reached that point just before you get injured (over-reached?)
Even my school work is taking a hit - except of course my major study, but the general coursework is tough to get through - not in terms of difficulty, but to even open the book.
Lol, is this just my first run in with laziness, or am I possibly missing something? Idk what details to bring in, so let me know if you need more information.
-Ty