As coaches we demand a lot from our athletes.  Attention to detail, technical proficiency and a solid effort each and every session.  We also expect our athletes/clients to represent themselves positively away from the weight room; making good choices like wearing their seat belts, drinking plenty of water, flossing, and performing well in the classroom (Thanks Coach John!).  We are more than just coaches; we are educators, teachers and role models.  How would you feel if any of your athletes broke the law?  I know plenty of Coaches would take it personal!  If we expect this from our athletes, why do so many strength coaches break the law(s)?  No, I don’t mean stealing or wearing seatbelts; I’m referring to the Laws of basic biomechanics, Newton’s laws.  

I’m sure during the coarse of a regular workday many coaches feel overworked, over stretched, and under strengthened.  Being successful takes hard work, early mornings, late nights, hours of deliberate practice and plenty of caffeine.  However, the scope of this article is not about our lives as coaches, but about our athletes and their ability to perform at high levels without setback.  Through hours of screening, education and application, I believe that we have plenty of muscle groups that are either overworked, overstretched or under strengthened.  In some cases, I believe that certain muscle groups fit in all categories.  That’s right!  I do believe that in certain instances we are overstretched!  Below are several examples of the overworked, over stretched, and under strengthened thought process.

Get a large group of athletes’ ages 15-18 in a strength and conditioning facility and you’ll have a testosterone level higher than the sales of Jillian Michael’s new Kettlebell training DVD (hopefully not).   Through my experience-training athletes, this can lead to the “one up” mentality where form and execution are compromised in favor of heavy weights.  The “next biggest plate” philosophy where the athlete thinks, “hey I’ll just add another 25lbs to each side” is a humble lesson that no well-instructed athlete should learn in the presence of an educated coach.  As a coach, I have personally learned this lesson and now consistently remind my athletes of “progressive overload”, five pounds at a time. 

According to the English Dictionary, the definition of a system is:  “a set of connected things or parts forming a complex whole.”  In order to operate a productive strength and conditioning business, systems MUST be set in place to provide organization, preparedness, structure, and effective, efficient daily operations.  If you don’t have a system in place you don’t have a business, you have a job.  Systems don’t need to be complex or overly difficult, in fact many times the best systems are simple to use and easy to operate.  Systems can be used externally (business marketing,) or internally (facility code).  At Donskov Strength and Conditioning, we currently use/used an internal system for facility set up, exercise design, and exercise feedback/progress.  These are not complex, but allow the business to run smoothly.  Organization is key; your athletes and clients know the difference!  Below are a few of the current internal systems that are used at DSC.

I just had the opportunity to read an incredible book that was impossible to put down.  Dan John’s “Never Let Go” was a gem full of information from a coach with decades of experience in program design, application and trial and error experience.  I enjoy learning so much from coaches like this.  Whenever I look for good read, I always look at “suggested readings” from coaches that I respect.  I also look for two variables that I think are important attributes the author must have: experience and application.   Does he/she train athletes’ regularly and what have they learned along the way?  I want to learn from someone that doesn’t sit behind a desk all day.  I also want to learn what not to do through previous experience and mistakes.  I want to learn from the great coaches that have gone before me.  This is the essence of true understanding. 

“It’s so easy a caveman can do it!” That’s what Gieko says about car insurance.  I wish I could say the same for strength and conditioning.  The fact is in this day and age there is too much sizzle and not enough pop, too many machines not enough free weights; too many exercises not enough logical progression, and too much gimmick without the RESULTS.  It’s scary to walk into a gym and see where we currently are in the fitness industry.  Leg curl machines are being maintenanced while rust and cobwebs are being collected on the free weights and barbells.  Records of progress and exercise prescription are not being kept, technical proficiency is non-existent, and exercise selection is just plain scary. We now have “The Kettle bell Man”, “The TRX Man”, “The Resistance Band Man”, one tool wonders expected to solve all the problems.  As Coach Boyle said “Would you hire the chain saw man, to trim the shrubs in your front yard?”  The following is a list of solutions to many exercises that are currently plaguing mainstream gyms. 

When we think about a recipe for success in sports such as hockey, soccer and lacrosse, we think of speed, power, strength and anaerobic capacity.  Although these are all mandatory ingredients needed to enhance the final product (athletic potential), one of the ingredients missing in many of today’s strength and conditioning programs is the ability to accelerate. Acceleration is simply the rate at which speed increases. Very few times in the sports mentioned above do we reach top velocity and sustain this for prolonged periods of time.  However, we do accelerate constantly!  Simple physics states: “The higher the velocity, the lower the rate of acceleration.”  If we don’t sustain top velocity on a regular basis, acceleration is then one of the keys to success.