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Monday 1:30pm
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I think this discussion is great and it’s clear we’re passionate about coaching from our answers. Passion is one of the biggest factors for me. Show me somebody who is passionate about helping people succeed and I’ll show you a great coach. Passion is what drives anybody to succeed in their given line of work and I would argue even more so with respect to coaching. I’m sure there is somebody out there passionate about accounting and very successful but I believe you have to be passionate to be a great coach, it’s a requirement. So to the points made before the people interested in collecting certs but not truly passionate about helping others will never reach they’re full potential in my opinion.
If passion is a requirement then access to mentors is the most important factor in my book. All of the great coaches have had a person or people in their life that has sparked or incubated the desire to help others succeed. John had Zangus and Raf, I’ve been lucky enough to have PAHQ and a friend of HQ Mark Watts formerly of ElitFTS. Having the access to great minds willing to share is irreplaceable.
On a much, much smaller scale I’m in the process of bringing a coach on board right now and I’m the first person to discuss concepts, beliefs, or spend any time developing his eye. This is a guy who has a degree in Ex. Sci. and WANTS to coach he’s just never had anybody help develop his skills. Sharing of knowledge is key to developing as a coach which is why I like @conorwlynch idea about taking the initiative to help other coaches. This access not only exposes you to new/different info. but it also allows for you to form and sharpen your own ideas and beliefs.
With all of that being said the last part is taking the initiative to make those connections or gain new knowledge. @chobbs hits the nail on the head when he says you have to sacrifice to get what you want. You have to sleep on a friends couch, you have to face drowning on a daily basis like @mcquilkin did with Raf, you have to load 100,000’s of pounds of weight for powerlifters in a garage if you want to succeed. This generation has had it too easy and hard work and sacrifice is apparently a bad thing . Excuse me while I go to my safe space.
OK, I’m back. It’s amazing how life works – you decide to drive 6 hours to KY 3yrs ago and take a cert with 2 guys who kept referencing the Fast and the Furious and the journey begins. If I never took that first seminar I don’t believe I would where I’m at today. My passion was lit, I kept in touch with those instructors, I went into good ol’ American debt to open my gym and have continued to learn to help make me a better coach. I’m just at the starting line but it’s exciting, fun and I get to bring my dog to work.
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Volume and intensity: the most important balancing act when discussing training, especially the novice athlete. The PA Amateur progression initially addresses this relationship through the repetitive effort method which, “is appropriate in the initial stages of strength development and when strength and it’s speed production are not necessary” (Siff, 259). This is the antithesis of the novice athlete – where speed is not the primary concern but building strength is. “The training effect is enhanced by increasing the magnitude of the load and the volume of the work” (Siff, 259). The enhancement is achieved via the linear progression of weight and the volume of work is accumulated over multiple months ie opportunity. As one progresses through the program there is a natural shift to brief maximal tension method which ups the intensity but limits the volume. “The strength training effect is enhanced by increasing the maximal weight, increasing the average weight lifted per session and reducing the number of sets and repetions” (Siff, 259). The PAAP’s beauty lies in it self regulating features. The balancing of volume and intensity is inherent in the structure of linear progression and ample opportunity.
But as we all know the tree can’t grow to the sky so to allow for continued adaptation ie gainzzz resets allow for the brief reduction in intensity to allow for actualization of adaptations and to begin to develop speed. “A period of relatively easy exercise is needed to realize the effect of the previous hard training sessions” (Zatsiorsky, 98). As you reveal the delayed training effects you simultaneously begin to work speed and rate of force development. This is the next step in the evolution of the novice athlete. The ability to not only produce force but to do so quickly is now possible because of the inter- and intramuscular coordination you have been developing all along. As you continue on the road the concerted development of coordination, hypertrophy, and speed will set the stage for a Base Level of
Strength courtesy of volume and intensity done just right. -
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Why is periodization looked at in a negative light, simple, it’s presented as complicated and there are a lot of lazy people out there. In reality I can’t even say I’ve had any meaningful conversations with coaches (disclaimer: I primarily interact in the CF world) concerning the pro’s and con’s of periodization. Until now I’ve not really been able to wrap my head around it precisely for the reason that Hatfield states, the damn scientists making it more difficult than than it needs to be. I now view it as a form or organization and that’s it. The particulars of the organization and who they should be applied to can be debated for forever but the systematizing of training can not. So the pro’s to me are obvious: you have a plan. Without a plan, you’re planning to fail, and you will. The con for me and it’s been mentioned above is a coaches unwillingness to change a program when the data supports it. I think coaches get married to an idea because it’s worked in the past and are unwilling to admit or are unable to see when there are better alternatives. A quote that jumped out to me was “the need for regular updating of any periodization organization training model or even changing to another one which may differ radically from that of a previous stage in an athlete’s career” (Siff, 318). This ability or willingness is what makes a great strength coach, to recognize the need to change and doing it. Mike Boyle referenced this in the last PA podcast and how his training of a client has changed of the last 17 years. Any coach worth his/her salt has changed their views of training, programs, exercises, etc. from when they began and if more people would be willing to do the same our knowledge as an industry would be much better.
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Dear Tony Fu,
Buckle up buddy this is going to be an intense 10 weeks. If you haven’t carved out 15-20 hours to properly attack this class do it now. The information is dense, the concepts are deep, and it’s going to challenge your views on training; it’s all good (just a little overwhelming).
First piece of advice DO NOT get behind. You have to make the time to complete the assigned readings and homework. If you don’t the quality of your work will suffer, and Tex will not like that. You may develop a hatred of Mel Siff and his superfluous language but Supertraining is considered the bible of training for a good reason and you need to digest as much as you can. To help tie what you’ll read about refresh yourself on all things PA so you can connect the dots as you go. The teaching and views of PAHQ are grounded in science and experience and this course is giving you the science. You must take what you learn here and apply it to your clients to develop a deep understanding but you’ll be ahead of the game if you know what you’re testing.
Also, make sure to connect with your fellow attendees. The views, experiences, and knowledge of your classmates will help you develop as a coach. They will be there to bounce ideas off of, clarify concepts, and commiserate in shared suffering. The relationships and network grown through this course will serve you down the road on your coaching journey.
Finally, suck the marrow out of this course (if you’re here you already know what this means). You have access to some of the best S&C coaches in the business and you would be foolish not to take advantage of it. Use office hours with Tex, engage in class discussions, put yourself out there; in the end you’ll be better off. This is your audition and your grade (and experience) will be directly proportional to the effort you put forth. Have no regrets.
Sincerly,
A better looking, smarter Tony Fu
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The biggest obstacle I’ve encountered is people’s unwillingness to change little habits. The problem is that each decision independent of each other is not horrible but when looked at from a macro perspective you can understand why they’re having trouble seeing results.
My gym just completed the Whole Life Challenge and after wanting to slap most of my members the first week complaining about missing the creamer in their coffee, they went on to do pretty well. The biggest thing for most of them was awareness. I was amazed at how few of them understood the big picture and how their individual choices affected the overall diet. By slowly getting them to build better habits they began to see results and were then motivated to continue and not “waste” their hard work, it was the snowball effect. Complete overhauls of your diet are stressful, I’m not saying that it isn’t warranted in some cases, but I’ve seen better results and more realistic long term changes when done in a gradual way.
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The efficacy of plyometric training has been established, even with respect to the novice athlete. Ballistic activity is part of sport and to neglect training it in the weight room is at best a disservice and at worst lazy. When thinking about plyometric training with respect to novice’s two words come to mind progression and implementation.
First and foremost progression is necessary to minimize injury risk as well as promote good coordinated movement patterns that contribute to a solid base of strength. We all know the base level of strength to be the foundation that our athleticism is built on and part of that is mastery of the primal movement patterns and defaults (UAP) set up to safely and powerfully create and reduce force. Properly progressing through plyometric program does just that. @conorwlynch nailed it with, ”
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<li style=”border: 0px; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; list-style: lower-alpha; background: none;”>Do athletes have an understanding of the positions that they need to start and finish in? Can they display mastery of those positions in an isometric state unloaded?”
This is the ultimate statement of progression – get your athlete’s to understand expectations, make them express competency (stability) then let them go. As a power coach we must manage volume, properly prescribe intensity, and coach the shit out of their posture and position. Understanding the purpose, benefits, risks, and techniques of plyometrics, and communicating that with your athletes, will allow for a successful program.
The other factor, and one that is a bigger problem in my mind, is the implementation of good program. @train608 talks about “dipshit coaches” using programs and movements that could cause more harm than good. My man Siff says, “Complexity of drills, and apparatus often seems to replace optimal simplicity, technical correctness and elegance” (267). Right on Mel. The beauty is in the simplicity, the ability of a coach to see and teach proper take off and landing, knowing that more is not always better, that rotating 1 legged box jumps with a twist will never compete with a well executed vert or broad jump. In the end the only person who has anything to lose is the athlete.
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Sorry for the late post, me and technology do not get along. Also, apparently JC’s camera has come down with contagious conjuctavitus.
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My take away from the reading lies in how you train, or more accurately improve, quickness vs reactive ability. The 2 phases of quickness that make up reaction time, latency and response, are generally not improved in the weight room. The latency phase is “determined largely by genetics and is minimally affected by training” and improvement of response time is tied to “regular practice of neuromuscular skill” ie sport skill. To me quickness is determined by 1) winning the genetic lottery and 2) practicing the specific set of skills one will encounter in a given sport to improve response time, precision, and the “ability to accurately anticipate” tasks.
Reactive ability on the other hand is something that can not only be improved in the weight room but should be if the training program is complete. Reactive ability was defined above but basically it’s the ability to maximize the elastic energy of the SSC to provide a more powerful movement. Whether it is the Oly lifts or plyometrics, training and improving reactive ability is appropriate and necessary. You cannot be a Power Athlete if you do not utilize reactive ability to maximize power and express your strength in a dynamic fashion.
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Con Air I agree completely: opportunity is huge factor in developing as a coach. From personal experience my coaching improved immensely when I first opened my gym, why you ask, because I coached every class for 1 year. I coached private sessions, small groups, large groups (in my old space that was 8 people before you were in danger of killing each other), fundamenatals, EVERYTHING. I was forced to figure out how to communicate the same concept 10 different ways, how to be engaging and fresh and how to beat the same joke into the ground when it worked a la @luke. Without that opportunity, although not ideal, I would not be as developed as a person who coaches 5 hours a week, @benkuch referenced this.
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Do you think Francis’ problem of a lack of opportunity is exclusive to sprinting? I’m by no means a sprinting expert but have come to believe that in order to be fast you have to run fast and the energy expended in a full on sprint is such that significant rest is needed. To me Francis doesn’t have a problem with periodization in theory as much as how it is applied to sprinting. If Hatfield and Francis were drinking, I assume Hatfield is drinking a boilermaker and Francis a vodka tonic, and Hatfield said “Whichever system of organization is chosen, the underlying principle to be applied is that of optimal stress and restoration”, wouldn’t Francis agree? I tend to think he would.
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I think this is a very detailed and thoughtful presentation on helping people understand nutrition in a more methodical and aware way BUT reading it gave me anxiety. I think this approach may work for a select group of people but I find it hard to believe that the majority of people want this much “homework”. I align more with @carlcase and try and fix one thing at a time and hopefully show them results and build confidence as they go. I can speak from personal experience that I’ve personally seen better results when I’ve gradually changed, or “stacked”, habits as opposed to complete overhauls.
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Alright I’m late to this party but let me just throw this out there. If we look at the NHEDPS as the most advantageous position to be explosive or display quickness why isn’t the UAP a staggered stance? I would contend that the reason is because a staggered stance wouldn’t be advantageous to all angles or directions necessary for an athlete to respond to. @chobbs may be right with respect to straight ahead speed but a false step or NHEDPS is not the best way to respond laterally or more so backwards. @conorwlynch hits the nail on the head is this simply a technique used in competition or the inability to train reactive ability and quickness in the weight room.
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How bout dem Stillers
