At times I think that the training world is growing by leaps and bounds.   There is so many great trainers out there and websites that offer crucial knowledge in every component of athletic development.  Then I see something and realize that there are still a lot of people in sports that must have missed the memo.

When it comes to conditioning for sports the main rule of thumb is simple-  condition your athletes to simulate the demands of their specific sport.  Ask yourself these questions:

1.  How far do your athletes run each play?

2.  Are they doing anything else during these plays?

-upper body involved/  physical contact/ pressure…

3.  How long are the periods of downtime and what are the athletes doing during this time?  (rest periods)

4.  In what patterns are the athletes moving?  What type of movements are going on?  (sprinting, changing direction, shuffling, sliding, jumping, crawling…)

5.  What is the intensity of the movements?

Answering these questions should give you a pretty good idea of how you should condition your athletes.  Most sports involve short, explosive bursts of actions that are anaerobic in  nature.  That means that they should train in a similar fashion.  It really doesn’t help to train an athlete’s aerobic energy system (long distance runs) if they play an anaerobic sport.  If anything it may inhibit their development of the explosion needed in their sport and the ability to quickly recover from these short bursts.

To sum it up, when conditioning your athletes, try and copy what your athletes are doing when playing.  Be creative and mix it up in order to keep it fresh and fun.  The days of gassers and full field up/ downs are long behind us.  Or at least should be.

A good idea that I’ve done is developed specialized, standardized conditioning drills that I’ve called finishers.  I’ve also named them scary names like the Grim Reaper or the 2 Minutes of Hell.  I time my athletes as often as I can and place the top times on a board to exxagerate the importance of being in the best shape possible.  This usually makes things more interesting and more competitive.    I will share with you a few of my “Finishers” in future blogs.

Get Better Today

DS

I have a few pointers for a very common exercise and symbol for upper body strength.  The bench press is often used as a test for assessing upper body strength and often is abused in terms of  form.  I can’t tell you how many times I’ve cringed watching kids and adults perform a bench press.  I’ve also save a few lives by pulling a bar off someones chest or throat.  The main issue with the bench press is that the ego gets in the way.  Here are a few important things to remember when attacking the bench:

1.  Keep your feet on the ground  (flapping around like a fish doesn’t help the bar go up).  Using your legs should help you drive the bar up.

2.  Grip the bar so that when the bar hits your chest your forearms are perfectly vertical (keeps from having hands to wide or too close).

3.  Don’t put on too much weight .  No one is watching you.  Do less weight and better reps.

4.  Keep your butt on the bench, pinch your shoulder blades back, and stick your chest out.

5.  Eyeball the bar on the rack before starting.   If you grab the bar to high on the bench, you will wind up hitting the rack hooks on the way up.

6.  Bring the bar down in a controlled fashion, tap the chest, and explosively drive up.  Do not bang the weight off your chest.

All in all, you have probably heard most of these tips.  The key is to not let your ego get in the way and focus on what your goal is.  Honestly,  unless your being tested for the bench at some time or playing a sport competitively you probably be off using db’s for a chest press.  Db’s allow for more free movement and take away from the whole Bench Press Ego Disease.   Everyone has caught this disease at some point in their life.

For more info check out:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=y6s_yMJIgJ8&eurl=http%3A%2F%2Fwww%2Eyoutube%2Ecom%2Fuser%2FNorthJerseySports&feature=player_profilepage

Get Better Today

DS

Nutley’s Supermen Ant “the Stallion” Sibilia and Ray ”Lightning” Cetrulo becoming a feared RB and LB tandom in NJ.  Nutley is 3-0 for the first time in a long time.

http://highschoolsports.nj.com/football/

Hills boys- the Mighty Quinn and Spowling Dowling squeak one out against arch rival Valley.  55 in a row and counting is an amazing feat.  Big test looms when St.  Joe’s comes to town.

Old rommies down in Union pulls out a big, come from behind win against ranked Ridge.  Nice job Coach Sheridan and LOUIE GEE!  3-0 and looking good.  Bringing back tradition at Union.

West Essex boys turn a game into the tale of two halves and came back to pull out a big victory against Belleville.  Coach Droz went into the locker room and instilled the will and Mikey Cimiluca used his will and speed to lead the team to their first win of the season.

Houston Texans WR Kevin Walter had a big day in his ‘09 debut.    Sign of big things to come.  Keep it going buddy!