Sport Specific Training for Kids..an error in judgement?

With the training secrets of professional athletes being so transparent these days, and new, exciting techniques becoming avaialble, it's easy for trainers/coaches/parents to quickly jump on the bandwagon and implement these programs on kids all across the nation. But hold on, pump the brakes a little.... Have many of these "trainers" (lumping all mentioned into that above phrase since if you give fitness instruction, you are a "trainer" even if you do not have the credentials or official title) actually thought about the implications of giving a program of this intensity to a young athlete? Have they even looked at the child's basic movement patterns to see if they are even ready for such a program? I doubt it.
  I really don't care what sport you are in, or what level you play, movement is movement, and some of us just aren't as good at it as we could be. This is especially true of the young athlete who is still experiencing substantial growth. The neuromuscular coordination required to move the body without much conscious effort is immense, but that coordination goes right out the window when all of the muscle insertion points have changed position due to growth. That means a complete rewiring of the neuromuscular network. Have you ever wondered why a teenager can be so uncoordinated and clumsy? This has happened because of rapid growth coupled with a neuromuscular system that was used to things the old (shorter) way! So how do we address this with training? We train basic movement patterns to perfection. We build a solid foundation of movement before adding significant resistance. Without this foundation we will undoubtedly see compensation, improper movement, postural imbalances that will lead to an injury or, at the very least, poor performance.
  It really makes sense if you think about it. If someone cannot perform  a squat with their own bodyweight, do you really think vertically loading 300lbs onto their frame is going to improve that movement? No, but it is done over and over at the High School and College level, and is a very dangerous practice with possible severe consequences. There are some movements that can be corrected with the application of resistance at the right point, but I guarantee you the squat is not one of them.
 OK, so basic movement is paramount...for everybody. Master this and then we can look at adding specific movements. If I was to test an average High School lineman or a skateboarder in a movement screen, I would put money on the skateboarder to move more efficently and be easier to train than the lineman. I've seen it many times, the skateboarder is just a better athlete than the football player. Of course this is a very general statement and exceptions always apply. But I can tell you which of the two will have fewer back problems, knee problems, etc in a couple of years.
  The bottom line is, I'm not going to teach your kid how to jump higher and catch a ball in mid air rotation if he can't perform a simple test of hip mobility. There's no point, he can't physically do the training. So please think hard about the training you are exposing your children to, there is a lot of misinformation out there. If they haven't been given a comprehensive movement screen but are expected to squat, clean and deadlift extremely heavy weights, maybe it's time you begin to ask "why?".
  Not sure exactly what a Movement Screen is? Shoot me an e-mail or phone call and I can explain it in better detail, or better yet, come and try it yourself. Perhaps I can help you overcome some pain and discomfort you've experienced while playing golf or just getting up and down off the floor.
   Mark

Playing card workout

Every now and then I like to throw down the playing card workout. The volume is structured (91 reps per exercise for Ace Low program), all that changes is the exercise and resistance.

Today's workout approach was similar to many that I do when selecting only a few exercises. I want 1 leg, 1 push, 1 pull, 1 core and 1 cardio. Pretty simple really. However, there are only four suits in a playing card deck so somewhere I have to combine 2 of the above exercises. Well I decided to add the Core element to both my push and pull exercises...that'll do nicely.
So here are the exercises I chose...

1. Push-up knee tuck on the ab dolly. Feet on the ab dolly, you do 1 push up followed by pulling your knees into your chest on the dolly. You could also do this on the TRX band which is referred to as the "Atomic pushup" and is key in their 40/40 challenge.

2. Reverse Turkish Pull. I love this exercise (my own design) as it involves a massive portion of the posterior shoulder chain and core. It's similar to a Turkish get up, except you are using a cable with resistance (we used 85lbs) instead of a Kettlebell. Start in a seated position holding the cable (need to be on a small bench approx 12" off the ground...we used a reebok step bench). You start by extending your body down until you are lying on the bench on one shoulder blade (the one not holding the cable). You then pull your right shoulder blade down to the bench keeping your arm straight and finsih with a row.

3. Bulgarian Lunge with 26lb kettlebell. Pretty simple, place one leg on a bench behind you (toe down), the other is placed in front. Lunge down until the Kettlebell touches the ground (while maintaining posture) and return to starting position. Kettlebell is in opposite hand to leg which is forward.

4. Treadmill. Treadmill was at 12% incline, 8mph. Probably could have made this tougher, oh well. Multiply the reps by 3 and this gives you your seconds on the treadmill.

And to the workout itself. Shuffle a deck of cards (including jokers). Flip the top card. The suit will dictate your exercise (with 4 people, just do a simple matrix which has each person doing a different exercise per suit). Then you will perform the number of reps that are shown on the card. So a 8 of clubs would have you doing 8 reps of the exercise which is dedicated to clubs. Jacks are 11 reps, Queen 12, and King 13. Ace can either be 1 rep (low) or 14 reps (high). Each joker gives you 1 minute rest.

I need to get some images/video of the exercises so that you can see them in action

Tonight's workout

did a nice "numbers" workout again, featuring the following...

TRX Burpees x50 each side
Push up position lat pull x 50 each side, 50lb
KB clean and press x 50 each side, 44lb
Jumps to box x50
ab wheel rollout x50
jump rope x300reps

got a good sweat going, like these workouts...dictate your own pace

Why do you workout?

Have you ever actually sat down and asked yourself this question? Do you find exercise miserable and only do it to "look good"? With a lot of exercise programs, I would absolutely agree with you if you answered "yes" to miserable. Seriously, what is the point of just picking up a weight and putting it down 10-15 times? I couldn't think of a more pointless and boring way to train the body, yet this is what so many so-called "trainers" do all day long. They think in body parts instead of movement patterns. Chest day, leg day, even arms day, etc. Really? Does your body truly move in such an isolated manner? No it doesn't. And to reach a level of fitness that actually feels good (and promotes long term health) you have to take a more holistic look at the body. Cardiovascular training does not need to be done on a machine that takes you nowhere, who comes up with this stuff, anyway? Flexibility is not defined by doing a few stretches at the end of a workout (if done at all). who cares how strong you are in the chest press machine if you can't even manipulate your own bodyweight through various movements.
While thinking about starting a new exercise regimen for the New Year, at least take the time to ask yourself why? Once you have come up with the "why" then you can realistically start to work on the "how". But for now, take the time to write down the reasons why you think you should workout and why. Build the foundation.