Saturday Studies

Another set of Saturday Studies for you. 

Enjoy!

1. CSCS Certification and School Enrollment Impacts Upon High School Strength Facilities, Equipment, and Safety

The objective of this study was to determine the effects of a High School Strength Program under the leadership and supervision of a Certified Strength and Conditioning Specialist.  The researchers sent out surveys asking details of their S&C Program, athlete safety, weight room set-up, quality of equipment, number of athletes that use the weight room, and overall supervision. 

The researchers heard back from 108 Midwestern high schools, and interpreted the results.  From these results the following numbers popped up

   -  Only 50 of the 108 schools had a hired S&C Coach
   -  Of those 50, only 21 of those S&C Coaches had a CSCS
   -  The Schools with a CSCS Professional had more "functional" equipment.  Free weight, squat racks, Olympic bars, bumper plates, less single-jointed machines
   -  The Schools with a CSCS Professional had larger weight room space (4283 sq/ft vs 2434 sq/ft)
   -  Schools with a CSCS Professional has a "safe capacity" of 75.7 vs 47.7 per student-athlete

There are some sort comings to this study as it's based off survey, and while 108 schools replied, the survey was sent out to 390 schools (27.7% response rate).  What we can take away from this study is that it appears to be appropriate for High Schools to hire a CSCS Professional.  The quality of the program, efficiency of the weight room, safety of the athletes, and facility use all benefit from having a qualified professional that understands not only human movement and physiology, but also athlete development, safety, and facility layout.  I hope this can help increase the trend for High Schools to hire qualified S&C professionals to run their facility and athlete programs. 

 http://journals.lww.com/nsca-jscr/Abstract/2013/09000/CSCS_Certification_and_School_Enrollment_Impacts.34.aspx

2.  Influence of Sprint Acceleration Stance Kinetics on Velocity and Step Kinematics in Field Sport Athletes

Acceleration is king in team sports, it dominates over top-end speed and is a much better indicator of sport success.  The researchers of this study looked at stride frequency, stride length, and ground reaction forces as they relate to acceleration performance. 

What they found is that stride length during the 0-10m is correlated to speed.  This has been shown time and time again, and is the reason why when coaching athletes we give them these ques

   - Push the ground behind you
   - Drive!
   - Each step is like a leg press, full extension!
   - Don't be the road runner (don't spin your wheels)

The researchers also found that shorter ground contact times equated to faster acceleration speeds.  On that same note, faster athletes applied more force.  These two go hand-in-hand.  The more force you apply will equate to less time on the ground, just like Newtons 3rd law.  Bring in a higher force (action) and have a higher reaction.   Overall this leads to how we get faster - apply more force in less time.

http://journals.lww.com/nsca-jscr/Abstract/2013/09000/Influence_of_Sprint_Acceleration_Stance_Kinetics.18.aspx


Go Get 'Em!