Building Better Athletes

Wednesday, March 13, 2013

Physical Activity and Fitness in Schools

During our childhood, a major portion of our time is spent at a wonderful, fun, exciting place...

School

Ahhhhh, not school!

Despite all of us at one time or another dreading going to school, it is one of the most influential places we'll ever spend in our lives.

School is where we spend time learning math, science, English, history, music, and art. We also spend time developing cognitive, social, emotional, and physical qualities. We make friends, learn lessons, we have fun, we hate it some days, but overall it is a time to lay down a foundation of development that will serve us as we go along in life.

You can't learn calculus unless you first learn to count. You can't read Shakesphere, until you first learn the alphabet. You can't rule the World if you never pass the 1st grade. The time spent in school during your younger years prepares you for the later stages in your life. You might not have known it then, but all of us can look back now and realize just how important those developmental years were for us today.

But today we are finding ourselves and our youth in a state of concern. Because we live in the United States, many people feel we are and have the best of everything. But many would beg to differ.

In the most recent Program for International Student Assessment (PISA), which assesses how prepared/knowledgeable students are in Science, Math, and Reading from countries all over the world. Here's how the United States ranked...

31st in Math
17th in Reading
23rd in Science

Here are some other stats

Childhood obesity has doubled in children (6-11) and tripled in adolescents (12-18) in the last 30 years
More than 1/3 of children and adolescents are overweight or obese
Educators are undervalued and underpaid compared to other countries
Risk of diabetes, high BP, arthritis, cardiovascular problems, cancers and other disease have all increased substantially in the last 20 years

Said best, “The United States came in 23rd or 24th in most subjects. We can quibble, or we can face the brutal truth that we’re being out-educated,” said by U.S. Education Secretary Arne Duncan. So despite the fact we have some of the greatest resources, technologies, and opportunities in the world, we are "losing" out to many other countries in our education, economy, and health.

We are slowly becoming this

(Photo: Laist.com)

With many states being forced to make multiple educational cuts, Physical Education, Music, and Art are the first ones to receive the brunt of those cuts.

But Why?

Because they are not part of standardized testing? Well I'm here to make a stand for Increased Physical Education (PE), Physical Activity (PA), and Fitness in schools.

Am I biased?

Yes I admit I am, but that doesn't mean there isn't substantial evidence out there promoting the link between exercise and learning. That doesn't mean I, as well as many others, haven't seen the positive effects of fitness on self-esteem, social abilities, health, body composition, confidence, motor development, opportunities to teach life-long lessons, concentration, and cognitive development.

In no form or fashion am I trying to take away the importance of major classes such as math, science, English, and reading. This is to help understand the importance physical activity and exercise have on children and how it can help with all aspects of their development.

This is to question the reasoning for PE and PA being cut, and to argue it's importance in a logical manner. I believe this is a massive mistake, and is contributing to health problems as well as having an effect of cognitive, emotional, and social development.

Physical Education and Fitness: Important? I Think So!

Unlike any other class, ONLY Physical Education touches and develops all forms of development

Cognitive Development
Emotional Development
Social Development
Physical Development

Let me say this again, No other class in school can say the same. Only PE works to develop and improve all areas of development in young people, yet it is often just seen for the physical part.  Let's take a look at each

Cognitive - Exercise has been shown to improve a whole mess of things ranging from learning, concentration, memory, understanding, behavior, and grades. More than that exercise teaches kids motor development and control, spatial awareness, kinesthetic awareness, tactile skills, coordination, visual acuity; all qualities that carry over to the classroom.

How?

     - Middleton and Strick (1994) identified that the part of the brain that processes movement, the cerebellum, is the same part of the brain that processes learning. So when we move we are stimulating the learning part of the brain.

     - Exercise triggers the production chemicals called Brain-Derived Neurotrophic Factors (BDNF). BDNF help neurons communicate with each other to exchange and retain information, which leads to higher comprehension, memory, and ability to retrieve information. In fact Blaydes (2000), found that students who sit for longer than 20 minutes experience a decrease in BDNF. On the other hand, physical movement, such as stretching every 20 minutes helps to stimulate the BDNF in a child’s brain.

     - Exercise and PA increase blood flow to not only the body, but to the brain. With increased blood flow brings increased oxygen and nutrients to fuel and stimulate the brain.

     - Exercise can help to reduce stress. The hormone Cortisol is known as the stress hormone. When we feel stressed, cortisol is released in our bodies. Prolonged exposure to cortisol has been linked to decreased judgement, planning, problem solving, and other high-order skill (Jensen, 2000, 2005; Leamnson, 2000). Exercise helps to control and keep cortisol and stress levels in check.

     - Physical Education and exercise teach kids strategy, thinking outside the box, angles, planning, communication, and kinesthetic learning. In fact 20% of energy expenditure during exercise is spent on brain activity!  Physical activity is not just exercising our heart and muscles, it plays a huge role in cognitive function.

Social - Physical Education and exercise arguably teaches and develops social skills better than any other class can. Team work, communication, group cooperation, trust, responsibility, feedback, and accountability are all qualities developed to a higher degree in Physical Education than in other classes.

Physical Education and activity rely on communication and socialization. So while most other classes require quietness for it's many parts, physical activity and fitness by it's very nature is social and leads to increased interaction between students. When implemented correctly, it leads to very positive social responses for all students.

Emotional - John Wooden once said, "Sports don't build character, they reveal it". Physical activity brings to light qualities like sportsmanship, reflection, emotional management, self-control, temperament, and patience. It truly reveals emotional qualities and gives students a chance to reflect on their actions and emotions.

It is also one of the greatest teaching opportunities for teachers. Despite it only being a PE class or recess, many instances will occur where students will have to deal with losing, team work, sportsmanship, and disappointment. These are wonderful opportunities for educators to teach life-long lessons like hard work, commitment, team work, resilience, and effort. No other class can truly say the same.

Today, Physical Education classes, as well as physical activity in classrooms, strive to teach students about their emotional state. How to control their breath, which in return controls emotion, stress, anger, the parasympathetic nervous system, and their state of mind. There is a connection between physical activity and ones emotional state; learning how to positively use this connection is important for success in and out of the classroom as well as in their future.

Physical - Obviously this is the part most think of when they think PE and PA. Teaching fundamental movement skills, physical development, motor learning, fitness, health, and nutrition. Physical activity in schools promotes healthier students, less sickness, improved concentration, and higher academic achievement. This aids in developing positive life-long feelings about exercise, nutrition, health, and well-being.

PE, PA, and recess all work towards creating healthier students. Teaching children about proper movement skills, exercise techniques, diverse activities, healthy habits, and quality nutrition all work towards the goals of keeping children:

     - Injury Free
     - Healthy
     - In positive relationships with exercise and fitness that will stay with them for their lifetime
     - Knowledgeable about healthy lifestyles and choices
     - Understanding the importance of well-rounded fitness

Stop the Madness

What hurts is when we see PE programs being cut, recess being cut, music and art (they also provide many great benefits that cannot be duplicated in the core classes) being cut, and stories like this one.

Parents Sue to Stop In Class Yoga

Why are they suing?

Because they feel Yoga is a ritual to worship the devil!

Really?

What's next, banning learning to play the guitar because it's gonna make kids pot smoking hippies?

So despite Yoga giving all of the above mentioned benefits, parents would rather sue than see their kids have a better education in a healthier, more positive environment.

This issue is close to my heart, because in the above mentioned article, my sister Saree and her Girls on Target program were going to lead this Yoga infused learning environment.  Yoga was going to be developed within the curriculum to allow educators a way to teach that promotes learning through physical activity. (For the record, Saree was a middle school teacher for 6 years and used many of these techniques within her classes with great success)

This format has been used around the country with great success. Studies have shown this to be a great tool to enhance enjoyment in learning and physical activity - both in and out of the classroom. Read these related Studies, this Study, this Study, and this Study

Call to Action

So what can you do?

Well for one, if you know of a school district in your area that is cutting PE and restricting daily PA and recess, make a stand. Contact administration and voice the importance of these classes and of PA in school!

Be able to logically argue the importance of PE and the positive connections it has with child development. Use this article as a resource to support the benefits of PE and PA in schools.

Also go the Girls on Target, and support their mission to implement Yoga as part of in-class curriculum. Physical activity in the classroom DOES NOT distract or take away from the learning experience. It enhances learning, and gives students tools to develop soooo many positive qualities and relationships with learning and fitness.

We need to make certain changes in our educational system and implementing exercise and movement into learning just might be that change. Start supporting exercise/fitness, and its connection with the brain, as well as its connection with health, wellness, well-being, and nutrition.

And Oh Yeah, support our educators and teachers. They have one of the most important and impactful jobs in our country. Respect what they do, and their ambition to create the best learning environment possible. It will not surprise me one bit, if 10 years down the road, movement and activity are part of every teachers tool box as a way to increase learning, comprehension, and involvement.

Spread the word, and as always Go Get 'Em!

Resources

Blaydes, J. "Action based learning—Thinking on your feet: 110+ activities that make learning a moving experience." Richardson, TX: Action Based Learning (2000).

Friday, February 22, 2013

Free...Free Falling

“It’s not whether you get knocked down; it’s whether you get back up”

“If you fall seven times, get back up eight”

Or from the ever wise, mini Buddha esque, Chumbawamba

“I get knocked down, but I get up again, you’re never gonna keep me down!”

Oh the 90’s, what a great time to grow up, but back to my point…

We continually hear about how falling is not important, but rather making sure you get back up. But I’m here to flip the switch and stress the importance of falling.

First let’s clarify; this isn’t about failure or defeat like these quotes underline, but rather what this article is about learning to fall and land properly.

Why Would I Need to Learn to Fall?

Why should you practice falling or landing? Well why do we crawl before we walk, and walk before we run? Because it is a safe and natural progression to teach our bodies to learn our limits and give us feedback on many athletic qualities. Also learning to fall will help when you see Rachel McAdams at the bar, and don't tear your ACL when you fall head over heels.

Oh Rachel, you don't have to be

thinking of me all day

Watch little kids on a playground and you’ll see them jumping off different objects, testing the limits of how high they can land and fall from. It is a form of learning the stresses our body can handle safely, and gives our CNS a tool for reference.

While I don’t have an exact number, I would be willing to bet that over half of athletic injuries occur during landing after a jump, trying to break a fall, or stops and/or changes of directions.

What do all of these have in common?

They are types of landing, falling, decelerating movements. Athletes don’t get taught how to land, stop, fall, or tumble. We get caught up in developing vertical leaps, sprinting speed, power, and strength; but often lose sight of the importance of learning stop or decelerate these movements.

Recently Dan John wrote a great article, here, on T-Nation , and in it he stated,

“28,000 Americans in the 50+ age range die yearly from fall related injuries.”

Are you kidding me, 28,000! If this doesn’t give a case for learning to fall and land, then I don’t know what does.

So I’m going to break down the remaining parts of the article into two parts, landing (on your feet), and falling to the ground (tumbling).

Landing

We often see athletes jumping onto 60” boxes, doing crazy dunks, or exhibiting other great feats of athleticism, and we say, “I want to do that”. So what does somebody do? They start doing intense plyometrics, jumping on and off high ass boxes, and try to copy these athletic movements.

What we tend to forget is how these athletes got to where they are. We need to take a step back, and learn the basics of landing before we try these jumping feats.

Athletes need to learn they can only produce as much force, as they can safely absorb.

Dynamic movements like jumping, sprinting, bounding, etc involve our body taking in high amounts of eccentric forces and then returning concentric forces back out. The amount of force we return back out, depends on how effectively and safely we take force in.

Our body is not dumb, and it is not going to allow us to jump 30 inches high if we can not safely land from 30 inches. Whether you leans towards, or away, from the whole ancestral thing, our body does not want to put itself in a situation where it might be injured.

So whether our paleo past is still very present in our brain and nervous system, where injury meant being an easy meal for a saber tooth, or whether you believe we are different - evolved beings, it does not matter,

Injury = Bad!

Our body is going to do whatever it takes to prevent injury. It has a whole mess of protective mechanisms and it knows what its limits are. So thinking you can go jump 40 inches is not going to happen if your body hasn’t learned that it can safely land from that high.

So for athletic performance, learning to land is very important. Altitude landings, depth drops, and box landings have been around a long time in terms of athletic development. It is nothing new to train with those methods to elicit high eccentric and braking forces, in attempts to develop higher power and speed outputs.

Adding in landing drills to a regular progression in the weight room will enhance an athlete’s eccentric strength, proprioception, education of dealing with high forces, and develop proper body positioning and mechanics.

More than increasing athletic potential, learning to land has very high injury prevention benefits. Landing drills have made a big push into ACL prevention programs, as many ACL injuries occur from landing and stopping actions.

Stepping off a box and landing correctly is a key quality we need our athletes to exhibit. If an athlete cannot land without knee valgus, proper foot – knee – hip tracking, or a smooth, efficient, and quiet landing, then that athlete is lacking in certain qualities. Jumping right into an intensive program will put this person in harms way, and will be promoting dysfunctional movement patterns.

It is important to make sure athletes can land in various situations – double leg, single leg, lateral, and backwards. These are all movements that will be stressed in sports, and learning how to absorb forces at these angles is extremely important.

Here is a whole series of landing exercise progressions that will develop proper landing mechanics, positioning, and eccentric loading.

The goal with each of these exercises is to stick the landing quick and quietly. That is a main coaching cue for us, but of course we are looking for other signs during the landing.

Do the knees track over the foot or do they track inside (knee valgus). Are the athletes able to stick the landing, or are they adding in extra little hops, or shifts in body weight. If so, the height or distance may be too much for them to handle.

Are they initiating the landing with the balls/forefoot, or is their heel slamming into the ground. Again this is a sign that the eccentric force is too much for the athlete.

Finally we want the athlete to absorb the force quickly. This means we want them to stick the landing as fast as they can. We want them to stabilize and control the landing ASAP! The more time, bending, or movement it takes to land means the athlete is losing eccentric forces through this extra movement or time. Again this is preparing the athlete for the extremely high demands and short contact times of plyometrics and athletic movements.

Falling

Piggy backing everything discussed in learning to land, is learning how to fall. Learning to fall or training this skill, in my book, is essentially tumbling. Somersaults, reverse somersaults, shoulder rolls, reverse shoulder rolls, handstands, and side rolls.

I know what you’re thinking; you won’t catch me dead doing those girly things. I’m gonna get my ass back in the squat rack!

Well if you play in any team sport or coach team sports, then you should definitely reconsider.

How does tumbling help in team sports?

It put athletes in a position of falling, and teaches the body how to contort, twist, and position itself when faced with similar situations during a game. In sports like football, basketball, volleyball, soccer, and rugby, athletes face many instances where they are falling or being taken to the ground, and not knowing how to deal with the situations leads to injury.

Tumbling is an easy and safe way to learn the skills of falling. These tumbling drills involve a great deal of mobility, stability, spatial awareness, body coordination, timing, and rhythm. These are all very valuable qualities that will help athletes, not only fall safely, but will also carryover to other aspects of athletics.

Going back to Dan John (can’t reference him enough!), tumbling is also a great way to build “armor”.

He’s talked about how athletes, during the off-season tend to get “soft” and un-prepared for the poundings a sport will put on them.

These ground collisions during tumbling mimic body contact, collisions, and the physical tolls an athlete takes during games. It is a great way to “toughen” up and prepare the athletes body for competition.

Despite it being comical to watch some athletes try these drills, it really isn’t all that funny that we have athletes that cannot perform simple, basic exercises that 4 and 5 year olds can do with ease.

As a coach, you will quickly see that your best athletes are the best at these tumbling moves. I have observed that the best athletes I work with tumble with the greatest grace, control, efficiency, and are overall quiet and light during these movements.

Finally I like tumbling movements because not only do they teach my athletes how to safely fall and land, but also how to get back up! Like the quotes at the beginning of this article, it is essential for athletes to get back onto their feet after being on the ground.

You hear it all the time during games

“Get Up!”

“Stay on Your Feet!”

Whether it’s a linebacker being cut blocked, a volleyball player going down to dig a kill, or a basketball player getting knocked down going to the rim. These athletes need to get back up and get back involved in the play. You see it all the time, an athlete is slow to get up, and his or her team ends up paying the consequences.

So we get the best of both worlds, we learn skills to stay on our feet, but if we do happen to go to the ground, we learn how to do so safely and then how to transition back onto our feet.

These are essential athletic skills that are typically overlooked. Great benefits will be had to youth, high school, college, and elite athletes, but also the regular, everyday person. It will help tremendously in athletics, but also as people age, how not to become part of that staggering 28,000 statistic.

In the video below is a series of the different tumbling drills you can use with your athletes. I highly recommend using a nice big gymnastic type mat (much bigger than the one in the video) or using grass, turf, or a gymnastics surface for these drills.

Look for proper movement and sequencing from the athletes. The movements should be efficient, smooth, and quiet. Loud thuds mean the athlete is not moving through the landings efficiency and lack in stability, mobility, and body control.

Finally look for smooth transitions back to their feet. Like we touched on, this is also a drill to develop getting back on ones feet. Cue each tumbling movement to be smooth, quiet, and to get back on their feet as quick as possible.

Ground Floor

If you coach young athletes, these skills and drills really do need to be in your program. They are essential for proper development and skills that will benefit them later on. When coaching youth athletes, I like drills that don’t require much equipment, and teach valuable qualities/skills naturally, without the athlete having to think much. These drill kill many birds with one stone, and are fun and challenging.

If you coach high school to elite athletes, I still feel that these skills would bear some great benefits. They might seem silly or weird, but get over it, they work. A couple drills during a warm-up or finisher are more than enough to progress in this area.

So feel free to take some advice from the great Tom Petty and the Heartbreakers and start working on,

“Free, Free Falling!”

And as always Go Get 'Em!

Like, Dislike, Agree, Disagree, WORLD CHANGING, or a big turd; whatever you feel, leave a comment below and let me know!

Tuesday, February 19, 2013

NFL Combine: Inside the Numbers - Wrap-Up

We've reached the final step in this fantastic NFL Combine journey. With the Combine coming up this week, it's only fitting to have a little recap of what we've seen so far.

If you've missed any of the previous posts, check them out

NFL Combine: Inside the Number - Intro
NFL Combine: Inside the Number - Skills
NFL Combine: Inside the Number - Power
NFL Combine: Inside the Number - Bigs

1. Horizontal Jumping (Broad Jump) scores may be a better indicator of Acceleration and Sprinting abilities than the Vertical Jump.

This isn't the first time that horizontal jumps have been a better indicator of running speed over vertical jumps. Here are some studies that suggest horizontal jumping scores better correlate with sprinting speed

here, here, here, here

A reason for this may be that the 40 yard dash is a test of acceleration more than top-end speed. Recent studies have been finding that horizontal forces are key during the acceleration phase of sprinting. The broad jump by it's very nature is a horizontal jump, that requires great horizontal forces and angles. So the broad jump might be a better indicator for acceleration potential in athletes than the common held belief of the vertical jump. The vertical jump still has a positive correlation with 40 times, but the horizontal jump may correlate stronger.

Now don't be in a hurry and rush out to start training your broad jump, as there are some precautions to take. The landings in the broad jump are generally more stressful on joints, require greater ranges of motion, and have different, often higher braking forces than the vertical jump. Think about jumping into sand and landing in an athletic position instead of striving for extra inches on your landing. Really reaching for a far landing is similar to reaching for a high box jump. You are putting yourself in a potentially dangerous position.

2. Lower Body Weights may lead to faster running speeds

At every position, lower body weights correlated with faster 40 times. As track coaches have been known to say, "Fat don't fly"!

Whenever you start to move up in body weights, it becomes harder and harder for that extra weight to be "good" weight. You may think it's all muscle, but more than likely a good percentage of that is fat.

Depending on your genetics and overal build, your optimal body weight will vary. But as a general rule, you should shoot for 9-11% BF if your a male and 14-16% BF if your a female. If you're in these ranges, that you are pretty dang fit and more than likely at a good body weight for your frame. Check out these studies for more info on how excess BF can effect performance

Here, here, here, here

3. Faster sprinting speeds correlate to faster C.O.D drills

Despite many claims over the years that change of direction (COD) and sprinting are two separate skills that do not correlate or effect the other, I beg to differ. From all my observations, from this data and from other studies, here, here, there seems to be a pretty good correlation.

Think about it, if you can accelerate and sprint faster, then you're gonna have higher potential for COD skills. Does speed mean you'll have better force absoption and eccentric abilites? Not necessarily, but it does mean you'll be bring more speed into breaks and be able to accelere out of breaks faster, which means more times than not you have the advantage over a slower competitor.

You also have to remember that the COD of direction drills at the Combine are specific and planned. There is no reaction involved as there would be in a real game. This greatly enhances the success for faster guys, over guys with great eccentric/absorbing/reaction qualities as it is a closed drill, not an open drill.

4. Is the Combine a Good Predictor of Draft Status?

That is the Million Dollar question. Obviously NFL teams hang there hat on the Combine, and use it to help determine their decisions. While many question the validity of the Combine to actual playing ability, the fact is higher performance at the combine is associated with higher draft position.

You see it every year. A guy has a bust out Combine, and jumps from a 4-6 rounder, to the 1st or 2nd round. This shows just how influential the Combine can be for a player. Take a look at the following information from this study that looked at Drafted vs. Undrafted players testing from the Combine

		Skills
	Height	Weight	40	Bench	Vertical	Broad	Pro Ag.	L-Drill
Drafted	5'11.6	201.67	4.49	16.53	36.8	10'	4.08	7.02
Undrafted	5'11.8	203.74	*4.59*	17.07	*35.24*	9'10.4	*4.21*	*7.22*
		Power
	Height	Weight	40	Bench	Vertical	Broad	Pro Ag.	L-Drill
Drafted	6'2.8	251.3	4.74	23.5	34.24	9'7.7	4.24	7.26
Undrafted	6'2.9	255.95	*4.83*	22.8	*33.14*	*9'5.35*	4.31	*7.42*
		Bigs
	Height	Weight	40	Bench	Vertical	Broad	Pro Ag.	L-Drill
Drafted	6'4.5	313.3	5.21	26.46	29.53	8'7	4.61	7.78
Undrafted	6'4.13	208	*5.31*	*23.1*	29.05	8'7	*4.71*	*7.93*

As you can see in just about every category the Undrafted players under performed compared to the Drafted players. The numbers in bolds and italics show significant differences between Un-Drafted and Drafted. Now this may be as simple as, these players test better and are drafted because they are better players.

This could very well be the case in some of these, but there have been several studies that suggest the Combine results do not predict success in the NFL all that well. Drafted QB's score on average over 2 points higher on the Wonderlic, depsite various studies showing the Wonderlic does not correlate to potential playing success. Check these studies out for yourself

Here, here, here, here

5. Not everybody is running 4.3x, jumping 40 inches, benching 225 for 30+ reps, so GET OVER IT!

A very small percentage of athletes can actually do these things. So 1. Don't get discourage because you can't do these things and 2. Don't lie and say you can to puff your chest. Be a man and tell the truth, that you run a 4.70 (very respectable)

6. Benching for reps may be an indicator of potential running speed.

This is a really interesting correlation. Does this mean that being able to bench a lot directly correlates with running speeds? No, of course not. It probably just means that being able to bench a lot is an indication of high relative strength, good body composition, good overall body strength, and a good indicator of power endurance. All things that are good indicators of running fast as well.

So don't think that just focusing on the bench will directly make you faster! It's probably the other way around. Training for power, speed, explosiveness, and being an overall athlete indirectly increases your bench press.

Here are 2 studies finding similar correlations between bench (UB strength) and sprinting abilities

Here, here

7. These guys are tall, big, fast, powerful, and damn good athletes

No matter if the NFL Combine is just a big show and has no barring on whether it relates to actual ability, it doesn't matter. These guys are some of the best athletes on the planet, and you have to be amazed at their physical abilities.

Closing

So now that you know a little bit about the NFL Combine and how all these things relate, don't relate, etc. You can kick back and watch with a closer eye. They might show the guy running 4.3x, benching 225 for 40+ reps, or vertical jumping 40+ inches every chance they get, but look at all the other guys. And be on the look our for some of the correlations I just told you about. Do they hold up?

Also, be sure to sign-up for BBA updates. Just enter your email on the home page to stay up to day with all the happenings at BBA!

Until next time, Go Get 'Em!

Like, Dislike, Agree, Disagree, WORLD CHANGING, or a big turd; whatever you feel, leave a comment below and let me know!

Friday, February 15, 2013

NFL Combine - Inside the Numbers - Bigs

We've almost there, almost to Mt. Doom, this is the 2nd to last last step in our journey of Inside the NFL Combine! If you missed any of the previous articles check them out

Inside the Numbers - Intro
Skills Group
Power Group

It's time to show the big boys love because you know what they say, the game is won in the trenches.
The Bigs include the Offensive and Defensive Lines. I've separated the Defensive Ends from the Defensive Tackles and Offensive Line just because they tend to be a whole different best than the others. So in hopes to not distort some of the info, I've made separate charts for those maniacs!

Defensive Tackles and Offensive Line

Weight vs. 40 Times

Under 280	280-299	300-319	320+
5.03	5.15	5.23	5.36

Height vs. 40 Times

6'2 & Under	6'3-6'4	6'5-6'6	6'7+
5.18	5.22	5.28	5.3

Broad Jump vs. 40 Times

Under 7'6	7'6-7'11	8'0-8'5	8'6-8'11	9'0-9'6	9'7-9'11
5.48	5.4	5.3	5.2	5.09	4.99

                                                Vertical Jump vs. 40 Time

23 and under 24-26 27-29 30-32 33-35 36+

5.43 5.33 5.26 5.14 5.05 5.04

                                                  Pro Agility vs 40 Time

4.25 and less 4.26-4.49 4.50-4.74 4.75-4.99 5.0-5.24 5.25+

4.96 5.07 5.2 5.31 5.41 5.6

                                                    L-Drill vs. 40 Time

7.25 and less 7.26-7.49 7.50-7.74 7.75-7.99 8.0-8.24 8.25+

4.96 5.09 5.17 5.26 5.33 5.43

                                                  Bench Reps vs. 40 Time

Under 20 21-24 25-28 29-32 33-36 37+

5.33 5.27 5.21 5.2 5.16 5.07

Facts

864 data points were used

Only 42 Benched 225 for 35+ reps

75 Benched 225 for less than 20 reps

3 ran under a 5.0 forty

Only 1 person Broad Jumped 10 feet

6 Vertical Jumped 36 inches or higher

Defensive Ends

Weight vs. 40 Time

250 & Under	251-265	266-280	281-295	296+
4.78	4.81	4.86	4.91	4.93

Height vs. 40 Time

6'1 & Under	6'2-6'3	6'4-6'5	6'6+
4.84	4.84	4.85	4.85

Broad Jump vs. 40 Time

8'5-8'11	9'0-9'3	9'4-9'7	9'8-9'11	10'+
4.94	4.88	4.85	4.82	4.73

Vertical Jump vs. 40 Time

24-28	29-32	33-35	36+
4.95	4.87	4.82	4.78

Pro Agility vs. 40 Time

Under 4.10	4.10-4.29	4.30-4.49	4.50-4.69	4.7+
4.76	4.82	4.84	4.87	4.95

L-Drill vs. 40 Time

Under 7.0	7.0-7.19	7.20-7.39	7.40-7.59	7.6+
4.77	4.8	4.83	4.87	4.91

Bench Reps vs. 40 Time

12-16	17-21	22-26	27-31	32-36	37+
4.84	4.89	4.86	4.79	4.75	4.69

Facts

284 data points were used

Only 51 DE's ran a 5.0 or slower

7 ran under a 4.60

28 Benched 225 - 30 times or more; Only 1 Benched 225 - over 40 times

47 Jumped over 35"; 7 Jumped over 40"

47 Jumped over 10'

Thoughts

Weight is correlated with 40 Times. It's hard to put on clean weight, and the heavier you get the more likely your BF% will be higher, thus slower times.

Again the Broad Jump has a stronger correlation to 40 Times than Vertical Jump. They both have a positive correlation to 40 Times, and this information can be of great use to coaches.

Forty-nine total guys in the Bigs category bench 225 for 35 or more reps. With over 1,100 total data points, this means only around 4% of Bigs bench for 35+ reps. Yet again we get this thought that if you're an interior player, you need to be putting up around 40 reps. In fact more than double the guys have benched under 20 reps than 35 or more (119 vs. 49).

I think the DE's are the most impressive position. Only 51 guys ran a 5.0 or slower, and 21 of those 51 ran between 5.0-5.02! This means just a tiny little tweak and they are under 5.0! It's almost a prerequisite to run under a 5.0 for a DE, and even though a 5.0 forty gets the preception of being slow, in actuality that's moving! Picture a 270lb DE running a 4.80-5.0 forty chasing after you, that's a damn scary thought!

Both agility drills correlated very strongly with 40 times. As agility times go down, so do the 40 times. To have a good agility score, you must be able to accelerate and sprint fast. No matter how good or clean you are in and out of your breaks, if you bring no speed in and out of them, it doesn't matter.

The number of Bench Press reps again has a correlation with 40 times. As we touched on before, this is probably more a result of indirect correlation than direct correlation. Meaning if you're benching a lot of reps this doesn't help you run fast. If you're benching for a lot of reps, more than likely you have good body composition (low BF%), good overall strength and power, and are in good physical condition.

Closing

Be sure the be on the look out for the final installment of NFL Combine: Inside the Numbers. I'll give you some final thoughts on everything, cite some studies that have broken down the combine, and give some food for thought on the training implications of this info. So until then Go Get 'Em!

Like, Dislike, Agree, Disagree, WORLD CHANGING, or a big turd; whatever you feel, leave a comment below and let me know!

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