Protein Popsicle

Summer sessions are now in full swing and that means a lot of hot and sweaty training sessions.  We've found one of the best ways to maximize recovery and battle the heat is with protein popsicles!

These bad boys knock out 2-birds with one stone and the best part… They are amazingly easy to make!

It only takes 2 ingredients and about 5-minutes of prep time to get these things made


The Culprits

• 6 Scoops Orange Vanilla Rec-4 Protein - Find it HERE
• 4 Cups Orange Juice
• Popsicle Sticks or Get One Of These Suckers

Steps

       1. Stir/Shake Protein and Orange Juice for about 30-seconds.
       2. Let Settle for another 30-seconds.

       3. Pour into your ice trays

      

       4. Stick in Popsicle Sticks and Freeze overnight

That's it!  When you finish your workout, open your freezer and viola… a cool protein popsicle is ready for you.

Each popsicle (in my trays) has about 15g of protein.  This all depends on how many ounces your ice trays can hold.  Try to shoot for about 12-20g of protein per serving.

The Orange Vanilla Rec-4 Protein is truly the best for this recipe.  It tastes like a orange push pop and it mixes well.  You can experiment with other vanilla or orange brands of protein, but they won't mix as well.

The other great thing about the Rec-4 is it's produced by Dietetic Advantage.  They get all their products 3rd party NLEA tested, so what they say is in their product - is EXACTLY correct!

This is especially important because just recently a research study came out showing how popular brands, such as GNC, Optimum Nutrition, Muscle Milk, Cellucor, and Isoflex, all mislabeled/lied about the amount of BCAA's in their products!  It's pretty sad when you pay for something, expecting to receive the labeled amount of nutrients and you get shafted by a LARGE amount!  You can read about that HERE

Not only are they the best in the market, but they're are also designed by BBA Nutrition Consultant Sean Casey and he's a stifler about the quality of products he puts out.


Go Get 'Em!

BBA Journal of Sports Performance - Why We Activate

For anyone that has done research or submitted to a journal, knows the amount of time, detail, revisions, and head-ache that goes into writing and researching for a paper.

For those of us who are full-time coaches, it is difficult to find the time and energy to dedicate to this type of consistent research.

With that being said, I do think every S&C coach should strive to produce a real scientific paper and be published by a journal.

There are a couple of reasons for this.

1. We have access to real, high level athletes -  something a lot of research is missing
2. Give back and further the education of our field
3. Appreciating and understanding of how difficult, tedious, and in-depth research can be.  It's a pet peeve of mine when coaches, who have never published research, criticize those that do.  You'll be humbled when you go through this process

While I do enjoy the process and the opportunity to have work published, I also know there are simply not enough hours in the day to get all the data I track published into a journal.

So instead, this is the BBA Journal of Sports Performance.  This will be where I can dump research that we're conducting at BBA, but aren't working to get published into a journal.

With that being said, this work will all be conducted in a scientific manner - clear procedures, proper set-up, data collection, and data analysis.  There will be less detailed introductions and discussions - just want to present the data with a few closing thoughts.

The overall goal is for this data to be more than anecdotal and more than the usual, "We've seen great results from INSERT EXERCISE/TOOL/MODALITY".  Yet, they cannot produce results, a control group, or inferential statistics to validate their claims.

So without further ado, let's go into this BBA Journal Study.

EFFECTS OF ACTIVATION EXERCISES ON SUBSEQUENT HORIZONTAL JUMP, SPRINTING SPEED, AND EXPLOSIVE MED BALL THROW

INTRODUCTION

        There is a specific sequence we follow when we warm-up our athletes.  We perform soft-tissue, then alignment, next dynamic warm-up, and finally we finished with an activation period before starting our actual movement practice.  

Today we're going to dive into why we activate at the end of our warm-up.  A lot of athletes and clients wonder why we do these low level "activation" exercises, and this is what we tell them.

          "We activate to deeper engage specific musculature we want to use during our session.  Essentially we want to "wake-up" and learn how to engage and feel these muscles being active"

In our mind it helps establish a pattern, position, and posture for that days workout.  It can also help improve performance, which is an added bonus.  Crow et al. (2012) demonstrated low level gluteal activation resulted in significant improvements in peak power production and vertical jump when compared to a control group (4)

McGill (2010) demonstrated that core training may be beneficial to enhance performance and reduce risk of injury by allowing the trunk and pelvis to transmit forces between the lower and upper body and maintain proper alignment (7)

Mills et al. (2005) looked at a 10-week training program focused on improving lumbo-pelvic stability/activation.  After 10-weeks, the training group improved agility and lower leg power compared to the control group who did not do the lumbo-pelvic training program (8)

Connelly et al. (2006) studied the role of the gluteus maximus and gluteus medius on limbo-pelvic stability, and their results indicate that gluteus maximus may be important in the control of frontal plane stability of the hip on the pelvis, which may lead to reduced lower back pain and enhanced performance (3).

Many others have also shown the higher gluteal activation leads to faster running speed (1,2,5), throwing velocities (9,10), and may help jumping and landing (4,6,11)

Due to these findings, we typically approach our activation to attack a couple of areas.

1. Glutes/Hips - These are our prime movers and we want them doing their job
2. Core - Engage our deep core and surrounding core stabilizers
3. Shoulder Girdle - Even though the activation we used didn't specifically attack this area, we make sure to include plenty of scapular/posterior shoulder work whenever we are doing upper body work or dealing with OH athletes.
4. CNS Output - We try to cater our activation drills to the specific work we'll be doing on a given day.  This allows us to start ingraining some movement patterns, and increase CNS output.  Often times to further enhance CNS output, we perform a couple of moderate to high plyometric exercises.
5. Stability on Mobility - Our dynamic warm-up attacks ROM and mobility pretty hard, but with activation we like to add stability to that increased mobility.  So things like the 3-way lunge not only challenge our mobility, but also make us control and be strong in those ranges of motion.

SUBJECTS

This study included 34 male subjects (age = 17.9 years); 19 College Athletes and 15 High School Athletes.  All subjects had at least 4-months of resistance training experience (avg. = 1.5 years of training experience).


PROCEDURES

On testing days, subjects went through the same dynamic warm-up which consisted of active mobility and dynamic movements (Appendix A) and then either the activation routine or directly moving onto testing.

On day 1 of trials the College Athletes performed the dynamic warm-up and activation routine (Appendix B).  The High School Athletes performed just the dynamic warm-up. On day 2, these procedures were flipped.

Following the given protocols, subjects were then tested in the broad jump, 10-yard dash, and reverse med ball throw.  Each subject was given 3 trials of each test and all trials were recorded for each athlete.

Subjects were given 1-minute of rest between each trial and 3-minutes of rest between each test.


RESULTS

Overall there were 102 data points (34 subjects x 3 trials) for each WITH activation and WITHOUT (control) for each performance test. Student t-tests were used to assess statistical significance between the different sample means of each group. The significance value was set at p=0.05.

*Statistically Significant

DISCUSSION

After testing the 3 different qualities, it appears that activation may be beneficial for improving non-cyclical power specific exercises. It, however, did not significantly effect the cyclical performance, the 10-yard dash.

Broad jump improve by over 3cm (+3.5%) and the reverse med ball throw by 17inches (+4.4%), but only improved the 10-yard dash by an average of 0.01seconds (no difference).

A potential reason for our activation series not having the same effects on 10-yard times as compared to the broad jump and reverse med ball throw, is the 10-yard acceleration requires greater amounts of elasticity, coordination, and shorter ground contact times. The 10-yard dash is also cyclical in nature and more technical requirements than the broad jump and reverse med ball throw.  It may also be due to acceleration requiring slightly higher degrees of elastic qualities and more "plyometric" than the standing long jump and reverse med ball throw.  This may call for adding in some low-to-moderate "plyometric" exercises to firing up the CNS and elastic properties of the body.

Given the results, this tested activation series may be beneficial to prime athletes for non-cyclical bouts of powerful performance such as the broad jump, vertical jump, and/or med ball throws.  More research needs to be done to determine weather this increase in performance can be seen in longer sprints and agility performance, which are incredibly important for team sports.

Appendix A: Dynamic Warm-Up



Appendix B: Activation Routine

     - 3-Way Lunge x3ea
     - Glute Bridge x15
     - Bird-Dog x6ea
     - Naughty Dog x10ea
     - Glute March x10ea

References:

1. Bartlett, J. L., Sumner, B., Ellis, R. G., & Kram, R. (2014). Activity and functions of the human gluteal muscles in walking, running, sprinting, and climbing. American journal of physical anthropology, 153(1), 124-131.

2. Brughelli, M., Cronin, J., & Chaouachi, A. (2011). Effects of running velocity on running kinetics and kinematics. The Journal of Strength & Conditioning Research, 25(4), 933-939.

3. Conneely, M., Sullivan, K. O., & Edmondston, S. (2006). Dissection of gluteus maximus and medius with respect to their suggested roles in pelvic and hip stability: implications for rehabilitation?. Physical Therapy in Sport, 7(4), 176-178.

4. Crow, J. F., Buttifant, D., Kearny, S. G., & Hrysomallis, C. (2012). Low load exercises targeting the gluteal muscle group acutely enhance explosive power output in elite athletes. The Journal of Strength & Conditioning Research, 26(2), 438-442.

5. Dorn, T. W., Schache, A. G., & Pandy, M. G. (2012). Muscular strategy shift in human running: dependence of running speed on hip and ankle muscle performance. The Journal of experimental biology, 215(11), 1944-1956. 

6. Hart, J. M., Craig Garrison, J., Casey Kerrigan, D., Palmieri-Smith, R., & Ingersoll, C. D. (2007). Gender differences in gluteus medius muscle activity exist in soccer players performing a forward jump. Research in sports medicine, 15(2), 147-155.

7. McGill, S. (2010). Core training: Evidence translating to better performance and injury prevention. Strength & Conditioning Journal, 32(3), 33-46.

8. Mills, J. D., Taunton, J. E., & Mills, W. A. (2005). The effect of a 10-week training regimen on lumbo-pelvic stability and athletic performance in female athletes: a randomized-controlled trial. Physical Therapy in Sport, 6(2), 60-66.

9. Oliver, G. D. (2014). Relationship between gluteal muscle activation and upper extremity kinematics and kinetics in softball position players. Medical & biological engineering & computing, 52(3), 265-270.

10. Plummer, H. A., & Oliver, G. D. (2014). The relationship between gluteal muscle activation and throwing kinematics in baseball and softball catchers. The Journal of Strength & Conditioning Research, 28(1), 87-96.

11. Zazulak, B. T., Ponce, P. L., Straub, S. J., Medvecky, M. J., Avedisian, L., & Hewett, T. E. (2005). Gender comparison of hip muscle activity during single-leg landing. Journal of Orthopaedic & Sports Physical Therapy, 35(5), 292-299.

Random Thoughts

I keep a journal of notes in my phone, by my bedside, and in a word document on my computer.  Here's where I'll dump all of those ideas into an incoherent lists of things floating around my head.

• Science confirms, good ideas happen when you are mentally switched off. Taking a vacation, taking time off, sleep, and procrastinating can help in solving complex problems

• Everybody should be taking naps, I think schools should even promote 30-minutes to a midday nap.  The research is clear on this topic as well, if you want to live longer, be more creative, receive a burst of energy/focus, improve performance - then NAP!

• Add stress or other cognitive function during decision making to enhance sporting performance: Like performing math equations, memorizing colors/patterns, watching something, listening to something, or any kind of mental processing while performing a task may enhance motor learning.

• 1000 good reps cannot undo the work of 100 bad reps.  Start doing things correctly, don't wait for breakdown

• S&C coaches need to voice input and feedback of basic physiological truths to sport coaches when it comes to practice, structuring, intensities, and nervous system optimization.  For example, a normal football practice week should really look like the top chart - and not the bottom chart, which is the traditional method in the football world

• All athletes seek autonomy, competence and connection.  Does your program provide these things?
• Autonomy is the need to be free to choose your own goals and do things because you like doing them for their own sake. Autonomy is the freedom to set your own goals, choose your own path and not feel pressured by other people or outside forces.
• Competence is being good at what you’re doing and feeling confident in your abilities to perform the task at hand. We all want to feel like we are learning, increasing our skill and growing. This basic need for competence and pursuit of mastery drives us, and makes us feel good when we achieve a difficult goal.
• Connection is the desire to bond with and relate to other people. Goals that have you interacting with others, giving and receiving help from others and nurturing relationships are going to fill your innate need for connection.

• Some of the most important things we can do as coaches and parents is let kids figure things out on their own.  This means if there is a dispute in grades, or playing time, or social aspects - the kid should figure them out - don't step in and try to solve the problem - this isn't benefitting anyone

• Nutrition is emotional.  The more I think and work on nutritional things, the more I see a need to address emotional ties to eating habits and decisions - not just plain x's and o's of nutrient breakdowns

• It's combine season for many of our HS athletes, so we thought we'd throw together a video on the most important part of the 40-yard dash - the stance and start

• Athlete training needs to be individualized - especially the higher the level of the athlete.  Think about this - if you give a group of 10 athletes the same program - why do 3 get a ton better, 4 get a little bit better, and 3 see no change?   
• Many fast-twitched athletes (think corvettes) need much LESS work, while less genetically gifted (think pintos) may thrive on more work

• We have a couple of S&C Camps scheduled for this summer and a few more openings available - if you know a team or school that would benefit from this, contact us - http://www.building-better-athletes.com/strength--conditioning-camp.html

• Check out this FREE Human Behavioral Biology Course from Stanford Professor Robert Sapolsky.  Seriously this is a FREE course from Stanford University - ARE YOU KIDDING ME!

• Sometimes we need to step back and let athletes and the human body do what it wants to do.  Often times coaches step in and make corrections on things that don't look correct.  For example, the false step - often times coaches try to rid athletes of this movement, but in actuality it's the bodies natural response more effective than not using one.  We aren't smarter than the human body.

• When programming for your athletes - do you take into account what style of play their team is?  If I'm training a football player that plays in a "spread offense" with a play every 20-seconds, this is much different than a player in a "pro style" offense where they may use the whole play clock.  This not only changes the energy system demands of the athlete, but also the total volume and in some cases the intensity of work done by the athletes.  The same could be said for other team sports like basketball, soccer, football, lacrosse, rugby, hockey.  So do your homework, talk to the athlete, call the coach, watch a game and find out what style of play the team emphasizes. 

Go Get 'Em!

How To Be A Good Strength and Conditioning Intern

Continuing on our theme of business from the past few articles, we'll continue with another important aspect of what we do at BBA, and that's educating young coaches!

Every year we host 3 Internships - Summer, Fall, and Spring.  We typically host between 2-6 interns during these blocks, and in total over the past 3-years have mentored 34 young professionals looking to break into the coaching, fitness, or S&C world.

Having been an intern at a Big 10 school and now managing a ton of interns, I have seen my fair share of the good, bad, and ugly when it comes to internships.

Our goal is to have our internship experience be the most valuable thing these students do in their collegiate career.  That and actually coach!  During my time spent as an intern, I was mostly a glorified spotter - with most of my duties being set-up, tear down, observation, and cleaning - not a whole lot of actual coaching.

Pair that with my an undergraduate degree that left a TON to be desired in terms of practical information.  In fact, I'd say that what I learned during my time as an undergrad, none of that is used in my day-to-day work.  I learned far more doing my own personal research, talking with coaches, reading for hundreds of hours, and soaking in everything I could during my internship.  Don't get me wrong, the basic of anatomy, physiology, and biomechanics are learned, but not in an application type sense.  It's one thing to know what muscles extend the hip - it's another to know how these actually work during movement and how to train them.  It's one thing to know the regions of the spine and how many vertebrae in each region - it's another to know how to apply spinal mechanics during movement and the varying jobs of each region.

I see it with all my interns, their applicable knowledge of biomechanics, anatomy and physiology, exercise technique and prescription, and coaching/cueing/communication is poor.

Students come to as juniors and seniors and we have to spend hours talking about exercise technique, communication and cueing, how to spot global movement errors, what a neutral spine looks like, what a good lower leg alignment looks like, what a valgus sign is, and how to actually coach a group individual and groups of athletes!

All this is fine and dandy, as we take responsibility to educate these students on the nuances of S&C.  Almost every intern we've ever had, during our exit interview, states they learned more about specific coaching and S&C information during the past 4-months then the past 4-years at school! - That's our goal.

We also use our internship to potentially hire or recommend for future positions.  We won't hire someone who hasn't interned or volunteered a quality amount of time so we can see first hand how well they interact with the athletes and their ability to coach in our environment.  Remember the internship is basically a long interview process.

Second, as our web of contacts continues to grow -  we love to see our past interns go on and do great things.  Currently we have 3 past interns working with Division 1 schools, 2 working in Division II schools, 3 are High School sport coaches, 2 are in graduate school, and 1 is a health coach for a large business.

We take pride in helping our interns in any manner possible, BUT we also have very high expectations for our interns and as past interns can tell you we are very particular when it comes to work ethic, body language, and attitude.

Here are 6 things, that take NO extreme levels of knowledge, all interns should exhibit if they want to stand out.

1. Don't Be Lazy!

Seriously, there is nothing, I mean NOTHING more frustrating than an intern that just stands there or walks around and doesn't say or do anything.  In our environment, interns should have a light sweat going from constantly moving, spotting, stripping weights, demonstrating, coaching, etc.

We don't like lazy athletes as coaches - so don't be a lazy intern!

2. Be There Early, Stay Late

This is an old saying, but it's tremendously true.  We take notice who is consistently here first and who stays around asking if there is anything else to do.  We also take notice who strolls in at JUST the last second and who is asking if they can leave.

For the latter, please don't ask for a reference because you will not get one.

3. Mirror What The Head Coach Says/Does

We expect our interns to come in with a lack of practical knowledge, but that doesn't mean they can't be effective.

The greatest thing an intern can do is be adaptable and be a keen observer to how the head coach coaches.

It drives me nuts when I lead a couple of groups through a movement practice and I use specific cues, specific mobility exercises, specific rest periods, and demonstrate/coach a specific way with a specific language and when it's the interns time - they don't do the same.

It takes no skill to observe and apply specific coaching that you JUST SAW multiple times.  It's called being a student and learning.

I go bonkers when I lead 2-3 groups, and when the intern is up they ask what's next, what should I say, what should I be looking for?

Do things and mirror in the manner the head coach wants - it'll make everyones life easier.

4. You're Opinions Don't Matter - On The Floor

Every once in a while we'll get an intern that has read some things or follows blogs or has some actual experience under the bar.  This is great - except when they then try to teach something in a manner that we don't want to be taught.

Let's get this clear - you are the intern and you do things OUR way.  I don't care what you read in the latest article on T-Nation, this is MY facility and we'll do things MY way.

I would never walk into another coaches environment and start critiquing the way they are coaching or say they should be doing a technique like this - not that.

If you want to piss off a coach in the baddest way - this is a surefire bet.

This doesn't mean you can't have questions - but on the floor, in front of athletes is NOT the place.  Especially in a combative or questioning manner.  Trust me, I have far more experience and far deeper reasons for the way I coach, and just because you read something doesn't mean you overstep our coaching cues/techniques.

We have weekly staff meetings for this, and that is the appropriate time to bring up questions.

5. Anticipate

Anticipation is every coaches dream.  When I don't have to say something, and I turnaround and see a drill set-up or a piece of equipment out and ready - it's amazing.

Every program has a specific flow and progression to it.  Every program has the training sessions written on either a whiteboard or athlete card - read the training, anticipate when things/equipment will be needed, and have things ready for the head coach.

The head guy has a hundred other things to worry about and having a piece of equipment out and ready without having to tell somebody makes their job soooo much better!

6. Be The Good Guy

Every once in a while we'll get that intern that wants to be a badass and show how much of a tough, meathead he/she is.

Guess what - you're not and the athletes can see right through that.

You're responsibility is to help carry out the head coaches programming, assist in set-up tear down, apply specific coaching cues, spot, and most of all - BE THE GOOD GUY.

I'll be the dick and play mean cop if the athletes need a kick in the ass - that's not your job nor your place.

You should be the supportive, positive coach and do the little things for the athlete.  The head coach will provide the discipline and control when needed.



If you do all of these things, you will impact the athletes, impress the coaches, and leave a lasting impression on the environment.

You know how I know if my interns leave a lasting impression... This simple checklist is an easy way I know if my interns impacted the athletes in a positive manner.

Credit: penandpaperstrengthapp

So what impact are you having?



Go Get 'Em!

Owning A Gym: Things You Should Know

Within 20-miles of my gym, there are 4 Colleges with exercise science programs.  Every semester we go to 3-4 of these schools and talk to students about the S&C profession.  Add in every 4-months we bring in a batch of new interns, and this all equals to us working and talking with a ton of ambitious college kids looking to get into the field of S&C.

One of the first questions I always ask when talking with the young professionals is what is your dream job?

A common response is to own my own gym.

When I hear this I can't help but think - NO…NO You Don't!

Last week marked our 2-year anniversary in our current facility and closing in on 3-years total in business.

It's been a hell of a ride, and owning your own facility definitely has it's perks, but let this be clear - IT'S NOT FOR EVERYONE.  Being even more honest - It's not of most.

I think people want to own their own gym because it sounds cool and or because they love to train.

These are both poor reasons and probably a reason most of the gyms fail within the first 2-3 years. People make emotional and irrational decisions to open a gym rather than educated and dedicated ones. Let this be clear, if you want to own a gym, your own personal fitness will DECREASE! Your training will suffer, so please PLEASE don't try to open a gym because it will allow you to have your own personal space to train.

Owning a gym, to put it simply, is a pain in the ass!  There are so many hidden or small things that go into a business that you'll never be prepared for.  All of these things add up, and if you're in it for the wrong reasons, it will eat you up.

If you're not in it for the love of coaching, a passion for the intricacies of S&C, and because you truly/deeply care about the athletes - then you're in it for the wrong reasons.  If you think you're going to get rich or because you get your own personal training space or because you get to be your own boss - you're in for a rude awakening.

After sitting down and thinking back on these past years, here are some things that came to mind - in no specific order.

1. A Gym Is EXPENSIVE

If you're en employee or work in the public sector (HS/College/Pro), if something breaks, no big deal, they'll order another one.  Well when you own your own gym and something breaks, guess who pays for it - that's right, YOU do.

Sometimes at the end of the month it comes down to paying yourself or buying a piece of equipment.  Which do you choose?

While you've probably gone most of your life enjoying the benefits of having a HS or college gym to train in - Did you know a quality bar and set of bumper plates can be a thousand dollars!  Yup, a bar and 230lbs of weight, which is enough for just 1-ATHLETE can cost about 3/4 of my monthly rent.

Let's look at some other "small" expenses

• You want 1000sq/ft of rubber matting? There goes roughly 2-4k
• You want 3 quality squat racks?  Chalk up another 3-5k
• Dumbbells from 0-100lbs?  Dig deep for 2-3k
• Liability Insurance?  An annual rate of 1-2k a year
• Credit Cards? Most credit card outlets take a 1-3% cut.  If you take in 50k in credit card charges a year, that's $500-1500 LOST just by accepting credit cards.
• Typical steel plates cost about $1/lb
• How about a nice sign outside the gym? - Don't worry it's only about 1-3k and as I suggest to many - IT'S WORTHLESS!

This doesn't even include what rent, utilities, and internet costs.  So when you bitch about a gym not having some sort of equipment - just know the owner has sacrificed beyond belief to just keep the lights on and them taking $500 out of their own pocket wasn't worth your much needed piece of equipment. 

Oh and on that note - don't expect to make money the 1st month, or 1st 3-months, or even 1st year.  Everyone thinks you'll open your doors and people will come poring in… sorry it doesn't happen like that.  You'll have to hustle for every client, every dime, and use every waking hour to improve some aspect of your business in order to survive.  Which leads to #2

2. How Much Do You Value Your Social Life?

When your the sole proprioter, you are the business and every waking second is spent working or thinking about your business.  Here is a small list of things I had to give up or at least heavily reduce when I opened my gym

• Going out on Thursday, Friday, and Saturday nights - I either have work early the next morning or I'm just too tired to go out.  I know people who could NEVER sacrifice a Saturday night for doing 2-hours worth of programs instead of downing beers downtown. 

• Football on Sundays … Nope work from 1-6pm.  And this isn't just NFL, but any sporting event.  I'm usually working during these hours while most others are at home enjoying the game

• Buddies going golfing or hanging out on a random afternoon or night - My busy hours are from 2-9pm - so while others are getting off work and getting to do things, I'm in the midst of my busy time.

• Saturday Morning Farmer's Market - One of the things I miss most is getting to go to the farmer's market on Saturday mornings.  It's just one of the many small things I miss out on due to owning this business. 

3. You'll Meet A Ton Of Great People

Over the past 3-years I've been fortunate to meet a ton of great people, athletes, and families who have bought into what we do.  I've met people with amazing stories, personalities, and have had a ton of fun getting to know people of various ages and backgrounds.  

That's the beauty of this job.  I love my athletes and it's a joy seeing them get better each and everyday and seeing them grow and develop.  They drive me nuts from time to time, but at the end of the day it's the people that make this job great!

4. Advice

People love to give you advice, especially when you're a young business owner.

  

"You should try this, you should buy that, have you thought about doing this, you would could do a lot of things if you did this" 

While these are all well intentioned, it seems everybody has a better feel for what your business needs than you do.  And this is without spending more than 10-minutes in your facility!  

Don't get me wrong, sometimes there is a decent idea in there, but 99% of the suggestions you've already thought of, planned logistics, looked at your books/financials, and decided it wasn't a good business move.  Learn to take these in stride and be respectful and thankful for their advice.  

5. You'll Be Sleep Deprived & No Body Cares

For the past 3-years, my alarm is set at 4:45am every weekday morning, and I usually don't get home until 8:30-9pm every night - and guess what - NO BODY CARES!

One thing I tell my interns at the start of every internship is once you walk through our doors, you drop all your other baggage and don't let it carry over to the gym floor.

No one cares if you're only getting 5-hours of sleep.  No one cares you work 7-days a week.  No one cares if you're having relationship problems, illness in your family, social stresses, or anything else - when it's time to coach - you need to be on.

We're in the service industry - we provide a service to our athletes and everybody wants special service.  Parents or athletes don't care you've already coached 8-sessions today or that you train 100+ other athletes - the only thing that matters is them.

They want special attention for their kid, extra work on nutrition, focused attention to develop mental toughness, help them with getting their school grades up, talk to them about weight management, address behavioral problems, etc.

Don't get me wrong, I am humbled that many ask these things from me and think highly enough of me to ask help in these things, but no one cares you get hundreds of other requests as well, they just need it to get done.  As a S&C coach you're not just a coach, but also a nutritionist, psychologist, counselor, therapist, tutor, mentor, etc.  I use all these terms loosely, but it's true.

I remember early on in this business, I missed a morning training session to host a camp.  I had an assistant run my morning sessions, and I got a call from a parent asking why I wasn't there.  Here I was out trying to expand and extend my business and I miss one morning and I get called asking where I'm at and why I'm not there.  If you're the business, expect people to want YOU.

6. You're Not Just The Owner

It's awesome to say I own a business and hopefully down the road that will bring some added perks and freedoms.  But as a young business owner - that's only a TINY fraction of my job.

Here's a list of other jobs that fall on my shoulders

• Someone decides to hold in a huge dump all day just to unload it in your toilet - Guess who gets to unclog and clean the toilet - That's right, the owner!
• Secretary - Answer and return anywhere from 5-10 emails/calls a day (This can take HOURS)
• Keep spreadsheets of incomes vs expenses
• Track receipts - I mean every receipt of everything you buy
• Log miles on your car -  Every mile you drive for business needs to be tracked - yes every mile! 
• Daily vacuuming, cleaning, maintenance - Approx. 30-60minutes a day
• Living in the Midwest means winter, which means shoveling and salting at 4:30am before morning sessions.
• Individual programming for hundreds of athletes - Each night I have around 2-10 programs to make.  Each program probably takes around 15-minutes - you do the math. 
• Marketing, Advertising, Managing Social Media, Newsletter 

Also when you are the owner in a service business - you ARE the business.  No matter the issue, problem, or assignment - it's your job to address it.

When you own your own business, you don't have PTO, or built in vacation, or sick days, or weekends.   You don't get a 401K or IRA's or health insurance or any other built-in programs that you normally get as an employee.  It's been almost 3-years owing this business and I haven't missed more than 3-days in a row of work.  I haven't taken a sick day or personal day.  If I've missed a day at the gym, it's been to travel to a conference, speak at a conference, or attend a family function.  It truly is a 7day/week job that never quits.  Get used to being tired, sleep deprived, and worn down - or don't get into this.

7. Be Yourself and Stick To Your Principles

As a young coach, I wanted to be like some of the big names/coaches in the industry.  I tried hard to emulate them, program like them, talk like them, etc.  But I've now reached a point where I'm comfortable with myself and who I am.  

I still pull things from coaches but at the end of the day - I'm still me and my coaching should emulate that.  I like to have fun, I goof around, I allow my athletes freedom, and I know my strengths and I stick to them.  

Is my programming perfect?  No

Is my coaching perfect?  No

But what I've created over the past 3-years is special and when I take a step back and look at what BBA means to many athletes or the environment we've created - it truly is a special place.

8. People Will Want A Piece of You

A month doesn't go by where I'm not being asked to donate to something, be willing to help with this, or sponsor that, or if I have a job available.  In a given year, I donate between 3-6k to fundraisers, tournaments, charities, etc.  

This is great and I'm all for giving back to the community in whatever manner possible, but as a small  business, every cent matters.  I'm not a big corporation where giving away a thousand dollars is pocket change.  Like I said earlier, this very well may be a months income.  I will continue to donate items to charities and fundraisers because they are usually for great causes and it's important to me to give back.

I will say this though, the one thing I've stop doing is donating to sponsor a tournament or club or game or event.  Such as, "Donate $300 and we'll put your business on our t-shirts or in our program or on a banner".

Here's the brutal truth, rarely are any of these actually good business moves.  I've never been to an event, looked at the t-shirt or a banner and thought, "I really need to check out that business".  Again, I will donate memberships or consultations, but I've stopped giving actual money in return for a sign or name in a program.  These are mostly financial losses.  Which brings me to my next point...

9. Learn To Say No

Early on, I said yes to every opportunity I could get.

Extra sessions on Sunday?  Yes!
Extra 5am Session?  Yes!
Sponsor This Event? Yes!
Do 1-on-1 training during my only hour off during a 14-hour day? Yes!
Work this camp for dirt cheap, but it allows you to get in front of new athletes? Yes!
Do the S&C for a college team for a resume builder? Yes!

Now, I've learned to say no.  Keeping my sanity and getting freedom is much more important than doing these little things to help the business.

After 2-years of working 7-days a week, I finally said no to Sundays.  After almost 3-years of 5am Monday-Friday, I've said no to Thursdays.  I've turned down 1-on-1 sessions, reduced sessions, and turned away opportunities that limit my time and freedom to relax, read, research, or spend time with my family.

10. I Get To Be My Own Boss

While I've stated all the hidden costs of being your own boss and on the outside it's a lot less glamorous than it sounds; at the same time it has it's perks.  

I turn 28 in a week, and for over 3-years I've been able to program for every single athlete I've come in contact with.  THAT IS HUGE!

If I want to try this or that… I can do it.  If I want to buy this or that… I can do it.  If I want to change this or that… I can do it.  If I don't want to do this or that… I don't have to.

If I want to experiment with a new program or exercise - I have the green light.  If I want to drop that day's training and have a competition/game day - I'm going to do it.  If I want to conduct a research project on my athletes - I don't have any hoops to jump through except for my own.  

I have friends in the college setting who are full-time coaches and they don't get to do any programming and training structure - they just implement what the Head S&C programs.  Not only exercise prescription but also warm-up, speed and agility work, recovery, rehab and return to training, youth, HS, college teams, professional, adults, males, females, every sport imaginable are all under this umbrella.  

NO and I mean NO HS or College or Professional S&C coach has this kind of experience.  Most public sector S&C coaches typically have 1-5 sports or specific genders or specific ages - while I get a little bit of everything.  I can tell you this has made me a 100x better coach than if I was strictly say a College FB S&C coach.  

I get to dress is sweats and a sweatshirt EVERY SINGLE DAY!  If I had to dress up or wear slacks to work everyday, I would go insane!

I get rewarded for doing a great job!  If I do a great job with an athlete or client, they'll usually tell someone and I get rewarded - financially.  In the public sector S&C coaches are often underpaid or have set salaries that can be very hard to increase, no matter how well of a job you may be doing.  I, on the other hand, have unlimited potential for growth and my salary is only dictated by the quality of my program.  I'd venture to say I earn more than 80% of S&C coaches through BBA, online training, team contracts, and our products - but this comes with the fact that I also work more than 100% of public sector S&C coaches.  I'm lucky not to have these restrictions while most public settings and/or if you're an employee DO have these restrictions. 

I get bring this little boy to work everyday, which is a must!  Everyday is bring your pet to work day = awesome!

Go Get 'Em!

Dissecting the French Contrast

When I was an intern at the University of Minnesota back in 2009, I had the opportunity to work under renown S&C coach Cal Dietz.  Cal is known for his Tri-Phasic training principles, and within the tri-phasic program he has taken The French contrast method and brought it to public awareness. 

The French Contrast was originally developed by the French track and field coach, Gilles Cometti, but it has been Dietz who has taken this method and molded into a digestible piece of for S&C coaches. 

The concept of the French Contrast is it’s a combination of complex and contrast methods, molded into one.  The idea is to use 4 exercises, to push the physiological responses of the athlete and train all along the force-velocity curve.

Here is Dietz chart from Tri-Phasic as his parameter for developing a French Contrast.  As you can see, you go from a heavy compound lift and follow it up with a plyometric activity (complex training).  Then you perform a power movement with about a 30% load (contrast training from main compound), and finally finish it up with an Accelerated or Assisted plyometric activity. 

(Photo Credit: Triphasic Training - Cal Dietz)

As I’ve gone through years and years of playing around with the French Contrast, I’ve made some modifications in terms of order, rest periods, different names, and specifications for certain types of athletes.  Much is still the same, but what I tend to do now is just travel right down the F-V curve, but I also allow 30-40 seconds between each exercises – Deitz recommends only about 5-10 seconds of rest.

So here’s what our typical template will look like.

Now with many exercises, you can’t always perform an assisted method, so in those cases this is what our template looks like.

Now most templates I’ve seen on the French Contrast are the exact same, and lack some specificity to the athletes adaptation needs.  The lower body protocol is typically the approach I see, but as you will see we’ve rounded up a small sample of protocols we’ll use for specific adaptations or for specific athletes’ needs.   

Before we start, understand the French Contrast is not for novice athletes – it’s for athletes with some solid experience and good levels of strength.  With that being said, I still use this with young athletes (9-10^th Grade) who have been with me for sometime and exhibit proficiency in their movements.  On the other hand, just because I have a Senior in college or a professional athlete, doesn’t mean I’ll use the French Contrast – again as long as they exhibit quality movement and have solid strength levels I’ll program some different French Contrast protocols - it comes down to demonstrating movement competency rather than just purely age.  

Lower Body Protocol

1. Back Squat
2. Hex Bar Jump Squat
3. Hurdle Hops
4. Band Assisted Jump Squat





Upper Body Protocol 

1. Swiss Bar Bench Press
2. Explosive Bench Push-Ups
3. Supine Med Ball Punch
4. Band Assisted Push-Ups





Single Leg Strength Protocol

1. Split Squat
2. Lunge Jumps
3. S/L Hurdle Hops
4. Band Assisted Split Squat

Max Velocity #1 Protocol

1. Step-Up
2. Sprinters Step-Up
3. Single Leg Bound
4. Wickets or Flying 10-20's

Max Velocity #2 

1. Band RDL
2. Lunge Scissor Jumps
3. Speed Reverse Hyper
4. Wickets or Flying 10-20's



Acceleration Protocol

1. Hip Thrust
2. Jammer Sprint
3. Single Leg Sled Bound
4. Band Assisted Acceleration

Acceleration #2

1. S/L Hip Thrust
2. Band Accel
3. Alternating Bound
4. Falling Start

Vertical Protocol

1. Hex Bar Deadlift
2. Band Resisted Jump Squat
3. Depth Jump
4. Band Assisted Jump Squat




Horizontal Protocol 

1. Hip Thrust
2. Band Resisted SLJ
3. Repeated Sled SLJ
4. Repeated 3-SLJ




Lateral Protocol 

1. Lateral Lunge
2. Lateral Sled Pull
3. Heidens
4. Russian Plyo’s





Rotational Protocol

1. Lateral Lunge
2. Jammer Rotate & Punch
3. Lateral Bound to Med Ball Punch
4. Lateral Rotational Bound

Go Get 'Em!

Phases of Sprinting

As we continue our dive into all things sprinting, this part will look at the different phases of sprinting and what does/should happen during those instances.

As we breakdown the phases of sprinting, we'll do so in 2 ways.

1) Acceleration Speed vs Top End Speed

2) Phases of the Sprinting Cycle

Each of these will present similarities, differences, and carryover that will clear up some ideas and discussion about training for enhancing speed.

Acceleration vs Top-End Speed

When talking about sport performance, acceleration speed is king.  Most team sports live in the 0-15-yard range, and it's rare for many athletes to reach top-end speed.  For this reason, focusing most speed training on acceleration speed is a smart idea.

That being said, this doesn't mean top-end speed is un-necessary. In sports like football, soccer, rubgy, lacrosse, many of the big, game-breaking plays are a result of an athletes great top-end speed.  So while it may occur less often than acceleration, when top-end speed is needed it's often for a big play.  

Also, when we talk about top-end speed, we must realize these are not track and field athletes.  What I mean by that is track and field take roughly 50-60m to reach top-end speed, and they do this on purpose.  

Team sports athletes have been shown to reach top-end speed as quickly as 20-yards.  Now if you look at many team sports, there will be more instances than you think when athletes will have to run 20-yards in a straight line.  So while it occurs less frequently than acceleration, it does occur quite a bit and athletes adapt strategies to reach top-end speed more quickly.

All in all, the interplay of mechanics, timing, rhythm, high velocity muscular contractions and simultaneous muscular relaxation, elasticity, coordination, eccentric-isometric-concentric actions, etc make sprinting incredibly unique.  

I often say if there was only one exercise to do for the rest of time - it would be sprinting.  

When breaking down acceleration and top-end speed, there are different technical, mechanical, and coaching that make each unique.  Knowing this will allow a coach to better communicate, cue, and evaluate each phase.  

Acceleration - Characteristics

Ninety percent of sprints in soccer and 68% of sprints in rugby are 20m of shorter.  Also in many sports, acceleration speed is preceded by movement.  For example, a player is walking, jogging, shuffling - and all of a sudden they must shift gears and accelerate.

What does this mean?

Strictly performing acceleration drills from a standing start isn't accurate to what many sports actually experience.  It's a different skill set to accelerate from a stand still, than it is from a moving start - so performing both is a must.

Let's look at some basic acceleration characteristics...

• Ground Contact Times = ~.18-.20sec
• Forward Body Lean = ~45-Degrees
• Low Heel Recovery
• Foot Lands Behind COM
• Big Split in Hands

Acceleration - What To Look For

The biggest thing to look for during acceleration is the athlete is getting a full push.  We want a committed push, not a rushed, shortened turnover.
We tell our athletes all the time - don't be the roadrunner - spinning your wheels but not going anywhere.

Each stride should be purposeful with the intent to put as much force into the ground as possible. As a coach you should look for...

• Straight Line Heel to Head
• Triple Extension - Ankle, Knee, Hip
• Positive Shin Angles
• Swing Leg Stepping Over Opposite Ankle - Calf 

Acceleration - What To Say

As the coaching world continues to grow and expand, it's becoming more and more evident that what we say, and how we say it matters!  It's not just X's and O's, it's about communication and stimulating motor learning, and a lot of this is done by the words we use.

It's clear that external cueing is king and it's much more effective than internal cueing in improving performance and motor functioning.  Porter el at (2015) showed that external cueing led to a decrease of .12sec in a 20m sprint.

Remember what we say and how we say it directly influences movement behavior.  Here are some ideas on external cueing during acceleration.

• PUSH, PUSH, PUSH
• Push the Ground Behind You
• Drive Out Like A Jet Plane Driving Down The Runway 
• Explode Off The Ground Like A Rocket

Top-End Characteristics

Top-end differs from acceleration in a few key ways, mainly body positioning and ground contact times.  In fact, ground contact times are half of what is seen during acceleration phases.

This means less time on the ground to produce force and more need for elastic components and impulses.  To maximize these things posture and mechanics are key, and as a coach here are some important characteristics of top-end speed...

• Ground Contact Times = ~.07-.10sec
• Upright Body Position
• High Heel Recovery
• Ground Reaction Forces = 5xBW

Top-End - What To Look For

The actions of top-end sprinting occur so quickly it is advisable to record and break it down frame by frame.  Things happen just to fast for the un-trained eye, that video will give you a much better understanding of what's really happening.

When looking at sprinting, these things are a must...

• Stacked Head, Spine, Hips
• Neutral or Dorsiflexed Ankle
• At Ground Contact
• Vertical Shin
• 100% of Height
• Figure 4 Position - Swing Knee Even or In Front of Grounded Knee

Top-End - What To Say

As we touched upon earlier, the ground contact times during sprinting are under a tenth of a second.  This is not enough time to actually consciously think about something or elicit change while on the ground.

This means our coaching needs to move away from words and cues that try create images of force production, and instead focus on being like a spring or pogo.  Words like the following create the correct image and motor response needed for the demands of top-end sprinting.

• Relax
• Bounce
• Push Yourself Tall
• Be Like A Whip
• Snap Off The Ground

Phases of the Sprinting Cycle

To better understand what is happening during sprinting, it is important to understand the different phases of the sprint cycle.  Now many people may classify the phases differently or assign them different names, but the important part is to understand, that during these times, certain actions needs to be occurring.  If they are not, speed and efficiency will be limited.

1) Ground Preparation

Each phase is vitally important, but ground prep might be the most important as it dictates success during the other phases.  

During ground prep, the leg is actively driving into the ground.  THIS IS A MUST.  An athlete cannot produce force once their foot is on the ground, there is simply not enough time.  They must actively be extending and driving while the foot is still in the air.  

The ankle/foot should ideally have some dorsiflexion and it cannot be plantarflexed.  Dorsiflexion allows for greater stored elastic energy and shorter ground contact times.  

2) Ground Contact

Ground contact occurs as the foot touches the ground.  During this time, we see huge amounts of isometric strength in the whole leg as the goal is to become stiff and resist deformation.  

Remember, at ground contact, the body experiences forces as much at 5xBW.  The goal is to not collapse under these forces and instead act like a spring.  

During acceleration, we want to see ground contact take place behind the COM and have a positive shin angle.  During top-end sprinting, we want to see ground contact as close to under the COM as possible and have an upright shin.  
At ground contact, the athlete should be 100% of their height, and their hips shouldn't overly sink or sag towards to grounded leg.  As the athletes leaves the ground, they should maintain this height and actually look as though they are floating across the ground.  Low, sinking runners are a sign of poor elastic abilities and the ability to create rigidness, and instead try to muscle through running which leads to loud steps and longer ground contact times.

3) Toe-Off

I actually classify the 2nd half of ground contact as toe-off.  This is a different phase because during the 2nd half of the whole ground contact phase, the athlete needs to be actively preparing for flight.  

The athlete should NOT be trying to push or continue to drive the foot behind the body.  Instead they should already be dorsiflexing their ankle/foot to elicit the crossed extensor reflex and getting their leg preparing for the flight phase. 

"Sprinters do not actually reach full extension because they are already actively

recovering the leg before the foot is actually off the ground"

- Ralph Mann

 

4) Flight

 
Flight phase occurs as the leg leaves the ground and gets back into position for ground preparation.  During this phase we want as little backside mechanics as possible.  The goal is to have the knee take the shortest path as possible to get back to the front side of the body.  

As the opposite leg drives into the ground and reaches ground contact, we want to see the flight leg knee be even or in front of the grounded leg.  I call this the figure 4 position.  

If this position does not occur, we know the athlete is spending too much time on backside mechanics and losing valuable time. 

  

Stay tuned for Part 4 of our sprinting series.

Go Get 'Em!