Why the A-Skip Progression Should be a Pillar of Your Speed Program (Pt 3)

As an athlete builds movement efficiency and strength, the advanced segments of the ASP should be picked up with relative ease. However, if an athlete has a slow rate of force development (RFD), whether it is due to a lack of strength or speed, they will struggle. Simply practicing the movement will only go so far if they do not have a solid foundation of strength to operate on. As I have taught this progression to athletes of every level, from novice to elite, I have observed that the athletes that have prior training/playing experience will be able advance through this progression quickly. 

After “A-Skip Continuous” mastery, we can now expose the athlete to the “Power Skip.” The rhythm of the movement and the amount of ground contact during the movement both change, and it can be awkward at first. This is the first time in the progression that the athlete will have to demonstrate similar force development rates to that of sprinting. In every level prior to power, the athlete will either have one foot on the ground or two. In the power progression, there is never a moment in time where the athlete will be supported by both legs. This is why it can be difficult for athletes who may not have a strength base to perform the movement; they simply lack the ability to support their body weight on one limb in a dynamic fashion. When introducing the power rhythm, I will give them an “Alternate Single Leg Pogo” drill. This gets the athlete familiar with the new movement, and gives the coach an opportunity to see if the athlete is truly prepared for the power skip. Both legs remain “locked” (with slight flexion of the ground knee) and they begin to hop forward. Every 3 hops they switch legs, always landing on one leg, never two. Then we will introduce the A-position by flexing the hip when alternating between hops, “Individual Power Skip.” Finally, every hop will require a rapid flexion/extension of each leg, as they power skip for the prescribed distance. 

The final progression of the ASP is “Linear Bound.” This progression demands the most from the athlete, as they are now bounding off one leg onto the next. We are looking for the repeated horizontal and vertical force displacement as they bound for the prescribed distance. As I have mentioned previously, athletes must be efficient when redirecting ground forces for this movement. If they are not, the bound will be relatively small, and they will not be able to repeat the movement with any sort of coordination or speed. 

Now that the ASP is mastered… There is a whole other can of worms with the Frans Bosch reflex drills that are pretty similar to the first few levels of the ASP, but they require higher levels of movement coordination. I do not know other coaches who use the ASP to prepare for the Bosch reflex, and there is no literature to say that an athlete who cannot complete the ASP shouldn’t use the Bosch reflex progression. But, I have noticed that an athlete that struggles with the later phases of the ASP usually struggles with the Bosch reflex. 

Next week I will begin to go into the who, what, when, where, why, and how behind the ASP. I will also introduce the Bosch reflex, and the differences between the two drills. 

Thank you for your time!

Coach Nate Garcia 

nate@tpstrength.com

tim@tpstrength.com

scott@tpstrength.com 

914-486-7678

Instagram: tp_strength

Why the A-Skip Progression Should be the Pillar of Your Speed Program (Pt2)

Last week we discussed the introductory phases of the A-skip progression (ASP): A-March w/ pause, and the Suave A-March. These are truly the beginnings of the ASP, and more often than not, the athlete will be able to handle more difficult movements. Remember, the true purpose of the ASP is to be used as a warm-up modality. Before we can use this drill efficiently as a warm up, it is a teaching drill. 

Once demonstrating movement competency, we can add some intent to the movement, “A-Skip Reflex.” If the athlete can demonstrate the movement in a slow controlled manner, we must teach them to complete it with speed. The athlete rapidly flexes the hip, once reaching the top of the movement, they immediately extend the hip and knee to the ground, producing an audible “pop'' with their foot when contacting the ground. This may be challenging for those who lack strength and power, especially when attempting for the first time. To make the drill simpler, install a pause at the top of the movement, followed by rapid hip extension. Since we are still walking between reps, and this level is not a physically exhausting drill, and we can allow 15-30 yards of continual practice. We are now trying to improve the stretch-reflex ability of muscle contraction. In order to be fast, one side of the joint must contract, while the antagonist muscle group relaxes. This only occurs with movement mastery, strength, and power. 

After completion of A-Skip Reflex, we can now add our skipping rhythm. I like to use “pogos/bunny hops/mini hops...etc,” in order to expose the athlete to the skip rhythm before adding the A-March to the drill. “Individual A-Skip” is the combination of the A-March and pogos. Using one leg at a time, the athlete begins to skip, and every few skips the athlete rapidly flexes, and extends the lower limb. Each round, I will emphasize one leg. Eventually we will alternate between the limbs as another form of progression before moving to the next phase. 

We will end this week's discussion at “A-Skip Continuous.” Maintaining a skipping rhythm, there are no bounces between hip flexion actions. Every skip requires the athlete to flex and extend the lower limb in rapid succession. This is a more physically demanding drill, and in the beginning, distance between bouts should be kept short to ensure the highest quality of reps. 

Thank you for your time! If you have any questions, or want to give this progression a try in our facility, please let us know!

Coach Nate Garcia 

nate@tpstrength.com

tim@tpstrength.com

scott@tpstrength.com 

914-486-7678

Instagram: tp_strength

Why Should an Athlete use Supplements?

In the world of sports performance, and recreational athletics, supplements are advertised as magic powders that can enhance your strength gains, make you faster, and help you recover. When an athlete comes to me and asks “what supplements should I be taking?” My initial response is “why?” Why should a high school kid or even a professional athlete consider supplementation? What does their current diet look like? What is their activity level? Often times, when someone thinks they need a supplement, it is because they are missing a piece of their health puzzle.

We must look at the hierarchy of sports nutrition. First and foremost, is the athlete consuming the right amount of calories to accomplish their performance goals? HIgh school athletes that participate in power sports need to gain weight or sustain the weight they are at. This is not always the case of course, but athletic teenagers are energy burning machines. Without proper calorie consumption, the recovery process from training is often slowed, and the adaptation that takes place is slowed as well. Figure out how many calories you burn on a daily basis, monitor heavy and light activity days, and count the amount of calories consumed on those days. This will give you a good idea of why you weigh what you do. 

Once we have established that the athlete is meeting their calorie needs, we then have to ensure they are getting the proper ratio of macronutrients. Proteins, carbohydrates, and fats are all required in a healthy diet. Where athletes should be getting their calories will depend on their lifestyle requirements. An endurance runner will either require carbohydrates, or fats as their primary fuel for competition, while the power athlete will hardly ever tap into their fat reserves during competition. Protein has multiple uses in the body, and people often know that protein intake aids in muscle development. How much of each source is macronutrient is dependent on sport and diet. 

Where the calories and macronutrients are coming from can be addressed next. If the athlete has special dietary considerations like: allergies, vegetarian, carnivore, etc. These cases will often times require supplementation of missing micronutrients. Taste is another big variable in determining where the nutrients are coming from. If the athlete does not like it, they are less likely to buck up, and eat it. 

After considering the where and how, we can now consider the timing nutrient consumption. It has been researched, and generally accepted that there is a time sensitive window after training where our bodies are more nutrient accepting. So, after workouts people will have a protein shake. Some say if you ingest protein during the workout, to protect the muscle. Others will ingest carbohydrates and electrolytes during a workout to prevent fatigue. Pre-workout supplements are also popular as an “energy booster” before training. At the end of the day, timing should be considered if everything else listed above is squared away. 

If all these boxes have been checked, we can finally consider the possibility of supplements. If the athlete is missing any key macro and/or micronutrients, supplements are a great way to supply the body with the missing pieces. If an athlete needs an extra edge in training to attain the last percentage of a lift before fatigue, pre-workout and intra-workout supplements can be the answer.  Ensure that the supplement is 3rd party tested. The National Science Foundation is the gold standard for 3rd party testing. If the supplement as their approval, you know that what bottle says is in their, is actually in their. 

Supplements can be great for enhancing training adaptation and preventing fatigue. However, when someone asks if they should use supplements, there is often a reason why. Not all supplements are bad, and they should not be scoffed at without knowing the facts. They are a viable answer to real problems that may have arisen from special dietary and/or training considerations. 

Thank you for your time!

Coach Nate Garcia 

nate@tpstrength.com

tim@tpstrength.com

scott@tpstrength.com 

914-486-7678

Instagram: tp_strength

How TP utilizes Aerobic Conditioning to Improve Strength and Power

Thinking back to the summer, and our discussion with energy systems, I want to discuss aerobic conditioning’s role at Total Performance to improve strength and power. 

If we remember, the aerobic (oxidative) energy system is involved with lower relative intensity work levels, we are working for a longer period of time, and it plays a huge role in restoring energy substrates to the muscle to allow for work to be accomplished. There are different levels of intensities we can work at in this energy system (long slow distance, pace, interval, and high intensity intervals (HIIT)) and for most people outside of professional athletes and clinical settings we track this intensity with our heart rate (BPM). Higher BPM equals more intense work levels, lower BPM is less intense. A person’s heart rate is correlated with other physiological responses to work such as volume of oxygen consumed (VO2) that help determine intensity. The intensity of training is a crucial variable that must be tracked to ensure we are getting done what we need to get done. 

At Total Performance, the vast majority of our athletes participate in “power” dominated sports such as baseball, and football. Being an elite endurance athlete is not a requirement of these sports. When we condition these athletes, we want to make sure that we do not take away from strength and power development in the weight-room. By tracking an athletes BPM, and asking “how hard is this?” we are able to determine if our conditioning prescription is appropriate. 

What is appropriate? Why is there a negative connotation with intense conditioning bouts for these athletes?  Well, what are trying to avoid is burning the candle from both ends. The high school athlete does not have the training age, or biological maturity to withstand an intense strength training session and an intense conditioning session. Our goal with these athletes is to: improve movement capabilities, develop strength, improve sprint velocity, and develop overall athleticism. Anaerobic and aerobic conditioning is important, however these athletes will get sport conditioning from playing their sport! Too much conditioning well take away from these adaptations, resulting in blunted sprint velocity,  strength gains, and potentially over-training syndrome. 

Taking novice athletes from “0” and exposing them to strength training will automatically improve work capacity without the need for strict conditioning regimens, this is easy to train, and track. Once we have a foundation of work capacity, we can now spend more time sprinting, and lifting to achieve our goals of movement, strength and speed. Increasing the volume of training will continue to develop these qualities with minimal need for conditioning! However, as we continue to develop our athletes, there comes a point where we need to improve the athletes recovery ability. We can do this via training the oxidative energy system. When we improve the oxidative system, we improve the cardiovascular system. The biggest enhancement with improved cardiovascular function in regards to strength training is increased oxygen delivery to the working muscles. When oxygen delivery is enhanced, the athlete’s ability to recover improves not only within the training session, but after training as well. This allows for a greater volume of training to take place. What use to fatigue the athlete, is now barely affects the athlete and the training stimulus can increase. 

Up to this point, the best way I’ve seen to improve recovery while strength training is low intensity aerobic conditioning. Elevating the heart rate to 50-65% of their estimated max, 10-20 minutes. High intensity interval training elevating the heart rate to 90-100% of their estimated max for 5-15 seconds and resting for 90-120 seconds will also improve an athlete's work capacity and recovery ability. While we may not be working in the oxidative zone, we are improving the athlete’s ability to recover from intense bouts of movement. Working at these two ends of the spectrum improves cardiovascular function without negatively affecting strength and power gains. How often we use these forms of conditioning is dependent on what phase of training we are in. Further away from the season means more time in the low intensity zone, and as we move closer to season we ramp up intensity to match sport requirements. In season conditioning will shift back to low intensity work to ensure preparedness for competition. 

If your goal is to be powerful; long duration, highly intense conditioning prescriptions will burn out the athlete and take away from power development. Low intensity aerobic conditioning mixed with HIIT will attenuate recovery and improve overall work capacity without negatively affecting weight-room goals. 

Thanks for your time!

Coach Nate Garcia 

nate@tpstrength.com

tim@tpstrength.com

scott@tpstrength.com 

914-486-7678

Instagram: tp_strength

Why Stretching Before Training is the Devil

There is a common misconception about the utilization of static stretching as a way to prepare the body for activity. I say misconception, because like most of the tools used in fitness and performance, they are being used the wrong way. Don’t get me wrong, stretching can be beneficial fitness and performance development, but variables such as: when, how long, and intensity all need to be considered before touching your toes in preparation for sprints

When we stretch, we are temporarily changing the resting muscle length. Your body has adapted to your lifestyle, and we have to be extremely cautious when making acute alterations  to your body prior to intense activity. We all have our own unique range of motion (ROM) in each joint. Attempting to move an external load throughout this ROM, we are able to complete this without injury. When we “open up” in an attempt to increase the ROM at the target joint, this new joint angle is not as strong as the original ROM. This is the biggest problem with static stretching before strength training in my opinion. We are making the body essentially adapt on the fly to this new found motion, and we are throwing on weight with no regard to safety. This completely contradicts the claim that static stretching prevents injury. As a matter of fact, in some ways it may increase the chance of injury! And, performance of exercise can also be hindered by long duration static stretching prior to exercise via ill advised alteration of muscle length. 

Now, before we say that “Coach Nate doesn’t stretch, because it’s the devil…” everyone relax. Static stretching definitely has its place in my program, and I use it often with my athletes. Like I said previously, when we consider the variables of: when, how long, and intensity, we can easily and accurately prescribe static stretching. Personally, I stretch 2-3x/ week for roughly 8 minutes. I cover all major muscle groups, and some more than others. These sessions either take place on my “recovery day” or after an intense session to help return the muscles to their resting length and facilitate recovery. The one variable that is consistent for myself and my athletes is that stretching occurs after the session is over! If the goal of a warm-up is to elevate performance, the dynamic warm-up is the gold standard. Inducing thermogenesis, elevate heart rate to anticipated work level, lubricate the joints, prime the central nervous system, amongst other things are all accomplished with the proper dynamic warm-up. 

Flexibility is one thing, what I am more concerned with is can we be strong throughout your ROM, not just get into the position.

Thanks for your time!

Coach Nate Garcia 

nate@tpstrength.com

tim@tpstrength.com

scott@tpstrength.com 

914-486-7678

Instagram: tp_strength

Total Performance Screening Process

One of the variables of program design is current athlete ability. How well do they move? Are there any asymmetries between the two sides of the body? How high do they jump… how fast do they run… these are some of the questions we attempt to answer before putting an athlete through any workout regimen. We have created a systemized screening tool that is in no way nationally accredited or certified. But, for our situation, we feel it is the best and most accurate method (at this time) to determine current athletic ability with new clients. 

General Questionnaire: 

This is the first portion of our screening process. This is our chance to get to know the athlete in more ways than one. After the basic screening questions like health history, injury history, current height and weight, and past training history, we like to establish the “why” behind their training. “What brings you to TP today?” Not only does this show the athlete we care, but we use it is a reference point for those who stick around for the long haul. We often lose sight of goals through the mundane routine that can be life. Referencing goals set from the beginning gives the athlete and coach a chance to refocus. 

Functional Movement Screening (FMS)

The FMS is a screening tool used to determine musculoskeletal dysfunction for someone who currently isn’t showing symptoms of dysfunction. The FMS claims to be a predictor of injury, however studies have had mixed results showing the test’s ability to do just that. We use 6 of the current 7 screening methods as a way to test for asymmetries, motor control, and mobility. We do not use the FMS to predict injury. It is a systematized way to set a benchmark of movement ability that we can refer back to, and see if our programming cleaned up the movements. Also, inability to complete certain movements without asymmetry between limbs or pain will determine what exercises go into their program. For example, an athlete that scores poorly on the “Straight Leg Raise” will not be allowed to complete loaded hinge patterns like the RDL. We will prescribe corrective exercises to help the movement, and as they progress through the correctives, they will then be exposed to the RDL. 

Basic Human Movement Ability

Beyond the FMS, we like to get our athletes moving in space. How well do they before basic human movements like the: squat, hip hinge, horizontally press/ pull, vertically press/pull, rotate, laterally bend, and trunk strength. These movements require multiple joints to work in unison to complete the movement. If there is a lack of motor pattern ability, muscular “tightness,” or force leaks, we will be able to more accurately prescribe exercises that target these areas of dysfunction.

Performance Testing

This is the last portion of the screening process. The previous activities acted as a minor warm up for these upcoming tests. Due to the nature of performance testing, we also require our athletes to complete a modified dynamic warm up for athlete safety. Tests include: counter movement jump, static squat jump, broad jump, 10 yard sprint, and the 5-10-5 drill. The size of our facility limits our ability to measure speed outside of acceleration ability. Gaining mass while jumping higher and longer, and running faster  often times tells us that we are doing our job with our athletes. 

In the Future

After collecting data from these screens, and testing the results of our programs we will be able to make these tests more appropriate to our population of athletes. Including things like body composition, 40 yard dash times, possibly a force plate :) will allow us to increase the individualization of athlete programs. This in turn will produce greater results in the gym that will transfer to their sport. 

Thanks for your time!

Coach Nate Garcia 

nate@tpstrength.com

tim@tpstrength.com

scott@tpstrength.com 

914-486-7678

Instagram: tp_strength

Exercise Selection

One of the biggest variables in the world of strength training is... exercise selection. There are many thoughts that go into choosing what movements are going to be completed during the session, mesocyle, and macrocycle. I think what a lot of people get caught up in when choosing exercises is that the exercise they chose is the “end all be all.” For example, if someone wants to jump higher, or run faster they HAVE to barbell back squat. This simply isn’t the case. Some of the biggest variables not discussed in this post are: access to equipment, coach to player ratio, total training time, and training philosophy. I am not married to the idea of any exercise being a must have in a program. I have my favorites, and even some of those are different compared to what I use for my athletes.

Each individual is going to require a similar, but different set of guidelines when prescribing exercises. Whenever a new athlete walks through the door, we run them through a series of movement screens, and performance tests to help us determine where the athlete currently stands physically. These tests also give us an idea of what type of exercises the athlete CAN complete on day 1. If the athlete’s movement pattern shows any contraindication (pain) or an inability to complete the movement, my next idea isn’t “lets load it up because we have to squat today.” I am going to find another way to work the same muscle groups in a similar pattern to build towards the ability to complete a back squat. There is no “one” exercise that will solve all your problems, or elevate you to the next level. Exercises are the tools we use to get the body prepared for the rigors of the season ahead, and allow the athlete to practice their craft more often. 

Lifestyle and demands of the sport are two more variables that must be considered when creating a training regimen. These are also movement dominated! If you are a non-athlete and live a life pattern that goes like from car, to computer, to car, to couch, to bed… the exercise selection for you is going to look completely different compared to a swimmer’s exercise selection. Many people get hurt, and/or discouraged when they start training again, because they train like they are back in high school getting ready for the Friday night game. The priorities for someone living the aforementioned lifestyle is to correct posture, move efficiently, and build some work capacity. The demands of an athlete are greater than general fitness, they must prepare for competition. Athletes may start from the same point as non-athletes as far as correcting movement, and building capacity, but the movements are aiming toward improving sport performance and preventing injury. What exercises do this?? 

Being in the private sector, I have a limited amount of time with my athletes. Some of my guys only activities are when they come to me, and others whose only down time is when they go to bed… and they are in the same session! Once we get over the HUGE hurdle that is “ability” how do I control a weight room of 15 kids coming from 15 different days before they get to me? I must program exercise variations that cater to the lowest dominator, and the most advanced guy in the room. For example, if the primary movement of the day is the hip hinge, there needs to be a progression-regression list of exercises to work the same exercise group at varying rates of difficulty rather than just altering load. Everything from a supine hip thrust, to a banded RDL should be up for consideration (and that’s just the strength training component). 

At the end of the day, the body likes to move. How we make it move is up to us. Whenever there is an imbalance, there is a likelihood for pain with simple tasks like walking or sitting. Correcting these imbalances with the correct exercise prescription can change a person’s life. Athletics demand the body to be really good at predicted and unpredicted movement. Preparing and improving movement will improve sports performance. 

Thanks for your time!

Coach Nate Garcia 

nate@tpstrength.com

tim@tpstrength.com

scott@tpstrength.com 

914-486-7678

Instagram: tp_strength

Why do it on Two, When you can do it on One

A hot topic of discussion between us strength coaches is the benefits of unilateral and bilateral training. For years now, and we have been taught “if we can’t do it on two, we shouldn’t be doing it on one!” There is merit to this, no doubt. What your body does to accommodate loading on one leg is a totally different neural pattern compared to two legs, and it will lead to different training adaptations. Bilateral exercises such as the squat, deadlift, and RDL have been proven to be useful exercises to improve strength and power that transfers to on field performance. Unless you participate in a bar sport like powerlifting, you may not be getting as much out of these lifts as you think.  

We are asymmetrical creatures, we are never going to perfect balanced no matter how hard we to strive to attain symmetry. When you play an asymmetrical sports such as baseball, the asymmetries are further attenuated. While your body adapts to these asymmetries, the possibility of injury tends to increase. While a lot of movements in the weight-room are performed on two limbs, athletes can hide asymmetries in these bilateral movements. Over time something will give on the field or in the weight-room that causes an injury. In unilateral movements, hiding compensation patterns is almost impossible! It can actually highlights the flaws in the system. While we may never be symmetrical (maybe we aren’t supposed to be) if I can close the gap between left and right, the total system benefits. 

The majority of athletic activity takes place on one leg. Running, cutting, jumping all take place on one leg; the amount of time spent on two limbs is not as often as your would think. The body relies on each individual limb to produce force to propel the body forward; while the opposite leg prepares for ground contact. Bilateral movements like the squat train the appropriate muscle groups required to improve performance, however it is not a movement athletes often experience on the field. A big counter argument is that you are stronger/ more powerful on two legs compared to one, and this is true… in the moment of the lift. 

The bilateral deficit is a term used to describe the sum of two limbs lifts has a greater total load compared to using two legs at the same time. For example, athlete A can back squat 300lbs. But,  he can single leg squat 155lbs on each limb individually and this totals to 310lbs. If the rep and set scheme is the same between the two exercises, total tonnage will be greater with the single leg squat compared to the back squat; which would elicit greater adaptation (maybe). 

Finally, two limb movements do not always equal improvements with one limb movements, while one leg movements can further improve the ability of two limb movements. In my experience, my athletes have trained primarily on two limbs, while often neglecting unilateral movements. With that being said, their RDL strength and coordination completely exceeds their Single Leg RDL ability (most cannot even get into the position). This is troublesome because we ask these athletes to perform single leg plyometric exercises such as a sprint on a daily basis. The Single Leg RDL almost directly mimics the requirements of the sprint, and if these guys can hardly get in the correct position in a controlled, unloaded environment… I cannot expect them to have any type of advanced sprint ability. I want to change our current mindset that you should be able to perform a movement on two limbs before you attempt it on one. I think we should train single limb ability before attempting bilateral movements. 

Thanks for your time!

Coach Nate Garcia 

nate@tpstrength.com

tim@tpstrength.com

scott@tpstrength.com 

914-486-7678

Instagram: tp_strength

Consistency: The True Variable in Training

Too often in my young coaching career I have seen people excited to get started in the gym, only to have that flame of excitement quickly burn out. Too often have I been asked to create a program for people looking to get back in shape, or train for a sport; only to check in after a few weeks, and find out they have completed the first work out… and that’s it. There is no secret formula to finding success in your training. There is no magic program that will create the results you are looking for if you do not dedicate the time to the program. When it comes down to it, the only way to get faster, stronger, more fit, is to stay true to the process. 

When I start training a new athlete, I do not immediately throw them into the gates of hell. A lot of coaches enjoy this, as I have come to find out. We attempt to build mental toughness via excruciatingly difficult/ pointless workouts before establishing some sort of training base, and before looking at the needs of the athlete. Besides the science behind this flawed practice of training, if I am looking to establish a consistent routine with this athlete, absolutely destroying them will more than likely prevent them from coming in the next day… and the next… and the next. Once they have recovered from your “session from hell” they have now missed 5-7 days of training time (probably). That is anywhere from 5-14 hours of training volume that could have accumulated, instead they were laying at home, struggling to walk. So, they come back in and we are starting from zero again. Here is your chance to make up for a pointless workout. Instead of going into the session with a mindset of training homicide, we can test the athlete to see where the athlete currently sits physically, and mentally. Run them through an evaluation! Everything from past medical history, to contralateral asymmetries, and work capacity. From there we can create a program that may not challenge YOU as a fitness junkee, but it will challenge your athlete appropriately.  Your athlete is now coming in 3-4 days/ week consistently with adequate rest between sessions, and after a few weeks some big changes have already begun to take place. Here is where a good program has merit, but that is a conversation for another day.

This same principle holds true for general population folks as well. If you haven’t run 5 miles in 5 years, or you haven't squatted your high school max since high school, do not attempt to do so on day 1. If you do not injure yourself, your body will be in recovery mode for years to come (that’s a joke, but really your body will scream at you). Then we see the same pattern, “I’m too sore” or “I’ll come back in a couple of days.” Before you know it, we haven’t exercised in 7 days. When you are unsure of how to begin,  ask a professional like myself for help. We must establish a routine that appropriately challenges your current fitness level. 

However, not all of the blame can fall on the misinformed fitness coach. If you want to accomplish health goals, or get better at your sport, YOU have to spend the time in the weight-room. Whatever program you decide to run, the common variable is consistency. Whether you come in 1 day per week or 7, the volume of training will accumulate, and change will take place.  

Thanks for your time!

Coach Nate Garcia 

nate@tpstrength.com

tim@tpstrength.com

scott@tpstrength.com 

914-486-7678

Instagram: tp_strength

Heavy and Slow- The Relationship Load has with Speed

At the base of any athlete’s development is strength. Without strength, the likelihood of injury goes through the roof, and performance suffers considerably. What does this mean for speed development? When should you lift heavy and slow, and when should you lift light and fast? 

First, let me clarify “heavy and slow.” The intent of most movements when training for performance should be “move this as fast as possible.” With that being said, if you throw on 90% of your 1 rep max, that movement ain’t going to be performed with any type of speed. Heavy and slow simply implies that the speed of the movement is slowed down because the load forces it to. How does this aide in speed development? That question has many applicable answers, in this post we are discussing the similarities between “heavy and slow” and the start phase of a sprint through acceleration. 

At the beginning of the sprint, the amount of time an athlete spends in ground contact is much longer compared to the ground contact time of the max velocity phase. This means that the athlete has more time to develop force! Just like a heavy squat or split squat, the increased time under tension gives the body the ability to recruit more and more muscle fibers to help accomplish the task of accelerating. 

When we train our athletes, there is a goal behind the session. If the goal of the session is to target acceleration ability, we do more than some 10 yd sprints. The whole microcycle will be tailored to acceleration via intensity, speed, and direction of movement. The intensity of the main movements will be high. In regards to the force velocity curve, loads will be in the strength speed-max strength areas. The speed of the movement will be slower, but the intent is high. The horizontal force application associated with acceleration will also be mimicked with, hip dominant movements, that primarily occur in the sagittal plane (more so posterior -> anterior). Multijoint, hinging movements such as the Roman Deadlift accomplish that. 

Always have a purpose behind your training. If your goal is to improve speed, then break down the phase of sprinting, and focus on the qualities of each phase. Starting/ accelerating require a high level of force production, and you have more time to produce the necessary force to get to speed. While lifting small loads for speed serves a great purpose, it is not always the right answer.

Thanks for your time!

Coach Nate Garcia 

nate@tpstrength.com

tim@tpstrength.com

scott@tpstrength.com 

914-486-7678

Instagram: tp_strength

Training Specificity

When starting to train for speed and strength, what must come first is strength. Your body is a machine, and that machine must be prepared for the amount of work you will be exposing it to, or it will break down. It is possible to develop a foundation of strength through any number of programs, and for the most part as long as consistency is apart of that program you will succeed. When training myself, or my athletes, I have found great success in following simple programs that cover basic movement patterns repeatedly. Learning how to: squat, hinge, push, pull, rotate, and bend train the entire working system, to improve the qualities of these movements so we can appropriately overload the body and improve performance. 

Once we have established a solid foundation to build on, we can than further specify training modalities to attack the goal that we are training for. At this point I would like to introduce unilateral and bilateral training. Unilateral training indicates we are working one side of the body (typically dividing the body in the sagittal plane), and bilateral is both sides of the body. For example, a unilateral exercise would be the reverse lunge, and a traditional back squat is an example of a bilateral exercise. 

Bilateral exercises are great for force output. You are obviously stronger on two legs compared to one, however there is also a greater opportunity to compensate a movement and still complete it. This is a problem! Compensation patterns lead to efficient movement, lack of training adaptation, and injury! With unilateral movement, there is also a possibility of movement compensation, but the difference between the two is a unilateral movement compensation is more easily noticed and often leads to failure of movement completion. 

Unilateral movements are often more closely related to the movements required in sports. Sprinting is a unilateral plyometric. There is never a moment in time where there is two feet on the ground at the same time after the start! One of the goals of strength training is transferability to the field, and if I can more closely mimic a movement and load it safely, I will. With this principle in mind, let me discuss the back squat and reverse lunge. Neither of these movements are directly transfer to a sprint, but the reverse lunge is primarily completed on one leg (just like sprinting). The squat will work the same muscle group, and sprint performance will improve, but it will only take your improvements so far (the point of diminishing returns). Unless you participate in a barbell sport, there comes a certain point in training where the goal should shift from improving a squat number to improving athletic performance via movement specificity. 

I will continue to discuss how to improve training specificity for athletic improvement in the weight room with future posts! Thanks for reading! 

Coach Nate Garcia 

nate@tpstrength.com

tim@tpstrength.com

scott@tpstrength.com 

914-486-7678

Instagram: tp_strength

Self Myofascial Release-Foam Rolling and its Effect on Training

Self myofascial release (SMR) is a popular method used by people to recover from, or prepare for training. Whether they are foam rolling, utilizing a lacrosse ball, or their own hands, the goal is the same; but what is really going on when we foam roll? Why do we do this? What are the effects of this self massage? Is there an increase in performance? Better range of motion? Do we just like how it feels? There are a ton of unanswered questions with SMR, professionals across the board cannot seem to come to a consensus on whether or not this is a useful technique to prepare/ recover from work. 

Let’s look at the phrase “Self Myofascial Release.” Myofascial tissue is a strong, thin connective tissue that provides protection to muscles and bones. Over time, adhesions can build up from improper overuse of the muscle, or the muscle belly is excessively shortened/ lengthened and this causes flawed force transmission. Massaging, foam rolling, etc are suppose to “release” these adhesions amongst other things. Self implies that you are performing this treatment ... on yourself. 

According to (Weerapong, Kolt 2005) there are 4 mechanisms behind SMR body alterations: biomechanical, neurological, physiological, and psychological. Without going too deep in these mechanisms, the changes that occur aim to enhance the body’s preparedness for training. Whether we increase the blood flow to the working muscle, altering nerve excitability, or we just “feel better” at the end of the day we are preparing to train. 

The importance of a warm up cannot be overstated; it is just as- if not more important than the actual training itself! But Coach Nate, Tigers don’t warm up and you see how they work! Well, we ain’t tigers for one, and for two we are training for the long haul of life, not taking down an animal for a meal. At TP, we treat foam rolling as a part of the warm up. A study looked at that very idea and compared foam rolling to walking. What they found was the foam rolling group out performed the walking group in a few performance measures: range of motion (ROM) via the sit and reach test, and counter movement jump (CMJ) (Erick, Brian, Clayton 2019). HOWEVER, when they combined dynamic stretching with both the walking, and rolling groups, there was a negligible difference in performance. What I take away from these findings is that SMR does a better job of preparing the body for work when compared to walking, but nothing tops completing a dynamic warm up before a session. 

We require our athletes to foam roll for a few reasons. One, as mentioned previously, it seems to do a better job in preparing the body for work. Two, we do not have the facility size to tell our athletes to walk or jog for 5 minutes. Three, it gets the athletes comfortable with the setting of the weightroom. We are able to chat with our guys and roll at the same time, get a feel for how their day went and what they are feeling like before we start; which gives us a chance to make mental modifications to program if needed. 

We are training for the long haul. It is not about the “now” for the majority of our athletes. Training is not going to be successful if it is only completed every so often. You have to be consistent to see improvements. Overtraining, lack of recovery, and lack of preparedness are  all factors that will prevent training from taking place. This will subsequently result in stagnant training or detraining. SMR is a mechanism you can use to prepare for, and recover from training. I really do not care if there is a debate on whether it actually does what we think it does. As long as there is no detriment to performance, it’s not illegal, and the athlete likes it, I am all for it. 

-Thank you for your time! If you have any questions please let us know!

Coach Nate Garcia 

nate@tpstrength.com

tim@tpstrength.com

scott@tpstrength.com 

914-486-7678

Instagram: tp_strength

References: 

Richman, E. D., Tyo, B. M., & Nicks, C. R. (2019). Combined Effects of Self-Myofascial Release and Dynamic Stretching on Range of Motion, Jump, Sprint, and Agility Performance. Journal of Strength and Conditioning Research, 33(7), 1795–1803. doi: 10.1519/jsc.0000000000002676

Weerapong, P and Kolt, GS. The mechanisms of massage and effects on performance, muscle recovery and injury prevention Sports Med 35: 235-256, 2005. 

Training the "Core"

In my own experience, a lot people have similar goals in mind when they join a gym or hire a trainer. They want to look better and feel better about themselves. As we all know, one muscle in particular is often displayed as a sign of fitness superiority… rectus abdominis better known as: abs, 6 pack, etc etc. But, there is much more that goes into having a solid core than a 6-pack. Many people strive to attain this look in their work outs, but often do not succeed because there is a misnomer in the community that people continue to fall for, and that is the more isolated core work you do the stronger and leaner you’ll get. However, research has proven time and time again this modality of training is...eye wash. The term “core” is a relative term and really can be placed on any body part, so I will use “trunk” when referencing the muscles associated with trunk movement.  

Firstly, you cannot target fat areas with exercises, that is not how the process works. Fat is an energy source stored in the body. It is accumulated when our caloric consumption exceeds our caloric expenditure. So, when someone does crunches, they are not targeting belly fat, and belly fat does not magically turn into muscle. The muscle is there currently, and has always been there (unless there’s a problem), it is just covered by a layer of stored energy. In order to remove these excess energy stores, you must burn off the energy! This is accomplished by doing a healthy mixture of activities, and the more of the body that is involved in the activity, the more energy you’re burning (for the most part). As we have discussed previously, there is a ton of variables that will decide how much energy will be burned in the activity.

Secondly, completing isolated trunk movements is nowhere near as beneficial as completing externally loaded, total body movements that teach the body to work in unison. With that being said, I do use isolated trunk movements in my “trunk and spine” warm up before lifts. I do this to “turn on” smaller muscle groups, work in different planes of movement (sagittal, frontal, and transverse), and prepare the body for the real work of the day in an unloaded fashion. For example, the deadlift is a total body movement that requires massive amounts of trunk strength from the entire system to prevent unwarranted flexion of the trunk. Before I attempt this exercise, I will complete a circuit that mimics the requirements of a deadlift and promoting rigidity of the trunk, but I will be on the ground which is a regressed position. It gives the body an opportunity to wake up before asking it to accomplish a heavy task such as the deadlift. The reason I use isolated trunk movements is to prepare the body for the focus of the day, while others will dedicate a whole work out (ab day) when in actuality they can spend their time more efficiently completing total body movements like a squat, lunge, deadlift, or step up.

Crunches, planks, and the ab wheel all have their place and can be challenging to perform! But, if the goal of your program is to actually develop trunk strength and lose fat, those exercises do not hold a candle to total body movements mentioned previously. Plus, in every exercise there is a way to get the trunk more involved. Shifting from bilateral exercise to unilateral exercises to narrow your base of support, and uneven loading of movements will place a greater demand on the trunk musculature. Isolated trunk exercises have a place in my programming, and they should in yours as well, but they should not be the focus of a session… unless you’re coming back from injury, then that is a whole other can of worms.

-Thank you for your time! If you have any questions please let us know!

Coach Nate Garcia 

nate@tpstrength.com

tim@tpstrength.com

scott@tpstrength.com 

914-486-7678

Instagram: tp_strength

The Importance of Skill Levels

This may seem like an obvious title, of course skill level matters in anything we do in life. Do you expect the same work output from a seasoned professional compared to the wide-eyed intern? The world in the weightroom is no different. As I scroll through social media, an obvious title considering skill level is often neglected when training people. Too often are people thrown in the fire and expected to perform without a negative consequence, and if the individual happens to fail they are often labeled weak, and/or lazy. This is not the case for most situations, and the actual cause for failure is a poorly executed program that failed to be modified to the individuals needs. 

I want to exclude military/special forces training right now. I do not have any experience working with armed forces, and the purpose of their training is to weed out people in order to find the elite of the elite individuals. In my line of work, I am not trying to weed anyone out of the program. The goal for the population I most often work with is to get them to a baseline of performance in order to better prepare them for the rigors of their sport, and future training. With that being said, the population I most commonly work with is the novice population, whether they are young athletes, or general population groups that haven’t spent a lot of time training. 

The phrase “baseline of performance” can be generic, but I believe every coach should attain to get their clients to their baseline before creating a more specific program can be implemented. For example, if an athlete struggles control their landing from a jump I am not going to demand them to land a jump and immediately perform second jump. They do not yet possess the ability to efficiently absorb force from the ground, which means they would not be able to redistribute that force in any controlled manner. There are certain thresholds that individuals must cross before reaching that next level of training. Once they check these boxes, I can confidently increase intensity, variability, etc. 

In the beginning, adaptation is almost guaranteed. Taking someone from 0, and performing any training, you will see great improvements almost immediately across all areas of ability. After a few years of consistent training, those big jumps of improvements have disappeared and one must be particular with their variables in order to accomplish their goals. Accumulating 10+ years of training and so on, the improvements become dependent on a person's ability to plan their variables appropriately to peak for performance, and continually push past their current ceiling. The focus shifts from generic capabilities to emphasizing exactly what the client needs in order to get the best possible performance. 

Be careful scarrowing the internet, looking for new methods of training for you or your clients to perform. One, you don’t know the context of the content unless you communicate with the creator of the content; only then can you pass judgement of the content. Two, know how to dissect what you are looking at in order to decide whether or not you should include the modality, or some variation of it in your training. Three, know the current status of the client being trained! No one should get hurt when training, so when creating a program for anyone, take into consideration these three principles and disaster will be avoided. 

Thank you for your time! If you have any questions, please reach out to us!

Instagram: tp_strength

train@tpstrength.com (Coach Nate)

scott@tpstrength.com

tim@tpstrength.com

Phone: 914-486-7678