Youth Athlete Strength Training

When should my kid start a training program? A question that is posed to all strength coaches alike since the vast majority of athletes playing competitive sports are youth athletes. This means that the vast majority of strength and conditioning centers will probably have a solid number of youth athletes (ages 9-16). Every coach will have a different answer, and I believe it lies in your definition the phrase “training program.” At TP, we follow the Long Term Athletic Development plan (LTAD). Simply put, each age group will have a structured plan, how structured that plan may be is dependent on the age group. The younger the athlete, the less traditionally structured the program is. (And to be honest, we like to throw out everything a textbook might say about how to train a youth athlete).

So… when should my kid start training? The answer is yesterday! Just like any other profession, strength coaches have stereotype, and that is we make all of our athletes lift heavy weights all the time. While this may be true for some coaches… it couldn’t be further from the truth for us. Don’t get me wrong, lifting heavy weights is essential, but only in the appropriate setting. This stereotype makes people shy away from sending their kid to strength coach, when in actuality, hiring a certified professional could be the best investment you make for your athlete’s career. But if we don’t just lift heavy weights all the time, what do we do with youth athletes?

We teach them how to use their body’s while making the sessions as engaging and fun as possible. For kids under the age of 13, training will more often than not look like games and obstacle courses than lifting. Kids do not want to hear “hey, you got 3x10 on back squat, tempo of 31X.” They want to hear “hey, this is a race! You need to carry this ball over these boxes….first one back wins!” As simple as this may sound, youth training can truly be structured play. You can incorporate the same squat pattern in any number of ways without having to actually “squat.”

A typical youth session may look something like this:

1. 8 minutes obstacle course warm up

2. 10 minutes shuttle sprint race

3. 10 minutes sled race grocery shopping

4. Bear crawl-crab walk- single leg balance ball catch 3x10 each

5. Multi-position start to sprint- prone swimmers- single leg box jump

6. Seated stand up to sit down- push up position cone drop

Now, I’ll give an example of a typical high school level athlete’s session:

1. 12 minutes- Linear based dynamic warm up

2. 10 minutes- A-Skip progression SS 10 yd sled push (match skip prog)

3. 10 mintes- 10 yd sprint SS 10 yd sled tow at 30% bw (3:1)

4. Trunk and Spine work

5. Power/ Plyo block

6. Strength Block

7. Accessory Block

Now, doesn’t one of those sessions look way more fun than the other? They are more similar than you think! The obstacle course warm up takes all of the components of the linear dynamic, and smashes them together in one fun course. The shuttle sprint race gets athletes to sprint as fast as they can, while changing directions, just like a 10 yd sprint and 10 yd sled tow would. The bear crawl to grab walk to single leg balance is just trunk and spine work smashed together! I can go on, but you get the point! It’s all the same movements, just presented in a different way for different levels of athletes.

At the end of the day, we want athletes to enjoy training, and create a positive relationship with the gym. Once they start to grow up, and their sport gets more serious, so will their training. Youth strength training has a negative stigma attached to it, and I believe that comes from misinformation and poor coaching. Youth training can be so much more than lifting weights. It can be literally anything that gets kids to engage, learn, develop, and most importantly have fun.

You’ve made it this far, you might as well check out our instagram: here

Or you can checkout an example of a simple warm up drill we use with our youth athletes: cool video

Why the A-Skip Progression Should be a Pillar of Your Speed Program (Pt 1)

The A-skip progression (ASP) is a tool that helps to develop proper sprinting posture, quality joint stiffness, and joint kinematics required for high level sprinting. Athletes of every level are taught the progression, and depending on their level of development, it is either used as a warm up tool, or a teaching tool. This is an extremely valuable drill for performance coaches. This drill has a high return on investment, and multiple skill levels of athletes can work simultaneously, while being on their own progression level. This makes the ASP a staple of our  speed program. 

It does not take a genius to recognize that if we struggle with an activity at half speed, there is a small chance that we will be able to perform the same activity at full speed with any level of coordination. In performance training, we take the same approach to teaching new drills to our athletes. We move from slow controlled movements, with long isometrics in key positions before advancing to dynamic movements that require a high level of coordination. The ASP is no different

In the very beginning, we start with an in-place iso A-March. This level requires the athlete to get into a “90/90” position which means 90° of hip and knee flexion. The down leg is straight, and if we are cueing arm mechanics as well, the opposite shoulder of the down leg is extended with the same side shoulder flexed. This level allows a coach to correct form while simultaneously giving the athlete time in the new position. If an athlete is struggling to stay balanced, and shows no sign of improvement, do not rush to progress. Give them more time in the position and combine some corrective exercises that target the same working muscle groups/movements to help hammer home the drill. 

After mastery of the in-place iso A-March, we can now begin to move forward. A-March w/ pause now requires the athlete to repeat the same movement for a predetermined distance. I suggest giving the athlete a few steps in between each rep to give them time to think about the movement. If the athlete demonstrates movement competence, we can advance the movement by having the athlete perform the A-March on every step. Either way, there is a brief pause at the top of the movement that clearly separates the up from the down. Another key variable is making sure the athlete strikes the ground directly under their center of mass. High level sprinting requires proper ground contact, and to help ensure this, we ask our athletes to do the same at walking speed. 

The third progression of the ASP is coined Suave A-March. The only difference being there is no pause at the top of the movement. The athlete must perform the A-March in a successive movement rhythm while maintaining quality technique. Again, start by giving the athlete a few steps in between each repetition. As they show progress we can then advance to “every step is a rep.”

We will continue the ASP next week. Just like our athletes, we have to take new information one step at a time ;) ! Once we cover the ASP in totality, we can then discuss why, when, how, etc. Stay tuned!

Thank you 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

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