How would you change your program…

How would you change your program…

When I started integrating more movement-based assessments into our intake process, it quickly became clear that every individual presents with different structures, mobility limitations and movement tendencies that will influence their ability to successfully perform certain exercises.

This was the theme of my previous post – not all exercises are a good fit for every athlete.

Similarly, each individual’s “performance profile” will present unique strengths and weaknesses, which need to be considered within the context of their training goals.

Even if two athletes have the same goal (e.g. improve speed), they may be starting from completely different places, and therefore require different strategies to help them reach their goal. For example, a strong and powerful athlete that wants to improve speed needs a different program than a weaker/less powerful athlete.

Several years ago, I started asking myself “How would I change the program if my career depended on the progress of this one individual?”

This helped me reconsider my approach and eventually cater more work specific to the needs and goals of the individual.

This isn’t to say that every athlete needs a completely novel training program designed from scratch. But the “thought experiment” of putting one athlete in the spotlight may help identify small changes to the intent of a training phase (i.e. how does the target for this phase align with the athlete’s needs) and/or exercise selection (i.e. are there exercises that need to be removed or added based on the athlete’s movement profile and injury history) that can have a major impact on the athlete’s progress.

The next time you sit down to write a program, consider each individual athlete that will go through it, and ask yourself that question. I hope it has the same impact on your process as it has on mine.

Feel free to post any comments/questions below. If you found this helpful, please share/re-post it so others can benefit.

To your success,

Kevin Neeld
SpeedTrainingforHockey.com
HockeyTransformation.com
OptimizingAdaptation.com

P.S. If you’re interested in more information about how to profile an athlete’s needs and use the profile to individualize a training program, check out the videos at Optimizing Adaptation & Performance

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Influence of Structure on Exercise Selection

I had a great discussion the other week with @Rocky_Snyder for his Zelos podcast, and one of the things that came up was the influence of an athlete’s build on exercise selection.

It reminded me of this slide from my “Performance Profiling as a Platform for Program Design” talk from our Optimizing Adaptation & Performance seminar series. These are pictures @michael_boyle1959 sent me a few years back of 2 girls that trained at @mbscofficial.

Seated, they’re about the same height. Standing, it’s a much different story. The thigh to torso length relationship will have a significant impact on how these athletes move.

In squatting, for example, the bar needs to stay centered over your mid foot. If the load of the bar is centered too far toward the heel, the athlete will fall back; too far toward the toes, the athlete will fall forward.

Longer femurs relative to torso length (as with the taller athlete here) will require the athlete to lean significantly further forward to maintain the bar over the mid foot. In these cases, the bar isn’t loading DOWN through the spine, it’s loading FORWARD and pushing the torso further toward the thighs. This both changes the loading pattern (e.g. more posterior chain dominant to prevent folding forward), but also increases shear forces across the spine.

Taken together, squatting for the taller athlete is probably training a different pattern than intended AND increasing injury risk. Risk/Reward isn’t favorable for that exercise for that athlete.

Simply, not every athlete is a good fit for every exercise.

There are a lot of different factors that should affect program design and exercise selection. Looking at the athlete in front of you and making adjustments based on their build is low hanging fruit.

Feel free to post any comments/questions below. If you found this helpful, please share/re-post it so others can benefit.

To your success,

Kevin Neeld
SpeedTrainingforHockey.com
HockeyTransformation.com
OptimizingAdaptation.com

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Lateral Core Training: Tall Kneeling Anti-Rotation Press to Overhead

Lateral core variation #4. This variation is a hybrid because the initial press-out requires using the core to resist rotation, and then the move to overhead shifts the stress to the lateral core to prevent leaning toward the cable column.

Before pressing out, set-up by pushing your knees through the ground and reaching your head tall. Maintain this position and pressure as you move the cable. Many people can’t get their arms fully overhead, so only go as far as you can without arching your back or losing height.

Typically performed for 3 sets of 6-10 reps. Progressed by adding load.

Feel free to post any comments/questions below. If you found this helpful, please share/re-post it (and tag me) so others can benefit.

To your success,

Kevin Neeld
SpeedTrainingforHockey.com
HockeyTransformation.com
OptimizingAdaptation.com

P.S. If you’re interested in how core training fits into a hockey-specific training program, check out Ultimate Hockey Transformation.

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Lateral Core Training: Off-Bench Oblique Hold

Lateral core variation #3. This one only requires a bench. You can have a partner hold your legs, or just loop your feet under the edge of the bench. Set-up with the top of your hip at the edge of the bench.

Unlike many other variations, this is a great option for athletes that are “upper body compromised” (i.e. have a shoulder or other upper body injury).

Same goals as the previous 2 – stay tall; should have a straight line from your ears through your shoulders and hips. Try to stay “square” to straight ahead (e.g. don’t let your shoulders fall forward or back).

Typically performed for either 3 sets of 8-12 reps or 3 sets of 4-6 5s holds. This can be progressed by holding a weight plate against your chest or reaching hands overhead.

I would say this is harder than it looks, but I had a full body quiver going out of the gate…so it’s exactly as hard as it looks.

Feel free to post any comments/questions below. If you found this helpful, please share/re-post it (and tag me) so others can benefit.

To your success,

Kevin Neeld
SpeedTrainingforHockey.com
HockeyTransformation.com
OptimizingAdaptation.com

P.S. If you’re interested in how core training fits into a hockey-specific training program, check out Ultimate Hockey Transformation.

Enter your first name and email below to sign up for my FREE Sports Performance and Hockey Training Newsletter!

Lateral Core Training: Landmine Exercise

This is another lateral core variation. Similar to the TRX Lateral Lean, the goal is to stay tall and resist bending as the weight goes through the arc pattern. The shoulders should turn slightly toward the direction the bar is moving, but the hips should stay “square”, looking straight ahead.

Landmine Anti-Rotation Arc

Unlike the TRX lean, this only requires a barbell and can be done in almost every gym. If you don’t have the landmine attachment, you can wedge the other end of the bar into the corner of a rack or sit it in the hole of a weight plate.

Typically performed for 3 sets of 6-12 reps, progressed by adding range (arc from hip to hip instead of shoulder to shoulder) or adding load. This can also be done from a tall kneeling or ½ kneeling (1/2 arc) position to change the input from the lower half.

Feel free to post any comments/questions below. If you found this helpful, please share/re-post it so others can benefit.

To your success,

Kevin Neeld
SpeedTrainingforHockey.com
HockeyTransformation.com
OptimizingAdaptation.com

P.S. If you’re interested in how core training fits into a hockey-specific training program, check out Ultimate Hockey Transformation.

Enter your first name and email below to sign up for my FREE Sports Performance and Hockey Training Newsletter!