US Sports Strength & Conditioning: Maximizing your Athletic Recovery

 

• By Jason Papalio

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Recovery is an undervalued and overlooked means of training and preparation for athletes. Building recovery into any training program is important because it’s the time the body adapts to the stress and stressors of exercise and the real training effect takes place. Recovery also allows the body to replenish energy stores and repair damaged tissues. Spending some additional time focusing on rest and recovery can pay dividends beyond additional training time.

You need enough flexibility to move well (movement prep and efficiency) and remain pain free. Do static stretching post workouts for at least 5 to 10 minutes or more. Attempt to self identify tight areas and work on them daily. The greater the training intensity and load on the body, the greater the need for planned recovery. Without sufficient time to repair and replenish, the body will continue to breakdown from intense training. An athlete's ability to recover from workouts is just as important as the training itself.

Perform the following 3 exercises after practice, at night before bed, after a game or on a lighter recovery day.

Hips are the cornerstone for athletes and movement within your sport (movement prep and efficiency). Open hips relieve the stress transferred to the knees when the hips are tight. Less knee strain means a greater range of motion while playing your sport and reduced risk to the ACL (anterior cruciate ligament)

By keep the toes as flexible as possible the impact that they face, day in and day out, play after play, is lessened and cases of: planter fasciitis & turf toe are reduced. Great to keep the shins free of strain and the tops of the feet open, again contributing to an increase in speed and movement efficiency.

Allowing our legs to find the rest they need is important to building long term strength and muscle adaptation.  Many athletes complain of feeling like their legs are heavy or their lower backs are hurting, and this pose will help alleviate common soreness experienced by the intensity of training.

Learn more about Jason and see his courses on CoachTube!

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More health-fitness articles 

 

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US Sports Strength and Conditioning Meet MoveU: The Online Movement Brand Helping Millions Ditch Pain

 

Getting to know the company that helps you “fix yo sh!t”.

Danielle Bitts

Poway, California

Nestled in the town of Poway sits a home that one may call a California dream. It’s surrounded by thriving plants and greenery, trees plump with ready-to-pick citrus fruits and comes equipped with horse stables and chicken coops. For a 10-year resident of New York City, this place was, in the least number of words, a breath of fresh air. 

What’s not so typical about this hidden oasis is the completely renovated garage turned studio, where Dr. Mike Wasilisin and his team of creators and marketers bring to life some of the most entertaining and educational content sweeping social media. We had the chance to step foot into their world of magic for a few days and got to know some of our favorite creators. 

Q: Tell us a bit about MoveU. Who are you and what is your mission?

A: Hi there! We're MoveU, the weirdest and most entertaining body mechanic and movement Instructors on the Worldwide web. Founded and led by Dr. Mike Wasilisin, a Sports Chiropractor who broke out of traditional healthcare, we are on a mission to help the world move better to live better and do so through funny, memorable content. Our tagline is "fix yo sh!t" because after all, it's your body and nobody is going to fix it for you but YOU. 

Q: How did MoveU come to be? How has it evolved since starting?

A: After working in the healthcare system and seeing how it fails to address chronic pain, Dr. Mike decided to take matters into his own hands by creating MoveU. Here people can learn how easy it is to fix their sh!t so they don't have to rely on band-aid solutions. We've evolved since starting as we aim to provide entertaining and educational social media content, yet our product has developed from a single online program with a Facebook community to an all-in-one Android and IOS app that allows you to search for videos and programs to fix every area of the body.

Q: What are the main goals you keep in mind when creating new content for the consumption of millions?

A: We aim to be as funny and viral as possible while simultaneously educating the masses. Because of this, we often lean into trends and our Team's weird sense of humor to help us deliver the heart of our messaging in ways the World has never seen. After all, we want to get the point across to as many people as possible so making it as fun and integrous is always the main goal. 

Q: Who would you say your content caters to the most?

A: As cliche as it sounds, our content caters to all adults with a moving body with a good sense of humor! After all, if you have an able-body you need to learn how to move it more effectively and efficiently to be pain-free, avoid injury, and ultimately, do the things you love. 

Q: What makes MoveU unique to others within the space?

A: We're anything but ordinary or boring and unfortunately, this space is littered with monotone information. Why not make education fun, exciting, and memorable content instead? That's what we're after! 

Q: Give us some insight into the magic behind the lens. Who's bringing all of this to life? 

A: Our creative sessions are often done between the hours of 10pm and 3am in the morning by Doctor Mike. He's blasting Pink Floyd and jotting down concepts about pain, body mechanics, etc. Those ideas are then brought to our marketing Team where we finesse them into virality. There's quite a bit that goes on behind the scenes- lol. 

Q: What's next?

A: We officially (as of October 3rd) launched our MoveU App to help the world fix its aches, pains, and postural imbalances. In this next phase, we're hoping to make a wave in healthcare as the first line of defense before someone seeks surgery or other invasive procedures. We hope to see you all there! 

Follow MoveU on Instagram for a daily dose of tips and be sure to download, “Move U App”, launching October 3.

ABOUT THE AUTHOR

Danielle Bitts

Danielle Bitts is a writer, producer and above all, athlete. She's a New York City-based certified personal trainer, performance nutrition specialist and plant-based triathlete.

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US Sports Strength and Conditioning: Strength Training Philosophies for Athletes

 

• Author Matt Hank

Every athlete’s strength training program should closely follow basic guidelines and coaching philosophies. In this article, I have included the training philosophies that I adhere to when designing a routine for an athlete. I want my athletes to get the most out of their training and improve their overall sports performance.

Ground based training

Sports movements (with the exception of rowing or swimming) take place upright on your feet. Whether you are running, jumping, hitting, throwing, shooting, or doing any other sports movements the muscles in your legs and core are working. Strength training exercises should take place in different standing positions to increase the rate of transfer to your sport. Example: incorporate the standing shoulder press using the legs (push press) instead of doing a seated shoulder press.

Multi-joint training

It is important to train movement patterns and not individual muscles in the weight room. The body is an integrated machine that uses multiple muscles in all planes of motion to produce sports movements. The body needs to learn how to work as a cohesive unit to produce smooth, natural and powerful movement patterns. Example: squats are a better exercise selection than leg extensions and leg curls.

Training in multiple planes

The body has to react, control and overcome forces in all planes of motion. Sports actions take place in all three planes of motion; therefore, training should take place in the various planes of motion. Example: instead of only doing lunges where you step forward try lunging to the side and at a backward angle. Also, try incorporating rotational movements such as chops or twists into your workout.

Train at different speeds

It is important to train with heavier weights (slower speeds) to build strength and muscle mass. It is equally important to train at high speeds with relatively lighter weights. There should be an emphasis on speed of movement because you need to train at high speeds to play at fast/quick speeds on the field or court. Example: during a training routine it is appropriate to include heavy squats, squat jumps (lighter weight), and body weight plyometrics.

Unilateral Training

Many athletic movements take place using one limb at a time such as a running (during the support phase – one foot is on the ground), throwing, and kicking. Unilateral training can help correct deficiencies between both sides of the body, challenge the stability within those joints/muscles that are performing the exercise, and help enhance the neuromuscular system involving single limb movements. Example: incorporate single leg squats and single arm rows into your routine.

Functional Training

Functional training does not imply that you need to incorporate balance boards, Bosu balls, physio balls, and other pieces of equipment that claim to be "functional". The goal is to incorporate strength-training exercises that will transfer to your sport and help to improve your overall athletic performance. Example: standing barbell squats is a much better selection than a seated leg press machine, the push press is a better selection than front and lateral raises, and doing pull ups is a better selection than the seated lat pull.

Athletes and coaches should reevaluate their strength-training programs and make sure it follows scientifically based training philosophies. Most of all the program should be functional and help to improve overall athletic performance.

Matt Hank, MS, CSCS, USAW is the owner of ASAP Performance Training in Valencia California. Matt is a sports performance coach who trains youth, college, and professional athletes. For more information about sports training or any other questions check out ASAP Performance Training, or email him at Matt@asap-pt.com.

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Strength Coach - Great Piece on Youth Sports from the San Diego Tribune

Michael Boyle

This is a great, must read, piece on youth sports from Mark Ziegler of the San Diego Tribune. The author hits the nail right on the head as it relates to soccer but the reality is that you could substitute just about any sport you know for soccer. I know both hockey and lacrosse have become rich kid sports that effectively exclude lower socio-economic groups. Join StrengthCoach.com today to learn more about youth sports training..........

"In 1998, U.S. Soccer brass proudly rolled out Project 2010, a $50 million plan to win the men’s World Cup in 12 years. There were flow charts and speeches, pledges to open residential academies and hire more talent scouts, incremental goals and big dreams.

Someone raised his hand and asked, in the spirit of Title IX, if it applied to the U.S. women’s program, which had already won the inaugural World Cup and would win another a year later.

The plan for the women, the national team general manager stuttered, was to “win forever.”

Fast-forward two decades, to a Twitter account belonging to an American man who married the daughter of Dutch soccer legend Johan Cruyff and now runs the respected TOVO youth academy in Barcelona. The U.S. women were about to face Spain in the final group game of the Under-20 Women’s World Cup in France, with a spot in the quarterfinals at stake. The U.S. needed a win to advance, Spain a tie.

Todd Beane warned about a rapidly improving Spanish program despite finishing 20^th in its only World Cup appearance and suggested the American women might want to innovate “NOW” despite the perception that they rule the sport based on the senior team’s No. 1 world ranking.

“Complacency,” Beane tweeted, “cripples progress.”

Prescient words. Spain took a 2-0 lead in the first half, then hung on for a 2-2 tie after the Americans equalized in the 87^th minute on a deflected shot. It was enough to eliminate the mighty Yanks in the first round for the first time since FIFA began hosting U-20 Women’s World Cups in 2002."

Keep reading......

Strength Coach- Personal Trainer to Youth Strength Coach- Year 1 in Review

Presented on US Sports Net by StrengthCoach.com!

Nathanael Littauer - 

This week marks a year since I ditched my job as a Personal Trainer to work as Strength and Conditioning Coach for youth athletes ages seven to 15 at a franchise “Speed and Agility School”. With the five year goal of working in a high school as a Strength coach, I knew it was step in the right direction from where I was to where I want to be. As coaches, many know that when the right door opens you have to step through it, and that's what I did. I did this well knowing that I was stepping into a messy situation to take over a program that went from three coaches to zero coaches in three months, and that I would be expected to take all of their load and rebuild the program.

While the year between then and now has had some rocky points, I started looking back on it and began reflecting on what I've learned. I put some of those out on Twitter like any 20-something does, and realized quickly that there was a lot more that I could say.

Regardless, Coach Boyle has given me the opportunity to expand on what I already have said, which is the following seven things:

1. Working with youth is among one of the professions greatest privileges.While many dream of working with professional or collegiate athletes, working with youth athletes is probably the most challenging and most rewarding jobs you can have. I'll admit that I cut my already small salary in half to take this position, and even after correcting the course of the program I still can't afford to move out of my parent's basement. I will say, however, is that at the end of every day, I feel like I receive a higher amount of satisfaction than my former job as a Personal Trainer.
2. Kids' brains are like sponges.They are easily moldable and will latch onto every word you say. With that in mind, working with youth athletes allows you a great opportunity to help shape a future generation by teaching lessons of hard work, respect, patience, and perseverance. It also comes with the responsibility of demonstrating those things in your daily life.Kids are simply a mirror of the adults they are around. You can't take that responsibility lightly.
3. Make friends with your athletes' parents.Not only are they paying you (in a private facility at least), but they also spend far more time with their child than you do. Getting to know the parents of your athletes gives you a special insight into the environment they live in. Like I said earlier, kids are a mirror of the adults in their environment, so learning more about their lives gives you a greater connection and leads to a greater impact on them.
4. Parents and athletes often have skewed views of training due to social media or even the mainstream media.They often do not understand the context for what they see online (albeit there are a lot of coaches that fall victim to this too). Our job as coaches is to educate them as to the context of what they see, and how those pieces fit into the long term development of their child. These conversations are crucial, and will happen more frequently if you take the advice about getting to know the parents of your athletes.
5. There is no set way for Long Term Athletic Development.There are so many ways to skin a cat, and you don't have to subscribe to any certain philosophy. Again, what we see on the internet is a piece of a bigger picture, and in order to have an effective LTAD plan you must have an understanding of your athletes, their parents, their sport culture and their needs. Regardless of your approach, the matter is an important one, as it's something often overlooked in the sport culture we live in.
6. I know more than I did a year ago, but realize everyday how little I know about training, child development, human connection, and business.These are things that I believe can only be learned through experience, trial, and error. Understanding how little you know is the first step into learning as much as possible from any moment throughout the day......Read the full article and connect with this coach now by joining StrengthCoach.com Today!