Questions/Ideas

Please send me some questions or ideas on things you would like me to talk about. I want to know what you want to know. If I don’t know it I will find someone who does.

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Speaking and Seminar Schedule

Many people have been contacting me about seminars. I am not longer doing reguarly sceheduled seminar. Instaed Iam doing in-house semonars and workshops that are hosted by someone else. Here is my schedule through October:

Thursday April 20, 2006 Kenyon College, Gambier, Ohio

Panel Discussion on Human Performance

Part of the grand opening of their new Athletic and Performing center

Friday & Saturday April 28 & 29, 2006 Richmond, Virginia

In house seminar hosted by CJW Sports Medicine and University of Richmond

Seminar - Functional Path Training

Friday & Saturday May 12 & 13, 2006 Buffalo, New York

Hosted by Excelsior Physical Therapy

Open to the public, contact Ron Brissette at 716-250-6500

Friday Seminar - Functional Path Training & Training the Overhead Athlete

Saturday Seminar – Child to Champion (Training the Young and Developing Athlete)

Saturday, June 10, 2006 Indianapolis, Indiana

ASTYM National Meeting - Presentation on Functional Training and Rehab

Saturday & Sunday, June 17 & 18, Dublin, Ireland

Seminar – Following the Functional Path

Wednesday & Thursday June 21 & 22, 2006 Scotland

Seminar – Following the Functional Path

Saturday & Sunday June 24 & 25, 2006 England

Seminar – Following the Functional Path

Friday, July 21, 2006 Cincinnati, Ohio

Middleton Hospital Sports Medicine Symposium – Presentations

Breakout Session - Eccentric Role for Rehabilitation and Performance

Main Lecture – Leg, Legs, Legs

Breakout Session – The Importance of Hip Complex Strengthening

Saturday and Sunday July 22 & 23, 2006 Harrisburg, Pennsylvania

In House Seminar – Drayer Physical Therapy

Seminar - Following the Functional Path

Tuesday, October 24, 2006 Dutch National sports Center, Holland

Dutch National Coaches Seminar

Presentation – Advances in Strength & Conditioning

October 26, 2006 Florence, Italy

Medici Sports Clinic Conference

Presentation – Concepts of Functional Training and Rehabilitation

Workshop - Exercise Progressions to Reinforce the Hip to Shoulder Relationship

Super Size – The Growth of Offensive Linemen

As a former 190 pound offensive lineman I continue to be amazed at the growth in size at these positions over the last Forty years. When I played (actually sat on the bench in college – President of Splinter & Nail Society of Elite Benchwarmers, Fresno State Class of 68) someone that was over 260 was considered huge. The blocking rules were different then, you could not extend your arms away from your body. This demanded more precise positioning and quickness, so size was not as important. Now that the athletes can extend their arms the premium is on size, just getting in the way is enough. The bigger the better, the more space the player occupies. Another change is in the substitution rules, in the mid 1960’s substitution was changed from limited substitution where most player had to play both ways – offense and defense to limited substitution where the player only played offense or defense. This allowed more specialization and demanded less fitness. As this began to take effect the players grew. Today for most offensive linemen, the greatest distance they have to run is on and off the field (slowly)!

The actual weights of the offensive linemen certainly show that the trend is not being reversed. At the NFL Combine from 1989 to 2005 the weight of the linemen has increased significantly, centers went from an average of 275 to 309, guards from 285 to 316 and tackles from 289 to 318. It is interesting to note that their results on the 225 maximum repetition bench press have not increased commensurate with the increase in body weight. The centers went from 23 reps in 1989 to 26 reps in 2005, guards from 22 reps to 27 reps and offensive tackles from 20 to 22. When you express that as relative strength the centers went from 11.96 in 1989 to 11.88 in 2005, guards from 12.95 to 11.70 and offensive tackles unchanged at 14.45.

The question that many people have raised is the long term health effect of carrying the extra weight? The jury is out, but there have been some alarming trends begin to appear. The mortality rate for former NFL payers is higher than the normal population. In my opinion this is a time bomb waiting to go off. The other aspect of this is the effect the added weight has on the joints, especially if the player is unable or unwilling to lose weight after their career is over.

Creativity in Coaching

Every composer starts with the same notes. Every author starts with the same alphabet. All artists start with the same palette of basic colors. Then why aren’t there more Beethoven’s, Hemingway’s and Rembrandts? The answer is genius and the creative process. Coaching is similar; at the heart of coaching is the creative process. The coach is no different than the composer or the artist. The coach’s palette is the human body expressed through movement. For that means it is necesary to think outside the box. Each athlete is a case study of one, they are highly individual. Two athletes could do the some event or play the same position and have entirely different training needs. This is what makes coahing so exciting and special.

Movement Screens – Measurable or Functional

The movement screen developed by Gray Cook has become the newest screen of choice. I admire the hard work he put into developing the screen, but I question the value of the screen. Just because it is measureable does not make it functional. The tests in the screen do not give much information that I can translate to actual athletic movements. They all seem to be ends unto themselves. I know many people are putting a lot of stock in this, but I want to ask the obvious question, What are you doing with the information that you derive from the tests? How can you interpret that information and take the identified deficiencies and derive a truly functional conditioning or prevention program? I am tired of hearing about red flags. Why is something a red flag? Watch what happens when the athlete gets up and actually moves, it is amazing how many of the red flags disappear. If you feel you have to look for red flags do so when the athlete is actual moving. Chances are if there is a deficiency it will scream out at you. A truly functional movement screen will have the body in postures that are similar to the postures in actual performance, executing movements that work with or against gravity. It must give some information on how the athlete uses the ground and how they reduce force and dynamically stabilize. There is no universal screen. I believe that you must have a screen that is specific to the sport or at the very least for categories of sports. For example a movement screen for throwing sports would be appropriate. Incorporate movements like bending, extending, reaching, pulling, and pushing. This will give you information you can then translate into the training and performance environment.

The Next Generation Left Behind

The Headline in the yesterday’s NY Times was “Schools Cut Back on Subjects to Push Reading and Math” my immediate thought was here we go again. Are we really helping the kids or are we hurting the kids. Do two hours straight of math help? How can it help? We know the parameters of attention span, then why are we doing it? We know there is a direct relationship between motor activity and cognitive learning. Why do we ignore the hard facts? Fifteen minutes of movement following fifteen minutes of math or reading will significantly improve performance and control attention by calming them down. The problem is that we are so hung up on standardized tests that all we are concerned with is teaching to the tests. We are creating a generation of robots that can memorize and recite rote facts, but not think. In addition they are obese and completely reconditioned. What kind of future does this predict? We are actually seeing the future now, obese inactive children prone to diabetes and other related diseases. What is wrong with the concept of a sound mind and a sound body? Educate the whole person!

Big Picture Thinking

We see what we are trained to see; learn to see with different eyes. Broaden the perspective. Work to eliminate bias. Always keep the big picture in mind. Once the big picture is lost then it is very easy to lose control of the whole process. The training then becomes a ship without a rudder. Big picture thinking demands that everything always be kept in context. Use the analogy of the symphony. All sections must be in harmony that is the key to effective functional path training. No global motor quality can stand alone; it must be supported by the others to achieve results. Trying to work on a component or quality in isolation will ultimately limit the ability to develop that quality to its fullest extent. All qualities are related and in many respects interdependent. Take full advantage of that interdependence to develop the optimum training program.

Context

Context is a principle that I have evolved over my years of coaching. Too often a “new” training method or exercise will emerge and everyone will jump on the bandwagon and quickly incorporate the exercise or change to the new training method. The attitude is that if so and so who is the world record holder does it must be good, therefore I will copy it. I call this the monkey see monkey do syndrome. The use of chains in weight training, physioballs in core stability are two examples that come to mind. They are viable tools if they fit. Before we quickly incorporate something we need to see where in fits into the context of what already is being done and we to need to carefully evaluate the context in which it was successful. Certainly keep an open mind and incorporate sensible innovations where appropriate.

Context is a key element of a system. Context establishes the nature of the relationship of the various components of training within the system. What we do today in training should fit with what we did yesterday and must flow into what we are going to do tomorrow. The same is true for the components of training. Perhaps the biggest violation of the principle of context is to take one component for example speed or strength and train those to the exclusion of all other physical qualities. This is fundamentally unsound. It is possible to design a program where a component is emphasized for a phase, but it should be kept in proportion to the other components and put into the context of the whole training plan. If the principle of context is not observed then the components of training will get out of proportion and adaptation will not occur at the predicted level. The best way to keep everything in context is to thoroughly plan and stick to the plan.

Anoarexia Nervosa

A friend of mine just sent me an article from his local paper. A former star runner, s a state champion in the 3200 meters died of Anorexia Nervosa. In the article it referred to anorexia as an eating disorder, unfortunately that just keeps perpetuating the myth. It is not an eating disorder; the eating or not eating is just a symptom of deeper psychological issues. It is an insidious disease. I have seen it too many times myself first hand as a coach. Everyone that works with young women should be educated as to the signs and symptoms. Too often coaches overlook because it is often their best runner and she is lean and fast until she goes over the edge and then it is too late. No matter how skinny they are they see themselves as fat. Unfortunately when they start the behavior of not eating or purging through laxatives or self induced vomiting they are rewarded, their times improve, sometimes dramatically. This reinforces an ever downward spiral until they reach the point where they cannot perform. Then it is a crisis and sometimes too late to do anything. As coaches we are not prepared to deal with this. If you have someone you are working that has signs or symptoms seek professional help for the person now!

Weight Training

Weight training makes you better at handling weight. In performance and life it is not sheer weight lifting strength but a succession of small skills, angles, varied positions, balance, and leverages that are the real determinants of strength, but that type of strength is not measurable, weightlifting strength is measurable. Resistance training through a spectrum teaches how to use and apply strength in motion, to use momentum, to use position. It provides the background for the solution of the ongoing problem of human movement.

Leadership

You can’t lead until you take command of yourself and lead yourself. Personal leadership is a cornerstone of high performing individuals. To this you must have a life plan as well as training plan. To be able to lead is special; it involves responsibility to yourself and others. Sometimes the most difficult aspect of leading the criticism that is inherent in the job. No one knows what it is like until you walk in those shows. You can’t be popular with everyone and you must stand up for you believe in.

Multi Sport Athletes

We are getting involved in a discussion between coaches and parents of young
athletes on the topic of over-specialization and the impact of club programs
on athletics. I am a CSCS and work with athletes as a trainer, not a pt.
Just wondered if you could hit this topic on your blog. Thanks.Travis Knight, MEd, CSCS

I am always happy to comment on that topic. Those are two areas very dear to my heart. First of all I think a philosophical statement is in order – we must remember that this is about the youngster and his or her well being. Youth sports are not for the gratification of the adults involved. That is the crux of the problem to start with. Too many parents and coaches are trying to relive or revive their faded athletic careers through their children.

Perhaps the biggest change that I have seen in my 37 years in coaching is the move, now a stampede to overspecialization. It is as if the kid has not specialized in a sport by twelve years old they are doomed to failure. Actually the opposite is true, for every youngster who specializes and becomes a star (whatever that is) there are twenty who never play sports at all! I believe in all around development, build a complete athlete with a rich repertoire of motor skills and sport skills. There is no reason for a youngster not to play three sports, but the problem today is the club sport high school conflict that forces the kid to make a choice. Club seasons go on forever, soccer is year around, and basketball plays 8- 100 games, youth AAU baseball 120 games. Where does it stop? The argument is that the short high school season does not give the kids enough exposure. That is pure bull shitake. It worked for a 100 years, what has changed? What has changed is that we have too many people involved for their own self interests. Don’t kid yourselves these clubs make money. Meanwhile the poor coaches in the schools are scrounging to raise money to buy new uniforms. It is just symptomatic of the culture of excess that we live in.

As a former teacher and junior high school and high school coach I believe we need to get sport back in the control of the schools. We need to have qualified coaches who are trained as teachers, so they understand how to teach and know about growth and development. Forget the college scholarships. If you have talent there is a scholarship somewhere, especially for the girls. I recommend the youngsters play multiple sports until their junior or senior in high school. They if they figure out they are good enough and can specialize, then specialize. By that time they will have gotten very fit and skilled in a wide range of activities, then they are ready to pick a sport. I will give an example from my early teaching and coaching days. Terry Schroeder who went onto become the best water polo player in the world, played youth football, basketball, baseball and swam. He did not even play water polo until high school. Another example comes from my work in professional baseball. After the draft I would sit down and meet with each new player and interview them about their training and sports background. After a couple of years I found an interesting trend. The players who had played multiple sports started to pass the players who just had played baseball, which was true regardless of the position. Mike Cameron, currently with the San Diego Padres is an example. He played football, basketball and baseball all through high school. He started out in pro ball as a very good athlete and not a very good player. But his athleticism enabled him to be a very good baseball player. The player take number two in the baseball draft after Ken Griffey is an example of the opposite. He played nothing but baseball from the time he was little. He did nothing to develop his athleticism. He never made it, in fact he struggled because he did not have the athletic skills.

Enough of a rant and now some specific recommendations: Regulate the length of club seasons, especially under the age of 14. Limit summer leagues and passing leagues, instead have open gym. No parents involved. Coaches must be certified. Reinstitute mandatory physical education. The key to changing this trend is educated coaches who can teach and develop kids.

Creativity in Coaching

Every composer starts with the same notes. Every author starts with the same alphabet. All artists start with the same palette of basic colors. Then why aren’t there more Beethoven’s, Hemingway’s and Rembrandts? The answer is genius and the creative process. Coaching is similar; at the heart of coaching is the creative process. The coach is no different than the composer or the artist. The coach’s palette is the human body expressed through movement.

More Barry Bonds

Go NPR.org and go to Morning Edition for March 15, 2006. There is a terrific commentary by the distinguished sports columnist Frank Deford. It is called: “Sweetness and Light – Baseball Should turn it’s back on Barry Bonds.” This should be the final word on this guy, but I am afraid he will soon be a hero when he breaks Aaron’s record.

Lineage

I am currently reading an interesting book on martial arts philosophy called Moving Toward Stillness by Dave Lowry. The chapter I was reading last night certainly struck a cord with me. The following quote is a response to a question that was posed to him regarding his accomplishments as a martial artist. “Where I came from is who I am.” One of his points was do you know who your teachers were? It caused me to reflect on how fortunate I have been to be exposed to some of the great coaches of our era. They were great because they had great teachers. In our now society it isn’t cool to pay homage to the past and acknowledge those who have shared their knowledge. Red Estes, who taught me a Track & Field Theory class at Fresno State in 1968 was an athlete under Bill Bowerman at University of Oregon. He shared with us the Oregon System. From that I was introduced to Bill Bowerman, perhaps one of the greatest track coaches America has ever known. He was a consummate generalist. He could and did coach all events. He set standards and held to them. There are few coaches in track & filed who have not been influenced either directly or indirectly by Bill Bowerman. The same is true in swimming with Doc Consilman, former swim coach at Indiana. I wasn’t even a swim coach but he influenced me. His application of science to training was a good fifty years ahead of his time.

I identify myself not any accomplishments I have been fortunate achieve but by the people who have influenced and guided me. Ones worth is ultimately determined by their lineage. We all stand on the shoulders of giants, let’s not be ashamed to acknowledge that.

The Fork in the Road

The Functional path is obviously the name of this blog, so I could not help but think of that when the read the following quote this morning from Yogi Berra “When you come to a fork in the road, take it." I think Yogi understands what function is all about. It is not about one direction, one way. Function is listening to the body, trusting your instincts and allowing the body move. It would be so simple if it just meant you had to learn to turn on some muscles or turn others off, but the secret is to get them all working together. I have just finished reading three scientific studies that in their own way are saying the same thing. Integrate, emphasize synchronisity (good guru word), good athletic performance is flowing and rhythmic. It is not particularly complicated, so let’s not make it complicated. The demands of the sports and movements will take care of that for us.

Self Esteem

Over the past few months I have heard more and more rumblings that the whole self esteem movement is not as effective as we once thought. I certainly have had my questions. It appears we have created a Lake Wobegon Effect where all the children are above average. We have now raised a generation of children that do not know what failure is. Is that really healthy? I think back to my school days. I knew who the smartest kid in the class was and I knew it wasn’t me. Did that stifle my drive and desire to learn, no way. (Thank God the world is run by C students) I have also felt that is one of the really values of sports. You learn to test you limits. You learn how to fail. You get up and try again. What we have done with Physical Education is an outgrowth of the whole self esteem issue. We have taken the teeth and substance out of it. We make the kids believe they must wear heart rate tech them how to use a lot of equipment to stay ”fit.” We need to be realistic with the kids. I am certainly not espousing a return to the drill sergeant approach I was raised with, but we a re raising another generation of zombies who have no sense of who they are and what their limits are. I am reading a thought provoking book called Think by Michael R. Le Gault. His point in this regard is that:

“Boundless reassurance to children that they are good to bolster their self esteem is not an act of love – it is an act of sabotage.”

It pervades all levels of society and all levels of sport. My mantra is to do it right. If it is not done right then correct. I had a situation where a high draft pick for the Mets was doing a drill and putting out no effort and doing it incorrectly at that. I went over and told him his effort was unacceptable and showed him again how to do it correctly. The other coaches were astounded that I would single this guy out. They were afraid to coach him. There is a time to coddle and a time to be accountable. 50,000 fans in Shea Stadium will hold him accountable. If I do not prepare him for this I am remiss. We are held accountable, let’s hold our children and our athletes accountable.

Training Facilities and Equipment

What do you need? The answer is rather simple – not much. In many cases less is more, less because the coach is forced to use their creativity. When it comes to more, the primary question is need to have or nice to have? Start with a bare room and a chair; add a grass field for other work. Exhaust all the possibilities with those combinations. Improvise; use your imagination and creativity. Olympic champions have been trained in similar environments. Build upon that, add some medicine balls, dumbbells, maybe some stretch cord. Various height boxes for step-ups, sandbags, weight vests, possibly a climbing rope. If you are working with Football, Rugby or the heavy throws then an Olympic bar and weights are necessary.

See the illustrations as an example – dumbbells, a medicine ball, a box, a bridge to run hills and a parking lot. Not perfect, but it worked.( That is Sarasota Bay in the background. The picture was taken in late December!)

I have observed programs that use equipment just because they have it. It does not necessarily contribute to the training, but if it costs $3,000, that is a compelling reason to use it. I have seen weight rooms so packed with equipment that you literally had to climb over equipment to get to other equipment. That is not functional from an organizational perspective or a training perspective. Remember less is more, the more tools the less the focus on the athlete. Remember the focus should be on the athlete.

The Power of the Question

The best place to start a training or a rehab program is with a question. It can be simple or complex, but remember the question is meant to provide guidance and direction. An example of a broad question is: why are women so much more susceptible to ACL injuries than men? Then reframe the question to get different perspectives. Why don’t men injure their ACL’s as often as women? Put aside any bias, change perspective and ask yourself if you are missing something. Ask some else the question and be sure to listen to their answer, especially if it is different than yours. Remember there are no dumb questions. In reality there may no be no one answer or any answer for that matter, but the simple act of asking the question(s) will give direction and purpose. Personally some of the training programs that have had the highest bozsity factor that I have designed were those were I though I knew the answer or I failed to ask the question. Just like there are no dumb questions, there are no dumb answers. Frankly that is why the question should be posed to a variety of people. I know when I am designing a training a program I always seek input from someone who is a rehab specialist. It grounds me and makes me consideration another dimension.

Throwing the book at Barry Bonds

After the last post on drugs I vowed that it would be a long time before I posted anything on drugs in sport. Well yesterday the “news” about Barry Bonds made me feel obligated to comment. Gene Wojciechowski on ESPN.com posed the question; do you believe Barry Bonds or do you believe the book? I never believed Barry Bonds. I have not read or even seen the book yet, but I did read the Sport Illustrated article online and it made sick and sad. Talk about a distortion of values. Barry Bonds has no legacy except to go down in history as one of the biggest cheat and frauds of all time. His continual in your face behavior makes Ben Johnson and Charlie Francis look like someone in the school yard who stole someone’s lunch money. I cannot believe how naïve people can be over this whole issue. It is not about taking down our heroes as someone said it is about having heroes.

Yes it is a sad day for baseball, but it is even a sadder day for sport in general. What really bothers me is the people who enabled this behavior and continue to do so. Did you see the picture last week when he was dressed like a women? I have not seen trap development like that on a twenty year old bodybuilder, much less a forty year old baseball player. Folks it takes more than hard to look like that. It takes the witches brew of drugs that he took and probably continues to take as we speak. Remember there is not a test for Growth Hormone and who knows how many derivatives of that there are.

Drug use in sport is an insidious evil that pervades sport at all levels. We all must step up and take a stand and stop supporting and enabling this behavior. We can’t look the other way any longer. Don’t bury your heads. In track and field how can one coach have at least three athletes test positive and remain coaching and be beyond reproach? How can Remi Korchemy get probation for his involvement in the BALCO case? He supposedly was a peripheral figure, ask Kelli White about that? Wake up and deal with reality. I am not sure what the answer is, but there is a huge problem that has the potential to kill sport. Honest athletes and coaches will chose not to participate – then what, a Roman circus?

Athletic Development Model

The schematic drawing is my attempt to present the big picture of an Athletic Development model. I feel it is important to have a visual that encompasses the whole plan. This is a model developed for Chivas of Guadalajara (Soccer). I am working on refining this to be able to show relationships between training components. In addition there will be a detailed schematic of each component. This in turn will lead to the final training plan. The program that I used to develop this is called Concept Draw Mindmap. I think that this style of presentation has potential to clarify the planning process. I know it looks a bit complicated, but when you look at it closely you will see how all elements are incorporated.

Hip Drop Series

Here are two pictures of positions in the Hip Drop series. Stand on a step or a box 4 to 6 inches high. All the movement comes from a drop of the hip. The free leg (non supporting leg) barely touches and quickly returns to the up position. Do 20 rapid reps. Keep your arms at your side, do not use them aid in balancing. There are five positions

1) Straight 2) Side 3) Straight back 4) Rotate 5) Step across.

I believe this activates the intrinsic muscles of the hip and also mobilized the low back. It is a remedial exercise so it can and in all probability be done everyday. The pictures are of Jose Reyes, starting shortstop for the NY Mets.

Magic Muscles

I guess this is a little bit of a continuation of the posts on isolating individual muscles. Can a muscle like the Glute Medius do everything the experts are saying it can do? Is this another of those magic muscles? No doubt the Glute Medius is important in many movements. If that is the case why isolate it? If is “shut off” then lets find exercises that wake it up as part of integrated movements. The whole hip girdle area and the glutes are very important in movement. Not only are they very powerful muscles but they act as important shock absorbers. The best way to train them is to understand how they function in the big picture and train those movements. I believe very strongly in daily remedial work (not prehab, whatever that is). A big focus, no pun intended, is on the hip girdle. This areas should be addressed in movements during warm-up to wake up and activate the muscles. I have found that daily remediation forestalls a lot of the little niggling tightness and restrictions that occur and go on to cause bigger problems. This work consists of walking med ball rotations (walking not lunging), mini band work, crawls, stretch cord flexion/extension, abduction and adduction standing and hurdle walkovers. On other days do hip drops, single leg squat/touch and reach and single leg squats. It totals ten to twelve minutes of work, but it is time well spent.

Some Random Statistics

According to the Surgeon General Obesity is coasting the US $ 120 Billion Annually

Over 50% of those people having ACL surgery will eventually develop arthritis and need to have knee replacement

Total projected cost of the Iraq war per US household is $19,600

A wise man once said that within problems there are solutions, there has to be some solutions here

Ideas

I just finished reading a very good little book last night, it is called How to Get Ideas by Jack Foster. It certainly succeeded; I had so many ideas after finishing it that I could not sleep. The following is a quote from the book which in turn is a quote from Roger von Oech’s outstanding book A Whack on the Side of the Head: “But often the best ideas come from cutting across disciplinary boundaries and looking into other fields for new ideas and questions. Many significant advances in art, business, technology, and science have come about through the cross fertilization of ideas. And to give a corollary, nothing will make a field stagnate more quickly than keeping out outside ideas.” I know I have certainly have found this to be the case. If you are working exclusively with one sport go learn about other sports. When I was working with baseball, some of the best drills for reaction for the first and third basemen came from hockey goal keeper drills. There is entirely too much inbreeding of ideas. Travel around the country and observe football strength and conditioning coaching. I am willing to guarantee you won’t see anything different from school to school. That may not be necessarily bad, but it much more comfortable to follow rather than lead.

Final thought for the day – “If you don’t know where you are going every road leads there.”

More Bozosity

Joes post in reply to yesterday blog got me thinking. What do you need to start a Bozo center? First call it a Human Performance Center; after all you can’t call it a three ring circus or a zoo. That would be too strong a clue to what really happens there. Make sure you have a bunch of physioballs (be sure you have well padded floors so people don’t get hurt when they fall off) and wall to ceiling mirrors. Fill it with “functional machines” that someone paid you to use and there you have it – a BOZO CENTER.

This will be the last post on Bozosity for awhile, but I will be on the bozo watch. If any of you out have good examples of Bozosity or bozo centers be sure to send them to me at gambettasport@hotmail.com I am thinking of starting an honor roll of bozosity

Bozo Explosion

Guy Kawasaki has come up a new term to describe the path to mediocrity and eventual oblivion. http://blog.guykawasaki.com In his case he is describing the decline of businesses, but I have seen the same thing with teams and coaches and training. Bozosity refers to the Bozo factor. In my opinion in the field of athletic development and rehab there is an explosion of Bozosity. How do I know there is a Bozo explosion? Here are some things I see:

It takes longer to explain the training program than it does to actually do the training program.

They guarantee results in six weeks.

They have a web page that has more bells and whistles than the space shuttle.

The web page has more ads than information.

There is more attention given to recovery and regeneration than there is to training.

You hear a lot about Peaking, as in we haven’t peaked yet.

You hear a lot of we were training through that meet or game.

They are always talking about how innovative they are.

Innovation consists of machines, equipment or high tech devices that take you farther away from the athlete.

They Dartfish the athlete when he stretching.

They use terms like “tonnification of the central nervous system” instead of balance.

More money is put into facilities and equipment that into coaches.

More time is spent in therapy than in training each day.

The majority of coaching is by email, phone, letter or fax.

The coaches talk on cell phones throughout the workout, making deals.

The coach talks more about their personal workouts or athletic accomplishments than the people they are working with.

The letters after a persons name are longer than their name.

Your organization has a values statement and the administration doesn’t follow it.

If you all have seen other bozo factors please sent them to me. Let’s stamp out bozofication!

Isolation Infatuation

I know I have hammered this point over the past week, but I can’t seem to get past it. I just can’t understand the infatuation with isolating individual muscles. It just seems that the experts move around the body to find new muscles to focus on. Think movements, think muscle synergies. That is what works, that is what gets results. I think part of the problem is it requires people to really think. It is easy to isolate and train muscles. Strap them into a machine and let them go. You feel the burn, but there is no challenge cognitively or neurally. It is work, but training is more than work.

Yesterday I took Paul Scott, a writer for Outside magazine through some of the basic movements in my training system. His comment was “ I don’t really feel the burn.” My answer was “good, because you will know where you worked tomorrow.” We are doing another workout today and he will feel the residual effect of yesterdays movements. The stress then repeated will force adaptation and eventually the training will prove effective when the cumulative effect is realized.

For you therapists out there, I know you have been hammered with the need to isolate early, but I urge you to reconsider. When you are limited in the number of visits by insurance, the only way you have a chance to get the patient better is to work muscle synergies. It is possible to progress without isolating, but it takes more thought and creativity. Think outside the box, coach or therapist our jobs are to get people better and do no harm. It can be done

Isolation Infatuation

I know I have hammered this point over the past week, but I can’t seem to get past it. I just can’t understand the infatuation with isolating individual muscles. It just seems that the experts move around the body to find new muscles to focus on. Think movements, think muscle synergies. That is what works, that is what gets results. I think part of the problem is it requires people to really think. It is easy to isolate and train muscles. Strap them into a machine and let them go. You feel the burn, but there is no challenge cognitively or neurally. It is work, but training is more than work.

Yesterday I took Paul Scott, a writer for Outside magazine through some of the basic movements in my training system. His comment was “ I don’t really feel the burn.” My answer was “good, because you will know where you worked tomorrow.” We are doing another workout today and he will feel the residual effect of yesterdays movements. The stress then repeated will force adaptation and eventually the training will prove effective when the cumulative effect is realized.

For you therapists out there, I know you have been hammered with the need to isolate early, but I urge you to reconsider. When you are limited in the number of visits by insurance, the only way you have a chance to get the patient better is to work muscle synergies. It is possible to progress without isolating, but it takes more thought and creativity. Think outside the box, coach or therapist our jobs are to get people better and do no harm. It can be done