Developing Rotational Strength, Speed, and Power
Developing Rotational Strength, Speed, and Power Developing rotational strength, speed, and power is an incredibly important skill in many sports. Baseball, softball, lacrosse, and certain field events, such as the shotput or discus, are the obvious sports that require rotational proficiency, but nearly every athlete will benefit from putting in their due diligence with rotational movement training. Today’s blog post will dive into SAPT’s methods for developing these attributes, and how we use Concentric Brain to develop templates to expedite the process
Step 1: Develop proper mobility – especially through your thoracic spine!
It’s extremely important to assess your clients/athletes prior to having them train with you. SAPT’s Evaluation Specialist, Jarrett Brummett, developed our movement screen using the FMS and SFMA. The evaluation allows us to assess our client’s level of preparedness before starting them on a strength and conditioning program. It ensures that we start them with the appropriate level of intensity and it provides us with information to indicate or contraindicate certain exercises.
A lot of the time, people walk in our doors with fairly immobile thoracic spines, compensating by rotating through their lumbar segments. One of the first things that we’ll work on in these instances are increasing their ability to move through their thoracic spine and hips, as well as improving their scapular glide and control. Below are a few of our “go-to” thoracic spine and shoulder mobilizations.
Step 2: Develop sufficient core stability.
I don’t think I need to harp on the multitude of reasons why core stability is important, but what you may not know is that your core is built to resist, not necessarily create, movement. Imagine a running back hitting the hole, 200+ lb defenders clawing at his shoulder and hip pads trying to bring him down. He’ll need to be very strong through his midsection to resist these forces, break the tackles and keep plowing forward. Concentric Brain provides a long list of anti-movement core exercises, and I’ll list a few below.
- Anti-Extension: Planks, Ab Rollouts, Deadbugs (also contains a rotary component)
- Anti-Rotation: Pallof Press Variations, Anti-Rotation Medicine Ball Throws, SA PUPP Holds
- Anti-Flexion: Good Mornings, Deadlifts, Hip Hinge Drills
- Anti-Lateral Flexion: Side Planks, SA Farmer Carries
As you can see Concentric Brain’s 11,000 exercise library is categorized in such a way that you can easily pick exercises based on the movements (or anti-movements in this case) they consist of. The software also makes including these anti-movements in a “Core Stability for Rotational Power” template incredibly easy!
Step 3: Introduce Rotational Movements
After ensuring the athlete has adequate thoracic mobility and core stability, we will begin introducing rotational movements to the athlete’s program. These include medicine ball throw variations and single-arm rowing variations that include some thoracic spine rotation. Medicine ball “power” oriented movements are great to incorporate in the beginning of a session when the athlete is first learning them. As they become more proficient, gain strength, and begin to enter intermediate status, these exercises can be used in conditioning circuits or as “finishers” to teach the fast-twitch fibers how to produce force repeatedly, even in a semi-fatigued state. You can set up templates in Concentric Brain for both of these situations; making an “Intro to Rotational Movements” and an “Advanced Rotational Athlete” template that will allow you to plan ahead and include the movements at various times in the workout to target different physiological adaptations.
Step 4: Introduce Advanced Rotational Movement
If you’ve reached this point, you’re on the right track. Your athlete has great core stability, enabling them to generate and transmit force through their torso, and has developed an awareness for rotating through their thoracic spine and hips while keeping their lumbar spine neutral. The neural changes that take place in the early stages of skill development have occurred, and it’s now time to work on some serious rotational force and power development.
Although the volume will ultimately be left up to you, Concentric Brain does provide suggestions. The software also has quite a few advanced variations that should not only satisfy your athletes craving for variety, but also develop rotational speed and power in a variety of different ways. Below are a few video examples of the variations we like to use at SAPT.
Guest Post: Preparing for Race Season
He's back! Our friendly Mid-Distance Runner has tips to preparing for your race season!Well it’s officially race season!
I was a high school and middle school track coach for many years, and the official start to the spring outdoor track season was March 1st. This date was the mark for sanctioned training and conference races. For myself, as a competitive distance runner, this time of year means serious training and preparation for events that occur from now through late fall. (I don’t know about you, but I like to take the winter off from races!)
Even in March, the weather in many areas can still present a formidable barrier for runners to get outside and run, but with a little creativity, race goals and preparation need not be sacrificed. I personally hate training on treadmills, however, using them beats sustaining an injury from slipping and falling on slick surfaces outside. The lousy weather offers a perfect time for other modalities such as weight training. Spending some time in the weight room will help runners develop muscle strength, speed, and stamina. Strength training will also help develop connective tissue in the body, which will go a long way to prevent injuries during the race season.
Now when you read "weight training," some may conjure up mental images of Arnold Schwarzenegger, but runner’s weight training is all about developing strength and power, not necessarily mass. (Note from Kelsey: Charlie wrote a splendid series (an epic novel, really) 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10) Utilizing resistance training to develop overall strength is very beneficial for racing. Shameless plug, but I recommend talking with the dedicated folks at SAPT for exact exercises and proper weight lifting form.
What is the best way to train for a 5K or 10K road race? The advice pertaining to success are as numerous as the different courses one can run. A specific training plan might not be perfect for every runner, but there are some collective preparations that will help almost every runner do his or her best on race day.
First I recommend a basic 5K or 10K training schedule such as the one outlined here from Jeff Galloway: http://www.jeffgalloway.com/training/5k10kschedules/ This training schedule is from running legend Jeff Galloway so you know you can trust the information on it. On a side note if you are interested in training for a marathon this site also has some great training schedules for that distance too.
Next item to consider is proper nutrition as optimal fuel is essential for optimal performance. There is a plethora of runner’s diet suggestions, but I find they all universally agree: avoid trans fats and refined sugars as much as possible, limit alcohol consumption, avoid large amounts of caffeine-I personally love my coffee so this one is hard for me. (Note from Kelsey- by refraining from copious amounts of caffeine, you body will become more sensitive to it. Therefore, on race day, one cup of coffee will go a long way.) Eat plenty of starchy carbs as well as lean protein sources such as clean-source fish, lean beef, and chicken.
The last major consideration for race success is quality sleep. In order to perform at your best you need to get enough sleep for your body to efficiently recover daily. Check out this article on sleep quality for more information. Rest up folks, and don’t try to burn the candle at both ends!
If you get plenty of rest, train right, and eat right you are setting yourself up for success by using best training practices. In April I will discuss effective training versus logging lots of physical miles. Well until our next conversation take care and enjoy the run!
The Middle-Aged Mid-Distance Runner
Training Tip: Eliminate the Useless
I have been working my way through Easy Strength by Dan John and Pavel. If you are a coach, of any sport, reading it should prerequisite to taking that job. If you're an athlete or self-trained person (like a weekend warrior), this book will change the way you approach training- definitely for the better. Between the two men, there is much wisdom packed into their words that I find myself taking notes on every page. Seriously, if you're serious about training, you need to read this book.
Dan John posited a fantastic question regarding training priorities that I wanted to pass along to our SAPT readers.
"Let's say, for some reason, you've found that you can only train for a total 45 minutes a week. Maybe you've become a political prisoner or something. You'll only be able to get in three workouts of 15 minutes each. What will you do?"
Not only does it put my own training into perspective, but that of the athletes I coach. The answer to the question reveals where you should be spending the majority of your time and energy. As Dan John says, "Training sessions should put your on the path of progress toward your goals."
We humans are finite (this isn't going to get metaphorical so stick with me) and therefore have a finite amount of energy, time, and capacity for adaptation/recovery. In contrast to our in-born capacity, we live in the age of programs like p90X/Insanity (do everything as fast as you can), Crossfit (train everything to the max all the time), and the pervasive mentality that a "good" workout or practice should encompass every possible variation of an exercise/drill and should last a long time. But remember, we're finite!
Thus, anything you're doing that does not directly relate to your overall physical goal will only take away from your ability to achieve your goal.
Refer back to Dan John's question, if you only have 15 minutes to train/practice, what are you going to do? If you're an athlete (or the coach of athletes) what skills would most benefit you/the team to master? If you're a regular trainee, what exercises will bring your closer to your goal- be it lose 10 lbs, or bench 225, or compete in a Sand Race. Find these core elements and devote your energy and time to them.
I'll use myself as an example.
My goal: deadlift 300lbs and perform 20 pull ups in a row.
Conveniently (or not), I also have chronic Lyme disease and over the past year, I've found that I only really have enough gas in my tank for about 20 minutes of hard training. (This is a far cry from what I'm used to.) Even before reading Easy Strength I had to pare down my training considerably base on my energy levels and joint pain. So, Dan John's question was perfect! It did two things: 1) trim my workouts down a bit more, which I believe will make them more effective and 2) encourage me that I'm not being a wimp for eliminating excessive accessory work. My capacity for recovery is also inhibited, so I need to be extra careful with exercise selection as, again, anything that is outside of my goal will only take away from its accomplishment.
Therefore, here is my training split:
Monday
Deadlift- currently I'm in a higher volume cycle, so I perform 2-3 series of (1, 3, 5, 7) reps.
Handstand pushups, skater squats, band rows- 3 easy sets of 6-8 each
Tuesday
BB Front Squat Grip Step Back Lunge- (the only single leg movement I can perform without pain). My weakest link in my deadlift and pull ups is my upper back. This variation keeps my legs balance (because it's unilateral work) but also nails my upper back. - 5x5
NG Chin Ups= total of 50 reps. I'm working at increasing the number of chin ups per set and reducing the number of sets I have to do.
BB Back ele. Glute Bridge- stronger butt = stronger deadlift 3-4x8
Band-resisted Pushups 3x8
Wednesday
Aerobic Power Circuit, performed for 15-18 minutes:
Heavy swings x 10
Pull ups x 4-5
Feet Ele. Push ups x 12
Weighted Crawls x 4 trips
Thursday
Snatch Grip Deadlift- I chose this because of my stupidly weak upper back, so this variation hammers it. I also focus on moving the bar fast to work on the speed of my pull.
GHR, weighted pushups, inverted rows- 3 easy sets of 8 each
Friday
Easy movement day and crawling- I use this day to move around and work out any kinked up joints but nothing terribly difficult.
I also start each session with some kettlebell swings. I like them because they warm up my nervous system and get my glutes firing on all cylinders. All of my accessory work aids in deadlifting and/or pull ups (glute work, upper back, and core strength). I train my core through my pushups and crawling. I perform step back lunges because a) I can't deadlift every day (darn!) and b) I can't squat any more and these fit the bill for challenging my upper back, core, and glutes.
On all of my days, the main focus (the deadlift or the lunges/chin ups) take only about 15-20 minutes, including my warm ups. The accessory work I keep at a lower intensity and I use primarily for focusing more intently on my "deadlifting" muscles. It's not a perfect plan by any means, but it's all geared towards increasing my deadlift and pull ups.
I encourage you, reader, to find out what you would do with your 15 minutes.
Elevation Training Masks: Tool or Trend?
Trends come and go in the fitness industry and most of the time, I’m happier to see them go. Every once in a while there is some validity to the method/workout/diet/equipment and it can be usefully implemented by a trainer or coach who has done the research and knows how it should fit into the program. On the other end of the spectrum, you see less reasonable individuals throw the trends directly into their program, ignorant of the effects it may yield on the trainee.
One such trend seems to be the high elevation masks. For those that don’t know, these masks are supposed to create an hypoxic(oxygen decreased) environment to stimulate affects similar to high altitude training. They also make you look like Bane, which is a just as important variable. They have become very popular in many different circles and even I fell victim to the challenge they added to workouts after receiving one for Christmas about 4 or 5 years back. I played with it for about a month before doing some digging on the subject and finding that it wasn't the best tool for my goal of crushing the upcoming Tough Mudder. So I threw it in the closet and forgot about it until recently, which is what sparked this blog post.
The Dirt
Now hypoxic training is still relatively infantile in research. Anthony Roberts has a great article on the contradictory and limited research and how it applies to these masks. One major bump in the road that he hints at, that I would like to reiterate, is that we are assuming that these masks do indeed create an hypoxic environment similarly to that of the hypobaric chambers and areas of high elevation that are used in the research. Though they do decrease the amount of oxygen in which you uptake while wearing them, they do so in a different way. It manipulates the rate at which you can ventilate, so it’s almost as if you’re forced to breath through a straw. Whereas traditional elevation training and research puts you in an environment in which there is less atmospheric pressure, making less oxygen available within the air you breath, creating a slightly different effect. There is no research(from unbiased sources) to suggest whether or not this creates any difference in physiological adaptation but I would theorize that it does. The reason I say this is the resistance provided on inhalation is going to stress muscles of respiration in a different way than breathing the thinner air at the top of a mountain.
So let's assume despite the difference in the way it decreases oxygen, that it still creates an hypoxic environment. There is also the debacle of how traditional high-altitude training is used and how these masks are used. Though hypoxic training research is limited, it has traditionally been used as a means for endurance athletes to increase their levels of hemoglobin due to the need for their systems to maintain homeostasis in the face of hypoxic environment. The main supported method of doing this is to live high, and train low(LHTL). In order for the elevation mask to replicate this, one would have to wear the mask for the majority of the day, except for when training, for about 3 weeks straight. If anyone feels committed enough to keep the mask on that long, then please tell me if it works, but be prepared to have the police called on you while in public.
Note: Of all hypoxic training techniques, the live high, train low method has been the most researched and used. One reason why endurance athletes have gravitated towards this method is that it provides the increased hemoglobin without sabotaging their workouts. When training in an hypoxic environment, work capacity becomes more limited as the system struggles for oxygen. This cuts the workouts short, and the decreased amount of work can have negative effects on other mechanisms that need to be trained. For more information you can also look here.
Though I’d like to have this as a tool to improve endurance training adaptations, I’ve found waaaay more research to support that intermittent hypoxic training yields no greater results than normoxic(training at sea level). You're better off taking it off. But this is going off of a lot of the research that used mainly aerobic-based exercise, which makes me wonder if it could have any affect when picking up heavy things?
What About Picking Up Heavy Things?
What’s interesting is that there are a few studies that delve into the influence that a hypoxic training environment can have on resistance training. One study done in Japan measured size and strength gains of elbow flexors and extensors after 6 weeks of training elbow flexion and extension for 4x10(Those dudes were bro’n out!). They found that size and strength increased significantly more in the hypoxic group and speculated that hypoxic resistance training may be a promising new method.
The study performed at the Japan Institute of Sport Science that Roberts references in his article shows that a hypoxic environment can lead to more growth hormone and more localized endurance within the trained fibers(though strength and size were the same between groups). The thing is, I’m fairly certain that you could get similar results to what these studies found by just lowering the rest periods. By depriving the body of oxygen as in the hypoxic environment, you are essentially limiting its recovery between bouts of resistance exercise. I would think that this is going to place more metabolic stress on the tissues in question and force more of an endurance adaptation to the system. After all, the glycolytic system gets replenished aerobically. What’s more, is we know that for optimum hypertrophy results in resistance training, the rest periods need to be limited while intensity under load stays fairly high. This creates more lactic acid accumulation within the tissue and in turn leads to more growth hormone response. Not to mention it can be pretty grueling and make for an intense workout, which I’m sure the hypoxic groups would attest to. What I feel would be interesting is having the subjects gauge their efforts on an RPE scale as well and compare which group perceived more exertion. My money is on the guys with less air.
So What Good Are They?
Even though it’s impractical to use an elevation mask for traditional elevation training and the fact that it may only be a question of rest periods for its effects on resistance training, doesn’t mean that we should throw the baby out with the bath water. Though I would argue that the usefulness of these masks are very limited, there could still be a time and place(though not often). It's really just up to research to further itself on the subject to really confirm when that is. But, if I had to guess:
These masks seem to have the ability to stress the metabolic system with oxygen deprivation and will raise the heart rate faster with less movement intensity. They should also tax localized active tissue more quickly due to the poor oxygen supply to the muscle. When used, it will almost be as if the athlete's VO2 Max has been temporarily lowered, causing his lactate threshold to also lower. This could result in a higher rate of blood lactate accumulation within the active tissues and all the training adaptations that go along with it. Though I would say this is typically a negative aspect, as you would get less overall work out of the athlete, if they are injured and the goal is to keep up certain aspects of their conditioning, then I could see some possible benefit to it.
You could theoretically put the injured athlete through less rigorous movements to help avoid the injury in question and yet still get a higher-intensity conditioning affect on their system. A necessity for this to work would be having the trainee wear the mask for 15-20 minutes prior to exercise to help deplete resting levels of plasma oxygen. It should also be worn for a brief period afterwards. For anaerobic conditioning, you could have the athlete do a relatively lower intensity movement and get the heart rate to the point of their lactate threshold much easier than in a normotonic environment. For the aerobic conditioning, the same rules would apply, however you would just manage their heart rate and movement variations differently. I would also consider setting the mask to a higher oxygen deprivation level for the anaerobic conditioning to limit aerobic metabolism; Whereas for the aerobic, I may start with a higher level when the mask is first put on then decrease it for the exercise to allow the aerobic pathway more capacity. The issue is that the actual carryover that this would have to maintaining the athlete's work capacity or sport-specific condition would still have to be determined through further testing and study. Until then, the above ideas are all just speculation of how it could potentially be used and should be treated as such when considering implementation. (I personally will wait for more research before throwing this at someone.)
The other aspect of these masks that I feel could be useful is their resistance affect on the breathing mechanism. This would be less physiological in effect and more neuromuscular. Since you are essentially trying to suck air through a hole or hole(s) of variable size, you are causing the muscles of inhalation to work harder. This could be very beneficial if the coach is subjective about how the trainee is breathing and includes it within low threshold work on the right individuals. Many individualshave limited diaphragm involvement upon inhalation(think neck breathers). Introducing an elevation mask along with some world-class cuing could help to reinforce proper breathing function and add some more advanced breathing drill variations to your repertoire. You could also include it in core drills and force the trainee to inhale against resistance while maintaining the proper tension for the exercise. I personally like the idea of a forced-inhalation deadbug. Whereas I wouldn't go to this variation of breathing intervention with everyone, I could definitely see a time and place.
In Summary
To sum it up, these masks do have potential to elicit very unique affects on ones training. The problem is that the physiological adaptations that will come of it are still questionable when in comparison with other methods. I believe that more research is needed to validate whether they actually replicate a hypoxic environment similarly to an actual change in elevation for the individual. I also think that whether they do or don't replicate it, the ways they are currently being used and implemented into programs by most of their users are going to elicit sub-par results when compared to other means of training. This does not mean that they are completely useless though; They still create a unique affect to alter stressors on the body physiologically and neuromuscularly. This gives them potential to be useful, though there is no substantial proof as to the carryover it will have on performance. Until that proof comes, I'm going to say these masks are just a trend.
Snow Days Off
Snow Days Off I woke up this morning in a pretty bad mood. This may baffle you some of you. Half of you probably woke up this morning full of excitement due to a school closing. The other half of you were most likely relieved not to have to go to that dreaded office and deal with your boss for another day. I, on the other hand, was supposed to deadlift today. Mother Nature has won yet again. Doing her best to get in my way and hinder my gains, one snowday at a time.
…..
There’s a phrase I hear from time to time, you may have heard it. People use it with good intentions, often trying to shine some light on a particularly unpleasant or annoying experience. It’s meant to be uttered with optimism, and can be a useful tool to help you stay the course when unexpected events try to get in your way. That phase is this, “Everything happens for a reason.”
I, for one, have never been a huge fan of this phrase, but I understand its intent and usefulness. Today, I’m going to attempt to join you optimists out there, and adapt this phrase to my challenge of the day – my inability to travel to SAPT and hoist hundreds of pounds of iron off of the floor repeatedly.
At first glance, you may not see the reason. I know I didn’t see it upon waking up this morning to the winter wonderland that is Reston, VA… and then it came to me. Mother Nature delivered a snow day because she knew that tomorrow should be my deadlift day. Of course!
I was supposed to return to conventional style pulling today, after pulling sumo-stance for the past 6 months, but really, Friday is a much better day to make the switch. It’s my day off! I will be able to devote my full attention to transitioning back to a more posterior chain dominant deadlifting style, and it should make for a much better training session. On top of that, Thursday would just be a weird day to lift. Due to my schedule, I haven’t lifted on a Thursday in quite some time. Friday’s have long been a lifting day for me, and it would simply be weird to break that streak.
To really cement the fact that Friday will be a better deadlifting day for me, I began a new cycle this past week, which has resulted in a bit more soreness than usual. The re-introduction of RDLs and some other movements that have a bit of an eccentric-focus to them have taken their toll, and I could probably use another day of rest before lifting something heavy.
So, instead of getting back on the conventional deadlift train today, I’m going to seize the opportunity to work on my mobility, get in some active recovery, make myself a few proper meals, and study some anatomy. If I’m lucky, I’ll be able to start a book I’ve been looking forward to reading: Science and Practice of Strength Training by Vladimir Zatsiorsky. I’ve heard quite a few glowing reviews, and it’s been on my to-do list for quite some time now.
….
This “optimism” thing isn’t too bad. I just might be warming up to that phrase after all. I hope you all have a wonderful snowday, and that you dedicate an hour or two to your own growth and development.
P.S. Mother Nature: Just so you know, you could deliver us a monsoon and that still won’t be enough to further delay my return to conventional pulling. You’ve won today, but I will win tomorrow.
Can Sports Save The Planet?
Recently I read and interesting article on how the sports industry impacts the enviroment. This is a subject I wasn’t too familiar with prior to reading but immediately began thinking of simple habits that myself and others could make to create a positive change to the environment. Below are my top 3:
- Carpool to Practice, SAPT, and Games: One minivan uses less fuel and creates fewer emissions than 4 minivans so everyone wins.
- Carry a Reusable Water Bottle: Ditch the plastic disposable water bottles and opt for something durable enough to go anywhere with you like a Nalgene or canteen.
- Donate or Recycle Your Old Equipment: Old lacrosse balls and baseballs can serves a number of purposes so before you trash them ensure you get the best out of them. Once the season is over use those balls to roll out some tacked down muscle tissue. Following that, pass them along to a dog who can finish them off as a chew toy.
