Sarah Walls 8/12/19 Sarah Walls 8/12/19

Building Armor: Strength is Corrective

Coach Sarah Walls shares why strength is the foundation of all her training programs and should be yours, too. Strength training builds healthier, more resilient athletes who are ready for advanced methods.

This is an excerpt from the recordings I do regularly to capture and share my ideas around performance, nutrition, and strength. It sounds conversational because it is. Enjoy!

Recently I did a presentation for the team on some pretty massive changes to training that I have been thinking about for the past year. I felt like now we could truly start to condition for the sport, we’ve had 2 years of working on the fundamentals and the team was beginning to get a good understanding of the basics.
What I really had to communicate to the team before we started using some more advanced methods was to remind them that strength is always our foundation, that’s what’s going to protect their bodies from getting hurt.
So, when we start doing the more advanced conditioning and somebody gets hurt (during a game… not in the weight room), or I see something I don’t like, they will immediately get pulled off of conditioning and back to strength.
If someone gets hurt, the first thing that we need to get done is get stronger in the area that was injured, as soon as we possibly can once the doctor or trainer says they are ready. But that's not four weeks, that's not even two weeks of inactivity, it's a few days, and then we quickly transition into building strength.
The touchstone in sports and athletics is always strength. As a foundation, we always have to come back to building strength. Your back hurts, let's get stronger. Your shoulder hurts, let's get stronger. Your knees hurt, let's get stronger, and let’s get stronger through a full range of motion. That is how your body stays healthy and safe. Of course, this is under the understanding that more major issues have already been ruled out and we can identify a strength deficit.
I like to think of strength training as building armor for the body. This doesn’t equate to growing huge muscles, especially for females. I’ve been strength training for the last 20 years, and by no means do I have tons of muscle mass. Yes, you will build some muscle, but there is a limit to that. So again, for women reading, you can trust your body to get as strong as possible, and not get enormous.
Another reason we lift weights is because it has an incredible effect on your tendons and your ligaments, making them thicker and stronger. It's not just the muscular strength that can help us reduce injury. It’s the other effects as well, such as thicker ligaments and tendons as well as bone density. This isn’t something we should start thinking about in our 40s and 50s, lets build these dense bones and thicker ligaments now. Let your children start to build those as young athletes.
Another method that I see a lot of people using is they'll condition their athletes very hard. They then typically only use corrective exercises, the ones that you typically see during physical therapy. They're very targeted exercises designed to strengthen a very specific part of the body.
In most cases, they're not large multiple joint exercises but again more specific single joint exercise. There’s nothing wrong with corrective exercises, but they are a supplement not a staple. It’d be like your only nutrition being a protein shake, definitely not a long term plan that covers all of your bases.
First we squat, we deadlift, we do glute bridges, and we do lunges. Then let's add in some targeted correctives, some lateral side steps, deadbugs, clams… things that are used to build a little bit of strength and bring up what's very weak, but only if it's part of the larger performance program.

Since you’re here: We have a small favor to ask! At SAPT, we are committed to sharing quality information that is both entertaining and compelling to help build better athletes. Please take a moment to share the articles on social media, engage us authors with questions and comments below, and link to articles when appropriate if you have a blog or participate on forums of related topics.

Thank you! SAPT

Sarah Walls 8/8/19 Sarah Walls 8/8/19

Athlete Performance: Try this for a New Level of Readiness

Have you ever experienced a “blah” feeling at the onset of a competition? Are you a coach and find your team to be flat the first 10-minutes or so? Coach Sarah Walls shares a simple strategy to improve player competition readiness.

Have you ever experienced a “blah” feeling at the onset of a competition? Despite being completely recovered and ready by all other indicators? Have you wondered what the deal is with that?

If you choose to use strength or strength-speed lifts in your priming, make sure you get the volume and load dead-on! Not a lot of room for error with this technique.

Are you a coach and find your team to be flat the first 10-minutes or so?

Well it could be that you have missed out on an underutilized, but quick and easy, method of precompetition preparation. The strategy is called Priming.

It is simple and you can easily implement a priming workout to help you or your team pull out of the early competition slump.

Game day lifts have been used for a long time - especially by athletes in sports that have multiple competitions in one week. But, to execute a true pregame LIFT you really need to be certain that the athletes are extremely well trained so that you can garner the proper effects. If you go too far, you could add unnecessary fatigue that may impact performance.

Hey! Is this like Russian Roulette for game day prep?!? The stakes are high and we have no idea what will happen?

No, c’mon, I wouldn’t do you like that!

Staying true to my ultraconservative loading parameters, I suggest that if you’ve never used Priming techniques previously (or are working with a relatively untrained group of athletes - like high school athletes!) that you start off with body weight and medicine ball work.

And taking it one step further, you will also try to limit the eccentric load as much as possible.

The goal of priming is to fire up your central nervous system and get your body ready to GOOOOO for your next workout.

Here’s a sample program that is on the lighter end of the spectrum:

Be sure you/your athletes are thoroughly warmed up before starting and be sure to target similar movement patterns to the exercises you’ve chosen, too:

Box Jump 3x3 (rest :90)

Medicine Ball Chest Push with Step 3x3/leg (rest :90)

Partner Side Throw (light toss) 3x3/side (rest :90)

Set box height appropriately to ensure an easy, soft landing - we’re not trying to set any records.

Allow the ball land on the floor before resetting for the next rep.

A light partner toss is all that’s needed. Notice how the back hip is loaded as the ball is received.

To achieve the targeted benefits, each exercise needs to be done with focus, precision, and power! Avoid circuiting exercises and enjoy a leisurely rest to fully power-up before the next set.

Place this workout the morning of a night competition or the day before a midday game and enjoy a new feeling of readiness when it counts.

Thank you! SAPT

Sarah Walls 8/7/19 Sarah Walls 8/7/19

15-min Conditioning: Maximum Destruction

If you’re short on time in the gym, give this quick conditioning workout from Coach Sarah Walls a try. It’s hard, real hard - don’t say we didn’t warn you.

I’m not a fan of “one-off” workouts. I’m all about training in a well planned system for superior results. I mean, have you ever talked to me?

While training plans are always best, sometimes it’s fun and totally appropriate for you to test yourself with a really hard single workout. It can be used as a measuring stick for the future or a way to see who ends up in the bathroom first: you or your buddy.

Also, if you only have a short amount of time and want to smash yourself (ie, maximize your time), this will be a good option for that, too.

Equipment needed for maximum destruction… I mean, progress:

Assault Bike or Woodway Curve***

Do a solid warm-up (if you need ideas here’s How to Warm-up in a Hurry)

Once you’re ready to go, hop on your bike or treadmill and go…

:45 as hard as possible (watch your watts and/or speed to ensure maintaining your peak) combine with 90-sec Active Recovery (jogging or light-ish biking)

REPEAT 6 times

Alright, so I know the above workout looks pretty benign. It is NOT. Please use good judgement before deciding if this is a good workout match for you.

If you’ve tracked your output via speed or watts and maintained your peak output, you can effectively leave the gym knowing your body is well on it’s way to recovering to a state that is more healthy and useful than when you walked in!

Closing thought: if you’re not messed up the rest of the day, you didn’t actually give it your all and need to try again next week. Hey, sometimes we have to teach our body how to work. It’s okay, but just know this one is a killer.

***Lots of equipment can work like a traditional treadmill, spin bike or a VersaClimber. You want to be able to see some sort of measurable for your work and recovery periods. I would not recommend elliptical or stepper.

Thank you! SAPT

Sarah Walls 8/6/19 Sarah Walls 8/6/19

Hidden Problem of Early Sport Specialization

Early sport specialization is not only about children getting injured too young because of only playing one sport. It is also about how this model removes the opportunity to teach children how to take care of themselves from a physical movement and strength perspective, by focusing solely on sporting success and mastery. Coach Sarah Walls discusses a broad approach to what can be done in this multi-part series.

Early sport specialization is not only about children getting injured too young because of only playing one sport (and, therefore, not reaching their potential as athletes - this is the club sport model), it is also about - and dare I say this is the more important, yet less discussed part - how the early sport specialization model removes the opportunity to teach children how to take care of themselves from a physical movement and strength perspective, by focusing solely on sporting success and mastery.

In our fanatical quest to produce the top athletes, we effectively are a country producing adults who do not know how to eat healthfully or keep their bodies strong. We set them adrift in adulthood to fend for themselves. Many only knowing to search out an adult league [soccer, basketball, volleyball, etc.]. High school sports were, for many, the last time they were “in good shape.” It is understandable how this would be what is naturally sought out.

Recently, I caught the end of a conversation between Ryan Wood, one of SAPT’s coaches, and one of our interns, Iman. They were talking about the problems with early specialization in sports and how that affects the general population over the long term.

What is early sport specialization? The more traditional definition: when a child younger than age 15 plays one sport year-round. My expanded definition: when children are taught from a young age via PE that physical health is found in competitive team and individual sports.

During this conversation, Ryan brought up a great point that I had never thought of before: All of the conversations surrounding early sport specialization generally consist of explaining why these athletes that are specializing in one sport at a young age are getting injured and how detrimental this is for developing athletes to their full potential. True.

But what Ryan pointed out was that this is a very short-sighted concern. You see, Ryan teaches physical education (PE) and is very focused on long-term human development. So he really gives a lot of thought to what we, as a society, are doing in PE and more specifically about what PE should be doing for us.

In my opinion, the concept of physical education is just the same as learning math skills or learning science skills. We should be learning how to take care of our physical bodies in a step-by-step process and then taking these skills with us into adulthood and using them over a lifetime.

Learning how to take care of our physical bodies (Physical Education) at a young age and progressing appropriately through high school could help us - again, as a society - dramatically reduce injuries and illnesses associated with inactivity and poor food choices. And, honestly, just produce happier adults.

As best I can recall, I’m not using anything that I learned from my 12-years of physical education. I remember learning to play dodgeball, kickball, ultimate frisbee, archery, dancing, volleyball, and basketball, but that was about it.

Teaching while modeling how to care for yourself physically should be the foundation of Physical Education programs.

For the most part, PE was the time to goof around while looking forward to my volleyball practice after school. Getting to shoot a compound bow for a couple weeks was pretty cool, but a life skill? Not quite.

I would have been far better served by being taught some strategies to help me stop spraining my ankle regularly and learning to become more mechanically sound in throwing a ball to lessen the painful tendonitis I developed in my elbow. Both of these issues prevented me from competing to my fullest, but in the long-run [read: even today] are both recurring issues that harken back to when I was 14 or so.

Everything in PE was and is at an introductory level. The skills being taught do not effectively build on each other. Think about it this way: how do we learn to read and write? It starts with simple things like learning the alphabet, learning sounds, and learning words. Over time, we gain varying levels of mastery of the language(s) we’ve focused on learning. The skills build on each other.

We can generally say that physical education is not currently working the same way as other subjects are taught - and it should be! Children are learning a rotation of specialized sports skills. Not the knowledge they need to take care of their physical bodies.

Please check out Part 2 of this blog: How America’s PE approach normalized the inefficient and dangerous youth sports development model at the club level.

Thank you! SAPT

Sarah Walls 7/26/19 Sarah Walls 7/26/19

Performance Nutrition: Collagen Supplementation

Collagen protein has emerged as a way to speed up recovery from injury - and almost any injury at that! But is it just another carefully packaged, expensive product with little to show in the way of research supporting its use? Or does it work as advertised? Coach Sarah Walls explores the research and shares her experience in using a specific protocol.

Okay, so I am not claiming to be a collagen expert, but there is some interesting information I want to share as I think it can help many, many people.

Over the last couple of years, collagen protein has emerged as the next darling of supplements in the multi-billion dollar fitness industry. It is touted as a way to speed up recovery from injury - and almost any injury at that!

But is it just another carefully packaged, expensive product with little to show in the way of research supporting its use? Or does it work as advertised?

Let’s find out more.

What is collagen exactly?

“Collagen is the most abundant protein in the body and helps give structure to our hair, skin, nails, bones, ligaments and tendons in our body. Thanks to collagen, we’re better able to move, bend and stretch. Collagen is also behind helping hair shine, skin glow and nails stay strong.” - Vital Proteins website

What does collagen supplementation do?

The product makers claim that making an effort to consume collagen protein can help do everything from restore the bounce in your skin to shine in your hair and even help bones, ligaments, tendons, and muscles repair after injury.

Wow, that all sounds awesome! Count me in! Well, wait… let’s explore the last part of those claims a bit by focusing on injury.

Does collagen supplementation really help?

If you check out these two studies (here and here) it is pretty clear there is evidence that supports its use in acute injury.

That’s really great news. But what you pair the collagen with, plus when you take it, prove equally important.

Here is a bit of structure on how to use during the pre-workout timeframe:

Step 1: First and foremost, in the realm of recovery from injury, gelatin works just as well as collagen. So, if you are on a budget, making some old fashioned Jello may be just as good, if not better. Secondly, and most importantly, pair the collagen/gelatin with Vitamin C. The dietician I work with recommends 50mg.

Step 2: Consume about one hour before exercise. The idea here is that the collagen will get synthesized into the various structures of the body at an increased rate when taken before exercise and especially when paired with Vitamin C.

Step 3: Have a training session, practice, or rehab session that is loading/stressing the recovering area.

Step 4: New information is surfacing about multiple “doses” per day being especially effective. So, you could consider having a second serving later in the day (not necessarily paired with exercise).

Step 5: Give it some time. How much? I’m not sure, but probably 2-weeks at minimum to see if you notice improvement.

I’ve been using this protocol with some of the athletes I work with and we’ve had very encouraging results. So, I’d say it’s worth a try.

Taking this a bit further, I think there is reason to consider using collagen/gelatin in a pre-workout timeframe for anyone training who wants the best possible adaptation to the training/practice load. Meaning: even non-injured athletes could expect good results.

Part of the benefit to running, jumping, and resistance training is how dense and robust it makes the body’s tendons, ligaments, and bones. All those same benefits can seemingly be amplified by this little tweak to your pre-workout nutrition. Thus, potentially cutting your risk of injury.

Personally, I have a heck of a lot of trouble with my tendons, in particular. So, I’m going to give this protocol a month and see where we end up!

Thank you! SAPT

Sarah Walls 7/24/19 Sarah Walls 7/24/19

How to Build High Performance Recovery Sessions (HPRT): Explosive Exercise Selection

You’ll feel and move better with HPRT sessions, but to build an effective one, you have to know what exercises and intensities you’re selecting and why! Timing is important, please take a look Coach Sarah Walls’ advice on how to finish up and effective session.

If you missed the first installment on building high performance recovery sessions, you can find it here: Part 1.

Let’s get back into it!

The main focus of the high performance recovery session is to finish the exercise portion of the session with an explosive movement of some kind.

A Clean with no catch is an excellent choice for the explosive component of an HPRT session.

These would be exercises like speed deadlifts - but it’s important to note you generally want to drop the bar at the top to minimize the eccentric loading. A box jump would be a good choice, too, as the eccentric loading is minimal. Stay away from any movement with a high eccentric loading like depth drops, broad jumps, vertical jumps, and weightlifting movements that involve the catch. Even medicine ball throws will work, as long as the eccentric damage remains low.

Usually, I will pair this explosive work with upper back work. Honestly, it’s just a nice opportunity to get in extra pulling volume. There’s no secret key to using a pull paired here.

In my experience, if the athlete is recovered enough to use something like a speed deadlift, you can realistically go up pretty heavy on these as long as you try to keep the speed high and drop it at the top.

How do you decide if the athlete is “recovered enough”? This is well beyond this post’s scope, but you can look to HRV, using any variety of apps that generate a recovery score, the 10-second finger tap test, and good ol’ subjective gut feeling based on knowing your athletes really well.

If I’m working with a big group or a team, I’d probably choose to use MB throws or box jumps, as they take much less 1-on-1 coaching. If you do choose speed deadlift, keep in mind the state that their bodies are in when you are deciding if you are going to stick to lower percentages or go higher. The intensity can really vary, but the main goal is to squeeze out some high effort speed and power production.

A good guideline that I tend to stick closely to on speed work is Prilepin’s chart, which gives you guidelines on total volume at certain percentages of 1RM. This isn’t something set in stone, you can play around with this and decide what works best for your athletes. Typically staying a little more on the conservative side works best, in my experience.

After finishing the explosive portion, we do a little more light aerobic activity for three to five minutes, and then back to the breathing drills for at least 3-5 minutes to bring them back into the relaxed state we found at the beginning of the session. Finally, the session is finished with stretching and SMR, as needed.

It’s easy for these sessions to take an eternity! But keep them to under 60-min.

The whole idea for an HPRT session is to get the athlete’s CNS firing again so they start to feel normal and ready, not just loosened up from a warmup and stretching.

Sample Session:

A well timed and planned HPRT will get the individual feeling like an athlete again. This is typically why I will use this kind of session right before practices if the athlete is feeling run down.

“90/90 Breathing w/Hammies 2x5
90/90 Breathing Pullover 2x5
Breathing Bear Plank Mtn Climber 2x5

Rock Walk x2 ea way
Banded 1/2 Kneeling Ankle Mob x8
Banded 1/2 Kneeling Dorsiflexion x8
Goal Posts x8
Kneeling Bench T-Spine Mob x5
Hip Hurdle Mobility x5/way

5-min Versaclimber
MB Slams x10
5-min HICT on Bike
MB Side Throw x5/side
A1 Sled Push 3x1
A2 Carry 3x1
B1 Trap Bar Drop DL 4x3
B2 Inv Row 4xAMRAP
3-min light bike
3-min Relaxation Breathing Position on Roller
Roll, stretch ”

— Sample HPRT Session by Sarah Walls

I used a similar system to get my athletes in the college setting ready for strength sessions, they would do an olympic lift variation as the last part of their warm-up to really get their CNS primed and ready. This takes them from not being ready for practice at all, up to maybe 80-85%, where they can still have a productive practice.

The HPRT approach does not have to only be reserved for elite athletes, it can be used for high school athletes with a competition the next day, or even hard-driving trainees that enjoy training very frequently but who have a tough time recovering from big workouts every time (think powerlifters, CrossFitters, bodybuilders, and weightlifters).

This is a versatile method that can be used both as a standalone session, or right before practices to make sure the team is primed and ready. So give this a shot before your next hard practice/session and see how it works for you!