10 Takeaways: The 1×20 Method
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My key points from “The Revolutionary 1 x 20 RM Strength Training Program” by Dr. Michael Yessis: 1. The 1×20 Method is effective for youth or beginner athletes. The body adapts more readily to lower intensity strength exercises (greater growth and development of the muscles, joints, and support structures without fatigue and chance of injury).…
10 Takeaways: What We Need is Speed
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My key points from “What We Need is Speed: Scientific Practice of Getting Fast” by Henk Kraaijenhof: 1. “Try to find the right program for your athlete, not the right athlete for your program.” “Some athlete’s superfood might be other athlete’s poison.” 2. Sprint performance depends on the T-factors: Talent (genetic predisposition), Training, Temperature (need…
How I Squatted 500 and Deadlifted 600: Reflexive Performance Reset
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You don’t know what you don’t know – Douglas Heel My body has seen its share of setbacks: Chronic Achilles tendonitis, patellar tendonitis, low back pain, a fractured collarbone, and too many groin strains and ankle sprains to count. After high school athletics, walking on to play college basketball was out of the question.…
Olympic Lifts Don’t Optimize Explosive Power
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Paradigm shift. Noun: A fundamental change in approach or underlying assumptions. Before I start, it’s imperative to understand power. Power is the product of strength and speed [18]. Generating high power outputs is one of the most important qualities an athlete can possess [8, 15, 18] as it largely determines explosive athletic performance [21]. For…
How to Jump Higher: Eccentric Training
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Paradox. Noun: a seemingly absurd or self-contradictory statement or proposition that when investigated or explained may prove to be well founded or true. As a young basketball player, my dream was to dunk a basketball. During high school, I experimented with vertical jumping programs. After years of hard training, I was disappointed – I still…
Why Athletes Should Get Jacked
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KEY POINTS: Muscle mass is correlated to both strength and sprinting performance Strength is limited by muscle size Training for muscle size can enhance gains in power (phase potentiation)
You’re Slow Because You’re Weak
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KEY POINTS: Stronger athletes jump higher High levels of force produce high levels of acceleration and velocity Stronger athletes compete at higher levels of sport and perform better in explosive athletic measures Getting strong provides the base for speed and power gains