January 2011 Blog Posts (43)

Perhaps on of the most flawed concepts that has emerged in the last twenty-five years in the lexicon of training is prehab. The term originated with pitching guru Tom House in the mid 1980’s when he was the pitching coach of the Texas Rangers. Tom has his PHD in marketing and he is a good marketer. Prehab was a marketing term he coined for his exercises to prevent pitching injures. As the years passed more guru’s latched…

I have been thinking about this for quite awhile. I am going to tell you a story today. It is not a pretty story, but it is a story that is repeated in pool, gyms and fields across our country everyday. Young growing athletes are being abused and nobody wants to say anything. If we did this to a dog…

Brace Yourself

Brace yourself to get ready.

Only at a velocity of zero can a muscle produce its maximal force, yet its length does not change.   In training this is called an isometric contraction and techniques such as pushing or pulling on an immovable bar or against a given load on an exercise machine at a particular angle are used to Get Stronger.

If you brace, tensing your musculature as…

At the World Economic Forum, currently taking place in Davos, Switzerland, a group of leading CEO’s have introduced the so-called Workplace Wellness Alliance. This consortium of corporations including Novo Nordisk, Nestlé, Johnson & Johnson, Unilever, BT and others, have partnered up to improve global health and productivity by making wellness a priority, starting at the workplace.

Return on…

Just basic principle based, focused training designed to meet sport demands and fit the needs of the individual athlete. My approach is very minimalist, work with the tools you have. When I started coaching track & field 42 years ago we did not have a track, so we laid out a track on…

This is the type of reaction that I was getting at with my last blog . Not to attack but to question . The general public (faculty, parents , athletes ,even sport coaches). I feel it is not exercises selection or protocol but mointoring that might need to be looked at.

K Toth

Offseason workouts need changes before the next funeral…

ESPN.com reports that Iowa is going to investigate what caused its football players to be hospitalized after offseason workouts.  Here's the story:

IOWA CITY, Iowa -- University of Iowa leaders promised Thursday to investigate what caused 13 football players to be hospitalized with an unusual muscle disorder following…

It is so easy to get caught up in the exercises, sets, reps, runs, and jumps and lose sight of the goal, which is making the athlete better. If the exercises, sets, reps, runs and jumps do not fit the athlete and are not sport…

ESPN.com is reporting that Stafon Johnson is Suing USC and an Assistant Strength Coach for Negligence in Relation to a September 2009 Weightlifting Accident.  Here's the article:

BEVERLY HILLS -- Former…

Use of proper technique in strength and conditioning programs is imperative to the safety and progress of every athlete. When this becomes the entire focus of the strength coach I feel the program is at risk. The development of Functional technique should be the goal with the focus on strenght devlopment.…

Still Fast But A Lot Slower

Still Fast But A Lot Slower

If you look at men or women from the ages of 18-80 and examine the shortening velocity of their musculature you may be tremendously surprised to find that age has no effect on how quickly a muscle can change its length or V max.

With aging there is a decrease in maximal force and power due to the loss of muscle mass and not to the unloaded shortening…

The Head Strength and Conditioning Coordinator of the Green Bay Packers is Mark Lovat.  The Head Strength and Conditioning Coordinator of the Pittsburgh Steelers is Garrett Giemont.  Understanding that both teams will be hot topics over the next two weeks as they prepare to face off in Super Bowl XLV, Strength Performance Network thought you would be interested to learn about the background of each coach.  The following…

The actual design of the session should carefully consider:

Progression /Sequence

Training time available & time allocation

Integration of skill with work to develop physical capacities

Size of the facility or training area relative to the number of athletes training

Equipment available

Coaching personnel available as well as the number of athletes that will participate in the actual training session. 

The University of Pittsburgh's new head football coach Todd Graham hired Shawn Griswold to run its strength and conditioning program.  Griswold was at Tulsa the past seven seasons where he served as its head strength and conditioning coach.  PittsburghLive.com reports:

 …

The University of Tennessee hired Ron McKeefery as their new head strength and conditioning coach of football.  The following was published by TheChattanoogan.com.

The University of Tennessee football program announced Monday that Ron McKeefery has been named football head strength and conditioning coach.

The 2008 Under Armour Collegiate Strength and Conditioning Coach of the…