All Blog Posts (2,791)

Human movement is fundamentally beautiful and flowing. Step back and look at sports from a movement perspective, not a sport skill perspective, you will see a commonality in movement, a beauty and a flow. Start with walking gait. Observe the opposition of the arms and legs and the counter rotation of the shoulders and the hips. Look for this across movements. Gait is a great place to start! All throws look fundamentally the same, all jumps look the same,…

A month ago, I posted on the concept of work capacity, here is the follow-up. The application of the concept of work capacity is based on basic principles:

I think there are 3 dynamics of athletic-based strength and conditioning that have to be accounted for regardless of the setting, "Physical Fitness, Healthiness, and Readiness." 

Physical fitness is somewhat of a transient term because it's always evolving (progressing/maintaining/regressing) during a training cycle.  Some qualify baseline fitness using maximum oxygen consumption while others use poundage or expressions of power as a means of…

This is an excerpt from my book Athletic Development – The Art & science of Functional Sports Conditioning that I thought was particularly timely.

“We do not coach in a vacuum. Within our society we have some…

Work capacity is the ability to tolerate a workload and recover from that workload. In order for an athlete to improve they must be able to do a certain threshold amount of work. They must be able to work at a level that will ensure enough stress to achieve an optimum adaptive response. If they cannot do the work, they will not improve. Therefore, the goal with this type of individual would be to build a work capacity base that fits the specific demands of the…

In the course of my fifty years of coaching I have been fortunate to have had great mentors, influences and role models. I learned very early that I was not entitled to anything I had to pay my dues and earn the right to move forward. I constantly had to prove my competence and continue to improve.

In today’s world with increasing specialization and fast tracking I worry about the up and coming generation of coaches.…

In the course of my fifty years of coaching I have been fortunate to have had great mentors, influences and role models. I learned very early that I was not entitled to anything I had to pay my dues and earn the right to move forward. I constantly had to prove my competence and continue to improve.

In today’s world with increasing specialization and fast tracking I worry about the up and coming generation of coaches.…

I am possibly going through an old age identity crisis, but I have been thinking a lot lately about how people define themselves or let other define them. It got me thinking about how I define myself, so at the risk of coming across as vain and self-centered I thought I would share how I define myself. This is partially as a result of spending too many years letting others define me. I have learned to have a chance to make an impact and lead a purposeful life…

I am possibly going through an old age identity crisis, but I have been thinking a lot lately about how people define themselves or let other define them. It got me thinking about how I define myself, so at the risk of coming across as vain and self-centered I thought I would share how I define myself. This is partially as a result of spending too many years letting others define me. I have learned to have a chance to make an impact and lead a purposeful life…

I am possibly going through an old age identity crisis, but I have been thinking a lot lately about how people define themselves or let other define them. It got me thinking about how I define myself, so at the risk of coming across as vain and self-centered I thought I would share how I define myself. This is partially as a result of spending too many years letting others define me. I have learned to have a chance to make an impact and lead a purposeful life…

Q & A with Morland STRENGTH: Where we've been and where we are going in the future... http://bit.ly/reset-2018 #LifeMovementSkills

For the past fifteen years I have been focused on what to do to get better at getting better. I have explored cognitive neuroscience, recognizing that the brain and how we train the brain is the key to getting better at getting better. In that pursuit I have read numerous books, devoured research literature, attended seminars and talked to as…

Do you want your athletes fit for the test or fit to play for the game? There is a real and distinct difference on one hand and some real lessons to be learned on the other. It all depends how the “fitness” tests are used and how they are framed in the overall context of the annual and career plan. The goal is accurate feedback in a competitive environment of the physical qualities that could determine success in the game. Selection and timing of tests sends a…

This post reporting Tony Strudwick’s comments is what prompted me to write this post. http://trainingground.guru/articles/tony-strudwick-why-sport-science-has-lost-its-way

Let’s stop putting inordinate amount of time in clearing a smooth and direct path for the athlete. All it does is set up…

Recently the Junior World Track & Field Championships were televised. I watched with great interest. It was interesting to see the wider variation in body types than what you see at the senior level. I couldn’t help but think as I was watching how many of these athletes would go on and be a factor at the senior level. By being a factor, I look at it several ways:

• How many will go on to compete at the senior…

A drunken man was intently searching the ground near a lamp post. My friend asked what he was looking for. The drunk replied that he was looking for his car keys, so my friend helped him look without success. Then he asked whether the man was certain that he dropped the keys near the lamppost. “No,” replied, “I lost the keys somewhere across the street.” My friend asked him “So why are you looking here?” The drunk quickly answered, “The light is much better…

Focusing on muscles and isolated movements is mentally convenient. It is very easy to break the body and movements into parts and separate systems and focus on thus parts to the exclusion of the whole. It may be convenient and easy but is not right, it ultimately leads to confusion. The body moves and works through connections, chain reactions and synergies. The brain does not recognize individual muscles, it recognizes patterns of muscle synergies. To…