FOUNDATIONAL DOCUMENTS BY GREGORY M.

MOORE DPT, PES, HSSCS

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SOUTH LYON ATHLETICS STRENGTH AND CONDITIONING PROGRAM

FOUNDATIONAL DOCUMENTS
BY GREGORY M. MOORE DPT, PES, HSSCS

Introduction to the strength coach: I am a Doctor of Physical Therapy (DPT) from Oakland University with a Bachelors degree in Physical Education and Health Education from Eastern Michigan University. I began personal training in 2001 and was certified for 8 years when I attained my Performance Enhancement Specialist (PES) certification. Until I graduated from my doctoral program in 2010, I spent a good deal of extracurricular time building relationships in the S&C and personal training communities. I hold the High School Strength and Conditioning Specialist (HSSCS) certification from the International Youth and Conditioning Association (IYCA) and am the owner of Moore Performance Health, LLC.. My Duties: I am a full time Physical Therapist at Healthstyles in downtown South Lyon. As the strength coach, I will be travelling to heading strength program for Healthstyles and will be at South Lyon East two days a week during the afternoon training sessions to work with student athletes and consult with coaches in the development of each teams S&C program. I will be creating online resources for the benefit of coaches, athletes, and families alike. Disclaimer: These documents are to lay a foundation that will deal with the basic components of high school S&C programs. South Lyon High School and South Lyon East High School will have variation in their operating S&C programs, but the fundamentals of such programs are resolute.

PHILOSOPHY
The International Youth Conditioning Association (IYCA) states that for any S&C program to be effective defining a program philosophy and its associated needs should be the first step.2 For that purpose, our program philosophy is outlined below: It is the philosophy of Healthstyles S&C program to concentrate on long-term athletic development for every student involved in interscholastic athletics. The S&C program should be implemented and periodized year round, both in and out of season. The program will utilize the following guiding principles: Functional Based Training The athlete should train in a fashion that resembles the way they perform their sport. Functional training is training which has a high degree of transferability due to the allowance of the body to move in all directions, in a natural fashion. For example, if the sport requires the athlete to perform with their feet on the ground, in a vertical orientation, functional training would resemble this requirement. Though weight machines appear to be safer to use, they restrict movements to a single plane of motion, Page | 1

which is an unnatural form of movement for the body and may potentially lead to faulty movement patterns or injury.3 In research, functional training has shown an improvement in strength and performance gains over traditional training.7 Multiple-Joint Movements Never in sport does an athlete isolate one single joint. In training, there is very limited need to complete a lot of single joint movements. Like functional training, multiple joint movements allow for greater transfer to sport. One of the more recent concepts in the S&C literature is the importance of triple extension. Triple extension is the extension of the ankle, knee, and hip simultaneously and is an occurrence that takes place in almost every explosive movement in sports. Multi-joint movements enhance the development of athletic movement patterns, creating a safer, superior athlete. Biomechanical Analysis of the Athlete In my experience as a Physical Therapist, exercising an injured athlete without first correcting an abnormal movement pattern will result in a continuation of the injured state or may result in recurrent injury. If we, as coaches, allow an exercise to be done wrong, we are in effect allowing the athlete to create a dysfunctional movement pattern and a decrease in athletic performance will be observed. Further, allowing an athlete with structural deficits or lack of mobility to complete exercises that are too difficult will drastically increase the likelihood of injury. This premise has application with basic lifting as well as movement patterns required of the athlete during sport. Coaches know that practice does not make perfect. Perfect practice makes perfect! Respecting the Training Age of the Athlete The training age of the individual athlete is an issue very unique to the high school strength and conditioning program. Most athletes will come to the high school with little to zero experience training for performance. When considering athletes with low training age, an S&C program should first teach biomechanics, emphasize body weight resistance, and correct imbalances. This foundation will make the progression to advanced performance-enhancing techniques safer and more productive for the athlete.

PERIODIZATION
Adapted from How to Create a Strength Training Program4 with permission of Jim Kielbaso MS, CSCS, director of Total Performance Training Center in Wixom, MI and developer of www.ultimatestrengthandconditioning.com. OFF-SEASON / PRE-SEASON / IN-SEASON The time of the year is going to influence your program design more than any other factor. The major differences between the programs you will design for each season are as follows: Off-Season: The off-season is the best time to train for strength because fewer competing demands are placed on the body at this time. Organized training volume should be increased during the off-season. Page | 2

More free time means that more days per week may be planned for, more sets of each exercise and more energy will be spent on strength than any other time of the year. In general athletes will train in the weight room 2-4 days per week and 14-20 total sets will be completed per workout. Aerobic and anaerobic conditioning is de-emphasized during the offseason to allow more energy to be spent on gaining strength and addressing other deficiencies. Pre-Season: Strength training will continue through the pre-season, but the overall volume will gradually decrease as more time and energy are spent on conditioning and fitness. In general, strength training will consist of 2-3 days per week and 12-15 total sets per workout. The intensity of each set may be increased as the volume of work is decreased and developing power is emphasized. In-Season: It is absolutely imperative that strength training be continued through the competitive season. The total volume of work will be reduced, so the relative intensity can be increased. The workouts will be less frequent and shorter in duration. Athletes should strength train at least one day per week, and no more than three days. Workouts will take 30-40 minutes with a total of 10-14 sets per workout. The number of training days per week and volume of each workout will depend upon the competitive schedule and physical demands of the sport. While I fully understand the competing demands placed upon athletes, the need to address sport-specific skills, and address game-time organizational issues, I strongly advocate a commitment to the long term development of athletes. In reflection of this, inseason teams will take priority in scheduling times for facilities.

OPTIONS FOR LIFTING IN SEASON:6 The absolute best option is to lift in the mornings away from afternoon sport practice. o This allows the athletes to recover and maximizes adaptation from training. o Morning nutrition must be adequate in this case. The second best option is to lift directly prior to sport practices with lower intensity and volume so it doesn't interfere with sport practice. The lift can be used as part of sport practice warmups. o The majority of in-season training will take place in this time frame. The worst option and least productive is to lift immediately after sport practices.

COMMENTS Remember that in-season workouts are reduced to 30-40 minutes, ideally 2 times a week. For any team choosing morning training, desiring input from the strength coach, accommodations will be made. Resources to assist coaches in the implementation of strength training will be made available online. Page | 3

COMPONENTS OF THE STRENGTH AND CONDITIONING PROGRAM

STRENGTH AND POWER TRAINING

Strength and power training is the primary component of a strength and conditioning program and developing strength is essential for progressive speed and agility performance enhancement. Acceleration is directly related to the amount of force that the athlete can put into the ground and deceleration id greatly correlated with eccentric strength. Remember that we lift weights to improve the quality of game-time performance, not to talk about how much weight we lifted. We use predicted maximum testing to motivate athletes, choose the weight to be lifted for the next round of programming, and to determine the effectiveness of our training choices. The goal of strength and power training is to create strong bases for athletes to build athletic skill upon. Please refer to the philosophy of South Lyon Athletics S&C program, as the philosophy of the overall program affects this component more than any other.

Keys to Success Each strength training session should last between 30-60 minutes. There is no reason for any high school strength workout to last more than 60 minutes. 4 In general, it is unnecessary for any high school athlete to use weights that cannot be lifted at least 6 times with good form. Prepubescent athletes should generally use weights that allow for at least 10 reps. 4 It is not just what you do, but how you do it. The mind is primary! Athletes must come focused and utilize safe and efficient lifting techniques. Coaches will lay out a program for athletes, but athletes must carry the engine. BRING IT! As Tony Horton of P90X so eloquently states. There is no rigid answer to building a strength program. Questions open the mind.

Answers may either free or close it. The closed mind stagnates, and repeats its meager experience over and over.8 Have an open mind.
Recovery is more than half the process.8 Nutrition is the foundation. Eat for an objective.8

Expected Limitations Months of consideration have gone into the development of this program. There are many intricacies and advanced concepts in the strength training field that have been considered and purposely left out. While not addressed in this foundational document, these advanced concepts will not be forgotten and will go into planning with individual coaches. Page | 4

It is impossible to individualize a program to each student-athlete on this large of a scale, especially at the high school level. Form and safety should be emphasized over intensity and because individuals learn at different paces, some one-on-one time will be required. An open dialogue between coaches, the strength coach, and athletes can help address this issue. There will be limitations in the space available and the weight room will inevitable become a busy place. Flexibility will be required.

Planning Workouts Yearly periodization will follow the concepts outlined in the Understanding Periodization portion of this document. Workouts within this periodization scheme will ideally be planned in 6 week segments. Repetition prescription will be varied every two weeks, progressing to a lower repetition range with higher weight. Every 6 weeks different exercises or exercise order will be selected, addressing specific needs in that point in the periodization scheme. In the sixth week of a segment, predicted one repetition maximum will be built into the workouts using a 4-6 repetition range for all core lifts Doing things this way will provide enough consistency for 6 weeks, while changing parameters frequently enough to continually force adaptation. It will also be motivating because athletes will have to put more weight on their lifts as they decrease rep numbers.

IMPLEMENTATION Workouts will be planned for between the coaching staff of each team in conjunction with the strength and conditioning coach. Every team will have a strength program built on a year-round basis. Coaches that are more actively involved in their teams strength and conditioning will be able to have the consultation of the strength coach as a resource at their discretion. Coaches who wish to have the strength coach plan workouts for them must approve workouts. o The idea of the position of strength coach is not to take over all conditioning programs, rather it is to consult with coaches in building a successful year-round strength program that they can take ownership of. The weight room must be supervised at all times. Weight room supervision will be organized by the schools athletic director. The individual supervising the weight room at any given time will be responsible for making sure athletes are working hard and not wasting time, for making sure athletes are following the exercise program prescribed by their coaching staff, and for making sure the overall culture of the weight room lends to the intensity required for successful performance enhancement. An attempt will be made to have direct student-athlete interaction with the strength coach. As much as possible a team should be scheduled to work with the strength coach on programming new exercises. Page | 5

Online resources for coaches, players, and families are available at www.mooreperformancehealth.com. Records of all athletes performance should be kept for their entire high school athletic career. In season athletes will train as a team and in season teams will receive priority in time selection for facilities Athletes in multiple sports will train with their pre-season and in-season teams. In example, once an athlete finishes a fall sport they would begin training with their pre-season winter team. If the athlete did not have a winter sport, he or she would train with their choice of off-season team, but once the in-season training began for their spring sport, they would begin training with that team.

SPEED AND AGILITY TRAINING

Speed is the ability to achieve movement with a high velocity. It involves the ability to accelerate, reach, and maintain high velocity. Agility is the ability to decelerate, change direction, and rapidly accelerate in a new direction. When considering training for a sport it is important to analyze the above definitions of speed and agility training. Speed, by its definition, is emphasized considerably in training. The question to ask is, Should it be? This depends on the demands on the athlete and in most sports an athlete is required to decelerate, change direction, and accelerate much more frequently than they would achieve maximum velocity. The truth is there is not much transfer from speed training to agility training.2 With the exception of straight line speed sports such as track, cross country, and base-running athletes need to address agility with some degree of priority over speed training. Consider the following when designing drills for athletes to work on agility training: What an athlete really needs to be more agile: 1 1. To be stronger 2. To be stronger pushing off of one lower limb, at all levels and in all directions 3. To learn to create force, or push in the direction they want to go (not tap dance to a predetermined pattern) 4. To be more mobile in end range positions 5. To have superior levels of eccentric strength 6. To learn how to link in their eyes, head and upper body into change of direction pursuits

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MOBILITY TRAINING
This component addresses the athletes ability to move freely at a specific joint and in a specific direction. Mobility is a component of S&C that reduces soft tissue restriction, both muscle and joint, allowing an athlete a greater degree of unrestricted motion. This component of the S&C program is crucial for injury prevention and performance enhancement. Mobility will be addressed in warm-ups and cool downs both in practice and with training sessions. The following areas shall be emphasized due to their importance for athletic enhancement: Ankle Dorsal Flexion Dorsal flexion or dorsiflexion of the ankle is the ability of the shin to progress forward over the planted foot during athletic movement. Increasing dorsiflexion directly impacts performance because the foot can have greater contact with the ground during change-of-direction maneuvers, therefore, increasing the amount of force that can be applied to the ground. It also helps in straight line speed, where good mobility can potentially increase stride length. A deficit in dorsiflexion directly impacts the performance of lifts such as the squat, balance in dynamic single leg activities, and the impact cannot be understated. I have many times called dorsiflexion mobility, The most athletic joint motion in sports. Hip Extension Hip extension is another motion that is important for increasing stride length. It also directly impacts the ability to produce force at the hip to propel a body forward or upward. Commonly, hip extension is limited by tight hip flexors, caused by the routine seated positioning and bad posture of our society. Hip Rotation Hip rotation mobility is important for improving agility and cutting ability. Good hip rotation is one component of mobility that directly increases performance of rotational power skills such as kicking and throwing Thoracic Extension Thoracic mobility is the mobility of the joints in your back. Thoracic extension mobility is important for posture in daily lives as well as athletics. Good thoracic extension takes pressure off of the cervical spine and the shoulder during overhead movements. Thoracic Rotation Thoracic and hip rotation is linked for many actions and while hip rotation may impact kicking more, thoracic rotation certainly impacts throwing more. Thoracic rotation is directly linked to shoulder health

IMPLEMENTATION Pre-practice, pre-training, and pre-game warm-ups As active rest periods in between sets during training Online resources for coaches, players, and families are available at www.mooreperformancehealth.com.

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ASSESSMENT OF THE PROGRAM

LONG TERM TESTS OF ATHLETICISM

I have selected a series of five tests of athletic ability that address all components of athleticism and have developed standards for these tests. Separate sports may wish to track their own measures of athletic ability that are more specific to their sport, but these tests will be required of all athletes. Testing will be performed just prior to the beginning of each athletic season so as not to take away from crucial time in the development of sport specific skills. Testing will be performed 3x per school year regardless if the athlete participates in sports in one season, two seasons, or three seasons.

SELECTED TESTS OF ATHLETICISM

40 YD DASH Testing speed and acceleration 3 CONE SHUTTLE Testing change of direction and agility VERTICAL JUMP Testing vertical power STANDING LONG /BROAD JUMP Testing horizontal power PLYOMETRIC DOT DRILLS Testing quickness and coordination

IMPLEMENTATION Approximately 10 athletes can be tested on one testing set-up at a time. Full recovery from one task to another takes approximately 5 minutes, then a 100% effort can be given on the next test. Athletes can complete all tests in one day.

INTERMITTENT PERFORMANCE FEEDBACK

Athletes will benefit from performance feedback on a more frequent basis to see results of their training and motivate them to adhere to the program. At the end of each 6 week workout segment, predicted one repetition maximum will be built into the workouts using a 4-6 repetition range for all core lifts

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CREATING A YEARLY STRENGTH TRAINING CALENDAR

The Fit to a T system5 for strength and conditioning programs provides areas for consideration in developing your teams strength training program. T-1 Training Age/History Any considerations given to level of maturity? Freshmen to Senior- Program Adjustments? T-2 Time How does this fit into the overall calendar based on when pre-season starts? How long is the workout? T-3 Tools What types of facilities are available and what equipment do the athletes train with? T-4 Teaching-Perfect Exercise Techniques Who teaches exercise technique? How is it monitored day to day? How is loading applied in relation to exercise technique? T-5 Testing Do you test strength and/or athletic skills? If you do how are results used? T-6 Total Workload Calendar Do you ask the athlete: How do you feel today? What adjustment have you made based on athlete input? T-7 Team Position Any considerations at this level?

Using the Fit-to-a-T system and the concepts of strength training in this document, it is strongly recommended that a calendar be developed on a yearly basis that shows athletes when organized training will take place.

Items to put on the calendar Organized Practices Games Strength Training Workouts Page | 9

Agility and/or Speed Training Workouts Long-term Assessment Days Estimated 1RM Days Mini-camps, Open-gyms, etc

EXAMPLE

PLEASE TALK TO YOUR ATHLETIC DIRECTOR OR YOUR STRENGTH AND CONDITIONING SPECIALIST FOR HELP IN SETTING UP YOUR STRENGTH AND CONDITIONING CALENDAR!

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REFERENCES
1. Bott, C. Commentary: How to Get Quick, Quickly. Available at http://www.ericcressey.com/how-to-get-quick-quickly-talking-with-kelly-baggett. Accessed January 30, 2012 2. Brooks T, Cressey E, Fleming W, Grasso B, Robertson M, Rigsby P. Fundamentals of High School Strength and Conditioning. Elizabethtown, KY. International Youth Conditioning Association. 2010. 3. Burton C. 2007. "What is Functional Resistance Training". Available at http://www.3dpts.com/ ArchiveArticles/ BodyArticle/2007-03-Bodyarticle.htm. Accessed December 16, 2011. 4. Kielbaso, J. How to Create a Strength Training Program. Unpublished article. With written permission, December 19, 2011. 5. Kontor K. Fit to a T In action: How South Lyon East High School Applies the 7-T System for Their Off-Season Volleyball Program. Performance Conditioning Volleyball. 2012. Available at http://performancecondition.com/volleyball 6. Reeve, E. Wake Forest Athletic Strength and Conditioning Philosophy. Available at http://www.wakeforestsports.com/trads/wake-strength.html. Accessed December 16, 2011. 7. Spennewyn,K. Strength Gains in Fixed vs. Free-form Resistance Equipment. Journal of Strength and Conditioning Research, 2008; 22:1 75-81 8. Twight, M. The Gym Jones Training Philosophy. Available at http://www.gymjones.com/knowledge/article/4/. Accessed March 17, 2012.

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