Laura Mister

Katie Meade
Meg Greene
ATR 236 - Advanced Strength & Conditioning
Final Project
Beth Funkhouser
6 December 2017

Introduction to the Client

Our client, Robin Grossman, is a 43 year school teacher. She enjoys running with her

family and challenging herself with new feats. She looks up to her husband who is an ultra

runner, and decided to give it a shot herself. She is a very active and healthy woman on her own

will. The goals she set out to achieve with us are: being able to complete a timed 50 mile race;

train for a 60 mile walk; work on up body and core strength; and learn about cross training. With

the date of her race being right in the middle of our training we did not want to change anything

with her running for fear that it would throw her off and make her less efficient of a runner.

Instead we decided to focus on working her aerobic system through strengthening and cross

training.

For the pre-test, we decided that it would be most beneficial to assess Mrs.Grossmans

basic strength by using mostly her body weight. But first, we took Mrs. Grossmans height,

weight, and assessed her body composition with a bioelectrical impedance tool. She was then

instructed to perform a quadruped core stability exercise, an exercise that tested core strength by

her being on all fours, extending one arm simultaneously as she extended the opposite leg, then

bringing each limb back in to touch her elbow to her knee. This was scored on a 1-3 scale, in

which she earned a two because of her inability to maintain even hips. She was then asked to

perform a hamstring bridge to assess core strength, which she performed to a three level. With

the desire to test her aerobic strength in mind, we gave her a three minute cap to perform as
many push-ups and sit-ups as she could, respectively. She was also told to hold a straight arm

plank for as long as possible, also with a three minute cap. Respectively her results were twenty,

twenty, and one minute and three seconds. She was never able to perform the exercises to

completion of the three minutes. She then was asked to perform the Harvard Step Test, which is

a good measurement of fitness and a persons ability to recover after strenuous exercise. She

stepped onto a box and off of a box continually for three minutes with a metronome at 60 beats

per minutes. Her heart rate was taken before and after this test, and her results were the same;

both readings were 105 bpm. We then assessed her technique and flexibility by having her

perform a squat, a chair sit and reach, and a shoulder flexibility test, in that order. She received a

two for her squat technique due to her performing more hip flexion than knee flexion. The other

two tests she received a three. Lastly, we wanted to assess her aerobic speed with a two mile time

trial, in which she ran the distance in sixteen minutes and thirty-four seconds. Her vitals before

and after her time trial are recorded in Appendix A.

Exercise Selections

Our plan for Mrs.Grossman was to give her a cross training program. Our modes

consisted of biking, swimming, yoga, and core and upper body strengthening. Our training

frequency was two workouts a week along with her daily running and long running on the

weekends. We typically had her doing a cross training activity on thursday and a strength day on

sundays. This gave her adequate time to recover from any soreness that may have developed.

When we did strengthening exercises we had her doing low weight with high intensity; often this

meant we had her do bodyweight workouts. We created the program this way in order to increase
her aerobic endurance. The way we progressed the workouts were by intensity of the exercises.

This was achieved by either increasing repetitions or making her go for a longer amount of time.

Results

Despite Mrs. Grossman being very sick during her mid-point testing, she improved in

every aspect of her aerobic strength testing. She performed twenty-one push-ups, thirty sit-ups,

and the straight arm plank for one minute and fifteen seconds. However, the squat she performed

was slightly different than the one she performed during her pre-test. During the mid-testing, she

still had the forward head posture, but her feet were turned out this time as well. Additionally,

her pace for the two mile time trial increased this time by twenty-two seconds. Due to so many

scheduling conflicts up to this point in the project, we realized that Mrs. Grossman had missed

many of our cross training days, and because she had made notable strength gains up to this

point, we decided to shift to more of a cross training focus. She was able to participate much

more with the cross training days in the last three weeks to balance out the number of strength

days that she was training. The three week mark was around the point in this process when we

discovered how much an in depth warm-up was helping her. We were then able to alter the

warm-up to one that would be adequate not only for her strength training days, but also one that

would be sufficient for when she was running. Lastly, Mrs. Grossman began tapering on her long

runs that were assigned for her at-home workout because she was approaching her sixty mile

walk in San Diego.

The post test showed continual strength gains where she went up to twenty-two push-ups,

thirty-one situps, and a one minute and thirty-two second straight arm plank. Her two mile time

trial also improved by thirty-two seconds which we partly contributed to her improved help at
the time of the post test. There were significant changes in her Harvard Step Test and another

alteration in her squat form during post testing, however. During the past two testing periods, her

heart rate did not change from the beginning to the end of the step test, but during the post test,

her heart rate increased from 71 bpm to 84 bpm. Additionally, her squat form included an

increased lordotic curve from the lateral view and her feet were still turned out. The biggest

change we received from Mrs. Grossmans point of view was how much more motivated she was

during the testing because she wanted to do well for us.

Discussion

Our largest recommendations to our client are to stay adamant about increasing her upper

body strength to reach her goal of bettering her running posture. Along with the upper body

strength, increasing her core strength will also help with bettering her running posture and could

potentially make her a better athlete in general because everything stems from the core.

Continuing with a thorough warm-up will assist in warding off injury as she continues her health

journey, and in conjunction with a sufficient warm-up, stretching both before and after her

workouts will help with recovery and decrease chances of injury. Moreover, we would love to

see her stay motivated in every activity that she pursues, and if there is something she loves to

do, such as yoga, that she continues to pursue it. One of the most upbeat and energetic days was

the yoga session towards the end of the process; it was evident that Mrs. Grossman truly was

enjoying what she did that day. It meant a lot to us in the administering role to hear Mrs.

Grossman say she tried harder for us during her testing that she ever would try for herself. The

hard work was always evident, and her perseverance was contagious. We cannot wait to hear
about the progress that she will continue to make, and we hope that we will be able to share in

those successes with her.

Appendix A

Date Warm-up Work Out

10/17/2017 Pre-Testing Pre-Testing

10/22/2017 50sec on 10 secs rest 1.Dumbbell Bench press 3 x 10 - 8

Box step-ups pounds
Backward arm circles Prone cobra W- 30 seconds
Hand walk outs 2. Pull-ups neutral grip 2 x 5- blue band
Forward lunge forearm instep Band pull aparts 2 x 10- yellow band
3. Swimmers- 20 seconds on 10 seconds
rest for 2 minutes (modified- knees bent
to 90)

10/22/2017 Long Run- 10 miles

10/26/2017 40sec on 5 second rest All 3x12

Horizontal line jump Squats
Vertical line jump Push-ups
Boxer shuffle Sit-ups
Shoulder touches Burpies
Mountain climbers Plank 30 sec.

10/26/2017 Long Run- 6 miles

10/29/2017 50 secs on 10 secs rest 1. Upright row 3 x 10

Jumping Jacks Mountain climbers with hand
Box step-ups movement- 30 seconds
Shoulder touches 2. Pull-ups pronated grip 2 x 5
Arm swings Band walks
Leg swings 3. Russian Twists- 20 seconds on 10
seconds off for 2 minutes

11/2/2017 50 meter freestyle 20 minute aqua-jogging

11/5/2017 Dynamic Hips 30 minute bike on hill setting

Scorpions
Lunge/Hip thrust Stretch
Quad Stretch
Hip Cradles
 Hip Hinges
SIde Lunges

11/5/2017 Long Run- 2 miles

11/9/2017 Dynamic hips 1. 10 push-ups

Scorpions 30 second Plank
Lunge/hip thrust stretch 2. 15 squats
Quad stretch 30 second Hold squat position
Hip cradles 3. 10 each Alternating lung
Hip hinges 10 seconds each Side plank
Side lunges

11/12/2017 Mid-Testing Mid-Testing

11/15/2017 Long Run- 6 miles

11/16/2017 Scorpion 1. (A) 10 push-ups

Mountain climber stretch (A) 30 second prone cobra W
Shoulder Taps (A) 30 second plank
Quad stretch 2. (B) 15 squats
Forward lunge w/ twist (B) 15 glute bridges
Hip cradles (B) 15 second seated hold
Side lunges

11/28/2017 Dynamic Hips All 4 x 12

Scorpions Squats
Lunge/Hip thrust Stretch Push-ups
Quad Stretch Sit-ups
Hip Cradles Burpies
Hip Hinges Plank 45 sec.
Side Lunges

11/30/2017 Dynamic Hips Straight arm plank 60 seconds

Scorpions Down Dog
Lunge/Hip thrust stretch Down Dog - split
Quad stretch Down down knee to forehead
Hip cradles Low lunge
Hip hinges High lunge
Side lunges High lunge with twist
Rotated Triangle

12/3/2017 Post-Testing Post-Testing

Appendix B

Date Warm-up Workout

Week 1 - Day 50 seconds on 10 seconds rest Bike 45 minutes on Hill setting

1: Dynamic hips STRETCH
Scorpions
Lunge/hip thrust stretch
Quad stretch
Hip Cradles
Hip hinges
Side lunges

Week 1 - Day (2 x 15)

2: Burbies
10 each Kness hug crunches
Hand walkouts Inchworm push ups
Side lunges Side plank 30 seconds each side
Butt kicks Triceps dip
High knees Lying leg lifts
Box step-ups STRETCH

Week 2 - Day (30 seconds)

1: Sun Salutations
Upward facing dog
Cow pose
Cobra pose
Plank pose
50 seconds on 10 seconds rest Tree pose
Dynamic hips Wide legged forward bend
Scorpions Standing half forward bend
Lunge/hip thrust stretch One-legged kind pigeon pose
Quad stretch Warrior II pose
Hip Cradles Squat pose
Hip hinges Childs pose
Side lunges STRETCH

Week 2 - Day Single leg kickbacks

2: Twist lunge touch opp foot Squats
Leg swings Kickbacks in tabletop
Squat side kick Donkey kicks
Toe touches Glute bridge
Plank shoulder taps STRETCH
Week 3 - Day 50 sec. on - 10 sec. rest Pool workout:
1: Dynamic hips 50 M freestyle
Scorpions 20 min. aqua jogging
Lunge/hip thrust stretch Slower 50 yard freestyle (cool down)
Quad stretch
Hip Cradles
Hip hinges
Side lunges

Week 3 - Day 50 sec. on - 10 sec. rest (2 sets of each superset)

2: High knee marching in place Speed skaters
Squats Push-ups (15)
Shoulder taps Prone Cobra T (30 sec.)
Backward arm circles Band internal rotation (each arm)
Scorpions
Modified push-up (on knees) Tricep Dips (10)
Lunges Straight arm plank (45 sec.)

Week 4 - Day Sun Salutations

1: Upward facing dog
Cow pose
Cobra pose
Plank pose
50 sec. on - 10 sec. rest: Tree pose
Dynamic hips Wide legged forward bend
Scorpions Standing half forward bend
Lunge/hip thrust stretch One-legged kind pigeon pose
Quad stretch Warrior II pose
Hip Cradles Squat pose
Hip hinges Childs pose
Side lunges STRETCH

Week 4 - Day
2: 50 sec. on - 10 sec. rest: (3 x 12)
High knees Burpies
Forward lunge w/ twist Squats
Scorpions Side plank (30 sec. Each side)
Mountain climber stretch Wall sit (30 sec.)
Hip cradles Crunches
Hand walk outs Prone cobra Y (30 sec.)
Side lunges STRETCH

Week 5 - Day 100M Freestyle

1: Dynamic Hips
100M Breaststroke kick w/kickboard
Scorpions
Lunge/hip thrust stretch 100M Backstroke
Quad stretch 100M Dolphin kick w/kickboard
 Side lunges 50M slower pace freestyle
Arm Circles forward and backward
Cross body shoulder stretch STRETCH

Week 5 - Day (3 x 15)

2: Push-ups
Squats
High knees Mountain climbers
Forward lunge w/ twist Tricep dips
Scorpions Glute bridges
Mountain climber stretch
Burpies
Hip cradles
Hand walk outs Crunches
Side lunges 1 minute plank

Week 6 - Day (45 Seconds)

1: Sun Salutations
Side Plank
Floating Triangle
Dynamic Hips Low Boat
Scorpions Dolphin Pose
Lunge/hip thrust stretch Warrior III
Quad stretch
Locust Pose
Hip cradles
Hip hinges Tree Pose
Side lunges Child's Pose

Week 6 - Day 20 push-ups

2: High Knees for 1 min
Jumping Jacks for 1 minute
Air Boxing Punches for 1 minute
Dynamic Hips Mountain Climbers for 1 minute
Scorpions 15 Burpies
Lunge/hip thrust stretch Tricep Dips
Quad stretch
20 each side Russian Twists
Side lunges
Arm Circles forward and backward 30 second side plank
Cross body shoulder stretch STRETCH