Last week I had the honor of being recognized as the Alumni of the Year for the Ball State University School of Kinesiology
For those of you that donāt know, I was on academic probation for most of my time here and almost didnāt graduate. I couldnāt have done it without the care and guidance of people like @fit4shore helping me get on track and recommending I do some random observation hours @indyfast . I found my passion and purpose, & Iām so thankful for all Iāve experienced.
Simple Constraints ā Using a decline treadmill to prepare for deceleration training or as part of a return-to-sport sequence.
Even at low grades (-3Ā° shown), research has shown that decline running has the potential to substantially increase horizontal braking forces. The need for posterior weight shift reinforces an early propulsive (elastic energy storage, attenuation) position that facilitates an external rotation bias, reduces the demand for concentric muscle activity, and increases yielding in the connective tissue.
Like an assembly line, recurrent emphasis on the unweighting & braking phase promotes shape change that improves the output potential of middle propulsive (internal rotation, force production) and late propulsive (force expression, velocity) strategies once the athlete returns to a level playing surfaceācatering to both ends of the health and performance landscape.
This Week on the Physical Prep Podcast:
š Whatās new with my guy E since the last time we chatted.
š What the transition is like going from the private sector to the NBA world.
š Why ADAPTABILITY is so crucial if you want to work in pro sports.
š The biggest lessons he learned early on, and why thereās so much more to it than just coaching.
š How the roles of an NBA performance coach shift when the season is over.
š His role during NBA Summer League, and what he tries to get done during that 2-3 week stretch.
š The role consistency plays in doing your job at a high level.
š What goes into the job OUTSIDE of coaching?
š Interactions between teams, and how to improve communication across coaches to ensure athletes get the best possible outcomes.
Aerobic training isnāt sexy, especially in team sport.
It doesnāt look or feel like sport. Itās not specific enough.
Itās too long, too boring, too soft...
Athletes are already in shape from play.
The reality is that itās also too beneficial to overlook or underappreciate.
Oxidative capacity underpins most of the qualities youāre pĢ¶rĢ¶oĢ¶bĢ¶aĢ¶bĢ¶lĢ¶yĢ¶ hopefully looking to improve.
Less motor unit recruitment. Less interference. Less metabolic byproduct. Less fatigue. Less tension on connective tissues. More efficient energy production. Improved recovery. Increased neurogenesis. Improved response to concurrent training.
Simple ā Senseless
Thanks to @bill_hartman_pt for his insight on these concepts and the practicality of maximal aerobic speed
āļøspecial team. special plays. special players
Great season with the blue & gold
Thankful to be part of an exceptional organization that represents Indiana so well
Short rest & weāre back at it
Displacement for Change of Direction
Similar to my post a few months back with the anterior cable drop, getting in & out of a cut requires a level change thatās specific to your helical angle.
Like normal gait, change of direction involves unweighting, braking, amortization, and propulsive phases. These lateral cable drop exercises focus more on the unweighting & braking phases (getting into a cut) that create the potential for the propulsive phase.
If load is appropriate, this should allow the athlete to unweight (eccentrically orient/ delay) & store energy before concentric activity begins to take over.
Sport performance and athletic development involve the interweaving of anatomy, physiology, physics and sport.
Problem solving requires an awareness of how variables within these systems are manipulated & interact with each other.
Programming with intent means working back from a desired outcome to the existing ability.
Anterior Cable Drops
On average, in-game decel load/minute is ~3x higher than accel load/min.
These are some exercises that aim to improve the capacity of, or help restore, positions of deceleration when momentum is moving forward ā”ļø
Iāve done a lot of oscillatory isometrics or drop & catch variations that, because of the direction of unweighting, do a better job addressing how we manage force into the ground ā¬ļø
These encourage an early propulsive (delayed, vertically angled) position because of the need to stay back against the cable āļø
