I'm honored to have a blog here at M&F (hell, I'm even honored to be in the building). The object of the game here is to try my best to tell the truth about sports, lifting, and whatever else I feel like railing about here.
I've been a lot of things in my life. In context here, I've been an athlete, a coach (yes, an actual TEAM coach) and a trainer. Now I'm a writer. Who knew?
I've been a lot of things in my life. In context here, I've been an athlete, a coach (yes, an actual TEAM coach) and a trainer. Now I'm a writer. Who knew?
Time in Motion
I've been turning into something of a self-parody lately when I comment on what trainers and so-called "coaches" do with athletes, especially when it comes to football. When someone tells me, "So and so trains that defensive end from the Panthers," my reaction is always the same:
"Oh, he trains football players? Who'd he play for?"
"I don't think he ever played football," they'll say.
"Really? Then what qualifies him to TRAIN football players?"
You see, I don't necessarily think you have to have played football at a high level to train high level football players, but you at least need to have some understand of the biodynamic and bioenergetic demands of the sport. The best understanding of this comes from playing the actual sport. The next best understanding of this comes through examining time-motion studies of the different positions on the field, or by doing such studies yourself.
How do you do this?
You go to football games with a stopwatch and see what they're doing. You talk to football coaches. You do a biomechanical analysis of the movements your clients have to perform on the field and you get them stronger, faster and more coordinated in these movements because you've learned how to coach them and can detect flaws. You have a detailed understanding of "transfer" and a solid grip on how everything you're doing in the gym translates to on-field performance, as opposed to the "This is hard and looks sort of like what he does when he plays, so it must be good."
Too many of these coaches don't do this. From my perspective, you have two kinds of guys training football players: hardcore dudes with tattoos who think getting stronger and throwing 200 pounds of chain on a barbell will get a kid a scholarship, and skinny little dudes with polo shirts who think putting players on Bosu balls will make them hit harder.
And I'm not even addressing the prevalent mentality among way too many trainers who don't even give a s--t whether their guys actually contribute to their teams as long as they're "training right."
For now, just think of it this way: there's always a place (a major place) in every program for sport-specific movements. The stronger a football player is in holding and exploding out of specific positions, the better he'll be. Learn to coach these positions, and learn where they're best utilized in an effective program.
"Oh, he trains football players? Who'd he play for?"
"I don't think he ever played football," they'll say.
"Really? Then what qualifies him to TRAIN football players?"
You see, I don't necessarily think you have to have played football at a high level to train high level football players, but you at least need to have some understand of the biodynamic and bioenergetic demands of the sport. The best understanding of this comes from playing the actual sport. The next best understanding of this comes through examining time-motion studies of the different positions on the field, or by doing such studies yourself.
How do you do this?
You go to football games with a stopwatch and see what they're doing. You talk to football coaches. You do a biomechanical analysis of the movements your clients have to perform on the field and you get them stronger, faster and more coordinated in these movements because you've learned how to coach them and can detect flaws. You have a detailed understanding of "transfer" and a solid grip on how everything you're doing in the gym translates to on-field performance, as opposed to the "This is hard and looks sort of like what he does when he plays, so it must be good."
Too many of these coaches don't do this. From my perspective, you have two kinds of guys training football players: hardcore dudes with tattoos who think getting stronger and throwing 200 pounds of chain on a barbell will get a kid a scholarship, and skinny little dudes with polo shirts who think putting players on Bosu balls will make them hit harder.
And I'm not even addressing the prevalent mentality among way too many trainers who don't even give a s--t whether their guys actually contribute to their teams as long as they're "training right."
For now, just think of it this way: there's always a place (a major place) in every program for sport-specific movements. The stronger a football player is in holding and exploding out of specific positions, the better he'll be. Learn to coach these positions, and learn where they're best utilized in an effective program.
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Hey Mr. Fitzgerald,
I am a 16 year old junior inside linebacker who is very serious about football, and equally as serious about my offseason workouts. Our offseason workout during school consists of backsquat, benchpress, frontsquat, powerclean, incline benchpress, and dumbell walking lunges. Everything is 3 sets of 6, and the lifting is followed by a cardio routine. I workout outside of school quite often, 4-5 days of lifting, plyometrics, and hardcore cardio. However, I feel like I am on the border of overtraining. My question is this- How do I workout outside of an offseason workout such as the one above, as effectively as possible for my sport, without overtraining? What days should I workout on on my own if we do an offseason workout Monday, Wednesday, and Friday? And what lifts/ workouts would you recommend? I just want to know how I can prepare for next season in the best way possible, to enable me to play ball at the next level. Thanks!
-Joey York