It's been a while since I've posted anything because I have been doing what I love - working with athletes to help them get stronger. I'm learning a ton by working with as many as five teams a day and I couldn't be happier with how busy I've been with that, school and my part time job.
Anyway, on to the topic of this post.
I've been working with many athletes who have never even seen the inside of the weight room, which, as I've told them, is better then being taught how to lift weights before they are actually ready to do so. When athletes are young, many are given the same program sports teams have done for years without any type of progression. Do they get stronger doing this? Yes, many do. But many are often building strength on top of dysfunction (Got that from learning all about the Functional Movement Screen).
So when I get these athletes, many cannot squat do a depth anywhere close to parallel and can't perform a perfect set of 20 push ups. So my job is to start them back at the basics. I want to see them get into a nice squat position, with their thighs below parallel, before they goblet squat. I want them to be able to do 15 push ups with a 45 pound weight on their back and their feet on a bench before they bench press (that, I believe is from strength coach, Mike Boyle).
They need to be able to pump lunge with a 45 pound plate over their head without losing their balance before they have dumbbell's in their hand for walking lunges.
These are some of the progressions I have learned from others that I have my athletes work through. Many can perform these perfectly within the first few sessions, but some need more work which could include holding certain positions, stretching or just some technical form correction. But whatever it is, I want my athletes to be able to move as close to perfection as possible before adding difficulty or weight to exercises.
This will also pay off in the long run. By getting athletes to move through a better range of motion now, they should be able to stay healthier throughout their careers, as opposed to gaining a lot of strength on top of faulty movement patterns that do not put them through a full range of motion.
What I want you to take away from this post is: Move your body through a range of motion first, and once your technique is flawless, that is the time to add weight, but at the same time, you don't want to lose that range of motion.
For more progressions, questions or comments, be sure to email me or leave a comment at the bottom of the page.
I'll be trying to post at least once a week, so keep checking back and thanks for reading!
