Endurance Training: Do we really even need it?

Many people are unclear on the benefits of endurance training. And that can be partly attributed to the fact that most people automatically think 10k run or running a marathon. That's just the notion that endurance training brings up.

But in the past few years to many coaches have gotten away from anything associated with endurance because the thought is that it isn't "fast-twitch" enough for sports. But endurance training takes on many forms.

There is cardiovascular endurance, which is what most people think of. This is the ability to produce a high rate of energy through aerobic metabolism for a prolonged period of time.

The next is muscular endurance. This is where the concept of endurance gets tricky because most kids DO actually need endurance. Actually we all do. Endurance of postural muscles to maintain spinal stability can greatly reduce back injuries and chronic pain. Also, low weight, high rep muscular endurance training is often necessary for teaching proper movement patterns such as squats, pushups, lunges, etc.

The third is psychological endurance which is essentially what we call mental toughness. But this cannot be pounded into kids. It needs to be cultivated and trained just like other parts of performance.

Cardiovascular endurance is the one type of endurance that although great for the heart, lungs and circulatory system, can have negative muscular effects if done incorrectly. Running is the basic cardiovascular endurance exercise. But it certainly isn't the only.

Instead we can do a body weight circuit of pushups, squats, bear crawls, lateral lunges, sprint and repeat, for a period of 5-6 minutes. This would train muscular endurance as well as cardiovascular endurance without overtraining the way jogging does.

It is this type of training for youth athletes that we do at our Summer Speed, Strength & Power Camp. This performance camp has a junior group and a high school group. Both groups get endurance training but only in the appropriate methods, and durations to improve performance. In addition, a stronger core with more muscular endurance WILL improve sprinting, agility and quickness.

Sign your young athletes up by filling out this form and dropping it off at Pair & Marotta Physical Therapy at 5337 Truxtun Ext before next Friday! Let your youth athletes open next sport season with a refined set of athletic skills that will truly set them apart from the competition!

Conditioning: What exactly is it?

Conditioning is often thought of as simply post-training misery, often in the form of running and running...and running.

But when I give you this new definition of conditioning, it may very well change the way you coach or train.

Conditioning is simply the body's direct response to stimulus. The body will respond by adapting to the stimulus presented.So if you run and run and run with minimal rest or at a given speed, you or your athletes will get very good at running and running and running at that speed.

This might not be bad for endurance athletes. But think about the effects on athletes that need to sprint or sports that have specific work:rest intervals. What will this do to them?

If you're a baseball or softball player and your coach has you running laps around the diamond for 12-15 minutes, this is going to actually DECONDITION you. Yes, that is right. This will take you out of condition for your sport.

Baseball and softball requires bursts of sprinting followed by often long rest periods. So a better alternative would be to have athletes run a single, or a double followed by up to 8 times the duration of getting to the base.

So for example, if it took a player 8 seconds to run a double, their rest period should be upwards of 1:00. This may seem too long to some of you coaches. You're might calling me a liar, or some other adjective.

But slow down and think about it. If we want our players to get good at running fast, then we need to make sure they run their fastest. Will a player be able to run faster if they know they are going to have to run a 1/4 mile or if they only are running 60 yards?

You don't have to run once and then done, but have them run their double, rest for 1:00 and then repeat up to 10 times. This really won't be that tough because having 10 players running from home to 2nd will allow that first runner to rest almost a minute before the last runner pulls up. Then send them from 2nd to home. Repeat 5 times and you've got 10 sprints in 10 minutes.

So just think about the effects your training will have on the "conditioning" of your athletes. They will get better at whatever it is they do. If you want them to be weak, keep them from lifting. Want them to be slow? Make them run long periods of time with minimal rest.

Want them to be fast, agile and powerful? Send them to our Summer Speed, Strength & Power Camp. This camp will make ANYBODY faster, agile like a cat and lead them in the right direction for optimal sports performance. Don't wait, spots are filling up quickly!

Athletic Development: The Right Way

What is meant by the word "Development"? What is it to "develop" something? We can develop idea's, we can develop products, we can develop human resources.

But whatever the context it is used in, the word "develop" has one component of it that is always true: Development takes TIME. If you have ever heard the phrase "research & development" it is a long, arduous task that can take decades in some cases.

Athletic development is no different. It doesn't occur overnight. Although some parents, coaches and players want development to occur at the blink of an eye.

At Pair & Marotta Peak Performance, there have been quite a few young athletes come through. Many come for a summer and then go on their way, upset that their vertical didn't improve by at least 12" or that their bench press didn't improve by 80 lbs.

However, there have been a handful of kids (and parents) that have seen the light and understood the concept of athletic development. They have understood that it takes time, that lasting progress is a slower process.

I had the pleasure of watching one of these young athletes this last Friday. His name is Matt Packer. Matt first came in during our Summer Speed, Strength & Power Camp 2007. Matt was smaller than other guys his age, and in fact smaller than some guys 2 or 3 years younger than him. But Matt and his dad Dave realized that long term success wasn't going to hinge on whether Matt was hitting home runs during his sophomore year in high school, or having a vertical jump of 36" by the end of summer.

Instead they took that long term approach. Since June of 2007 Matt has been coming in faithfully 3 times per week during the baseball off-season and usually once or twice per week during the season. He was seeing a hitting coach once a week and just keeping his sights set on the long term goal of just getting better.

This year Matt has started each game at 2nd base. He's been hitting the ball hard on a line as well as the occasional double off the wall. His work has paid off with a very consistent season. Then it was Friday against Centennial that Matt's YEARS of hard work were got the ovation he deserves.

Matt hit an opposite field 3-run home-run in the 2nd inning of Stockdale's 16-4 win at Centennial. Matt had a stellar day going 2 for 3 with four RBI's and a walk.He's one of the rare kids who always shows up with ready to work. And it's paid off. Matt will be playing baseball in college.

So to the parents and coaches of young athletes, remember that you are developing athletes. You are not training professionals. Take the Development route and long-term success is guaranteed.

But short cut the development process and all bets are off.

Congratulations to Matt on his first high school home run and a spectacular outing against a top team and top pitcher!

To enroll in our Summer Peak Performance Camp, send me an email and get your Athletic Development started!

More nutrition information

I know most of you parents are very busy.

But if you get some free time this weekend, try to watch this video by Jeff Cavaliere. He is a well known, and well respected strength coach and physical therapist in the sports fitness world.

He is very nutrition oriented (As am I!!) and he knows a lot about how to fuel a young athletes movement and performance. And I can honestly tell you that if you think sports nutrition is something that isn't that important you can expect a short career.

Your body is constantly cycling through building (anabolic) and breakdown (catabolic) stages. When your body rebuilds, it has to have something to rebuild with!

You can rebuild with quality materials (vegetables, fruit, lean meats, etc.) or you can rebuild with poor quality materials (fast food, junk food, soda, etc). The choice is yours.

So here is the video from Jeff Cavaliere. Again, it is quite long so if you need to, watch it in 5-minute clips.

Also, remember that Pair & Marotta Peak Performance will be hosting their Summer Speed, Strength and Power Camps. If you are interested, email me at Aaron@pairmarotta.com. You can bet that everybody in the group learns not only how to improve performance, but also how to change their eating habits to become a better athlete!!