Matt Hank » Conditioning

Pierce Women’s Volleyball Training Session

Matt Hank — Tue, 15 Jun 2010 02:52:02 +0000

Check out a training sessions with the women’s volleyball team at Pierce College. They are getting ready for the upcoming fall season by out working all other JC volleyball programs in the weight room and on the court.

I use the workout tracks by Workout Muse – make sure to check them out.

Train Hard – Train Smart
www.asap-pt.com

Workout Muse

Matt Hank — Tue, 08 Jun 2010 04:07:36 +0000

To spice up workouts with my teams I have introduced high intensity circuits to the beat of Workout Muse. It’s great to have a cadence during metabolic training in the weight room. I used this music during parts of the football metabolic circuit. Also, I will be posting a volleyball metabolic circuit shortly and used one of these sound tracks to guide the workout. Check it out.

Train Hard – Train Smart
www.asap-pt.com

Ladder Training

Matt Hank — Fri, 07 May 2010 19:43:10 +0000

I have heard some strength and conditioning coaches question the effectiveness of ladder training. They feel like doing ladder drills only gets you better at ladders drills – it does not improve sport performance. I think this is completely ridiculous. If ladder drills are executed properly athletes are improving their foot work, coordination, center of gravity management/control, speed, quickness, running technique, and explosiveness (if performing plyometric drills).

I do see some coaches abusing the ladder – it is the only training tool they use to improve athletic performance for their athletes. For myself, the ladder is simply a tool in my big box of tools just like kettlebells, Olympic lifts, medicine balls, TRX’s, body weight training, hurdles, agility rings, etc. The ladder has proven to be a great training tool for younger athletes to learn movement control and coordination. For my advanced athletes I use the ladders to improve foot work. Most times I have athletes perform ladder drills to a sprint or other agility drill. The ladder alone is just a tool.

Make sure to use the right tool for the job.

Train Hard – Train Smart

Training Circuit

Matt Hank — Sun, 18 Apr 2010 05:26:53 +0000

Here is a quick clip of a Friday “Fun” Day circuit with a few football players at Pierce College.

Train Hard-Train Smart
www.asap-pt.com

Barefoot Running – Follow Up

Matt Hank — Wed, 14 Apr 2010 19:08:20 +0000

A few things I have noticed since training with the Vibram Five Fingers for about a week and a half during workouts (strength training and running):

After my workouts my feet feel like they actually participated in the workout. I have been working out for a long time and have never had that same feeling after workouts (unless training barefoot in the sand). It’s a weird feeling for your feet and lower leg to be just as a sore as your hamstrings and glutes.
- The foot is free to move through the full range of motion and activate muscles during athletic movements.
During jogging, running and sprinting I feel more aware of what part of foot is striking the ground and where in space (under or in front my center of gravity).
- Increased proprioception is a major benefit to barefoot training.
I have seen an increase in proprioception carry over even when I am wearing regular athletic shoes.
- Training barefoot has a transfer to athletic performance in court shoes, cleats, and turfs.
There is a feeling of being more connected to the ground when doing strength training exercises such as deadlifts. Athletic shoes with all the fancy cushing and arch support limit the feeling of gripping the ground with your feet. We know grip strength during exercises is important for activation of the shoulder musculature. The same is true for the foot and leg. If the foot is activated and gripping the ground the signal will be sent through the rest of the muscles in the leg.
- Barefoot training can enhance strength performance.

Train Hard – Train Smart
www.asap-pt.com

Sunday Morning Performance Training Sessions

Matt Hank — Mon, 11 Jan 2010 23:33:54 +0000

I will be holding sports performance training sessions at College of The Canyons track/football field on Sunday mornings. One training group is specifically for baseball athletes. All athletes are also welcome to join other training sessions, either before or after the baseball group. Training sessions will be one hour in length and always in morning. Exact time slots will be determined before the weekend so athletes can plan their schedules accordingly. Cost is $20 per session and athletes are not required to purchase a package of training sessions ahead of time. If you are interested in training or know other Jr. High, High School, or College athletes that are interested in training send me an email or give me a call.

Train Hard- Train Smart
www.asap-pt.com

A Call Out To All Coaches

Matt Hank — Thu, 24 Dec 2009 16:49:33 +0000

The great coaches have goals for their teams/athletes and devise a plan that will accomplish those goals. For example if the goal for a basketball team is to win a championship the coach will put together a strategy for each opponent, teach technical and tactical skills, create a season long practice schedule, and motivate/inspire his athletes. This leads me to my main topic…This same approach (guiding athletes to success) should be taken by strength and conditioning coaches as well. A game plan needs to be in place if the athletes are going to consistently improve throughout the training program. I see too many coaches (many times it’s the head coach because the team doesn’t have a qualified strength and conditioning coach on staff) take the approach “no pain, no gain” or “100% intensity every time”. Of course you want your athletes to work hard, but it should be a planned routine consisting of high, medium, and low intensity days. There should be days were you teach your athletes (low intensity) and days where you condition the heck out of your athletes (high intensity).

Going along the same lines…Soreness is not necessarily a sign of great workout. Anyone can make an athlete sore (literally anyone that knows how to talk – just say “run 100 sprints uphill” or “do 500 push ups and sit ups”). I love to hear athletes say things like “my coach has the hardest workouts” or the “the training sessions are so intense”. I ask the athlete what they did during the training session and usually their response is something like this “first we did a mile run, 100 sit ups, bench press and lat pull downs and finished with the leg press/leg extensions/leg curl for 5 sets. I couldn’t move my legs for 3 days”. There are definitely ways to make the training routine more sport specific. If an athlete only has only X number of training sessions before the season starts, the coach should make the workouts as sport specific as possible. There are times to work on general fitness and conditioning, but make sure it follows your yearly plan. Every training session should follow the game plan and help the team/athletes accomplish their ultimate goals.

Remember “if you fail to plan, you plan to fail”.

Train Hard-Train Smart
www.asap-pt.com

Recovery Methods

Matt Hank — Thu, 17 Dec 2009 22:33:29 +0000

I have posted numerous blogs on how counterproductive low intensity/long duration cardio exercise is for athletes who compete at fast speeds and require explosive movements during competition. This does not mean I never recommend low to moderate exercise for athletes though. In fact, after an intense training session, hard competition, or tournament I encourage my athletes to speed up their recovery process. One of the most effective means to speed up recovery is taking an active approach. Active recovery includes easy to moderate cardio such as jogging, biking, using the elliptical machine, or swimming. Lower intensity exercise actually helps with lactate removal (by product of high intensity training), muscle soreness, and cools down the core temperature a slower rate. Most importantly, many researchers have shown that active recovery improves the next bout of performance more than taking a passive approach (no exercise or activity) to recovery.

Other forms of recovery are just as important and beneficial. Proactive recovery methods would also include stretching, massage, myofascial release (self-massage), hot or cold bath, and proper nutrition strategies. These methods also help with lactate removal, muscle soreness, and improving future performance.

Passive recovery (no exercise) is important and worth discussing. I am specifically speaking about quality and quantity of sleep. Athletes require more sleep than the average person who sits around all day and does not push their body to their limits. All other recovery strategies do not mean anything if an athlete is not getting enough quality sleep.

Train Hard-Train Smart
www.asap-pt.com

ASAP On The Radio

Matt Hank — Thu, 10 Dec 2009 19:30:15 +0000

Be sure to check out last weeks on-air interview on KHTS about sports performance and the ASAP Baseball Academy. http://hometownstation.com/index.php?option=com_content&view=article&id=18658:lifestyle-fitness-december1-2009&catid=100:lifestyle-fitness&Itemid=173

Train Hard – Train Smart
www.asap-pt.com

Bioenergetic Specificity

Matt Hank — Mon, 23 Nov 2009 04:29:14 +0000

Fancy term, but an easy concept to understand. Athletes should train to develop the appropriate energy systems for their sport. I still see way too many athletes (usually instructed by the coach) do aerobic exercise to “get in shape” for their sport (usually in the form of running laps or riding the stationary bike). The coaches’ philosophy is that this type of training will improve their endurance and help them during the latter stages of their match or competition. However, this is the furthest thing from what really happens. Remember – Your body adapts to the type of training stimulus you provide it. With aerobic training you are teaching your athletes to be really good slow runners. This would make a terrible baseball, football, tennis, volleyball, basketball, soccer or softball athlete (just to name a few sports). In fact, aerobic training has been shown to decrease anaerobic power output. Any high intensity/change of pace sport would suffer from aerobic training (on a regular basis).

Intervals is where it’s at:
High intensity interval training has been show to increase metabolic enzyme activity (both aerobic and anaerobic), improve short-term power output, and increase maximal aerobic power. In other words, you will get all the aerobic benefits you need from high intensity interval training and important benefits needed for quick/high intensity movements.

Until I see this switch in training philosophy from coaches and players, I will continue to write posts on this topic.

Train Hard-Train Smart
www.asap-pt.com