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| A nice article about functional over form training by Dan John It's difficult to find balance when you read fitness and performance articles. Most are written from the "look good in the mirror" angle and that vision carries over into how most people train. Often you will find athletes late in their career turning from their years of experience to embrace a "Mr. Somewhere" physique. And, yes, that year they look good on the cover of this magazine or that magazine, but their career ends with the body looking good, but the on-field performance sinking. That's the issue. That's it right there. In football, we have a phrase, "Looks like Tarzan, plays like Jane." When you look at boxers, we often forget that Muhammed Ali didn't look like Mr. Universe, but did you see what he did in his prime? We only measure performance sports by one standard: How did you perform? Yes, that is the question, Hamlet. Don't answer: "I am ripped with 18 inch arms and a fake tan." Nope, wrong answer. I want to hear: "I threw farther." "I won State." "I dropped four seconds off my best time last year." So, if you want to perform better, let me give you my secret list. I don't worry about anyone stealing it because "everybody knows" this stuff. Great. Follow it! 1. Assess first. This fall, a bunch of young athletes will start on a program. Probably a lot of them will do 5 sets of 10 with a bunch of exercises because it is "Hypertrophy time." Why? First, you must test your athletes and find out two things: what is tight and what is weak. 2. Stretch what is tight. Give it three weeks. At the end of three weeks, reassess. Whatever is tight, stretch it. Don't stretch what is loose! 3. Strengthen what is weak. Your Division One stud can't do a pullup but can Bench Press 400? Quit benching until the kid can do some pullups! Getting stronger and stronger at your strong points is a recipe for mediocrity. If you want greatness, find your weak points and build them up until they are strong. You don't know what your weak points are? Okay, here they are: you need to add 100 pounds to your front squat and double your pull-ups. (Trust me...it is true for everyone) 4. Eat protein at every meal. Now, one kid raises their hand and asks "what is protein." Trust me...show a picture of eggs, turkey, chicken, beef and fish. Then say: Eat some of this three to six times a day. 5. Fiber at every meal. (Have a picture ready) 6. Take your Fish Oil two to three times a day. (The single greatest supplement in history and most people don't even know what it is...what an easy way to get an edge on your opponent.) 7. Recovery is not a drink Recovery is sleep. The hours before midnight are better than the hours after. Sleep. It is free. Indulge in it... 8. Performers compete to win. So, have Tactics part of every training session. In the throws, we use One Throw Competitionis where you put everything on the line with One Throw. (See my free discus book at http://danjohn.org for the details) Shoot Free Throws when tired and a miss will cost you something. Practice game situations every day. 9. The bigger your base, the higher your peak. Learn new lifts. Try new ideas. Pull sleds, throw tires, use sledgehammers, try kettlebells. Learn each day something new. 10. Finally, keep it all in balance. Life is important, too. My best seasons are the ones where I had a 4.0 GPA or a new addition on the house or a new writing contract. The more successful I am in life, the more successful I am on the field. |