Early in the training week, most of our movement training is geared towards linear speed development. We use a progression of jumps, technique drills, resisted sprints and unresisted sprints to help our athletes maximize their ability to run faster. We always focus on one, maybe two cues during each session. Last week it was "body angle" and "knee punch". The wall drill we used allowed the athletes to support themselves in the body angle that we are always trying to coach. While they held the position, they "punched" their knees forward and then back into the ground in a piston like motion. That was the goal anyways! As you will see in the video, some do it better than others.
After a couple wall drills, it was time to get the kids moving at full speed. I decided to go with a complex of sled pushes and unresisted sprints. The sled push allowed the athlete to perform the same exact motion as the wall drill, but move forward. About 15 seconds later, the goal is to recreate the exact same body angle in a true sprint.
Tuesday, April 23, 2013
Friday, April 12, 2013
Basketball Training Has Started
I am very excited to say that I have had more basketball players (especially females) get started in my program this spring then in the last 6 years. As I have stated over and over, if you want to jump higher and improve your speed and quickness, you MUST do more than attend open gyms and play AAU. The body needs trained, and in a manner in which the right dose of exercises are being applied.
At this point in the season, the vast majority of my basketball clients are attending open gyms or practicing AAU 2 - 3 times per week. On top of that, they could be playing anywhere from 3 - 6 games per weekend. I would be doing these clients a major disservice if I ran them through countless ladder and cone drills for the sake of saying - "We do speed and agility". I prefer to say that we do some necessary movement training after our 15 - 20 minute flexibility and mobility routine. Our movement training focuses on improving acceleration and deceleration mechanics in all planes of movement as well as small doses of vertical and lateral jumping exericses. The focus is always quality of movement, not quantity of work. On top of that, if some of the athletes are experiencing knee pain or some other form of pain from overuse, the movement training is the first thing that we take out of the workout. The lifting portion is then tailored to improve strength in areas that will help alleviate the pain eventually.
The main bulk of spring training for basketball players is the strength portion. This is where we are improving weaknesses, building lean mass, increasing power and strengthening the foundation. It is amazing how quickly my female athletes go from not being able to do a good body weight squat to squatting with a 44lb KB. All it takes is a properly designed program and a tremendous amount of attention to detail. The athletes that are here now are the ones who are going to be ready for very intense training come late summer and early fall. This is because they took the time to build their foundation in the spring.
So basketball players, WHAT ARE YOU WAITING FOR!
At this point in the season, the vast majority of my basketball clients are attending open gyms or practicing AAU 2 - 3 times per week. On top of that, they could be playing anywhere from 3 - 6 games per weekend. I would be doing these clients a major disservice if I ran them through countless ladder and cone drills for the sake of saying - "We do speed and agility". I prefer to say that we do some necessary movement training after our 15 - 20 minute flexibility and mobility routine. Our movement training focuses on improving acceleration and deceleration mechanics in all planes of movement as well as small doses of vertical and lateral jumping exericses. The focus is always quality of movement, not quantity of work. On top of that, if some of the athletes are experiencing knee pain or some other form of pain from overuse, the movement training is the first thing that we take out of the workout. The lifting portion is then tailored to improve strength in areas that will help alleviate the pain eventually.
The main bulk of spring training for basketball players is the strength portion. This is where we are improving weaknesses, building lean mass, increasing power and strengthening the foundation. It is amazing how quickly my female athletes go from not being able to do a good body weight squat to squatting with a 44lb KB. All it takes is a properly designed program and a tremendous amount of attention to detail. The athletes that are here now are the ones who are going to be ready for very intense training come late summer and early fall. This is because they took the time to build their foundation in the spring.
So basketball players, WHAT ARE YOU WAITING FOR!
Wednesday, March 13, 2013
Looking to Play College Football?
If you are a high school football player that has hopes of playing at the college level, then this is a critical time of year for you. Unless you are a 5 star, blue chip recruit who has lots of offers already on the table, you are going to have to prove yourself at a variety of college camps and combines this summer. Even if you do not possess Division 1 size and speed, there are a ton of opportunities for solid football players to earn scholarship money at the Division 2 and 3 level - especially if you have have great grades and high test scores.
Many of these camps involve combine type tests (40, vertical jump, shuttle, ect) along with position drills. The key to performing well at these tests is very simple........prepare specifically for the tests! All of the lifting and stuff that goes on in the high school weight room is fine, but if you are not practicing your 40 yard start on a weekly basis, you are doing yourself a huge disservice. Along with specifically practicing the tests, there are a number of exercises that we do with sleds, medicine balls and bands that will also enhance your ability to perform your best.
I have been conducting combines for 7 years and have been preparing athletes for combines for 8 years. I have seen numerous players earn scholarships based on a tremendous performance in a few drills and tests. I know of one of my linemen who received multiple Division 1 offers as a result of great short shuttle times. In a sport where a tenth of a second means everything, paying specific attention to detail could be the difference between a scholarship and a walk - on offer.
In addition to our test preparation, we also can help the player with some position specific drills. Through my experience with the NFL, I have been lucky enough to stand next to pro scouts while position drills are going on. I have seen the mistakes that players have made that immediately gets them disregarded. I have also seen the specific techniques that makes the scouts eyes light up. Which player do you want to be this summer?
Contact Mike Kozak at 614-306-9364 to set up a consultation and begin the preparation process. The time you spend in our facility now can pay major dividends this summer when you get in front of college coaches.
Many of these camps involve combine type tests (40, vertical jump, shuttle, ect) along with position drills. The key to performing well at these tests is very simple........prepare specifically for the tests! All of the lifting and stuff that goes on in the high school weight room is fine, but if you are not practicing your 40 yard start on a weekly basis, you are doing yourself a huge disservice. Along with specifically practicing the tests, there are a number of exercises that we do with sleds, medicine balls and bands that will also enhance your ability to perform your best.
I have been conducting combines for 7 years and have been preparing athletes for combines for 8 years. I have seen numerous players earn scholarships based on a tremendous performance in a few drills and tests. I know of one of my linemen who received multiple Division 1 offers as a result of great short shuttle times. In a sport where a tenth of a second means everything, paying specific attention to detail could be the difference between a scholarship and a walk - on offer.
In addition to our test preparation, we also can help the player with some position specific drills. Through my experience with the NFL, I have been lucky enough to stand next to pro scouts while position drills are going on. I have seen the mistakes that players have made that immediately gets them disregarded. I have also seen the specific techniques that makes the scouts eyes light up. Which player do you want to be this summer?
Contact Mike Kozak at 614-306-9364 to set up a consultation and begin the preparation process. The time you spend in our facility now can pay major dividends this summer when you get in front of college coaches.
Thursday, February 14, 2013
SOAR Fitness - February Update
February has been a HUGE month at SOAR Fitness for myself and a number of my clients. Here are just a few of the highlights of what has been happening.
1. Olentangy Boys Lacrosse has been going very strong since the 1st of the year. Next week will be their last week of preparation and I wish them luck with their upcoming season. Also, if you need some mulch for spring yard work, I hear they are the people to see!
2. Last Wednesday, I was lucky enough to attend National Signing Day at Olentangy High School. My long time client, Andrew Horstman, signed to play football with the Air Force Academy. In addition to that, Austin Schmidt signed to play football with Illinois and two of my female basketball clients, Gina Miccinilli and Katie Heath signed with Heidleberg and Otterbein.
3. On Tuesday, I attended the National Football Foundation Scholar Athlete Awards Ceremony for the Columbus Chapter. My long time client, Jay Grote, was recognized as one of the finalists. It was great to be in the same room with many former and current Buckeye legends as well as numerous scholar athletes. Jay is a kid who has worked his ass off for 5 years and he deserves every bit of recognition he has received.
4. My longest standing trainer Ricky Crawford will be attending the NFL Regional Combine at Cleveland Browns facility this coming Sunday. Good luck to him! This also signals the beginning of my combine season so my blogging will be few and far between for the next month.
5. I just got word that SOAR Fitness will be featured on the local Channel 6 show - Out N About Columbus. I will have more information on that next week. Time for some of my clients and myself to get TV ready.
6. The end of training for most spring sports athletes will be February 24th. As always, I encourage all athletes to get their in - season lifting in to maintain the strength and power they built over the winter. More importantly, keeping up with strength and mobility work will go a long way towards keeping you healthy during the season. As for my wrestlers and basketball players, its time time to start building strength in the spring. Don't wait until the fall to start preparing for next season!
Combine prep for high school football players will also begin in March. Call 614-306-9364 for more information.
1. Olentangy Boys Lacrosse has been going very strong since the 1st of the year. Next week will be their last week of preparation and I wish them luck with their upcoming season. Also, if you need some mulch for spring yard work, I hear they are the people to see!
2. Last Wednesday, I was lucky enough to attend National Signing Day at Olentangy High School. My long time client, Andrew Horstman, signed to play football with the Air Force Academy. In addition to that, Austin Schmidt signed to play football with Illinois and two of my female basketball clients, Gina Miccinilli and Katie Heath signed with Heidleberg and Otterbein.
3. On Tuesday, I attended the National Football Foundation Scholar Athlete Awards Ceremony for the Columbus Chapter. My long time client, Jay Grote, was recognized as one of the finalists. It was great to be in the same room with many former and current Buckeye legends as well as numerous scholar athletes. Jay is a kid who has worked his ass off for 5 years and he deserves every bit of recognition he has received.
4. My longest standing trainer Ricky Crawford will be attending the NFL Regional Combine at Cleveland Browns facility this coming Sunday. Good luck to him! This also signals the beginning of my combine season so my blogging will be few and far between for the next month.
5. I just got word that SOAR Fitness will be featured on the local Channel 6 show - Out N About Columbus. I will have more information on that next week. Time for some of my clients and myself to get TV ready.
6. The end of training for most spring sports athletes will be February 24th. As always, I encourage all athletes to get their in - season lifting in to maintain the strength and power they built over the winter. More importantly, keeping up with strength and mobility work will go a long way towards keeping you healthy during the season. As for my wrestlers and basketball players, its time time to start building strength in the spring. Don't wait until the fall to start preparing for next season!
Combine prep for high school football players will also begin in March. Call 614-306-9364 for more information.
Wednesday, January 16, 2013
January Acceleration Program
The week of January 7th started a new jump and acceleration program for all of my athletes that play a spring a sport. I felt that it was time to shake things up from our normal flow of plyometric and speed and agility training. This new system of plyometric and speed training is modified version of the Xtreme Jumpsole program that myself and my business partner used religiously in the early years of my business. I credit that program for getting me the fastest I have ever been in all directions during my years of semi - pro football. However, years of research brought me to the realization that the original program had a few flaws:
1. It had an extreme amount of volume and would take too long in my current training schedule
2. It did not have progressions that were appropriate for beginner and intermediate level athletes.
3. There was not enough rest between sets of very intense jumping exercises.
4. Jumpsoles really were not necessary.
After a few weeks of tinkering and testing the program on myself, I was confident that I had a program that would address some of the concepts that most of my athletes really needed to work on. Here are some highlights of what the program entails:
1. 3 levels, 2 different workouts - Beginner, Intermediate and Advanced. This allows us to prescribe the right plyometric progressions for the right levels of athletes. There is also 1 day dedicated to linear plyometrics and acceleration and 1 day dedicated to lateral plyometrics and acceleration.
2. Our Intermediate and Advanced clients would be introduced to transitional plyometrics. These are a combination of very quick hops and explosive tuck jumps. I felt that a lot of our plyometric exercises had gone stale and this was a great way to shake things up. Plus I noticed that a lot of my athletes were not very explosive when asked to jump after some kind of athletic movement.
3. Acceleration -After watching my athletes sprint and push sleds for the last few weeks, I knew that we needed some specific technique work on sprinting and accelerating out of different positions. A lot of my athletes were making one or more of the following errors when sprinting: not picking feet up high enough, poor arm mechanics, not putting enough force into the ground and accelerating at a bad angle. After the plyometric training, the main focus become acceleration drills. On the linear day, the athletes perform drills such as high knees and butt kicks for 5 yards then accelerate into a 10 yard sprint. On the later day, athletes transition from shuffles and crossovers into sprints.
Week 1 flowed very well. The progressions of plyometrics in all 3 levels timed up well so that all athletes were ready for the acceleration portion at the same time. However, there was one aspect of the training that I was not satisfied with at the end of the week. Even though the majority of athletes were doing a great job on the high knees and other form drills, they were not changing their angle of force production when it came time to accelerate. Basically, they were staying in high knees (vertical shin) instead of punching their knees forward and driving back into the ground (shin angled).
Here is a drill that I came up to help my athletes learn the angle of force production that I am looking for when they accelerate. At the start, it might look like something out of a Jane Fonda video, but oh well, it grooves a good pattern if they do it right.
As always, our athletes hit the weights after the speed and plyo portion of the workout.
1. It had an extreme amount of volume and would take too long in my current training schedule
2. It did not have progressions that were appropriate for beginner and intermediate level athletes.
3. There was not enough rest between sets of very intense jumping exercises.
4. Jumpsoles really were not necessary.
After a few weeks of tinkering and testing the program on myself, I was confident that I had a program that would address some of the concepts that most of my athletes really needed to work on. Here are some highlights of what the program entails:
1. 3 levels, 2 different workouts - Beginner, Intermediate and Advanced. This allows us to prescribe the right plyometric progressions for the right levels of athletes. There is also 1 day dedicated to linear plyometrics and acceleration and 1 day dedicated to lateral plyometrics and acceleration.
2. Our Intermediate and Advanced clients would be introduced to transitional plyometrics. These are a combination of very quick hops and explosive tuck jumps. I felt that a lot of our plyometric exercises had gone stale and this was a great way to shake things up. Plus I noticed that a lot of my athletes were not very explosive when asked to jump after some kind of athletic movement.
3. Acceleration -After watching my athletes sprint and push sleds for the last few weeks, I knew that we needed some specific technique work on sprinting and accelerating out of different positions. A lot of my athletes were making one or more of the following errors when sprinting: not picking feet up high enough, poor arm mechanics, not putting enough force into the ground and accelerating at a bad angle. After the plyometric training, the main focus become acceleration drills. On the linear day, the athletes perform drills such as high knees and butt kicks for 5 yards then accelerate into a 10 yard sprint. On the later day, athletes transition from shuffles and crossovers into sprints.
Week 1 flowed very well. The progressions of plyometrics in all 3 levels timed up well so that all athletes were ready for the acceleration portion at the same time. However, there was one aspect of the training that I was not satisfied with at the end of the week. Even though the majority of athletes were doing a great job on the high knees and other form drills, they were not changing their angle of force production when it came time to accelerate. Basically, they were staying in high knees (vertical shin) instead of punching their knees forward and driving back into the ground (shin angled).
Here is a drill that I came up to help my athletes learn the angle of force production that I am looking for when they accelerate. At the start, it might look like something out of a Jane Fonda video, but oh well, it grooves a good pattern if they do it right.
As always, our athletes hit the weights after the speed and plyo portion of the workout.
Thursday, December 13, 2012
What's Up for 2013 at Soar
I can't believe 2012 is coming to a close. It has been the best year yet at Soar Fitness I have more new clients than I ever dreamed of and my long term clients are moving on to play college sports on scholarship. Unrelated to Soar - I was lucky enough to marry my tremendous wife in 2012 and that has been nothing other than a blessing.......for me at least. But how are we going to make 2013 even better? Well......that process has already begun.
I have said before that the best piece of advice I ever received was to never be satisfied that you are doing the best job possible. With that in mind, I am constantly learning new ways to provide the BEST service possible to all of my clients.
Recently, I purchased a video seminar - Strength in Motion. It featured three of top names in Strength and Conditioning - Charlie Weingroff, Patrick Ward and Joel Jamieson. I was able to take valuable information from all three of them and it will shape how our training at Soar is designed in 2013. I am going to summarize what I learned in layman's terms to give you an idea of what my clients will expect.
1. Charlie Weingroff is my go to guy for information related to blending physical therapy with strength and conditioning. Since I see tons of injured athletes per year, it is a no brainer for me to look to him for the latest in rehab and training. I have some of his other products, so I had already heard a lot of what he presented in Strength in Motion. However, I took one very major piece of information - The Functional Movement Screen is a must if you are training anyone! I have used FMS for years and a lot of my long term clients have already been screened by me. However, I somehow got a away from it just like you get away from flossing your teeth a few times per week. I just simply decided I didn't have enough time to do it - and that is BS! All it took was Charlie to say, "If you are not using FMS, you are on the B team."
That's all I needed to hear! The FMS is simply a screen that gives a trainer an idea of what is appropriate for each individual client and what is not. It ensures that you will not hurt a client by putting them in a position that their body is not ready to be in. This is exactly what is wrong with many school lifting programs. Many kids are asked to perform exercises such as deadlifts but do not possess the functional movement to do the exercise correctly. The result is adding strength to dysfunction which ultimately leads to injury. All new clients at Soar are given the FMS on their first day now.
If you train people and have not listened to Charlie before, I highly recommend it.
2. Patrick Ward and Joel Jamieson both spoke in different ways about how to manage your training programs in terms of how the stress of training affects them. Overtraining is something that I have always been very aware of and this seminar reiterated to me that I am on the right track. The overlying theme of their presentations was that everything (sport practice, school, training, games, ect) an athlete does during the course of a week takes a mental and physical toll on their bodies. It is completely unrealistic to expect any athlete to train at 100% intensity day in and day out on a weekly and monthly basis. Volume and intensity must be adjusted, even on the fly and recovery must be built in to the training model.
One topic that was completely new to me was Heart Rate Variability - HRV. I learned that HRV is the biggest indicator of if an athlete is ready to train at a high intensity or not. Joel Jamieson has a product that measures HRV and I will be purchasing that very soon. I will begin to implement HRV testing before workouts for a variety of my athletes - especially when we are in pre-season conditioning.
Remember, this is just a summary of what I learned from the seminar. If you are new to training seminars and these presenters, you will learn a ton. I guarantee that if you are looking to improve the quality of training you provide to your athletes and clients, you will not be disappointed.
I have said before that the best piece of advice I ever received was to never be satisfied that you are doing the best job possible. With that in mind, I am constantly learning new ways to provide the BEST service possible to all of my clients.
Recently, I purchased a video seminar - Strength in Motion. It featured three of top names in Strength and Conditioning - Charlie Weingroff, Patrick Ward and Joel Jamieson. I was able to take valuable information from all three of them and it will shape how our training at Soar is designed in 2013. I am going to summarize what I learned in layman's terms to give you an idea of what my clients will expect.
1. Charlie Weingroff is my go to guy for information related to blending physical therapy with strength and conditioning. Since I see tons of injured athletes per year, it is a no brainer for me to look to him for the latest in rehab and training. I have some of his other products, so I had already heard a lot of what he presented in Strength in Motion. However, I took one very major piece of information - The Functional Movement Screen is a must if you are training anyone! I have used FMS for years and a lot of my long term clients have already been screened by me. However, I somehow got a away from it just like you get away from flossing your teeth a few times per week. I just simply decided I didn't have enough time to do it - and that is BS! All it took was Charlie to say, "If you are not using FMS, you are on the B team."
That's all I needed to hear! The FMS is simply a screen that gives a trainer an idea of what is appropriate for each individual client and what is not. It ensures that you will not hurt a client by putting them in a position that their body is not ready to be in. This is exactly what is wrong with many school lifting programs. Many kids are asked to perform exercises such as deadlifts but do not possess the functional movement to do the exercise correctly. The result is adding strength to dysfunction which ultimately leads to injury. All new clients at Soar are given the FMS on their first day now.
If you train people and have not listened to Charlie before, I highly recommend it.
2. Patrick Ward and Joel Jamieson both spoke in different ways about how to manage your training programs in terms of how the stress of training affects them. Overtraining is something that I have always been very aware of and this seminar reiterated to me that I am on the right track. The overlying theme of their presentations was that everything (sport practice, school, training, games, ect) an athlete does during the course of a week takes a mental and physical toll on their bodies. It is completely unrealistic to expect any athlete to train at 100% intensity day in and day out on a weekly and monthly basis. Volume and intensity must be adjusted, even on the fly and recovery must be built in to the training model.
One topic that was completely new to me was Heart Rate Variability - HRV. I learned that HRV is the biggest indicator of if an athlete is ready to train at a high intensity or not. Joel Jamieson has a product that measures HRV and I will be purchasing that very soon. I will begin to implement HRV testing before workouts for a variety of my athletes - especially when we are in pre-season conditioning.
Remember, this is just a summary of what I learned from the seminar. If you are new to training seminars and these presenters, you will learn a ton. I guarantee that if you are looking to improve the quality of training you provide to your athletes and clients, you will not be disappointed.
Friday, November 30, 2012
Preparation for Winter Football Training
Before we get into the videos, I want to congratulate three of my clients - Jason Grote, Andrew Horstman and Austin Schmidt. All three of them received All - Ohio honors this week. Jason and Andrew have been clients of mine since they were in junior high and it is great to see that all the years of hard work had paid off for them. FYI - Jason was a slow, flat - footed, knee brace wearing kid at one time. He made 2nd Team All Ohio at Guard - at a 195lbs! Andrew made 2nd Team All- Ohio at Punter and is also one of the best athletes to ever walk through the doors of my gym. He has a chance to punt or play a variety of other positions at the college level. Austin has only been at Soar for 1 year and made outstanding progress this spring. He is heading to Illinois on full scholarship. Congrats again to all three guys.
So what are we doing right now to get our football players ready for intense winter training? Boring old GPP - building a base. Remember, these guys just came out of 4 months of collisions. The last thing they need one week into training is a heavy bar on their back or tons of mindless agility training. Here are some videos our GPP
.
After 2 - 4 weeks of GPP - its time to move on to getting jacked up and fast!
So what are we doing right now to get our football players ready for intense winter training? Boring old GPP - building a base. Remember, these guys just came out of 4 months of collisions. The last thing they need one week into training is a heavy bar on their back or tons of mindless agility training. Here are some videos our GPP
.
After 2 - 4 weeks of GPP - its time to move on to getting jacked up and fast!
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