The best thing a parent can give to their young athlete is a good example. I see too many parents living the dream through their kids that it makes me sick. I hope that I'm not like when my son is playing sports. But what I plan to do to keep that from happening is to have my own goals and my own dreams still percolating.
When a parent tells a young athlete that they need to train, or they need to eat right, or they need to stretch, I rarely ever see the parent doing those things. It's like when you drive down the road and you see the two little kids on their bikes with helmets falling off their head followed by the parent who isn't wearing a helmet at all. What the hell? Is your brain somehow not as important as it used to be? I saw a parent once fall off his bike trying to help his daughter readjust her helmet as they were riding down the road! (Here's your stupid sign, sir.)
Parents get out and get your own dream. I don't care if you're forty years old. Get out there and get going. Find something. ANYTHING! You will now have better conversations at dinner. You can talk about what you're trying to overcome. Read some books to help you through it and share that information with each other. Your relationship with your athlete will be better for it.
Monday, June 23, 2008
Most Athletes Are Like A Two-Wheel Drive Pick Up Truck Towing a Trailer Full Of Junk
Ahh...the two wheel drive pick up truck trying to act tough.
You see those guys on the road. In their "little pick up." Trying to play with the big boys towing around the big trailer. Maybe it's got some gravel on it. Or some lumber. Or may be it's got a pile of junk on it. Odds are that that pile of whatever isn't centered causing the wheels to rub and the truck to pull to one side. It looks like it should be cool but it isn't. Far from it.
That's what most athletes look like to me. That two-wheel drive pick up towing a bunch of crap on a crooked trailer.
But what do we do here in North America? Us strength and conditioning folk look to beef up that truck. We try to beef up the engine. Maybe beef up the shocks. Put some chrome on the damn thing and send it out to try and run circles around the big boys.
But if we could just take care of some of the shit on the trailer we'd be faster. More efficient. And more productive without spending an ounce of time on the truck itself.
You see if you look at this truck-trailer analogy and apply it to the athlete you're working with (or maybe that athlete is you) you'll get further, faster with your training.
If you take a two-wheel drive pick up and you at least get the load centered on the trailer it's going to run straighter right? The load on the trailer is like imbalances in the athlete. Maybe it's tight hamstrings or hipflexors. Tight internal rotators. Or bad posture. Whatever the ailment if we can remedy those loads that truck/athlete is going to be faster and more efficient almost immediately.
What happens if you put a souped-up 350 pick up on a trailer that's got junk on it? You're probably going to rip the trailer to shreds. That's what happens when you try and load up an athlete with more weight, more power, without taking care of the imbalances..
So once the load on the trailer is centered then you can start working on the truck itself. Maybe you've got to work on the engine (cardio/endurance). Maybe you need to upgrade the tires (strength work) or the shocks (plyometric/reactive work). Or maybe the chassis needs some beefing up (lean muscle mass).
Ideally we'd like to get all of the junk off the trailer. But that's rare. I don't know a single athlete who is as flexible and aligned as he/she should be. All of us are nicked up and banged up. I've got a hole in my left quad from a lacrosse injury that I never let heal right and that was in eighth grade. I'm thirty-six now and I'm not going to ever get rid of that. But I try and keep that trailer aligned and running right.
Another way to instantly improve the mileage and effectiveness of that truck is to pay attention to the fuel (nutrition). Even if you're towing a bunch of crap you can at least improve the whole thing by fueling up right. But so many athlete work on all of the things I've listed above and forget about what's going into the tank.
If you treat yourself like you would that two-wheel drive truck in this analogy you'd probably turn your current training regimen on its head.
And remember, form follows function. You're not going to take a Jaguar off roading. And you probably wouldn't take your F350 with the 6 inch lift to the race track. So stop trying to race the truck and haul ass with the Jag. They just aren't meant for that. Train for what you need and turn yourself into the vehicle you need to be for the job at hand.
What I love seeing now, especially in football, is guys who have the body of a truck but who can cut, weave, and accelerate like a Ferrari. It's fun to watch. But what you're seeing is that souped up truck with no trailer. No issues. No junk. It's just flawless and it leaves guys looking for their jock when they blow right by them.
So keep this in mind as you work through your current, and future training programs. I think it will help you understand just what you need to be working on, and why.
Kick ass.
Jonathan Edwards - Olympian
You see those guys on the road. In their "little pick up." Trying to play with the big boys towing around the big trailer. Maybe it's got some gravel on it. Or some lumber. Or may be it's got a pile of junk on it. Odds are that that pile of whatever isn't centered causing the wheels to rub and the truck to pull to one side. It looks like it should be cool but it isn't. Far from it.
That's what most athletes look like to me. That two-wheel drive pick up towing a bunch of crap on a crooked trailer.
But what do we do here in North America? Us strength and conditioning folk look to beef up that truck. We try to beef up the engine. Maybe beef up the shocks. Put some chrome on the damn thing and send it out to try and run circles around the big boys.
But if we could just take care of some of the shit on the trailer we'd be faster. More efficient. And more productive without spending an ounce of time on the truck itself.
You see if you look at this truck-trailer analogy and apply it to the athlete you're working with (or maybe that athlete is you) you'll get further, faster with your training.
If you take a two-wheel drive pick up and you at least get the load centered on the trailer it's going to run straighter right? The load on the trailer is like imbalances in the athlete. Maybe it's tight hamstrings or hipflexors. Tight internal rotators. Or bad posture. Whatever the ailment if we can remedy those loads that truck/athlete is going to be faster and more efficient almost immediately.
What happens if you put a souped-up 350 pick up on a trailer that's got junk on it? You're probably going to rip the trailer to shreds. That's what happens when you try and load up an athlete with more weight, more power, without taking care of the imbalances..
So once the load on the trailer is centered then you can start working on the truck itself. Maybe you've got to work on the engine (cardio/endurance). Maybe you need to upgrade the tires (strength work) or the shocks (plyometric/reactive work). Or maybe the chassis needs some beefing up (lean muscle mass).
Ideally we'd like to get all of the junk off the trailer. But that's rare. I don't know a single athlete who is as flexible and aligned as he/she should be. All of us are nicked up and banged up. I've got a hole in my left quad from a lacrosse injury that I never let heal right and that was in eighth grade. I'm thirty-six now and I'm not going to ever get rid of that. But I try and keep that trailer aligned and running right.
Another way to instantly improve the mileage and effectiveness of that truck is to pay attention to the fuel (nutrition). Even if you're towing a bunch of crap you can at least improve the whole thing by fueling up right. But so many athlete work on all of the things I've listed above and forget about what's going into the tank.
If you treat yourself like you would that two-wheel drive truck in this analogy you'd probably turn your current training regimen on its head.
And remember, form follows function. You're not going to take a Jaguar off roading. And you probably wouldn't take your F350 with the 6 inch lift to the race track. So stop trying to race the truck and haul ass with the Jag. They just aren't meant for that. Train for what you need and turn yourself into the vehicle you need to be for the job at hand.
What I love seeing now, especially in football, is guys who have the body of a truck but who can cut, weave, and accelerate like a Ferrari. It's fun to watch. But what you're seeing is that souped up truck with no trailer. No issues. No junk. It's just flawless and it leaves guys looking for their jock when they blow right by them.
So keep this in mind as you work through your current, and future training programs. I think it will help you understand just what you need to be working on, and why.
Kick ass.
Jonathan Edwards - Olympian
Monday, June 9, 2008
Success Doesn't Come In a Straight Line
The late great Dr. Maxwell Malz said that success rarely comes from improvement that happens in a straight line. For most of us the line is a jagged line of ups and downs. Successes and failures. But what strikes me the most about this is what Malz said next. He said, "But the majority of peoples stresses and frustrations come from when you think that your success should come in a straight line.
How true!
If we just planned for the ups and downs as part of the journey we'd be fine! It would be easy. The highs and the lows would come, and they would go. But through the whole thing we would focus on the goal in mind with a sense of ease. Sure times will be tough, but times will be good too. Keep that in mind in whatever it is that you do and your stress will be reduced. Your anxiety will be held in check. And you will be able to focus on the things you need to do to succeed. Keeping your mind focused on the positives and not the negatives that are just part of the journey.
Tell me about a time when you had a rough go of things but were able to put it aside because you knew it was just part of the journey.
Jonathan -
How true!
If we just planned for the ups and downs as part of the journey we'd be fine! It would be easy. The highs and the lows would come, and they would go. But through the whole thing we would focus on the goal in mind with a sense of ease. Sure times will be tough, but times will be good too. Keep that in mind in whatever it is that you do and your stress will be reduced. Your anxiety will be held in check. And you will be able to focus on the things you need to do to succeed. Keeping your mind focused on the positives and not the negatives that are just part of the journey.
Tell me about a time when you had a rough go of things but were able to put it aside because you knew it was just part of the journey.
Jonathan -
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