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