I’ve been pulling together a bunch of information relating to movement preparation for a session I’m delivering this weekend at the EXF-Perform Better Learn By Doing Seminar. I’ve always used a variety of training strategies to help prepare my athletes and clients for their training session and regulars will know that myslef and Duncan French put our heads together last year to develop a training resource (P2P Olympic Movement Preparation).
I like to try and have a system to what I’m doing and this weekends presentation has made me take a look at the way I approach movement preparation. I thought I would share one of slides with you…if you want to see the rest then give the team at EXF a shout and see if they have any spaces available for this weekends workshop in London.
I’ve put this slide together today so it’s hot off the press! As with all things it will probably be a work in progress but at this moment in time these are the key elements that I would include as part of my movement preparation strategy. If you tick the boxes then I believe you’ll get what we are all seeking – performance enhancement.
I took a call from Charles Burch from EXF-Peform Better a couple of weeks ago to tell me that he’s secured three fantastic overseas speakers for the EXF-Perform Better two day summit in April in London…oh…did I forget to mention that! Yes, the turn around time on this one is pretty tight but it’s one workshop that you don’t want to miss. Check out who’s going to be there:
They’ve secured three speakers from the US. Robert dos Remedios will be back in the UK for only the second time and he’s got some terrific sessions lined up. Aaron Moser will be over representing Peform Better (the go to people for all things related to functional training and rehabilitation in the US) and Chad Skrederstu who runs Snow, Sand, Street.
Not to be outdone, the UK are represented by some serious S&C coaches including Duncan French, Neil Parsley, and yours truely! Duncan is a familiar name to regulars on the site and helped developed the P2P Olympic Movement Preparation DVD and training manualwith me. Neil works for the English Institute of Sport whipping the countries best combat athletes into shape whilst spending every other waking hour smashing clients at the Underground Training Station.
I think you’ll agree that the team at EXF have pulled together a great line up. Here’s a sneak peak of the topics that will be covered over the two days:
Robert dos Remedios – Cardio Strength Training
Personal trainers and strength & conditioning coaches alike will benefit from learning new, innovative, and extremely effective metabolic conditioning protocols. Help your clients and athletes shed fat, build muscle, improve their fitness and stoke the all important metabolic fire that serves as our fat burning furnace. Traditional steady-state cardio is not only ineffective at shedding fat and improving fitness, it can potentially compromise our valuable lean body mass. Learn efficient and effective training protocols that are backed in science and real-world results from best-selling author and award winning strength and conditioning coach Robert dos Remedios, MA, CSCS, SCCC. Coach dos has authored both Men’s Health Power Training and Cardio Strength Training (Rodale book) both of which were world-wide best-sellers.
Duncan French – Unlocking The Secrets of Multidimensional Speed and Agility
In this presentation Duncan will discuss how to take speed and agility to the next level. Duncan will show you how to develop athletes who can produce the right movement, at the right time, in the most efficient manner…at speed In this session you will not only find out the theory behind speed and agility development, you will have a chance to experience many of Duncan’s training concepts and drills first hand during the hands on training session.
Aaron Moser – Fitness Business Trends: Success Secrets From The US
In this session Aaron will provide and insight and offer advice on how to develop a successful PT business. In the lecture he will cover all of the new trends that you are starting to see pop up in the fitness world. Trends that have exploded in the US market due to things Like Small Group Training, Cross Fit, and the Biggest Loser. He will talk about how you can take these trends and grow your own business to the next level. For his hands on, Aaron will take the group through a 50 min group training with the 4 phases that we have to hit with that amount of time given…under control and, with purpose in mind.
Chad Skerderstu – A Global Perspective To Coaching
After spending a year, visiting 18 countries and observing over 60 fitness professionals Chad Skrederstu has found 5 similarities that great coaches around the world share in improving performance. The talk will discuss the strategies and methods the top fitness professionals around the world implement in a variety of populations ranging from Olympic athletes to average Joe’s. You’ll gain insight on coaching strategies, programme design and how to bring out the best in the people they work with.
Neil Parsley – Training The Athletic Engine In this presentation Neil will share with you the three components that he feels are the cornerstones of athletic development, balance, movement, and strength. He will show you his functional training methodologies and the essential tools that every S&C and trainer should have in their locker. Whether you’re playing sports professionally, or have a regular day-job, you need to be able to move and move well…Neil is going to show you how.
Nick Grantham – Prepare 2 Perform
The Warm-Up is possibly one of the most misunderstood and underutilised aspects of training by coaches and trainers. Sitting on a bike or jogging laps is just not acceptable. Nick takes a look at the concept of movement preparation in light of all the recent advances and will share with you how he sets about developing an effective movement preparation programme. This presentation will focus on a practical “how to” approach to things like foam rolling, stretching and mobility work, pre-activation activities with emphasis on systems that will work for personal trainers, strength coaches and sport coaches.
It’s going to be a great weekend, for full booking details visit
See you all on the 9th and 10th April at Southbank Uni in London…have a look at a couple of video’s from last years events. The first clip was the season finale, fantastic day in Oxford and the second clip was where it all kicked off last year in Ipswich
If you are a strength and conditioning coach, personal trainer, physical therapist, sports therapist, or other health professional then this is your last chance to apply for the Performance Training Mentorship Programme that I’m running in September with my colleague Duncan French.
We can’t accept applications for the Spring programme after the 13th March and the next programme won’t run until September 2011, so check out what we are going to cover in March and get yourself up to Newcastle for 3 days of hands on learning, backed up with solid theories and principles.You may even get time to have a night oot on the toon!
Whether training high performance athletes, young athletes or weekend warriors, learning the training methodologies that we use will help you raise your level as an achiever in your profession. We guarantee a 3 day mentorship that will change the way you train yourself and your athletes/clients. We will improve your skills as a trainer and give you the confidence to work with anyone, from weekend warriors through to Olympic level athletes.
Here’s what James has to say about being mentored…
"I have always been passionately fond of sport and chose to study sports science for my first degree. Here I developed an interest in strength and conditioning but was not sure how to progress in this field. As soon as I began working with Nick he gained my full interest and attention. His mentor programme was different from anything that I had previously encountered. He is able to combine academic knowledge and practical application making personal development easy and enjoyable. His mentoring technique bridges the gap between academic studies and the working environment. Nick has been an inspiration to me as I look forward to starting a career in strength and conditioning. I will always be grateful to him for the way in which he developed my professional and personal skills and for his unfailing help and encouragement." James Hairsine
Duncan and I sat down at the start of the year and put a programme together that covers all of the essential elements required by fitness professionals wanting to take their skills to the next level. Here’s what you can expect from the 3 days.
DAY 1 – WednesdayPerformance Conditioning Framework
Module One – The Fundamental Principles
Training variables and tools may change but your training principles should remain constant. In the first module Nick and Duncan will walk you through fundamental training principles that are central to the development of high performance training programmes. You will learn the importance of transfer of training and why progressive overload underpins everything you do as a coach.
Module Two – Evaluations
Conducting an initial evaluation of your client, athlete or team is crucial. Learn how to develop an effective needs analysis, the key points to remember during evaluations, and the most effective movement screens and fitness tests currently being used by professionals in the industry.
Module Three – Programme Design
Nick and Duncan have written thousands of training programmes for professionals in sport and will share with you how to design the most effective programme for the athlete. You will discover how to choose suitable periodisation models, manipulate every training variable (not just sets and reps) and how to select and sequence exercises to develop fully integrated training programmes.
Module Four – Art and Science of Performance Coaching
Do you know how to get the best out of your athletes and clients? In this module Nick and Duncan will share with you decision training strategies that are far superior to traditional behavioural models. You will learn about the evolution of coaching and how to use language more effectively to establish triggers and coaching cues that will elevate your clients’ performances during training.
DAY 2 – Thursday – Advanced Conditioning Strategies
Module One – Movement Preparation
If your idea of preparing a client or athlete to perform is to send them off on a run around the pitch or to sit them on a bike for 10 minutes then you need to pay attention during this module. Nick and Duncan will show the importance of movement preparation and will explore a range of strategies including pre-activation drills, soft tissue techniques, flexibility and mobility and lifting complexes.
Module Two – Core stability and Strength
Physiotherapists have had a huge influence on current trends in core training. Whilst they know how to get injured people healthy they don’t always know how to prepare people for the demands of sport or life. Nick and Duncan will cut through the myths and pseudo science and show you fast and effective strategies to develop strong and stable core musculature using a range of simple yet highly effective training techniques.
Module Three – Energy Systems
Do your clients and athletes need the ability to tolerate and recover from high workloads? In this module Nick and Duncan will show you how to develop phenomenal work capacities in your clients and athletes using both traditional and contemporary training methods. Find out how reverse periodisation can develop the specific fitness needed to achieve optimal adaptive responses.
Module Four – Recovery and Regeneration
As coaches you need to develop programmes that optimise your clients and athletes physiological adaptations whilst reducing the risk of residual fatigue. Nick and Duncan will explore the multifactorial nature of fatigue, its impact on performance and how using the recovery pyramid you can establish recovery strategies that will significantly enhance your clients and athletes performances.
DAY 3 – Friday - Strength, Power and Speed
Module One – Strength and Power Development
Nick and Duncan have both spent more than a decade getting athletes stronger and more powerful. In this module they will discuss strength training for athletic performance, the importance of force development and the effective application of Olympic weightlifting techniques and plyometics. At the end of this module you will understand how to lift correctly and develop true athleticism with your athletes and clients.
Module Two – Multidimensional Speed and Agility
Top performers in any sport are typically those that are the most explosive and efficient movers. Discover how to develop absolute linear speed, improve your athletes ability to detect and react to a stimulus and accelerate, decelerate effectively. Armed with the fundamental training techniques you will learn how to develop game speed – multidimensional speed and agility using modern training strategies such as CHAOS training and decision training.
The agenda provides a very brief overview of what this mentorship programme is all about. The information here has been developed from being in the trenches week in, week out, for over a decade; taking thousands of weight training sessions, speed sessions, field sessions, warm ups, rehabilitation sessions; finding out what works and more importantly what doesn’t!
The Performance Training Mentorship Programme will be offered during selected weeks throughout the year. The programme is limited to 16 people and is by application only. To register for the mentorship programme please e-mail your current CV and a brief paragraph (maximum 500 words) about why you should be accepted to info@nickgrantham.com
Full programme details, including accommodation and travel options will be provided to all mentorship participants once accepted onto the programme.
The mentorship program will be offered:
Spring Mentorship March 30th – April 1st 2011
Programme Cost
The cost of the mentorship programme is £1000 for three days of valuable learning experience.
At the end of 2010, I went through my blog archives and picked out my favorite posts from 2010. I think this was the best year for my blog. Lots of good content, lots of useful tips. More blogging and writing to come in 2011. Which of these posts is your favorite? Did I miss one that you enjoyed?
1. Are you assessing or guessing? – It’s a bit daft really – you wouldn’t programme your sat nav to get you to a destination 100 miles away without first inputing your starting point (how will you know which route is the most effective to take?). So why would you try to develop a programme to achieve an outcome without knowing where you are starting from?
2. Practice until you get it right! – This one makes even more sense now that I’m reading The Talent Code. Technical competency should be the cornerstone of all good strength and conditioning and atheltic development programmes.
3. Ice Ice Baby – An update on all things linked to recovery and regeneration.
4. CHAOS Training makes more sense – I’m changing this title to CHAOS Training makes even more sense now that I’m reading The Talent Code!!! (can you guess what book I’m totally into at the moment?). I lift the lid on the brainchild of Coach Robert Dos Remedios’ training methods.
5. Do you want to see my brazillian? – This is one of the best drills I’ve picked up all year. If we are talking movement preparation for the shoulder complex then this needs to be in the session.
8.WTF is overtraining syndrome?- If I had a penny for every time I heard a coach say their athlete was overtrained – what a load of horse s*%t! Find out what is really going on.
10. The best treadmill workout ever – I’m currently greeted by the site of the Janaury jogeers pounding out mile after mile on the treadmill at the gym in an attempt to get in shape. If you are going to use the treadmill for a workout then this is the only session you should be doing!
Well, I don’t but I thought it would be a cool title! Having said that I’ve just sat down and looked back at what I did in 2010…it’s amazing just how much you can get done in a year.
It’s at this time of year most people take a look back at what they got up to in 2010. I’m not a huge fan on dwelling on the past, but it’s nice to have a look at what you’ve done during the past 12 months., especially when you realise you’ve actually accomplished a fair bit!
January
January was pretty quiet for me. Richard “The Fitness Freak” Kennedy popped over from Ireland and spent a week picking my brains. He’s a top guy and has a nice little set up out in Ireland. At the end of January I headed north to attend the UKSCA tutor training workshop. I’m not usually a huge fan of this type of thing but it was a great 3 days and it was nice to see some old faces from my days at the English Institute of Sport (I think some of them were surprised to see that there is actually life after the EIS!).
February
In February I headed down to London with Duncan French to meet with the team for Nike to discuss a new project. SPARQ is the training division for Nike and we had both been invited down, along with another handful of coaches to see if we would like to work with them to launch SPARQ in the UK. It’s a bit of a no brainer really…Nike ”Would you like to work with one of the global leaders and help establish SPARQ Football in the UK and become one of six Performance Experts”…Nick “ermmmm, let me think for a second…YES!” We’ve had a great time working on this project and it will be interesting to see where it goes in 2011.
February was a month of epic road trips. On a dark and cold Friday night I drove Duncan French and Brendan Chaplin to Ipswich (yes I said Ipswich!!!) for the first EXF-Perform Better Learn By Doing Workshop . The team from EXF-Perform Better had found a great venue and the day went really well. Matt Lovell joined the 3 stooges and delivered a fascinating workshop on performance nutrition (his ’s cookery session was belting as well, and his recipes are a regular in the Grantham household!)
March
In March I headed down to the Wirrall to deliver the first of several workshops aimed at physiotherapists. It’s no secret that I think physio’s can pick up a lot from S&C coaches (and visa versa) and it’s been a real pleasure delivering these workshops this year. The first one took place at Arrowe Park Hospital and the rest has been history. I also had a chance to pop in and see my main man Neil Parlsey’s, gym The Underground Training Station. We had some fun, his MRT session knocked the crap out of me but the superb dinner cooked by his wife more than made up for it.
The highlight of the year also took place in March. I spent a whole day in the recording studio with Duncan French!! We were doing the voiceovers for the P2P DVD and whilst in my mind it was a bit like the Live Aid thingy the truth is we were not very rock and roll. No recreational substances, just copious cups of tea (not for Duncan, he’s a bit weird and doesn’t drink hot drinks). The poor sound engineer had his work cut out – one week he’s mixing Beverly Knight, the next it’s me and Dunc! The out takes role would be priceless!
April
At the end of April I headed down to speak at the Fitness Entrepreneurs Bootcamp. Not usually my sort of thing but I’m so glad I went, there were some superb speakers (Michael Heppel, Phil Richards, Nick Nanton). I also got a chance to catch up and hang out with Alwyn and Rachel Cosgrove. Some how Alwyn managed to get a photo of him kicking the crap out of me worked into Michael Heppels Opening presentation…you may all know him as a fantastic coach, but he really is an arse! (Alwyn Cosgrove that is….not Michael!!). I had better take that back, I’m going on holiday to California for two weeks and if I’m not careful Alwyn will change the locks! They have another event planned for May 2011 – check it out.
May
May saw the start of all things SPARQ. It’s been fun getting out there and working with the clubs and players. It’s particularly interesting seeing the various fitness levels of players, from grassroots right the way through to the pro’s. Oh, and it was my birthday!!!
I also pulled my finger out and got some training information out there. It followed on from the presentations I’d been delivering at the start of the year. If you are a regular to this site you will know that everyone should train like an athlete and in May I lifted the lid on some of the strategies I use on a daily basis. Check out www.trainlikeathletesdo.com
June
In June I spent some serious time heading up and down the motorway to Scotland to work with the GB Women’s Basketball team. It was the first time I had worked with this squad and it was the start of a long summer!
The EXF-Perform Better seminar series came to an end in Oxford at the site of Roger Bannisters sub 4 minute mile. Once again, a superb workshop with some great presentations from Neil Parlsey, Charlotte Ord and Jon Le Tocq. Check out the footage from that final day in sunny June.
.
Chad Skrederstu came over to the UK and spent some time with me in Newcastle. Chad is doing some great things at the moment and you really should check him out here. I’m looking forward to catching up with him in his back yard in April and seeing if he has developed a taste for Chilli’s yet.
July
Basketball – with the exception of some time off to celebrate my mums 75th Birthday, July was pretty much non-stop Basketball. We were bouncing around training camps and I even got to see the delights of Belgium (a place that I’ve not really liked since I travelled there with my Sunday League football team…it’s a long story). My experience this time round was much nicer, and I discovered the wonders of peppermint tea! I managed to squeeze some pre-season work in for some of the football and rugby players getting ready for the new season…which leads nicely to August!
August
August was the culmination of all the work with GB Basketball and the team made history when they qualified for the European Championships for the first time ever! (I have to give a big pat on the back to my partner in crime, Duncan (Mr Basketball) French, who had done all the hard work during the 4-5 years he had been with the GB teams – I was standing on the shoulders of a giant this year – cheers buddy (it was fun celebrating with you in Liverpool!).
June 2011 is going to be a very busy time!
We had some fun along the way…especially when Silky and Sam rocked up at SMART Fitness to see if they could cut it with one of GB’s training sessions. So much footage didn’t make the edit – these boys were hilarious!
I also dipped my toe into the world of professional football in August, taking on a consultancy role as the conditioning coach to one of the pro teams based in the North East.
September
When I left the Fitness Entrepreneurs Bootcamp in April I left with some notes scribbled in my pad . The notes related to developing a mentorship programme. Less than six months later I was stood with Duncan French in front of out first intake. Three intense days of learning followed and I’m so glad I grew a set of nuts in April and went for it!
At the end of the month I headed to London to take part in the Rat Race. I completed a similar event in Edinburgh the year before and I have to say the trip to Scotland was much better! Probably something to do with my complete lack of training! Oh well, good job I’ve not entered the Nokia Coast to Coast challenge in September 2011 then!
(Start of Day 2 – Officially hanging out my arse. There’s a reason why I always wear glasses – you can’t see the pain in my eyes!)
October
In October I started working with Northumbria University again on their intern programme. This is the third year that I’ve delivered this internship and it’s something I always enjoy doing. Taking students with book smarts and giving them some practical intelligence! It’s especially pleasing when you see interns that you’ve worked with go on to secure jobs working in performance sport.
November
The UKSEM Conference in London was a great event and I got a chance to share the stage with, Vern Gambetta, Frans Bosch and Kelvin Giles. Talk about pressure! It looks like I’ll be involved in 2011 and it will be great to spread the word of S&C among the doctors, surgeons and physiotherapists.
All good things come to an end and in November I decided to stop writing for Sports Injury Bulletin. I’ve been a regular for 10 years with my own column for the past 5 years and I figured it was time to let someone else have a crack. Although I’m no longer a regular in Sports Injury Bulletin I’ve got a couple of articles that will be going in there this year.
In December we finally launched the P2P Olympic Movement Preparation DVD and Manual. Six months later than we had hoped, but all good things are worth waiting for. We’ve been getting some great feedback and its great to see coaches from America, Australia and Europe using the resource.
Just as the year closed I agreed to be a regular for two magazines. Four Four Two are launching a new Performance section of the magazine (as well as a fantastic website with a ton of football related training information on it) and have asked me to contribute to the magazine and website. Fighting Fit is another great magazine for anyone involved in combat sports. What I like about this publication is that they are trying to lift the lid on sport science and strength and conditioning and show combat athletes how they really should be training (not just doing what historically has been accepted as the norm).
2011
2011 – I’m sure it’s going to be another exciting year. Smart Fitness continues to keep me busy and I’m fortunate to have some great coaches working for me (cheers Joe and Suzi!), making sure it’s still runs smoothly when I’m away coaching or delivering workshops (check out my speaking engagements and see if I’m coming to a venue near you!).
It will be interesting to see how the teams that I work with get on this year, it’s a big year for both teams, all be it for slightly different reasons!
Duncan and I are looking forward to the Spring Performance Training Mentorship Programme, We really enjoyed working with the coaches in September and I’m sure we are going to have another great group to work with at the end of March.
So, 2010 was a great year and I’m really excited for what 2011 brings.
Jogging, cycling or jumping rope doesn’t prepare you to perform.
You’ve heard the phrase you never get a second chance to make a first impression. Every training session is a bit like that. It’s vital that you set the tone straight from the off! I’m amazed at just how little thought seems to go into most warm ups. We’ve all seen it, the coach sending the team off to jog some laps, or the personal trainer sitting the client on a bike for 5 minutes before the training session. It’s just not good enough.
Traditionally warm ups are considered a necessary evil and a bit of a hassle, ‘let’s just get through this so that we can start training properly’.Most traditional warm ups focus mainly on the temperature-related mechanisms and involve basic activities that require movement of the major muscle groups of the body, such as jogging, cycling, or jumping rope (skipping).
However, preliminary exercise should prepare the body not only physiologically but also psychologically.
Movement preparation encompasses technical reinforcement of fundamental movement patterns, promotes cognitive thought processes that are critical to body awareness, emphasizes the expression of movement speed on the force-velocity continuum, and finally it creates variety and interest that will engage athletes/clients. Oh….it also increases your core temperature and gets a bit of a sweat on!
Physical Responses to Movement Preparation
Movement preparation initially increases tissue temperatures throughout the body, which in turn causes a rise in whole body core temperature. This increase in temperature is brought about by:
·friction between muscle fibres during muscular contraction
·dilation of intra-muscular blood vessels
·redistribution of the circulation, and finally
·the breakdown and metabolism of fuels during exercise.
An increase in whole body temperature allows the muscles and joints to move optimally, reduces the resistance to blood flow throughout the body so that blood can then be easily distributed to the working musculature and improves nervous activity leading to improvements in the rate of muscular contraction, reaction times, and the overall control of whole body balance and motor function. Finally, from a cardiovascular perspective, temperature is central to the rate at which oxygen can be released from the blood and delivered to the working muscles.
And you thought it was just about getting a sweat on!
Psychological Responses to Movement Preparation
Peddling on a stationary bike, jogging round a football field, or sitting down performing static stretches are not particularly mentally stimulating activities! However, I still see athletes and gym-goers alike adopting such approaches to their pre-exercise preparations on a regular basis. These activities are‘easy’ to perform and in most cases don’t require much thought.
I personally want my athletes and clients mentally ‘dialed in’ and ‘switched on’ at the start of the training session. It’s an absolute must in my books to work on elevating the cognitive function of the body, placing value on developing the alertness, acuity, and mental arousal needed to focus the athletes mind.
Complex tasks used as movement preparation can serve to promote a number of cognitive functions.
·Neural activity within the brain is elevated, and the higher centres of the brain are stimulated above resting levels.
·Activation of the brain centres required for motor function gives a cognitive focus to kinesthetic feedback. As an athlete begins to become aware of what a given movement feels like, he/she can then go about changing components of that motor function in order to execute the motor task more efficiently or effectively. Kinesthetic movement patterns can then be rehearsed, with the mind becoming intimately associated with the quality of the performance outcome.
·Stimulating the mind through more complex movement preparation tasks often allows for‘technical reinforcement’of an activity and/or movement patters that will be experienced in an ensuing activity.
·Effective use of the movement preparation time will elevate the psychological focus of an athlete, allowing them to enter into their training session with a mental state that is conducive to optimal performance. Performing semi-complex movements, such as those utilised in the P2P approach to movement preparation will promote this mental focus.
Be it physiological responses or psychological responses, movement preparation activities should serve to elevate all the systems of the body to heightened levels, where they will then promote optimal performance standards. Gone are the days jogging round a field or a court and then performing static stretching prior to training or competition.
The use of Weightlifting techniques by athletes and gym-goers alike is widespread. Performing Olympic weightlifting movements requires balance, coordination, and proprioceptive feedback from the whole nervous system. In order that they be performed correctly, weightlifting variants require the correct sequencing of explosive/ballistic muscle actions. What is more, due to the dynamic nature of this type of exercise, the weightlifting movements can also elevate cardiovascular and metabolic systems above resting levels.
If you spend the first 10 minutes of every session just getting your clients muscles warm, before you do the ‘serious work’, then you are wasting a massive portion of your time. Prepare 2 Perform: Olympic Movement Preparationrepresents a novel strategy to movement preparation and warm-up. It removes athletes from the proprioceptively-starved environments of traditional warm-up routines, and challenges all the physiological and psychological systems that are critical for ensuing activity. The Olympic lifts are dynamic, whole body movements, and activate a large number of muscles in gross motor actions. All in all, Olympic Weightlifting activities represent an fantastic way to perform movement preparation, and by their nature they fit in with the P2P philosophies.
(remember you need to focus on the 99% – don’t get bogged down with the 1% – throw everything at it…)
I’m spending a lot of my time working alongside a range of medical professionals so I’m always interested in finding out the best approach to rehab. My experience tells me to adopt a ‘belt and braces’ approach and it would seem that the research agrees. A recent study (Neuromuscular Training for Sports Injury Prevention: A Systematic Review Medicine and Science in Sports and Exercise 2010 42 (3) 413-421) confirms that when it comes to rehab we need to throw everything we have at the problem.
Sport comes with its own problems, namely injuries. The most common injuries are sprains, dislocations and ligament ruptures occurring at the knee, ankle, hand, elbow and shoulder. Once you’ve compromised a joint with an injury like a ruptured ACL, chances are that at some point in the future you’ll develop additional problems such as early development of joint osteoarthritis. What was once a problem reserved for older adults is now a very real problem for young adults and much of what we do during injury rehabilitation is shutting the gate after the horse has bolted. What we need to do is work hard on preventing injuries in the first place.
I regularly incorporate a range of proprioceptive and neuromuscular and sensorimotor training into my athletes training sessions in an attempt to reduce the incidence of injuries. Whilst there is a ton of research into the area, and it appears to make sense to incorporate this type of training, not all of the research has been of the highest quality.
Researchers in Germany have recently completed an extensive review of all of the available literature to assess the effectiveness of proprioceptive/neuromuscular training in preventing sports injuries. Do ‘prehab’ programmes really work?
The review showed that balance training is effective in reducing the risk of ankle sprains by 36% and that this type of training was more effective in athletes with a previous history of sports injury than those without. Great news if you have blown your ankle. The bad news is that when the researchers reviewed the available literature looking at knee ligament injuries or upper extremity injuries, they couldn’t find any evidence to support the use of balance training in the prevention of injuries or the reduction in severity of injuries. So balancing on a wobble board isn’t going to solve all the injury problems. But what about taking a multi-intervention approach?
The review showed that when several interventions such as balance, strength training, jump training or stretching were used the results were more promising. Multi-intervention strategies were effective at reducing the risk of lower limb injuries by 39%, this risk of acute knee injuries by 54% and the risk of ankle sprains by 50%. Studies also showed a preventative effect on ACL injuries and upper limb injuries.
So what does this review tell us? Well we’ve not found the holy grail but what we do know that if we are going to spend time developing ‘prehab’ programmes we need to ensure that they are multi-intervention strategies.
To be honest this has always been my approach –as I said at the start, I like to adopt a ‘belt and braces’ approach to training. Typical training sessions will hit the following areas:
1. Pre-activation drills – exercises designed to ‘switch the lights on’. Simple drills like mini-band walks, hop and hold combo’s to activate the neuromuscular system.
2. Core – I hit the core using a combination of vertical and horizontal core stabilisation and strength exercises. It’s no use having strong knees if you’ve got a weak core.
3. Strength – The body has to be able to withstand the demands of the activity. It needs to be strong and robust and athletes need to lift weights using compound multidimensional lifts.
So I’m sat in my hotel room in London having presented at the UKSEM conference (the largest sports medicine and science conference in Europe) trying to get my head around a thought provoking seminar from Frans Bosch.
(Are you setting your athletes up for failure using eccentric loading?)
At the moment everyone is looking at eccentric loading to help reduce and rehabilitate hamstring injuries but Frans has just thrown a huge curve ball – it’s not eccentric loading that we need to focus on…..we need to load the hamstrings isometrically.
He presented some very good arguments and I’m going to have a chat with a colleague that is working in rugby and using the techniques with a national team. Once I get a feel for the training parameters I’ll let you know what I think.
It was a great afternoon and I really enjoyed listening to Vern Gambetta (www.gambetta.com) and Kelvin Giles (www.movementdynamics.com) present – two coaches that have probably forgotten more than I know! They were easily two of the most passionate speakers that I’ve listened to in a long time. I think that spending more than 40 years on the floor coaching gives you the confidence to say exactly what you think without worrying what others will think – superb stuff. I enjoyed being the warm-up guy for Frans, Vern and Kelvin.
I had the opportunity to attend a 3 hour workshop with Bill Knowles formIsport last night. Bill is a world renowned injury rehab specialist and a leader in his field, and as always he delivered a thought provoking and information packed 3 hours. I’m hoping to pin Bill down for a Q&A session at some point in the near future.
As is often then case, I left the workshop with a list of books and references to check up on. I thought I would share with you the next two books on my reading list.
The first is The Talent Code, Bill talks about having a light bulb moment when he read this book so I figured if it is good for Bill then it’s worth taking a look at. I watched my 5 year old daughter tonight at her swimming lesson and witnessed her laying down some myelin – she has spent months stuggling to swim and tonight it clicked – she swam a whole length on her own. I couldn’t help thinking about what Bill had been talking about in relation to creating the right learning environment and the importance of laying down myelin. I’m looking forward to reading the book.
So that was another book added to my reading list, but this morning I was talking to one of the coaches at a football team I work with and he suggested I also take a look at Talent Is Overrated. He’s also read The Talent Code and reckons that Talent Is Overrated is another must read.
I’ve been having a play around with the TRX recently and have found that it’s a great tool for de-loading athletes that are coming back from knee injuries. I’ve shot a bunch of video’s and will post them during the next month.
Just because your client or athlete is load compromised doesn’t mean they can’t train.
.jpg){kind=logo}
.jpg)
