I speak to hundreds of athletes and coaches every month. We talk about their training programs their goals and what they would like to accomplish. In our conversations it is inevitable that the almighty bench press will come up, but very rarely will anyone mention agility training, quickness training, dynamic range of motion or qualities that really influence performance. Before I move on let me say this about the bench press. Treat the bench press as a supplementary movement. The majority of pressing movements should be ground based overhead movements. These movements require more stability and have better application to most sports. Sorry, I got a little off track. The purpose of this article is to give athletes and coaches guidance in the direction of comprehensive athletic conditioning.

Hip mobility is very important for athletes. This quality is key in agility movements and speed production. Hip mobility is important for general fitness enthusiasts as well. How many people do you know that have a hard time getting around due to tight hips? With sufficient hip mobility movement becomes easier and everyday functional tasks such as stepping over a gate become much easier. Now, let me ask athletes and coaches out there how many of you focus on hip mobility? If you are not emphasizing hip mobility start today. Any ground-based sport relies heavily on hip mobility. Refer to MaxCondition (by Jamie Hale) Range of Motion section.

If you are involved in a sport that requires multi directional changes agility and quickness are motor qualities you cannot afford to neglect. Agility- the ability to accelerate decelerate and rapidly change direction while maintaining balance. I use a variety of modes to enhance agility such as Non-equipped Wide Range agility drills (backpedal, carioca, side shuffle), cones, jump rope, ladders, and barriers. A properly designed agility program can lead to dramatic changes in an athlete's movement ability in the field of play. A few months ago I took a mediocre boxer and turned him into a good boxer by simply adding the proper agility drills to enhance his movement skills in the ring. Everyone that hadn't seen him in a while was totally amazed when they seen the difference in his performance. I contribute his increased foot speed and quickness to the agility ladder. This is one of many instances where I have seen extraordinary increases in athletes' performance due to their newfound agility programs. Let's not forget the role of quickness in athletic performance. There is an overlap between agility and quickness drills but they can be categorized accordingly. We will define quickness as rapid movement and reaction time in response to a given stimulus. Quickness can be thought of as the first phase of speed. In MaxConditon Training I incorporate a variety of reaction drills, quick feet and quick hand drills. The main emphasis in these movements is instant reaction and movement time. Try this to improve quickness. In your everyday activities simply attempt to perform them quicker than normal. I call this random quickness training. Your neuromuscular system will begin to function more effectively in relation to quick movements. You learn to recruit high threshold fibers that contract very quickly. Refer to Quickness Training in the table of contents for more discussion on quickness training. Agility and quickness are king in most sports.

For proper movement to occur in any plane of movement there must be a sufficient level of balance. Below are some key terms to familiarize yourself with concerning balance.

Balance- ability to maintain center of body mass over a base of support.
Static Balance- maintaining balance while holding a stationary position.
Dynamic Balance- maintaining balance while moving.
Positive Angles- proper positioning of the ankles, knees and hips in relation to the torso. This creates a positive environment for efficient movement and balance.
Coordination- synergist effect of various muscle groups for the production of a specific movement.

To push the balance threshold practice movements on unstable services. When training static balance hold positions for increasing amounts of time. Also work on holding uncommon positions such holding on leg out to the side while holding a barbell overhead with the opposite arm. I also incorporate a fair amount of balance beam work in my programs. I recently developed an exercise for balance that is performed on a tire. I call it the Tire hop. The movement is performed on a big tire. The athlete begins bouncing with 2 feet on a tire. Then the athlete begins moving around the tire in circular fashion. The athlete moves in the direction indicated by the coach. The athlete is constantly changing directions. Once the athlete becomes good with two feet then the movement is performed with one foot. As indicated above proper balance is necessary for any movement to be performed efficiently.

Speed training is an issue that is probably thoroughly mis-understood in the athletic community. Speed is important in sports, but should not be over emphasized at the expense of agility and quickness training. When training for speed alter the distance and intensity of training. Practice starting from various starting positions 3point stance, 2-point stance, lateral stance etc.... This will vary according to the athlete's sport, position and strength and weaknesses. I would not recommend Max Velocity sprinting more than once per week in most cases. Sub-maximal training may be performed 1-3 times per week. The type of sprint workout and duration is influenced by the training phase and the individual's recovery ability. On a final note the key determinant of Max velocity sprinting is vertical ground force. This implies an individual must be powerful to be fast.

Strength training should not be totally dependent on absolute strength. Keep in mind power production is very important in the field of athletics. Being strong does not always equate to being powerful. Power refers to speed strength. If you develop force slowly this will be worthless in the field of play. Power training involves moving weights at high velocities. If a weight is moved at turtle like speed the power production is minimal. With that said clearly understand absolute strength and power are different attributes. Periodize the training of these qualities intelligently. Utilize various tools in your strength training programs such as Kettlebells, dbs, barbells, Olympic lifts and non-conforming objects. Various tools stimulate different neuromuscular properties. Vary the routine often to avoid neural burnout and boredom.

Developing optimal endurance programs should include anaerobic endurance as well as aerobic endurance. The majority of sports are mainly anaerobic in nature yet coaches have their athletes run 3 miles per day. This effects the athlete's power production, sprint mechanics, and teaches the neuromuscular system to function slowly. There are very few sports that require high volumes of aerobic activity. Endurance athletes such as cross country skier's, marathon runners, mountaineers and few others require high volumes of aerobic activity. On the other hand football players, baseball players, MMA athletes, boxers etc.. spend too much time focusing on aerobic conditioning. I would advise these athletes to dedicate more time to interval type training. Sprints, fartlek, non-weighted and weighted Gpp are very beneficial in these cases. Training for endurance is important, but training for the right type is just as important.

If you have just read this article and are guilty of promoting the sins I just mentioned it is time for a change. Just because you have been doing something 10 years does not mean it is correct. That only means it will probably be harder to break the habit. I would ask all coaches and athletes to have an open mind and take a look at the big picture. Always emphasize quality over pure volume.

Copyright 2006 Jamie Hale

Visit coach hale's site at www.maxcondition.com.