Link Of The Week
3/30/09
I have learned more from Kelly Baggett than almost any other strength coach out there. So when he writes an article, I listen. He wrote an article recently called the "Top 10 Mistakes When Training For Vertical Jump," that is both funny and informative. I particularly wanted to call attention to one part:
"The Navy Seal: This guy tries to turn every workout into an all out pukefest. His mantra is you’re not training hard unless your muscles are about to fall off at the end of your workout. The Navy Seal wants and expects to leave each workout utterly exhausted. Anything less is not real training. Unfortunately, it is very difficult to break a Navy Seal of his intense need for pain and torture. They can make progress, but the inherent slow pace characteristic of pure proper speed-strength training tends not to satisfy their urge for blood, sweat, and tears.
The truth is, training in a state of exhaustion offers few positives. Many people turn plyometric workouts into conditioning workouts with endless repetitions. You can train often but you need to stay fresh. Treat each set like you’re being evaluated on your performance. One of the things athletes with a boot camp background often tell me is that when they're doing proper power training they don't feel like they're really working out. It's about quality of effort not volume of effort."
Now don't get me wrong, there are plenty of people out there training who need to just suck it up and work harder. However, what I often notice that many athletes (and even more coaches) get into this mentality that how tired you are is the ultimate reflection of how effective a workout was. I once heard a good thought on this that I share with my athletes sometime: "Think about spending a half-hour straight doing jumping jacks. Then think about spending a half-hour just working on vertical jump technique. Which one would make you more tired? Which one would have a greater effect on your performance?
So remember, it's not always about how much work you do, it's more about how much HIGH QUALITY work you do.
Check out the whole article here:
http://www.higher-faster-sports.com/vjmistakes.html
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