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Conditioning

BORING is good when you want to be good

By Brian Williams on April 2, 2021

BORING is good when you want to be good

Written and contributed by Dr. Chris Hobbs ( Follow him on Twitter @Dr_ChrisHobbs)

 

My youngest daughter is a 14 year old aspiring athlete. Early on in her sport endeavors she’s demonstrated strength, grit, commitment, and some explosive athletic ability. I don’t know how accomplished she’ll become but she puts her all into her athletic participation. She loves it. Practices, games, tournaments, and training sessions are why she gets out of bed each day. Much of me agrees with her; like father, like daughter! She recently came home from an after-school strength training session with the qualified strength coaches we have at our school. I asked her how her session was. ‘Dad, it was boring. We do the same exercises every time.’

This made me smile. We have highly qualified and passionate strength coaches and an elite weight room so the workouts were not my concern. What my daughter was experiencing was the paradox that boring is good when you want to be good. We live in a day and age when we have almost no tolerance for boredom. If something becomes boring, we move on quickly. We can skip commercials, check a different social media network, communicate with whomever we want whenever we want, or scroll our phones while standing in lines.

We have almost completely purged boredom from our lives and that has consequences. One of those consequences is we have forgotten how many boring repetitions it requires to become proficient in a task or skill. Skill development in athletics is a great example, but it has many other applications like earning a degree, losing weight, or saving money for a big purchase. Getting good is boring!
[adinserter name=”Basketball In Article Ad 1 Rebecca”]
As I worked through my doctorate, I would estimate that 75% of the things I was involved in were boring, but it would not have developed the understanding of content or process necessary to do what was required to finish the doctorate (write a dissertation) if I had not navigated a lot of boring. Boring is not bad if you want to be good at something.

There are a couple of ways to navigate boring while pursuing something good.

1. Check off the completion of tasks as you are working through boring phases. Jerry Seinfeld used to keep a calendar above his desk and cross off each day that he spent 30 minutes working on new jokes. His goal was to create as many unbroken rows of x’s on his calendar as he could. I’m sure writing jokes day in and day out go boring, but we don’t have the humor of Jerry Seinfeld without his tolerance for boring.

2. Develop practical reminders of where you are heading. Post it notes on mirrors, home screens on phones, and daily journals are all great ways to remind yourself of why you started on a boring path to something good.

3. Do boring with other people that are headed your same direction. I spent 3 years working towards a particular goal in strength training during my 30’s. There was a lot of boring days, hard lifts, and failed programs. I kept going many times because I was having a blast being miserable with the two guys I was training with. We did boring together and it was quite so boring.

Mother Theresa is quoted as saying, ‘be faithful in the little things because it is them that your strength lies.’ Boring is hard to tolerate when it comes to commercials and lines but that doesn’t mean that boring is bad. Boring is good when you want to be good. Ironically, when you remember that boring is required to be good, boring becomes exciting!

Keep on, keepin’ on, friends!

‘Bite Down and Don’t Let Go’ is a collection of writings on being intentional about life in a way that produces great persistence. Read about it more here.

Dr. Chris Hobbs is an educational leader and Director of Athletics at The King’s Academy in West Palm Beach, Florida. He’s earned a few degrees and won some awards. He’s happily married to his high school sweetheart and they have three teenage children. Life is messy and complicated most of the time. You can follow him on Twitter for all sorts of inspirational thoughts and good laughs.

Improving Game Speed: Isometric Speed Holds

By Brian Williams on July 29, 2020

This post provided by ONEighty Athletics

By Michael Cano,

I’m always looking for ways to get my athletes to ⚡️Accelerate & Change Directions⚡️ better.

How many of us have those slow, stiff, athletes that can’t bend or move well? . ?‍♂️I know I work with a ton!

We’ve been implementing these ISOMETRIC “SPEED” holds before our dynamic warm up and I love the results.

The first 2 Isometric drills, split stance ISO Holds, hammer home that 45% angle from the start position.

The ankle, knee, and hip will be on FIRE? .

The 3 and 4th drills focus on strengthening the Psoas / Hip Flexors.

Trying to give our guys the image of staying VERTICAL during their top-end speed drills.

Kids are moving, bending, and showing an increased range of motion!

The YouTube video below reviews coaching cues and mistakes to keep an eye out for when conducting the following Isometric Speed Holds:

Below are the 4 drills implemented.
1. Split Stance Iso hold + Arms in Sprint Position
2. Split Stance Iso Hold + Hands on Hips
3. Standing Psoas Iso Hold
4. Standing Psoas Iso Hold + Kick Out.

The video reviews coaching cues and mistakes to keep an eye out for.

? Remember DOMINATE The Details, BETTER Your BEST, and ATTACK every set and rep!

Coach Cano Win The Kids!

FYI – next week ONEighty will be releasing their brand new “GAME Speed System” – How To Develop True SPORT Speed

This program will include ALL our linear speed progressions, advanced plyometrics, and cutting edge change of direction agilities!

ONEighty Athletics GUARANTEES YOUR ATHLETES WILL RUN FASTER, JUMP HIGHER, & MOVE QUICKER!

The Z Factor: Why Sleep Is So Important for Athlete Performance

By Brian Williams on May 11, 2020

By: Ralph Reiff, Sr. Associate Athletic Director for Student Athlete Health, Performance & Well-Being at Butler University

From the Hudl Blog

The research is in — poor sleep habits lead to worse per­for­mance, while good sleep can mean improved performance.

My own deep dive into this sub­ject start­ed years ago. 

Coming off back-to-back appear­ances in the NCAA men’s bas­ket­ball cham­pi­onship game, the 2011-12 Butler University team was on a west coast trip. While in Palo Alto to play Stanford in late December, youth­ful coach Brad Stevens called me to find out if I knew Stanford sleep researcher Dr. Sheri Mah. 

I was already aware of her sleep research and ath­lete per­for­mance find­ings, which sparked an enthu­si­as­tic and lengthy dis­cus­sion on how we could trans­form her research into action­able steps Stevens’ team.

I’m pleased to share what we came up with. Once you under­stand how sleep is a fac­tor of ath­lete per­for­mance, you can take steps to ensure the health of your players.

The Connection 

The sports per­for­mance com­mu­ni­ty has become increas­ing­ly aware of the rela­tion­ship between sleep depri­va­tion and dimin­ished aca­d­e­m­ic and ath­let­ic performance.

Researchers have pro­vid­ed val­i­da­tion that stu­dent-ath­letes who sleep poor­ly are:

  • Prone to health issues
  • Have high­er rates of stress and depression
  • More like­ly to use over-the-counter stim­u­lant med­ica­tions to remain awake
  • More like­ly to use alco­hol to pro­mote sleep

Now for the good news: research also has proven longer sleep is cor­re­lat­ed with improved mood and aca­d­e­m­ic performance. 

According to the CDC, this is the rec­om­mend­ed amount of sleep peo­ple should get. 

  • 6 – 12 years old: 9 – 12 hours every 24 hours (naps count)
  • 13 – 18 years old: 8 – 10 hours every 24 hours (naps count)
  • 18 – 60 years old: 7 or more hours per night

Recommended Steps 

You can sup­port new habits towards high qual­i­ty sleep by encour­ag­ing your ath­letes (and your staff) to fol­low these guidelines.

Before going to sleep:

  • Create a habit­u­al pre-sleep routine.
  • Set con­sis­tent times to be in bed and when to wake up.
  • Limit caf­feine, alco­hol and screen time for at least 90 min­utes beforehand.
  • Don’t try to sleep hun­gry or imme­di­ate­ly after a large meal.

While sleep­ing:

  • Avoid look­ing at blue light (i.e., device screens) dur­ing the night.
  • Keep your bed­room as dark and qui­et as possible.
  • Set ther­mo­stat to 62 – 68 degrees.
  • Use com­fort­able bedding.
  • Encourage bright, full spec­trum light upon waking.

Overall:

  • Use your bed­room for sleep and rela­tions only.
  • Avoid read­ing, study­ing or watch­ing TV while in bed.

Recovery Strategies

By Brian Williams on February 17, 2019

By Jon Sanderson MS, CSCS, MSCC, USAW, NASM-CES, TPI, FMS

Head S&C Coach Michigan Basketball

Recovery Strategies    

  1. Give your team time to foam roll and go through mobility/stretching routines.
  2. Utilize Cold tub immersion and contrast bath post practice.
  3. Remind your team that 8-10 hours of sleep is optimal for their age group.
  4. Encourage proper nutritional habits.

Five benefits of proper sleep for athletes 1

– Improved reaction times

– Reduced injury rates

– Longer playing careers

– Better accuracy, faster sprint times

– Fewer mental errors

Cold Tub Immersion 2

– Reduces inflammation.

– Has a pain-reducing effect.

– Recommended temperature: 50-60o F.

– 8-12-minute immersion is recommended.

Contrast Bath 3

– Contrast between hot tub and cold tub.

– Has a pumping effect of blood which aids in flushing of bi-products.

– Pain-reducing effect.

– Start with hot tub and finish with cold tub.

– Three rounds of 3-minute hot tub and 3-minute cold tub.

– 50-60o F for cold tub and 100-103o F for hot tub is recommended.

  1. Fatigue Science. (2015, September 23). 5 areas sleep has the greatest impact on athletic performance [Web log post]. Retrieved June 2, 2016, from http://www.fatiguescience.com/blog/5-ways-sleep-impacts-peak-athletic-performance
  2. Quinn, E. (2016, April 28). After Exercise – Does and Ice Water Bath Speed Recovery? [Web log post]. Retrieved June 2, 2016, from https://www.verywell.com/after-exercise-does-an-ice-water-bath-speed-recovery-3120571
  3. Matsui, C. (2015, September 21). Do Ice and Contrast Baths Really Work? NYC Strength Coach [Web log post]. Retrieved June 2, 2016, from http://www.fusiontrained.com/do-ice-and-contrast-baths-work/ 65.

If interested in the Camp Sanderson S&C program powered by Blueprint Athletes App

Apple Phones   https://apple.co/2FYcJ00

Android Phones   https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=com.blueprintathletes.android

Do your basketball players stretch their hips enough?

By Brian Williams on February 17, 2019

Do your basketball players stretch their hips enough?

By Jon Sanderson MS, CSCS, MSCC, USAW, NASM-CES, TPI, FMS

Head S&C Coach Michigan Basketball

The Hips are the center of the body and are incredibly important for basketball performance.  When the hips get locked up and tight, performance and durability have a way of diminishing.

To combat this, we recommend that every basketball player should go through a daily routine to ensure that this part of our body stays mobile.

Below are 3 hip mobility examples that would be great for pre or post practice.  If you are warming up before practice make these movements dynamic with short holds, 5 sec or less and more overall movement.  If you’re done with practice for the day, these can be accomplished with 3 to 4 sets of 10-15 sec., still moving dynamically but with longer holds.

90-90 Hip Mobility

Sit on the floor with one knee bent under your body and the other bent behind you.

Lean forward and toward the leg under you until you feel a stretch in the outside of the hip.

Repeat on the Other leg.

Quad Hip Flexor

Kneel down on one knee with the other leg bent in front of you with your foot flat.

Grab the foot Of the kneeling leg and pull it to your butt, then push your hips forward until you feel a stretch in the front Of your hip.

Repeat On Other side.

Bretzel

Begin by lying on your back and crossing your right leg over. Hold your knee with your left hand.

Use your left hand to grab your left ankle and pull up towards you.

Hold for desired amount of time and repeat on other side.

If interested in the Camp Sanderson S&C program powered by Blueprint Athletes App

Apple Phones   https://apple.co/2FYcJ00

Android Phones   https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=com.blueprintathletes.android

Core Stability Exercises for Basketball Players

By Brian Williams on December 15, 2018

By Jon Sanderson MS, CSCS, MSCC, USAW, NASM-CES, TPI, FMS

Head S&C Coach Michigan Basketball

Jon Sanderson has been the head strength and conditioning coach for the University of Michigan men’s basketball team since 2009.

Regarded as one of the basketball strength and conditioning coaches in the business, Sanderson is the only strength and conditioning coach in NCAA history to participate in a Final Four as a player (Ohio State in 1999) and a coach (Michigan in 2013 & 2018).

Before joining the Michigan staff, Sanderson spent three years (2006-09) working at Clemson as the men’s and women’s basketball strength and conditioning coach, as well as the director of the Littlejohn Coliseum weight room. During Sanderson’s time at Clemson, the men’s basketball team won 20 or more games for three straight seasons — a first in program history. Also, during those three seasons, only North Carolina and Duke had more wins than Clemson in the ACC.

Prior to his time at Clemson, he served as the head strength and conditioning coach and sports nutrition coordinator for Olympic sports at Marshall University (2003-06). Before heading to Marshall, Sanderson was a strength and conditioning intern at North Carolina, working with the men’s basketball program (2002-03).

Throughout Sanderson’s career with the U-M basketball program, he has trained 11 student-athletes that have gone on to play professional basketball in the NBA, including MDarius Morris, Manny Harris, Tim Hardaway, Jr., Trey Burke, Nik Stauskas, Mitch McGary, Glenn Robinson III, Caris LeVert, D.J. Wilson, Derrick Walton, Jr. and Moritz Wagner.

If interested in the Camp Sanderson S&C program powered by Blueprint Athletes App

Apple Phones   https://apple.co/2FYcJ00

Android Phones   https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=com.blueprintathletes.android

The following anti-rotation exercises can be performed in a tall or half-kneeling position, normal stance or a split stance, and with either a band or pulley mechanism.

Trunk/Core Stability–Pallof Hold

Begin in in an athletic stance with your shoulders perpendicular to the cable column and holding the single attachment above your belly button.

Press the attachment away from your body until your arms are fully extended, then hold for the specified time.

Repeat on the other side.

Stand in an athletic position holding the pulley attachment just above your belly button.

Press the attachment to an arms-length in front of you and return it back to the starting position.

Repeat on other side.

Stand in an athletic position, perpendicular to the cable machine, with arms extended toward the column, and hold the pulley attachment at just below shoulder level.

With a stable trunk, move your arms from the start point to the finish point.

Repeat on other side.

Begin holding the rod with your hands about 18 inches apart with a double overhand grip, shoulders perpendicular to the column, and arms extended out toward the column.

Pull the rod toward you until your arm closest to the column is on your side, then rotate and punch that arm upward while keeping your feet flat.

Return to the starting position and repeat for specified reps.

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