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DeFranco’s welcomes Ling Oei to the USA!
Below you will see a video of Ling Oei from the Netherlands Wushu Team performing her routine at the 2006 European Championships. She took home a bronze medal during this competition.
Ling made her first-ever trip to the USA last week for the sole purpose of training with us and learning some new concepts to incorporate into her strength & conditioning program. More specifically, Ling wanted to learn more about improving her explosive strength and conditioning. When we asked Ling why she came all the way to the US, she replied, "Because I wanted to learn from the best in the world."
We were honored that Ling chose us to help her get to the next level and we are confident that she will be bringing home a Gold Medal soon!
Below you will see a video of Ling performing her first-ever 'barbell complex' at the end of one of her training sessions. Ling will be incorporating 80-second barbell complexes at the end of her strength workouts to help improve - and add variety - to her conditioning. (The barbell complexes that we prescribed take approximately 80-seconds to complete because that's how long Ling's Wushu routines last. The barbell complex below consists of 7 exercises performed for 6 reps each - deadlifts, RDL's, bent-over rows, hang cleans, front squats, push presses, back squats)
The barbell complex was just one of many exercises/techniques that Ling learned during her 2-week stay with us. She was a phenomenal “student” (she speaks four languages) and picked everything up extremely quickly. I can’t say enough good things about Ling…it takes a very special person to travel to a foreign country where she didn’t know anyone, she had no transportation, and she had no idea what to expect. Yet, she showed up at one of the most intimidating, meathead-filled gyms on earth with the sole purpose of becoming the best in the world at something! A lot of athletes can learn a great deal from Ling’s dedication, guts and perseverance.
We wish her the best of luck and we are proud to have her as part of our TEAM!
Joe D.
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Q: Dear Joe,
Your articles have been a huge help for my strength gains. I have seen significant gains in all my major lifts. But most of your workouts are geared towards football players. Could you come up or help make a sample workout for a basketball player, specifically a point guard?
Thanks in advance,
Brandon P.
A: Brandon,
Although I do receive a great deal of questions regarding football training, I have worked with athletes from every major sport. Experience has taught me that most athletes do not need to have drastically different strength training programs. Now, before everyone gets their panties in a bunch, notice that I said ‘most’ athletes…I didn’t say ‘all’ athletes should train the same. But - think about it - most athletes will benefit from strengthening all of the major muscle groups of their body by performing productive strength exercises. Simply put, ALL sports require movement -- we were all born with the same muscles and those muscles are what create movement in our bodies. If we can train those muscles to be stronger, contract more efficiently/explosively, and overcome any muscular imbalances, any athlete would benefit. This is how my “base” program evolved. I realized that 99% of the athletes that I train, regardless of sport, can benefit from squatting, pressing, rowing, jumping, etc. Basically, my “base” program is a compilation of what I feel are the most productive exercises, organized in a specific manner and performed on specific days. The art of playing your sport is what “synchronizes” the strength that you gain and makes it “sport specific”.
The major changes in strength programming really come into play if you’re dealing with an athlete who is recovering from an injury, an athlete that has developed terrible muscular imbalances due to the demands of their sport or previous (improper) training, and professional athletes (who are usually older and have very specific needs). The time of year it is in the season will always play a major role in exercise selection and programming as well
Although I do not feel that different athletes need to drastically change their strength programs, the same does not hold true for the conditioning aspect of their training. Conditioning is where your program would need to be “specific” to the energy demands of your sport.
The physiological requirements of basketball are met by both aerobic and anaerobic metabolism. Although the actual role that each energy system plays during a basketball game is not completely understood, it is generally thought that anaerobic metabolism is the primary energy system used. One of the best ways to train anaerobic metabolism is through anaerobic intervals. For basketball, these intervals can consist of 30-60 seconds of maximal work followed by 2 minutes of light work. For example, you can perform 30 seconds of max jumps touching the backboard, followed by 2 minutes of light side shuffles up and down the court. Another example would be performing 30-60 seconds of shooting, sprinting to get your rebound, dribbling back to your starting point and shooting again; this can be followed by 2 minutes of light jogging up and down the court. Get creative with these intervals. You can perform four “rounds” of 10-minute intervals with a two-minute rest between each interval. Another example would be performing two “rounds” of 20-minute intervals with a two-minute rest between each interval. Or you can perform one long 40-minute interval if you’re in great shape. Your programming would depend on your conditioning level and the time of year. You can also wear a 10 lb. weighted vest during these types of workouts to increase the intensity without altering the “skill” portion of the intervals.
To conclude, I suggest you stick with one of my WS4SB templates for your strength training. The template that you choose will depend on where you are in the training calendar (in-season, off-season, pre-season) and your conditioning level. The number of conditioning workouts you perform will also depend on where you are in the training calendar. (If you are playing a lot of games, practicing a lot, etc., you will not need to do much extra conditioning…focus on strength training 2X a week.)
Use the info that I’ve provided, get to know your body, and become your own best trainer!
Good luck!
Joe D.
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Q: Joe,
Great website and some great information as well. I am a strength and conditioning coach. I teach a lot of speed enhancement and combine related training as you do. I watched your combine video and it had some great information. I have a question though. I heard you say that backside mechanics is the most important thing with regards to sprinting (other than the take-off, stance and first ten yards). I recently attended the USA track and field pedium project where Dr. Ralph Mann, who is the biomechanist, stated that front side mechanics are more important because of getting the legs through its cycle and stride length. I just wanted your opinion on front side mechanics vs. backside mechanics.
Thanks for your time
Sincerely
Brad BS, CSCS
A: Brad,
First of all, I am fully aware that this is a topic that can be debated all day – there are some valid points for each side of the topic. I’m not sure it really matters to come up with a definitive answer as to whether front-side mechanics are “more important” than backside mechanics, or vice-versa. More importantly, a coach needs to be able to analyze an individual athlete’s sprint mechanics and then figure out what that specific athlete needs to work on!
With the above being said, I will give you my point of view. Keep in mind that my point of view is based on my experience. Here is what I’ve found to be more common with the athletes that I’ve worked with during the past ten years:
Experience has taught me that, generally speaking, the push-off phase and the role of the spinal erectors, glutes, hamstrings and calves (backside mechanics) are “more important” than the quads/hip flexors during the knee drive (front side mechanics). Here are some key points as to why I feel the way I do…
- The glutes and hamstrings are the largest muscles in the human body. Have you ever seen a great sprinter with poorly developed glutes and hamstrings? The answer is, “HELL NO!” Strong glutes and hamstrings build the foundation for a great sprinter. They are the primary muscles responsible for applying force back into the ground during the top-speed phase – this is what propels the athlete forward. Training these muscles must be a priority if running fast is your goal!
- When an athlete has poor knee drive, most coaches automatically think it’s because of weak hip flexors. But, before you prescribe a ton of extra strengthening exercises for the hip flexors, you need to check the flexibility of the hip flexors – more specifically the psoas. If the athlete performs more strength work when a lack of flexibility is the true issue, the added strength work may make the problem worse if it increases tightness! This doesn’t mean that you should neglect your hip flexor strength; it just means that I have noticed a lack of hip flexor flexibility to be a bigger issue, compared to a lack of strength.
- During the push-off phase, the hip flexors stretch rapidly. If the hip flexors are tight, a defense mechanism in your body known as the stretch reflex will fire the hip flexors to contract (because it senses the muscle may tear if stretched too far and too rapidly). This premature firing of the hip flexors inhibits full hip extension and a powerful push-off phase. This creates short, choppy strides.
- If you get your posterior chain very strong - in conjunction with increasing the flexibility of your hip flexors – the action of hip flexion (during sprinting) will be in large part due to an “elastic” response. In other words, hip flexor “strength” might not be as important as people think. Considering most athletes are extremely tight in their hip flexors, I feel the bigger “bang for your buck” would be to focus on lengthening the hip flexors, compared to prescribing extra strength work for them.
This…
plus this…
helps athletes do this…
How’s that for simplifying a complicated subject??
Joe D.
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