Q: Joe D-
You have once again motivated me to take my training to the next level after watching your most recent Extreme promo video!! I’m not sure if this is a stupid question, or maybe i’m missing something? but my question is: what the heck is imperfection training?? This term is mentioned in the description of the promo video, yet you seem like someone who strives for perfection with your athletes. what gives coach? Regardless of your answer i will still be buying this dvd the second it comes out.. Keep leading from the front! Danny
A: Danny,
The term “imperfection training” comes from the book, “Supertraining” by Mel Siff and Yuri Verkhoshansky. Here’s an excerpt from a chapter in Supertraining entitled, Injury Prevention by Imperfection Training…
{All-round sports training must include the capability of coping with unexpected and sub-optimal conditions. In certain sports where accidents or unexpected situations often occur, such as the martial arts, parachuting and motor racing, participants are taught how to cope with events that can have serious consequences. This type of preparation needs to be adopted far more extensively in all sports so that the athlete is able to anticipate threatening situations, react much more rapidly to unexpected circumstances, take action to avoid or minimise injury, and cope with sub-optimal conditions by practising with imperfectly executed movements.}

A basic example of “imperfection training” would be performing Farmers Walks with uneven kettlebells. The “imperfect” resistance promotes a more powerful core engagement, compared to performing the movement with ‘matching’ kettlebells.
“Imperfection Training” is the foundation of our soon-to-be-released EXTREME DVD. (That’s why the term is used in the sub-title of the dvd.)
By the way, this does not mean that I’ve given up on the “basics” of training. My strength programs still revolve around squats, bench presses, rows, box jumps, prowler pushes, etc. But, incorporating “imperfection training” methods within your accessory exercises is a phenominal way to help prevent injury, increase strength/balance and improve an athlete’s power potential! As coaches, we must get out of the rut of prescribing the ‘same old’ linear, accessory lifts (lat pulldowns, leg curls, calf raises, etc.) and start getting creative in order to build FrEaK athletes! Hopefully our EXTREME DVD will be a major step in the right direction with regards to having coaches “think outside the box” when designing programs!
Just in case you missed it, here’s the promo video that Danny was referring to in his question…
FYI, the exercises we decided to reveal in this promo video are the most “common” exercises in the dvd. (You didn’t really think we’d give away the “good stuff” in a free promo video, did ya?
I am extremely confident that everyone is going to be truly blown away with the content, creativity and science in this dvd!
This one’s a “game changer”… TRUST ME!
-Joe D.
P.S. If this blog post has piqued your interest regarding the concept of “imperfection training”, I highly recommend you read Chaos Theory by James “Smitty” Smith. This super-informative article will give you a deeper understanding of this type of training… and it will hold you over until the release of our EXTREME DVD 🙂
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