martin
Martin Rooney. I have just finished your Strength Training For Speed DVD and I must say it was amazing. There is so much training content on there but even the beginning theory is awesome. I am going to be starting to use the ideas in my training. My question is about the lateral exercises. Can you fit them in on the same day lifting as the straight ahead even though you do them different on running days? Thanks for the super information. Eddie D.
Pictured is Florida State receiver Chris Davis showing off the speed, technique and strength that allowed him to run some of the fastest L drills (6.66) and 60 yard shuttles (11.30) at the whole NFL Combine.
Eddie,
Thanks for writing in and great question. I am glad that you enjoyed the DVD and that you are taking the information and adding it to your training. The Strength for Speed DVD is quickly becoming our best and fastest seller. I presented some of the information this weekend in Cincinnati and it really resonated with the attendees.
As for your question, yes, you can do the linear (sagittal plane) and lateral (frontal plane) movements on the same day with the lifting. Although we do have speed days that are specifically devoted to linear and lateral days, there is still even crossover during those sessions as well.
Since sport involves movements in all directions at all times (unless you are in say track, or an event that has only certain requirements for movements) your training can and should mimic this as well. Because the movements on the DVD are multidirectional, I believe that this mix will not only build your strength, but also importantly help to even further create muscular balance and prevent injury.
I would balance the workout between bi lateral and uni lateral sagittal lifts (squats, deads, toe raises, lunges, step ups) and the frontal plane exercises from the DVD (side lunge, ankle band work, cross over lunge and step ups, ETC.).
I am sure you are going to not only stimulate some new strength, but it will keep the workout exciting and new as well.
Keep us posted.
Martin Rooney
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This is a question for Martin Rooney. I would first like to thank you for all the information. You have helped my training to improve. What I have gotten from your work is that you must always stay proactive and improve yourself. My question is what did you do different this year in your training for the combine athletes to stay on top? Thank you, Jordan M.
Pictured is PhD and Sport Psychologist Rob Gilbert taking the athletes and staff through a session that not only toughens the body, but helps develop control over the mind. Dr. Gilbert helped many of the athletes by delivering the strategies to control themselves under times of stress and to reach full potential.
Jordan,
Thanks for writing in and I am so glad that my work has been able to help you along in your career. As everyone knows, I am about sharing information. If I have an idea and never share it, it stays one idea and can only affect so many athletes. If I deliver those ideas and the people that get that idea deliver to others, we can all really make a difference.
I am also glad that you recognize that it is not what you get from a job, but truly what you become that is of value. Keep working on yourself by improving every day and the things that you get will take care of themselves.
As for me, this year, as every year, was an opportunity to push the envelope in our training from a physical and mental standpoint as the above picture indicates. I will say that the program this year was improved in terms of nutrition (our body comp changes were awesome),
our football specific training (we really broke down the drills and had professional coaches to teach them),
our attention to cardiovascular fitness,
and our attention to the "mental" aspect of the events.
As I am starting to reflect on this year, I see the connections that we made with the athletes and I know that this was essential to getting them to peak performance. I hope that over the next few weeks, we will see the results that will demonstrate that what we did was effective.
Thanks again and I hope this helps. Remember that the day that you think you know it all is the day you have left the path you were originally on.
Martin Rooney
Coach Martin Rooney. This year's combine class looks solid for you. I am from Michigan so I am really rooting for both David Harris and the Chippewa Dan Bazuin. My question is about the bench press test and how you work to improve it. Do you just have the athletes work with that weight, 225, or do you go heavier? Thanks and good luck at the combine. John Morrack, Midland MI
Pictured are three Michigan athletes (Cliff Ryan of Michigan State benching and Drew Mormino of Central Michigan spotting and Dan Bazuin looking on) working hard on sets of 8 with 315 pounds on close grip benching at the facility. Not only are we working on endurance at the facility with 225, but we also spend time increasing maximal strength.
John,
Thanks for writing in and taking an interest in the kids and our program. It has been a real honor over the last 7 years to get a chance to work with all these awesome athletes. The opportunity is unlike what many other people in the industry get to experience. Thanks also for the wish of good luck, but as I tell the athletes here, good luck to us is when opportunity meets preparation. In 3 weeks, I am sure our athletes are going to look lucky according to this definition as usual.
As for the bench, which it seems so many people are interested in, we focus on a lot more than just working with 225. As the previous post on this site shows, there is a lot in terms of technique that is important, but also muscular balance and overall maximal strength are important too.
Understanding these concepts and also knowing the athlete you are working with is critical to developing the proper program for each athlete to maximize their results. Many of the athletes have been pressing for years, but their upper backs, rotator cuffs, and low backs are notoriously not balanced in terms of strength. As a result, we hit a lot of this in our training. Below are some pics to illustrate:
Pictured is speed merchant Josh Wilson of Maryland working on some horizontal single leg pull ups for balance. Josh blasted 18 reps on 225 during our mock test this week! Not bad for a corner back.
Here is 310 pound Mario Henderson of Florida State showing the big boys out there that just cause you are heavy doesnt mean you cant be strong for your weight. Mario Can now bang out sets of 6 on the chins and interestingly we have watched his 40 drop as these numbers increase! The only thing tough about this exercise is finding a chin up bar high enough for his almost 6'7" frame!
I hope this helps and we will keep the numbers coming!
Martin Rooney
This question is for Martin Rooney. Martin, I am trying to increase my reps for the 225 bench test. I have your combine dvd and enjoyed the section of Joe Kenn on the dvd doing bench at ASU. My question is do you have anything new you are doing to increase the bench? I am doing one max effort day and one repetition day during the week as you suggest on the dvd. Right now I am 214 pounds and can do 14 reps if that helps (it is up from 8 when I started out). I would really like to get 20 reps at my pro day. Thank you for the information and i hope to hear back soon. Chris S.
Pictured is Dante Rosario of Oregon blasting out 24 reps during his test day last week. Dante has really improved his form and strength and is now up from 17 reps! He has become a technician and has changed his mindset of how he approaches the event.
Chris,
Great to hear from you and thanks for writing in. I am so glad that the Combine DVD has helped you out and that already sounds like an impressive improvement. I dont know how long you have been at it now, but to increase from 8 to 20 is a pretty tall order. With continued practice and the adrenaline of the event, however, I have seen amazing things before, so there is no reason why you cant shoot for the stars.
As for the bench press event, we have really gotten into developing the correct technique for each athlete. What I mean by this is that every athlete has a different arm length, fiber type, maximal strength, and chest/tricep strength ratio. So, according to these factors, we will address grip width, bar angle of attack and develop there rep scheme attack during the actual event. To show the difference from the above picture in form, see 6'6" Mario Henderson of Florida State below:
Mario has incredibly long arms, but is stronger benching with his triceps than more on his pecs, so he keeps a more narrow grip than Dante. Although the bench stroke is now longer, he gets more reps this way. By understanding the athlete and having them understand themselves, we then give them the best chance to hit their best numbers.
All too often athletes have just benched with one grip and one form that they just kind of "learned" on their own. There is more technique to it than that and when you make the right changes, athletes improve.
My suggestion would be to mix the grip a bit and see if you dont find what works best. You might be surprised that you might not yet be playing to your strengths.
I hope this helps and best of luck.
Martin Rooney
Martin. This is a great site! I have not slept in days trying to read all the information contained on this weblog. You have had a big impact on the way I think about training and I wanted to say thanks and ask a question.
I am a baseball player and whenever I start throwing after a layoff, my shoulder kills me. What kind of exercises can I do to offset this? I look forward to your reply.
Jeremy P.
Pictured is Tampa Bay Bucs QB Chris Simms working on his posterior shoulder region this week at the facility. Chris is a big believer in both throwing all year and working his shoulder decelerators.
Jeremy,
Great to hear from you and thanks for the feedback. Make sure you still get to sleep my friend, you have plenty of time to learn. And I promise I am going to keep the great info coming.
As for your question, I know exactly what you are talking about. As a former collegiate javelin thrower, I learned the hardway in terms of pain that too much time off and improper shoulder training is not the way to improve.
Before I recommend any specific exercises, I want to make sure that you are following one of my core principles in training which is the principle of continuity. What I mean here is that you must stay consistent in both your lifting and your throwing throughout the year. I would talk to your coach and not only make sure that your throwing program is a good one, but that you are also technically sound in terms of mechanics. Even if you have the right strength, and you are staying consistent, you can still have soreness from poor technique.
When it comes to upper body training for throwing (remember that the lower body and core are also as much if not more important), it is not just about pressing and vertical pulling movements. What I mean here is that all too often I see athletes benching too often and even if they are working chin ups or pullups, they are still not working the shoulder horizontally. The decelerators of the shoulder (mainly the rotator cuff and posterior muscles of the shoulder) are critical to keep strong and condititioned. Both throwing and proper training help this.
Below are two shots of the incline row which Chris uses during his upper body sessions to achieve this.
I hope this helps and keep up the great work. Now get some SLEEP!
Martin Rooney