Icon Performance Blog

"Hey J, I'm a personal trainer in Boston, I'm certified through the NSCA (CPT) and taking CSCS in April for 2nd time. If your interested I'd like to shoot you a couple of emails with a couple of questions if you don't mind me bouncing some ideas off of you, I'm just trying to work with about 4 people who are trying to do vertical jump programs, and I'm just curious as to what actually works and what doesn't work. If interested email me at mike.1283@****.com Thanks, I'm also on the NSCA forums a lot, and I'm emailing a handful of people from there"

Thanks for takin some of my questions, Training with resistance bands, and chains as a method of progressive resistance on exercises like squats, and bench are they improving strength and power output? I had always heard that they increase power because you are forced to overcome the resistance as it gets heavier near the top of the exercise but I had also recently read that using bands may actually slow you down because you are teaching your body to neurologically move slower. That was the only place I had ever heard it and it was definitely not a valid source but it definitely got me thinking. In the same context with squat jumps, I had done them beofore using light weights, but recently was told not to them with any weight at all because it will slow you down and teach your body to jump lower, any thoughts would be great.

Answer:
The one thing you'll find out about speed and power training is that everything can and will be disputed by one source or another. Always remember not to get too wrapped up in theory again anything can be proven or disproved depending upon the control group and methods used to reach a conclusion. Example; Exercise: dead-lift, control group: basketball players, theory: proving that the dead-lift decreases vertical jump performance in "athletes" We all know that the dead-lift is great for improving vertical jump. But if I gear my research simply toward the biomechanical aspects of the movement as it correlates to a "game like" basketball situation then my conclusion will prove my initial hypothesis to be correct. Because the experiments involved were geared toward measuring time or acceleration to a fixed height. Say the height is 10' feet. Both athletes are 6'6", 210 pounds, with a standing reach of 9' Both 20 years of age, similar type 2 muscle fiber density and skill level.
Athlete #1 trains 4 weeks using different heavy dead-lift methods, Athlete #2 trains 4 weeks using light explosive short range of motion movements, quarter jump squats, half jump squats etc... When its time to test Athlete #1 must uses exaggerated jumping mechanics mimicking the biomechanics of a max attempt dead-lift. Athlete #2 uses a shot jumping movement with hands already above the shoulders mimicking the biomechanics used when jumping for a rebound.
Time measurement begins at first knee bend and ends when the hand touches the 10' target. Obviously because of the way the experiment was controlled the results for athlete #2 are going to be far superior to athlete #1 and therefore disproving that the dead-lift is good basketball players, volleyball players etc...

I release a book "The Dead-lift Misconception" explaining my theory, the book gains hype, many coaches and trainers hold the theory in the book as the gospel truth and suddenly we have a generation of athletes missing out on all the positive benefits of the dead-lift based upon controlled experiments.

When we talk about chains and resistance bands we are talking about very minimal progressive load increases. At the bottom of the movement there is very little to no resistance, that allows you to maximally accelerate into the movement and maintain or increase your speed of acceleration through the entire movement.
So the CNS is sending messages to the muscles to contract harder throughout the movement creating optimized pathways and a higher vertical jump.
Of course if you suddenly increase the weight of the chains to something that really slows down acceleration you'll be working a different type of strength and changing the focus of the CNS. But again this is not a bad thing if combined with a proper power training program. We can take an MPT method and follow the heavy chain squats directly with light jump squats, or weight vest/body weight box jumps and the results would be phenomenal (of course based upon the athlete) Same thing on the bench, max flat bench press using chains or bands, followed by explosive plyo push-ups or flat bench medicine ball explosions.

If you are training a basketball player, a football defensive back, a volleyball middle blocker top end or reactive power is going to be more important then overall power in most game situations. When a rebound is in the air, when an outside hitter is going up to spike the ball, or a football is thrown up to a reciever, the situation is going to be as the control group example. The target or goal is going to be at a fixed height for all competitors.
So again if the ball is at 10 feet my max touch is 10'6" and yours is 11' the fact that you can jump 6 inches higher then me means nothing if I can get to 10' faster then you. So if I can create more top end power with shorter biomechanics I'm going to win in almost every time. This example holds true for fighters weather it be MMA, Olympic Tae Kwon Do etc... Because every athlete that you train will be different, theory and approach will change from athlete to athlete therefore be more concerned with case to case application and practice then set theory. As you go forward you'll develop your own style's and systems that are effective and that you know inside and out.

Neuroendocrine Response In this article I want to focus a little on a neuroendocrine response, reaction times and how different training approaches can effect these neurological factors. The term neuroendocrine response may be a new term for many of you, but you have all experienced its effects. Neuroendocrine response is any type of tense action that causes the endocrine system to dump hormones (such as adrenaline) into the bloodstream.

Popular culture describes the resulting effect as a "rush" or in the sports world its usually described as "getting hyped" or "getting up for the game" the later is an inaccurate description as the term getting up for a game refers to a deep state of focus and mental perparedness directed at the task at hand this mental state in most cases is the exact opposite of a rush, hype or any state caused by any form of neuroendocrine response getting up for a game usually results in a extremely focused mental state, but a very calm and relaxed physical state. Contrary to popular belief, basing your training methods, or performance on neuroendocrine response, is the exact opposite of what we teach in the Program 51 hybrid training system.

The double edged sword of Reaction/reflex based training systems is that they offer the benefit of producing faster results, they achieve this by conditioning a select few gross motor techniques that take advantage of a neuroendocrine "dump" a fast break i a basketball game, getting a mount in a MMA match, special teams play in football etc. Since the physical response is based upon a biochemical response, said physical response is limited by the same biochemical response meaning that if there is no biochemical response there will be no physical response, or no enhancement of physical skill which is reliant upon neuroendocrine response.

Think of it like the Matrix no matter how great your skill its still governed by the architecture and rules of the system. In simple terms these are not skills you can call on at will. Many of you who are avid readers of my material have seen me use the terms next guy speed, next guy strength and next guy jumping ability. These terms refer to functional physical ability as it relates to a direct competitive and physical challenge. The athlete that possesses this type of ability can call on this ability at will. Kobe Bryant doesn't have the highest vertical jump in the NBA but rarely is he out jumped. He's not the fastest player in the NBA but rarely is he outrun. Kobe and other great athletes have conditioned their bodies to be able to perform at the peak of their physical ability every-time at will.

Question: Right now in my own program I've been doing a lot of pistons, or I do them as SL Box squats, progressing to get lower and lower. I just wanted to double check though, when you say classic box squats are being done on a 3 - 3 - 1 and then speed box squats, I'm assuming the numbers are for the tempo of the exercise. The only other thing I wanted to check is the ROE is that Rate of explosiveness?
Other than that I really appreciate your feedback, right now I'm pretty confident in my routines, they are gradually getting better and better and more specific. When I started in this field the only people I knew how to work with confidently, were people who were trying to gain size strength, like you said traditionally trained. Now I am getting much better at training for power but still a little ways away. I'm sure more questions will come up in the next few weeks, so I appreciate your feedback.

Answer: It's good to hear that you are progressing. As I said before when you are a trainer focusing on athletic performance training, its trail and error for a while. We all went through it. Yes the numbers are for the Tempo of the squat 3 seconds down, 3 seconds on the box, 1 second (or faster) up. R.O.E. is Rate Of Effort or reps+weight over time. Lets take Squat again Weight be 200 pounds, target reps 10, time to complete 30 seconds. So set one would look like 2000/30 if set 2 and three are the same the clients squat R.O.E. looks like 6000/90

That example is purely of an explosive R.O.E. where rest time is set to 120 seconds per set so its not taken into account because you'll get more of an idea if rep time is decreasing and becoming more explosive. The whole goal is for the top number to go up or the bottom number to go down every workout.

For a power endurance workout rest time is not set but its taken into account. The focus would be more on decreasing rest time and at least keeping rep speed constant ideally you still want to decrease rep speed but this version of the scale is not geared toward that.

The photo is of a charted R.OE. scale of one of my MMA fighters. That one deals with punch output numbers over 180 second rounds while using the Flex Nimbo for total body resistance. The top number (150, 200, 180, 100) is total punches during the round, the bottom number (180) is time. Then of course total 630/720 was his total output over 4 rounds. The ratio to the left of the chart labeled:
TI:180/150 is Target Intensity. So I wanted him to be at 180 punches by the 150 second mark of each round.
To the right of the box: A/N: Average punches a round. 157.5
Change: It was week 1 of the resisted ring work so no change.
Quality: C this is totally up to the trainer, the reason I gave him a C was because some of the punches he threw were little shoe shine things to try to pad his punch output number. They had nothing on them and the goal of the workout was to improve power punching endurance. When you are taking yourself through these types of workout be real with yourself on the quality of your reps.
At the Top you see his name, W1, (week 1) W1, (workout 1) then an Input/Output Box In the input box you see FN (Flex Nimbo) since it was week one, workout one there was no output number.

For week 2: The left TI number would not change because he didn't reach the set goal of 180/150. The output number in the input out put box would be 630/720 (after the week two workout this can also gets a +/- but its not necessary unless you are dealing with a client who is not very self motivated)

These charts give you solid data on the intensity of the workouts and also shows the athlete if he's dogging it or if he/she is improving.

the ROE chat can be modified to include any type of exercise movement or program. Change the input to Squat, rounds to sets and punches to reps. If its more then one exercise add another input so Traditional Squat or TSQ and hanging Cleans HCL. Add a TI for the cleans etc... If its a total power endurance workout call it a circuit so there would still only 1 input. Squat is a round, Cleans are a round, Push Press a round, Pistols a round etc. the total number would be the total reps+weight over time of the workout as a whole and not each exercise having its own total e.g.
3 sets of squat 10 reps 200 pounds 30 second per set + time it takes to get to station 2 call it 10 seconds: 2000/100 That's round 1. Round 2 is hanging cleans same number 10, 200, 30 +10= 2000/100
Station 3 Push Press same as above 10, 200, 30+10= 2000/100.
So the single total would be: 6000/300.
TI for week two would then be 6606/270.

it is very possible to get anabolic effects with the products on the market today and correct micronutrient timing. These types of "diets" can be as simple as the one outlined in TVP or a complex 24 hour a day 7 day a week plan. Here I will just discuss what you need to maximize anabolism and minimize catabolism pre and post workout.

Protein and essential amino acids are the building blocks and are the most important too keeping your body in an anabolic state. The most important of these amino's as far as anabolism is concerned would be the essential Amino acid Leucine. You need to be getting steady small amounts of protein throughout the day no more then 40 grams per meal. The body can not process more then 40 to 60 grams of protein per meal depending on you weight height and workout intensity. You should be taking a sports multi vitamin in the morning I prefer Universal Animal Pak. Without the proper building blocks all the other stuff is not going to matter. Also in the morning you should get a serving of complex carbs, remember if you are training for sports performance you are going to be training type 2 muscle fibers which are fueled by glycogen not water. so glycogen production will be key.

Pre Workout: You can start your pre workout supplementation 45 minutes to 2 hours before a workout depending on what type and how many supplements you are taking. Popular pre workout supplements on the market today are:

L-Arginine's: This comes in many different forms from A-AKG, HCI, Ethyl Ester, Malate, A-KIC and HCL.
Arginine is the precursor to Nitric Oxide, Blood vessels use NO to signal smooth muscle to relax which results in vasodilatation and more blood flow, which means more blood and nutrients will flow into muscle resulting in greater size "pump" and increased work capacity.

Creatine: Probably the most popular and well known workout supplement on the market today. As with Arginine creatine comes in many different forms, including: Monohydrate, Malate, Creatine Gluconate, Creatine Taurinate, Creatinol O-Phosphate, Creatine Methyl Ester, Creatine Ethyl Ester, Creatine AKG, Creatine Deconate, Creatine Citrate, Creatine Orotate: Different types of creatine will have different absorption properties. Creatine is used by the muscles as fuel to help replenish ATP levels. More ATP production means more strength endurance and energy. Meaning you'll be able to jump just as high in the 4th quarter as you did in the first. Most of the muscle gain associated to creatine monohydrate supplementation is actually water retention. Good combo products are MHP Dark Rage, Gaspari Super Pump 250, Universal Shock Therapy, BSN NO Xplode, SAN V-12 Magnum. But for most of you guys I'd suggest staring with Xyience NOX-CG3 then advance to a stronger product.

Beta Alanine: You'll find this supplement mostly in two forms; Beta Alanine and Beta Alanine Ethyl Ester. Beta Alanine decreases fatigue and increases the amount of total work that can be done.

Usually you'll find these supplements paired together with other supplements like taurine, L-Tyrosine, L-Citruline, L-Glutamine and energy stimulants such as caffeine and Yohimbine. Combo pre workout supplements should be taken 45 to 60 minutes before a workout. Taking these supplements separately, Creatine should be taken first 60 to 90 minutes before a workout with beta Alanine and L-Arginine being consumed 45 minutes before a workout. You could also supplement with an amino acid drink during the duration of your workout.

Post workout: The first 60 to 120 after a workout are going to be key to making sure your body doesn't fall into a catabolic state. Directly after a workout you want to supplement with a source of protein but NOT a meal you want the bodies blood supply focusing on reaping and shuttling nutrients into your freshly broken down muscle tissue and not aiding in digestion.

L-Leucine: An essential amino acid which means its not naturally produced in the body. L-Leucine allows the body to make use of what you eat so if you don't consume enough L-Leucine all that muscle building protein you are consuming will not be utilized and therefore go to waste. L-Leucine also helps preserve muscle glycogen which is the fuel used by type 2 muscle fibers during explosive contractions (sprinting, jumping, etc) L-Leucine also helps preserve lean muscle mass and supplies the body with energy under stress.

Glutamine: Glutamine is used throughout the body to maximize and maintain optimal performance. For athletes glutamine supplementation is important as it helps reduce muscle deterioration, and increase protein metabolism. That means less chance of catabolism and faster recovery times. Glutamine also supports healthy immune system function.

Waxy Maize: A starch from natural corn. Its one of my favorite supplements, it helps the absorption rate of other supplements (protein, creatine, glutamine etc) and it plays a major role in proper glycogen replenishment. WMS bypasses the stomach, is absorbed by the intestines and immediately is assimilated; this is all done at a much faster rate than traditional favorites dextrose and malotdextrin. Once again Glycogen (glucose) is the fuel used by type 2 or fast twitch muscle fibers during explosive contractions. You'd want to drink Waxy Maize at the same time or directly before you took any other workout supplement. Most waxy maize powders are flavorless so you can easily mix them into a protein shake, creatine, glutamine or combo powder. Or ix it in the water that your are using to take your supplement capsules with.

Creatine: See Above.

You want to try to start your post workout supplementation within 30 minutes of your workout. At the 120 minute mark you need to eat a proper meal and to insure you fight off catabolism you need to ingest small lean meals every two to three hours after until bed time.

Great post workout combo products: MHP Dark Matter, Universal Torrent, Gaspari SizeOn.

Catabolism!!! Its a dirty little word and a word that every athlete should avoid at all cost. I know a lot of you are thinking what is catabolism? and why should I avoid it? Well catabolism muscle loss, its a state in which your body reverts to when there are not enough resources available in the athletes body to support anabolism or muscle repair and growth.

Factors that lead to catabolism are lack of sleep/rest, lack of proper supplementation and nutrition and improper training. When you engage in a rigorous training routine your muscles "tear" or break down. Shortly after the conclusion of your workouts, your body enters a catabolic state because the rigors of your workout have caused the body to have a protein deficit, this is bad because at this stage the body has also activated its MPAK signaling pathways. MPAK signaling pathway is simply you body's way of signaling muscle growth.

From this point its as simple as 2+2=4. Protein repairs broken down muscles, if your body is signaling for protein and there is none available, your body is not going to repair those broken down muscles. In fact it can work the opposite way, the body will begin to burn muscle for fuel, which of course will lead to a decrease in muscle mass, and of course decreased performance benefits.

When you ingest BCAA's (branched chain amino acids) after a workout, they create what we call "metabolic pathways" a metabolic pathway is a chain of chemical reaction inside of a muscle cell.

When you ingest the correct amount of BCAA's the metabolic pathways created lead to protein synthesis which results in greater muscle growth and faster muscle repair. As you can guess this leads to faster and greater gains from your speed and vertical jump training routine.

If you are training hard you need to be ingesting 1.5 to 2 grams of protein per every pound of your body weight.

If you really want to improve your vertical jump, first you need to figure out what type of Jumper you are, a power jumper or a leaper, as using optimal biomechanics is just as important as having explosive muscle power. Next you need to figure out what type of power or strength you are lacking. The three basic types of strength are: Base strength, transitional power, and explosiveness or "Reactive" power, they are all different and must be trained in different ways. Now I know a lot of you are wondering what's the difference between the three. Well in short Base Strength is how much weight you can move, Transitional Power is how fast you can move said weight and explosiveness is the maximum speed and distance you can move said weight with each single movement. A good Vertical Jump training routine will include the following exercises:

Base Strength
1: Traditional Squats and Pistol Squats
2: Deadlifts/base building olympic lifts
3: Lunges
4: Core Work (Functional Performance Core Strength= The ability to make your pelvis and spine "lock" and work as a single stable unit, not simply having a 6 pack or being able to do 100 crunches)
5: Stretching

Transitional Power:
1: Box Squats/Tempo Squats
2: Power Cleans
3: Push Press
4: Core Work
5: Stretching

Explosiveness:
1: Ballistic and jump squats
2: Traditional and Compound/Hybrid Plyometrics
3: Sprinting
4: Core Work
5: Stretching

You'll also want to figure out which individual muscles/muscle groups are working inefficiently. You can figure this out by completing a full vertical jump test progression and a baseline fitness test to diagnose any muscle imbalances that you may have. Remember no matter what type of training program you do you must make sure that opposing muscles are strengthened and balanced (e.g. Quads and hamstrings, abs and lower back) so don't skip the quad extensions and hamstring curls. If opposing muscles are not strengthened they will lead to weak links, energy leaks and imbalances will result in poor or slow improvement and raise the risk of injury significantly. Do a routine that combines plyomertic/bodyweight, free weight and or acceleration routines. Make sure you are consuming lots of protein to aid in muscle repair after tough workouts You'll also want to replenish your bodies ATP and glycogen stores as they are the fuel for those type IIa and type IIb muscle fibers you will be (AKA FG and FOG) shredding during your workout. In order to gain inches you'll need to tax your central nervous system and force your body to create new motor pathways. If you train correctly you should gain at least an inch a week.