Today’s episode features Dr. Michael Yessis, who appeared previously on episode #142 of this podcast, going in depth on the 1x20 strength training system and its advantages, as well as the importance of not over-developing an athlete’s general strength in favor of their sport skill.  Today’s episode builds on that last show, by going into Doc’s take on skill acquisition and how it sets up a training program.

For every 10 shows and articles on strength training in athletic performance, you might get one on skill development and acquisition, if you are lucky, and these are never the popular pieces of work.  At the end of the day, a primary goal of strength training is to allow an athlete to set up the effective execution of their sport skill.  Basic skills would include running faster and jumping higher, but also spread to things like swinging, throwing and changing directions on the field, as well as the finer points of various sports.

For me, it’s always been hard to think I did a “good job” in teaching an athlete to do a barbell lift properly, while knowing that their capacity to perform their sport skill was poor and I was doing nothing else to help improve it.  Even with the silos and lines that are drawn in the modern strength coach/sport coach setup, the strength coach can, at the very least, by understanding the demands of sport skill, help create the capacity for better sport skill performance, and at the most, offer special strength exercises that can significantly help the athlete in their sport skill and therefore sport gameplay, leading to a better chance of winning the game.

In this show that Doc and I may not see eye to eye on absolutely everything in the change of direction space, but he really makes me think, and given his knowledge base and experience as well as the results that many coaches are getting with his training methods, this episode is a fantastic resource for anyone working with athletes.  Doc also has a book out called “Building a Better Athlete” that encapsulates many of the ideas discussed in this episode.

Today’s episode is brought to you by SimpliFaster, supplier of high-end athletic development tools, such as the Freelap timing system, kBox, Sprint 1080, and more.







Key Points

Doc’s take on the evolution and relationships of strength coach versus a sport coach
The Soviet’s use of other games for mental relaxation, even in “in season” play
Doc’s thoughts on which mainline sport skills that all strength coaches should have a basic working biomechanical knowledge of
What knowledge a coach should have on the skill of change of direction for athletes, and Doc’s take on agility training
Doc’s take on the concept of a “perfect technique” in sport skill
Key technical points on the skill of throwing, and improving the “front leg action” in this situation
The importance of using special exercises to shore up biomechanical gaps in technique
What a training year looks like for an athlete who already has the requisite general strength ability for their sport
Why only playing one’s sport will yield a ceiling in performance (with no other emphasis or concentration of skills)






Quotes
“Skill, in my estimation, determines your workout.  Without looking at skill, or the sill execution, your program is not the best that it can be”

“The more skills athlete’s learn, the greater is their motor development, which allows them to be even better in the sport that they specialize in”

“They need all the basic skills: running, jumping, throwing, kicking, hitting, to really learn them and understand them.  Right now, I have seen very few strength coaches have a handle on what constitutes effective running”

“If they are missing certain athletes of their skill execution, I come up with a strength exercise that duplicates what’s missing.  That exercise duplicates the same neuromuscular pathway that’s used in the execution of that skill”