Re: Sports Specifics (my last post)

[Guest guest]

I believe that part of the problem that we are having on these posts regarding

sports specifics is that some of you are tackling it strictly from a point of

view of developing greater strength or explosiveness, as opposed to a scheme to

develop an athlete. Not only are these periodization plans different but the

trainings are quite different, or should be.

As I brought out in many posts the " conversion " phase must be done in a very

specific manner. Doing weight training exercises, especially those that do not

develop strength as they are used in the sport, in that particular range of

motion in the sport, will not make a better athlete. For example, how many

exercises do you know of that athletes do to strengthen the hip flexors? If you

do, they probably use a machine in which you drive the thigh upward which of

course strengthens the hip flexors. But in running, the hip flexors are first

engaged when the leg is far behind the body. You must develop strength at this

point in the range of motion, and not merely in driving it up; this is

completely different. Thus there are instances where specialized exercises have

to be done to duplicate what the athlete does in his sport.

Sadly the research studies on this " conversion " are all in Russian. You will

find many examples in past issues of the Soviet Sports Review (Fitness and

Sports Review International). They had conclusive proof that it works (research

by Pavlov, Bernstein and many others) and that's why it was just taken for

granted after a while and most coaches incorporated it. As I said many times

before, this was one of the backbones of their program. I recommend you try

some of these exercises. This is what I have done for many years; I don't just

take information for granted. When I have the information I see how it can be

applied and then I try it. If it works, I will keep it. If it doesn't work, I

modify and keep looking for new and different methods. For example even in my

book Explosive Running I now see I had a few exercises that we were doing

incorrectly. We have since modified and changed them, introduced new exercises

which are proving to be even more effective than those already reported. There

is constant progress in trying to find the best way to train a particular

athlete in his or her sport. I never criticize another type of training or

system unless I have tried it, or if it does not make sense to me within my

limited knowledge.

To answer the question " How do we know it is transferred? " we see it in

practice. It works. Athletes will tell you that they feel the difference when

they learn it. I don't need any research studies to tell me that the methods

are successful, I see the results in their times, their comments and in their

progress.

In regard to traditional periodization models the one I use is a takeoff on what

the Russians developed and it works for me. It doesn't mean it will also work

for you; it depends upon the sport and on the athlete.

I won't get involved in Charlie Francis's methods, mainly because (from what I

have been able to ascertain) he still believes in the use of steroids to become

the fastest. The training I do is steroid- and other drug-free. Without

getting into a long conversation here, if you have good running technique you do

not rely on doing a lot of squatting. You need some, but its main role is to

keep you from sinking too low during the support phase. Running speed is

determined by the hip flexors and extensors as well as the ankle extension,

these are the three major components.

In regard to the running times, there are many factors that can play a role and

I do not know what they are. The results I posted were done through team

testing, not through our testing.

Regarding posting articles from the past issues of the Soviet Sports Review

(Fitness and Sports Review International) I cannot do this. I do not have a

scanner and to have my typist retype the entire article or the articles with

tables etc. would cost me too much time, money and effort. This is why I let

you know where they are located and it is up to you if you want more

information.

Regarding my comment that coaches have told us to stay away from technique, this

comes from years of dealing with coaches in many different sports. If you need

proof, simply ask any coach what he does in regard to improving the technique of

his athletes. This should answer your question.

Regarding core training, of course everything depends upon the state of the

athlete's core when beginning and when ending. It doesn't mean every single

athlete in every single sport, but in general for the majority of athletes this

is what we have.

In regard to your last questions: Where did my theories come from? These are

not theories, these are proven practices! This is what I have done for many

years and have found to be successful. It may not be the best, and I know it

isn't, this is why we keep looking for newer and better methods all the time. I

don't need a dozen peer review studies to tell me that the results I'm getting

are valid or not; if it works, it's valid.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Yessis, Ph.D

President, Sports Training, Inc.

www.dryessis.com

PO Box 460429

Escondido, CA 92046

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

[Guest guest]

> I would also like to point out that retyping past articles in their

> entirety might be a copyright violation. That is why the correct way to

> provide the information is using the method chosen by Dr. Yessis: that

> is provide a complete citation.

>

> If Dr. Yessis can obtain the articles at the library, it is likely

> that others can also request them from their local library. Nearly all

> libraries in the United States will obtain available articles through

> interlibrary loan. Mine does.

>

> Libraries are permitted to make copies for this purpose even when it

> might be a copyright violation to reproduce the entire article on the

> web. (And sending an email to supertraining is the same as publishing

> on the web.)

>

> Lucia Liljegren

> Lisle, Illinois

Lucia,

As far as I am aware, Dr Yessis is the translator, copyright owner &

distributor of these sports reviews, and they are not very well

distributed around the world. I may be wrong, but our local library

does only has a few copies. Many others I would suspect do not have

access. This is why I asked - if it were simply the Journal of

Nutrition I would not have.

Joe Cole

Dunedin, New Zealand