{"id":2730,"date":"2020-08-13T10:50:30","date_gmt":"2020-08-13T16:50:30","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/strengthsenseiinc.com\/?p=2730"},"modified":"2021-08-31T15:04:03","modified_gmt":"2021-08-31T21:04:03","slug":"strength-sensei-bookshelf-new-functional-training-for-sports","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/strengthsenseiinc.com\/2020\/08\/13\/strength-sensei-bookshelf-new-functional-training-for-sports\/","title":{"rendered":"Strength Sensei Bookshelf: New Functional Training for Sports"},"content":{"rendered":"\t\t
One of the most popular personalities in the field of functional training is Michael Boyle. Through his writings, videos, online presentations, and seminars, Boyle has inspired countless personal trainers, athletic trainers, and strength coaches to practice his training methods. Along the way, Boyle has upset many in the field of athletic fitness training who believe his methods are not the most effective way to train athletes. Let\u2019s take a closer look at what Boyle believes, and what he has said to get so many coaches riled up.\u00a0<\/p>
For those unfamiliar with Boyle, his work is summarized in the book, New Functional Training for Sport, 2 nd Edition. Boyle wrote the book for a general audience. It is well-organized, and contains numerous tables and photos to reinforce is message. To ensure there is no risk of misunderstanding his ideas, there is a link to a website providing video descriptions for his core exercises. In all, this is a first-class, multi-media presentation that could easily form the basis of a high school or college course.<\/p>
Boyle says the concept of functional training originated in sports medicine. He contends that the exercises and training methods used to rehabilitate an injured athlete could also help an athlete achieve physical superiority.<\/p>\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t
Boyle begins the book by explaining why he believes this training system is superior, moves to teaching the reader how to design programs, and then describes how to perform the exercises in detail. He finishes the text by providing many detailed training programs a coach could quickly and easily implement with their athletes, along with suggestions on how to modify the programs for specific sports and the multi-sport athlete. These are the chapters:<\/p>
1. Making Training More Functional
2. Analyzing the Demands of the Sport
3. Assessing Functional Strength
4. Designing a Program
5. Foam Rolling, Stretching, and Dynamic Warm-up
6. Lower Body Training
7. Core Training
8. Upper Body Training
9. Plyometric Training
10. Olympic Lifting
11. Performance Enhancement Programs.<\/p>
New Functional Training for Sports<\/em> is a complete program. It\u2019s also unlikely any athlete will get injured performing Boyle\u2019s workouts as the exercises don\u2019t (or seldom) require spotters or use complex weightlifting and some powerlifting movements that require considerable skill to master. But just as labeling a breakfast cereal \u201cnatural\u201d doesn\u2019t necessarily mean it\u2019s organic and good for you, labeling an exercise program \u201cfunctional\u201d doesn\u2019t necessarily mean it\u2019s the best way to develop athletic fitness.<\/p>\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t Charles Poliquin was an opponent of many of the methods used by functional trainers. In reference to Boyle\u2019s training system, here are four issues the Strength Sensei would have problems with:<\/p> 1. Leg exercises are performed through a partial range of motion Let\u2019s look at these issues, one by one:<\/p> 1. Leg exercises are performed through a partial range of motion.<\/strong> Boyle believes that squats can easily injure the lower back (thus dissing the sport of powerlifting) and are not sport-specific. Boyle said he hurt his back doing squats and that many of his athletes were also injured from the exercise. Instead of reevaluating how he taught the squat, Boyle decided that a better choice for athletes would be split squats with the back foot elevated \u2013 the so-called Bulgarian split squat used by weightlifters from that country.<\/p> First, consider that Ivan Abadjiev was the weightlifting coach who developed the Bulgarian system, and he never had his elite weightlifters perform this exercise. Rather, it was Bulgarian strength coach Angel Spassov who popularized this variation of a rear- foot-elevated split squat. In his presentations, Spassov said the rear foot should only be elevated about four inches off the ground, with the ball of the foot on the platform. In contrast, Boyle says that during a Bulgarian split squat, the rear foot should be pointed back and elevated to knee height or slightly lower, limiting the range of motion of the exercise. Boyle also didn\u2019t like having the knees extend in front of the toes at the bottom position. Because Boyle didn\u2019t believe in full squats, it follows that Boyle only recommended that weightlifting exercises such as the snatch be performed through a partial range of motion. In the bottom position of the snatch or clean, the hamstrings would be touching the calves and the knees would be well in front of the toes. As such, the classical weightlifting exercises would not follow Boyle\u2019s paradigm of lower body training.<\/p>\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\tThe Strength Sensei Perspective<\/h4>\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t
2. Single-joint movements, especially with machines, are neglected
3. The use of slideboards and speed ladders
4. The set\/rep prescriptions are often inappropriate<\/p>
So what is Poliquin\u2019s beef with replacing the squat with the Bulgarian split squat and, as they say in Game of Thrones, \u201cbending the knee?\u201d Says Poliquin, \u201cThe squat is unquestionably the most effective exercise for increasing muscle bulk in all the major lower-body muscles. I also believe the squat will develop overall strength and power, and it is one of the most effective exercises to improve knee stability and rehabilitate knee injuries.\u201d However, this is a full squat in which the hamstrings cover the calves at the bottom and the knees are well forward of the toes. Although Poliquin would include\u00a0exercises such as split squats in his workouts, he believed they were vastly inferior to full\u00a0<\/span>squats.<\/span><\/p>