Publication: “Peak Power, Force and Velocity During Jump Squats in Professional Rugby Players”
Published September 22, 2011
A few weeks ago we found out that our paper with the title ”Peak Power, Force and Velocity During Jump Squats in Professional Rugby Players” was accepted for publication in the Journal of Strength & Conditioning Research (JSCR).
We had to go through 3 reviews, mainly due to the reviewers continuously not being happy with the sample size. Fortunately, through some further detail added (especially in the statistics portion where one of the primary authors performed some impressive skills that were in all honesty way over my head), we were able to demonstrate that the sample size was statistically appropriate/significant, and more than matched -if not improved upon- previous published research of a similar nature (especially given the fact our sample consisted of highly trained professional athletes).
Although the below pdf is still the “proof-read” version sent to us by JCSR (there are a few grammatical and administrative alterations left to be made) getting the final copy will take a while so I decided to post the study early for anyone interested as the main content will stay the same.
In addition, I have also attached a pdf of my undergraduate dissertation which was what the publication study was based on. The raw data is the same but there are a few different angles of discussion/focus (along with some different references) within this paper which may be of additional interest.
Finally, I would like to sincerely thank everyone who was involved with this paper, as well as all who sent in their congratulations and good wishes over the last few weeks. Thoughts/comments/critical review are of course always welcome, I hope you find the papers to be of use!
JSCR Publication Proof-Version
Dissertation Final Copy (Graphs, Tables and Figures displayed after Reference section)
The Role of Preparation for the Modern Athlete – Rob Panariello
Published September 19, 2011
This week we have a guest post from Rob Panariello, a hall of fame S&C coach and Physiotherapist based in New York.
Readers of this site will recognise Rob as the author of a fantastic interview, as well as an exceptional article on Running Preparation after ACL rehabilitation written with Derek Hansen. I often describe Rob as the best coach/therapist only few know about (although this is changing rapidly as it should be), because put simply there are very few people that have his knowledge, experience and skill in both sports medicine and physical preparation disciplines, and the ability to combine these into effective athletic care systems.
In this article Rob addresses an issue that is very close to my heart: the art of correctly preparing an athlete -regardless of chronological or training age – to endure more specific training and/or competition loads. To most people in the field this concept will be known as “General Physical Preparation” or GPP.
An Interview with Adam Trypas
Published September 15, 2011
This week’s post is an interview with Adam Trypas, a good friend, mentor and top-class coach.
Adam has just finished as the Head S&C coach for Toyota Rugby (Japan), and has been a tremendous source of knowledge and education for me over the last few years.
Weighing in with a competitive Weightlifting background and many successful years coaching athetes in professional Rugby League/Union (as well as Soccer and Water Polo), Adam has an astute knowledge of what it takes to succeed at the highest level, and is always more than willing to “talk shop” with anyone.
Some great thoughts and discussion in this interview, enjoy!
1. Hi Adam, thanks for taking the time to do this interview. Could you give my readers your background, and how you came to be a strength and conditioning coach?
No problem at all. It is very humbling to be asked to contribute to your page.
I come from an Olympic lifting background, which was instilled in me from a young age from my father who represented Australia in lifting in the 1970’s. Although I had absolutely no interest in lifting weights in my early teens, I just decided one weekend when I was 17yrs of age that I was going to start weightlifting the following Monday.
DVD Review: Linear Sprint Technique Series
Published August 14, 2011
This review looks at two separate DVD series, however in my opinion (and for reasons I outline further down) it makes sense to buy both together as one complements the other perfectly.
The two DVDs in question are “Fundamentals of Linear Sprint Technique” and “40 Yard Dash Fundamentals” and feature Derek Hansen. Derek is among the best Track & Field coaches currently in action, having spent time under true coaching legends such as the late Charlie Francis. He is also the Head Strength & Conditioning Coach at the only NCAA college in Canada; Simon Fraser University (Vancouver). Derek was also involved in writing the ACL rehabilitation running article I posted a few months ago.
Book Review: Ultimate MMA Conditioning – Joel Jamieson
Published July 18, 2011
“Ultimate MMA Conditioning” is written by Joel Jamieson, in my opinion one of the best authours and distributors of S&C information currently going around. His (free) website www.8weeksout.com is a valuable resource that no coach – or even athlete – should fail to make use of. The articles, forum and blog all represent what Joel is about: sharing good (and readily applicable) training information based on sound science and practical experience. I am happy to say that UMMAC does this vision justice. For more information about Joel please click here and here.
The book had been recommended to me by quite a few friends over the last couple of months and last week I finally managed to find some time to read it. Given the fantastic interview Joel was kind enough to do for this site a few weeks ago, I figured the book would be a good read, but to be honest I underestimated it and it surpassed my expectations by a long way. Simply put, this is the best energy system development book I have come across, and is an equally impressive training planning resource regardless of the sport you deal with.
Audio Interview with Joel Jamieson
Published June 17, 2011
Joel Jamieson (right)
This week’s post is a special one as its the first audio interview of the site!
Joel is a wicked smart coach and a great guy to boot who was kind enough to give up a big chunk of his time to do the interview (how many people you know would stay up well past midnight to answer questions from a small-time coach like me?).
His credentials speak for themselves having coached and developed athletes across a huge range of sports (most notably he was head S&C for the NFL’s Seattle Seahawks and currently trains elite MMA fighters such as Rich Franklin).
In this interview Joel addresses a huge range of topics on everything from the high-
low training approach, the OmegaWave, energy system development for different sports and some excellent learning resources you may not have heard of before. Make sure to also visit Joel’s website at 8weeksout.com where he has a huge amount of free resources and an impressive forum.
Some really fantastic information in this one, click the link below to listen:
http://www.8weeksout.com/2011/06/17/strength-conditioning-interview-by-cedric-unholz/
Book Review: Special Strength Training Manual for Coaches – Yuri Verkhoshansky
Published June 14, 2011
The SSTM is the long-awaited follow-up to the first edition published in 2006, and also represents the final contribution of the late Yuri Verkhoshansky (in collaboration with his daughter Natalia) to the field of athletic physical preparation.
Even after his death Verkhoshansky continues to be one of the foremost authorities on adaptation to strength & conditioning modalities, as well training planning/programming. In addition, Verkhoshansky can easily be considered one of the experts in sports training theory, achieving an illustrious career both in the former USSR and internationally, and being a key contributor to seminal texts such as “Supertraining”. For those interested, a closer look at his CV/bibliography can be taken by clicking HERE.
I will begin this review by saying that I don’t think there is an excuse for not reading/owning this book if you are in any way involved in training athletes. Quite simply, this is probably one of the more comprehensive books on the topic, which is saying something as the main body of the book is only 233 pages long.
An Interview with David Joyce
Published June 3, 2011
This week’s interview is with David Joyce, a physiotherapist and strength coach who I had the pleasure of meeting during my ECU practical module in Perth last year.
David has become a good friend since then and is the perfect example of a physiotherapist that understands what is needed to progress an athlete from rehabilitation to high performance, and identify what strategies are needed at different times to achieve this.
Not only has he rehabilitated, trained and developed elite athletes across a range of sports but he also manages to find time to lecture on highly regarded sports science/physiotherapy Masters courses in the UK and Australia.
Hi Cedric, thanks for inviting me. I am an Injury and High Performance Specialist. I have come to this role by way of being both a sports physiotherapist and a strength coach. My initial qualification was as a physio. I got my Bachelor degree from the University of Queensland and then did my Masters of Sports Physio just less than a decade later. I also have a Masters in Strength and Conditioning, meaning I’m one of only 2 people (that I know of) to have Masters degrees in both these areas. Continue reading
Athletic Development Training Theory
Published May 4, 2011
This article is an amalgamation of my thoughts, opinions and information from various sources I have been studying over the past few years. The goal of this article is for it to act as a work-in-progress document that allows me to clarify and refine my coaching philosophies (in this case my thoughts on athletic development) and enable me to develop my own personal training theory.
As I believe it is ok (and necessary) to make mistakes and learn from them, I welcome and look forward to any questions, comments or points of debate. It is through discussion and the sharing of ideas that I believe the greatest developments and learning occur.
In addition, I think it is important to acknowledge the influences that have helped shape my philosophy thus far, either personally or intellectually. I certainly don’t consider myself to have any special original thoughts but instead strive to learn and adapt from great practitioners/researchers and their material.
With that being said I would like to specifically thank Robert Panariello, Patrick Ward, Derek Hansen, Joel Jamieson, Dan Pfaff, Charlie Francis, Al Vermeil, Buddy Morris, Mladen Jovanovich, Robbie Bourke, Eamonn Flanagan, John Watson, Nick Horton, David Leith, Sean Waxman and Michael Hartman for helping me develop my take on things.
ECU Masters Practical Notes
Published December 5, 2010
These past 2 weeks i’ve been in Perth, Australia at Edith Cowan University to attend the practical module required to complete my Strength & Conditioning Masters degree. It feels real good to have the three letters after my name but it definitely hasnt sunk in yet that im finally done!
Although I was a little bit disappointed with the overall level of some of the material (in terms of the level it was pitched at) there were some stand-out presentations that offered some good food for thought as well as help further explain concepts/methodologies I already use, and help cement the importance of these practices. Picks of the bunch for me were the presentations given by Anthony Blazevich, Jeremy Sheppard, Robert Newton and Sophia Nimphius.
Click the link below for a pdf copy of the notes I took during the various presentations/practicals: