In recent years the state of athletic training has grown and developed at an exponential rate. New methods and techniques are popping up all over the place. While the strength and conditioning community grows by leaps and bounds there is an alarming trend:
There is no long term planning.
Soviets called their long term system the Process of Achieving Sports Mastery, or PASM for short.
The lack of long term planning is hurting todays generation of athlete almost as much as the obesity epidemic. Everyone wants results now. Actually yesterday.
What is wrong with this?
We see the corrective exercise craze emerging as a result of a lack of PASM. Athletes can no longer recruit the right muscles, in the right positions, for extended periods of time. In other words we see the emergence of medial glute dysfunction, scapular dysfunction, mobility issues, lower back problems, the list is endless. More and more strength coaches spend their time teaching people how to move properly, “bend through your hips not your back,” and less and less time teaching advanced methods that would yeild greater results if athletes spent more time on proper physiological preparation in their younger years.
As Charlie Francis has said, the rush to results often leads to stagnation and uncertainty.
Unfortunately the industry is structured to create this deficit. Why? Glad you asked.
If a young athlete wants to improve their sport they may contact a “personal trainer”, who may only have a 3 hour certification or a “SAQ” specialist.
Well the consultant won’t make any money if they say “I’m gonna prepare you for the NFL. To do this the progress will be slow at first as we lay a solid foundation of movement preparation. However your senior year in college you will have an amazing season. when you are 20 and prepping for your pro day we will reap the rewards of all the hard work and dedication to movement that we ingrain now. We will use a long term plan with the ultimate goal being becoming an NFL player. We won’t focus on the results today as they don’t matter, all that matters is your senior year in college.”
Now to a 15 year old this is a daunting task. They cannot comprehend the approach. They just want to run fast and bench a lot of weight. They want results NOW (cell phones, blackberry’s, youtube). So they ditch the professional with the correct approach and talk to the guy at Velocity who promises 0.2 off their 40 in six weeks. Unfortunately they often jump into advanced training methods unprepared. Sure their times may drop but they are 15, who cares!!! So their medial glutes don’t work, they have poor hip mobility. They go to college and blow out their knee (medial glute dysfunction) or worse their back (hips and glutes). They were unprepared for the demands of their sport.
If only they knew they should slow cook their bodies. learn to move correctly first, then layed power and speed on top. They would have been ready for Division 1 football. They would be prepping for their pro day. They coulda been somebody. They coulda been a contenda. instead they are 20 with the body of a 50yr old.
Luckily some coaches recognize this problem and are committed to changing the state of the game. Evolutionary Athletics is proud to be one such group of coaches.
Some final words of wisdom:
“Lift weights with a purpose. Anybody can get strong and big, that’s easy, but not everybody who lifts weights is good on an athletic field. That’s what you want to do.”
“One must be willing, to sacrifice to the same level they wish to achieve”
-Jay Schroeder
PS Evolutionary Athletics has no affiliation with Jay
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