Boston Sports Medicine and Performance Group, LLC Blog

BSMPG Just Got Better : Stu McGill Workshop Added

Posted by Boston Sports Medicine and Performance Group on Fri, Mar 22, 2013 @ 07:03 AM

 

Stu McGill Workshop Added to 2013 BSMPG Summer Seminar!!

BSMPG is pleased to announce the addition of a small group workshop at the 2013 BSMPG Summer Seminar led by professor Stu McGill. Stu McGill is set to deliver his keynote presentation the morning of the 18th to all attendees with his workshop scheduled for the afternoon.  Attendees interested in attending this workshop must sign up and register separately for this portion of the program.

This small group session is sure to fill up FAST! Sign up today to avoid disappointment.

56 days until the start of BSMPG 2013 - See you in May!!! 

Remember: Book your HOTEL TODAY!!!

 

Stu McGill    stuart mcgill

STU MCGILL, PHD

University of Waterloo

Topic: Why Everyone Needs Core Training: Implications For Performance & Injury Prevention

Workshop: Hands-on Demonstrations. This small workshop will have a limited number of seats and will take place in the afternoon of the 18th.  Additional registration is required.

Stuart McGill is a professor of spine biomechanics at the University of Waterloo. He has been the author of over 200 scientific publications that address the issues of low back function, injury mechanisms, development of evidence-based rehabilitation and performance exercise, diagnosis, and the formulation of injury avoidance strategies. As a consultant, he has provided low back expertise to various government agencies, many corporations, elite athletes and teams from many countries, and legal firms. Working at the interface between basic foundational science and clinical practice, he is one of the few scientists who is regularly asked for consult by the medical community regarding particularly difficult back cases, and by world-class athletes from around the world.

 

See Stu and other top Sports Medicine and Performance professionals from around the world at the 2013 BSMPG Summer Seminar - May 17&18.

Remember: McGills Workshop has a limited number of seats.  Register today before this once in a lifetime opportunity fills up.

Register for the 2013 BSMPG  Summer Seminar Today

 

stu mcgill

Learn from Stu McGill in a small group workshop setting at the 2013 BSMPG Summer Seminar.

 

Topics: Stu McGill, BSMPG Summer Seminar, Stuart McGill

Happy New Year from the BSMPG Family

Posted by Boston Sports Medicine and Performance Group on Mon, Dec 31, 2012 @ 07:12 AM

Wishing you and your family all the best this coming year.

 

BSMPG Summer Seminar

Make 2013 the year you take another step forward in your journey to becoming a leader in Sports Medicine and Performance Training by attending the 2013 BSMPG Summer Seminar - May 17 & 18th in Boston MA.

Sign up before the end of the day today and enjoy our 2012 seminar price!

 

Register for the 2013 BSMPG  Summer Seminar Today

Topics: Charlie Weingroff, Stu McGill, Kevin Neeld, Adriaan Louw, BSMPG Summer Seminar, Ben Prentiss, Bill Knowles, Marco Cardinale, Rob Butler, Bobby Alejo

Training = Rehab, Rehab = Training

Posted by Boston Sports Medicine and Performance Group on Thu, Nov 8, 2012 @ 07:11 AM

BSMPG is proud to announce the addition of Charlie Weingroff as a speaker within the Sports Medicine and Rehabilitation Track at the 2013 BSMPG Summer Seminar - May 17th and 18th, 2013!  Charlie joins Robert Butler, Dr. Alex Vasquez, and Bill Knowles along with keynote speakers, Dr. Stuart McGill, Marco Cardinale, Fergus Connolly, Adriaan Louw and Marvin Chun for this weekend event.  With the most thorough and integrated speaker line-up ever assembled, the 2013 BSMPG Summer Seminar will be the WORLD'S most sought after Sports Medicine & Performance Seminar to date!!

We are expecting the largest crowd in the history of BSMPG events with speakers and attendees traveling the globe to be in Boston in May of 2013, and thus have already made plans to move our main lecture hall to a newly renovated multi-tier auditorium.

Be sure to save the date now - hotels will fill fast with this event along with normal Boston traffic so start making plans now!

See you in Boston next May!!!

 

 Register for the 2013 BSMPG  Summer Seminar Today

 

 

charlie weingroff

 

CHARLIE WEINGROFF, DPT, ATC, CSCS

Topic: Neurodevelopmental Sequence and Rehab/Training

 

Charlie is a Doctor of Physical Therapy, a Certified Athletic Trainer, and a Certified Strength and Conditioning Specialist.  He was most recently the Director of Physical Performance and Resiliency and Lead Physical Therapist for the United States Marines Corps Special Operations Command in Camp Lejeune, NC.  He is also Director of Clinical Education for the Vibraflex Whole-Body Vibration and Andante Medical, the makers of the SmartStep, mobile force plate.  He graduated from Ursinus College with a degree in Exercise and Sports Science in 1996, and went on to earn an MSPT in 1999 and DPT in 2010 from the University of Medicine and Dentistry of New Jersey.

Prior to returning to his home state of New Jersey in the Fall of 2006 after 12 seasons of professional basketball, he was the Head Strength & Conditioning Coach and Assistant Athletic Trainer for the Philadelphia 76ers in the NBA.   Among the highlights of his tenure in Philadelphia was being part of the medical staff that ranked 1st in the NBA in Player Missed Games in the 2005-06 season.

Through rehabbing patients, he subscribes to a movement-based approach popularized by the works of Dr. Vladimir Janda, Dr. Shirley Sahrmann, Dr. Stuart McGill, and Gray Cook.  In training athletes and clients, he champions the principles of the Functional Movement Screen and sound, evidence-based training principles.  Some of the methodologies Charlie is formally trained in include DNS, ART, Dry Needling, Graston, FMS/SFMA, and the RKC.

Aside from working with patients, athletes and clients, he is also under the bar himself.  In 2007, he achieved AAPF Elite status in the 220 weight class with a total of 1915 pounds. His best powerlifting competition total is 800 squat, 510 bench press and 605 deadlift.

Currently Charlie is training and rehabbing clients of all types at Drive495 in Manhattan, NYC and Fit For Life in Marlboro, NJ.

Charlie lives with his wife, Kristen, and dog, Rumble, in NJ.

Topics: Art Horne, Charlie Weingroff, Stu McGill, Kevin Neeld, Cal Dietz, Bill Knowles, Jeff Cubos, Marco Cardinale, Marvin Chun, Fergus Connolly, Stuart McGill, Rob Butler

Moneyball and BSMPG Summer Seminar - This is one Lecture you DON'T want to miss!

Posted by Boston Sports Medicine and Performance Group on Mon, Oct 29, 2012 @ 07:10 AM

BSMPG is proud to announce the addition of Bobby Alejo as a speaker within the Sports Fusion Track at the 2013 BSMPG Summer Seminar - May 17th and 18th, 2013!  Bobby joins legendary track coach Randall Huntingon and Ben Prentiss along with keynote speakers, Dr. Stuart McGill, Marco Cardinale, Fergus Connolly, Adriaan Louw and Marvin Chun for this weekend event.  With the most thorough and integrated speaker line-up ever assembled, the 2013 BSMPG Summer Seminar will be the WORLD'S most sought after Sports Medicine & Performance Seminar to date!!

We are expecting the largest crowd in the history of BSMPG events with speakers and attendees traveling the globe to be in Boston in May of 2013, and thus have already made plans to move our main lecture hall to a newly renovated multi-tier auditorium.

Be sure to save the date now - hotels will fill fast with this event along with normal Boston traffic so start making plans now!

See you in Boston next May!!!

 

 Register for the 2013 BSMPG  Summer Seminar Today

 

  

Bobby Alejo

BOBBY ALEJO

North Carolina State Wolfpack

Assistant Athletics Director for Strength and Conditioning Bob Alejo oversees all of the strength and conditioning efforts of the department, and coordinates the day-to-day efforts of the men's basketball team.

Prior to joining the Wolfpack staff in April, Alejo served as the Director of Strength and Conditioning for the Oakland A's, a position he also held from 1993-2001. In that role, he was responsible for all aspects of the organization's year-round physical preparation at both the major league and minor league levels. 

Prior to rejoining the A's, Alejo was the Director of Strength and Conditioning at UC Santa Barbara from 2005-2008. During that time he was also a member of the 2008 U.S. Olympic Team as strength and conditioning coach for the Gold medal-winning men's beach volleyball team of Todd Rogers and Phil Dalhausser. 

 

Even this guy is excited that Bobby is speaking at BSMPG!!


Moneyball and BSMPG

 

Registration is now open - Register before the New Year and receive a discounted Price!

 

Register for the 2013 BSMPG  Summer Seminar Today

Topics: Art Horne, Mike Curtis, Stu McGill, Kevin Neeld, Marvin Chun, Fergus Connolly, Stuart McGill, Rob Butler, Bobby Alejo

If you want to be the Best, then join the Best

Posted by Boston Sports Medicine and Performance Group on Mon, Oct 1, 2012 @ 07:10 AM

 

If you want to be the Best, then you need to join the Best sports medicine and performance professionals from around the world at the 2013 BSMPG Summer Seminar - May 17th and 18th in Boston MA!

Registration for this event is now open!

Visit our website for complete conference details including our keynote and individual track speakers.

 

Keynote Speakers include: Stu McGill, Adriaan Louw, Fergus Connolly, Marco Cardinale, and Marvin Chun.

 

Stuart McGill  Adriaan Louw  Fergus Connolly  Marco Cardinale  Marvin Chun  Robert Butler  Randall Huntington

 

More speakers are being being announced weekly!

Stay tuned to BSMPG.com for seminar updates and announcements.

Register Today - This seminar will sell out!

 

Register for the 2013 BSMPG  Summer Seminar Today

 

 

Topics: Art Horne, Stu McGill, Ben Prentiss, Bill Knowles, Marco Cardinale, Marvin Chun, Fergus Connolly

Our Core Culture

Posted by Boston Sports Medicine and Performance Group on Mon, Sep 24, 2012 @ 07:09 AM

 

by Keke Lyles

 

Stuart McGill

 

I know for certain that ever since I began playing sports as a young adolescent, I wanted those six-pack abs. If you look through muscle magazines from thirty years ago up until the present, this is arguably the most popular topic covered. Ninety nine percent of everyone who goes to commercial gyms dreams of that beautiful six pack. Turn on the television and during almost every commercial break you will see an advertisement on the newest gimmick, diet, trend, or flat out lie on how to achieve that goal. I guess I can’t blame anyone for buying into this “core culture” because in our great Western society we place such an emphasis on the way we look. Although that doesn’t explain why we are still one of the most obese countries in the world. Or, perhaps it does explain it. We have a misconstrued view of reality when it comes to our health. We want quick fixes (5 min abs), we want to eat whatever we want (diet fads), and at the end of the day the only results that REALLY matter to us is what we see in front of the mirror.

But don’t let me single out the everyday common folk. I have athletes all the time question my core training with them.  One afternoon I walked into my weight room after I thought everyone was gone, I found one of my guys doing sit- ups. When his eyes made contact with mine, without me saying a word, he shouted, “Well you never let me do them when I work with you!” My response was simple, “They pay me to keep you healthy and to aid in your development, and what you are doing is the opposite of that.” So why is that everyone has such a wrong view on this, or am I the one who has it all wrong?

Let us explore the “core” muscles. For the sake of keeping this simple, we are just going to focus on the RECTUS, TRANSVERSE ABDOMINIS and INTERNAL, EXTERNAL OBLIQUES. I would argue that the core is much more complex than just those four muscles, but again let’s try to keep it simple. Basic kinesiology teaches us the origin and insertion of muscles and from that, we thought we figured out what that muscle does. Because everyone reads the internet and think this makes them an expert, let’s see what Wikipedia tells us about what these muscles do. Rectus: “Flexion of the lumbar spine.”  Transverse: “Compresses abdominal contents.” Obliques: “Compresses abdomen; unilateral contraction rotates vertebral column to same side.” So simple, right? WRONG!!! But this simple way of looking at the abdominal muscles has led everyone to believe that training your abs is about getting a six pack, which means you flex your lumbar spine over and over. Perhaps that is why one of my coaches has herniated discs in his back. Thanks to Stuart McGill, we know that our spine has a flexion/extension tolerance, meaning you can only bend it so many times before it breaks.  Does P90X give you a refund after you blow out your back from the Ab Ripper? Of course not.

Now before I just rip on all the products out there, let me explain my stance. The abdominal muscles are not intended to work that way. It appears that they do, but research has revealed otherwise. Their PRIMARY function is to STABILIZE. Their other job is to transfer energy and to resist movement. Crazy, I know. Considering our spine has only so many bends in it before it breaks, we better have something that prevents all those bends. This is what the core does. If you are about to hyperextend, your core will fire to prevent spinal injury. If a football player gets hit awkwardly with his arm outreached, it is his core that will protect him. If a basketball player is jumping up to rebound and has to reach back, it is his core that allows him to stay in control to gain possession. You don’t see guys purposely doing lumbar flexion in competition, just like you don’t do it in everyday life. So why train that way?

And what is stabilization all about? Doing concentric and eccentric exercise will make a muscle bigger and stronger, but stabilization is about timing and coordination. Think of a robot-like machine that automatically swings a baseball bat as a pitch is thrown towards it. Now if you make it swing faster (stronger), what will happen? It will be a swinging strike since the bat will be in front of the ball. You must calculate the timing so it will hit the ball further. Timing and coordination are not about strength and size. Similarly when it comes to our core, it is not about strength and size. It is about our central nervous system controlling the timing and coordination of the muscle contraction to prevent an injury or transfer force. I would make the argument that training to make your core bigger and stronger to get a desired look will only interfere with its real purpose.

Additionally, a six-pack is seen because a person is lean. This comes from a combination of exercise and mostly diet. So drop the fads, leave Wikipedia alone, and challenge yourself to really understand the purpose of your muscles. Resist the temptation to measure success by the mirror. I measure it by injury reduction. Find an objective way for you to measure it.

Leave the Ab Ripper session behind and learn the real way to train your core. How can you train to stabilize? Then stabilize while adding movement to a limb, just like in sport and in life. Planks, side planks, etc. are a good start. Add farmer walks, or waiter carries, perhaps variations of bird dogs. Try prone, supine, half-kneeling, kneeling, and standing progressions. There is plenty of great material out there on how to properly train your core. The promise I will make to you is that training your core this way, along with the proper additional exercises and a solid diet, you will get that much desired six-pack, but more importantly, stay healthy.

Maybe I am crazy and sure I may be wrong about many things, but this is not one of them. My goal is for our culture to change regarding its view of the core. I want to see this shift not only for my players, but for everyone. Sit-ups should be a thing of the past, but yet we struggle to let them go. Train hard, but train smart.

 

-Keke Lyles

Strength and Conditioning Coach Minnesota Timberwolves

 

Register for the 2013 BSMPG  Summer Seminar Today

 

Topics: Stu McGill, BSMPG Summer Seminar, Fergus Connolly, Stuart McGill

Predicting Performance and Injury Resilience in Collegiate Basketball Athletes : Part III

Posted by Boston Sports Medicine and Performance Group on Thu, Sep 13, 2012 @ 07:09 AM

by Art Horne

 

Basketball Performance Seminar

 

Just recently Dr. Stuart McGill, Jordan Andersen, and I published an article in the Journal of Strength and Conditioning Research examining the link between traditional pre-season strength, fitness, and sports medicine testing to overall on-court basketball performance and injury resilience throughout the course of two collegiate basketball seasons.  Although I would be the first to admit that there are some clear limitations to this study (number of participants for example), key performance predictors (points scored, ability to rebound, block shots, etc) were NOT associated with traditional strength or performance measures so often pursued in collegiate basketball strength programs.

 

Key performance predictors (points scored, ability to rebound, block shots, etc) were NOT associated with traditional strength or performance measures.

 

Below you’ll read a few of our findings followed by my thoughts on how to best train these attributes that correlated to actual on-court success as well as address common injuries found both in our study and in general among basketball athletes. Findings are in bold, with narrative following in normal text.

 

First things first. All strength exercises described below must be built on a solid foundation. To quote Gray, “you can’t put strength on dysfunction.”

Move well, and then Move often.

You wouldn’t build a house on swamp land, so don’t even try to start squatting the basketball athlete before you’ve assessed him for the ability to even perform such a movement with his own body weight. This seems logical to most, but you’d be surprised at the number of coaches who first neglect this fairly obvious rule and bury their athletes under the bar.  This rule needs to be applied to all exercises that carry a load, not just the squat. Prove to me that you can handle 1x your body weight and then we can talk about you moving an outside load.

For the sake of argument, we’ll assume the methods below are being applied to a basketball athlete who has been assessed and has passed their movement screen/assessment and has no current pain or past medical condition.

 

1. A “stiffer” torso leads to better performance

Again, this goes without saying. 

Many people automatically associate spine stiffness to side planking for some reason but this couldn’t be further from the truth. The ability to Side Plank or perform a Front Plank are merely two exercises in the large core stability family.  Including these traditional exercises along with the chops and lifts, anti-rotation exercises such as the Keiser Belly Press (or Paloff Press), Bird-dog exercises and the Tall Kneeling or standing Single Arm Keiser Chest Press along with Anti-Extension exercises including any variation of roll outs are a staples within any comprehensive yearly training program.  But you already knew that – what you may be missing are the following:

a. Rolling - Assessment and activation of the deep core stabilizers: Before addressing the core as described below, one must ensure that the intrinsic musculature immediately surrounding the spine are functioning properly.   Assessing rolling patterns in your athletes is an easy check and certainly worth the investment of time.  Checking both upper and lower rolling patterns – supine to prone and prone to supine prior to undergoing a long rehabilitation or performance program and addressing deficiency in this area will save you an enormous amount of frustration later on.

 

BSMPG Seminar

 

b. Carries: This is a must in every rehabilitation and sports performance program – period. I’ve witnessed firsthand athletes returning to competition after a knee injury who were unable to perform a single leg squat on initial evaluation, only to bury it moments after a few minutes of suitcase carries.  For sports performance coaches, this has been described by McGill a number of times and specifically to the Yolk walk that strongmen competitors compete in. 

“Every time I work with top international athletes I learn more about athleticism. We have all heard that having a strong core increases strength elsewhere in the body. Experience tells us this is true but I was incomplete in my explanation of the mechanism. I enhanced my education a couple of years ago following my analysis of “strongman event” competitors.

First we measured the athlete’s strength capabilities – hip abduction being one of them. Then we quantified the tasks, strength demands and joint mechanics in various events. Curiously they needed more hip abduction strength to succeed in events such as Super Yoke and the Suitcase carry than they could create in their hips. How could they perform a feat of strength that was beyond what a joint could produce?

Consider the Super Yoke where several hundred pounds are carried across the shoulders. The axial load down the spine traverses across the pelvis to the support leg allowing the other leg to step and swing. Hip abduction is needed to lift the pelvis laterally but clearly the strength required far exceeded what the hip could create. The missing strength came from the core muscles (quadratus lumborum and the abdominal obliques on the swing leg side) which helped lift the pelvis. Now consider the footballer who plants the foot on a quick cut. A strong and stiff core assists the hip power to be transmitted up the body linkage with no energy losses resulting in a faster cut. This is the same performance enhancing mechanism as in the Super Yoke but it is not traditionally trained in the weight room.

This experience resulted in the search for the best training approach. We quantified asymmetric carries such as the suitcase carry and found that quadratus and the abdominal wall were challenged to create this unique but essential athleticism. However, working with Pavel we tried kettlebell carries (just in one hand). Racked traditionally with the bell carried on the back of the forearm (with the hand position tucked in close to the chest as if the athlete were to begin an overhead press) helps to reduce shoulder impingement should this be an orthopaedic issue. However, even better was the bottom up carry. Here the bell is held upside down in the bottom up position with the elbow tucked close to the body and the bell beside the head. The core is stiffened to control the bell and prevent it from rotating in the hand. Now walk briskly. Core stiffness is essential to prevent the loss of the bell position.

I consider that every general program to enhance athleticism needs a carry task. “ (McGill, personal communication)

 

  • Integrate Suitcase Carries, Farmer Walks or Bottoms Up Kettlebell Carries in all of your training programs – every time!

McGill Seminar

c. Training to Relax:  it appears that rate of force development is not the only end to which we should direct our training methodologies.  Training to improve RATE OF RELAXATION may be just as, or more important.  For additional resources on this subject see below.

  • Read Cal’s Book, TRIPHASIC TRAINING, specifically page 306 and the section on Antagonistically Facilitated Specialized Method (AFSM).

 

 

d. Breathing through the brace: Spine stiffness is intimately related to diaphragm function, and as such, training the diaphragm to operate as both a Respirator and Stabilizer is of the upmost importance.  This is especially important for the Forwards banging down on the post while sucking wind in the fourth quarter.  Learn more about “Breathing Through The Brace” and Diaphragm function HERE.

 

 

2. Bench Press correlated with blocks per game

Upper body strength is important for basketball – period (at least for the bigs)

Another note on Kevin Durant and others like him:  Remember – skill is king. If you are just better than everyone and can score whenever you want, whether you can bench press or not really doesn’t matter.  However, if you’re working with a kid that has marginal skill and could use some additional size and strength to compliment this game here are some suggestions for going about doing it that will also have some actual transfer to his performance on the court – and no, none of the suggestions involve bench pressing more.   In fact, absolute strength may not be important at all.  Sparq Data from 17-19 year olds showed the Power Pass (ability to chest pass a medball) to be highly correlated to those that went on to scholarships and international contracts, whereas NBA draft data from 2007-2009 showed bench press to be one of the lowest! (Nike Sparq data)

  • Standing single arm horizontal presses may be better than lying flat on your back under a bar.  I know you can’t move as much weight standing, but that’s kind of the point.  In fact, you’ll only be able to press about ½ of your body weight before you are pulled backwards and around.  This is because the limiter in this exercise is not upper body strength but the ability to stop trunk rotation – an important aspect in the game of basketball! If you can’t pull yourself away from writing bench press into your programs at least add a tall kneeling or standing horizontal cable single arm press as a supplemental exercise.
  • An even better exercise is described by McGill HERE, in which you perform a dumbbell chest press with only ½ your body on the bench and press with the arm on the side that is unsupported.  This forces the unsupported side – hip/gluteal & hamstring with anti-rotational core stiffness that will allow for stability necessary to generate pushing power in conjunction with upper body strength (CraigLiebenson.com). 

 

  • Crawling: enhancing “functional” upper body basketball strength, or strength that can be used in any sport for that matter starts on the ground.  I’ve seen athletes time and time again lying flat on their back performing the bench press exercise that can’t even perform a push-up without looking like a wet noodle.  Stay on the ground instead of “deloading” their bodyweight and placing them on their back.  Remember – you need to be able to handle 1x your bodyweight before moving on to loading that pattern.  Crawling and performing push-ups in multiple directions and with multiple hand placements are an excellent way to develop the strength needed to battle for the boards while also integrating the core musculature.  Examples include:

Inchworm, Lateral push-ups, Hand Walk-outs, Bear Crawls (forward, back and side to side)

 

3. Long Jump distance and Lane Agility Test were the most closely linked performance tests linked to actual performance

Let’s break each one of these points down into their individual components.

i.      Long Jump scores correlated with: minutes, rebounds, and blocks per game: and thus, an effort must be made to address this horizontal power component in your training program.  Here’s how.

  • Trap Bar Deadlift: Listen, basketball guys aren’t interested in strength training – sorry to break the news. This was a really hard thing for me to understand when I was younger and for a long time refused to believe that basketball athletes didn’t love moving weight – THEY DON’T!  With that said, the trap bar deadlift might be one of the best exercises for the basketball athlete – here’s why......It’s not the squat!

Listen, I think basketball athletes should squat and squat often, but unfortunately it often places the basketball athlete into a movement pattern that they perform a thousand times a day already and as such, might not be appropriate for the entire team, all the time as opposed to the deadlift which almost all guys (even guys with knee pain) can perform. If you’re going to squat your athletes (good by the way!), be sure to at least add the deadlift into the mix (and when I say add to the mix, I mean add it a lot!)

  • Trap Bar Deadlifts are easier to teach and execute than traditional barbell deadlifts from the floor.  Holding a bar to the sides is far easier than scraping your shins when holding a bar from the front.  We’re not here to teach kids to become great dead lifters, or compete in the Olympics.  They’re in your weight room to become better basketball athletes – period.  Trap Bar Deadlifts are the fastest, easiest, and safest means to that end. 

Remember: the goal is to keep the goal the goal. 

  • What’s the goal? Improve basketball motor skills and biomotor abilities that lead to increased basketball court performance while reducing the likelihood of injury.

  • Besides being a great lower extremity exercise, deadlifting has two additional benefits:

1.Deadlifting establishes a proper hip hinge pattern which separates your lumbar spine from your hips.  If ankle and knee pain don’t end your career, low back pain will. Avoid back pain by mastering this movement and recruiting the massive muscles on your “backside” instead of the muscle in your lumbar spine 2. Holding the bar to the side makes it easier to centrate and “pack your shoulder” joint while also recruiting the large lumbar spine stabilizer called your lats (another great reason to perform this exercise).  Teaching kids to “screw in their shoulder” or “pack their shoulder” will carry over to other exercises while also keeping their shoulder joints free from pain.  Side note: perform in barefeet to encourage awareness of foot position, strengthen the intrinsic musculature of the foot and ankle, and get them out of those darn basketball shoes for at least a minute. 

  • Deadlifting promotes more horizontal power development than the squat – read above – “long jump scores correlated with rebounds and blocks per game” – that’s a good thing! Rebounding and blocking shots not only involve jumping up, but also jumping outwards to meet the ball.  Both strength qualities must be developed in my opinion and the deadlift is your money maker for the horizontal component.
  • Kettlebell Swings: Now that you’ve established the necessary strength from the deadlift and have earned the right to pull from the floor, harnessing that strength and moving weight fast is the next challenge.  As Cal Dietz has mentioned many times, not a single exercise that we perform in the weight room even approaches the speed at which your limbs move during the course of a basketball game.  Although not able to reproduce this speed per se, the kettlebell swing does teach the body to contract and relax – and that is what elite sport is all about!  In addition, when performed correctly (sorry cross-fit but swinging the bell up over your head is a bad idea), the motion is almost purely horizontal, and contributes to a big broad jump.

 

ii. Lane Agility time correlated negatively with minutes played, points, assists and steals per game (meaning that a faster time was linked to more performance)

i.      These are the guys with the stiffer torso’s, the guys that are able to “relax” quickly (again read Cal’s book), and the guys that are able to put force into the ground to change direction. So how do I do this:

  • Stiffer Torso: Re-read torso training above
  • Ability to relax: Read Cal Dietz’s book, specifically part on “AFSM” training, pages 306 to 313.
  • Force into the ground: Get Strong! I’m not quite sure how else to say this but moving heavy weight is necessary.  Although there is some argument as to the amount of strength  needed to be successful in sport, it is rare to find a basketball athlete that has achieved top end strength and as such, can always improve their biomotor abilities by the addition of more absolute strength.  This strength however needs to be multi-planer.  This is much different than training track athletes that simply move in a straight line.  Performing lunges at various angles or squats in varying foot positions (sport squat vs. power lifting stance) will translate to improved on-court success.

iii. Vertical Jump did not correlate with any variable below

  • This is a bit of a misnomer in my opinion and here’s why. Vertical jump is important, especially the ability to repeat these jumps over and over. Although it wasn’t correlated in this limited study, I think we’d all agree that you need a big vertical jump if you want to play at the highest level (college or professionally).  One attribute more important than jumping high however is the ability to put the ball in the bucket. I don’t care if it’s from beyond the arc or if you pull up in the paint. If you can score when you want to you will play!  The trend that I have seen over the years unfortunately is that our best leapers are never our most skilled players.  For some reason, most natural leapers feel like that attribute alone will get them through to the next level and thus, simply fail to develop their full skill set.  Let’s look back at the goal. You need to score more than the other team. So you either have to be a great scorer or a great defender.  Vertical jumping will certainly help you some on both ends of the court but you still have to have that silky smooth jump shot in order to reach the highest level. 

Keep working on developing your vertical jumping ability, but not at the expense of developing your skill set.  Instead of showing off at between classes with your fancy dunks try spending that extra time at the charity stripe working on your foul shots.

 

Is any of this really important?

If you’re any one of the 3 major universities in Boston providing basketball scholarships for example, you know that you’ve basically committed over a ¼ of a million dollars towards each athlete by the time they graduate.  This doesn’t not even account for the large number of support staff (academic support, athletic trainers, strength coaches, etc.) that invests their time above and beyond to help these young men.   If more strength coaches and athletic trainers saw each athlete as a dollar figure, or a loss of potential “revenue” when injured perhaps then each would look to address faulty movement patterns and their contributing factors prior to injury rather than throwing their hands up afterwards in frustration.  I don’t think it’s fair to put a dollar figure on an 18 year old kid – but I do think that it’s a nice exercise to clearly illustrate the massive investment institutions are making in their athletes and athletic programs, and one that will resonate with those professionals that provide services to these athletes.  Providing sports medicine care means more than applying ice and e-stim after injury and strength & conditioning requires more than simply loading a bar.  Both professionals, need to understand that they currently have over 3 million dollars of “product” on their roster right now (13 scholarships), and that their actions and inactions contribute directly to the rise and fall of that value.

 

Best of luck this coming basketball season!!

 

 

References

 

Dietz C, Peterson B. Triphasic Training: A systematic approach to elite speed and explosive strength performance. 2012.

Nike Sparq Data.

 

Register Now for the 2013 BSMPG Summer Seminar - May 17 & 18, 2013.  See Dr. Stuart McGill and other leaders in Sports Medicine and Performance from around the Globe!

 

Register for the 2013 BSMPG  Summer Seminar Today

 

Topics: Stu McGill, Bill Knowles, Marco Cardinale, Marvin Chun, Fergus Connolly

BSMPG Summer Seminar Highlights - Chris Powers

Posted by Boston Sports Medicine and Performance Group on Mon, Aug 27, 2012 @ 07:08 AM

Click below to see highlights from our 2012 BSMPG Summer Seminar featuring Keynote Speaker, Chris Powers.

More highlights are set to come in the next few weeks so stay tuned!

 

 

Save the date for the 2013 BSMPG Summer Seminar - May 17th & 18th in Boston MA.

 

Keynote Speakers include: Dr. Stuart McGill, Dr. Marco Cardinale, Fergus Connolly, Adriann Louw and Marvin Chun.  Individual learning track speakers will be announced shortly. 

 

Register for the 2013 BSMPG  Summer Seminar Today 

 

This is sure to be the biggest Sports Medicine and Sports Performance Seminar to date!

A special thanks again to our SPONSORS!

 

 

 

Topics: Stu McGill, Adriaan Louw, Marco Cardinale, Marvin Chun, Fergus Connolly, Rob Butler, Chris Powers

Bill Knowles returns to BSMPG Summer Seminar Speaker list in 2013

Posted by Boston Sports Medicine and Performance Group on Wed, Aug 22, 2012 @ 06:08 AM

BSMPG is proud to announce the return of Bill Knowles as a speaker within the Sports Medicine & Rehabilitation Track at the 2013 BSMPG Summer Seminar - May 17th and 18th, 2013!  Bill joins keynote speakers, Dr. Stuart McGill, Marco Cardinale, Fergus Connolly, Adriaan Louw and Marvin Chun for this weekend event.  With the most thorough and integrated speaker line-up ever assembled, the 2013 BSMPG Summer Seminar will be the WORLD'S most sought after Sports Medicine & Performance Seminar to date!!

We are expecting the largest crowd in the history of BSMPG events with speakers and attendees traveling the globe to be in Boston in May of 2013, and thus have already made plans to move our main lecture hall to a newly renovated multi-tier auditorium.

Be sure to save the date now - hotels will fill fast with this event along with normal Boston traffic so start making plans now!

See you in Boston next May!!!

Watch highlights from Bill Knowles at the 2012 BSMPG Summer Seminar by clicking HERE

 

Bill Knowles

Bill Knowles

BILL KNOWLES

iSPORT Training

Athletic Development Coach and Sports Rehabilitation Specialist
Certified Athletic Trainer, Certified Strength and Conditioning Specialist

Experience:
• 21 years professional experience working with World-class, Olympic, Professional, Elite, & Nationally ranked athletes from around the world.
• Professional and World-Class sports include: Soccer (football), Rugby Union, Ice Hockey, Basketball, Football, Aussie Rules Football, Golf, Alpine and Freestyle Mogul Skiing, Snowboarding and Swimming
•Former Head Athletic Trainer and Director of Strength and Conditioning at Burke Mountain Academy (Vermont, USA) for 12 years. BMA is recognized historically as the best youth sports academy in the world for alpine ski racing.
The list of Olympic, World Cup, and World Junior success is unparallel in the Unites States and worldwide.
• Author of numerous articles on injury prevention and performance training in ski publications, strength and conditioning magazines and health journals.
• Featured speaker dozens of times around the United States, Canada, England and Scotland on topics related to injury reduction programs, rehabilitation/reconditioning, and performance training for all types of athletes.

For the past 21 years Bill Knowles has been working with elite level athletes from around the world. As a sports rehabilitation specialist, Bill has helped Professional and Olympic level athletes recover from season ending and career threatening injuries. His energy and enthusiasm keeps every training session educational and fresh, while his unique experiences allows a creative approach to address any injury situation. Bill’s rehab philosophy allows each athlete the opportunity to express their inherent athletic ability quickly following injury or surgery. This mean the “down time” is minimal and the athlete stays very active and motivated.

After receiving his education at Cortland State College in New York, Bill began his career at the world renowned sports academy for Alpine and Nordic ski racing; Burke Mountain Academy. As the Head Athletic Trainer and Performance Director Bill took care of countless knee injuries and developed his skills that began to attract world-class ski racers from Europe and North America. Since then athletes from England, Scotland, Ireland, and Australia have visited Bill in Killington, Vermont. Bill has also traveled extensively working with and visiting many of the top sports clubs in the world.

This success has evolved to designing and implementing rehab and performance programs that have placed athletes back into the English Premiership and Championship Football Leagues, The Rugby World Cup and Premiership Squads, Baseball World Series, Winter Olympic podiums and X-Game podiums.

As a former collegiate soccer player, ski racer, and coach, Bill delivers his training programs they way an athlete understands and respects.

 

Topics: Stu McGill, Bill Knowles, Joel Jamieson, Marco Cardinale, Marvin Chun, Fergus Connolly, BSMPG Summar Seminar

Fergus Connolly joins Dr. Stuart McGill and Marco Cardinale as Keynote Speakers at 2013 BSMPG Summer Seminar

Posted by Boston Sports Medicine and Performance Group on Mon, Aug 6, 2012 @ 06:08 AM

 

BSMPG is proud to announce Fergus Connolly as a keynote speakers at the 2013 BSMPG Summer Seminar - May 17th and 18th, 2013!  Fergus joins keynote speakers, Dr. Stuart McGill and Marco Cardinale and Marvin Chun for this weekend event.  With the most thorough and integrated speaker line-up assembled, the 2013 BSMPG Summer Seminar will be the WORLD'S most sought after Sports Medicine & Performance Seminar to date!!

We are expecting the largest crowd in the history of BSMPG events with speakers and attendees traveling the globe to be in Boston in May of 2013, and thus have already made plans to move our main lecture hall to a newly renovated multi-tier auditorium.

Be sure to save the date now - hotels will fill fast with this event along with normal Boston traffic so start making plans now!

See you in Boston next May!!!

  

Fergus Connolly

 

BSMPG Summer Seminar

 

FERGUS CONNOLLY

Performance Consultant: Liverpool FC and others

Fergus Connolly is regarded as one of the leading performance experts in elite team sport. His experience spans some of the most successful teams in NFL, NBA, Premiership Football, International Rugby, Professional Boxing and Special Operations. These experiences have refined pioneering protocols for the integrated optimisation (IO) of performance in Team Sport and Elite Athletes. Specialised knowledge working with some of the most successful coaches, academics and practitioners and research in computer optimisation and management, he is an original researcher in the development and application of unique effective monitoring, coaching, training recovery and regeneration approaches to winning in team sport.

Save the Date: May 17 & 18th, 2013 - Boston MA.  This will be one conference that you will not want to miss!!

Topics: Art Horne, Charlie Weingroff, Stu McGill, Bill Knowles, Marco Cardinale, Fergus Connolly, Rob Butler