What Makes A Great Strength And Conditioning Program?
Just who Is Training Your Son or Daughter
It seems that everyday there are more personal trainers and training facilities. How is a parent supposed to evaluate who is best qualified to train his or her child? Many personal trainer certifications simply have you show up, pay some money, and then you are certified. Many trainers only use whatever fad piece of equipment of is in vogue at the time. Some trainers have been using the same methods or techniques for the past 20 years and have stopped reading and studying the research.
The Big Three
#1 - Injury Prevention and Reduction
Bad strength and conditioning programs get their athlete's injured during the workout. The first goal of any good strength program is to make sure your programs reduce your athletes' risk of injury on the field. If does not matter how strong or how fast your programs make your athletes, if they are always getting hurt they can't help their team.
#2 Performance Improvements
Strength coaches should be able to prove that their programs make their athletes better. Objective data helps validate a strength and conditioning program. If as a strength coach you are not testing your athletes, then it becomes more difficult to show parents, coaches, and athletes that you can get an athlete faster and stronger.
#3 On Field Results
And of course the ultimate reason why an athlete spends time in the weight room is to achieve greater success on the field. A great strength program should take the improvements in the weight room and translate them into accomplishments on the field for both the individual and a team.
Doctor of Fitness Strength & Conditioning Programs
Proven Injury reduction
As a Sports Medicine Physician who has taken care of numerous athletes other the years, I am always looking at ways to reduce or prevent athlete's injuries. As the Shrewsbury high school team doctor for the past ten years I have worked with the school's athletic trainers to track injury rates for all the sports. Five years ago we implemented Doctor Of Fitness in-season strength programs in addition to the Doctor of Fitness Summer Strength and Conditioning Program. The results have been an over 60% reduction in injuries to athletes - including ACL, MCL, hamsting, hip flexor, and ankle injuries.
Proven Weight Room Results
Athletes who have participated in the seven week Summer Doctor of Fitness program have shown the following improvements:
- Average increase of 55 lbs on the 1 Rep Max (1RM) Trap Bar Deadlift
- Average increase of 25 lbs on the 1RM Bench Press
- Average increase of 5 inches on the Vertical Jump
- Average increase of 6 inches on the Single Broad Jump
- Average increase of 12 inches on the Triple Broad Jump
- Cut 0.12 seconds off 20 yard sprint time
- Cut 0.33 seconds off 20 yard shuttle run time