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Bigger Faster Stronger (BFS) is the premier performance program for high school and college sports. BFS and the book Bigger Faster Stronger have led teams to more than 500 state championships, and that was just the warm up. Now in its third edition, Bigger Faster Stronger is ready for the next generation of athletes and the next level of performance.
Inside, you’ll find training guidelines for in-season and off-season weight training, as well as the latest strategies for breaking through plateaus, developing peak strength, and increasing power, flexibility, speed, and agility.
You’ll learn the proper exercise techniques for the big four lifts, as well as multiple variations and safety protocols. You’ll also find recommendations for integrating new equipment, athlete monitoring systems, and other technology into your program to ensure maximum effectiveness and performance gains. Bigger Faster Stronger can accommodate any sport and every level of competition. Safe, effective, and relied on by thousands of athletes, coaches, and administrators, it is the proven performance program you can trust.
Chapter 1 Unified Approach to Training
Chapter 2 BFS Rotational Set-Rep System
Chapter 3 BFS In-Season Training
Chapter 4 BFS Readiness Program
Chapter 5 Six Absolutes of Perfect Technique
Chapter 6 Parallel Squat and Squat Variations
Chapter 7 Power Clean and Quick Lifts
Chapter 8 Hex-Bar Deadlift and Deadlift Variations
Chapter 9 Bench Press and Bench Press Variations
Chapter 10 Sport-Specific Auxiliary Lifts
Chapter 11 Agility and the BFS Dot Drill
Chapter 12 Five-Phase Plyometric Program
Chapter 13 Speed Training
Chapter 14 BFS 1-2-3-4 Flexibility Program
Chapter 15 Organization and Weight Room Design
Chapter 16 Safety and Liability
Chapter 17 Strength and Conditioning Technology
Greg Shepard, EdD, is the founder of Bigger Faster Stronger (BFS), the most widely followed strength and conditioning program in the United States. Providing strength training programs to high schools and colleges since 1975, BFS has a staff of more than 30 coaches, who conduct an average of 300 clinics a year and train thousands of coaches and athletes annually. Shepard’s BFS Magazine touts a readership of 500,000 coaches and athletes.
Shepard has a master’s degree in exercise physiology from the University of Oregon and a doctorate in the same field from Brigham Young University. During his professional career, he has been a strength coach at Oregon State University, the University of Oregon, and Brigham Young University, where his powerlifting team won a national championship. He was also the strength coach for the NBA’s Utah Jazz from 1981 to 1997. At the time he was hired by the Jazz, Shepard was the only strength coach in the National Basketball Association.
Shepard lives in Provo, Utah.
Kim Goss, MS, PICP Level 1, has been a strength and conditioning coach and editor since serving in the Air Force from 1981 to 1985. He was the strength coach of the Air Force Academy from 1987 to 1994. While there, he designed all workouts not only for the football team but also for all 875 varsity athletes who used the weight room. Goss later ran a private gym and worked with numerous athletes who competed in the Olympic Games.
From 1982 to 1987, Goss was a fitness and strength writer and editor for Runner’s World Publications. He has been the editor in chief of BFS Magazine since 2005 and an editor and researcher with the Poliquin Group since 2009. He has written over 700 articles and edited over 25 books.
Goss earned a master’s degree in human movement science from A.T. Still University in 2009 and a bachelor’s degree in journalism and mass communication from Cal State University– Hayward in 1985. He lives in East Greenwich, Rhode Island.
Who should use the Bigger Faster Stronger readiness program?
Although many athletes will be ready to jump right into the BFS set - rep system, others are more suited to starting with the BFS Readiness Program. Here are some examples.
Although many athletes will be ready to jump right into the BFS set - rep system, others are more suited to starting with the BFS Readiness Program. Here are some examples.
Middle School Male and Female Athletes
Most athletes or physical education students in the seventh grade should begin with the BFS Readiness Program. Some orthopedic doctors believe that adolescents of this age are too young to start any kind of weight training, but the research proves otherwise, and we believe that the benefits outweigh the potential risks.
The BFS Readiness Program is designed for beginners with an emphasis on teaching optimal technique first over lifting heavy weights.
Without weight training, few young people can reach their athletic potential. One of the major concerns about weight training for young athletes is that it could damage the epiphyseal (growth) plates. Although injury to the epiphyseal plates may cause bone deformity, the risk that this will occur with weight training is no greater than it is with most sports. As for the belief that weight training will stunt growth, premature closing of the epiphyseal plates is related primarily to hormonal influences, not injury. The late Mel Siff, an exercise scientist whose doctoral thesis examined the biomechanics of soft tissues, addressed this subject.
"It has never been shown scientifically or clinically that the periodic imposition of large forces by weight training on the growing body causes damage to the epiphyseal plates," Siff says in his book Facts and Fallacies of Fitness (1998). "It is extremely misleading to focus on the alleged risks of weight training on children when biomechanical research shows that simple daily activities such as running, jumping, striking, or catching can impose far greater forces on the musculoskeletal system than very heavy weight training."
Siff also notes that bone density scans have proven that young people who do competitive weightlifting (i.e., the snatch and the clean and jerk) have higher bone densities than children who do not use weights, and clinical research has not shown any correlation between weight training and epiphyseal damage. Siff's comments are supported by an extensive Russian study on young athletes, published in a book titled School of Height, which concluded that heavy lifting tends to stimulate bone growth in young athletes rather than inhibit it.
Research shows that young athletes who compete in weightlifting have higher bone densities than children who do not use weights.
Risk of injury is another area of concern for coaches and parents. Many studies have measured the rate of injuries associated with weight training compared with the injury rate in other sports. For example, a study published in 2001 in the Journal of the American Academy of Orthopaedic Surgeons cited research showing that in children aged 5 to 14 years, the number of injuries from bicycling was almost 400 percent greater than the number of injuries from weightlifting.
In a review paper on resistance training for prepubescent and adolescents published in 2002 in Strength and Conditioning Coach, author Mark Shillington reported that only 0.7 percent (or 1,576) of sport-related injuries in school-aged children were caused by resistance training, compared with 19 percent caused by football and 15 percent caused by baseball. Dr. Mel Hayashi, a noted orthopedic surgeon, states, "The BFS Readiness Program should provide great benefits to the junior high athlete. I have no concerns as long as the athlete has good technique." Dr. Hayashi has been a chief orthopedic surgeon at the Olympic Games and is a former chief resident at the Mayo Clinic.
The truth is that weight training and competitive lifting are among the safest activities an athlete can participate in. For example, renowned Russian sport scientist Vladimir Zatsiorsky, in his textbook Science and Practice of Strength Training (1995), had this to say about the dangers of weight training: "The risk of injury from a well-coached strength training program has been estimated to be about one per 10,000 athlete-exposures," with an athlete-exposure being defined as one athlete taking part in one training session or competition. "Compared to tackle football, alpine skiing, baseball pitching, and even sprint running, strength training is almost free of risk." The National Strength and Conditioning Association (NSCA) is considered the governing body of the strength coaching profession, and in 1985 published a position paper and extensive literature review on strength training for young athletes. This paper was updated in 1996, and in another update published in 2009, the authors said that "… research increasingly indicates that resistance training can offer unique benefits for children and adolescents when appropriately prescribed and supervised" (Faigenbaum, Kraemer, Blimkie, Jeffreys, Micheli, Nitka, and Rowland, p. 1).
The success and popularity of BFS clinics are proof of the merits of early weight training. As young athletes strive to achieve the highest levels in competitive sport, they must participate in serious training at a younger age than the champions of the past did. This commitment is the price of success. Athletes are starting competitive sports at a younger age, including contact sports such as football, and as such they are subjecting their bodies to higher levels of stress than ever before. If young bodies are to handle the stress of this training, weight training is essential.
Instruction for weightlifting can begin with PVC pipes so that athletes can learn how to perform lifts properly.
Many strength coaches at major universities throughout the United States have been asked when athletes should start weight training. The vast majority responded, "In junior high." In addition, the countries of the former Eastern Bloc often start weight training at age 12.
In the sport of weightlifting, the most successful coach in the sport is Bulgaria's Ivan Abadjiev. Speaking at a seminar in Rhode Island in 2011, Coach Abadjiev was asked at what point young athletes could begin lifting maximal weights. His response was at eight years of age! Although BFS does not endorse this recommendation, it does suggest that there is definitely a paradigm shift in this area. In fact, in the 2014 US Senior National Weightlifting Championships, then - 13-year-old Clarence Cummings clean and jerked a senior American record of 337 pounds (153 kilos) at a bodyweight of 136 pounds (62 kilos), and the following year he broke the youth record in the 152-pound (69-kilo) class with a lift of 385 pounds (175 kilos)! He is now a junior world champion and world record holder.
Weight training is also one of the best ways to build self-confidence. A 7th grader can receive just as much satisfaction by going from 85 to 100 pounds (39 to 45 kilograms) on the bench press as a 12th grader can by going from 285 to 300 pounds (129 to 136 kilograms). Of course, strict supervision and proper technique are essential to making the BFS Readiness Program work in middle school.
Save
Learn more about Bigger Faster Stronger, Third Edition.
Master standard and sport-specific auxiliary lifts
Auxiliary lifts are special exercises that are sport specific and help prevent injuries common in a sport. Chin-ups and lat pull-downs would be sport-specific exercises for baseball players because the latissimus dorsi muscles of the upper back internally rotate the upper arms.
Auxiliary lifts are special exercises that are sport specific and help prevent injuries common in a sport. Chin-ups and lat pull-downs would be sport-specific exercises for baseball players because the latissimus dorsi muscles of the upper back internally rotate the upper arms. Incline bench presses would be sport specific to a shot putter or boxer because of similar movement patterns, and neck exercises are extremely important to prevent injuries in football and wrestling. Neck exercises, however, are not as important to basketball or baseball players.
Auxiliary exercises receive less emphasis than core lifts. They are best performed after the core lifts and are only prescribed for about two sets of 10 reps. Larger groups of athletes with limited facilities may, however, find it necessary to rotate athletes between core lifts and auxiliaries as outlined in chapter 15, Organization and Weight Room Design.
Select no more than five auxiliary exercises to perform during a single week. We've found that performing more than five exercises will cause problems because athletes will not have enough time and energy to do the necessary sprinting, endurance, flexibility, plyometric, agility, and technique work required for their sport. The ultimate objective is for athletes to reach their potential, so compromises have to be made. As such, select only those exercises that will effectively contribute to the ultimate objective.
Which auxiliary exercises are best? Our BFS clinicians rated 100 auxiliary lifts and came up with a list of preferred exercises by young athletes. From an injury prevention perspective, it would be wise to select at least one auxiliary exercise that works a body part that is commonly injured in an athlete's chosen sport. Here are a few common injury sites for several popular sports that could benefit from auxiliary exercises:
- American football: knee and hamstrings
- Badminton: shoulder, elbow, and wrist
- Baseball: shoulder and elbow
- Baseball: ankle and knee
- Cycling: knee and lower back
- Distance running: knee and ankle
- Field hockey: hamstrings and ankle
- Ice hockey: shoulder and adductor
- Soccer (football): ankle and knee
- Swimming: shoulder and neck
- Tennis: shoulder and elbow
- Track and field (sprints): hamstrings and knee
Another important factor to consider regarding sports injuries is the frequency with which the sport is played. Professional athletes and elite amateur athletes must participate in much longer and harder workouts than the average amateur athletes. It's therefore not uncommon that many elite athletes have required surgery to continue playing their sport, especially those in contact sports such as football, but no sport is safe. One survey of 1,144 golfers found that golfers who had a handicap under 10 experienced a much higher rate of injury than those with a handicap over 18. That said, a great resource that discusses injuries in 24 sports is Epidemiology of Sports Injuries by Caine, Caine, and Lindner (1996). It covers 24 sports and activities and discusses injury incidence, injury characteristics, injury severity, and injury risk factors.
We have divided these auxiliary lifts into two categories - standard and advanced.
Standard Auxiliary Lifts
Standard auxiliary exercises are relatively safe, easy to perform, and require less coaching and lifting expertise than the advanced auxiliaries. The incline press is the only auxiliary exercise in our list that requires a spotter. Of course, coaches must ensure their athletes can perform these exercises correctly and provide supervision for all workouts.
Most high school and college gyms already have all the equipment necessary to perform these exercises. One exception is the glute - ham machine or back extension bench, needed to perform back extensions and glute - ham raises. The glute - ham raise is also among the BFS advanced auxiliaries.
Table 10.1 lists all the auxiliary exercises and the sports for which they are the most appropriate. Table 10.2 shows how to organize the standard auxiliary exercises in your weekly training sessions.
Dips
A standard exercise for gymnasts, skiers, cheerleaders, and swimming, dips are an effective exercise to develop the shoulders, pectorals, and triceps (figure 10.1).
Dips are an effective exercise to develop the shoulders, pectorals, and triceps.
Start Position
Grasp the dip handles and step up so that your arms are extended and directly under your shoulders. Look straight ahead.
Action
Slowly lower yourself so that your arms extend below parallel and then return to the start; athletes with exceptional mobility and good posture can perform the exercise throughout a longer range of motion. As this exercise becomes easy, add resistance by using a dip belt.
Breathing
Inhale as you lower your body and exhale as you straighten your arms.
Save
Learn more about Bigger Faster Stronger, Third Edition.
Understand strength and conditioning technology
If you can’t measure it, you can’t manage it. If you can’t manage it, you can’t accomplish it. This is a motto BFS has employed right from the start, because we know that a key method of ensuring continual results is to have a goal every time you train.
If you can't measure it, you can't manage it. If you can't manage it, you can't accomplish it. This is a motto BFS has employed right from the start, because we know that a key method of ensuring continual results is to have a goal every time you train. The BFS program, with its traditional logbooks, is effective as is, but new developments in technology enable coaches to administer the program even more efficiently.
With ever-expanding technology, workout programs such as BFS can now be programmed into cell phones and tablets.
The BFS Set - Rep Logbook is a great workout tool that enables athletes to measure their progress accurately so they can set specific goals for their next workout. When used properly, the system is a perfect way to produce highly motivated athletes who strive for personal bests every training session. However, a manual system is time consuming, especially if a coach wants to closely monitor all his or her athletes' progress - or, for that matter, the overall progress of a team. For these reasons, coaches should consider using a computer program to make their program more efficient.
Using a program such as Excel, it's certainly possible for a coach to develop a record-keeping system for athletes. BFS took this a step further by developing a computer-aided system that not only records workouts, but automatically prescribes future workouts. The innovative software brought an additional and unexpected benefit by motivating athletes to exceedthe computer's expectations. This unique feature inspired Richard Knowley, director of computer programming at BFS, to call the program Beat the Computer.
The Beat the Computer program was a hit, freeing coaches from painstaking administrative work. Then BFS decided to take the program to the next level with individual and team reports, so that coaches and athletes could compare an athlete not only to current team members but also to the all-time leaders on the team and to BFS national standards. The result was Knowley's Athletic Achievement Software,which was eventually combined with Beat the Computer and called Beat the Computer Pro.
The first goal of this latest software was to produce individual progress reports on all the major exercises and field tests in the BFS program. Each report is divided into three categories: Ironman Ranking, Power Ranking, and Recommendations.
The Ironman data shows the athlete's performance in the core lifts, while the Power Ranking compares the field tests. The ranking, based on a score of 1 to 10, divides the results into a point value based on national standards, school grade level, and the ranking in the school. Finally, the report contains a computerized assessment area that provides recommendations based upon the athlete's results, such as paying more attention to diet or flexibility.
The next goal of the program is to show athletes how they compare to current and past members in individual results. Athletes can choose to print a report that takes any of the benchmarks from the individual reports pertaining to current team members and provides top 10 lists of all the major core lifts and field tests, or they can select a report that provides a historical perspective by producing top 10 lists of the best performances in those tests in the history of the school.
The next level of technology that has improved the administration of the BFS program and eliminated paperwork is the BFS Set - Rep Log app. Just like our BFS Set - Rep Logbooks, coaches can use this to guide their athletes through the BFS program so they know exactly which lifts to do and how many sets and reps to perform. However, unlike the BFS Beat the Computer program, the weight lifted for each set is determined by the individual athlete based on past performance, so that the athlete takes more responsibility for his or her own program. Here are several of the specific features of the app:
- Athletes can see predefined weekly schedules included with recommended lifts for all common sports.
- Athletes can enter their lifting results on their phone or tablet and immediately see how many records they've broken and their trends.
- Athletes can easily scroll back and see what they did for any lift any week in the past.
- Coaches can customize weekly schedules using any lift on any day and add any lifts.
- Coaches can see all teams and athletes at a glance, including scores, records broken, and conditioning trends for any one athlete or any team.
There is no restriction on the number of coaches who can supervise athletes. The only difference between versions is the number of athletes you can enroll in the program, although the upgraded version enables you to add more athletes. The program requires a connection to the Internet and an e-mail address for each administrator, coach, and athlete (e-mail addresses can be any valid e-mail address from your school, Gmail, Yahoo, your Internet provider, etc.). The program runs in any standard web browser on computers (PC and Mac), tablets, or smartphones. Additionally, you can access the program and your data from anywhere you have access to the Internet.
With the numerous responsibilities involved in coaching and the ever-increasing size of weight training classes, BFS wanted to find more efficient ways to motivate athletes, monitor their progress, and reduce paperwork without sacrificing quality coaching. Using computer-aided software such as Beat the Computer and the BFS Set - Rep Log app fulfills this goal.
Save
Save
Save
Learn more about Bigger Faster Stronger, Third Edition.
Who should use the Bigger Faster Stronger readiness program?
Although many athletes will be ready to jump right into the BFS set - rep system, others are more suited to starting with the BFS Readiness Program. Here are some examples.
Although many athletes will be ready to jump right into the BFS set - rep system, others are more suited to starting with the BFS Readiness Program. Here are some examples.
Middle School Male and Female Athletes
Most athletes or physical education students in the seventh grade should begin with the BFS Readiness Program. Some orthopedic doctors believe that adolescents of this age are too young to start any kind of weight training, but the research proves otherwise, and we believe that the benefits outweigh the potential risks.
The BFS Readiness Program is designed for beginners with an emphasis on teaching optimal technique first over lifting heavy weights.
Without weight training, few young people can reach their athletic potential. One of the major concerns about weight training for young athletes is that it could damage the epiphyseal (growth) plates. Although injury to the epiphyseal plates may cause bone deformity, the risk that this will occur with weight training is no greater than it is with most sports. As for the belief that weight training will stunt growth, premature closing of the epiphyseal plates is related primarily to hormonal influences, not injury. The late Mel Siff, an exercise scientist whose doctoral thesis examined the biomechanics of soft tissues, addressed this subject.
"It has never been shown scientifically or clinically that the periodic imposition of large forces by weight training on the growing body causes damage to the epiphyseal plates," Siff says in his book Facts and Fallacies of Fitness (1998). "It is extremely misleading to focus on the alleged risks of weight training on children when biomechanical research shows that simple daily activities such as running, jumping, striking, or catching can impose far greater forces on the musculoskeletal system than very heavy weight training."
Siff also notes that bone density scans have proven that young people who do competitive weightlifting (i.e., the snatch and the clean and jerk) have higher bone densities than children who do not use weights, and clinical research has not shown any correlation between weight training and epiphyseal damage. Siff's comments are supported by an extensive Russian study on young athletes, published in a book titled School of Height, which concluded that heavy lifting tends to stimulate bone growth in young athletes rather than inhibit it.
Research shows that young athletes who compete in weightlifting have higher bone densities than children who do not use weights.
Risk of injury is another area of concern for coaches and parents. Many studies have measured the rate of injuries associated with weight training compared with the injury rate in other sports. For example, a study published in 2001 in the Journal of the American Academy of Orthopaedic Surgeons cited research showing that in children aged 5 to 14 years, the number of injuries from bicycling was almost 400 percent greater than the number of injuries from weightlifting.
In a review paper on resistance training for prepubescent and adolescents published in 2002 in Strength and Conditioning Coach, author Mark Shillington reported that only 0.7 percent (or 1,576) of sport-related injuries in school-aged children were caused by resistance training, compared with 19 percent caused by football and 15 percent caused by baseball. Dr. Mel Hayashi, a noted orthopedic surgeon, states, "The BFS Readiness Program should provide great benefits to the junior high athlete. I have no concerns as long as the athlete has good technique." Dr. Hayashi has been a chief orthopedic surgeon at the Olympic Games and is a former chief resident at the Mayo Clinic.
The truth is that weight training and competitive lifting are among the safest activities an athlete can participate in. For example, renowned Russian sport scientist Vladimir Zatsiorsky, in his textbook Science and Practice of Strength Training (1995), had this to say about the dangers of weight training: "The risk of injury from a well-coached strength training program has been estimated to be about one per 10,000 athlete-exposures," with an athlete-exposure being defined as one athlete taking part in one training session or competition. "Compared to tackle football, alpine skiing, baseball pitching, and even sprint running, strength training is almost free of risk." The National Strength and Conditioning Association (NSCA) is considered the governing body of the strength coaching profession, and in 1985 published a position paper and extensive literature review on strength training for young athletes. This paper was updated in 1996, and in another update published in 2009, the authors said that "… research increasingly indicates that resistance training can offer unique benefits for children and adolescents when appropriately prescribed and supervised" (Faigenbaum, Kraemer, Blimkie, Jeffreys, Micheli, Nitka, and Rowland, p. 1).
The success and popularity of BFS clinics are proof of the merits of early weight training. As young athletes strive to achieve the highest levels in competitive sport, they must participate in serious training at a younger age than the champions of the past did. This commitment is the price of success. Athletes are starting competitive sports at a younger age, including contact sports such as football, and as such they are subjecting their bodies to higher levels of stress than ever before. If young bodies are to handle the stress of this training, weight training is essential.
Instruction for weightlifting can begin with PVC pipes so that athletes can learn how to perform lifts properly.
Many strength coaches at major universities throughout the United States have been asked when athletes should start weight training. The vast majority responded, "In junior high." In addition, the countries of the former Eastern Bloc often start weight training at age 12.
In the sport of weightlifting, the most successful coach in the sport is Bulgaria's Ivan Abadjiev. Speaking at a seminar in Rhode Island in 2011, Coach Abadjiev was asked at what point young athletes could begin lifting maximal weights. His response was at eight years of age! Although BFS does not endorse this recommendation, it does suggest that there is definitely a paradigm shift in this area. In fact, in the 2014 US Senior National Weightlifting Championships, then - 13-year-old Clarence Cummings clean and jerked a senior American record of 337 pounds (153 kilos) at a bodyweight of 136 pounds (62 kilos), and the following year he broke the youth record in the 152-pound (69-kilo) class with a lift of 385 pounds (175 kilos)! He is now a junior world champion and world record holder.
Weight training is also one of the best ways to build self-confidence. A 7th grader can receive just as much satisfaction by going from 85 to 100 pounds (39 to 45 kilograms) on the bench press as a 12th grader can by going from 285 to 300 pounds (129 to 136 kilograms). Of course, strict supervision and proper technique are essential to making the BFS Readiness Program work in middle school.
Save
Learn more about Bigger Faster Stronger, Third Edition.
Master standard and sport-specific auxiliary lifts
Auxiliary lifts are special exercises that are sport specific and help prevent injuries common in a sport. Chin-ups and lat pull-downs would be sport-specific exercises for baseball players because the latissimus dorsi muscles of the upper back internally rotate the upper arms.
Auxiliary lifts are special exercises that are sport specific and help prevent injuries common in a sport. Chin-ups and lat pull-downs would be sport-specific exercises for baseball players because the latissimus dorsi muscles of the upper back internally rotate the upper arms. Incline bench presses would be sport specific to a shot putter or boxer because of similar movement patterns, and neck exercises are extremely important to prevent injuries in football and wrestling. Neck exercises, however, are not as important to basketball or baseball players.
Auxiliary exercises receive less emphasis than core lifts. They are best performed after the core lifts and are only prescribed for about two sets of 10 reps. Larger groups of athletes with limited facilities may, however, find it necessary to rotate athletes between core lifts and auxiliaries as outlined in chapter 15, Organization and Weight Room Design.
Select no more than five auxiliary exercises to perform during a single week. We've found that performing more than five exercises will cause problems because athletes will not have enough time and energy to do the necessary sprinting, endurance, flexibility, plyometric, agility, and technique work required for their sport. The ultimate objective is for athletes to reach their potential, so compromises have to be made. As such, select only those exercises that will effectively contribute to the ultimate objective.
Which auxiliary exercises are best? Our BFS clinicians rated 100 auxiliary lifts and came up with a list of preferred exercises by young athletes. From an injury prevention perspective, it would be wise to select at least one auxiliary exercise that works a body part that is commonly injured in an athlete's chosen sport. Here are a few common injury sites for several popular sports that could benefit from auxiliary exercises:
- American football: knee and hamstrings
- Badminton: shoulder, elbow, and wrist
- Baseball: shoulder and elbow
- Baseball: ankle and knee
- Cycling: knee and lower back
- Distance running: knee and ankle
- Field hockey: hamstrings and ankle
- Ice hockey: shoulder and adductor
- Soccer (football): ankle and knee
- Swimming: shoulder and neck
- Tennis: shoulder and elbow
- Track and field (sprints): hamstrings and knee
Another important factor to consider regarding sports injuries is the frequency with which the sport is played. Professional athletes and elite amateur athletes must participate in much longer and harder workouts than the average amateur athletes. It's therefore not uncommon that many elite athletes have required surgery to continue playing their sport, especially those in contact sports such as football, but no sport is safe. One survey of 1,144 golfers found that golfers who had a handicap under 10 experienced a much higher rate of injury than those with a handicap over 18. That said, a great resource that discusses injuries in 24 sports is Epidemiology of Sports Injuries by Caine, Caine, and Lindner (1996). It covers 24 sports and activities and discusses injury incidence, injury characteristics, injury severity, and injury risk factors.
We have divided these auxiliary lifts into two categories - standard and advanced.
Standard Auxiliary Lifts
Standard auxiliary exercises are relatively safe, easy to perform, and require less coaching and lifting expertise than the advanced auxiliaries. The incline press is the only auxiliary exercise in our list that requires a spotter. Of course, coaches must ensure their athletes can perform these exercises correctly and provide supervision for all workouts.
Most high school and college gyms already have all the equipment necessary to perform these exercises. One exception is the glute - ham machine or back extension bench, needed to perform back extensions and glute - ham raises. The glute - ham raise is also among the BFS advanced auxiliaries.
Table 10.1 lists all the auxiliary exercises and the sports for which they are the most appropriate. Table 10.2 shows how to organize the standard auxiliary exercises in your weekly training sessions.
Dips
A standard exercise for gymnasts, skiers, cheerleaders, and swimming, dips are an effective exercise to develop the shoulders, pectorals, and triceps (figure 10.1).
Dips are an effective exercise to develop the shoulders, pectorals, and triceps.
Start Position
Grasp the dip handles and step up so that your arms are extended and directly under your shoulders. Look straight ahead.
Action
Slowly lower yourself so that your arms extend below parallel and then return to the start; athletes with exceptional mobility and good posture can perform the exercise throughout a longer range of motion. As this exercise becomes easy, add resistance by using a dip belt.
Breathing
Inhale as you lower your body and exhale as you straighten your arms.
Save
Learn more about Bigger Faster Stronger, Third Edition.
Understand strength and conditioning technology
If you can’t measure it, you can’t manage it. If you can’t manage it, you can’t accomplish it. This is a motto BFS has employed right from the start, because we know that a key method of ensuring continual results is to have a goal every time you train.
If you can't measure it, you can't manage it. If you can't manage it, you can't accomplish it. This is a motto BFS has employed right from the start, because we know that a key method of ensuring continual results is to have a goal every time you train. The BFS program, with its traditional logbooks, is effective as is, but new developments in technology enable coaches to administer the program even more efficiently.
With ever-expanding technology, workout programs such as BFS can now be programmed into cell phones and tablets.
The BFS Set - Rep Logbook is a great workout tool that enables athletes to measure their progress accurately so they can set specific goals for their next workout. When used properly, the system is a perfect way to produce highly motivated athletes who strive for personal bests every training session. However, a manual system is time consuming, especially if a coach wants to closely monitor all his or her athletes' progress - or, for that matter, the overall progress of a team. For these reasons, coaches should consider using a computer program to make their program more efficient.
Using a program such as Excel, it's certainly possible for a coach to develop a record-keeping system for athletes. BFS took this a step further by developing a computer-aided system that not only records workouts, but automatically prescribes future workouts. The innovative software brought an additional and unexpected benefit by motivating athletes to exceedthe computer's expectations. This unique feature inspired Richard Knowley, director of computer programming at BFS, to call the program Beat the Computer.
The Beat the Computer program was a hit, freeing coaches from painstaking administrative work. Then BFS decided to take the program to the next level with individual and team reports, so that coaches and athletes could compare an athlete not only to current team members but also to the all-time leaders on the team and to BFS national standards. The result was Knowley's Athletic Achievement Software,which was eventually combined with Beat the Computer and called Beat the Computer Pro.
The first goal of this latest software was to produce individual progress reports on all the major exercises and field tests in the BFS program. Each report is divided into three categories: Ironman Ranking, Power Ranking, and Recommendations.
The Ironman data shows the athlete's performance in the core lifts, while the Power Ranking compares the field tests. The ranking, based on a score of 1 to 10, divides the results into a point value based on national standards, school grade level, and the ranking in the school. Finally, the report contains a computerized assessment area that provides recommendations based upon the athlete's results, such as paying more attention to diet or flexibility.
The next goal of the program is to show athletes how they compare to current and past members in individual results. Athletes can choose to print a report that takes any of the benchmarks from the individual reports pertaining to current team members and provides top 10 lists of all the major core lifts and field tests, or they can select a report that provides a historical perspective by producing top 10 lists of the best performances in those tests in the history of the school.
The next level of technology that has improved the administration of the BFS program and eliminated paperwork is the BFS Set - Rep Log app. Just like our BFS Set - Rep Logbooks, coaches can use this to guide their athletes through the BFS program so they know exactly which lifts to do and how many sets and reps to perform. However, unlike the BFS Beat the Computer program, the weight lifted for each set is determined by the individual athlete based on past performance, so that the athlete takes more responsibility for his or her own program. Here are several of the specific features of the app:
- Athletes can see predefined weekly schedules included with recommended lifts for all common sports.
- Athletes can enter their lifting results on their phone or tablet and immediately see how many records they've broken and their trends.
- Athletes can easily scroll back and see what they did for any lift any week in the past.
- Coaches can customize weekly schedules using any lift on any day and add any lifts.
- Coaches can see all teams and athletes at a glance, including scores, records broken, and conditioning trends for any one athlete or any team.
There is no restriction on the number of coaches who can supervise athletes. The only difference between versions is the number of athletes you can enroll in the program, although the upgraded version enables you to add more athletes. The program requires a connection to the Internet and an e-mail address for each administrator, coach, and athlete (e-mail addresses can be any valid e-mail address from your school, Gmail, Yahoo, your Internet provider, etc.). The program runs in any standard web browser on computers (PC and Mac), tablets, or smartphones. Additionally, you can access the program and your data from anywhere you have access to the Internet.
With the numerous responsibilities involved in coaching and the ever-increasing size of weight training classes, BFS wanted to find more efficient ways to motivate athletes, monitor their progress, and reduce paperwork without sacrificing quality coaching. Using computer-aided software such as Beat the Computer and the BFS Set - Rep Log app fulfills this goal.
Save
Save
Save
Learn more about Bigger Faster Stronger, Third Edition.
Who should use the Bigger Faster Stronger readiness program?
Although many athletes will be ready to jump right into the BFS set - rep system, others are more suited to starting with the BFS Readiness Program. Here are some examples.
Although many athletes will be ready to jump right into the BFS set - rep system, others are more suited to starting with the BFS Readiness Program. Here are some examples.
Middle School Male and Female Athletes
Most athletes or physical education students in the seventh grade should begin with the BFS Readiness Program. Some orthopedic doctors believe that adolescents of this age are too young to start any kind of weight training, but the research proves otherwise, and we believe that the benefits outweigh the potential risks.
The BFS Readiness Program is designed for beginners with an emphasis on teaching optimal technique first over lifting heavy weights.
Without weight training, few young people can reach their athletic potential. One of the major concerns about weight training for young athletes is that it could damage the epiphyseal (growth) plates. Although injury to the epiphyseal plates may cause bone deformity, the risk that this will occur with weight training is no greater than it is with most sports. As for the belief that weight training will stunt growth, premature closing of the epiphyseal plates is related primarily to hormonal influences, not injury. The late Mel Siff, an exercise scientist whose doctoral thesis examined the biomechanics of soft tissues, addressed this subject.
"It has never been shown scientifically or clinically that the periodic imposition of large forces by weight training on the growing body causes damage to the epiphyseal plates," Siff says in his book Facts and Fallacies of Fitness (1998). "It is extremely misleading to focus on the alleged risks of weight training on children when biomechanical research shows that simple daily activities such as running, jumping, striking, or catching can impose far greater forces on the musculoskeletal system than very heavy weight training."
Siff also notes that bone density scans have proven that young people who do competitive weightlifting (i.e., the snatch and the clean and jerk) have higher bone densities than children who do not use weights, and clinical research has not shown any correlation between weight training and epiphyseal damage. Siff's comments are supported by an extensive Russian study on young athletes, published in a book titled School of Height, which concluded that heavy lifting tends to stimulate bone growth in young athletes rather than inhibit it.
Research shows that young athletes who compete in weightlifting have higher bone densities than children who do not use weights.
Risk of injury is another area of concern for coaches and parents. Many studies have measured the rate of injuries associated with weight training compared with the injury rate in other sports. For example, a study published in 2001 in the Journal of the American Academy of Orthopaedic Surgeons cited research showing that in children aged 5 to 14 years, the number of injuries from bicycling was almost 400 percent greater than the number of injuries from weightlifting.
In a review paper on resistance training for prepubescent and adolescents published in 2002 in Strength and Conditioning Coach, author Mark Shillington reported that only 0.7 percent (or 1,576) of sport-related injuries in school-aged children were caused by resistance training, compared with 19 percent caused by football and 15 percent caused by baseball. Dr. Mel Hayashi, a noted orthopedic surgeon, states, "The BFS Readiness Program should provide great benefits to the junior high athlete. I have no concerns as long as the athlete has good technique." Dr. Hayashi has been a chief orthopedic surgeon at the Olympic Games and is a former chief resident at the Mayo Clinic.
The truth is that weight training and competitive lifting are among the safest activities an athlete can participate in. For example, renowned Russian sport scientist Vladimir Zatsiorsky, in his textbook Science and Practice of Strength Training (1995), had this to say about the dangers of weight training: "The risk of injury from a well-coached strength training program has been estimated to be about one per 10,000 athlete-exposures," with an athlete-exposure being defined as one athlete taking part in one training session or competition. "Compared to tackle football, alpine skiing, baseball pitching, and even sprint running, strength training is almost free of risk." The National Strength and Conditioning Association (NSCA) is considered the governing body of the strength coaching profession, and in 1985 published a position paper and extensive literature review on strength training for young athletes. This paper was updated in 1996, and in another update published in 2009, the authors said that "… research increasingly indicates that resistance training can offer unique benefits for children and adolescents when appropriately prescribed and supervised" (Faigenbaum, Kraemer, Blimkie, Jeffreys, Micheli, Nitka, and Rowland, p. 1).
The success and popularity of BFS clinics are proof of the merits of early weight training. As young athletes strive to achieve the highest levels in competitive sport, they must participate in serious training at a younger age than the champions of the past did. This commitment is the price of success. Athletes are starting competitive sports at a younger age, including contact sports such as football, and as such they are subjecting their bodies to higher levels of stress than ever before. If young bodies are to handle the stress of this training, weight training is essential.
Instruction for weightlifting can begin with PVC pipes so that athletes can learn how to perform lifts properly.
Many strength coaches at major universities throughout the United States have been asked when athletes should start weight training. The vast majority responded, "In junior high." In addition, the countries of the former Eastern Bloc often start weight training at age 12.
In the sport of weightlifting, the most successful coach in the sport is Bulgaria's Ivan Abadjiev. Speaking at a seminar in Rhode Island in 2011, Coach Abadjiev was asked at what point young athletes could begin lifting maximal weights. His response was at eight years of age! Although BFS does not endorse this recommendation, it does suggest that there is definitely a paradigm shift in this area. In fact, in the 2014 US Senior National Weightlifting Championships, then - 13-year-old Clarence Cummings clean and jerked a senior American record of 337 pounds (153 kilos) at a bodyweight of 136 pounds (62 kilos), and the following year he broke the youth record in the 152-pound (69-kilo) class with a lift of 385 pounds (175 kilos)! He is now a junior world champion and world record holder.
Weight training is also one of the best ways to build self-confidence. A 7th grader can receive just as much satisfaction by going from 85 to 100 pounds (39 to 45 kilograms) on the bench press as a 12th grader can by going from 285 to 300 pounds (129 to 136 kilograms). Of course, strict supervision and proper technique are essential to making the BFS Readiness Program work in middle school.
Save
Learn more about Bigger Faster Stronger, Third Edition.
Master standard and sport-specific auxiliary lifts
Auxiliary lifts are special exercises that are sport specific and help prevent injuries common in a sport. Chin-ups and lat pull-downs would be sport-specific exercises for baseball players because the latissimus dorsi muscles of the upper back internally rotate the upper arms.
Auxiliary lifts are special exercises that are sport specific and help prevent injuries common in a sport. Chin-ups and lat pull-downs would be sport-specific exercises for baseball players because the latissimus dorsi muscles of the upper back internally rotate the upper arms. Incline bench presses would be sport specific to a shot putter or boxer because of similar movement patterns, and neck exercises are extremely important to prevent injuries in football and wrestling. Neck exercises, however, are not as important to basketball or baseball players.
Auxiliary exercises receive less emphasis than core lifts. They are best performed after the core lifts and are only prescribed for about two sets of 10 reps. Larger groups of athletes with limited facilities may, however, find it necessary to rotate athletes between core lifts and auxiliaries as outlined in chapter 15, Organization and Weight Room Design.
Select no more than five auxiliary exercises to perform during a single week. We've found that performing more than five exercises will cause problems because athletes will not have enough time and energy to do the necessary sprinting, endurance, flexibility, plyometric, agility, and technique work required for their sport. The ultimate objective is for athletes to reach their potential, so compromises have to be made. As such, select only those exercises that will effectively contribute to the ultimate objective.
Which auxiliary exercises are best? Our BFS clinicians rated 100 auxiliary lifts and came up with a list of preferred exercises by young athletes. From an injury prevention perspective, it would be wise to select at least one auxiliary exercise that works a body part that is commonly injured in an athlete's chosen sport. Here are a few common injury sites for several popular sports that could benefit from auxiliary exercises:
- American football: knee and hamstrings
- Badminton: shoulder, elbow, and wrist
- Baseball: shoulder and elbow
- Baseball: ankle and knee
- Cycling: knee and lower back
- Distance running: knee and ankle
- Field hockey: hamstrings and ankle
- Ice hockey: shoulder and adductor
- Soccer (football): ankle and knee
- Swimming: shoulder and neck
- Tennis: shoulder and elbow
- Track and field (sprints): hamstrings and knee
Another important factor to consider regarding sports injuries is the frequency with which the sport is played. Professional athletes and elite amateur athletes must participate in much longer and harder workouts than the average amateur athletes. It's therefore not uncommon that many elite athletes have required surgery to continue playing their sport, especially those in contact sports such as football, but no sport is safe. One survey of 1,144 golfers found that golfers who had a handicap under 10 experienced a much higher rate of injury than those with a handicap over 18. That said, a great resource that discusses injuries in 24 sports is Epidemiology of Sports Injuries by Caine, Caine, and Lindner (1996). It covers 24 sports and activities and discusses injury incidence, injury characteristics, injury severity, and injury risk factors.
We have divided these auxiliary lifts into two categories - standard and advanced.
Standard Auxiliary Lifts
Standard auxiliary exercises are relatively safe, easy to perform, and require less coaching and lifting expertise than the advanced auxiliaries. The incline press is the only auxiliary exercise in our list that requires a spotter. Of course, coaches must ensure their athletes can perform these exercises correctly and provide supervision for all workouts.
Most high school and college gyms already have all the equipment necessary to perform these exercises. One exception is the glute - ham machine or back extension bench, needed to perform back extensions and glute - ham raises. The glute - ham raise is also among the BFS advanced auxiliaries.
Table 10.1 lists all the auxiliary exercises and the sports for which they are the most appropriate. Table 10.2 shows how to organize the standard auxiliary exercises in your weekly training sessions.
Dips
A standard exercise for gymnasts, skiers, cheerleaders, and swimming, dips are an effective exercise to develop the shoulders, pectorals, and triceps (figure 10.1).
Dips are an effective exercise to develop the shoulders, pectorals, and triceps.
Start Position
Grasp the dip handles and step up so that your arms are extended and directly under your shoulders. Look straight ahead.
Action
Slowly lower yourself so that your arms extend below parallel and then return to the start; athletes with exceptional mobility and good posture can perform the exercise throughout a longer range of motion. As this exercise becomes easy, add resistance by using a dip belt.
Breathing
Inhale as you lower your body and exhale as you straighten your arms.
Save
Learn more about Bigger Faster Stronger, Third Edition.
Understand strength and conditioning technology
If you can’t measure it, you can’t manage it. If you can’t manage it, you can’t accomplish it. This is a motto BFS has employed right from the start, because we know that a key method of ensuring continual results is to have a goal every time you train.
If you can't measure it, you can't manage it. If you can't manage it, you can't accomplish it. This is a motto BFS has employed right from the start, because we know that a key method of ensuring continual results is to have a goal every time you train. The BFS program, with its traditional logbooks, is effective as is, but new developments in technology enable coaches to administer the program even more efficiently.
With ever-expanding technology, workout programs such as BFS can now be programmed into cell phones and tablets.
The BFS Set - Rep Logbook is a great workout tool that enables athletes to measure their progress accurately so they can set specific goals for their next workout. When used properly, the system is a perfect way to produce highly motivated athletes who strive for personal bests every training session. However, a manual system is time consuming, especially if a coach wants to closely monitor all his or her athletes' progress - or, for that matter, the overall progress of a team. For these reasons, coaches should consider using a computer program to make their program more efficient.
Using a program such as Excel, it's certainly possible for a coach to develop a record-keeping system for athletes. BFS took this a step further by developing a computer-aided system that not only records workouts, but automatically prescribes future workouts. The innovative software brought an additional and unexpected benefit by motivating athletes to exceedthe computer's expectations. This unique feature inspired Richard Knowley, director of computer programming at BFS, to call the program Beat the Computer.
The Beat the Computer program was a hit, freeing coaches from painstaking administrative work. Then BFS decided to take the program to the next level with individual and team reports, so that coaches and athletes could compare an athlete not only to current team members but also to the all-time leaders on the team and to BFS national standards. The result was Knowley's Athletic Achievement Software,which was eventually combined with Beat the Computer and called Beat the Computer Pro.
The first goal of this latest software was to produce individual progress reports on all the major exercises and field tests in the BFS program. Each report is divided into three categories: Ironman Ranking, Power Ranking, and Recommendations.
The Ironman data shows the athlete's performance in the core lifts, while the Power Ranking compares the field tests. The ranking, based on a score of 1 to 10, divides the results into a point value based on national standards, school grade level, and the ranking in the school. Finally, the report contains a computerized assessment area that provides recommendations based upon the athlete's results, such as paying more attention to diet or flexibility.
The next goal of the program is to show athletes how they compare to current and past members in individual results. Athletes can choose to print a report that takes any of the benchmarks from the individual reports pertaining to current team members and provides top 10 lists of all the major core lifts and field tests, or they can select a report that provides a historical perspective by producing top 10 lists of the best performances in those tests in the history of the school.
The next level of technology that has improved the administration of the BFS program and eliminated paperwork is the BFS Set - Rep Log app. Just like our BFS Set - Rep Logbooks, coaches can use this to guide their athletes through the BFS program so they know exactly which lifts to do and how many sets and reps to perform. However, unlike the BFS Beat the Computer program, the weight lifted for each set is determined by the individual athlete based on past performance, so that the athlete takes more responsibility for his or her own program. Here are several of the specific features of the app:
- Athletes can see predefined weekly schedules included with recommended lifts for all common sports.
- Athletes can enter their lifting results on their phone or tablet and immediately see how many records they've broken and their trends.
- Athletes can easily scroll back and see what they did for any lift any week in the past.
- Coaches can customize weekly schedules using any lift on any day and add any lifts.
- Coaches can see all teams and athletes at a glance, including scores, records broken, and conditioning trends for any one athlete or any team.
There is no restriction on the number of coaches who can supervise athletes. The only difference between versions is the number of athletes you can enroll in the program, although the upgraded version enables you to add more athletes. The program requires a connection to the Internet and an e-mail address for each administrator, coach, and athlete (e-mail addresses can be any valid e-mail address from your school, Gmail, Yahoo, your Internet provider, etc.). The program runs in any standard web browser on computers (PC and Mac), tablets, or smartphones. Additionally, you can access the program and your data from anywhere you have access to the Internet.
With the numerous responsibilities involved in coaching and the ever-increasing size of weight training classes, BFS wanted to find more efficient ways to motivate athletes, monitor their progress, and reduce paperwork without sacrificing quality coaching. Using computer-aided software such as Beat the Computer and the BFS Set - Rep Log app fulfills this goal.
Save
Save
Save
Learn more about Bigger Faster Stronger, Third Edition.
Who should use the Bigger Faster Stronger readiness program?
Although many athletes will be ready to jump right into the BFS set - rep system, others are more suited to starting with the BFS Readiness Program. Here are some examples.
Although many athletes will be ready to jump right into the BFS set - rep system, others are more suited to starting with the BFS Readiness Program. Here are some examples.
Middle School Male and Female Athletes
Most athletes or physical education students in the seventh grade should begin with the BFS Readiness Program. Some orthopedic doctors believe that adolescents of this age are too young to start any kind of weight training, but the research proves otherwise, and we believe that the benefits outweigh the potential risks.
The BFS Readiness Program is designed for beginners with an emphasis on teaching optimal technique first over lifting heavy weights.
Without weight training, few young people can reach their athletic potential. One of the major concerns about weight training for young athletes is that it could damage the epiphyseal (growth) plates. Although injury to the epiphyseal plates may cause bone deformity, the risk that this will occur with weight training is no greater than it is with most sports. As for the belief that weight training will stunt growth, premature closing of the epiphyseal plates is related primarily to hormonal influences, not injury. The late Mel Siff, an exercise scientist whose doctoral thesis examined the biomechanics of soft tissues, addressed this subject.
"It has never been shown scientifically or clinically that the periodic imposition of large forces by weight training on the growing body causes damage to the epiphyseal plates," Siff says in his book Facts and Fallacies of Fitness (1998). "It is extremely misleading to focus on the alleged risks of weight training on children when biomechanical research shows that simple daily activities such as running, jumping, striking, or catching can impose far greater forces on the musculoskeletal system than very heavy weight training."
Siff also notes that bone density scans have proven that young people who do competitive weightlifting (i.e., the snatch and the clean and jerk) have higher bone densities than children who do not use weights, and clinical research has not shown any correlation between weight training and epiphyseal damage. Siff's comments are supported by an extensive Russian study on young athletes, published in a book titled School of Height, which concluded that heavy lifting tends to stimulate bone growth in young athletes rather than inhibit it.
Research shows that young athletes who compete in weightlifting have higher bone densities than children who do not use weights.
Risk of injury is another area of concern for coaches and parents. Many studies have measured the rate of injuries associated with weight training compared with the injury rate in other sports. For example, a study published in 2001 in the Journal of the American Academy of Orthopaedic Surgeons cited research showing that in children aged 5 to 14 years, the number of injuries from bicycling was almost 400 percent greater than the number of injuries from weightlifting.
In a review paper on resistance training for prepubescent and adolescents published in 2002 in Strength and Conditioning Coach, author Mark Shillington reported that only 0.7 percent (or 1,576) of sport-related injuries in school-aged children were caused by resistance training, compared with 19 percent caused by football and 15 percent caused by baseball. Dr. Mel Hayashi, a noted orthopedic surgeon, states, "The BFS Readiness Program should provide great benefits to the junior high athlete. I have no concerns as long as the athlete has good technique." Dr. Hayashi has been a chief orthopedic surgeon at the Olympic Games and is a former chief resident at the Mayo Clinic.
The truth is that weight training and competitive lifting are among the safest activities an athlete can participate in. For example, renowned Russian sport scientist Vladimir Zatsiorsky, in his textbook Science and Practice of Strength Training (1995), had this to say about the dangers of weight training: "The risk of injury from a well-coached strength training program has been estimated to be about one per 10,000 athlete-exposures," with an athlete-exposure being defined as one athlete taking part in one training session or competition. "Compared to tackle football, alpine skiing, baseball pitching, and even sprint running, strength training is almost free of risk." The National Strength and Conditioning Association (NSCA) is considered the governing body of the strength coaching profession, and in 1985 published a position paper and extensive literature review on strength training for young athletes. This paper was updated in 1996, and in another update published in 2009, the authors said that "… research increasingly indicates that resistance training can offer unique benefits for children and adolescents when appropriately prescribed and supervised" (Faigenbaum, Kraemer, Blimkie, Jeffreys, Micheli, Nitka, and Rowland, p. 1).
The success and popularity of BFS clinics are proof of the merits of early weight training. As young athletes strive to achieve the highest levels in competitive sport, they must participate in serious training at a younger age than the champions of the past did. This commitment is the price of success. Athletes are starting competitive sports at a younger age, including contact sports such as football, and as such they are subjecting their bodies to higher levels of stress than ever before. If young bodies are to handle the stress of this training, weight training is essential.
Instruction for weightlifting can begin with PVC pipes so that athletes can learn how to perform lifts properly.
Many strength coaches at major universities throughout the United States have been asked when athletes should start weight training. The vast majority responded, "In junior high." In addition, the countries of the former Eastern Bloc often start weight training at age 12.
In the sport of weightlifting, the most successful coach in the sport is Bulgaria's Ivan Abadjiev. Speaking at a seminar in Rhode Island in 2011, Coach Abadjiev was asked at what point young athletes could begin lifting maximal weights. His response was at eight years of age! Although BFS does not endorse this recommendation, it does suggest that there is definitely a paradigm shift in this area. In fact, in the 2014 US Senior National Weightlifting Championships, then - 13-year-old Clarence Cummings clean and jerked a senior American record of 337 pounds (153 kilos) at a bodyweight of 136 pounds (62 kilos), and the following year he broke the youth record in the 152-pound (69-kilo) class with a lift of 385 pounds (175 kilos)! He is now a junior world champion and world record holder.
Weight training is also one of the best ways to build self-confidence. A 7th grader can receive just as much satisfaction by going from 85 to 100 pounds (39 to 45 kilograms) on the bench press as a 12th grader can by going from 285 to 300 pounds (129 to 136 kilograms). Of course, strict supervision and proper technique are essential to making the BFS Readiness Program work in middle school.
Save
Learn more about Bigger Faster Stronger, Third Edition.
Master standard and sport-specific auxiliary lifts
Auxiliary lifts are special exercises that are sport specific and help prevent injuries common in a sport. Chin-ups and lat pull-downs would be sport-specific exercises for baseball players because the latissimus dorsi muscles of the upper back internally rotate the upper arms.
Auxiliary lifts are special exercises that are sport specific and help prevent injuries common in a sport. Chin-ups and lat pull-downs would be sport-specific exercises for baseball players because the latissimus dorsi muscles of the upper back internally rotate the upper arms. Incline bench presses would be sport specific to a shot putter or boxer because of similar movement patterns, and neck exercises are extremely important to prevent injuries in football and wrestling. Neck exercises, however, are not as important to basketball or baseball players.
Auxiliary exercises receive less emphasis than core lifts. They are best performed after the core lifts and are only prescribed for about two sets of 10 reps. Larger groups of athletes with limited facilities may, however, find it necessary to rotate athletes between core lifts and auxiliaries as outlined in chapter 15, Organization and Weight Room Design.
Select no more than five auxiliary exercises to perform during a single week. We've found that performing more than five exercises will cause problems because athletes will not have enough time and energy to do the necessary sprinting, endurance, flexibility, plyometric, agility, and technique work required for their sport. The ultimate objective is for athletes to reach their potential, so compromises have to be made. As such, select only those exercises that will effectively contribute to the ultimate objective.
Which auxiliary exercises are best? Our BFS clinicians rated 100 auxiliary lifts and came up with a list of preferred exercises by young athletes. From an injury prevention perspective, it would be wise to select at least one auxiliary exercise that works a body part that is commonly injured in an athlete's chosen sport. Here are a few common injury sites for several popular sports that could benefit from auxiliary exercises:
- American football: knee and hamstrings
- Badminton: shoulder, elbow, and wrist
- Baseball: shoulder and elbow
- Baseball: ankle and knee
- Cycling: knee and lower back
- Distance running: knee and ankle
- Field hockey: hamstrings and ankle
- Ice hockey: shoulder and adductor
- Soccer (football): ankle and knee
- Swimming: shoulder and neck
- Tennis: shoulder and elbow
- Track and field (sprints): hamstrings and knee
Another important factor to consider regarding sports injuries is the frequency with which the sport is played. Professional athletes and elite amateur athletes must participate in much longer and harder workouts than the average amateur athletes. It's therefore not uncommon that many elite athletes have required surgery to continue playing their sport, especially those in contact sports such as football, but no sport is safe. One survey of 1,144 golfers found that golfers who had a handicap under 10 experienced a much higher rate of injury than those with a handicap over 18. That said, a great resource that discusses injuries in 24 sports is Epidemiology of Sports Injuries by Caine, Caine, and Lindner (1996). It covers 24 sports and activities and discusses injury incidence, injury characteristics, injury severity, and injury risk factors.
We have divided these auxiliary lifts into two categories - standard and advanced.
Standard Auxiliary Lifts
Standard auxiliary exercises are relatively safe, easy to perform, and require less coaching and lifting expertise than the advanced auxiliaries. The incline press is the only auxiliary exercise in our list that requires a spotter. Of course, coaches must ensure their athletes can perform these exercises correctly and provide supervision for all workouts.
Most high school and college gyms already have all the equipment necessary to perform these exercises. One exception is the glute - ham machine or back extension bench, needed to perform back extensions and glute - ham raises. The glute - ham raise is also among the BFS advanced auxiliaries.
Table 10.1 lists all the auxiliary exercises and the sports for which they are the most appropriate. Table 10.2 shows how to organize the standard auxiliary exercises in your weekly training sessions.
Dips
A standard exercise for gymnasts, skiers, cheerleaders, and swimming, dips are an effective exercise to develop the shoulders, pectorals, and triceps (figure 10.1).
Dips are an effective exercise to develop the shoulders, pectorals, and triceps.
Start Position
Grasp the dip handles and step up so that your arms are extended and directly under your shoulders. Look straight ahead.
Action
Slowly lower yourself so that your arms extend below parallel and then return to the start; athletes with exceptional mobility and good posture can perform the exercise throughout a longer range of motion. As this exercise becomes easy, add resistance by using a dip belt.
Breathing
Inhale as you lower your body and exhale as you straighten your arms.
Save
Learn more about Bigger Faster Stronger, Third Edition.
Understand strength and conditioning technology
If you can’t measure it, you can’t manage it. If you can’t manage it, you can’t accomplish it. This is a motto BFS has employed right from the start, because we know that a key method of ensuring continual results is to have a goal every time you train.
If you can't measure it, you can't manage it. If you can't manage it, you can't accomplish it. This is a motto BFS has employed right from the start, because we know that a key method of ensuring continual results is to have a goal every time you train. The BFS program, with its traditional logbooks, is effective as is, but new developments in technology enable coaches to administer the program even more efficiently.
With ever-expanding technology, workout programs such as BFS can now be programmed into cell phones and tablets.
The BFS Set - Rep Logbook is a great workout tool that enables athletes to measure their progress accurately so they can set specific goals for their next workout. When used properly, the system is a perfect way to produce highly motivated athletes who strive for personal bests every training session. However, a manual system is time consuming, especially if a coach wants to closely monitor all his or her athletes' progress - or, for that matter, the overall progress of a team. For these reasons, coaches should consider using a computer program to make their program more efficient.
Using a program such as Excel, it's certainly possible for a coach to develop a record-keeping system for athletes. BFS took this a step further by developing a computer-aided system that not only records workouts, but automatically prescribes future workouts. The innovative software brought an additional and unexpected benefit by motivating athletes to exceedthe computer's expectations. This unique feature inspired Richard Knowley, director of computer programming at BFS, to call the program Beat the Computer.
The Beat the Computer program was a hit, freeing coaches from painstaking administrative work. Then BFS decided to take the program to the next level with individual and team reports, so that coaches and athletes could compare an athlete not only to current team members but also to the all-time leaders on the team and to BFS national standards. The result was Knowley's Athletic Achievement Software,which was eventually combined with Beat the Computer and called Beat the Computer Pro.
The first goal of this latest software was to produce individual progress reports on all the major exercises and field tests in the BFS program. Each report is divided into three categories: Ironman Ranking, Power Ranking, and Recommendations.
The Ironman data shows the athlete's performance in the core lifts, while the Power Ranking compares the field tests. The ranking, based on a score of 1 to 10, divides the results into a point value based on national standards, school grade level, and the ranking in the school. Finally, the report contains a computerized assessment area that provides recommendations based upon the athlete's results, such as paying more attention to diet or flexibility.
The next goal of the program is to show athletes how they compare to current and past members in individual results. Athletes can choose to print a report that takes any of the benchmarks from the individual reports pertaining to current team members and provides top 10 lists of all the major core lifts and field tests, or they can select a report that provides a historical perspective by producing top 10 lists of the best performances in those tests in the history of the school.
The next level of technology that has improved the administration of the BFS program and eliminated paperwork is the BFS Set - Rep Log app. Just like our BFS Set - Rep Logbooks, coaches can use this to guide their athletes through the BFS program so they know exactly which lifts to do and how many sets and reps to perform. However, unlike the BFS Beat the Computer program, the weight lifted for each set is determined by the individual athlete based on past performance, so that the athlete takes more responsibility for his or her own program. Here are several of the specific features of the app:
- Athletes can see predefined weekly schedules included with recommended lifts for all common sports.
- Athletes can enter their lifting results on their phone or tablet and immediately see how many records they've broken and their trends.
- Athletes can easily scroll back and see what they did for any lift any week in the past.
- Coaches can customize weekly schedules using any lift on any day and add any lifts.
- Coaches can see all teams and athletes at a glance, including scores, records broken, and conditioning trends for any one athlete or any team.
There is no restriction on the number of coaches who can supervise athletes. The only difference between versions is the number of athletes you can enroll in the program, although the upgraded version enables you to add more athletes. The program requires a connection to the Internet and an e-mail address for each administrator, coach, and athlete (e-mail addresses can be any valid e-mail address from your school, Gmail, Yahoo, your Internet provider, etc.). The program runs in any standard web browser on computers (PC and Mac), tablets, or smartphones. Additionally, you can access the program and your data from anywhere you have access to the Internet.
With the numerous responsibilities involved in coaching and the ever-increasing size of weight training classes, BFS wanted to find more efficient ways to motivate athletes, monitor their progress, and reduce paperwork without sacrificing quality coaching. Using computer-aided software such as Beat the Computer and the BFS Set - Rep Log app fulfills this goal.
Save
Save
Save
Learn more about Bigger Faster Stronger, Third Edition.
Who should use the Bigger Faster Stronger readiness program?
Although many athletes will be ready to jump right into the BFS set - rep system, others are more suited to starting with the BFS Readiness Program. Here are some examples.
Although many athletes will be ready to jump right into the BFS set - rep system, others are more suited to starting with the BFS Readiness Program. Here are some examples.
Middle School Male and Female Athletes
Most athletes or physical education students in the seventh grade should begin with the BFS Readiness Program. Some orthopedic doctors believe that adolescents of this age are too young to start any kind of weight training, but the research proves otherwise, and we believe that the benefits outweigh the potential risks.
The BFS Readiness Program is designed for beginners with an emphasis on teaching optimal technique first over lifting heavy weights.
Without weight training, few young people can reach their athletic potential. One of the major concerns about weight training for young athletes is that it could damage the epiphyseal (growth) plates. Although injury to the epiphyseal plates may cause bone deformity, the risk that this will occur with weight training is no greater than it is with most sports. As for the belief that weight training will stunt growth, premature closing of the epiphyseal plates is related primarily to hormonal influences, not injury. The late Mel Siff, an exercise scientist whose doctoral thesis examined the biomechanics of soft tissues, addressed this subject.
"It has never been shown scientifically or clinically that the periodic imposition of large forces by weight training on the growing body causes damage to the epiphyseal plates," Siff says in his book Facts and Fallacies of Fitness (1998). "It is extremely misleading to focus on the alleged risks of weight training on children when biomechanical research shows that simple daily activities such as running, jumping, striking, or catching can impose far greater forces on the musculoskeletal system than very heavy weight training."
Siff also notes that bone density scans have proven that young people who do competitive weightlifting (i.e., the snatch and the clean and jerk) have higher bone densities than children who do not use weights, and clinical research has not shown any correlation between weight training and epiphyseal damage. Siff's comments are supported by an extensive Russian study on young athletes, published in a book titled School of Height, which concluded that heavy lifting tends to stimulate bone growth in young athletes rather than inhibit it.
Research shows that young athletes who compete in weightlifting have higher bone densities than children who do not use weights.
Risk of injury is another area of concern for coaches and parents. Many studies have measured the rate of injuries associated with weight training compared with the injury rate in other sports. For example, a study published in 2001 in the Journal of the American Academy of Orthopaedic Surgeons cited research showing that in children aged 5 to 14 years, the number of injuries from bicycling was almost 400 percent greater than the number of injuries from weightlifting.
In a review paper on resistance training for prepubescent and adolescents published in 2002 in Strength and Conditioning Coach, author Mark Shillington reported that only 0.7 percent (or 1,576) of sport-related injuries in school-aged children were caused by resistance training, compared with 19 percent caused by football and 15 percent caused by baseball. Dr. Mel Hayashi, a noted orthopedic surgeon, states, "The BFS Readiness Program should provide great benefits to the junior high athlete. I have no concerns as long as the athlete has good technique." Dr. Hayashi has been a chief orthopedic surgeon at the Olympic Games and is a former chief resident at the Mayo Clinic.
The truth is that weight training and competitive lifting are among the safest activities an athlete can participate in. For example, renowned Russian sport scientist Vladimir Zatsiorsky, in his textbook Science and Practice of Strength Training (1995), had this to say about the dangers of weight training: "The risk of injury from a well-coached strength training program has been estimated to be about one per 10,000 athlete-exposures," with an athlete-exposure being defined as one athlete taking part in one training session or competition. "Compared to tackle football, alpine skiing, baseball pitching, and even sprint running, strength training is almost free of risk." The National Strength and Conditioning Association (NSCA) is considered the governing body of the strength coaching profession, and in 1985 published a position paper and extensive literature review on strength training for young athletes. This paper was updated in 1996, and in another update published in 2009, the authors said that "… research increasingly indicates that resistance training can offer unique benefits for children and adolescents when appropriately prescribed and supervised" (Faigenbaum, Kraemer, Blimkie, Jeffreys, Micheli, Nitka, and Rowland, p. 1).
The success and popularity of BFS clinics are proof of the merits of early weight training. As young athletes strive to achieve the highest levels in competitive sport, they must participate in serious training at a younger age than the champions of the past did. This commitment is the price of success. Athletes are starting competitive sports at a younger age, including contact sports such as football, and as such they are subjecting their bodies to higher levels of stress than ever before. If young bodies are to handle the stress of this training, weight training is essential.
Instruction for weightlifting can begin with PVC pipes so that athletes can learn how to perform lifts properly.
Many strength coaches at major universities throughout the United States have been asked when athletes should start weight training. The vast majority responded, "In junior high." In addition, the countries of the former Eastern Bloc often start weight training at age 12.
In the sport of weightlifting, the most successful coach in the sport is Bulgaria's Ivan Abadjiev. Speaking at a seminar in Rhode Island in 2011, Coach Abadjiev was asked at what point young athletes could begin lifting maximal weights. His response was at eight years of age! Although BFS does not endorse this recommendation, it does suggest that there is definitely a paradigm shift in this area. In fact, in the 2014 US Senior National Weightlifting Championships, then - 13-year-old Clarence Cummings clean and jerked a senior American record of 337 pounds (153 kilos) at a bodyweight of 136 pounds (62 kilos), and the following year he broke the youth record in the 152-pound (69-kilo) class with a lift of 385 pounds (175 kilos)! He is now a junior world champion and world record holder.
Weight training is also one of the best ways to build self-confidence. A 7th grader can receive just as much satisfaction by going from 85 to 100 pounds (39 to 45 kilograms) on the bench press as a 12th grader can by going from 285 to 300 pounds (129 to 136 kilograms). Of course, strict supervision and proper technique are essential to making the BFS Readiness Program work in middle school.
Save
Learn more about Bigger Faster Stronger, Third Edition.
Master standard and sport-specific auxiliary lifts
Auxiliary lifts are special exercises that are sport specific and help prevent injuries common in a sport. Chin-ups and lat pull-downs would be sport-specific exercises for baseball players because the latissimus dorsi muscles of the upper back internally rotate the upper arms.
Auxiliary lifts are special exercises that are sport specific and help prevent injuries common in a sport. Chin-ups and lat pull-downs would be sport-specific exercises for baseball players because the latissimus dorsi muscles of the upper back internally rotate the upper arms. Incline bench presses would be sport specific to a shot putter or boxer because of similar movement patterns, and neck exercises are extremely important to prevent injuries in football and wrestling. Neck exercises, however, are not as important to basketball or baseball players.
Auxiliary exercises receive less emphasis than core lifts. They are best performed after the core lifts and are only prescribed for about two sets of 10 reps. Larger groups of athletes with limited facilities may, however, find it necessary to rotate athletes between core lifts and auxiliaries as outlined in chapter 15, Organization and Weight Room Design.
Select no more than five auxiliary exercises to perform during a single week. We've found that performing more than five exercises will cause problems because athletes will not have enough time and energy to do the necessary sprinting, endurance, flexibility, plyometric, agility, and technique work required for their sport. The ultimate objective is for athletes to reach their potential, so compromises have to be made. As such, select only those exercises that will effectively contribute to the ultimate objective.
Which auxiliary exercises are best? Our BFS clinicians rated 100 auxiliary lifts and came up with a list of preferred exercises by young athletes. From an injury prevention perspective, it would be wise to select at least one auxiliary exercise that works a body part that is commonly injured in an athlete's chosen sport. Here are a few common injury sites for several popular sports that could benefit from auxiliary exercises:
- American football: knee and hamstrings
- Badminton: shoulder, elbow, and wrist
- Baseball: shoulder and elbow
- Baseball: ankle and knee
- Cycling: knee and lower back
- Distance running: knee and ankle
- Field hockey: hamstrings and ankle
- Ice hockey: shoulder and adductor
- Soccer (football): ankle and knee
- Swimming: shoulder and neck
- Tennis: shoulder and elbow
- Track and field (sprints): hamstrings and knee
Another important factor to consider regarding sports injuries is the frequency with which the sport is played. Professional athletes and elite amateur athletes must participate in much longer and harder workouts than the average amateur athletes. It's therefore not uncommon that many elite athletes have required surgery to continue playing their sport, especially those in contact sports such as football, but no sport is safe. One survey of 1,144 golfers found that golfers who had a handicap under 10 experienced a much higher rate of injury than those with a handicap over 18. That said, a great resource that discusses injuries in 24 sports is Epidemiology of Sports Injuries by Caine, Caine, and Lindner (1996). It covers 24 sports and activities and discusses injury incidence, injury characteristics, injury severity, and injury risk factors.
We have divided these auxiliary lifts into two categories - standard and advanced.
Standard Auxiliary Lifts
Standard auxiliary exercises are relatively safe, easy to perform, and require less coaching and lifting expertise than the advanced auxiliaries. The incline press is the only auxiliary exercise in our list that requires a spotter. Of course, coaches must ensure their athletes can perform these exercises correctly and provide supervision for all workouts.
Most high school and college gyms already have all the equipment necessary to perform these exercises. One exception is the glute - ham machine or back extension bench, needed to perform back extensions and glute - ham raises. The glute - ham raise is also among the BFS advanced auxiliaries.
Table 10.1 lists all the auxiliary exercises and the sports for which they are the most appropriate. Table 10.2 shows how to organize the standard auxiliary exercises in your weekly training sessions.
Dips
A standard exercise for gymnasts, skiers, cheerleaders, and swimming, dips are an effective exercise to develop the shoulders, pectorals, and triceps (figure 10.1).
Dips are an effective exercise to develop the shoulders, pectorals, and triceps.
Start Position
Grasp the dip handles and step up so that your arms are extended and directly under your shoulders. Look straight ahead.
Action
Slowly lower yourself so that your arms extend below parallel and then return to the start; athletes with exceptional mobility and good posture can perform the exercise throughout a longer range of motion. As this exercise becomes easy, add resistance by using a dip belt.
Breathing
Inhale as you lower your body and exhale as you straighten your arms.
Save
Learn more about Bigger Faster Stronger, Third Edition.
Understand strength and conditioning technology
If you can’t measure it, you can’t manage it. If you can’t manage it, you can’t accomplish it. This is a motto BFS has employed right from the start, because we know that a key method of ensuring continual results is to have a goal every time you train.
If you can't measure it, you can't manage it. If you can't manage it, you can't accomplish it. This is a motto BFS has employed right from the start, because we know that a key method of ensuring continual results is to have a goal every time you train. The BFS program, with its traditional logbooks, is effective as is, but new developments in technology enable coaches to administer the program even more efficiently.
With ever-expanding technology, workout programs such as BFS can now be programmed into cell phones and tablets.
The BFS Set - Rep Logbook is a great workout tool that enables athletes to measure their progress accurately so they can set specific goals for their next workout. When used properly, the system is a perfect way to produce highly motivated athletes who strive for personal bests every training session. However, a manual system is time consuming, especially if a coach wants to closely monitor all his or her athletes' progress - or, for that matter, the overall progress of a team. For these reasons, coaches should consider using a computer program to make their program more efficient.
Using a program such as Excel, it's certainly possible for a coach to develop a record-keeping system for athletes. BFS took this a step further by developing a computer-aided system that not only records workouts, but automatically prescribes future workouts. The innovative software brought an additional and unexpected benefit by motivating athletes to exceedthe computer's expectations. This unique feature inspired Richard Knowley, director of computer programming at BFS, to call the program Beat the Computer.
The Beat the Computer program was a hit, freeing coaches from painstaking administrative work. Then BFS decided to take the program to the next level with individual and team reports, so that coaches and athletes could compare an athlete not only to current team members but also to the all-time leaders on the team and to BFS national standards. The result was Knowley's Athletic Achievement Software,which was eventually combined with Beat the Computer and called Beat the Computer Pro.
The first goal of this latest software was to produce individual progress reports on all the major exercises and field tests in the BFS program. Each report is divided into three categories: Ironman Ranking, Power Ranking, and Recommendations.
The Ironman data shows the athlete's performance in the core lifts, while the Power Ranking compares the field tests. The ranking, based on a score of 1 to 10, divides the results into a point value based on national standards, school grade level, and the ranking in the school. Finally, the report contains a computerized assessment area that provides recommendations based upon the athlete's results, such as paying more attention to diet or flexibility.
The next goal of the program is to show athletes how they compare to current and past members in individual results. Athletes can choose to print a report that takes any of the benchmarks from the individual reports pertaining to current team members and provides top 10 lists of all the major core lifts and field tests, or they can select a report that provides a historical perspective by producing top 10 lists of the best performances in those tests in the history of the school.
The next level of technology that has improved the administration of the BFS program and eliminated paperwork is the BFS Set - Rep Log app. Just like our BFS Set - Rep Logbooks, coaches can use this to guide their athletes through the BFS program so they know exactly which lifts to do and how many sets and reps to perform. However, unlike the BFS Beat the Computer program, the weight lifted for each set is determined by the individual athlete based on past performance, so that the athlete takes more responsibility for his or her own program. Here are several of the specific features of the app:
- Athletes can see predefined weekly schedules included with recommended lifts for all common sports.
- Athletes can enter their lifting results on their phone or tablet and immediately see how many records they've broken and their trends.
- Athletes can easily scroll back and see what they did for any lift any week in the past.
- Coaches can customize weekly schedules using any lift on any day and add any lifts.
- Coaches can see all teams and athletes at a glance, including scores, records broken, and conditioning trends for any one athlete or any team.
There is no restriction on the number of coaches who can supervise athletes. The only difference between versions is the number of athletes you can enroll in the program, although the upgraded version enables you to add more athletes. The program requires a connection to the Internet and an e-mail address for each administrator, coach, and athlete (e-mail addresses can be any valid e-mail address from your school, Gmail, Yahoo, your Internet provider, etc.). The program runs in any standard web browser on computers (PC and Mac), tablets, or smartphones. Additionally, you can access the program and your data from anywhere you have access to the Internet.
With the numerous responsibilities involved in coaching and the ever-increasing size of weight training classes, BFS wanted to find more efficient ways to motivate athletes, monitor their progress, and reduce paperwork without sacrificing quality coaching. Using computer-aided software such as Beat the Computer and the BFS Set - Rep Log app fulfills this goal.
Save
Save
Save
Learn more about Bigger Faster Stronger, Third Edition.
Who should use the Bigger Faster Stronger readiness program?
Although many athletes will be ready to jump right into the BFS set - rep system, others are more suited to starting with the BFS Readiness Program. Here are some examples.
Although many athletes will be ready to jump right into the BFS set - rep system, others are more suited to starting with the BFS Readiness Program. Here are some examples.
Middle School Male and Female Athletes
Most athletes or physical education students in the seventh grade should begin with the BFS Readiness Program. Some orthopedic doctors believe that adolescents of this age are too young to start any kind of weight training, but the research proves otherwise, and we believe that the benefits outweigh the potential risks.
The BFS Readiness Program is designed for beginners with an emphasis on teaching optimal technique first over lifting heavy weights.
Without weight training, few young people can reach their athletic potential. One of the major concerns about weight training for young athletes is that it could damage the epiphyseal (growth) plates. Although injury to the epiphyseal plates may cause bone deformity, the risk that this will occur with weight training is no greater than it is with most sports. As for the belief that weight training will stunt growth, premature closing of the epiphyseal plates is related primarily to hormonal influences, not injury. The late Mel Siff, an exercise scientist whose doctoral thesis examined the biomechanics of soft tissues, addressed this subject.
"It has never been shown scientifically or clinically that the periodic imposition of large forces by weight training on the growing body causes damage to the epiphyseal plates," Siff says in his book Facts and Fallacies of Fitness (1998). "It is extremely misleading to focus on the alleged risks of weight training on children when biomechanical research shows that simple daily activities such as running, jumping, striking, or catching can impose far greater forces on the musculoskeletal system than very heavy weight training."
Siff also notes that bone density scans have proven that young people who do competitive weightlifting (i.e., the snatch and the clean and jerk) have higher bone densities than children who do not use weights, and clinical research has not shown any correlation between weight training and epiphyseal damage. Siff's comments are supported by an extensive Russian study on young athletes, published in a book titled School of Height, which concluded that heavy lifting tends to stimulate bone growth in young athletes rather than inhibit it.
Research shows that young athletes who compete in weightlifting have higher bone densities than children who do not use weights.
Risk of injury is another area of concern for coaches and parents. Many studies have measured the rate of injuries associated with weight training compared with the injury rate in other sports. For example, a study published in 2001 in the Journal of the American Academy of Orthopaedic Surgeons cited research showing that in children aged 5 to 14 years, the number of injuries from bicycling was almost 400 percent greater than the number of injuries from weightlifting.
In a review paper on resistance training for prepubescent and adolescents published in 2002 in Strength and Conditioning Coach, author Mark Shillington reported that only 0.7 percent (or 1,576) of sport-related injuries in school-aged children were caused by resistance training, compared with 19 percent caused by football and 15 percent caused by baseball. Dr. Mel Hayashi, a noted orthopedic surgeon, states, "The BFS Readiness Program should provide great benefits to the junior high athlete. I have no concerns as long as the athlete has good technique." Dr. Hayashi has been a chief orthopedic surgeon at the Olympic Games and is a former chief resident at the Mayo Clinic.
The truth is that weight training and competitive lifting are among the safest activities an athlete can participate in. For example, renowned Russian sport scientist Vladimir Zatsiorsky, in his textbook Science and Practice of Strength Training (1995), had this to say about the dangers of weight training: "The risk of injury from a well-coached strength training program has been estimated to be about one per 10,000 athlete-exposures," with an athlete-exposure being defined as one athlete taking part in one training session or competition. "Compared to tackle football, alpine skiing, baseball pitching, and even sprint running, strength training is almost free of risk." The National Strength and Conditioning Association (NSCA) is considered the governing body of the strength coaching profession, and in 1985 published a position paper and extensive literature review on strength training for young athletes. This paper was updated in 1996, and in another update published in 2009, the authors said that "… research increasingly indicates that resistance training can offer unique benefits for children and adolescents when appropriately prescribed and supervised" (Faigenbaum, Kraemer, Blimkie, Jeffreys, Micheli, Nitka, and Rowland, p. 1).
The success and popularity of BFS clinics are proof of the merits of early weight training. As young athletes strive to achieve the highest levels in competitive sport, they must participate in serious training at a younger age than the champions of the past did. This commitment is the price of success. Athletes are starting competitive sports at a younger age, including contact sports such as football, and as such they are subjecting their bodies to higher levels of stress than ever before. If young bodies are to handle the stress of this training, weight training is essential.
Instruction for weightlifting can begin with PVC pipes so that athletes can learn how to perform lifts properly.
Many strength coaches at major universities throughout the United States have been asked when athletes should start weight training. The vast majority responded, "In junior high." In addition, the countries of the former Eastern Bloc often start weight training at age 12.
In the sport of weightlifting, the most successful coach in the sport is Bulgaria's Ivan Abadjiev. Speaking at a seminar in Rhode Island in 2011, Coach Abadjiev was asked at what point young athletes could begin lifting maximal weights. His response was at eight years of age! Although BFS does not endorse this recommendation, it does suggest that there is definitely a paradigm shift in this area. In fact, in the 2014 US Senior National Weightlifting Championships, then - 13-year-old Clarence Cummings clean and jerked a senior American record of 337 pounds (153 kilos) at a bodyweight of 136 pounds (62 kilos), and the following year he broke the youth record in the 152-pound (69-kilo) class with a lift of 385 pounds (175 kilos)! He is now a junior world champion and world record holder.
Weight training is also one of the best ways to build self-confidence. A 7th grader can receive just as much satisfaction by going from 85 to 100 pounds (39 to 45 kilograms) on the bench press as a 12th grader can by going from 285 to 300 pounds (129 to 136 kilograms). Of course, strict supervision and proper technique are essential to making the BFS Readiness Program work in middle school.
Save
Learn more about Bigger Faster Stronger, Third Edition.
Master standard and sport-specific auxiliary lifts
Auxiliary lifts are special exercises that are sport specific and help prevent injuries common in a sport. Chin-ups and lat pull-downs would be sport-specific exercises for baseball players because the latissimus dorsi muscles of the upper back internally rotate the upper arms.
Auxiliary lifts are special exercises that are sport specific and help prevent injuries common in a sport. Chin-ups and lat pull-downs would be sport-specific exercises for baseball players because the latissimus dorsi muscles of the upper back internally rotate the upper arms. Incline bench presses would be sport specific to a shot putter or boxer because of similar movement patterns, and neck exercises are extremely important to prevent injuries in football and wrestling. Neck exercises, however, are not as important to basketball or baseball players.
Auxiliary exercises receive less emphasis than core lifts. They are best performed after the core lifts and are only prescribed for about two sets of 10 reps. Larger groups of athletes with limited facilities may, however, find it necessary to rotate athletes between core lifts and auxiliaries as outlined in chapter 15, Organization and Weight Room Design.
Select no more than five auxiliary exercises to perform during a single week. We've found that performing more than five exercises will cause problems because athletes will not have enough time and energy to do the necessary sprinting, endurance, flexibility, plyometric, agility, and technique work required for their sport. The ultimate objective is for athletes to reach their potential, so compromises have to be made. As such, select only those exercises that will effectively contribute to the ultimate objective.
Which auxiliary exercises are best? Our BFS clinicians rated 100 auxiliary lifts and came up with a list of preferred exercises by young athletes. From an injury prevention perspective, it would be wise to select at least one auxiliary exercise that works a body part that is commonly injured in an athlete's chosen sport. Here are a few common injury sites for several popular sports that could benefit from auxiliary exercises:
- American football: knee and hamstrings
- Badminton: shoulder, elbow, and wrist
- Baseball: shoulder and elbow
- Baseball: ankle and knee
- Cycling: knee and lower back
- Distance running: knee and ankle
- Field hockey: hamstrings and ankle
- Ice hockey: shoulder and adductor
- Soccer (football): ankle and knee
- Swimming: shoulder and neck
- Tennis: shoulder and elbow
- Track and field (sprints): hamstrings and knee
Another important factor to consider regarding sports injuries is the frequency with which the sport is played. Professional athletes and elite amateur athletes must participate in much longer and harder workouts than the average amateur athletes. It's therefore not uncommon that many elite athletes have required surgery to continue playing their sport, especially those in contact sports such as football, but no sport is safe. One survey of 1,144 golfers found that golfers who had a handicap under 10 experienced a much higher rate of injury than those with a handicap over 18. That said, a great resource that discusses injuries in 24 sports is Epidemiology of Sports Injuries by Caine, Caine, and Lindner (1996). It covers 24 sports and activities and discusses injury incidence, injury characteristics, injury severity, and injury risk factors.
We have divided these auxiliary lifts into two categories - standard and advanced.
Standard Auxiliary Lifts
Standard auxiliary exercises are relatively safe, easy to perform, and require less coaching and lifting expertise than the advanced auxiliaries. The incline press is the only auxiliary exercise in our list that requires a spotter. Of course, coaches must ensure their athletes can perform these exercises correctly and provide supervision for all workouts.
Most high school and college gyms already have all the equipment necessary to perform these exercises. One exception is the glute - ham machine or back extension bench, needed to perform back extensions and glute - ham raises. The glute - ham raise is also among the BFS advanced auxiliaries.
Table 10.1 lists all the auxiliary exercises and the sports for which they are the most appropriate. Table 10.2 shows how to organize the standard auxiliary exercises in your weekly training sessions.
Dips
A standard exercise for gymnasts, skiers, cheerleaders, and swimming, dips are an effective exercise to develop the shoulders, pectorals, and triceps (figure 10.1).
Dips are an effective exercise to develop the shoulders, pectorals, and triceps.
Start Position
Grasp the dip handles and step up so that your arms are extended and directly under your shoulders. Look straight ahead.
Action
Slowly lower yourself so that your arms extend below parallel and then return to the start; athletes with exceptional mobility and good posture can perform the exercise throughout a longer range of motion. As this exercise becomes easy, add resistance by using a dip belt.
Breathing
Inhale as you lower your body and exhale as you straighten your arms.
Save
Learn more about Bigger Faster Stronger, Third Edition.
Understand strength and conditioning technology
If you can’t measure it, you can’t manage it. If you can’t manage it, you can’t accomplish it. This is a motto BFS has employed right from the start, because we know that a key method of ensuring continual results is to have a goal every time you train.
If you can't measure it, you can't manage it. If you can't manage it, you can't accomplish it. This is a motto BFS has employed right from the start, because we know that a key method of ensuring continual results is to have a goal every time you train. The BFS program, with its traditional logbooks, is effective as is, but new developments in technology enable coaches to administer the program even more efficiently.
With ever-expanding technology, workout programs such as BFS can now be programmed into cell phones and tablets.
The BFS Set - Rep Logbook is a great workout tool that enables athletes to measure their progress accurately so they can set specific goals for their next workout. When used properly, the system is a perfect way to produce highly motivated athletes who strive for personal bests every training session. However, a manual system is time consuming, especially if a coach wants to closely monitor all his or her athletes' progress - or, for that matter, the overall progress of a team. For these reasons, coaches should consider using a computer program to make their program more efficient.
Using a program such as Excel, it's certainly possible for a coach to develop a record-keeping system for athletes. BFS took this a step further by developing a computer-aided system that not only records workouts, but automatically prescribes future workouts. The innovative software brought an additional and unexpected benefit by motivating athletes to exceedthe computer's expectations. This unique feature inspired Richard Knowley, director of computer programming at BFS, to call the program Beat the Computer.
The Beat the Computer program was a hit, freeing coaches from painstaking administrative work. Then BFS decided to take the program to the next level with individual and team reports, so that coaches and athletes could compare an athlete not only to current team members but also to the all-time leaders on the team and to BFS national standards. The result was Knowley's Athletic Achievement Software,which was eventually combined with Beat the Computer and called Beat the Computer Pro.
The first goal of this latest software was to produce individual progress reports on all the major exercises and field tests in the BFS program. Each report is divided into three categories: Ironman Ranking, Power Ranking, and Recommendations.
The Ironman data shows the athlete's performance in the core lifts, while the Power Ranking compares the field tests. The ranking, based on a score of 1 to 10, divides the results into a point value based on national standards, school grade level, and the ranking in the school. Finally, the report contains a computerized assessment area that provides recommendations based upon the athlete's results, such as paying more attention to diet or flexibility.
The next goal of the program is to show athletes how they compare to current and past members in individual results. Athletes can choose to print a report that takes any of the benchmarks from the individual reports pertaining to current team members and provides top 10 lists of all the major core lifts and field tests, or they can select a report that provides a historical perspective by producing top 10 lists of the best performances in those tests in the history of the school.
The next level of technology that has improved the administration of the BFS program and eliminated paperwork is the BFS Set - Rep Log app. Just like our BFS Set - Rep Logbooks, coaches can use this to guide their athletes through the BFS program so they know exactly which lifts to do and how many sets and reps to perform. However, unlike the BFS Beat the Computer program, the weight lifted for each set is determined by the individual athlete based on past performance, so that the athlete takes more responsibility for his or her own program. Here are several of the specific features of the app:
- Athletes can see predefined weekly schedules included with recommended lifts for all common sports.
- Athletes can enter their lifting results on their phone or tablet and immediately see how many records they've broken and their trends.
- Athletes can easily scroll back and see what they did for any lift any week in the past.
- Coaches can customize weekly schedules using any lift on any day and add any lifts.
- Coaches can see all teams and athletes at a glance, including scores, records broken, and conditioning trends for any one athlete or any team.
There is no restriction on the number of coaches who can supervise athletes. The only difference between versions is the number of athletes you can enroll in the program, although the upgraded version enables you to add more athletes. The program requires a connection to the Internet and an e-mail address for each administrator, coach, and athlete (e-mail addresses can be any valid e-mail address from your school, Gmail, Yahoo, your Internet provider, etc.). The program runs in any standard web browser on computers (PC and Mac), tablets, or smartphones. Additionally, you can access the program and your data from anywhere you have access to the Internet.
With the numerous responsibilities involved in coaching and the ever-increasing size of weight training classes, BFS wanted to find more efficient ways to motivate athletes, monitor their progress, and reduce paperwork without sacrificing quality coaching. Using computer-aided software such as Beat the Computer and the BFS Set - Rep Log app fulfills this goal.
Save
Save
Save
Learn more about Bigger Faster Stronger, Third Edition.
Who should use the Bigger Faster Stronger readiness program?
Although many athletes will be ready to jump right into the BFS set - rep system, others are more suited to starting with the BFS Readiness Program. Here are some examples.
Although many athletes will be ready to jump right into the BFS set - rep system, others are more suited to starting with the BFS Readiness Program. Here are some examples.
Middle School Male and Female Athletes
Most athletes or physical education students in the seventh grade should begin with the BFS Readiness Program. Some orthopedic doctors believe that adolescents of this age are too young to start any kind of weight training, but the research proves otherwise, and we believe that the benefits outweigh the potential risks.
The BFS Readiness Program is designed for beginners with an emphasis on teaching optimal technique first over lifting heavy weights.
Without weight training, few young people can reach their athletic potential. One of the major concerns about weight training for young athletes is that it could damage the epiphyseal (growth) plates. Although injury to the epiphyseal plates may cause bone deformity, the risk that this will occur with weight training is no greater than it is with most sports. As for the belief that weight training will stunt growth, premature closing of the epiphyseal plates is related primarily to hormonal influences, not injury. The late Mel Siff, an exercise scientist whose doctoral thesis examined the biomechanics of soft tissues, addressed this subject.
"It has never been shown scientifically or clinically that the periodic imposition of large forces by weight training on the growing body causes damage to the epiphyseal plates," Siff says in his book Facts and Fallacies of Fitness (1998). "It is extremely misleading to focus on the alleged risks of weight training on children when biomechanical research shows that simple daily activities such as running, jumping, striking, or catching can impose far greater forces on the musculoskeletal system than very heavy weight training."
Siff also notes that bone density scans have proven that young people who do competitive weightlifting (i.e., the snatch and the clean and jerk) have higher bone densities than children who do not use weights, and clinical research has not shown any correlation between weight training and epiphyseal damage. Siff's comments are supported by an extensive Russian study on young athletes, published in a book titled School of Height, which concluded that heavy lifting tends to stimulate bone growth in young athletes rather than inhibit it.
Research shows that young athletes who compete in weightlifting have higher bone densities than children who do not use weights.
Risk of injury is another area of concern for coaches and parents. Many studies have measured the rate of injuries associated with weight training compared with the injury rate in other sports. For example, a study published in 2001 in the Journal of the American Academy of Orthopaedic Surgeons cited research showing that in children aged 5 to 14 years, the number of injuries from bicycling was almost 400 percent greater than the number of injuries from weightlifting.
In a review paper on resistance training for prepubescent and adolescents published in 2002 in Strength and Conditioning Coach, author Mark Shillington reported that only 0.7 percent (or 1,576) of sport-related injuries in school-aged children were caused by resistance training, compared with 19 percent caused by football and 15 percent caused by baseball. Dr. Mel Hayashi, a noted orthopedic surgeon, states, "The BFS Readiness Program should provide great benefits to the junior high athlete. I have no concerns as long as the athlete has good technique." Dr. Hayashi has been a chief orthopedic surgeon at the Olympic Games and is a former chief resident at the Mayo Clinic.
The truth is that weight training and competitive lifting are among the safest activities an athlete can participate in. For example, renowned Russian sport scientist Vladimir Zatsiorsky, in his textbook Science and Practice of Strength Training (1995), had this to say about the dangers of weight training: "The risk of injury from a well-coached strength training program has been estimated to be about one per 10,000 athlete-exposures," with an athlete-exposure being defined as one athlete taking part in one training session or competition. "Compared to tackle football, alpine skiing, baseball pitching, and even sprint running, strength training is almost free of risk." The National Strength and Conditioning Association (NSCA) is considered the governing body of the strength coaching profession, and in 1985 published a position paper and extensive literature review on strength training for young athletes. This paper was updated in 1996, and in another update published in 2009, the authors said that "… research increasingly indicates that resistance training can offer unique benefits for children and adolescents when appropriately prescribed and supervised" (Faigenbaum, Kraemer, Blimkie, Jeffreys, Micheli, Nitka, and Rowland, p. 1).
The success and popularity of BFS clinics are proof of the merits of early weight training. As young athletes strive to achieve the highest levels in competitive sport, they must participate in serious training at a younger age than the champions of the past did. This commitment is the price of success. Athletes are starting competitive sports at a younger age, including contact sports such as football, and as such they are subjecting their bodies to higher levels of stress than ever before. If young bodies are to handle the stress of this training, weight training is essential.
Instruction for weightlifting can begin with PVC pipes so that athletes can learn how to perform lifts properly.
Many strength coaches at major universities throughout the United States have been asked when athletes should start weight training. The vast majority responded, "In junior high." In addition, the countries of the former Eastern Bloc often start weight training at age 12.
In the sport of weightlifting, the most successful coach in the sport is Bulgaria's Ivan Abadjiev. Speaking at a seminar in Rhode Island in 2011, Coach Abadjiev was asked at what point young athletes could begin lifting maximal weights. His response was at eight years of age! Although BFS does not endorse this recommendation, it does suggest that there is definitely a paradigm shift in this area. In fact, in the 2014 US Senior National Weightlifting Championships, then - 13-year-old Clarence Cummings clean and jerked a senior American record of 337 pounds (153 kilos) at a bodyweight of 136 pounds (62 kilos), and the following year he broke the youth record in the 152-pound (69-kilo) class with a lift of 385 pounds (175 kilos)! He is now a junior world champion and world record holder.
Weight training is also one of the best ways to build self-confidence. A 7th grader can receive just as much satisfaction by going from 85 to 100 pounds (39 to 45 kilograms) on the bench press as a 12th grader can by going from 285 to 300 pounds (129 to 136 kilograms). Of course, strict supervision and proper technique are essential to making the BFS Readiness Program work in middle school.
Save
Learn more about Bigger Faster Stronger, Third Edition.
Master standard and sport-specific auxiliary lifts
Auxiliary lifts are special exercises that are sport specific and help prevent injuries common in a sport. Chin-ups and lat pull-downs would be sport-specific exercises for baseball players because the latissimus dorsi muscles of the upper back internally rotate the upper arms.
Auxiliary lifts are special exercises that are sport specific and help prevent injuries common in a sport. Chin-ups and lat pull-downs would be sport-specific exercises for baseball players because the latissimus dorsi muscles of the upper back internally rotate the upper arms. Incline bench presses would be sport specific to a shot putter or boxer because of similar movement patterns, and neck exercises are extremely important to prevent injuries in football and wrestling. Neck exercises, however, are not as important to basketball or baseball players.
Auxiliary exercises receive less emphasis than core lifts. They are best performed after the core lifts and are only prescribed for about two sets of 10 reps. Larger groups of athletes with limited facilities may, however, find it necessary to rotate athletes between core lifts and auxiliaries as outlined in chapter 15, Organization and Weight Room Design.
Select no more than five auxiliary exercises to perform during a single week. We've found that performing more than five exercises will cause problems because athletes will not have enough time and energy to do the necessary sprinting, endurance, flexibility, plyometric, agility, and technique work required for their sport. The ultimate objective is for athletes to reach their potential, so compromises have to be made. As such, select only those exercises that will effectively contribute to the ultimate objective.
Which auxiliary exercises are best? Our BFS clinicians rated 100 auxiliary lifts and came up with a list of preferred exercises by young athletes. From an injury prevention perspective, it would be wise to select at least one auxiliary exercise that works a body part that is commonly injured in an athlete's chosen sport. Here are a few common injury sites for several popular sports that could benefit from auxiliary exercises:
- American football: knee and hamstrings
- Badminton: shoulder, elbow, and wrist
- Baseball: shoulder and elbow
- Baseball: ankle and knee
- Cycling: knee and lower back
- Distance running: knee and ankle
- Field hockey: hamstrings and ankle
- Ice hockey: shoulder and adductor
- Soccer (football): ankle and knee
- Swimming: shoulder and neck
- Tennis: shoulder and elbow
- Track and field (sprints): hamstrings and knee
Another important factor to consider regarding sports injuries is the frequency with which the sport is played. Professional athletes and elite amateur athletes must participate in much longer and harder workouts than the average amateur athletes. It's therefore not uncommon that many elite athletes have required surgery to continue playing their sport, especially those in contact sports such as football, but no sport is safe. One survey of 1,144 golfers found that golfers who had a handicap under 10 experienced a much higher rate of injury than those with a handicap over 18. That said, a great resource that discusses injuries in 24 sports is Epidemiology of Sports Injuries by Caine, Caine, and Lindner (1996). It covers 24 sports and activities and discusses injury incidence, injury characteristics, injury severity, and injury risk factors.
We have divided these auxiliary lifts into two categories - standard and advanced.
Standard Auxiliary Lifts
Standard auxiliary exercises are relatively safe, easy to perform, and require less coaching and lifting expertise than the advanced auxiliaries. The incline press is the only auxiliary exercise in our list that requires a spotter. Of course, coaches must ensure their athletes can perform these exercises correctly and provide supervision for all workouts.
Most high school and college gyms already have all the equipment necessary to perform these exercises. One exception is the glute - ham machine or back extension bench, needed to perform back extensions and glute - ham raises. The glute - ham raise is also among the BFS advanced auxiliaries.
Table 10.1 lists all the auxiliary exercises and the sports for which they are the most appropriate. Table 10.2 shows how to organize the standard auxiliary exercises in your weekly training sessions.
Dips
A standard exercise for gymnasts, skiers, cheerleaders, and swimming, dips are an effective exercise to develop the shoulders, pectorals, and triceps (figure 10.1).
Dips are an effective exercise to develop the shoulders, pectorals, and triceps.
Start Position
Grasp the dip handles and step up so that your arms are extended and directly under your shoulders. Look straight ahead.
Action
Slowly lower yourself so that your arms extend below parallel and then return to the start; athletes with exceptional mobility and good posture can perform the exercise throughout a longer range of motion. As this exercise becomes easy, add resistance by using a dip belt.
Breathing
Inhale as you lower your body and exhale as you straighten your arms.
Save
Learn more about Bigger Faster Stronger, Third Edition.
Understand strength and conditioning technology
If you can’t measure it, you can’t manage it. If you can’t manage it, you can’t accomplish it. This is a motto BFS has employed right from the start, because we know that a key method of ensuring continual results is to have a goal every time you train.
If you can't measure it, you can't manage it. If you can't manage it, you can't accomplish it. This is a motto BFS has employed right from the start, because we know that a key method of ensuring continual results is to have a goal every time you train. The BFS program, with its traditional logbooks, is effective as is, but new developments in technology enable coaches to administer the program even more efficiently.
With ever-expanding technology, workout programs such as BFS can now be programmed into cell phones and tablets.
The BFS Set - Rep Logbook is a great workout tool that enables athletes to measure their progress accurately so they can set specific goals for their next workout. When used properly, the system is a perfect way to produce highly motivated athletes who strive for personal bests every training session. However, a manual system is time consuming, especially if a coach wants to closely monitor all his or her athletes' progress - or, for that matter, the overall progress of a team. For these reasons, coaches should consider using a computer program to make their program more efficient.
Using a program such as Excel, it's certainly possible for a coach to develop a record-keeping system for athletes. BFS took this a step further by developing a computer-aided system that not only records workouts, but automatically prescribes future workouts. The innovative software brought an additional and unexpected benefit by motivating athletes to exceedthe computer's expectations. This unique feature inspired Richard Knowley, director of computer programming at BFS, to call the program Beat the Computer.
The Beat the Computer program was a hit, freeing coaches from painstaking administrative work. Then BFS decided to take the program to the next level with individual and team reports, so that coaches and athletes could compare an athlete not only to current team members but also to the all-time leaders on the team and to BFS national standards. The result was Knowley's Athletic Achievement Software,which was eventually combined with Beat the Computer and called Beat the Computer Pro.
The first goal of this latest software was to produce individual progress reports on all the major exercises and field tests in the BFS program. Each report is divided into three categories: Ironman Ranking, Power Ranking, and Recommendations.
The Ironman data shows the athlete's performance in the core lifts, while the Power Ranking compares the field tests. The ranking, based on a score of 1 to 10, divides the results into a point value based on national standards, school grade level, and the ranking in the school. Finally, the report contains a computerized assessment area that provides recommendations based upon the athlete's results, such as paying more attention to diet or flexibility.
The next goal of the program is to show athletes how they compare to current and past members in individual results. Athletes can choose to print a report that takes any of the benchmarks from the individual reports pertaining to current team members and provides top 10 lists of all the major core lifts and field tests, or they can select a report that provides a historical perspective by producing top 10 lists of the best performances in those tests in the history of the school.
The next level of technology that has improved the administration of the BFS program and eliminated paperwork is the BFS Set - Rep Log app. Just like our BFS Set - Rep Logbooks, coaches can use this to guide their athletes through the BFS program so they know exactly which lifts to do and how many sets and reps to perform. However, unlike the BFS Beat the Computer program, the weight lifted for each set is determined by the individual athlete based on past performance, so that the athlete takes more responsibility for his or her own program. Here are several of the specific features of the app:
- Athletes can see predefined weekly schedules included with recommended lifts for all common sports.
- Athletes can enter their lifting results on their phone or tablet and immediately see how many records they've broken and their trends.
- Athletes can easily scroll back and see what they did for any lift any week in the past.
- Coaches can customize weekly schedules using any lift on any day and add any lifts.
- Coaches can see all teams and athletes at a glance, including scores, records broken, and conditioning trends for any one athlete or any team.
There is no restriction on the number of coaches who can supervise athletes. The only difference between versions is the number of athletes you can enroll in the program, although the upgraded version enables you to add more athletes. The program requires a connection to the Internet and an e-mail address for each administrator, coach, and athlete (e-mail addresses can be any valid e-mail address from your school, Gmail, Yahoo, your Internet provider, etc.). The program runs in any standard web browser on computers (PC and Mac), tablets, or smartphones. Additionally, you can access the program and your data from anywhere you have access to the Internet.
With the numerous responsibilities involved in coaching and the ever-increasing size of weight training classes, BFS wanted to find more efficient ways to motivate athletes, monitor their progress, and reduce paperwork without sacrificing quality coaching. Using computer-aided software such as Beat the Computer and the BFS Set - Rep Log app fulfills this goal.
Save
Save
Save
Learn more about Bigger Faster Stronger, Third Edition.
Who should use the Bigger Faster Stronger readiness program?
Although many athletes will be ready to jump right into the BFS set - rep system, others are more suited to starting with the BFS Readiness Program. Here are some examples.
Although many athletes will be ready to jump right into the BFS set - rep system, others are more suited to starting with the BFS Readiness Program. Here are some examples.
Middle School Male and Female Athletes
Most athletes or physical education students in the seventh grade should begin with the BFS Readiness Program. Some orthopedic doctors believe that adolescents of this age are too young to start any kind of weight training, but the research proves otherwise, and we believe that the benefits outweigh the potential risks.
The BFS Readiness Program is designed for beginners with an emphasis on teaching optimal technique first over lifting heavy weights.
Without weight training, few young people can reach their athletic potential. One of the major concerns about weight training for young athletes is that it could damage the epiphyseal (growth) plates. Although injury to the epiphyseal plates may cause bone deformity, the risk that this will occur with weight training is no greater than it is with most sports. As for the belief that weight training will stunt growth, premature closing of the epiphyseal plates is related primarily to hormonal influences, not injury. The late Mel Siff, an exercise scientist whose doctoral thesis examined the biomechanics of soft tissues, addressed this subject.
"It has never been shown scientifically or clinically that the periodic imposition of large forces by weight training on the growing body causes damage to the epiphyseal plates," Siff says in his book Facts and Fallacies of Fitness (1998). "It is extremely misleading to focus on the alleged risks of weight training on children when biomechanical research shows that simple daily activities such as running, jumping, striking, or catching can impose far greater forces on the musculoskeletal system than very heavy weight training."
Siff also notes that bone density scans have proven that young people who do competitive weightlifting (i.e., the snatch and the clean and jerk) have higher bone densities than children who do not use weights, and clinical research has not shown any correlation between weight training and epiphyseal damage. Siff's comments are supported by an extensive Russian study on young athletes, published in a book titled School of Height, which concluded that heavy lifting tends to stimulate bone growth in young athletes rather than inhibit it.
Research shows that young athletes who compete in weightlifting have higher bone densities than children who do not use weights.
Risk of injury is another area of concern for coaches and parents. Many studies have measured the rate of injuries associated with weight training compared with the injury rate in other sports. For example, a study published in 2001 in the Journal of the American Academy of Orthopaedic Surgeons cited research showing that in children aged 5 to 14 years, the number of injuries from bicycling was almost 400 percent greater than the number of injuries from weightlifting.
In a review paper on resistance training for prepubescent and adolescents published in 2002 in Strength and Conditioning Coach, author Mark Shillington reported that only 0.7 percent (or 1,576) of sport-related injuries in school-aged children were caused by resistance training, compared with 19 percent caused by football and 15 percent caused by baseball. Dr. Mel Hayashi, a noted orthopedic surgeon, states, "The BFS Readiness Program should provide great benefits to the junior high athlete. I have no concerns as long as the athlete has good technique." Dr. Hayashi has been a chief orthopedic surgeon at the Olympic Games and is a former chief resident at the Mayo Clinic.
The truth is that weight training and competitive lifting are among the safest activities an athlete can participate in. For example, renowned Russian sport scientist Vladimir Zatsiorsky, in his textbook Science and Practice of Strength Training (1995), had this to say about the dangers of weight training: "The risk of injury from a well-coached strength training program has been estimated to be about one per 10,000 athlete-exposures," with an athlete-exposure being defined as one athlete taking part in one training session or competition. "Compared to tackle football, alpine skiing, baseball pitching, and even sprint running, strength training is almost free of risk." The National Strength and Conditioning Association (NSCA) is considered the governing body of the strength coaching profession, and in 1985 published a position paper and extensive literature review on strength training for young athletes. This paper was updated in 1996, and in another update published in 2009, the authors said that "… research increasingly indicates that resistance training can offer unique benefits for children and adolescents when appropriately prescribed and supervised" (Faigenbaum, Kraemer, Blimkie, Jeffreys, Micheli, Nitka, and Rowland, p. 1).
The success and popularity of BFS clinics are proof of the merits of early weight training. As young athletes strive to achieve the highest levels in competitive sport, they must participate in serious training at a younger age than the champions of the past did. This commitment is the price of success. Athletes are starting competitive sports at a younger age, including contact sports such as football, and as such they are subjecting their bodies to higher levels of stress than ever before. If young bodies are to handle the stress of this training, weight training is essential.
Instruction for weightlifting can begin with PVC pipes so that athletes can learn how to perform lifts properly.
Many strength coaches at major universities throughout the United States have been asked when athletes should start weight training. The vast majority responded, "In junior high." In addition, the countries of the former Eastern Bloc often start weight training at age 12.
In the sport of weightlifting, the most successful coach in the sport is Bulgaria's Ivan Abadjiev. Speaking at a seminar in Rhode Island in 2011, Coach Abadjiev was asked at what point young athletes could begin lifting maximal weights. His response was at eight years of age! Although BFS does not endorse this recommendation, it does suggest that there is definitely a paradigm shift in this area. In fact, in the 2014 US Senior National Weightlifting Championships, then - 13-year-old Clarence Cummings clean and jerked a senior American record of 337 pounds (153 kilos) at a bodyweight of 136 pounds (62 kilos), and the following year he broke the youth record in the 152-pound (69-kilo) class with a lift of 385 pounds (175 kilos)! He is now a junior world champion and world record holder.
Weight training is also one of the best ways to build self-confidence. A 7th grader can receive just as much satisfaction by going from 85 to 100 pounds (39 to 45 kilograms) on the bench press as a 12th grader can by going from 285 to 300 pounds (129 to 136 kilograms). Of course, strict supervision and proper technique are essential to making the BFS Readiness Program work in middle school.
Save
Learn more about Bigger Faster Stronger, Third Edition.
Master standard and sport-specific auxiliary lifts
Auxiliary lifts are special exercises that are sport specific and help prevent injuries common in a sport. Chin-ups and lat pull-downs would be sport-specific exercises for baseball players because the latissimus dorsi muscles of the upper back internally rotate the upper arms.
Auxiliary lifts are special exercises that are sport specific and help prevent injuries common in a sport. Chin-ups and lat pull-downs would be sport-specific exercises for baseball players because the latissimus dorsi muscles of the upper back internally rotate the upper arms. Incline bench presses would be sport specific to a shot putter or boxer because of similar movement patterns, and neck exercises are extremely important to prevent injuries in football and wrestling. Neck exercises, however, are not as important to basketball or baseball players.
Auxiliary exercises receive less emphasis than core lifts. They are best performed after the core lifts and are only prescribed for about two sets of 10 reps. Larger groups of athletes with limited facilities may, however, find it necessary to rotate athletes between core lifts and auxiliaries as outlined in chapter 15, Organization and Weight Room Design.
Select no more than five auxiliary exercises to perform during a single week. We've found that performing more than five exercises will cause problems because athletes will not have enough time and energy to do the necessary sprinting, endurance, flexibility, plyometric, agility, and technique work required for their sport. The ultimate objective is for athletes to reach their potential, so compromises have to be made. As such, select only those exercises that will effectively contribute to the ultimate objective.
Which auxiliary exercises are best? Our BFS clinicians rated 100 auxiliary lifts and came up with a list of preferred exercises by young athletes. From an injury prevention perspective, it would be wise to select at least one auxiliary exercise that works a body part that is commonly injured in an athlete's chosen sport. Here are a few common injury sites for several popular sports that could benefit from auxiliary exercises:
- American football: knee and hamstrings
- Badminton: shoulder, elbow, and wrist
- Baseball: shoulder and elbow
- Baseball: ankle and knee
- Cycling: knee and lower back
- Distance running: knee and ankle
- Field hockey: hamstrings and ankle
- Ice hockey: shoulder and adductor
- Soccer (football): ankle and knee
- Swimming: shoulder and neck
- Tennis: shoulder and elbow
- Track and field (sprints): hamstrings and knee
Another important factor to consider regarding sports injuries is the frequency with which the sport is played. Professional athletes and elite amateur athletes must participate in much longer and harder workouts than the average amateur athletes. It's therefore not uncommon that many elite athletes have required surgery to continue playing their sport, especially those in contact sports such as football, but no sport is safe. One survey of 1,144 golfers found that golfers who had a handicap under 10 experienced a much higher rate of injury than those with a handicap over 18. That said, a great resource that discusses injuries in 24 sports is Epidemiology of Sports Injuries by Caine, Caine, and Lindner (1996). It covers 24 sports and activities and discusses injury incidence, injury characteristics, injury severity, and injury risk factors.
We have divided these auxiliary lifts into two categories - standard and advanced.
Standard Auxiliary Lifts
Standard auxiliary exercises are relatively safe, easy to perform, and require less coaching and lifting expertise than the advanced auxiliaries. The incline press is the only auxiliary exercise in our list that requires a spotter. Of course, coaches must ensure their athletes can perform these exercises correctly and provide supervision for all workouts.
Most high school and college gyms already have all the equipment necessary to perform these exercises. One exception is the glute - ham machine or back extension bench, needed to perform back extensions and glute - ham raises. The glute - ham raise is also among the BFS advanced auxiliaries.
Table 10.1 lists all the auxiliary exercises and the sports for which they are the most appropriate. Table 10.2 shows how to organize the standard auxiliary exercises in your weekly training sessions.
Dips
A standard exercise for gymnasts, skiers, cheerleaders, and swimming, dips are an effective exercise to develop the shoulders, pectorals, and triceps (figure 10.1).
Dips are an effective exercise to develop the shoulders, pectorals, and triceps.
Start Position
Grasp the dip handles and step up so that your arms are extended and directly under your shoulders. Look straight ahead.
Action
Slowly lower yourself so that your arms extend below parallel and then return to the start; athletes with exceptional mobility and good posture can perform the exercise throughout a longer range of motion. As this exercise becomes easy, add resistance by using a dip belt.
Breathing
Inhale as you lower your body and exhale as you straighten your arms.
Save
Learn more about Bigger Faster Stronger, Third Edition.
Understand strength and conditioning technology
If you can’t measure it, you can’t manage it. If you can’t manage it, you can’t accomplish it. This is a motto BFS has employed right from the start, because we know that a key method of ensuring continual results is to have a goal every time you train.
If you can't measure it, you can't manage it. If you can't manage it, you can't accomplish it. This is a motto BFS has employed right from the start, because we know that a key method of ensuring continual results is to have a goal every time you train. The BFS program, with its traditional logbooks, is effective as is, but new developments in technology enable coaches to administer the program even more efficiently.
With ever-expanding technology, workout programs such as BFS can now be programmed into cell phones and tablets.
The BFS Set - Rep Logbook is a great workout tool that enables athletes to measure their progress accurately so they can set specific goals for their next workout. When used properly, the system is a perfect way to produce highly motivated athletes who strive for personal bests every training session. However, a manual system is time consuming, especially if a coach wants to closely monitor all his or her athletes' progress - or, for that matter, the overall progress of a team. For these reasons, coaches should consider using a computer program to make their program more efficient.
Using a program such as Excel, it's certainly possible for a coach to develop a record-keeping system for athletes. BFS took this a step further by developing a computer-aided system that not only records workouts, but automatically prescribes future workouts. The innovative software brought an additional and unexpected benefit by motivating athletes to exceedthe computer's expectations. This unique feature inspired Richard Knowley, director of computer programming at BFS, to call the program Beat the Computer.
The Beat the Computer program was a hit, freeing coaches from painstaking administrative work. Then BFS decided to take the program to the next level with individual and team reports, so that coaches and athletes could compare an athlete not only to current team members but also to the all-time leaders on the team and to BFS national standards. The result was Knowley's Athletic Achievement Software,which was eventually combined with Beat the Computer and called Beat the Computer Pro.
The first goal of this latest software was to produce individual progress reports on all the major exercises and field tests in the BFS program. Each report is divided into three categories: Ironman Ranking, Power Ranking, and Recommendations.
The Ironman data shows the athlete's performance in the core lifts, while the Power Ranking compares the field tests. The ranking, based on a score of 1 to 10, divides the results into a point value based on national standards, school grade level, and the ranking in the school. Finally, the report contains a computerized assessment area that provides recommendations based upon the athlete's results, such as paying more attention to diet or flexibility.
The next goal of the program is to show athletes how they compare to current and past members in individual results. Athletes can choose to print a report that takes any of the benchmarks from the individual reports pertaining to current team members and provides top 10 lists of all the major core lifts and field tests, or they can select a report that provides a historical perspective by producing top 10 lists of the best performances in those tests in the history of the school.
The next level of technology that has improved the administration of the BFS program and eliminated paperwork is the BFS Set - Rep Log app. Just like our BFS Set - Rep Logbooks, coaches can use this to guide their athletes through the BFS program so they know exactly which lifts to do and how many sets and reps to perform. However, unlike the BFS Beat the Computer program, the weight lifted for each set is determined by the individual athlete based on past performance, so that the athlete takes more responsibility for his or her own program. Here are several of the specific features of the app:
- Athletes can see predefined weekly schedules included with recommended lifts for all common sports.
- Athletes can enter their lifting results on their phone or tablet and immediately see how many records they've broken and their trends.
- Athletes can easily scroll back and see what they did for any lift any week in the past.
- Coaches can customize weekly schedules using any lift on any day and add any lifts.
- Coaches can see all teams and athletes at a glance, including scores, records broken, and conditioning trends for any one athlete or any team.
There is no restriction on the number of coaches who can supervise athletes. The only difference between versions is the number of athletes you can enroll in the program, although the upgraded version enables you to add more athletes. The program requires a connection to the Internet and an e-mail address for each administrator, coach, and athlete (e-mail addresses can be any valid e-mail address from your school, Gmail, Yahoo, your Internet provider, etc.). The program runs in any standard web browser on computers (PC and Mac), tablets, or smartphones. Additionally, you can access the program and your data from anywhere you have access to the Internet.
With the numerous responsibilities involved in coaching and the ever-increasing size of weight training classes, BFS wanted to find more efficient ways to motivate athletes, monitor their progress, and reduce paperwork without sacrificing quality coaching. Using computer-aided software such as Beat the Computer and the BFS Set - Rep Log app fulfills this goal.
Save
Save
Save
Learn more about Bigger Faster Stronger, Third Edition.
Who should use the Bigger Faster Stronger readiness program?
Although many athletes will be ready to jump right into the BFS set - rep system, others are more suited to starting with the BFS Readiness Program. Here are some examples.
Although many athletes will be ready to jump right into the BFS set - rep system, others are more suited to starting with the BFS Readiness Program. Here are some examples.
Middle School Male and Female Athletes
Most athletes or physical education students in the seventh grade should begin with the BFS Readiness Program. Some orthopedic doctors believe that adolescents of this age are too young to start any kind of weight training, but the research proves otherwise, and we believe that the benefits outweigh the potential risks.
The BFS Readiness Program is designed for beginners with an emphasis on teaching optimal technique first over lifting heavy weights.
Without weight training, few young people can reach their athletic potential. One of the major concerns about weight training for young athletes is that it could damage the epiphyseal (growth) plates. Although injury to the epiphyseal plates may cause bone deformity, the risk that this will occur with weight training is no greater than it is with most sports. As for the belief that weight training will stunt growth, premature closing of the epiphyseal plates is related primarily to hormonal influences, not injury. The late Mel Siff, an exercise scientist whose doctoral thesis examined the biomechanics of soft tissues, addressed this subject.
"It has never been shown scientifically or clinically that the periodic imposition of large forces by weight training on the growing body causes damage to the epiphyseal plates," Siff says in his book Facts and Fallacies of Fitness (1998). "It is extremely misleading to focus on the alleged risks of weight training on children when biomechanical research shows that simple daily activities such as running, jumping, striking, or catching can impose far greater forces on the musculoskeletal system than very heavy weight training."
Siff also notes that bone density scans have proven that young people who do competitive weightlifting (i.e., the snatch and the clean and jerk) have higher bone densities than children who do not use weights, and clinical research has not shown any correlation between weight training and epiphyseal damage. Siff's comments are supported by an extensive Russian study on young athletes, published in a book titled School of Height, which concluded that heavy lifting tends to stimulate bone growth in young athletes rather than inhibit it.
Research shows that young athletes who compete in weightlifting have higher bone densities than children who do not use weights.
Risk of injury is another area of concern for coaches and parents. Many studies have measured the rate of injuries associated with weight training compared with the injury rate in other sports. For example, a study published in 2001 in the Journal of the American Academy of Orthopaedic Surgeons cited research showing that in children aged 5 to 14 years, the number of injuries from bicycling was almost 400 percent greater than the number of injuries from weightlifting.
In a review paper on resistance training for prepubescent and adolescents published in 2002 in Strength and Conditioning Coach, author Mark Shillington reported that only 0.7 percent (or 1,576) of sport-related injuries in school-aged children were caused by resistance training, compared with 19 percent caused by football and 15 percent caused by baseball. Dr. Mel Hayashi, a noted orthopedic surgeon, states, "The BFS Readiness Program should provide great benefits to the junior high athlete. I have no concerns as long as the athlete has good technique." Dr. Hayashi has been a chief orthopedic surgeon at the Olympic Games and is a former chief resident at the Mayo Clinic.
The truth is that weight training and competitive lifting are among the safest activities an athlete can participate in. For example, renowned Russian sport scientist Vladimir Zatsiorsky, in his textbook Science and Practice of Strength Training (1995), had this to say about the dangers of weight training: "The risk of injury from a well-coached strength training program has been estimated to be about one per 10,000 athlete-exposures," with an athlete-exposure being defined as one athlete taking part in one training session or competition. "Compared to tackle football, alpine skiing, baseball pitching, and even sprint running, strength training is almost free of risk." The National Strength and Conditioning Association (NSCA) is considered the governing body of the strength coaching profession, and in 1985 published a position paper and extensive literature review on strength training for young athletes. This paper was updated in 1996, and in another update published in 2009, the authors said that "… research increasingly indicates that resistance training can offer unique benefits for children and adolescents when appropriately prescribed and supervised" (Faigenbaum, Kraemer, Blimkie, Jeffreys, Micheli, Nitka, and Rowland, p. 1).
The success and popularity of BFS clinics are proof of the merits of early weight training. As young athletes strive to achieve the highest levels in competitive sport, they must participate in serious training at a younger age than the champions of the past did. This commitment is the price of success. Athletes are starting competitive sports at a younger age, including contact sports such as football, and as such they are subjecting their bodies to higher levels of stress than ever before. If young bodies are to handle the stress of this training, weight training is essential.
Instruction for weightlifting can begin with PVC pipes so that athletes can learn how to perform lifts properly.
Many strength coaches at major universities throughout the United States have been asked when athletes should start weight training. The vast majority responded, "In junior high." In addition, the countries of the former Eastern Bloc often start weight training at age 12.
In the sport of weightlifting, the most successful coach in the sport is Bulgaria's Ivan Abadjiev. Speaking at a seminar in Rhode Island in 2011, Coach Abadjiev was asked at what point young athletes could begin lifting maximal weights. His response was at eight years of age! Although BFS does not endorse this recommendation, it does suggest that there is definitely a paradigm shift in this area. In fact, in the 2014 US Senior National Weightlifting Championships, then - 13-year-old Clarence Cummings clean and jerked a senior American record of 337 pounds (153 kilos) at a bodyweight of 136 pounds (62 kilos), and the following year he broke the youth record in the 152-pound (69-kilo) class with a lift of 385 pounds (175 kilos)! He is now a junior world champion and world record holder.
Weight training is also one of the best ways to build self-confidence. A 7th grader can receive just as much satisfaction by going from 85 to 100 pounds (39 to 45 kilograms) on the bench press as a 12th grader can by going from 285 to 300 pounds (129 to 136 kilograms). Of course, strict supervision and proper technique are essential to making the BFS Readiness Program work in middle school.
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Master standard and sport-specific auxiliary lifts
Auxiliary lifts are special exercises that are sport specific and help prevent injuries common in a sport. Chin-ups and lat pull-downs would be sport-specific exercises for baseball players because the latissimus dorsi muscles of the upper back internally rotate the upper arms.
Auxiliary lifts are special exercises that are sport specific and help prevent injuries common in a sport. Chin-ups and lat pull-downs would be sport-specific exercises for baseball players because the latissimus dorsi muscles of the upper back internally rotate the upper arms. Incline bench presses would be sport specific to a shot putter or boxer because of similar movement patterns, and neck exercises are extremely important to prevent injuries in football and wrestling. Neck exercises, however, are not as important to basketball or baseball players.
Auxiliary exercises receive less emphasis than core lifts. They are best performed after the core lifts and are only prescribed for about two sets of 10 reps. Larger groups of athletes with limited facilities may, however, find it necessary to rotate athletes between core lifts and auxiliaries as outlined in chapter 15, Organization and Weight Room Design.
Select no more than five auxiliary exercises to perform during a single week. We've found that performing more than five exercises will cause problems because athletes will not have enough time and energy to do the necessary sprinting, endurance, flexibility, plyometric, agility, and technique work required for their sport. The ultimate objective is for athletes to reach their potential, so compromises have to be made. As such, select only those exercises that will effectively contribute to the ultimate objective.
Which auxiliary exercises are best? Our BFS clinicians rated 100 auxiliary lifts and came up with a list of preferred exercises by young athletes. From an injury prevention perspective, it would be wise to select at least one auxiliary exercise that works a body part that is commonly injured in an athlete's chosen sport. Here are a few common injury sites for several popular sports that could benefit from auxiliary exercises:
- American football: knee and hamstrings
- Badminton: shoulder, elbow, and wrist
- Baseball: shoulder and elbow
- Baseball: ankle and knee
- Cycling: knee and lower back
- Distance running: knee and ankle
- Field hockey: hamstrings and ankle
- Ice hockey: shoulder and adductor
- Soccer (football): ankle and knee
- Swimming: shoulder and neck
- Tennis: shoulder and elbow
- Track and field (sprints): hamstrings and knee
Another important factor to consider regarding sports injuries is the frequency with which the sport is played. Professional athletes and elite amateur athletes must participate in much longer and harder workouts than the average amateur athletes. It's therefore not uncommon that many elite athletes have required surgery to continue playing their sport, especially those in contact sports such as football, but no sport is safe. One survey of 1,144 golfers found that golfers who had a handicap under 10 experienced a much higher rate of injury than those with a handicap over 18. That said, a great resource that discusses injuries in 24 sports is Epidemiology of Sports Injuries by Caine, Caine, and Lindner (1996). It covers 24 sports and activities and discusses injury incidence, injury characteristics, injury severity, and injury risk factors.
We have divided these auxiliary lifts into two categories - standard and advanced.
Standard Auxiliary Lifts
Standard auxiliary exercises are relatively safe, easy to perform, and require less coaching and lifting expertise than the advanced auxiliaries. The incline press is the only auxiliary exercise in our list that requires a spotter. Of course, coaches must ensure their athletes can perform these exercises correctly and provide supervision for all workouts.
Most high school and college gyms already have all the equipment necessary to perform these exercises. One exception is the glute - ham machine or back extension bench, needed to perform back extensions and glute - ham raises. The glute - ham raise is also among the BFS advanced auxiliaries.
Table 10.1 lists all the auxiliary exercises and the sports for which they are the most appropriate. Table 10.2 shows how to organize the standard auxiliary exercises in your weekly training sessions.
Dips
A standard exercise for gymnasts, skiers, cheerleaders, and swimming, dips are an effective exercise to develop the shoulders, pectorals, and triceps (figure 10.1).
Dips are an effective exercise to develop the shoulders, pectorals, and triceps.
Start Position
Grasp the dip handles and step up so that your arms are extended and directly under your shoulders. Look straight ahead.
Action
Slowly lower yourself so that your arms extend below parallel and then return to the start; athletes with exceptional mobility and good posture can perform the exercise throughout a longer range of motion. As this exercise becomes easy, add resistance by using a dip belt.
Breathing
Inhale as you lower your body and exhale as you straighten your arms.
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Understand strength and conditioning technology
If you can’t measure it, you can’t manage it. If you can’t manage it, you can’t accomplish it. This is a motto BFS has employed right from the start, because we know that a key method of ensuring continual results is to have a goal every time you train.
If you can't measure it, you can't manage it. If you can't manage it, you can't accomplish it. This is a motto BFS has employed right from the start, because we know that a key method of ensuring continual results is to have a goal every time you train. The BFS program, with its traditional logbooks, is effective as is, but new developments in technology enable coaches to administer the program even more efficiently.
With ever-expanding technology, workout programs such as BFS can now be programmed into cell phones and tablets.
The BFS Set - Rep Logbook is a great workout tool that enables athletes to measure their progress accurately so they can set specific goals for their next workout. When used properly, the system is a perfect way to produce highly motivated athletes who strive for personal bests every training session. However, a manual system is time consuming, especially if a coach wants to closely monitor all his or her athletes' progress - or, for that matter, the overall progress of a team. For these reasons, coaches should consider using a computer program to make their program more efficient.
Using a program such as Excel, it's certainly possible for a coach to develop a record-keeping system for athletes. BFS took this a step further by developing a computer-aided system that not only records workouts, but automatically prescribes future workouts. The innovative software brought an additional and unexpected benefit by motivating athletes to exceedthe computer's expectations. This unique feature inspired Richard Knowley, director of computer programming at BFS, to call the program Beat the Computer.
The Beat the Computer program was a hit, freeing coaches from painstaking administrative work. Then BFS decided to take the program to the next level with individual and team reports, so that coaches and athletes could compare an athlete not only to current team members but also to the all-time leaders on the team and to BFS national standards. The result was Knowley's Athletic Achievement Software,which was eventually combined with Beat the Computer and called Beat the Computer Pro.
The first goal of this latest software was to produce individual progress reports on all the major exercises and field tests in the BFS program. Each report is divided into three categories: Ironman Ranking, Power Ranking, and Recommendations.
The Ironman data shows the athlete's performance in the core lifts, while the Power Ranking compares the field tests. The ranking, based on a score of 1 to 10, divides the results into a point value based on national standards, school grade level, and the ranking in the school. Finally, the report contains a computerized assessment area that provides recommendations based upon the athlete's results, such as paying more attention to diet or flexibility.
The next goal of the program is to show athletes how they compare to current and past members in individual results. Athletes can choose to print a report that takes any of the benchmarks from the individual reports pertaining to current team members and provides top 10 lists of all the major core lifts and field tests, or they can select a report that provides a historical perspective by producing top 10 lists of the best performances in those tests in the history of the school.
The next level of technology that has improved the administration of the BFS program and eliminated paperwork is the BFS Set - Rep Log app. Just like our BFS Set - Rep Logbooks, coaches can use this to guide their athletes through the BFS program so they know exactly which lifts to do and how many sets and reps to perform. However, unlike the BFS Beat the Computer program, the weight lifted for each set is determined by the individual athlete based on past performance, so that the athlete takes more responsibility for his or her own program. Here are several of the specific features of the app:
- Athletes can see predefined weekly schedules included with recommended lifts for all common sports.
- Athletes can enter their lifting results on their phone or tablet and immediately see how many records they've broken and their trends.
- Athletes can easily scroll back and see what they did for any lift any week in the past.
- Coaches can customize weekly schedules using any lift on any day and add any lifts.
- Coaches can see all teams and athletes at a glance, including scores, records broken, and conditioning trends for any one athlete or any team.
There is no restriction on the number of coaches who can supervise athletes. The only difference between versions is the number of athletes you can enroll in the program, although the upgraded version enables you to add more athletes. The program requires a connection to the Internet and an e-mail address for each administrator, coach, and athlete (e-mail addresses can be any valid e-mail address from your school, Gmail, Yahoo, your Internet provider, etc.). The program runs in any standard web browser on computers (PC and Mac), tablets, or smartphones. Additionally, you can access the program and your data from anywhere you have access to the Internet.
With the numerous responsibilities involved in coaching and the ever-increasing size of weight training classes, BFS wanted to find more efficient ways to motivate athletes, monitor their progress, and reduce paperwork without sacrificing quality coaching. Using computer-aided software such as Beat the Computer and the BFS Set - Rep Log app fulfills this goal.
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