NEW BOSU DVD Shoot

Wow! Recent BOSU DVD shoot was nothing but hi-octane with Twister, Durkin, Shiels, Mylrea, Roberts, me and the team...BOSU Balance Trainers, Ballast Balls, Slingshots, Smart Toners, lines of pull everywhere...rocked out 9 DVDs and NEW BOSU "mystery" accessory product for 2010...Twist Conditioning and BOSU...coming at you full speed...Are you ready?

Watch for the release of the new BOSU DVD's in 2010!

by: Douglas Brooks

Balance Training for Female Athletes

Developing strong balance is an asset for all athletes as it creates smart muscles and an efficient mind to muscle link. With a lower center of gravity, women have an advantage in balance drills. Single leg exercises are a great way to decrease this stable base of support, create a greater balance challenge and strengthen the entire lower body. A simple, yet very important balance exercise for females is a single leg squat. The challenge is to perform the exercise correctly with proper knee tracking. As a coach, focus most of your athlete cues on knee alignment.

TRX Single Leg Squats:

Set up:

- Begin in a balanced athletic position on a single leg
- The TRX provides a second balance point and should be used to help spot the athlete through the squat

Execution:

- The athlete triple flexes through the ankle, knee and hip while lowering down into a tuck position
- Pause and hold the low position maintaining balance (without pulling on the TRX) and return sequentially through triple extension to the starting position.

Note: Before attempting this exercise on a more unstable surface - such as the BOSU® make sure the athlete can complete the full range of motion with proper knee tracking.

Extreme Balance Board Squats with Fit Ball Self Passes:

Set up:

- both feet are planted parallel and equal distance from the center of the balance board
- engage the core muscles and then lower into a tuck position with hips low and chest up

Execution:

- in the tuck position the athlete tosses a weighted fit ball back and forth between hands
- have the athlete progress to wider passes

Note: Coach’s cues should focus on alignment as it is not uncommon for the knees to start to fall into a knocked kneed position during this drill.

The Twist Team!

Injuries to Female Athletes and Practical Considerations

Over the last 20 years concern for athlete safety has increased as more females have become involved in sports. Females are statistically 4 times more likely to sustain a serious ACL knee injury compared to males. These injuries are most frequent in high risk sports that require jumping and cutting (i.e. Soccer or Basketball). Another interesting trend is that female athletes are most often injured in a supervised setting (64% of injuries) compared to males who are most often injured in an unsupervised setting (55%). This information prompts us to consider whether our traditionally male dominated training methods are appropriate for female athletes.

Practical Considerations

If women and men are so distinctly different, should they in fact be trained with these differences in mind? The research shows us that women are at a greater risk to sustain a significant knee injury. Are these injuries a result of training women too much like we train men or are they the result of training that does not consider the distinct needs of female athletes? Regardless of the cause, the fact is that female athletes need specific training to improve physical weaknesses. In future postings we will present some aspects of training that should be modified for female athletes.

The Twist Team!

Building Physical Confidence- TRAINERS TIPS

As physically active individuals we all take mobility for granted when every day our mind commands our muscles and they easily comply with just the right type of movement and appropriate force production. At Twist Sport Conditioning this is called Smart Muscle®. With each repeated action, our mind to muscle communication pathways strengthen and like building muscle, each successful action that our mind commands, our physical confidence grows.

Physical confidence is the assurance that when your mind commands your body to move, your muscles comply. With physical confidence ice hockey players explosively battle on the boards knowing their opponent will never knock them off the puck or a snow boarder bravely jumps into a double black diamond run with exhilaration and speed knowing it’s fun not fear that makes their heart beat faster.

If an athlete trusts their body, and knows that it is compliant (does what it is told by the brain) they can move to a higher level of competitive drive and take more intelligent risks in sport. Confidence to try new strategies and tactics help elevate their game and definitely give them a competitive edge.

Physical confidence is not just for elite athletes. Kids, youth, young adults, adults and older adults all want a body they can trust and muscles they can depend on in an instant. Imagine slipping on ice and wondering if your core control will keep you in balance or are you smashing down hard with a fracture a great possibility. For the older adult, physical confidence means independent living, safety and mobility – all critical factors for everyday performance.

The question is – do you help your athletes build their physical confidence? Help them see that every type of physical success in every workout reinforces mind to muscle communication that fuels the ability to execute any movement desired – this empowers them! Building Smart Muscle® where the focus is not just on appearance gains, but on building a body that moves well and is responsive to the mind, gives your athletes the tools they need for success today and for all future activities. Life is a Sport – play hard!

Share your ideas or your athlete success stories related to building physical confidence.

- Janice Hutton-

Education Manager

Sport Conditioning for Women

Introduction

The focus for training athletes at Twist Conditioning is to be progressive, innovative and creative. With each new day we learn more about how best to train athletes to achieve the desired results, improve performance and push our knowledge further ahead. The complexity of the human body should never be underestimated and when it comes to developing effective conditioning programs attention to details produces greater results.

Many conditioning coaches do not modify their training programs when coaching female athletes, but the body chemistry of a female athlete is significantly different than a male athlete. Understanding gender differences from the obvious to the subtle and applying this knowledge can have a significant impact on training results. Women and men are different – right down to the cellular level.

Physical Differences

Men and women are anatomically unique. The axial skeleton is defined as the principle supportive structure of the body and in males it is comprised of the skull, vertebrae, sternum and ribs. In females the axial skeleton includes the skull, vertebrae and the pelvis. This redrawing of the female axial skeleton helps us understand the basic physics involved in movement for males compared to females. The adult male has a proportionately larger upper body along with a narrow pelvis resulting in a high center of gravity above the pelvis. The design of the male anatomy results in reduced overall stability and the development of a dominant upper body. The female skeleton is smoother and more delicate with a smaller and more rounded thoracic cage. The female pelvis tilts to the anterior (greater lumbar curve), is lower and wider than a male which creates a lower center of gravity (located inside the pelvis) and results in improved overall body stability. The articulation of the female hip joint on the pelvis (the acetabulum where the femur rotates) is at a more lateral and downward angle than a male creating greater rotation at the hip and the production of more 3 dimensional movement. These structural differences have a significant impact on female biomechanics influencing the distribution of weight, forces and stresses during movement. Greater hip width in women creates a less vertical and more angled femur resulting in valgus legs (knock knees) along with a collapse of the arch of the foot. Together these mechanics translate into a vulnerable knee joint that is prone to injury.

Physiological Differences

The majority of the gender differences between males and females begin to surface at puberty when circulating hormones appear. The average man has about twice the muscle mass than the average woman primarily due to testosterone levels. Women have more body fat (18 to 20%) than men (10 to 15%) to provide nourishment during pregnancy. This translates into a lower percentage of lean body mass in women. Female have higher levels of the hormones relaxin and elastin that affect connective tissue making them more flexible than males at all ages. The hormonal fluctuations that occur in females during the menstrual cycle affects every cell influencing overall well being, brain function and physical adaptation. From a cardiovascular perspective boys have a higher VO2 max than girls at all ages but by age 16 they have a 50% greater aerobic capacity that continues through adulthood.

Psycho-social Differences

From an early age (as young as 10) girls choose activities based on the opportunity to network socially when boys are motivated by competition and dominance. Women are very social - emotional creatures with 4 times more neurological connections between the right (creative / emotional) and left (logical / analytical) brain. The female athlete is hard wired differently making the concepts of socialization, learning, skill building and self awareness equally valuable with winning in the sport experience.

The Twist Team!

Training Age – Growth and Maturation

Children cannot be simply treated as miniature adults. Those of similar chronological age may vary significantly in their progress toward the mature adult form. Even within the same age group, kids are at different stages of readiness for training. To understand what can be trained when, training guidelines are linked to the phase of growth and maturation.

Pre-pubertal children are those that have not yet gone through their adolescent growth spurt, or their period of most rapid growth (peak height velocity). Pre-pubertal children are often less than 12 years of age in females, and less than 14 years of age in males.

Their peak neural maturation occurs from age 0-7 and continues at a rapid rate up to age 12 when the window begins to close. During this stage it is advantageous to draw from the secondary fitness characteristics, to create exploratory-based challenges for which the child must solve the puzzle of how to correctly coordinate the exercise. Children improve balance, coordination and body awareness from neurally complex exercises. Training adaptations include improved neural networks.

The power of neural improvement is evident following strength training programs when pre-pubertal participants enjoy significant strength improvement but do not experience any muscle hypertrophy. As such, young children are better served staying off of miniature weight machines that demand the lowest neural muscular input and rather strive to coordinate strength outputs in supine, prone and CKC positions using stability balls, BOSU’s and other accessories.

Most young children are fairly pliable, but some will also be hypermobile. Loose joints can lead to early osteoarthritis and osteophyte formations (bone spurs) in the body’s attempt to increase bony stability around joints. For these children, avoid further stretching and instead focus on building strength – through a full range of motion.

The heart organ of children this age is of course smaller and as such increases in cardiac output are reliant on elevated heart rates (since their stroke volume is smaller). It is common to elicit heart rates of 170 bpm at this age, compared to post-pubescent children who would train aerobically at 140 bpm. It is noteworthy that pre-pubescent bodies already have relatively high oxygen extraction capabilities so any given training only generates about 50% of the improvement one would expect in adults. Of course kids this age cannot focus on 60 minutes of continuous, repetitive exercise. Even 90% of adults won’t do this! But shorter 15 minutes bouts and integrating sustained effort within a game-like environment can do the trick, sustain their attention and allow them to have fun.

The pubertal phase of peak height velocity lasts from 12 – 18 months and brings with it several training considerations. General considerations for this period include reduced distal loading of the limbs, and reduced high intensity work to avoid over-training or inflammation of the bone-tendon connections. During this period the levers increase in length, while the muscles do not respond until later, so even basic locomotor skills may appear awkward during this phase. Additional balance and agility drills help them become accustomed to their new height, limb length and centre of gravity.

Many parents and coaches express dismay at the frequency of trauma and injury during this stage. As the skeletal system has matured without a concomitant increase in muscle girth and strength, pubertal children have less stable joints which are less reactive to lateral and deceleration forces. Attention to proficient movement skills and proper braking and loading through deceleration will allow them to continue to train through this stage and help prevent sport injuries.

However this can be exacerbated when longer levers allow for faster running speed from biomechanical efficiency. Higher speeds require more aggressive braking, which pubertal bodies are not suited to handle. Strength training is vital to help the muscles catch up. For pubertal kids, many fitness books discourage weight training and suggest strength training with their own body weight. However, I find that many kids in this phase cannot handle their own body mass and better execute exercises with light dumbbells and resistance tubing.

Post-pubertal children are those that have gone through their adolescent growth spurt, after peak height velocity but prior to full skeletal maturity. After peak height velocity, post-pubertal children will experience an accelerated increase in mass, with rapid gains in muscular development, along with further hormonal maturation. At this stage they have the circulating hormones to achieve gains in muscle girth as well as benefit from anaerobic conditioning.

In this phase trainers’ can begin to increase the weight training load, stimulating muscle hypertrophy by optimizing time under tension through slower eccentric contractions. This age group can also safely progress to more powerful lifts that feature higher tempos.

These and other critical growth and maturation moderators must be taken into consideration in the development of the training curriculum, and the subsequent exercises delivered so that the child is receptive and enthusiastic.

The Twist Team!

Sport Conditioning for Minor Hockey Players

Professional hockey players are serious about their sport and focus on the training and development of their “physical machines” year round. Sport conditioning has evolved into big business with the development of branded shoes, clothing, equipment, print and TV media that profiles the training programs of pro athletes. If the pro athletes train this way, shouldn’t every serious athlete do the same whether they are 8 or 18? Parents who are passionate about their children and their hockey are fueling a new segment of the sport conditioning industry focused on programming for children and youth. However, young athletes cannot just be treated like miniature adults. The training program must be age appropriate and follow documented growth and development strategies.

Through the first 20 years of life, a child evolves and grows into an adult. The changes that occur affect athlete physical, emotional, psychological and social development impacting every aspect of life and hockey. There are predictable phases of change that every child experiences, but the amount of time in each growth phase is diverse leading to a great deal of variability among children. Just observe a Peewee or Bantam hockey game and the size differences are obvious. The brain and nervous system is constantly changing and adapting based on experiences creating information pathways between the mind and the muscles. Peak changes in this system occur between birth and 8 yrs where children develop gross and fine motor patterns that become the foundation of hockey skills and other recreational activities.

Children grow gradually until age 10 where a major growth spurt creates a high velocity height change until age 14 as the long bones grow creating gangly arms and legs most characteristic of teenagers. During this time there are minimal changes in the muscular system creating a scenario of long levers without adequate muscle size to control them. This is a critical time for injury along with a disconnect between mind and body. Gradual change in the muscular system is evident until age 14 where circulating hormones directly linked to puberty are activated creating a surge of muscle growth from age 14 to 18 yrs. The volume of muscle growth is higher for males than females, but both sexes experience increases that help to provide strength and control for adult size bodies. By age 20 the major physical growth has reached a plateau.

The Twist Team!

Role of Sport Conditioning in Hockey Players Development

Hockey coaches focus on helping players develop hockey specific skills (skating, shooting, body contact) along with the individual and team strategies and tactics required for success. A sport conditioning coach focuses on the development of athleticism whereby they improve an athlete’s physical tools that support hockey skill execution. Enhancing athleticism comes from the development of the secondary characteristics of fitness including: balance, agility, speed, power, coordination, body awareness, reaction skills.

To have the greatest impact, sport conditioning for hockey should help players improve athleticism as their bodies grow and change. Skills and drills that are great for Midget players are not appropriate for Atom players because younger athletes lack the mind to muscle coordination required for executing complex movements at high tempos. Age and ability appropriate training can help players improve performance on and off the ice, so parents and coaches are encouraged to choose programs specifically designed for children and youth.

The Twist Team!

The Twist Education and Summit Team have just returned from a powerful weekend in Toronto, for our Sport Performance Summit. Twist Conditioning would like to thank our Summit Staff, Presenting Team, and all Delegates that made the weekend so memorable.

Thank you to all that came out for our 2nd Annual Sport Performance in Toronto, Ontario Oct 25th, 2009. The weekend started off to a great success with 6 high energy sport conditioning pre-summit workshops on the topics of Sport Conditioning for Soccer, Hockey, Youth, Athletes, and Adults. The workshops took place at our two Sport Conditioning Centres in Whitby, ON and Burlington, ON and were led by our Sport Conditioning Centre Directors- Jeff Roux and Scott Atkins.

The Summit doors opened at 8:15am on Sunday October 25th, 2009 and a flood of athletic, eager and high energy delegates entered. Each and every person we spoke to over the weekend, all had slightly different reasons for attending, as well came with a whole host of backgrounds and clientele, one similarity seen in each of them was the passion they had for their career. Thank you to all delegates who made the weekend so enjoyable for the Twist Team of presenters and staff.

The morning began with a keynote speech presented on "Developing Champion Athletes" by Peter Twist, followed by three entertaining and informative lectures on Deceptively Fast- by Scott Atkins, The Perfect Point of Balance- by Douglas Brooks, and Strong and Powerful- by Peter Twist. After a morning of lectures the delegates were ready to move- the afternoon had each delegate cycling through 3 practical sessions on Movement, Strength and Balance. The day ended with a cool down presented by Arielle Nash, with a question and answer period for our presenters.

We thank all that attended, as we value each and every face to face opportunity we can have with our advocates, to learn, get inspired and hear their stories of their individual and athletes successes. Each of you make us who we are, and value your opinion and your dedication to our team greatly.

We look forward to the next year!

If you want more- check out the Advanced Training Tools Workshop taking place on Nov 21st 9:45am-11:45am, 2009 at Ryerson University or our upcoming 2 Day Mentorship Program taking place out of our Twist Sport Conditioning Centre- Burlington on December 10th-11th

-The Twist Sport Performance Summit Team-

Dean Shiels from the Twist Presenting Team Travels to SPAIN!

After a 12 hour flight around the world and a 6 day tour of Italy we arrived in beautiful Barcelona, Spain. My wife, 1 year old daughter and I had never been to Europe before so we were in absolute awe everyone we went. Our trip included planes, trains, buses, ferries, taxis and multiple hotels in multiple cities so we were excited to land in Barcelona where we could get grounded for more than a day. The purpose of the trip was to present the Twist training methods and training tools to the Spain fitness market at the biggest fitness conference in Spain, Planeta Barcelona.

We arrived late on the Thursday with the conference beginning on Saturday morning. Our goal was to see as much of Barcelona as possible in 1 day. And that we did. I never realized how big of a city Barcelona is. In a our 1 day Barcelona adventure we jumped on the hop on hop off Bus tours and saw the Olympic Stadium, Gotti’s magnificent architectural sites, the Sangrila Familia, walked down the world famous La Rambla, had a sangria on one of the amazing beaches, and listened to Cold Play live outside the Olympic Stadium. Wow, what a beautiful city Barcelona is.

The conference began on Saturday morning. I walked down to the conference and was greeted and introduced to the team from Aerobic and Fitness who were hosting the conference. Maria, Pilar, Astrid and Ann were all very friendly and helped in ensuring I was comfortable in presenting to the Spanish audience as they new my Spanish vocabulary was extremely limited. They introduced me to my translator, Isaac, who was from the industry and spoke very good English.

Isaac walked me down to the conference room where I was presenting my first workshop on the Smart Gym. I must say I was a bit nervous presenting as I had never used a translator before and the fact that nobody had ever seen our training model before. How would my message come across in translation and how would they respond to a new training system were a few questions I had in my head. I began the session with an introduction in which I carried on for about 45 seconds until I realized I needed Isaac to translate. I looked over at him and said “that was a bit too long wasn’t it”, he laughed and pieced it together for me. From then on we got in a groove and had the group of Spanish trainers and coaches rocking with trialing a new training style, new training tools and many new drills.

Over the course of the 2 day conference I presented the Smart Gym, 1 on 1 and Partner Training Methods, Plyometric Progressions for Athletes and Everyday Clients and Neural Complexity. Each of the sessions were received with an enthusiastic response from the delegates. They were challenged by the drills but excited about this new style of training they had not seen before. What an amazing experience this trip was. To be able to experience a new culture, interact with great people, tour the beautiful city and to deliver our training system to a very receptive industry was fantastic. I look forward to returning next year.


Dean Shiels

View our photo gallery from the event! http://www.twistconditioning.com/community/media/ShowPhotos.aspx?gID=174

BOSU- Drop & Pop Burpee Progressions

A New BOSU Exercise from Douglas Brooks

Drop-pop-burpee to quick coupling with a line of pull (LOP) utlizing the Twist Smart Muscle Technology- Sling Shot as resistance from behind the old guy..."yeah baby"..."quick/quick!
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Es9kM-EtrLE

Have you got anything better? Then, show us here at Twist!

Send your videos or pictures to belliott@twistconditioning.com

Secondary Fitness Characteristics in Young Athletes

The secondary fitness characteristics include balance, multi joint strength, power, speed, quickness, agility, movement skills and reaction skills. Together, the secondary characteristics of fitness enhance the movement abilities needed for real life actions and sport participation. The goal is to improve the mind-muscle connection, making the muscles more compliant to the brains commands, while enhancing inter segmental communication, linking the kinetic chain for more skillful movement. Training the secondary characteristics of fitness involves creating “smart muscles” through enhanced neural circuitry and muscle recruitment.

For young athletes, these attributes help improve athleticism which provides a better base from which to train specific sport skills. Athleticism must precede sport-specificity. It also sets them up to so well in other activities. I strongly discourage early streamlining in one sport which often leads to burn out, disinterest and overuse injury. The best athletes will rise to the top, and early sport specialization narrows kids athletic potential.

Obese children need balance and agility however these demands must be regressed to a simple and safe prescription. Keep exercises less complex, low impact and low speed. Obese children can do well on selectorized weight stack machines. In fact it is one activity they might out perform their peers of average body composition. Isolation strength training takes away coordination demands and allows them to enjoy success, pushing good weight and seeing quantified results. Early success may be helpful towards exercise adherence and buy-in. Having said that, there are some low impact, in-place supine, prone and CKC ball, dumbbell and tubing exercises that can also be trained safely, increase the metabolic cost and subsequent caloric expenditure, and begin to improve coordination. At the end of the day, this population must also feel more competent in movement if we hope to inspire them to lifelong activity.

The Twist Team!

Child to Champion Athlete - Giving Kids the Right Start

When it comes to children and fitness, there are two main trends in developed countries. A growing number of children tend to be less active and more obese. At the other end of the continuum, there is also a trend to physically train young sport participants at younger and younger ages.

From a fitness and health perspective, we do have an epidemic on our hands. Many obese children as young as 8-10 years old possess symptoms of heart disease and diabetes, raising a red flag that cries out for strong national intervention strategies. In fact, if this trend continues unabated, the children of today may be the first generation in history to have a shortened life expectancy and die before their parents.

The childhood obesity epidemic has been linked to calorie-dense fast foods and nutrient-lean packaged super market food, concurrent with an increased proliferation of sedentary activities. Thanks to the help of adults, technology and profit-driven business, kids are now consumers of passive entertainment, often at the expense of spontaneous play and physical activity.

For kids who are active, there is a trend towards early sport specialization, which accelerates short term competence in one sport’s specific skill sets, yet may rob them of a solid base of well rounded athleticism.

Defining fun and inspiring methods to explore fundamental movement skills may help reverse the trend of inactivity and obesity and provide young aspiring athletes with a better toolbox of overall athleticism. Teaching all children how to move with greater coordination and competence increases their self-esteem, making them more confident and comfortable joining new activities. Children with increased movement capabilities enjoy greater self-efficacy and a sense that “I can do it”! This can lead to increased participation and help keep them in the game.

The Twist Team!

New School Sitting

What do schools, corporate workplaces and home offices all have in common? Each is experimenting to replace traditional chairs with stability balls. Many have found the BOSU® Ballast® Ball to work particularly well, since it does not roll away.

When sitting on an exercise ball, the body is constantly making adjustments with key postural muscles that include abdominals, lower back muscles, gluteals and leg muscles. But, user beware! Similar to expensive ergonomic chairs, individuals can still have poor posture on the stability ball.

The following is a suggested approach to implementing the “new school sitting” concept:

Allow participants to switch between stability ball and traditional chair.
Build up duration sitting. Start with half hour progressions, and eventually, participants can sit throughout the day.

Teach that posture is learned. Participants must be physically and mentally engaged.
Inflate the ball so thighs are parallel to the ground and hips are level. Be sure the ball height is appropriate for desk height.

Integrate exercise breaks throughout the day to avoid fatigue from poor posture habits, whether seated on a stability ball or chair. Check out the Ballast Ball http://cdnstore.twistconditioning.com/BOSU-Ballast-Ball_p_2274.html

Over time, the stability ball contributes to good posture, stronger core musculature and dynamic flexibility and movement capability. Also, ball chair users report being more focused, alert and motivated while sitting. As a result, schools and corporate wellness programs are able to integrate key fitness elements into daily life that could save on health costs, increase productivity and improve quality of life for students and employees.

Douglas S. Brooks is the head physiologist/strength & conditioning coach for Mammoth Power Sports and in 2007, was inducted into the National Fitness Hall of Fame. Coach Brooks is the author of six major texts and is a Twist Conditioning Senior Master Coach. To contact him, visit http://www.movesintfitness.com/

BOSU Programming...a note from Peter Twist

I am back from California from working with a stellar team of sport and fitness leaders on Bosu programming. Inspiring days immersed with Group Xers Mindy Mylrea and Jay Blahnik, all round Douglas Brooks, program leader Candice Brooks, multi talented Kelli Roberts, football coach Todd Durkin, all high energy teachers and first class people - true professionals. For myself, with a focus on multi directional, anaerobic based sports, learning from other disciplines is always an interesting opportunity.

The Bosu Balance Trainer is the world's number one fitness accessory - and with most exercise professionals adopting Bosu in their curriculum, we are focused on helping ensure application is always purpose driven. Our programming goal this past weekend was to generate intense workouts with heavy strength challenges which are fun and interesting to execute.
What is your approach? Most often, strength and body control with a unified, linked system that best sums power is my focus. How strength, movement and balance are integrated determines the relative focus on prime mover, stabilizer, capacity, reactivity, energetics, metabolic cost, load, etc. Our ultimate goal for athletes is applying and absorbing forces during more fluid movement and for general population pain free fluid whole body movement.

How do you Bosu and what part of your workout do you utilize Bosu?

Send us your comments...

Coach Twist

Twist Conditioning’s Featured Exercises

BOSU, Stability Ball Standing Core Stability

• Purpose – this exercise trains core stabilization in a standing position with a balance challenge
• Set up – have the athlete stand on 2 feet on the BOSU Balance Trainer, holding a stability ball with arms extended, in a low athletic position with the core braced.
• Execution – have the Coach press on the stability ball from random locations (up, down, side) while the Athlete attempts to keep the ball from moving. Cue the Athlete “don’t let the ball move” as this helps develop the core to stabilize and absorb force. Repeat 2 sets with 10 pushes per set.

Fit Ball Rotary Passes

• Purpose – this exercise trains rotary core force production (throwing) and deceleration (catching) in a standing position.
• Set up – have the athlete begin in a low athletic position with chest up, core braced and legs loaded in triple flexion of the hips, knees and ankles.
• Execution – during the catch phase the ball is caught out in front of the body while the Athlete’s mass shifts over their rear leg setting them up in a strong power position. Focus on using the core to absorb the force of the throw. In the throw phase triple extension of the lower body and upper body occurs in sequence to create power through the entire kinetic chain. It is important to release the heel freeing up the hips to trigger rotation.

Smart Toner™ Push Pull Rotation

• Purpose – this exercise trains rotary core force production in conjunction with whole body strength
• Set up – have the athlete begin in a split stance position with 1 Smart Toner performance tubing in each hand (resistance from the left and the right side of the athlete) with chest up, core braced and legs loaded in triple flexion of the hips, knees and ankles. Coordination of this exercise is initially very challenging because the sequencing overloads the nervous system. (Coach should pre teach the push movement and the pull movements separately).
• Execution – the pulling arm executes a row as the pushing arm executes a chest press action along with linked rotation of the core and a pivot of the feet. The body rotates as a whole and pivots in the direction of the pulling arm. Increase the speed of the entire movement when coordination is refined.

The Twist Team!

Are you Ready for Fall?

With September just around the corner, many conditioning coaches and fitness professionals invested in their professional development and attended Twist sessions at conferences across North America this month. While many took vacation, the Twist Presenter Team was busy educating about the “in demand” Twist training style to enthusiastic crowds at every event. Twist training methodology was delivered at DCAC Washington for the first time this year with Douglas Brooks teaching an enthusiastic group of new Twist advocates. The 2 biggest events of the year – IDEA World Anaheim and Can-Fit-Pro Toronto were both a huge success for the Twist team. For the first time, the Twist Team hosted 5 sessions and a tradeshow booth at IDEA World and received rave reviews for the education / training / product presence. Identified as a hub of activity and fun, many delegates came by the booth regularly to try some Twist tools, take the Smart Muscle Board challenge, ask questions of our expert team and investigate their long term education strategies to get more in-depth experience with the training style. If you missed IDEA and need ACE CECs, Peter Twist recorded 4 new live video workshops for IDEA to sell out crowds (check out http://www.ideafit.com/conference/idea-world-fitness-convention-2009)

To help BCRPA celebrate their 25th anniversary, Twist presenter Arielle Nash delivered 2 exciting sessions on Smart Muscle™ training to eager new Twist advocates while the Twist Team provided training advice, demos and products at the Twist booth. Douglas Brooks continued to wow the Canadian crowds at Can-Fit-Pro with his Twist inspired sessions while the Twist Team networked with delegates at the Fitness Source booth. To cap off the summer in North America, Douglas and Janice are off to Sara City Workout - Dallas Mania to sold out crowds on Aug 26 – 30. With a novel way to celebrate Labour Day weekend, VP Training Dean Shiels is off to the Planeta Barcelona 09 conference in Spain on Sept 4-6 to inspire the Spanish crowds with a progressive training style for athletes and clients.

Committed to educating and creating new Twist advocates worldwide, the Twist presenter team is busy creating new topics, skills and drills for the fall conference season in preparation for a phenomenal 2010. Need your Twist education fix? Register for the Twist Sport Performance Toronto Summit today and we will see you there for a full day of brand new Twist education to create your competitive edge! http://www.twistconditioning.com/learn/performance-summits/locations/Toronto-Summit-2009.asp

At Twist Conditioning we always ensure our curriculum and training style is supported in current day research. Every Month we will be showcasing some of the literature we have come across. This weeks literature review focuses on Static Stretching vs. Dynamic Warm Up pre-training.

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SURFACE ELECTROMYOGRAPHIC ASSESSMENT OF THE EFFECT OF STATIC STRETCHING OF THE GASTROCNEMIUS ON VERTICAL JUMP PERFORMANCE

WALLMANN, H.W, J.A MERCER, J.W MCWHORTER

Stretching should be incorporated into warm-up routines to prepare muscles for physical activity, enhance performance and prevent injuries. Much of the research surrounding stretching has examined the benefits and effects on flexibility, however there is little evidence on its effect on dynamic muscular performance. Previous literature states that there are negative short-term effects on vertical jump performance following static stretching. Vertical jump performance has been shown to decrease with PNF and passive stretching techniques (Nelson et al., 1996; Church et al., 2001).

Purpose: To investigate the effects of static stretching of the gastrocnemius muscle on maximal vertical jump performance through a vertical jump task and EMG measurements.

Methods: Fourteen healthy adults (8 men, 6 women) age 18-34 years participated in the study. Each participant was familiar with the vertical jump task. Each participant performed three baseline maximal vertical jumps following a warm-up, then rested for 15 minutes, prior to three 30-second static stretches on both the left and right gastrocnemius muscles. Following the stretching session the participants then performed three maximal vertical jumps. The vertical jump performance was measured using a vertical height measurement and EMG activity of the left and right gastrocnemius muscle.

Conclusion: Jump height was decreased from the pre-stretching session when compared to the post stretching session by 5.6%, however the muscle activity was 17.9% higher post stretch to pre-stretch. The results indicate that even though muscle activity is increased following a static stretching session; the muscular performance is decreased as seen with a decrease in vertical jump height.

Practical Implications: Coaches and athletes should be aware that vertical jump performance could be negatively affected when static stretching is performed prior to performing their sport

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EFFECTS OF STATIC STRETCHING FOR 30 SECONDS AND DYNAMIC STRETCHING ON LEG EXTENSION POWER

Yamaguchi, T, K. Ishii

Stretching is performed prior to physical activity in order to prevent injuries and enhance sports performance by improving flexibility. There are numerous types of stretching: static, ballistic, proprioceptive neuromuscular facilitation (PNF) and dynamic stretching. Many coaches and athletes adopt static stretching due to it’s ability to be performed safely and quickly. However static and ballistic stretching prior to exercise has been linked to a decrease in muscular performance. Dynamic stretching is said to cause an increase in muscle temperature, and cause post activation potentiation which is a transient improvement of muscular performance, both outcomes resulting in an improved muscular performance.

Purpose: Compare the effects of static stretching for 30 seconds to dynamic stretching on muscular performance

Methods: 11 healthy recreationally active male college students participated in the study (average age 22.8 years). Each participant was pre tested for leg extension power using a leg extension power measurement system (Anaero Press 3500). Participants then performed static stretching, dynamic stretching and non-stretching in a randomized order on separate days measuring leg extension power before and after the stretching session. The stretching session were designed to target each muscle being records. The static stretching session included stretches for all muscles and was held for 30 seconds.

Five muscles in both of the lower limbs were measured using EMG; plantor flexors, hip extensors, hamstrings, hip flexors, and quadriceps femoris in order to compare the pre and post muscle power results. Stretching was performed to isolate and target each of the five muscles for the dynamic and static stretching.

Conclusions: Static stretching when compared to no stretching did not alter the leg extension power pre to post test, however, the leg extension power was increased with dynamic stretching when compared to no stretching or static stretching

Practical Implications: If dynamic stretching is performed prior to physical activity as opposed to static stretching the muscular performance (strength and power) can be increased.

Logical Progressions That Build Postural Strength and Fine Tune High Velocity Rotation

To drive up your skill velocity, build for power through athletic rotation. After that, all you need to do is practice celebrating points and victories! To begin, safely, follow the progressions below that first build postural strength and as a last step fine tune high velocity rotation.

Progressions

1. To achieve desired results as well as prevent lower back injury, athletes are cued to ‘set their core’. The easiest way to explain this is to experience the ‘clenching’ or ‘bracing’ of the core when someone unexpectedly fakes a punch to your stomach. This corset effect is a set core that prepares the region to contract and exert force as well as absorb forces.
2. Initially prescribe static hold supine and prone positioned exercises. Lengthen the duration of holds and add loading and/or instability to those positions to gain full core strength.
3. Shift static core stability hold exercises to closed kinetic chain positions.
4. Add slow tempo full ROM rotation through the transverse plane with emphasis on loading the eccentric deceleration phase. Use a 2:4 rep count (2 seconds concentric, 4 seconds eccentric).
5. Increase the intent of power initiation at specific ranges of motion.
6. Increase the loading, movement velocity and rep counts for a given exercise.
7. Decrease eccentric-concentric coupling time at the point of direction change to generate power.

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Challenges to Athletes, Clients, Coaches and Trainers

To instill positive physical change, the body must be challenged beyond the current comfort level. Athletes / clients and coaches / trainers must all commit to engage in this style of workout to maximize results and guarantee safety. Coaches / trainers must be fully engaged using a critical mechanical eye that instantly corrects errors using well established cueing techniques and demands precision over repetition.

During Smart Muscle™ exercise, we have carefully designed exercises which are actually combinations of several lifts, some concurrently, some sequentially. For example, a lateral bound with deceleration loading (on a BOSU if ability permits) into a dumbbell lateral raise with unilateral hold is a simpler 2 layer combination exercise that challenges several ingredients to perform (lateral movement, eccentric lateral loading, single leg balance, core stability, shoulder as prime mover).

As coaches / trainers graduate through the coaching methodology to safely teach Smart Muscle™ exercises, 3 and 4 layered combination sequences are possible. These heighten the metabolic cost, deliver the most variety of challenges to the human system, make the body fully alert, and keep your athlete / client fully engaged, present in the moment, focused every inch of every rep.

Interesting exercises gain much greater adherence than simple repetitious exercises. Safe interesting whole body challenges at a pace adult clients are comfortable attempting produce a powerful combination. This develops a strong yet responsive and skilled body for a client who enjoys the exercise experience and lives the results.

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Human Machine and Sport Conditioning Paradox

In the not so distant past, efforts at training athletes relied on expensive and bulky equipment which was designed to either isolate muscles or replicate mechanics in an attempt to “develop” the bodies of players into their specific sport. Today we know that only the athletes themselves are the machines. It is through a method of teaching the athlete to exploit their machine’s natural affinity for movement and reactivity that we can train both the physiology and mechanics needed to optimize skillfulness. Today we also use portable sport-fitness tools that combine for thousands of movement-oriented drills, getting our machine moving!

The Paradox

The bottom line however is that there is a sport conditioning paradox. Epidemiological studies reveal that high velocity direction change commonly leads to injury on the field, court and gym floor. Likewise, braking and stopping are also common causes of injury, especially in collision sports like rugby, football and tennis. Ironically, explosive braking and high speed direction change are also key determinants of sport success. These attributes must be trained. Deceleration, velocity and direction change also add risk to training programs, but are a requisite component if we are to help players perform better and prevent injury. The trick is to do it with a systematic process, proven drills, effective guidelines, and with confidence that players are training in an aggressive yet safe and effective manner. Nowhere is this truer than when applying forces across the abdominals and the lumbar spine.

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Smart Muscle™ Training Workout Application

Combining Strength with a Balance Challenge - BOSU® Balance Trainer up, up, down, down
Begin in a plank position with forearms in contact with BOSU Place one hand on the BOSU, press up through the BOSU and place the other hand on top until shoulders are directly over hands and the body is flat from shoulders to toes. Establish stability before lowering one arm down placing forearm on the BOSU followed by the other arm to return to the starting position all the while moving with balance and torso control.

Combining Movement with Strength - Smart Toner™ Push Pull Combination
Using 2 Smart Toners™ the goal is to perform a Row with the pulling arm and a Press with the pushing arm. Cue the athlete into athletic ready position with a split stance (front foot contra-lateral to pulling arm). Pushing arm - Grasp one handle at shoulder level with elbow up. Pulling arm – Grasp the handle with palm facing in and the elbow in tight to the body. Core is set and upper body is strong. Successful execution involves linked rotation, pivoting of the feet while performing a rowing and pushing movement with the upper body. The pulling arm performs a row action that finishes with the elbow in tight to the body, the hand at hip height. The body rotates as a whole and pivots in the same direction as the pulling arm. The pushing arm performs a press action and finishes extended at shoulder height. Keep the core strong throughout the entire execution. During the recovery phase the whole body simultaneously returns to the start position through reversing the pivot, pulling action and pushing action.

Integrate Movement, Balance and Strength – Smart Toner™ BOSU® Balance Trainer 2 Foot Lateral Jump Row
Begin beside the BOSU® in athletic ready position with triple flexion of the hips, knees, ankles grasping the Smart Toner™ handles with arms extended, core set. Cue the athlete to explosively triple extend through the hips, knees and ankles and jump laterally while simultaneously performing a row with the upper body. Land on the dome side of the BOSU® using triple flexion of the hips, knees and ankles to decelerate the body, absorb power and maintain balance, maintain the row position.

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Smart Muscle™ Training, Adaptations for All Ages

Twist Smart Muscle™ exercise captures the essence of elite athlete training and applies level appropriate programming to kids and aging boomers.

Active Adults of all ages benefit from Smart Muscle™ training methodology by awakening movement patterns, activating extensive muscle groups, re-energizing neuromuscular communication pathways and restoring total body function mentally and physically. The result is enhanced mobility, reduced incidence of injury and a youthful sense of athletic confidence that brings new excitement to every recreational pursuit. Adult clients do desire appearance changes. The high metabolic cost of Smart Muscle™ strength training nets a massive caloric expenditure but while also teaching all the muscles in the body to work harmoniously.

Children and youth gain balance, movement and strength through motor experiences and with each repeated exposure to foundational movement patterns (running, jumping, kicking, throwing) neuromuscular references are established and enhanced. The brain thinks in terms of movements not individual muscles and neuromuscular communication pathways (sensory and motor commands) become faster and more efficient over time leading to more coordinated, precise and athletic movement. Rather than teaching children and youth to isolate muscles, exposure to whole body, sequential movement patterns with ability specific balance challenges builds a solid foundation for sport specific skill execution for their lifetime. The key to safely utilizing Smart Muscle™ training with these age ranges is understanding the growth and development stages along with the individualized needs of each child as they progress through the dynamic challenges of neurological, skeletal and muscular changes of adolescence.

From a performance enhancement perspective, success in sports demands Smart Muscle™ training. The nature of sport creates an environment that requires exceptionally fast read – react – respond abilities where an athlete can quickly interpret a game situation, evaluate the opponent (or the terrain) and apply the correct strategy to create an advantage for themselves or a team mate, all with a focus on winning. Sport is won or lost in small fractions of time and precision frequently determines outcomes. Developing the physical attributes that support sport skill requires that athletes have exceptional movement skills (speed, agility, coordination, quickness), dynamic balance (core strength, proprioception) and diverse strength (endurance, capacity, power). Layering complex movement, balance and strength challenges develops a smart athlete that is well prepared for the unpredictable demands of sport.

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What is Smart Muscle™ Training?

Success in the fitness and sport industries is measured by results. Professional athletes maintain sizable contracts by working diligently with well organized sport coaches who plan every aspect of the performance process from intricate workout design through to extensive season long cyclic training programs. Personal trainers in the fitness industry are hired and fired based on their ability to inspire clients to create short and long term tangible physical change. In a society that changes in an instant, moves at a lightening fast pace and provides access to information in a heartbeat, the ability to deliver real results quickly is paramount. Time to shift gears from training harder, to training smarter using Smart Muscle™ training!

Smart Muscle™ Training

Smart Muscle™ training is a recommended methodology that combines appearance goals with real life function and sport performance goals. Using a blend of dynamic balance challenges, multi directional movement skills and whole body strength exercises, an efficient and effective workout is built. The training style creates a maximum metabolic cost that activates various muscles from prime movers, to synergists and stabilizers to create complex, purposeful movement that occurs sequentially from toe to fingertip. Executing whole body movement relies on excellent proprioception and coordination built from rehearsed mind to muscle communication pathways. Referring to the Olympic motto, the outcome is bigger, faster, stronger and smarter muscles.

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Transfer from the Gym to Game Action

Throwing (football, softball, lacrosse) striking (hockey, tennis, golf), and kicking (soccer) sports all can benefit from stronger and more effective torso rotation. Examining the mechanics needed to optimize sport skills, rotary power is the key link from the weight room to the playing field. Preferred exercises use a closed chain position (standing up on your feet), weight shifts both laterally and horizontally (to pre-load the rear leg) and transfer of weight to lead leg at a high velocity.

When working movement around the spine, through a transverse plane, initial exercise prescription uses slow controlled movements, for time under tension to optimize strength and hypertrophy gains. Moreover, slow controlled movements on both the positive (concentric) and negative (eccentric) phases of the lift decrease the risk of injury.

Think of swinging a tennis racket or throwing a ball from your hand. The commonality is loading the legs to sum power from the legs, through the hips to the core and onwards to the shoulder complex. ‘Triggering’ the hips will transfer explosive power through the core. We like to use weighted medicine balls, 6 foot long covered strength tubing, and partner resistance exercises that allow powerful explosive strength training without having to decelerate at the end of the range of motion as is necessary with free weights. These accommodate full ranges of motion, whole body skill movements and explosive, high velocity training. Core rotation begins with a strength emphasis and controlled speeds, and finishes (later in the program cycle) with quick countermovements focused on power initiation. At this stage, athletes are performing core plyometrics.

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The Core Connection to All Sports

The sport skills of kicking a football, swinging a tennis racket, shooting a hockey ball, getting air and spin on snowboards, spiking a volleyball, driving a golf ball and hitting a baseball are all dependent on a highly developed torso capable of explosive rotation. The paradox continues in that most exercise professionals, with their good intention of ensuring core exercises are safe, prescribe very limited exercises that ultimately under prepare their clients for sport demands and actually set them up to be injured.

In the fitness world, ‘core’ strength has become a very common buzzword. In sport, you are definitely only as strong as your weakest link, and for most athletes this is the core or speed center, which includes abdominals, low back and hip musculature. For a solid base of support which is capable of transferring power through the kinetic chain, you need to build strength from the center of the body out to the periphery, as opposed to preferentially working on the muscles you can see in a mirror. However, enhanced skill execution and sport power cannot be optimized with traditional floor based sit up exercises.

In the past, core development has been attempted through the utilization of floor based exercises such as crunches, sit ups, leg raises, rope crunches, and back hyperextensions which predominantly isolate abs muscles.

However, the speed centre must be developed with the intent of improved performance. Nothing on the court, field or ice is done in isolation. Isolation exercises will hurt your sport performance and lead to injury. Strength exercises must incorporate the entire body and accelerate through various joints, activate all muscle groups and move through varied planes.

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Balance Your Sport

The evolution of athlete conditioning established roots in individual sports where coaches turned to physical development to get the most out of each athlete's performance. Individual sports like track sprinting found they could benefit from enhanced leg strength and power. Head coaches were the first trainers of athletes, taking them into the weight room with an eye on improving performance.

The systems and strategies in sports such as football, cricket and tennis can best be described as organized chaos; during competition no one knows what will happen in the very next second. Multi-directional sports are a read-and-react game where success hinges on individual tactics – the toolbox of creative moves on offence and the mobility and reactivity on the defensive side.

Many other sports directly draw upon balance for skill execution. Snowboarders and skiers make endless adjustments relative to changing terrain, jumps and tricks, requiring a highly trained balance system to make their body more reactive to unpredictable events. The joy of the sport is exploring how to coordinate the body to become more competent at increasingly more difficult technical maneuvers.

The bottom line: fitness and strength are only useful if they are developed with an exercise style that actually improves the physical tools game action draws upon. Integrating strength, movement and balance helps athletes build muscle and strength levels in a manner that will better transfer on to the playing field.

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Welcome to Twist Sport Conditioning's Blog Page!

This blog will be updated on a weekly basis, so we encourage you to check back weekly for the latest post, or choose to "follow" this blog to get regular updates sent to you. Contributions to this Blog will come from a variety of sources- Peter Twist, Douglas Brooks, Janice Hutton and Twist Coaches and staff- from a variety of standpoints including; whats hot in the industry, current research reviews, upcoming events, discussion boards, training tips and more...

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