The sports performance enhancement industry has become a multi-billion dollar business. Athletes today are looking to attain every advantage possible to improve their athletic performance on the playing field. As a trainer and coach with over eighteen years experience training and rehabilitating athletes and everyday people I have had the opportunity to see the ever changing “new industry trends” and plethora of individual training philosophies and training systems. Having trained athletes from about nine different sports has given me the insight and practical experience to understand which training methods are most and least effective. It absolutely shocks and amazes me when I see what athletes and parents will spend their money on when investing in a strength and conditioning program……..

I will tell you this: there is nothing worse than getting ripped off! I think we have all been there once or twice before and it is not a good feeling. Everyday I see countless athletes and their parents fall victim to the so called “Training Guru’s”, SAQ (Speed, Agility, and Quickness) Programs, and Functional “Core Training” enthusiasts. “I played football in College” or “coach baseball” doesn’t qualify one as an expert or professional. Being certified or degreed by XYZ organization actually means little unless it accompanies some type of practical hands on experience. Strength and conditioning for young athletes or any athlete for that matter is a highly specialized form of exercise and should be implemented by trainers who have experience working with athletes. If you are to be smart in making an investment in a training program you had better be sure you are choosing a trainer or program that has some history of getting results with his/her clients.

Training programs must have a basis and rationale behind the system. Training with the latest cutting edge equipment or training toys does not guarantee physical transition to the athletic field. Many trainers just guess when designing their programs. What is good for one guy must be good for the next guy. The reason for this is that many trainers lack evaluation and diagnostic skills. The first telltale sign that you have been taken to the bank is if you have been designed a program without ever being physically evaluated in some capacity and I don’t mean the vertical jump, pro-agility and bench press. If you have not had some sort of musculoskeletal screening or at least an orthopedic medical history assessment you’re on the fast track to problems. My experience has taught me that anyone who sells or delivers a “one size fits all” training program will inhibit the physical development of 1 in every 3 athletes he/she trains. Here are some of the other warning signs to look for when evaluating whether or not a trainer or program is right for you or your athlete:

• Be on the lookout for the haters: These are the individual(s) who have to “bash” or “slam” everybody in existence or who they perceive as industry competition in order for them to get clients or keep their own clients away from other programs. Again my experience over the years has shown me that when people have to incessantly “rip” you to justify their training methods they either have something to hide, have a lack of confidence in their own program, or they are trying to cover up a lack of knowledge and a poor product!

• Programs that prescribe aerobic conditioning for anaerobic sports: This in my opinion is a mortal sin in terms of sports performance yet coaches are obsessed with it. Why? Because they follow what I call the “conventional wisdom syndrome”. That is the “well it has always been done that way so it must be right” approach, or “let’s run for punishment because it will get us in shape anyway” approach. Read my article on the “Effects of Aerobic Training on Power Sports” in my next newsletter issue.

• Programs that are based around SAQ (Speed, Agility, Quickness) drills: In order to appeal to the parents of young athletes who are looking for the quick fix or promises of little Johnny running a 4.3 forty or 6.5 sixty yd dash. Speed ladders, parachutes and high priced sprinting treadmills are used as marketing tools to seduce unknowing athletes and their parents into so called “speed training programs” that can be high priced but have a poor return on investment. Quite often speed may be the limiting factor for an athlete. Sometimes this may be the difference in an athlete making a team or being cut. Unfortunately their are those unscrupulous individuals out there who are more than willing to prey on the emotions of the parents of these athletes. Qualified coaches know that in order to develop true lasting speed a solid flexibility and strength base must be developed first. Do some research on bio-motor learning in young children and you will quickly find your answer.

• If you are being trained in large groups of other athletes it is a good sign that the facility/program your training in needs to sign 50 new clients a week just to pay their overhead and keep their doors open. You are a number in a numbers game! The chances of you making some real long term progress are slim and none! Remember you are buying an end result not just training sessions. Development and results cannot be judged on a six week program. Anyone trying to sell you “immediate gratification“ is doing themselves and you a disservice by not helping you be realistic on what to expect over such a short time period. This is specially true for young athletes who's physical and athletic development should be planned over six, twelve, or eighteen month periods. Again it is my experience that with young athletes the failure to do so will result in overuse injuries, physical and emotional burnout as well as inhibit the potential for future athletic development.

• Those who are trying to convince you that CORE TRAINING, BOSU BALLS, YOGA CLASSES and training with TUBING or  BANDS will prevent Shoulder, Elbow, Back, and knee injuries and improve performance. Yes, core training is an important component of a programs design, be it a very small part if you understand how to design programs that reduce injuries. As far as yoga is concerned I like the flexibility concept but it lacks movement orientation and speed of movement which makes it non-functional for athletes. My static flexibility program has a strong yoga orientation but again experience has shown me as it pertains to athletes, dynamic movement preparation is way more effective in developing true flexibility because it focuses more on joint mobility rather than static flexibility. So, in the long run I have found yoga to be counterproductive because it can hinder the muscles rate of force development (speed of muscle contraction) during explosive activities such as throwing, running, jumping and swinging. In some cases athletes I have trained that had over emphasized yoga or static flexibility in the past had developed significant levels of scar tissue or adhesions at the musculo-tendinous junction of the shoulder and hip joints causing restricted movement and in some cases even tendonitis. Static flexibility can cause micro tearing in the tendon/muscle which will cause scar formation. I use myofascial release and a good ART (Active Release Technique) practitioner to combat the problem. Keep your flexibility more dynamic and less static. Band training originates more from physical therapy protocols for already injured athletes and is a poor representation of the strength curve. In my training practice in a one year period I can see numerous “Tommy John“ and “Shoulder Reconstruction“ surgeries post rehab. Ironically these are the same guys that swore by the “Band“ “Pre-Hab” methods of shoulder conditioning until they blew their arms out. After seeing them in my facility and prescribing more advanced exercises that focus on the external rotators of the shoulder with real weight not so miraculously the problems seem to disappear. Go figure. LOL.