🥇 The Athlete Development Journal
Simple solutions for complex athletic problems.
Listen to this episode on your way to practice. ⬇️
You can also listen on ​Spotify​ or ​Apple Podcasts​.
Train your mind.
What if problems weren’t problematic?
Problems are annoying. By definition, they’re things that are unwelcome or harmful and need to be dealt with and overcome.
But, what if we put on some new glasses and saw them in a different light?
I like Henry Kaiser’s viewpoint:
“Problems are opportunities in work clothes.”
Everyone is going to run into problems. And for the most part, everyone you’re competing with is going to run into the same problems that you run into.
So, those same problems are opportunities for you to overcome with more vigor and resilience than your competitors.
It’s not going to be easy (don’t forget that they’re wearing work clothes), but it will be worth it.
Build your body.
The 5 best lifts to build speed.
For 99.9% of athletes between 13-18 years old, strength is the rising tide that lifts all ships.
If you want to sprint faster, jump higher, throw harder, or stay healthier, then getting stronger is going to give you a higher return on investment than any other training modality.
At some point, you’ll reach the “strong enough threshold” and you no longer get the same ROI. But, if you’re a teenage athlete, the chances that you’ve truly reached that strong enough threshold are slim to none.
To make it easy, here are the 5 strength training exercises that translate best to game day speed.
1. Reverse Lunges
Why?
You sprint and change direction on one leg. The forces that you need to produce can exceed 600 lbs in less than 0.2 seconds.
To get prepared for that, you have to get crazy strong on one leg.
Reverse Lunges are a unilateral (meaning one-sided) lift that you can load up and get really strong at. The positions that you get into during a Reverse Lunge are eerily similar to the positions you get into when accelerating.
2. Trap Bar Deadlifts
Why?
Trap Bar Deadlifts are a center-of-mass movement. Meaning, the external load is directly in line with your natural center of mass. This makes the movement feel more organic and representative of what you’re actually asked to do on game day.
Furthermore, a Trap Bar Deadlift can be tailored to accurately represent your natural “athletic position” (which should be your defensive stance in just about every sport out there).
An optimal athletic stance is a mix of both a squat and a hinge, but slightly more of a hinge. The same is true for a Trap Bar Deadlift.
3. Single-Leg Squats
Why?
You cannot get a more pure one-legged, deep-knee-bending squat than a Single-Leg Squat.
4. Single-Leg RDLs
Why?
You cannot get a more pure one-legged hinge than a Single-Leg RDL.
5. Single-Leg Elevated Calf Raises
Why?
If you want to produce 600+ lbs of force in a couple tenths of a second, you better have a stupid strong calf and a stiff achilles. Single-Leg Elevated Calf Raises check both of those boxes and work your ankle through the full plantar-flexion and dorsiflexion range of motion.
The Takeaways
- Strength is the rising tide that lifts all ships for teenage athletes.
- The most effective strength exercises for speed development are Reverse Lunges, Trap Bar Deadlifts, Single-Leg Squats, Single-Leg RDLs, and Single-Leg Elevated Calf Raises.
Fuel your soul.
A simple framework for living better.
If something doesn’t:
- Enhance quality time with your tribe,
- aid in your life’s mission,
- or improve your health (physical and mental)
then you should say no to it. Get rid of distractors and detractors.
Let’s wrap it up with a couple important things…
- This newsletter and podcast are completely free. I spend many hours each week researching, writing, illustrating, recording, editing, and uploading. The best way you can support it and allow it to continue is to share it with people you know. You can just send them to ​gtperformance.co/newsletter​ and they can subscribe there!
- Everything in these newsletters, podcasts, social media, and on our website is for educational purposes only and should not be taken as medical advice for you or your athlete. Consult directly with a healthcare professional.
Thanks so much for your help in spreading the word about athlete development!
Be >,
Zach
Dr. Zach Guiser, PT, DPT, CSCS