The myths and falsehoods associated with coordination training are plenty.  I’ll outline the “Top 3″ here:

1.       Coordination is a singular element that is defined by a universal ability or lack of ability

2.       Coordination cannot be trained nor taught

3.       Coordination-based stimulus should be restricted to preadolescent children

This article will provide a broad-based look at each of those myths and shed some light on the realities behind coordination training as a continuum for the complete development of young athletes aged 6 – 18.

1. Coordination & Young Athletes

Largely considered a singular facet of athletic ability, it is not uncommon to hear coaches, parents or trainers suggest that a given young athlete possess “good” or “bad” coordination.

This generalization does not reflect the true nature of the beast, or specific features that combine to create coordination from a macro-perspective.  Coordination is, in reality, comprised of several different characteristics:

• Balance – a state of bodily equilibrium in either static or dynamic planes

• Rhythm – the expression of timing

• Movement Adequacy – display of efficiency or fluidity during locomotion

• Synchronization of Movement – harmonization and organization of movement

• Kinesthetic Differentiation – the degree of force required to produce a desired result

• Spatial Awareness – ability to know where you are in space and in relation to objects

While many of these traits have great overlap and synergy, they are unmistakably separate and can, in fact, be improved in relatively isolated ways.  That’s not to suggest that your training programs should necessarily look to carve up the elements of coordination and work through them in a solitary manner.  Just a notation intended to show that coordination as it relates to young athletes can be improved at the micro level.

2. Coordination – Can You Teach Young Athletes?

The answer, in short, is yes.

Coordination ability is not unlike any other biomotor; proficiencies in strength, speed, agility and even cardiovascular capacity (through mechanical intervention) can be taught, and at any age.

The interesting caveat with coordination-based work, however, is that its elements are tied directly to CNS development and therefore have a natural sensitive period along a chronological spectrum.  The actuality of sensitive periods tends to be a contentious topic amongst researchers and many coaches.  Some of these individuals are not satisfied with current research and are therefore not eager to believe in their existence and others who accept sensitive periods of development to be perfectly valid.  It’s worth pointing out that I am in no way a scientist or researcher, but have read numerous books and research reviews on the subject and feel satisfied that they do exist and can be maximized (optimized for a lifetime) through proper stimulus.

This “optimization” issue is the true crux of the matter.  Especially during the very early years of life (0 – 12 years) the CNS contains a great deal of plasticity, or ability to adapt.  This plastic nature carries through the mid-adolescence, but then significantly decreases from there.  Many mistake this point as an implication that the human organism cannot learn new skills in any capacity once their CNS has passed the point of being optimally plastic, but this is not true.  Skill of any athletic merit can be learned at virtually any age throughout life.  What the plasticity argument holds is that these skills could never be optimized if they were not introduced at a young age.

Why Michael Couldn’t Hit: And Other Tales of The Neurology of Sports is a fascinating book by Dr. Harold Klawans.  Klawans presents a review of his prediction that Michael Jordan, one of the greatest athletes of all time, would not become an extraordinary baseball player during his attempts to do so with the Chicago White Sox.

Dr. Klawans contented that because Jordan did not learn or practice the specific motor and hand-eye aspects of hitting baseballs when he was young, no matter how great an athlete he was, he would never be able to do so at an advanced level.

Inevitably, Dr. Klawans was correct.

The case for neural plasticity suggests that during the formative years of growth, it is imperative that young athletes be introduced to all types of stimulus that fuel improvement to the elements of coordination listed earlier.  This is one of the very critical reasons that all young athletes should play a variety of sports seasonally and avoid any sort of “sport specific” training.  Unilateral approaches to enhancing sport proficiency will meet with disastrous results from a performance standpoint if general athletic ability, overall coordination and non-specific load training is not reinforced from a young age.

This bring us to the final myth…

3. Teenage Athletes Are ‘Too Old’

Now, while there is truth to the matter that many of the sensitive periods for coordination development exist during the preadolescent phase of life, it would be shortsighted to suggest that teenage athletes should not be exposed to this type of training.

Firstly, much of the training of coordination takes the form of injury prevention.  Any sort of “balance” exercise, for example, requires proprioceptive conditioning and increases in stabilizer recruitment.  With “synchronization of movement,” large ROM and mobility work is necessary.  “Kinesthetic differentiation,” by definition, involves sub-maximal efforts or “fine-touch” capacity that is a drastically different stimulus than most young athletes are used to in training settings.

Beyond that, there is the matter of motor skill linking.  According to Jozef Drabik, as much as 60% of the training done by Olympic athletes should take the form of non-direct load (i.e. non-sport-specific).  To truly stimulate these rather advanced athletes however, one option (which is a standard during the warm-up phase of a training session) is to link advanced motor skills (coordination exercises) together creating a complex movement pattern.

For example:

Run Forward —> Decelerate —> 360 Jump —> Forward Roll —> Tuck Jump

Or

Scramble to Balance —> 1-Leg Squat —> A Skips —> Army Crawl —> Grab Ball/Stand/Throw to Target

In each of these patterns, we have represented:

• Spatial Awareness

• Synchronization of Movement

• Balance (dynamic and static)

• Movement Adequacy

• Kinesthetic Differentiation

• Rhythm

I have used warm-up sequences just like these with high school, collegiate and professional athletes from a variety of sports.

Brian Grasso has trained more than 15,000 young athletes worldwide over the past decade.  He is the Founder and CEO of the International Youth Conditioning Association – the only youth-based certification organization in the entire industry.  For more information, visit www.IYCA.org.

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Post tags: Adequacy, Athletic Ability, Brian Grasso, Continuum, Coordination, Differentiation, Equilibrium, Facet, Fluidity, Generalization, Harmonization, Macro Perspective, Myths, Nature Of The Beast, Realities, Spatial Awareness, Stimulus, True Nature, Universal Ability, Young Athletes

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I’ve already written at length about AC joint issues in Getting Geeky with AC Joint Injuries: Part 1 and Part 2.  And, I kicked out a two-part series called The Truth About Shoulder Impingement; here are Part 1 and Part 2.

While I talk a lot about the symptoms for both, several provocative tests for these issues, and training modifications to avoid exacerbating pain under these conditions, there was one important “differential assessment that I missed.”  Mike Reinold actually taught me it as we were planning the Optimal Shoulder Performance DVD set.

Just paying close attention to (and asking about) where folks have their pain during overhead motion can tell you quite a bit.  In an external impingement – where we’re talking about the rotator cuff tendons and bursa rubbing up against the undersurface of the acromion – you’ll usually get pain as folks approach 90 degrees of abduction (arm directly out to the side).  That pain will persist as they go further overhead, and in my experience, start to die off as they get to the top.

Conversely, for those with AC joint impingement – what is essentially bone rubbing up against bone – you see a “painful arc” only at the last portion of abduction:

You can usually confirm your suspicions on this front with direct palpation of the AC joint and checking to see if folks have pain when reaching across the chest.

Much of the training modifications will be the same for these two conditions, but there are also going to be several key things that should be managed completely differently.  For instance, front squatting someone with an AC joint issue would not be a good idea due to the direct pressure of the bar on the AC joint; it would, however, be just fine for most cases of external shoulder impingement.  In another example, some serious AC joint issues are exacerbated even by just doing the end-range of a rowing motion (to much shoulder extension/horizontal abduction) – whereas even folks with full-blown rotator cuff tears can generally do rows pain-free.

Assess, don’t assume!

For more information – including loads more assessments like these – check out the Optimal Shoulder Performance DVD set.

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Which whey protein should you be using; concentrate or isolate?

The most imperative differentiation amid the two is that Isolate is processed at deeper levels so that the fat and lactose are removed. This more involved system provides a higher quality of protein. The fact is that over 90% of whey protein powder isolate is protein calculated by weight.

This is important as lesser levels of fat are a help for the regular daily diet of bodybuilders and when whey is used for the purpose of getting rid of excess weight.

A decrease in lactose levels will also a help individuals who are lactose intolerant as well as reduce the chance of that bloated feeling that can go along with some protein shakes. There are some side effects to consuming whey protein shake isolate nonetheless.

Although whey has a high protein ratio, isolate powder will be a little higher in price. The procedure isolate goes through to filter out the key compounds is significantly more rigorous as it remove the components that are known as alpha lactoglobulins and lactoferrins which is vital immune boosters.

Whey concentrate has smaller protein available ad this can range from anywhere between 29% all the way up to 89% in some brands. Concentrate is higher in levels of lactose so anyone who suffers from lactose intolerance should to be very cautious.

Whey protein concentrate powder does have an advantage because it cost less so this can be a better substitute depending on what your financial plan is. Whey concentrate protein powder also contains small levels of cholesterol, which is another benefit to think about for your diet.

On the whole, dietary and medical circumstances call for action to be taken into consideration when choosing the type of whey protein powder you choose.

Isolate whey powder may have the slight edge in regards to the biological value (BV) and will make available to you with more value for your money if you are needing a higher dosage per serving of whey protein.

For the past two decades, Dr. Dorothy Nevelestein has looked into all of the benefits of protein shakes for weight loss. He currently has an informative site that gives insightful information about everything that is protein shakes for weight loss

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Whey protein isolate and whey protein powder concentrate is an inquiry very frequently asked. This question without a doubt is one that has crossed the minds of many aspiring weight lifters when staring at the shelves of various kinds of whey protein powder available in the health food supermarket.

Which whey protein is the one for you; concentrate or isolate?

The most imperative differentiation amid the two is that Isolate is processed at deeper levels so that the fat and lactose are removed. This more involved system provides a higher quality of protein. The fact is that over 90% of whey protein powder isolate is protein calculated by weight.

This is valuable as lesser levels of fat are a benefit for the regular daily diet of bodybuilders and when whey is utilized for the purpose of losing weight.

A decrease in lactose levels will also a help individuals who are lactose intolerant as well as reduce the chance of that bloated feeling that can go along with some protein shakes. There are some side effects to consuming whey protein shake isolate nonetheless.

In view of the fact whey is high in protein ratio, isolate powder will cost you a little more. The filtering procedure isolate goes through is significantly more rigorous as it remove the components that are known as alpha lactoglobulins and lactoferrins which is important immune boosters.

Whey concentrate has smaller protein available ad this can range from anywhere between 29% all the way up to 89% in some brands. Concentrate is higher in levels of lactose so anyone who suffers from lactose intolerance should to be very cautious.

Concentrate however cost less so this can be a better alternative depending on what your budget is. Whey concentrate also is low in levels of cholesterol, which is another benefit to consider for your diet.

In general, dietary and medical circumstances call for action to be in use into contemplation when deciding on the kind of whey protein that is best for you.

Isolate whey powder may have the slight edge in regards to the biological value (BV) and will make available to you with more value for your money if you are needing a higher dosage per serving of whey protein.

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Post tags: Bloated Feeling, Bodybuilders, Cholesterol, Concentrate, Contemplation, Differentiation, education, Fitness, Food Protein, Food Supermarket, health, Health Food, High Protein, Immune Boosters, Losing Weight, Medical Circumstances, powder, Protein, Protein Isolate, Protein Powder, Protein Shake, Protein Whey, Shelves, Weight Lifters, whey, Whey Protein

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Whey protein isolate and whey protein powder concentrate is an examination very frequently sought. This question without a doubt is one that has crossed the minds of a lot of hopeful weight lifters when glancing at the shelves of an assortment of kinds of whey protein powder on hand in the health food supermarket.

Which one is right for you; concentrate or isolate?

The most imperative differentiation amid the two is that Isolate is processed at deeper levels so that the fat and lactose are removed. This more involved system provides a higher quality of protein. The fact is that over 90% of whey protein powder isolate is protein calculated by weight.

This is important as lesser levels of fat are a help for the regular daily diet of bodybuilders and when whey is used for the purpose of getting rid of excess weight.

Decreased lactose levels are also a positive for individuals who are lactose intolerant and can also diminish the chance of that bloated feeling that can go along with some protein supplements. There are some side effects to using whey protein isolate nonetheless.

Since it is high in protein ratio, isolate powder requires you to pay a higher retail price. The filtering procedure isolate goes through is significantly more intensive to remove the components that are known as alpha lactoglobulins and lactoferrins which is significant immune boosters.

Whey concentrate has lower protein availability that can range from anywhere between 29% and up to 89% in some instances. Concentrate is elevated in levels of lactose and anyone in distress with lactose intolerance needs to be very wary.

Concentrate does have an advantage because it cost less so this can be a better alternative depending on what your financial plan is. Whey concentrate protein powder also is small in levels of cholesterol, which is another positive to consider for your diet.

In general, dietary and medical circumstances call for action to be in use into contemplation when deciding on the kind of whey protein that is best for you.

Isolate whey powder may have the slight edge in regards to the biological value (BV) and will make available to you with more value for your money if you are needing a higher dosage per serving of whey protein.

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