BALLISTIC TRAINING - Young Athletes
Dec 1, 2004, 17:01
There is a disturbing trend hitting our high school weight rooms and it's called ballistic training. Ken Mannie, the strength and conditioning coach for the Michigan State Spartans put it best when he said, "training ballistically for a ballistic sport is like ramming your head into a wall to prepare for a concussion". Let me start by saying that one of the main reasons for resistance training in young athletes is to prevent possible sport-related injury through physical conditioning, not cause it! So, with this said, why are we training our athletes with movements that are even themselves injurious? Isn’t the potential for injury on the playing field bad enough?
The power-clean is one of many different Olympic lifts that are being used in our high schools today. They are statistically injurious primarily due to the speed at which they are preformed. Strength training should be slow and controlled with emphasis on technique. Speed needs to be developed outside the weight room without applied resistance and not while under a maximal load. The idea behind the "power-clean" is that you can develop power and speed with one quick movement under a heavy load calling upon immediate and short-lived neuromuscular activity. This activity is so brief, however, that there is not enough growth stimulating damage being done to the soft tissue (muscle) to result in strength increase, only a more efficient nerve impulse. All resistance movements have a benefit-risk factor, this means we have to ask ourselves does this movement present a significant risk of injury and what benefit will be derived from it.
In the case of power-cleans the risk far outweighs the benefit as readily obtained injury statistics reflect. The benefits of non-load barring plyometric training are now being proven every bit as good as the benefits of the power-clean however with one significant difference, there is little risk of injury associated with plyometrics! While both improve neuromuscular efficiency enhancing contractile power and speed why not take the safer route of plyometric training sparing teen athletes the risk of serious injury?
Muscle conditioning and strength have absolutely nothing in common with power and speed. It is the fundamental muscle conditioning then that is unfortunately absent from the weight training being practiced in high schools across the nation. With time these philosophies will change as fundamental strength training which is by far less injurious and by far more effective will slowly find its way into the high schools along side complementary plyometric training. Since this revolution has to start sometime, it may as well be now!
Moreover, the ACSM issued a “current comment” statement in September of 2002 stating that “In a study involving 1109 children and adolescents lifting at national meets over a four year period showed no growth plate injuries or injuries requiring hospitalization or surgery. But muscle strains were common". Now, I have the utmost respect for the ACSM, in fact, I quote them quite often when asked what would be a safe strength training program for children or adolescents. However, I personally contest this statement with some simple research I’ve done on my own.
In one high school alone in west central Indiana over just the last 18 months several teen athletes suffered wrist injuries, elbow injuries, back injuries (some requiring a trip to the emergency room), and two hernia's one requiring surgery! I am able to say with confidence and conviction, by several personal accounts that ALL of these injuries were directly related to ballistic training practices on the part of the coaches involved. To be direct most of these reported injuries occurred while performing power-cleans. This does not take into account all the minor nagging muscle strains requiring minor injury treatment performed at home. With this said, I personally question the accuracy of the above ACSM statement.
In 17 years among 14,000 professional trainers/coaches working with adult athletes and general fitness enthusiasts we have not had one significant injury reported while using NFPT methods and we are getting by far better results than those experienced using the various programs that are currently being used in most high schools. Let me say that again. In 17 years we have not had one reported injury while using NFPT methods and are getting by far better results!
NFPT strength training and conditioning principles incorporate slow and controlled movement with emphasis on proper technique and diet which results in a more confident, stronger, resilient, and healthier teen athlete. We build better athletes by intelligently and effectively developing the appropriate muscle fiber types that work optimally specific to the actual position of the athlete in whatever Sport that athlete is in. That’s right; customized “position-based” muscle conditioning!
This concept in itself is revolutionary and as I stated earlier will soon prove itself too valuable to be ignored among young athletes. Even now, athletes and parents alike who I am working with are absolutely amazed at the drastic improvements in strength and performance they are experiencing over the use of their teen’s high school-based program. Parents of athletes who are not on these NFPT programs are not blind to the drastic improvements in those athletes I am working with and whom their teens compete against! The obvious results speak for themselves.
If you want to be a better football player then play football, if you want be a better wrestler then wrestle, and so on. You cannot safely or effectively duplicate movement to mimic a sport in the weight room. This can best be accomplished by sport specific plyometrics and agility training on the field or on the court.
Olympic lifts are for Olympic lifters, these are people who have made an informed choice to accept the fact that the lifts they are training to perform are high risk injury movements and that an injury in there future is probable. Even the most seasoned Olympic lifter experiences significant injuries throughout even the most successful of careers. If a trained professional can’t avoid injury during power-cleans, what happens to the teenager who doesn’t even know how to perform the movement? It’s just that simple. So, why do teenage athletes perform “ballistic” power-cleans?
It has been my experience that in at least one case a coach who staunchly defends the power-clean, even seeing first hand the miraculous results these NFPT teen athletes are experiencing, has held at least one NFPT athlete’s playing time hostage. In other words "you don't do my program (power-cleans), then you don't play much". Don't get me wrong, to my knowledge no coach has ever came right out and said this but the undertones are loud and clear. So parents, if you have young athletes in a strength training program at school GET INVOLVED! Find out if any injuries have occurred in the weight room. One injury in the weight room is one too many. There are safer and more effective ways to develop speed, power, and strength for teen athletes and help from NFPT is on the way!
- Coach Tim Snider
Certified NFPT Master Trainer