Tag Archives: fitness testing

In the Spotlight – J.T. Hayes

Posted on by
3

hayesAs part of the “In the Spotlight” series, I have tried to highlight athletes in our program that have excelled in their sport(s) in part due to their dedication in the weight room.   I have also tried to select athletes that may participate in a sport not typically thought of as one that would benefit from a strength and conditioning program.  The strength and conditioning program that I have shared (A Weekly (not weakly!) Workout), and detailed in this blog, is designed to make ALL athletes faster, quicker, and more explosive.

Today In the Spotlight is a senior two sport athletes at Truman High School, J.T. Hayes.  J.T. is a 3-year starter on both the football and baseball teams.  As QB on the football team, his senior season was cut short due to a Lisfranc foot injury in the third game of the 2012 campaign.  Up until that point, he had rushed for 182 yards and 2 TD’s in 36 carries (over 5 yd per carry average) and completed 24 of 39 passes for 240 yards and 1 TD.  This was against some good football programs in the Kansas City Metro Area – Blue Springs South, Liberty North, and Park Hill South.

In baseball, J.T. has earned the following awards:

  • 2nd Team All-Conference 2011
  • 1st Team All-Conference 3rd Base 2012
  • 2nd Team All -Conference Pitcher 2012
  • 1st Team All – Area 3rd Base 2012
  • 1st Team All –State Utility 2012
  • 1st Team All-Metro 3rd Base 2012
  • Examiner Player of the Year 2012

J.T. is a tireless worker both on the field and in the weight room.  His training over the past three years, particularly in the winter months between his two competitive seasons, has been outstanding.  We are expecting a great senior baseball season in 2013.

Below is J.T.’s most recent workout card.  Some of his estimated 1RM’s were adjusted down after the surgery to repair his Lisfranc injury.  You can click on the card to download the full size version.

jt hayes

Below is a brief video showing J.T. training, utilizing the 4 “Core Lifts“, and also the “change up” combination lift Clean to Front Squat to Push Press

Questions and comments are always welcome!

Jeff Floyd – youcandomore1@yahoo.com

In the Spotlight – Yoda

Posted on by
Reply

yoda 2013I am not a scientist, but I can be a bit nerdy; in the spotlight today, Yoda.

I started thinking after yesterday’s post, and watching the video of Yoda lifting the X-Wing fighter out of the swamp – using the “Force” – that although Yoda is the greatest coach ever, he was not a bad athlete.

So here is Yoda’s workout card, albeit based on somewhat limited information.

Yoda

From what I could determine, Yoda is about 2 feet 2 inches tall, and weighs about 74 pounds.  I figured, again based on information online that he his vertical is about 7 times his height, or about 84 inches.  Based on that his Power Quotient (What are you Measuring) is around 78.84… good, but not amazing.  It would put Yoda among the leaders but not at the top of the athletes I tested this year.

His Pound for Pound Ratio (Pound for Pound Ratio Data), on the other hand, is an amazing (even among Jedi Masters) 287.16.  I estimated his lifts based on the weight of the X-Wing fighter (9,500 pounds) that he lifted out of the swamp.  It is amazing the information you can find on the internet.  You can see that he moved it slowly, and lifted and pulled it, as opposed to pushing.  Because of this I assigned a greater number to the squat (power lift), and less to the Bench (pushing) , Push and Clean (Explosive Lifts).  You an also see in the attached video that Yoda is quicker rather than fast, so he scores better on the Pro Agility test than the 40.

Yoda Lifting

Yoda showing his quickness

You Can Do More …. your brain is lying to you… Don’t believe it!

Jeff Floyd – youcandomore1@yahoo.com

In the Spotlight – Alexis Hart

Posted on by
5

In the spotlight today is Alexis Hart.   Lexi is a freshman three sport athlete at our school (Truman High School) participating in Volleyball, Basketball, and Track.  In addition she participates year round in club volleyball.

hartLexi started as a freshman (which is rare) on our Volleyball team this season as an Outside/ Middle Attacker.   She had the top hitting percentage on the team (.346) and was second in blocks with 16.5.  Lexi also led the squad in earned points with 175, which was 25% of the team’s total earned points.  Alexis was voted 2nd Team All-Conference (also rare for a freshman) and was nominated for the All-Area and All-District squads.  You can read about Lexi’s (and her freshman teammate, Brianna Savidge) volleyball exploits at this link

Examiner Article – Freshman duo sparks Pat’s strong start

In Basketball, Lexi was part of the squad that had a 25-1 record this season.  She started on JV and did earn some varsity minutes this season.  In Track, Lexi is a sprinter and is planning on competing in the 200m and 400m runs.

Lexi has been training in our program since the summer of 2012, and was enrolled in our Advanced Strength Training and Conditioning class both semesters this school year.  Lexi had the top Vertical Leap among the women athletes tested this year (22 inches measured on the wall, not with a Vertec) , and her Power Quotient (56.87) and Pound for Pound Ratio (3.84) were among the leaders as well.

This is Lexi’s current workout card:

Hart Card

Here is a video of Lexi doing some of our Core lifts (Push Press, Bench Press and Back Squat) and a supplemental “change up” lift (Hang Clean to Front Squat)

Lexi challenges herself every day when she trains, whether in the weight room, volleyball or basketball court, or track.

Questions or Comments are always welcome!

Jeff Floyd – youcandomore1@yahoo.com

What Are You Measuring?

Posted on by
6

Today I am sharing some additional testing data from our advanced strength and conditioning class for athletes.  Before sharing this data though, I think it is important to discuss the why, what, and frequency of our testing.

The primary reason we test our athletes is to make sure our workout program is accomplishing what we want it to.  If we want our program to make our athletes more explosive, faster, and quicker, then we should design our testing around those factors.  Generally, the battery of tests that we use are:

  • Estimated 1RM Bench
  • Estimated 1RM Squat
  • Estimated 1RM Push Press
  • Estimated 1RM Hang Clean
  • 40 yd dash (Straight Speed)
  • Vertical Leap (Explosion-Leaping Ability)
  • Pro Agility Shuttle (Quickness/ Agility)
  • Body Weight

And from these we can then calculate:

  • Pound for Pound Ratio (Lean Muscle Mass)
  • Power Quotient (Lower Body Power)

As was mentioned is a previous post (Pound for Pound Ratio Data), the Pound for Pound Ratio Takes the athlete’s Total Weight (1RM for the 4 Core lifts) and divides it by their Body Weight.  The Power Quotient multiplies the Square Root of the Vertical Leap by the Square Root of the Body Weight.  An athlete that weights 200 pounds and has a vertical of 25 inches is generating more lower body power than an athlete that weighs 100 pounds and has an identical vertical leap.  As detailed in a previous post (Workout Card Motivation and Efficiency) the workout card automatically calculates both of these numbers.

I also believe testing is a strong motivating factor, and with this variety of tests, most of the athletes can take pride in some aspect of their results.  Beyond just the raw data, the calculated results (Power Quotient and Pound for Pound) are great motivators as well.  The smaller athletes generally can score higher in the Lb/Lb category, and the larger athletes have a chance to score well in the Power Quotient.  All of the results are printed on their workout cards so that they can see it daily, and in the case of their estimated 1RM they can check their progress as well.

2011 NFL Scouting CombineWe typically test our athletes 2-3 times a year, depending on when and how often they take our strength and conditioning class.  Last week we tested the athletes in our class on the vertical leap.  The vertical leap test always gets a great deal of pub this time of year because of the NFL Combine. This increases the interest among our athletes.  We test using a measured tape against the wall.  We mark their reach, then note their jump/ touch mark, and subtract the two.  While not as accurate as using a Vertec (which we do have) we opt for this method because we can test more athletes during a short amount of time using the tape/ wall technique.  We do it this way every time, so when we compare data we are comparing “apples to apples”.  We tell our athletes (and it proves to be true ) that typically they could measure 2”-6” higher testing on a Vertec.

The following results were from student-athletes (both men and women) that were enrolled in our strength and conditioning class.  It includes athletes from all sports, and all grade levels (9-12)

The results for the 76 men we tested ranged from 12” to 31”.  The average jump was 21.26” and the Median was 21” This graph shows the distribution of the results.

Male Vertical Leap

The results for the 40 women we tested ranged from 12” to 22”.  The average jump was 16” and the Median was also 16”.  This graph shows the distribution of the results.

female vertical leap

The calculated Power Quotient for the 76 men ranged from 41.28 to 80.75 (higher number is better).  The average PQ was 59.34 and the Median was 59.23.  This graph shows the distribution of the results.

Male PQ

The calculated Power Quotient for the 40 women ranged from 39.50 to 61.32 (higher number is better).  The average PQ was 47.57 and the Median was 47.36.  This graph shows the distribution of the results.

female PQ

I do believe our testing protocol, in conjunction with the printed workout cards, serves us well in evaluating and motivating our student-athletes.

If you have any questions, please just comment or email!

Jeff Floyd – youcandomore1@yahoo.com

In the Spotlight – Roy Bay

Posted on by
8

I have heard many different iterations of this same conversation… just fill in the blanks.   I don’t want to do the “football” workout because I don’t want to get big (bulky, muscle bound, tight).  Do you have a track (volleyball, basketball baseball, soccer) workout because I just want to get faster (jump higher, be more explosive, hit the ball farther, get leaner).

The last thing I want to do is get any athlete, bulky, tight or muscle bound.  The workout that I have shared (A Weekly (not weakly) Workout!) is designed to make any athlete more explosive, quicker, faster and stronger.  Sometimes bigger is a side effect, but like was discussed in a previous post (Does a Purple Cow Have to be Big?) I would not want to exchange speed for size. We are fortunate that at our school, all of the head coaches of the varsity sports, both on the men’s and women’s side, have “bought into” what we are trying to do with our strength and conditioning program.  It is the expectation that all of the athletes will take part in the strength and conditioning program, either during school as part of a class, or after school as part of an off/in season program, or both.  All of our athletes do essentially the same program, although each sport will “tweak” the workout using various supplemental lifts and conditioning drills.

Today I am highlighting a track athlete at our school, Roy Bay.  Roy is currently a senior at our school, Truman High School (Independence, MO) , and has been doing this strength and conditioning program as part of his workout for nearly three years.  His accomplishments as a Track athlete are a reflection of his hard work, both in the weight room, as well the sport specific training he does.  All of these times are FAT

  • School record 100m Dash – 10.58
  • School record 200m Dash – 22.06
  • School record 400m Relay – 43.30
  • KU Relays 2012 – 2nd 100m Dash
  • Currently Top 20 in the US High School 60m Dash – 6.89
  • Fastest returning time (2013) Missouri in the 100m Dash
  • District 100m and 200m champion 2012

Here is a video of Roy’s 60m race at the University of Arkansas High School Invitational.  Roy placed 2nd with a FAT time of 6.89.  He is in lane 3

Here is Roy’s current workout card.  As was mentioned in yesterday’s post (Pound for Pound Ratio Data) his Pound for Pound Ratio (Lb/Lb) at 8.19 is over one point higher than anyone else in our school.  This is evidence of the strong correlation between the Lb/Lb Ratio and athletic success.

bay card

And here is some film of Roy doing reps of our 4 Core lifts, Push Press, Bench, Squat, and Hang Clean

Roy’s success is a combination of factors.  He is a very good track athlete to begin with, and trains extremely hard year round in the running and technique part of his workout.  In addition he works tirelessly in the weight room – consistently training as hard or harder than any athlete I have had over the last 30 years.  I will keep you posted on Roy’s accomplishments this, his Senior, year.

You Can Do More…. you brain is lying to you… Don’t Believe It!

Jeff Floyd – youcandomore1@yahoo.com

Pound for Pound Ratio Data

Posted on by
10

As was discussed in a previous post (The Workout Card – Motivation and Efficiency) , the workout template that you can download (Mac 4 day or Windows 4 day) has several different calculated data fields on it.  It also has fields to manually enter test results, such as the 40-yard dash, Pro Agility Shuttle, and Vertical Leap.  Each of these fields help to motivate your student-athletes. test resultsThe Total field calculates and shows the student’s total on the 4 Core lifts.  The Power Quotient is a measure of lower body explosion and is calculated by multiplying the square root of the vertical leap by the square root of the athlete’s body weight.  The Lb/Lb field is what we call the Pound for Pound Ratio, and is the Total (total of the 4 Core Lifts) divided by their Body Weight (also a field). It is a rough measure of muscle mass.

I often get asked by students, and have been asked by colleagues “what is a good Pound for Pound number?”  We tell our athletes that for a woman, over 2.00 is good, and over 4.00 is excellent.  The figures we use for our men is over 4.00 is good, and over 6.00 is excellent.

Today I will share some data that I gathered regarding men and women athletes in our Advanced Strength and Conditioning Class. This data represents men and women athletes in all sports (both varsity and sub varsity levels), and all grade levels (9-12).  I only used athletes that are enrolled in the class this semester, which includes many, but not all of our student-athletes.

The male Lb/Lb Ratios ranged from a low of 2.57 to a high of 8.19 (an athlete who I will be featuring in tomorrows post) and included data for 82 student-athletes.  The Average for this group was 4.76 and the Median was 4.59.  Here is a graph showing the distribution of the Lb/ Lb Ratios among the male athletes.

male pound for pound ratio

The female Lb/Lb Ratios ranged from a low of 2.14 to a high of 4.42 (a freshman) and included data for 42 student-athletes.  The Average for this group was 3.20 and the Median was 3.15.  Here is a graph showing the distribution of the Lb/Lb Ratios among the female athletes.

female pound for pound

Using the Lb/Lb ratio can be a great motivator for your student-athletes, especially among the smaller athletes.  In the past we have posted Top 10 lists of our testing results, and our student-athletes probably take more pride in making the Top 10 Lb/Lb list than any other single testing result.  We have found there is a definite correlation between performance on the field and an athletes Lb/ Lb ratio.

Remember, if you want to change the template to include data you want to test your athletes on, it is pretty straightforward.  All you need to do is in Excel, go to Tools—> Protection–> and click Unprotect, and you will be able to change anything on the card.  If you are not proficient or comfortable making a change, just let me know what you would like on the card and I will change the template to show what you want.

Tomorrow I am highlighting a student-athlete in our track program (the one with the Lb/ Lb ratio of 8.19) Roy Bay.

As always, if you have any questions, just leave a comment or email.

Jeff Floyd – youcandomore1@yahoo.com

Great Football Conditioning Test

Posted on by
5

40 testAs was discussed in a previous post on speed (Purple Cow Quality #2-Speed) during my time at the University of Central Missouri we transitioned from using the 1600m run as a conditioning test, to using one much better suited for football conditioning.  The test we used was the 40 yard x 10 test, and was brought to us by Coach Mark Thomas.  The 40 yd x 10 test is designed to test an athletes conditioning and speed combined, which is what is necessary to perform at a high level in the game of football.  It also definitely has the “gut check” factor, which was really the main reason we used the 1600m run previously

The object of the test is to run 10 – 40 yard dashes with a 30 second rest between each 40, with each 40 time falling within .50 seconds of the athletes personal best time.

  • 40 yards x 10 reps – 30 seconds rest between reps.
  • Each 40 within .5 seconds of your personal best
  • Example – Johnny Joe has a 4.49 personal best 40 time.  He must run all 10 40’s in 4.99 seconds or under.

In addition to being one of the best conditioning tests for football that I have seen, it was also a good speed/ conditioning workout.  We asked our athletes to run this test on their own once a month over the summer and send their results back to us on campus so we could monitor their progress.  When they reported for double day practices in the Fall, this test was part of a battery we put our athletes through.

This test was a much better indicator of being in football playing shape, or football conditioning than was the 1600m test.  You can download a pdf of the card we used over the summer at this link : 40 test card

Tomorrow – The Breaking Curve

Any Questions?  Just comment or email – I will respond!

You Can Do More… your brain is lying to you…. Don’t Believe It!

Jeff Floyd – youcandomore1@yahoo.com

New and Improved Video

Posted on by
Reply

squatThanks to my colleague, Amy Temples, for a suggestion to improve the telestrated video.  She thought it would be helpful to see the “good” points in green text, and the “not so good” points in red text.   I also added a grey masked window behind the text to make it a little easier to read.  Keep in my you can also pause the video if you need more time looking at any particular frame.  I will update the Bench Press video that I have already posted, and use this same technique when I post the Push Press and Hang Clean videos the next few days.

I hope this helps – Let me know if you have any questions, suggestions, or comments.  Leave them here or send me an email

Jeff Foyd – youcandomore1@yahoo.com

Be a Quick Purple Cow!

Posted on by
5

The next quality I am going to discuss, the next quality that will set you apart from the other 250,000 high school seniors that are playing football, is the Purple Cow Quality of Athleticism and Quickness

pro agilityThis quality is related to speed and explosion, which were discussed in previous posts (Purple Cow Quality #2 Speed and Explosion-how to get it) but slightly different. Coaches look for the ability of an athlete to change directions, stop and start, adjust angles, and their overall body control.  Some of this can be measured by tests, the most notable the NFL Pro Agility shuttle test.  This video is a very good description of the NFL Pro Agility shuttle test (also known as the short shuttle, or 5-10-5 shuttle).

Aside from testing, coaches will evaluate film, and possibly evaluate performances in other sports such as basketball or wrestling.

How do you improve your Athleticism and Quickness thereby improving your time in the NFL Pro Agility Drill?   How do you develop Purple Cow Quickness? Now that would be REALLY remarkable… a Quick Purple Cow!

Much of the same type of training (plyometics, dynamic weight training, etc.) that lends itself to increased speed and explosiveness will help improve quickness, too.  In addition, if you are currently not doing quickness drills as part of your workout program, ask your coach for a program you can do on your own, or look at some of these drills:

These links are an excellent series of drill,  Lateral Speed and Change of Direction Drills, from Central College:

Here is the Lane Shuffle Drill

And the Sprint Agility Drill

This link (Florida Gator Agility and Foot Quickness Drills ) will take you to another list of football specific drills from the Florida Gators Strength and Conditioning Coach.  There are drill descriptions and some accompanying video: 

Another good series, and time tested set of drills are the BFS (Bigger Faster Stronger) dot drills.  Here is a pdf file explaining the drills: BFS Dot Drill and this video showing an athlete completing the drills.

Like all the other qualities I have discussed, mastering this one does not come easy, or all at once.  Practice, improve, and become a Quick Purple Cow!

Tomorrow video and coaching points on the first of our four core lifts, the Bench Press.

As always, any questions comment or email… I will answer!

Jeff Floyd – youcandomore1@yahoo.com

Explosion – How to get it

Posted on by
5

TGC-VerticalJumpIn addition to wanting to know about and see your speed, specifically your 40 yard dash time, (see my previous post regarding how to improve your speed and 40 time) they will also want to see (and will ask your high school coach about) if you are an explosive athlete.  Typically the physical test coaches use to determine how explosive you are is the vertical leap.  How do you improve your “athletic explosiveness” and thereby improving your vertical leap test results? How do you show the recruiters that you have remarkable explosion… Purple Cow jumping ability?

Generally speaking a program that incorporates dynamic strength training (power clean, push press, snatch, etc) and plyometrics will give you the best results. The workout program that I have shared in the post  A Weekly – (not weakly) Workout is a dynamic strength training program.

hopPlyometrics, or “plyos” for short, are a type of exercise designed to produce fast and powerful movements. They are generally used by athletes to improve performance in sports, especially those that involve speed, quickness and power. Here are video of some great plyometric drill you can do, shared from the Central College Strength and Conditioning web site.  Clicking these links will show examples of these plyometric drills:

Here are a couple of samples:

Hudle Hop – Continuous

Depth Jump

Some additional training guidelines and suggestions regarding plyometrics can be found at this site: Plyometrics – Exercises and Program Planning

If you are currently not doing these things (dynamic strength training and plyometrics) as part of your workout program, ask your coach for a program you can do on your own OR you might try to begin training using the information I have provided on this site.  You can also consult other information that is available on the web, such as this jump training program which incorporates dynamic strength training and plyometrics.

Train to be an explosive athlete!

You Can Do More – your brain is lying to you…. don’t believe it!

Jeff Floyd – youcandomore1@yahoo.com