PROS:
*unloading of the spine…after a certain point continuing to increase the load in double leg lifts can put the back at a big injury risk.
*development of stability WITH strength.
*less likelihood of unilateral strength imbalances something which can really become a problem under the very heavy loads and high intensities needed to continue to increase strength in advanced athletes who are already very strong.
CONS:
*introduces instability which limits the expression of maximal strength…if however maximal strength is already developed to a very high level this may not be an issue as long as it is maintained.
*because the total spinal load is significantly less if additional training is not implemented the muscles of the core could detrain.
Pfaff does do SL work.
What info do you have on Dix beyond what the coach says? What info on Powell?
In answer to your other question that I missed, I don’t consider lunges as SL work because you are still supported on both legs. same way I’d qualify C and J as double leg, whether you used a split or not.
we all read the powell and gatlin training method thread where his coach said they only do front squat, and mostly 1 leg squats and stepups also we all seen the youtube video of powell during stepups. it doesnt take much to find out what some college programs do for as training.
Maybe we need to make a list of what is SL (ie relying on only one leg- balance etc) and what is supported (and therefore I’d consider safe) such as lunges and step-ups (as long as the knee is BELOW the hip on the step being used).
Anyone want to start?
We also better start reviewing front dominant vs back dominant lifts, remembering that sprinting is a back dominant event. if you choose to do front squats, what are you going to do to balance things out? I had a recent example of a coach who added FSs to an existing lifting schedule that was fine IMO and had a rash of hamstring injuries this year.
FSU must do some sort of intense lifting, look at the physiques of their sprinters! I know Michael Ray Garvin is a football player also, but he’s gotta be one of the most muscled sprinters I’ve ever seen.
So basically FSU and MVP are performing partial SL work, roughly vague description for want of a better term. By partial SL work I mean weight supported by both legs for balance, with front leg, in the lunge, doing majority of the balancing and work, and the elevated leg, in the step-ups doing majority of the balancing and work. As well I’m getting the hint that these are done at a weight that they can handle pretty easily and efficiently deeming them supplementary. We seen Powell handling 245lbs. in the step-ups pretty easily and fast. So, they ain’t using it in the same manner as you and Ben used the back squat for the core/legs. What do you think they use to get the same effect that you and Ben got from the back squat? Deadlift, perhaps or nothing at all?
So when using single leg lifts, they should be of the safe type, with both legs being used for balance and one doing the majority of work and balance, rather than performing them with all the load and balancing done on one leg.
I’m not discounting the possibility of a coaching “misinformation” scenario here but his own coach says that Dix does not lift weights. I’ll take him at his word. I see no reason not to believe this. I don’t really see any reason for the misinformation method to be used by his coach either but maybe so.
Sure he’s built but how much of that could be 1)no lifting background and that’s just his build or 2) a background but he’s just not CURRENTLY or RECENTLY engaged in a weight program. I would think the second to be the more likely. Just a couple of possibilities and I’m sure there are many more.
As I said before, I’ve not seen the particular article yet so I’m just going on what has been passed on by others.
Unless you are at the school for an extended period of time (such as many months) witnessing this first hand and watching all of these proposed weight sessions, you don’t absolutely KNOW they occurred.
Dix did a lot of lifting in HS, lots and lots of lifting - hence he looks like he does.
He definently has not been lifting in the same manner as he used to in high school - as he was getting too bulky.
Of note, he is more than likely doing plyo’s and more plyo’s and body weight exercises/med ball work instead of actual lifting weights
Pretty good BUT the higher the level, the more of a problem. The issue of front to back is FAR more significant than any slight differential between sides, which cannot be measured accurately at the real speeds seen in the sport.
So Charlie, what do you say to those who’s squats are very quad dominant? I know your athletes did a lot of hypers and reverse hypers, but what kind of back dominant moves are you suggesting for higher loads? RDLS, deads, etc? Or is this an issue better resolved on the track with stiff leg running and the like?
You need either the dead or cleans added to the back squat to compensate for the addition of a front squat. The back squat alone is not enough to keep the work back dominant when the front squat is added.