Youth Fitness: Training Specificity - Tennis

“If you build it, they will come….“

I love this movie quote from Field of Dreams.
 It can relate to many things in life, including fitness. When we train a certain way, our bodies adapt to that training and become stronger in the areas that are being worked. When you run, you strengthen the muscles of the legs and core that are utilized during running. When you perform push-ups, you strengthen the muscles that perform that particular movement pattern. This is the training principle known as specificity.

To create a beneficial training program that will enhance the strength and movement patterns for that sport, you must perform exercises that mimic those patterns and strengthen those muscles. When you play basketball, you move forward, backward, laterally and rotationally. Plus, you are using muscles of the upper body, lower body and core. When designing a training program, you must incorporate movement-pattern specificity so the athlete can adapt to those demands. The same is true for strength-training specificity. It’s important to incorporate exercises that involve multi-joint movements, such as squat jumps, for example, instead of leg presses.

It’s critical to remember this training principle of specificity to help athletes reach their full potential and to avoid injuries that could occur from poor preparation. For example, if the basketball team did not incorporate lateral shuffle movement patterns in their strength-training program, a pulled groin muscle or rolled ankle may result because of failure to strengthen the lateral muscle groups of the lower body such as the groin, abductors and lower leg stabilizers.

Fitness professionals and coaches who understand the demands placed on the body during performance realize how important training specificity is for their athletes. It should be considered one of the most important principles to remember when creating the training program.

Take a look at this training program, which uses good training specificity for a young basketball team. Notice that all the exercises add a variety of movement patterns and involve mulit-joint exercises.

Warm-up and Agility Work

Use a distance of 10 to 20 yards.

1. High skips – Skipping while trying to get a high vertical jump

2. Lateral skips – Skipping while moving sideways

3. Lateral shuffle – Lowering body into a semi-squat and shuffling laterally

4. Pogo hops – Hopping on two feet quickly

5. Single legged lateral hops – Hopping on one foot side to side

6. Ali shuffle – Quickly switching feet back and forth. Start with left foot forward and right foot back; switch so the right foot is forward and the left foot is back.

Strength-training Circuit

1. Medicine ball chest press – Using a wall and a 5-lb. to 10-lb. medicine ball, perform a chest pass into the wall. Repeat 30 reps quickly.

2. Overhead Med Ball Throws – With a partner or against a wall using a 5-lb. to 10-lb. medicine ball, perform an overhead throw into the wall. Repeat 30 reps.

3. Squat Jumps – Lower into a squat with correct form and explode off of the feet into a jump. Land softly and slowly decelerate back into a squat. Repeat for 10 to 15 reps.

4. Skater plyos – Slowly load the right leg and explode off the foot to land on the left leg. Land softly and keep the right leg off the ground; repeat back and forth, 10-15 reps off each foot.

Track and Field Inspired Workout

The Two Fitness Myths You Still Believe Are True

In a world full of information, it’s often hard to differentiate between what’s fitness fact and what’s fiction. On occasion it’s easy to spot—like claims that performing one particular move for just two minutes a day will melt inches off your waistline—but sometimes the information being circulated is rooted in science, yet applied incorrectly. Let’s take a look at two of these examples and understand why, when it comes to exercise, more doesn’t always equal better.

Fitness Myth #1: All Intensity, All the Time

While not an entirely new approach to exercise, high-intensity interval training—most commonly referred to as HIIT—has become a buzz word in the world of fitness over the last few years. As a result,  many exercisers have adopted the idea of “training smarter, not longer” by engaging in more intense workouts. The problem is, many people are now applying this protocol to the majority—if not all—of their weekly exercise sessions. But as is the case with most things in life, it is possible to have too much of a good thing.

Given that exercise is physical stress applied to the body, the way in which the stress is applied and the amount of time the body is allowed to recover plays an important role in determining the outcome of any exercise program, says Pete McCall, international fitness educator and science officer at Institute of Motion. “By definition, HIIT is the highest type of exercise stress that can be applied,” explains McCall, “and too much HIIT, too often does not allow the physiological systems of the body to properly recover and make the necessary adaptations.”

McCall adds that HIIT places a great deal of mechanical stress on the involved fascia and connective tissue, as well as a lot of metabolic stress on the muscle to create energy to initiate and maintain the movement. Without adequate recovery—at least 48 hours between HIIT sessions—the body will not have the levels of hormones necessary to promote the essential recovery and repair process, something which can cause more harm than good in the long run. “More than four days of HIIT per week could lead to overtraining and tissue fatigue, both of which could create injury that limits the ability to do any exercise at all.”In a world full of information, it’s often hard to differentiate between what’s fitness fact and what’s fiction. On occasion it’s easy to spot—like claims that performing one particular move for just two minutes a day will melt inches off your waistline—but sometimes the information being circulated is rooted in science, yet applied incorrectly. Let’s take a look at two of these examples and understand why, when it comes to exercise, more doesn’t always equal better. Fitness Myth #1: All Intensity, All the Time While not an entirely new approach to exercise, high-intensity interval training—most commonly referred to as HIIT—has become a buzz word in the world of fitness over the last few years. As a result, many exercisers have adopted the idea of “training smarter, not longer” by engaging in more intense workouts. The problem is, many people are now applying this protocol to the majority—if not all—of their weekly exercise sessions. But as is the case with most things in life, it is possible to have too much of a good thing. Given that exercise is physical stress applied to the body, the way in which the stress is applied and the amount of time the body is allowed to recover plays an important role in determining the outcome of any exercise program, says Pete McCall, international fitness educator and science officer at Institute of Motion. “By definition, HIIT is the highest type of exercise stress that can be applied,” explains McCall, “and too much HIIT, too often does not allow the physiological systems of the body to properly recover and make the necessary adaptations.” McCall adds that HIIT places a great deal of mechanical stress on the involved fascia and connective tissue, as well as a lot of metabolic stress on the muscle to create energy to initiate and maintain the movement. Without adequate recovery—at least 48 hours between HIIT sessions—the body will not have the levels of hormones necessary to promote the essential recovery and repair process, something which can cause more harm than good in the long run. “More than four days of HIIT per week could lead to overtraining and tissue fatigue, both of which could create injury that limits the ability to do any exercise at all.” For the time-pressed exerciser, the beauty of HIIT is it can provide many of the same benefits of a 60- 90-minute low-intensity, steady-state cardio session in just a fraction of the time. But it’s important to utilize this effective training approach as part of a varied, well-organized, complete training plan. McCall notes that, in general, a HIIT day should be followed by a lower-intensity day of steady-state cardio training, or an activity such as yoga or body-weight strength training utilizing the TRX Suspension Trainer. “Based on the evidence, as well as the ability of the body to recover, HIIT two to three days a week would be appropriate if a full night’s sleep is possible for optimal recovery.” Fitness Myth #2: The Longer You Plank, the Better Your Results With a plethora of plank challenges circulating social media, many exercisers mistakenly believe that the longer you can hold a plank, the better it is for your overall fitness. However, before you set out on a quest to conquer that seven-minute plank, it’s important to first re-evaluate the overall purpose of exercise, and how this popular move best fits into your personalized fitness plan. Life is full of movement, so the intent of our exercise sessions should be to enhance our ability to move through life (literally) with greater ease, and to allow us to engage in the activities we enjoy and the tasks we need to perform each day. The plank has become commonplace in many workouts because it helps develop full-body stability and control when moving, shares Jonathan Ross, award-winning personal trainer and author of the book Abs Revealed. But this doesn’t mean that longer plank times will produce better results—in fact, it may not be the best use of the limited training time that most people have. An isometric exercise like the plank, explains Ross, burns the least amount of calories yet provides a high level of discomfort. “With no movement occurring, less work is done by the muscles and you also get less blood flow, so the waste products accumulate more rapidly. The end result is you maximize burning in the muscle yet with a minimum number of calories being burned.” Instead of devoting a chunk of your workout to holding one plank for an extended period of time, consider honing in on proper alignment and perfecting your plank form to elicit more effective results. If you find that you’re easily able to hold a good plank for 20 to 30 seconds, instead of adding more time, consider adding movement through an assortment of creative plank variations. You cannot get better at moving in life by not moving in your workouts, says Ross. “Longer planks are like staying in first grade forever—it’s like learning the alphabet over and over again.” By Jessica Matthews, MS, E-RYT Jessica Matthews, M.S., E-RYT is assistant professor of exercise science at Miramar College. As a leading fitness expert, writer and educator Jessica is a regular contributor to numerous publications, including Shape and Oprah.com. She holds a B.S. in physical education teacher education from Coastal Carolina University and M.S. in physical education from Canisius College. She is a certified Personal Trainer, Group Fitness Instructor and Health Coach through the American Council on Exercise (ACE) as well as an Experienced Registered Yoga Teacher (E-RYT) through Yoga Alliance and trained stand-up paddleboard (SUP) yoga instructor. Prior to teaching at Miramar, Jessica worked full-time ACE, serving in a number of key roles including exercise physiologist, certification director and senior health and fitness editor. Her past work also includes serving as aquatics director at Conway Medical Wellness and Fitness Center and designing health and physical education curriculum for grades K-12.

For the time-pressed exerciser, the beauty of HIIT is it can provide many of the same benefits of a 60- 90-minute low-intensity, steady-state cardio session in just a fraction of the time. But it’s important to utilize this effective training approach as part of a varied, well-organized, complete training plan. McCall notes that, in general, a HIIT day should be followed by a lower-intensity day of steady-state cardio training, or an activity such as yoga or body-weight strength training utilizing the TRX Suspension Trainer. “Based on the evidence, as well as the ability of the body to recover, HIIT two to three days a week would be appropriate if a full night’s sleep is possible for optimal recovery.”

Fitness Myth #2: The Longer You Plank, the Better Your Results

With a plethora of plank challenges circulating social media, many exercisers mistakenly believe that the longer you can hold a plank, the better it is for your overall fitness. However, before you set out on a quest to conquer that seven-minute plank, it’s important to first re-evaluate the overall purpose of exercise, and how this popular move best fits into your personalized fitness plan.

Life is full of movement, so the intent of our exercise sessions should be to enhance our ability to move through life (literally) with greater ease, and to allow us to engage in the activities we enjoy and the tasks we need to perform each day. The plank has become commonplace in many workouts because it helps develop full-body stability and control when moving, shares Jonathan Ross, award-winning personal trainer and author of the book Abs Revealed. But this doesn’t mean that longer plank times will produce better results—in fact, it may not be the best use of the limited training time that most people have. An isometric exercise like the plank, explains Ross, burns the least amount of calories yet provides a high level of discomfort. “With no movement occurring, less work is done by the muscles and you also get less blood flow, so the waste products accumulate more rapidly. The end result is you maximize burning in the muscle yet with a minimum number of calories being burned.”

Instead of devoting a chunk of your workout to holding one plank for an extended period of time, consider honing in on proper alignment and perfecting your plank form to elicit more effective results. If you find that you’re easily able to hold a good plank for 20 to 30 seconds, instead of adding more time, consider adding movement through an assortment of creative plank variations. You cannot get better at moving in life by not moving in your workouts, says Ross. “Longer planks are like staying in first grade forever—it’s like learning the alphabet over and over again.”

By Jessica Matthews, MS, E-RYT

Jessica Matthews, M.S., E-RYT is assistant professor of exercise science at Miramar College. As a leading fitness expert, writer and educator Jessica is a regular contributor to numerous publications, including Shape and Oprah.com. She holds a B.S. in physical education teacher education from Coastal Carolina University and M.S. in physical education from Canisius College. She is a certified Personal Trainer, Group Fitness Instructor and Health Coach through the American Council on Exercise (ACE) as well as an Experienced Registered Yoga Teacher (E-RYT) through Yoga Alliance and trained stand-up paddleboard (SUP) yoga instructor. Prior to teaching at Miramar, Jessica worked full-time ACE, serving in a number of key roles including exercise physiologist, certification director and senior health and fitness editor. Her past work also includes serving as aquatics director at Conway Medical Wellness and Fitness Center and designing health and physical education curriculum for grades K-12. 

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