Jan 29, 2015

Beyond the Weightroom

Strength and conditioning programs are always evolving. As coaches gain more knowledge about how the body works, they use it to keep their athletes at the top of their game. But they also strive to keep things in the weightroom fresh and exciting to keep athletes engaged. Here, we take a look at some unique things being done by strength coaches across the country.
At the University of Missouri, Strength and Conditioning Coach for Football Pat Ivey recently received his PhD in Sports Psychology. He also uses cutting-edge methods such as having his players wear GPS technology during the upcoming preseason camp and works with physical therapists from the Missouri Orthopedic Institute to measure his athlete’s movements. He says those changes are all part of a philosophical shift for the program.

“We don’t even call it strength and conditioning … ,” Ivey told the St. Louis Post-Dispatch. “We call it athletic performance now. We do yoga. We do pilates. We’re doing sports science.”

For Valdosta State University Head Strength and Conditioning Coach Michael Doscher, it’s the equipment that helps keep things fresh. Outside Magazine recently took a look at Doscher’s approach to designing workouts, including some unorthodox exercises such as slosh-pipe carries using a length of PVC pipe filled with water, bucket swings done on cinder blocks while holding buckets filled with sand, and plank rope pulls.

“I walk into a hardware store, look around, and think, we can use that,” Doscher told Outside.

At the high school level, teams at Walsingham Academy in Virginia have gotten a leg up on opponents by teaming up with a professional strength and conditioning coach from Tidewater Performance once a week. Although the benefits can be seen in increased fitness levels, that’s not the only positive.

“It’s important that our students learn the relationship between hard work and success,” Walsingham Athletic Director Neil Bailey told the Virginia Gazette. “The more time you put into something, the more likely you are to succeed at it. Without the requisite time and work, success is not something that happens very often.”

Proving that having fun can also lead to success, at Virginia Tech, Strength and Conditioning Coach Ryan Shuman has gotten the Hokies on board with creative T-shirts that include slogans such as “Get Shumanized.”

“I think he’s pretty laid-back but also a little in-your-face at the same time,” women’s lacrosse player Meghan Macera told the Richmond Times-Dispatch. “We have so much respect for him. We know that he expects a lot of us.”