Lucian Stefan Arizona Strength and Conditioning Department Strength and Conditioning Philosophy Develop strength and conditioning

programs that allow the athletes to achieve maximal performance in a safe environment that will reduce the risk of injury. The result of the training program is an increase in strength, power, speed, agility, conditioning and flexibility, all important components of a high level athlete. Training principles 1. Periodization The training program is organized and planned in advance of the competition or performance. The workouts allows the athletes to do as much work as possible in the least amount of time allowing them to be as fresh as possible. Balancing training targets allows the athletes to increase performance while avoiding fatigue and staleness. The program is simple, suggestive, and above all flexible as its content can be modified to meet the athletes rate of progress. 2. Progressive overload In order for a muscle to grow, strength to be gained, performance to increase, or for any similar improvement to occur, the human body must be forced to adapt to a tension that is above and beyond what it has previously experienced. Progressive overload is the reason we moved from a Olympic weightlifting record of 111,5 kg of Dane Viggo Jensen (Athens - 1896) to 472 kg of Iranian Hossein Rezazadeh (Sydney-2000) 3. Free weight Barbells, kettelbells, dumbbells, medicine balls, swiss balls, trx etc. Free weights exercises develop strength in a specific manner. Strength training with free weight allows strength development that is similar to real life situation because strength must the both controlled and balanced. Besides developing strength, free weight training result in increased use of stabilizers which decreases the risk of injury and increase proprioception which develops balance and control. 4. Full range of motion Performing exercises in the full range of motion will place positive stress on that connective tissue and decrease the chance of injury. Muscles will be used to producing force even in the farthest point of mobility, which will increase efficiency of movement. Weight training done in

the full range of motion results in greater strength gains and more muscular growth when compared to training partial range. 5. Core training All training is core training. The core involves all the muscles that are attaches to the hips, pelvis and low back. It has 2 main important functions. Transfer of power from the ground to the upper body.

Torso strength allows the ability to move force from the ground to the upper body. A week core will result in a loss of power. Protect your spine

Only 5% of the sport related injuries affect the torso and the spine. Although spinal related injuries are not the most common, they are very important because they can have catastrophic outcomes like paralysis and death. Developing the muscular corset for the thoracic-lumbar region is the safest way to reduce the risk of injury to the spine 6. Power Olympic Lifts, kettelbell training, plyometrics, med ball training and speed resistant training are all use to develop a more explosive athlete. The key in developing a faster more explosive athlete is to make that athlete develop more force in the shortest amount of time. For most sport strength alone is useless if it cannot be transferred to explosive movements 7. Injury prevention The best method to reduce the risk of injury is through sound program design. Key features in injury prevention are: strong abdominal muscles, trunk extensors and hip muscles. Balances of agonist and antagonist muscles. Train muscles that resist lateral movement of the knee and ankle. 8. Discipline Discipline is the soul of an army. It makes small numbers formidable; procures success to the weak, and esteem to all. George Washington As a young strength coach my philosophy is still work in progress , still developing ideas, still learning everyday to provide the best knowledge possible for my athletes. Im convinced that any information, regardless of how small it is, can play a crucial role in enhancing athletic performance. I'm still learning Michelangelo aged 87