S.P.O.R.T. MODEL

Peak performance in any athletic pursuit requires a strategic approach to training. Professional athletes don't rely solely on generic exercise routines; they employ a structured training methodology known as the S.P.O.R.T. Model. This framework serves as a roadmap for designing training programs that elicit targeted adaptations and optimize performance in a specific sport.

Understanding the S.P.O.R.T. Model:

The S.P.O.R.T. Model is an acronym that encapsulates several key principles for effective training design:

• Specificity: This principle forms the foundation of the S.P.O.R.T. Model. It emphasizes that training adaptations, the physiological improvements your body makes in response to exercise, are highly specific to the demands placed upon it. A basketball player aiming to improve their vertical jump wouldn't solely focus on long-distance running. Instead, their training would prioritize plyometric exercises (explosive jumping movements) that directly mimic the forceful leg extension used in jumping for dunks or rebounds. These sport-specific exercises lead to targeted adaptations in the neuromuscular system, enhancing vertical jump performance.

• Progression: Imagine climbing a ladder; progression works similarly. It refers to the systematic increase in difficulty and intensity of your training program. As your skills and fitness improve, the challenge presented to your body should also gradually increase. This ensures continued adaptation and avoids plateaus in performance. In weightlifting, progression might involve gradually increasing the weight lifted over time, while in a sport like soccer, it might involve transitioning from basic dribbling drills to more complex drills that incorporate speed changes and deceptive moves with the ball at your feet.

• Overload: This principle goes hand-in-hand with progression. To continuously stimulate adaptation and progress, your body needs to be gradually overloaded, meaning an increase in the training stress it experiences. This can be achieved through various methods: increasing the weight lifted, running faster or farther, performing more repetitions of an exercise, or adding sets of exercises to your program. It's important to emphasize proper form and technique while progressively overloading to avoid injuries.

• Repetitions and Sets: These terms refer to the structure of an exercise routine. Repetitions refer to the number of times you complete a specific exercise, while sets represent a group of repetitions performed consecutively with a short rest period in between. Both repetitions and sets can be manipulated to achieve overload. For example, a weightlifting program might initially involve 3 sets of 8 repetitions with a specific weight. As strength increases, the program might progress to 4 sets of 10 repetitions with the same weight, or it could maintain 3 sets but increase the weight lifted per repetition.

• Training Modalities: These are the different types of exercises incorporated into your training program. A well-rounded training program for a specific sport might include a combination of weightlifting exercises to build strength, plyometrics to improve jumping ability and explosiveness, cardiovascular training (running, swimming) to enhance endurance, and sport-specific drills to refine technical skills.

Applying the S.P.O.R.T. Model in Practice:

Let's consider how an athlete training for a specific sport might utilize the S.P.O.R.T. Model:

• Specificity: A volleyball player aiming to improve their attacking power wouldn't waste time solely on bicep curls. Instead, their training would prioritize exercises that mimic the arm swing and core engagement used in spiking a volleyball. These might include medicine ball throws, weightlifting exercises targeting the shoulders and core, and plyometric exercises to develop explosive power.

• Progression: As the athlete's technique improves, they can progress from lighter medicine ball throws to heavier throws, or from basic weightlifting exercises to more complex variations that target specific muscle groups involved in spiking.

• Overload & Repetitions/Sets: Let's say the athlete initially performs 3 sets of 10 repetitions with a specific medicine ball throw weight. As their throwing power increases, they can gradually overload their muscles by increasing the number of sets (4 sets), repetitions per set (12 repetitions), or by incorporating heavier medicine balls.

• Training Modalities: The athlete's training program might include weightlifting exercises, plyometrics, core strengthening exercises, and sport-specific drills like jump serving and attacking practice.

Beyond the Physical: The S.P.O.R.T. Model Beyond Training:

The principles of the S.O.R.T. Model can even extend beyond the realm of physical training:

• Specificity in Learning: When studying for a test, focusing on the specific material covered in class and practicing relevant questions will likely yield better results than reading unrelated information. This targeted approach aligns with the principle of specificity.

• Mental Rehearsal: Visualizing oneself successfully performing skills during competition or a game can be a powerful tool. This mental preparation aligns with the concept of progression, as athletes can progressively refine their mental strategies alongside their physical training.

• Nutritional Optimization: Just like training programs need to be tailored to specific sports, an athlete's diet should also be specific to their energy needs and training demands. This aligns with the "specificity" principle.

Conclusion:

By understanding and applying the S.P.O.R.T. Model, athletes can design training programs that are targeted, progressive, and effective in maximizing their athletic potential. Remember, the key lies in incorporating exercises that mimic the demands of your chosen sport and gradually increasing the challenge as your skills and fitness improve. This structured approach, combined with proper recovery and mental preparation, paves the way for peak performance and achieving your athletic goals. The S.P.O.R.T. Model extends beyond just physical training; its principles can be applied to various aspects of life, fostering a focus on targeted strategies and continuous improvement. So, the next time you lace up your shoes or pick up a ball, remember the S.P.O.R.T. Model and empower yourself to train smarter, not just harder!

F.I.T.T. PRINCIPLE

The FITT principle is a fun acronym that helps everyone, from students to personal trainers, understand and evaluate workout programs.

• F – Frequency – how often will you exercise?

• I – Intensity – how hard do you work during your exercise?

• T – Time – how long do you exercise during each session?

• T – Type of exercise – what types of workouts will be a part of your workout program?

Examples of the FITT Principle

Using the FITT principle, an individual can map a workout plan. For example, Sarah wants to run a 5K. Without FITT, Sarah might just go for occasional runs without a plan. But with FITT, she maps out a plan to balance longer, low intensity runs with shorter, high intensity runs. And because Sarah enjoys resistance training, she also plans to lift free weights twice a week as part of her training. Using the FITT principle, Sarah can map out her frequency, intensity, time, and types of exercise to prepare her for her 5K while still weight lifting.

Let’s look at another example. Kevin is a high school football player planning his summer training schedule. Kevin knows that he needs to prepare for the various demands of the high school football season. Using the FITT principle, he maps out a 5-day training schedule focusing on weight lifting 3 days a week and includes speed, agility, and conditioning for the other 2 days. With a high-level plan, Kevin can find a program that will achieve his different goals.

Notice that there is no one size fits all approach to FITT. Each individual comes to FITT with different experiences, goals, and access (equipment and space).  

Benefits of The FITT Principle For Physical Education

The FITT principle is an important concept in our health and wellness plan, as it provides a framework for effective exercise programs. But it is important to note the FITT principle doesn’t mean we have to jump right to creating their own workout plans. Instead, individuals can use FITT to start labeling and understanding the different types of workouts they are doing.

This can be especially helpful for students who often look for the context and the “why” behind what they are doing in physical education or throughout their daily lives. By using the FITT formula, students can have ownership in their physical activity and become more engaged with fitness.

In addition, the FITT principle can be applied to any fitness level. When first time fitness goers start out, they can be tempted to compare to their peers. But FITT allows students to create fitness goals (see more on SMART Goals here) relative to their current fitness level.

And as students progress through physical education, they will, in time, be able to take small steps to create their own training sessions or workout plans with the help of the FITT principle. Again, this doesn’t have to happen immediately, but FITT provides an excellent foundation for success. 

Step 1: Label Workouts

 You might find yourself in a position where you aren’t deciding your fitness workout and plan (yet). It could be dictated by a teacher or coach, and that is okay! But you can still use FITT to better understand the types of workouts you are doing. Once you are in complete control of your fitness plan (in school or beyond) you will be ready to understand the different components of a workout plan. 

A great first step to using the FITT principle is labeling workouts. In this approach, let’s try to take a look at a week and determine how it relates to FITT. For example, a physical education class meets 5 days a week and has the following schedule:

• Monday – Strength Training

• Tuesday – Speed, Agility, and Conditioning

• Wednesday – Strength Training

• Thursday – Yoga / Recovery Day

• Friday – Fun Friday (Boxing, Bootcamp, Dance, Games, Etc)

From here, students can identify and label the different training sessions using FITT (frequency, intensity, time, and type of exercise). Students can do this at a macro level (day by day) or micro level and explore what they did within each training session. Here are some guiding questions that can help: 

• Was our Monday strength training day low intensity or high intensity? Or a mix of both? 

• Was our Tuesday session focused on cardiovascular activity or muscular strength?

• Describe what you did for physical activity on Friday using the FITT principle.

Creating Your Own Workout Plan: 

At some point, you will be in charge of creating your own fitness plan. At a high level, this means you will navigate the frequency, intensity, time, and type of workouts you will do (FITT). But that doesn’t mean you need to go at it alone - at any point in your life! 

Instead, FITT can help you determine your high level approach to exercise. From there, you can still fill in the high level picture with different workouts or programs, many of which might be designed or led by someone else. For example, if yoga is part of your FITT principle plan, you still might find a yoga session online or through an in-person class. Notice that while you aren’t creating the yoga workout, you are still using the FITT principle to evaluate how it fits in your overall plan. 

Many students can give this a try by picking the types of workouts they do during a week. 

 You can still use the FITT principle to determine what type of workouts or physical activity you want to do, even if it means being a part of a class or group where someone else leads (for example, you go to a local yoga studio or dance class.) 

As you learn more about the FITT principle, you could even start to design your own workout programs. For example, the assignment could state, 

“You are tasked to create a personal fitness plan comprising 150 minutes of physical activity. Use the FITT principle to create a 2-week exercise program incorporating resistance training, aerobic exercise, and rest days.”

Again, you can find and adapt workouts you like, but match them to the assignment to achieve the FITT principle concept. 

Key Takeaways on Using The FITT Principle in Physical Education

The FITT principle (frequency, intensity, time, and type of exercise) can help contextualize and deepen understanding of fitness and exercise. As a result, we can create a lasting positive connection with fitness to pursue long-term health and wellness. By using FITT, teachers can equip students with vocabulary of different exercise and training terminology.

And remember, just because you use the FITT principle doesn’t mean you must create and design semester-long workout programs. Even adults look to trained and certified professionals to help do this. But instead, the FITT principle should be seen as a valuable tool to help students put fitness into context and help plan at a HIGH level what they should be doing for physical activity on a regular basis. 

PE warm up routines are an excellent opportunity to kick start physical education classes. From managing the chaos of beginning class to getting students ready for the physical activity of the day, PE warm up routines are a fun way to get PE class going.

Warm Ups For PE – Controlling The Chaos

When the bell rings to start class, it can often feel like you are far from ready to start. For example, if your students dress or change for class, this can take a few minutes to get everyone out of the locker room. And even if your students don’t need to change, it can feel like students all come shuffling into the gymnasium or fitness center at different times.

An established physical education warm up routine can give students clear expectations to start class. While you could do the exact same pe warm up every class, you don’t have to! Many teachers will have a structured outline/components of warm up activities for pe.

Not only does having a structure to your PE warm up routines help with the chaos, but it also helps to get students’ bodies and minds ready for the rest of class.

Don’t Skip Warm Up Exercises for Physical Education Class

You might be eager to get to the main physical activity of the day, but a good warm-up goes a long way! So even if your PE class is on a tight time crunch, don’t completely skip warm up.

Warm up exercises for physical education classes can serve multiple purposes. A warm-up routine can go past just ‘warming’ students up but provide skill and technique development in a wide range of movements. PE Warm ups can make for better workouts.

Past immediate benefits, it is also essential to show students the long-term importance of a good warm up. Yes, they might be able to jump right into a workout or physical activity now. But as they get older and into adulthood, just 10 minutes to warm up can help with injury prevention and better overall health and performance.

Make time for the warm up! Treat it as a key and vital part of the overall pe lesson plan and workout. Not sure where to start? Let’s explore some helpful components for any of your pe warm up routines.

PE Warm Up Routines – Structure & Outline

Outlined below is one way to structure your PE warm up routines. The main components of this PE warm up are:

1) Light cardio

2) Dynamic Warm Up Exercises

3) Mobility & Static Stretching

4) Movement Prep

This is a commonly used structure for physical education classes with a fitness-focused approach. It helps to introduce students to different movements and exercises while solidifying the importance of technique and form.

This format can be used for beginner-level students learning foundational human movements up to students now taking part in an advanced strength training program for personal development or athletic performance.

Step 1: Get Moving (Elevated Heart Rate)

1A: Light Cardio

Before we do anything else, we must prime the engine. To do this, we elevate the heart rate, incite blood flow to the entire body, and begin moving our muscles and joints in a low-intensity environment. The goal here is to elevate body temperature and increase tissue elasticity. The simplest way to accomplish this is to hop into some light “cardio” work. You have a whole host of different options:

• Jogging

• Biking

• Rowing

• Jumping Rope

• Jumping Jacks

Beyond the traditional cardio options, you could easily opt for something more entertaining for a group of students. For example, a casual game of knockout, tag, musical chairs (the med ball version is quite entertaining!), etc. are great fun warm up games for high school students so long as it is casual and relaxed. Again, we are all looking for continuous movement at a very moderate pace. Perform for somewhere between 2 and 5 minutes, depending on time constraints.

1B: Dynamic Warm Up Exercises 

Once the heart rate is up, and blood has begun to flow, we like to transition directly into another kind of continuous movement (you could also start the process here). Unlike our monostructural cardio, though, we are working through fuller ranges of motion about different joints. Again, the goal is to expand our initial warm up into more dynamic, movement-relevant motion.

In each of these examples, the goal is slow, purposeful movement. These are not static stretches, but neither are they fast-paced. Instead, we want to reinforce great biomechanics (focusing on maintaining the lumbar curve during a bodyweight good morning, for example), and begin warming up the muscles and connective tissues through a complete range of motion that will be used during the workout ahead.

  Step 2: Mobility

After the body has been warmed up a bit, we sometimes like to slow things   down a little with some targeted mobility work. Passive mobility holds (aka static stretching), or tissue mashing, can help prime our body for optimal movement and positioning in our upcoming training. When done consistently, it can also improve our overall flexibility, stability, and range of motion over time.

The Ankle moves via Dorsiflexion (toes toward shin), Plantar flexion (toes away from shin), Inversion (to the inside) and eversion (outside). Limitations in ankle mobility, specifically dorsiflexion, can cause numerous functional and athletic limitations. For example, poor ankle flexion can restrict your ability to lunge, compromise landing and jumping mechanics, and restrict squat depth. It can also lead to Valgus Knee Collapse during the squat, a precursor to many ACL injuries. Improving the range of motion in our ankle joint will have a tremendously positive impact up through the kinetic chain, allowing us to perform daily movements with efficacy and safety. 

Step 3: Movement Prep (Experience Level Dependent) 

At this point in your PE warm up routines, you have already covered a lot with light cardio, dynamic stretches, and static stretches. Depending on your group of students, you may be ready to stop warm-up and jump into the main lesson plan of the day.

Movement prep will be very different based on the experience level of your students. For more advanced students, they might be getting ready to do barbell or dumbbell movements that would benefit from more specific movement prep. Beginner level students movement prep might look like more bodyweight exercises and basic movements before the main workout of the day. Here is where you can be flexible and adapt to the demands of the day with consideration student experience levels.

Key Takeaways on PE Warm Ups

No matter how you approach warm up, emphasize its importance in the greater fitness equation. Students will prioritize it, if you do. Yes, pe warm up routines are a great classroom management tool, but they are also so much more than that.

Even if 10 minutes is to much time to dedicate to warm up, find something that allow students to mentally and physically start class on the right foot.

The components of fitness (cardiovascular endurance, muscular endurance, speed, power, flexibility, balance, reaction time, coordination, agility, strength)

When it comes to “Aerobic & Anaerobic Capacity”, we are talking about your ability to sustain various levels of activity for different durations in time. How much intensity can you exert in a small window of time? How long can you sustain moderate activity over time?

We’re talking about ENERGY and ACTIVITY.

The human body utilizes a molecule known as ATP, or Adenosine Triphosphate, to do stuff like stand up, walk around, climb a tree, pick up a box, etc. ATP is readily available in our muscle cells but only in small amounts — enough for 10-15 seconds of strenuous activity, but no more. 

You know you can sprint 100m at all-out top speed - but you could never maintain that speed for a two mile run.

Obviously many physical tasks involve activity lasting much longer than 15 seconds, so where does that extra energy come from? The answer lies in the concept of bioenergetics, that is, the network of metabolic processes the body uses to deliver ATP to the muscle cells.

Your body creates energy differently for different types of activity. If you need a lot, all at once, to say, sprint or lift a heavy weight, your body utilizes a combo of two different energy systems that do not need oxygen (The Phospho-Creatine and Glycolytic systems). They can create a lot of energy quickly, but it runs out fast. 

If, instead, you need energy for sustained periods of activity, your body utilizes Aerobic Respiration to create ATP. This process requires the presence of oxygen and can produce moderate levels of energy for longer periods of time.

These are known as our “energy systems”.

What is Aerobic Capacity?

Otherwise known as "stamina" or "endurance", Aerobic Capacity simply refers to your ability to work continuously at a moderate to low effort for extended periods of time without fatiguing or needing to stop. 

If you only need a moderate amount of energy, your body uses a slower process to create energy called aerobic respiration. This process, if trained and improved through aerobic exercise, can last a LOT longer. 

That's why some people can run more than 100 miles continuously, while others struggle with just one or two before tiring. They have improved their cardiorespiratory system and metabolic processes so profoundly that they can almost keep going forever so long as they have oxygen to breathe and carbs/fat to burn.

More specifically, your aerobic capacity marks your body's ability to move oxygen and nutrients to working muscles while also removing metabolic waste.

During moderate to low intensity exercise, your muscles are relying on energy supplied from a combination of oxygen you breathe in and carbohydrates (from the food you've eaten recently) and fats (from energy you've stored). This means that improving your aerobic capacity doesn't only improve your "cardio" conditioning. 

Enhancing aerobic capacity can improve blood, oxygen, and nutrient flow to working muscles between sets of resistance training or sprint work. Improving blood flood may also help improve flexibility and mobility. Good aerobic capacity has also been shown to reduce the risk of high blood pressure, heart disease, obesity, diabetes, metabolic disease, and some forms of cancer.

Bottom line: training your heart, lungs, and muscles to improve their ability to transport oxygen and nutrients through aerobic exercise is good for everyone, for a LOT of reasons.

What is Anaerobic Capacity?

Essentially, when short, intense bouts of activity are required (a full-speed sprint or lifting something heavy, or going all out in the last 2 minutes of an athletic competition, etc) your body cannot rely on oxygen as a source of energy creation. It takes too long, and cannot keep up with the high demand. That's when the anaerobic energy systems kick in.

Anaerobic Energy Pathways

There are 2 different systems that can create energy in the absence of oxygen (anaerobically): the Phosphocreatine System, and the Glycolytic System.

The PC system provides an immediate and immense amount of energy very quickly. It's most useful in something like a 100m sprint race, or powerlifting a heavy load for a few reps. The downside lies in its duration. The PC system can only sustain its level of production for anywhere between 8-15 seconds at once. At that point, it simply runs out. It can, however, recharge rather quickly given rest or aerobic recovery (quicker in well-trained individuals).

The GC system is the pathway that provides the energy for near all-out activity that lasts anywhere between 30 seconds and a couple of minutes. It's most useful for some like a 400m sprint, or circuit training. 

The downside to the GC system is that it's process for creating energy without oxygen results in the creation of a couple tricky byproducts - acid (hydrogen ions) and lactate. Many people misunderstand the role of lactate, or "lactic acid". Often we hear people throw around the idea that lactic acid is to blame for your fatigue, or for your soreness after a workout. This isn't true. It is the excessive rise in acidity that will eventually shut your muscles down (soreness is a whole other animal we will talk about another time). The acidity interferes with the muscle's ability to contract, and is the reason they feel dead, like "jelly", or even on fire. At some point, you have to stop.

Aerobic respiration can eat up this acidity, using oxygen to effectively clear all of the waste products created during anaerobic respiration. But, when your aerobic system can't keep up (like during high intensity efforts), your body attempts to slow the rise of acidity by combining that hydrogen ion with another molecule to create Lactate. Lactate can actually then be converted into further energy in aerobic or anaerobic respiration. But, the buildup of lactate also signals the rising level of acidity within the muscle.

The better your body is at preventing this acid build up, the longer you can go. So, if your aerobic system is in top-notch shape, and you've trained at high intensity, you can prevent the build up of acidity a bit longer than someone else.

At some point, though, the rate of acid production overtakes the clearance of waste and you have to stop. This is your anaerobic or lactate "threshold".

Conclusion

The most important thing to understand, when thinking about Aerobic & Anaerobic capacity, is that your body will adapt to whatever you ask it to do.

Longer durations of moderate intensity activity will improve your aerobic capacity and you will see gains in something as simple as a 1-Mile run assessment.

Shorter durations of high intensity activity will improve your anaerobic capacity and you will see gains in things like a 2-Minute burpee test.

Long story short, you can improve all 3 of your energy pathways, and each one has its own benefits!

Technically speaking, “Strength” is a measure of force production.

Often, people classify this capability through a very narrow lens. Muscular strength is sometimes limited to the ability of a muscle or muscle group to exert maximal force against resistance. Strength is expressed by slower, controlled movements. For example, a heavy squat performed at a slow speed.

Strength can certainly be measured based on the amount of weight lifted for a single rep. This is referred to as a one-rep max, or 1RM. At PLT4M, we include this measure of strength when utilizing our weight training movements.

BUT - the application and measure of strength is not reserved for weight training alone.

At PLT4M, we like to think of strength as your muscles' ability to apply force into/against the physical world.

Barbells and dumb bells are great, but, before we get there, we employ a host of bodyweight exercises that engage muscles throughout your entire body in strict form. 

Moving one’s body against their own body, or gravity, while maintaining proper posture is a display of strength, and strength endurance all it’s own.

Strength For all

Strength isn't a need reserved for athletes or bodybuilders. 

Sure, total body strength and stabilization is essential for athletes such as swimmers, climbers, or golfers who demand strength and power from their arms and shoulders to perform well and avoid injury. 

But a strong upper body is also important for everyone who wants to perform everyday movements, such as carrying luggage or picking up children, with ease and without risking injury.

Forget building mass or trying to jump higher. Strength is a necessity for all to enjoy a long and healthy life. Strength training increases bone density and staves off osteoperosis, increases caloric expenditure and motivates fat loss, prevents structural ailments like low back pain and knee injury, and all the while helping to stave off chronic disease.

Consider this: baseline strength and work capacity is what will keep you out of a nursing home in the future. 

Assessing Strength

Before we get to the “One-Rep Maxes” of weight training movements, like the Back Squat or Bench Press, we can and should track our ability to exert force with control through the foundational bodyweight movements.

Standard push up and pull up tests have been used for decades as components of a basic fitness assessment. 

They aim to record and track an individual's relative muscular strength, and/or muscular endurance. 

Muscular endurance is the ability of a muscle or muscle group to exert sub-maximal force against resistance for an extended period of time. Measurement of this muscular endurance is based on the number of repetitions performed in a given time period, or before fatigue shuts us down.

If we improve maximal strength, endurance improves as well.

Thus we can assess our ability to perform repetitions of bodyweight movements to track our relative strength overtime, before ever getting under a barbell.

Specifically, with the push up and pull up tests, we are assessing the muscular strength and endurance of the upper body. 

With squats, we can do the same thing for the lower body.

Conclusion

Strength is a broad, and very important component of all-around fitness.

From maximal strength (lifting a heavy object), to extreme endurance strength (repeated force production for long periods of time, like rowing), it all falls under the same general umbrella.

Long story short - we can think about strength as "ability". 

The more you have, the more you can do.

What is Mobility?

Mobility training just may be one of the hottest fittest trends around.

Everywhere you go you’ll see athletes and casual gym-goers alike rolling out muscles, holding fancy stretch poses, and performing exercises meant to improve their “mobility” before jumping into a workout. 

But just what, exactly, IS mobility?

Mobility is best defined as the ability to voluntarily move a limb or joint through its entire functional range of motion with complete control.

Mobility vs Flexibility

Often, Mobility is confused with “flexibility,” as many people think of the terms as synonymous. 

Flexibility, though, is actually just the ability of a muscle to temporarily stretch beyond its resting state, when needed. Even more specifically, it is your muscles’ ability to tolerate being stretched, neurologically speaking.

Basically, if you improve your flexibility through, say, static stretching, your body can move through more extreme ranges of motion without pain.

This is but one component of the complete mobility puzzle.

Instead, mobility is a dynamic expression of one’s ability to combine flexibility, with strength, and total neuromuscular control in order to move specific joints through complete, intentional movement patterns.

The Cost of Immobility

Unfortunately, there are many reasons why we may lose mobility about a specific joint. 

Through the rigors of daily life, acute injury, or the stress of exercise/sport, joint range of motion can decrease. This results in what is known as a “compromised joint”. 

Your body will naturally compensate for this immobility by activating certain muscles around that joint or even other places in the body, and deactivating others, to allow for the movement to occur as needed. 

This actually increases the likelihood of injury, as the body strains to accomodate for the lack of movement. Not only that, but it also means a direct loss of performance during physical activity.

Let’s take the shoulder joint, for example.

Being a ball and socket joint, the shoulder is designed such that you can move your arm forward, backward, side to side, and in circles. If the joint is healthy and mobile, it can move in all of those directions without issue or pain.

If, however, you spend lots of time hunched forward over a computer keyboard or cellphone, you may develop overactive muscles in the front of the shoulder complex, and weak muscles in the back. 

The result? Maybe you can’t move in all of those directions through the complete range of motion – that’s a lack of mobility. 

Poor mobility anywhere can lead to problems everywhere.

Fixing Mobility

So how do we address mobility in our training?

Mobility training typically involves foam rolling, static stretching, activation exercises and movement drills.

Foam rolling, or any type of SMR (Self-Myofascial Release) is an attempt to directly restore range of motion about a specific joint. Basically, it is a form of self-massage. SMR works to break up fascial adhesions that can occur through physical activity, allowing for better muscle and connective tissue elasticity. 

It can also serve to “release” overactive muscles that occur as a result of movement compensation. 

Static stretching does much of the same. We are attempting to increase our ability to tolerate more extreme ranges of motion. If a muscle is too tight, it can limit our range of motion, or cause compensatory movement patterns elsewhere.

On the flipside of this equation is our activation work. Simple movements like glute bridges or band pull-aparts work by targeting isolated musculature about specific joints.

In effect, we are “turning on” weak, underactive muscles to restore proper function and range of motion.

Lastly, we can use simple movement drills that challenge our ability to move through complete ranges of motion with control. Leg Swings, for example, ask the hip joint to move through its entire range of motion, while PVC Pass Throughs does so for the shoulders.

Essentially, during mobility work, we are working to restore our natural range of motion.

Assessing Mobility

Frankly, testing and tracking mobility is a somewhat difficult task.

The nature of mobility is highly individualized, and not easily measured by any concrete values like pounds lifted for strength, or time spent running for capacity.

Obviously, at PLT4M we do love to employ data tracking and accountability. Tangible data that can both display and explain results is wildly impactful. At the same time, though, we also strive for simplicity.

Given such, we choose to loosely track total-body Mobility through something called “Squat Therapy”. 

Testing

Starting at least a full foot or more away, we face a wall, and settle into our squat stance. Then, we raise our arms directly overhead in a fully extended position. 

From here, we will complete 3 slow and controlled squat reps. 

For any rep to be considered successful, all 4 points of squat performance must be hit. To review, each squat must:

1. Have both feet in full contact with the ground - and that do not move!

2. Lumbar curve maintained - spine must remain neutral from top to bottom!

3. Knees tracking toes - knees cannot collapse inward!

4. Hip crease below parallel - only full depth reps!

If, and only if, we are able to complete all 3 reps while maintaining the vital points of performance, we can consider the attempt successful. 

We can then mark down the distance from the wall to the tips of our toes. 

The closer to the wall we get, the more difficult the test is - i.e. the greater mobility requirement throughout all of the joints at play. Thus, we can loosely track total-body mobility through our progression within the Squat Therapy assessment.

Diagnosing Mobility

MOST IMPORTANT - and far more relevant than your actual score, is identifying where the failed reps occur. If we use the wall squat not just as an assessment, but a diagnostic tool, we get real actionable insight that can help us improve!

The beauty of the wall squat lies in the highly visual nature of the movement, AND it’s potential faults.

Squat Therapy gives us 4 major joint areas to watch for dysfunction.

1. Arms - Shoulder/Thoracic Spine Mobility  Do the arms bend, or do the chest & shoulders drop toward the wall in a "hunched" position? 

Inability to maintain the overhead posture throughout a squat rep points to a problem about the shoulder joint. Thus, we can take a look at the athlete's shoulder and thoracic spine mobility. 

Many of us are incredibly immobile here, due mostly to our time spent sitting in front of computers, hunching over cell phones, etc. 

2. Hips - Hip and/or Ankle Mobility  Is the athlete unable to get the hips below parallel, does the lower back round or flex excessively?

Frequently, lack of depth actually arises due to a lack of ankle mobility, namely the total range of dorsiflexion (ability to drive the knees over the toes while keeping the foot flat on the ground). It could also be a product of supremely tight hip flexors - another byproduct of our sedentary/sitting/desk lifestyle. 

Loss of neutral spinal alignment near the hips can point to any number of issues - from hip immobility, to a weak core, to overly tight Lats

3. Knees - Hip Mobility   Are the knees caving in?

Valgus knee collapse is likely due to poor hip mobility or a lack of glute activation and can be a serious risk of injury (both in the gym and on the field). 

4. Feet - Ankle and/or Knee Mobility  Are the ankles rolling in?

This is most likely the athlete's body compensating for a lack of ankle mobility. If the knee cannot drive out over the toe, the ankle will collapse inwards in the path of least resistance. 

Are the feet spinning out?

This external rotation of the Tibia (lower leg bone) is generally a result of tight abductors (think outer hip/thigh), and under active adductors (think inner hip/thigh).

By no means are these the only possible faults, but they should give you a great place to start.

Every person will follow a slightly different path to good movement, and regularly diagnosing patterns is a great way to help yourself along the way.

Conclusion

At worst, immobility can be a precursor to injury, and at best, an inhibitor of performance. We should always strive to maximize our mobility and improve the way we move.

For us, Mobility is, most simply, your ability to move efficiently and pain-free!

Something we can ALL get behind.

When it comes to assessing and improving one's fitness level, it's essential to delve into the concept of body composition.

Body composition is a crucial component of overall fitness, intricately linked to the broader framework known as the five components of fitness. In this article, we will explore what body composition is and its significance in the context of the five components of fitness.

Body Composition Defined:

Body composition refers to the relative proportions of fat and non-fat mass in the body. It goes beyond just measuring body weight, considering the distribution of muscle, bone, organs, and body fat. In essence, it provides a more comprehensive understanding of an individual's physical makeup.

Before we look at the interplay between Body Composition and the Five Components of Fitness, let’s look more closely at what the body consists of:

Bones: The human body is supported by a remarkable framework of bones, totaling 206 in adults. These bones provide structure, protect vital organs, and serve as attachment points for muscles, allowing for movement.

Muscles: Comprising nearly 40% of body weight, muscles are essential for movement, posture, and overall functionality. There are over 600 muscles in the human body, ranging from small, intricate muscles to larger, more powerful ones.

Tendons: Tendons are connective tissues that attach muscles to bones, enabling the transfer of force and facilitating movement. These fibrous structures play a crucial role in the biomechanics of the musculoskeletal system.

Ligaments: Similar to tendons, ligaments are connective tissues, but they connect bones to other bones, providing stability to joints. Ligaments play a vital role in preventing excessive movement and maintaining the integrity of the skeletal structure.

Organs: Organs are specialized structures with specific functions, such as the heart, lungs, liver, kidneys, and digestive organs. They play vital roles in maintaining bodily functions, and their composition contributes to overall body mass.

Fluids: The human body is composed of a significant amount of water, which is distributed within cells, blood, and other bodily fluids. Proper hydration is essential for maintaining optimal health and influences body composition measurements.

Adipose Tissue (Fat): While fat is considered in the context of body composition, it's worth emphasizing that not all fat is detrimental. Essential fat is necessary for normal physiological function, including hormone production and insulation. However, excessive body fat, especially visceral fat, can impact health negatively.

Connective Tissues: Beyond tendons and ligaments, there are various connective tissues, including fascia, cartilage, and the extracellular matrix, that contribute to the body's structural integrity. These tissues support and bind different components of the body.

Blood: Blood is a fluid connective tissue that transports oxygen, nutrients, hormones, and waste products throughout the body. While blood is not typically included in discussions of body composition, its volume contributes to overall body weight.

Skin: The skin is the body's largest organ and plays a crucial role in protecting internal structures. It contributes to body composition in terms of surface area and provides a protective barrier against the external environment.

Body Composition and the Five Components of Fitness

Now that we understand what the body is made of, let’s look at how body composition, specifically the ratio of fat and non-fat mass in the body, influences the other components of fitness.

Cardiorespiratory Endurance: Body composition plays a significant role in cardiorespiratory endurance. Excess body fat can strain the cardiovascular system, making it more challenging for the heart and lungs to efficiently supply oxygen to the body during prolonged exercise.

Muscular Strength and Endurance: Optimal body composition contributes to better muscular strength and endurance. A balanced ratio of muscle to fat promotes efficient muscle function, allowing for increased strength and the ability to sustain muscle contractions over time.

Flexibility: While body composition doesn't directly impact flexibility, excess body fat can restrict joint movement. Maintaining a healthy body composition ensures that the joints have the freedom to move through their full range of motion.

In conclusion, understanding body composition is crucial for achieving a well-rounded fitness level. The interplay between body composition and the five components of fitness emphasizes the importance of maintaining a balanced and healthy physical makeup. By focusing on reducing body fat, increasing lean muscle mass, and promoting overall well-being, individuals can enhance their performance across the various components of fitness, leading to a healthier and more active lifestyle.

Most coaches and trainers would agree that midline stabilization (core strength and stamina) is vital to overall fitness, athletic performance, and longevity within any healthy physical activity. 

What many people don't know, however, is what your core actually is, and how exactly it is intended to work. 

What is the Core?

While most people have come to think of the "Core" as synonymous with "Abs", it’s actually much greater than that.

Your core is a complex series of muscles, extending far beyond your abs, including almost everything other than your arms and legs. It is involved in just about every movement the human body can perform.

Simply, we can think of our core as everything between our limbs, our “trunk”, as it were.

From the abdominals and obliques of our stomachs, to the various glutes and deeper muscles controlling our hip joints, to the erectors that run along your spine from hip to upper back...it is all a comprehensive system.

Your core has 3 major "abilities", as it were. These muscles can work together to act as stabilizers during movement (like in a good morning), transfer force from one end of the body to the other (like when throwing or jumping), or initiate movement itself (like getting out of bed, or performing a sit up).

Frankly, the core plays a crucial role in ALL physical activity.

What is the Role of your Core?

Most of us, when thinking about the core, picture sit ups and other dynamic movements performed in an effort to achieve the coveted magazine-cover-6-Pack.

While the core certainly does hold the ability to generate movement, and should be asked to do so in general fitness and training programs, such is NOT its primary role.

Our core's greatest asset lies not in its ability to generate dynamic movement. 

In fact, the lion's share of our core's responsibility lies in midline stabilization - aka resistance against movement, not initiating it. It is the bridge between our limbs, allowing us to run, jump, throw, etc. A stable core allows for efficient transfer of power from one end of the body to the other. Any loss of core stability during a dynamic movement leaves us with less power output and a greater likelihood of injury. 

In particular, our core muscles help lock the vertebrae of your spine in the correct position, thus protecting the back from injury during powerful movements of the trunk. They’re also very active when the body is stationary. Even just when you are just standing upright, the core is working to maintain correct, healthy posture.

A “neutral spine” is something we call for throughout the movements in our programs, and this is truly an example of your core at work. 

The muscles of your core are a system, whose job is to stabilise joints and maintain correct anatomical alignment.

THIS is what we mean when it comes to training for “Stability”.

Training for Stability

Obviously, dynamic movement, and the improvement of core strength and endurance is an important part of any fitness program. This is where you can and should utilize dynamic movements like sit ups, knee raises, and hip extensions.

When it comes to stability, in particular, though, the training of your core comes through the use of “anti-movement”.

For the most part we are talking about “isometrics”.

At its most basic, we are attempting to engage the various muscles of the core as stabilizers of the hips and spine to resist movement. We utilize a vast array of planks, bridges, and holds to engage the entirety of the core system.

Take the basic elbow plank, for example. 

If done correctly - by maintaining a neutral spine, avoiding saggy hips, and actively squeezing the abs, glutes and quads - we are training the system to work together and stabilize the body in proper position against resistance and fatigue.

Conclusion

A strong and stable core is vital to health and performance.

Greater stability is believed to lead to an increase in maximal power and more efficient use of the muscles of the shoulders, arms and legs, while also leading to a lower risk of injury during activity.

Theoretically, proper stability training can both increase athletic performance and enhance everyday activity/posture to ensure a lifetime of healthy movement.

Let’s get to Plankin’!

What are SMART goals?

Goal setting is a skill that takes practice. Often, people find themselves setting bigger goals that can take time to achieve. And while dreaming big with goals is good, setting realistic goals with structure can help to make better long-term progress. SMART goals help to do that.

SMART goals have been around since the 1980s. First introduced by George Doran, Arthur Miller, and James Cunningham, SMART goals outlined a mnemonic acronym to help with goal setting.

Specific
Measurable
Attainable
Relevant
Time-based

This popular goal setting strategy allows a framework for effective goal setting in any area of life. As a result, SMART goals have become increasingly popular in business, education, fitness, and personal life. This article will explore fitness, physical activity, and physical education SMART goals.

SMART Goals For Physical Education

For many students, PE classes can often need more context. Students show up, do a physical activity, and then go on with the rest of their day. And it can leave many students asking, “what is the point of this?”

Goal setting can help to contextualize PE classes. It can move physical activity from feeling like a chore and put it into the bigger picture of overall health and wellness for students.

But PE classes should not have a one-size-fits-all approach to setting goals. In the past, students have been tasked to set goals based on their peers or national averages.

For example, all 10th graders at school could be told their goal for a mile should be 10 minutes or faster by the end of the semester. This would not be considered a SMART goal for PE. Using the SMART principle, while it is specific (S) and measurable (M), and Time Based (T) – for many students, it is far from attainable (A) or relevant (R).

While the spirit of the goal is to improve students’ cardiovascular health and aerobic capacity, it doesn’t meet students where they are at on their fitness journey. Using SMART goals for PE, we can take a student-centered learning approach and make setting SMART goals a rewarding activity for every student.

Physical Education Smart Goal Examples

By using SMART goals for PE, students can take ownership of their fitness levels and goal setting. Using the mile time from above, PE classes can still certainly assess the mile in class. First, take an initial mile assessment as a baseline. Next, students can be encouraged to set a SMART goal for PE with their initial mile time.

Now, a student who started with a 13:00 mile time can set a personal SMART goal for PE class.

Example:

Specific: I want to improve my mile time by 1 minute (12-minute mile).
Measurable: We will retest the mile throughout the semester using a stopwatch and timing system.
Attainable: I will take physical education class 5 days a week and work hard in class to get into better shape.
Relevant: I want to improve my mile time because I want to try out for the soccer team next year and I want to be in better shape for tryouts.
Time-Based: We will retest the mile in the 7th and 14th week of the semester.

With the integration of setting SMART goals, now the student who improves by an entire minute can feel proud of their accomplishment. If the student were still operating in the old model, their 12-minute mile time would still be considered a “failure” if they were given the blanket 10 minute class-wide goal.
Making Your Own SMART Goal

The example goal from above might not fit for you! And that is okay. The whole point of SMART Goals is that they are specific, measurable, attainable, relevant and time-based for YOU. That means we should work to create our own SMART goals, not someone else's.

When it comes to making your own SMART goal, it can be helpful and SMART to start small. Pick something that you map out and give a try, so you can begin to flex your SMART goal muscles. From there, you might start to grow and think bigger.

In a world of instant gratification, goal setting is more important than ever. You might want to see results immediately, and when you don’t, you can become frustrated or discouraged. But by using SMART goals, you can start having a clear vision of how to set short-term goals that can start to impact the bigger goals you have in your life.

Keep it simple and start small. It can be one SMART goal to start, and you can grow to have more goals as you get comfortable with this goal-setting process.

SMART goals put you in the driver’s seat of their fitness journey. But, more importantly, it makes physical education more than just a class in the day, but a place to make tangible progress. When we can put PE classes into that perspective, we can become more engaged, motivated, and inspired to be in physical education classes and participating in physical activity.