King Sports International

Change - one of the great challenges we face

Change. I've learnt that at times change can be one of the hardest things for us humans to do. Homeostasis, the phenomenon of protecting the current status quo, can be a double aged sword. It can work for us and it can work against us. It can be our strength, but it can also be our weakness

During the last two and half decades I have learnt a lot about change in both athletes and coaches. Change is like maximal speed - it is capped when you stop accelerating. In athletes the absence of a desire to change, to do it better, is a sure sign of the peak and inevitable decline in the career. In coaches, the same. In physical preparation coaches in the KSI Coaching Program, it's the same. I can sense when the individual has said 'that's enough - I don't really want to change anymore'.

Rarely is it in the spoken word - more usual in the actions, often justified by rational reasons that are really just excuses.

The challenge is also knowing when to change and when to stay with what you are doing. The only judge is hindsight on the reality of the outcome. A judge not to fear, but to value, provided we are willing to objectively consider the feedback.

We ultimately decide which pain to choose - the pain of change or the pain of regret if we make a less than optimal decision. Sometimes you never know until you go! Until you try it out.

KSI is one of the longest existing, consistently serving the same focus, companies in the world of physical preparation. KSI is successful in serving up the same high quality service and products because we are willing to change. Change for improvement, not change for change sake. We train athletes and educate coaches. Trends come (and go) we don't jump on them for the sake of being part of the trend. We didn't blow our tops over swiss balls and we aren't going to hump the 'fat loss' guru trend. We are boring - at least that's the way it seems for few appear to be able to stay on the same path. We taught stuff in the 1980's when no-one could give a rat's arse about it, and we teach the same thing now despite some of these things not only become trendy to teach but begin taught in a totally f-up way.

Flexibility is a great example of this - but that's a discussion for another day!

The change we introduce to you today is the newsletter format. If you are currently a subscriber you may have noted the new format. If you are not currently receiving the KSI Between Sets Newsletter, you can register to receive it via the opt-in fields in the left margin.

Recovery in Perspective - How well you pull up or how well you perform?

by Mitchell Kochonda

The concept of recovery is widely known to athletes in all sports. As Ian wrote in Get buffed 1 (1999) “training plus recovery equals the training effect”.

Recovery methods come in many forms including, but not limited to, rest days and weeks, time, massage, stretching, heat, cold, water, salt water, electronic modalities, food, supplementation, escapism, the natural environment, recreation, etc to expedite the various systems in our bodies, including, but not limited to, nervous, metabolic, immune, hormonal, etc and all are of great value to the athlete.

But let’s put this in perspective, as there is no point recovering exceptionally well to an average or poor starting point! Let me explain…

Last week during a tele-conference seminar the question was asked in relation to supplements enhancing recovery. I replied the said supplements would have a very positive effect on recovery from training. But I asked the group the question “what’s more important, supplements after training to replace what’s been used or nutritional supplements consistently everyday to have the body in a permanently higher starting point – from a nervous, metabolic, immune and hormonal perspective - at all times?”

To put it another way, if you eat six times a day (one of these meals being a post training/competition meal) is there more value for your performance in an optimal recovery meal (16.6% of daily eating) okay nutrition the remainder of the day, or optimal daily nutrition for five meals a day (83.3% of daily eating)? I don’t care what you’re consuming post training/competition (high GI, low GI, protein, no protein, whatever) until we address the bigger picture! The Pareto principle at work again!

You can ask yourself the same question in all area’s of training. Let’s look at flexibility. “Is it better to train and compete with optimal tissue length everyday, or only train and compete with less than optimal tissue length - thus missing the injury prevention and performance enhancement benefits! - but spending time after training/competition to get back to an average state after the event?”

The trend of enhanced focus on post training/competition recovery (both physical, manual and nutritional) over the past decade is definitely a trend to support, but the value in heightening the bodies starting point in many areas is poorly exploited and misunderstood, and therefore is a huge opportunity for the committed athlete to take their training and performance to another level with the right guidance!

Mitchell Kochonda
KING Coach

What qualities comprise an athlete?

by Mike Pimentel

Another season comes to a close and you already begin to look forward to next season. Applying the lessons learned from the previous season, you vow next year that you will be even better. Its time to hit the weight room to begin your quest for next year’s championship.

Each year I’m introduced to young athletes with steeled determination to better themselves. They are enthusiastic, goal oriented and willing to do what it takes to achieve. In their minds they see images of themselves pushing their bodies to the limits in exhaustive workouts. The weights are banging, music blaring, sweat dripping, muscles burning, legs and arms shaking. Yeah, the kind of drama movies are made of.

I offer a perspective that enables the athlete to harness their emotion, its power, and focus it through the lens of common sense, intuition and logic. First by stepping back, looking at the larger picture of athletic development, and asking the question, “ What qualities comprise an athlete?”

We can divide the qualities in to four areas; technical, tactical, psychological and physical. Technical is their particular skill set in their given sport and position. In basketball an example would be dribbling, in hockey it may be skating. Tactical is their ability to make decisions in game play in addition to knowing specific preset “plays”. Psychological, as an example, may be their mental toughness. Their ability to maintain focus and discipline throughout the competition and season. Finally there is the physical quality which can be subdivided in to four sub-qualities - flexibility, strength, speed and endurance.

The reality is that these four athletic qualities exist with an interdependence on one another. In other words – each of qualities is affected by the growth or lack of growth in another quality. Some directly some indirectly but all are affected.

Now lets discuss how this concept may relate to the emotionally driven athlete. Lets do some simple math. For sake of argument, let’s say each of the four athletic qualities contributes equally to the athlete – 25% technical, 25% tactical, 25% psychological and 25% physical. There are many athletes who dedicate their entire off-season to the development of their physical qualities. But what about the other qualities?

Here is another question…. What if the physical quality is the area in least need of enhancement? What may be the actual contribution of a physical sub-quality? If each of the athletic qualities contributes equally (25% each) and the physical quality is comprised of four sub-qualities (flex, strength, speed, endurance) – the math shows us that the contribution of each physical sub-quality is only .0625%! (i.e. 25% / 4)

When you, the athlete, understand the above concept and the interaction between the qualities, it will enable you to give a new dimension and focus to your training that will have a massive effect on your result.

So how do you determine where to take your training? Start by having an honest discussion and evaluation of your athletic qualities. Reflect on each of the athletic qualities as they relate to you. Rate yourself on a scale of 1 to 10 (1 being very challenged and 10 being at your fullest potential). Your intuition will kick in as you arrive at a number. Recall specific instances in competition and/or practices to support your rating.

After completing all four qualities – interpret the data you have just created. This level of objectivity is an often overlooked component to training. What you find will help you determine where the area of greatest effect is for your training.

Whilst the drama of your physical training may be what you have expected for your off season perhaps the above concepts will take you in to areas you have not yet explored. Apply the tenacity, discipline and emotion you have as an athlete along with the objectivity and logic of these concepts to achieve the enhancements in your play for the next season.

Mike Pimentel
KING Coach, KSI Director of Education

The Training Triangle - a big picture for optimal results

by Miguel Charles

While some athletes focus soley or predominantly on training, great results actually require a careful balance of eating, sleeping and training. In order to achieve this, one must first assess, set goals, and allow for modification along the way. Any additional activity outside of this triangle; eating, sleeping and training- could potentially take away from your results.

Eating

As the old saying goes, you are what you eat. When considering how to maximize your eating, it is important to first understand what your options are. The basic building blocks of food include macro and micro-nutrients. Macro nutrients include; protein, carbohydrates and fat. While micro-nutrients are less thought of such as vitamins. Macro-nutrients are usually recommended to be consumed per unit of body weight or as a percentage of total calorie intake. By carefully monitoring the effect the portions have on your body you will be able to chose the best option for you. Lastly, vitamins are just as important, but are regularly forgotten. They are essential for injury prevention and the basic functions of the body.

Sleeping

Eating and sleeping work together to build our bodies back beyond its deprivation levels. Combined in the right ways you should feel stronger and more effective once you re-enter your workout this is referred to as providing your body with super-compensation because you are now able to outperform your previous self. When examining your sleeping you should look at the optimum amount to help you meet and exceed tour goals. Sleep is made up of both the quantity and quality of your sleep. The quantity of sleep required when in full training is 9-10 hours. The quality of sleep examines your sleep environment inclusive of noise, temperature, light, sleeping surface, pillows and even your bed partners. Ask yourself- did you go to sleep easily? did you sleep well? how did you feel when you woke up?

Inadequate sleeping and eating can fail to bring our bodies up beyond prior levels commencing a down-ward spiral characterized by feeling weaker, smaller and becoming more likely to incur illness and injuries.
Other recovery methods and some of my favorite include stretching, massaging, and meditating.

Training

The basic principles of training include active and conscientious participation in the training process. Most athletes are not involved in the decision making process let alone are allowed to help set their workouts. However, if you are not actively participating with your coach valuable insights could be lost. Each workout is specific to you and you only. By communicating with your coach you are allowing for the coach to develop a better understanding of your progress and needs as well as learning for yourself along the way.

The triangle is always a careful balance that requires constant monitoring. By recognizing that training is not the only activity that affects your performance you will be better prepared to enter the gym to achieve you best.

Miguel Charles
KING Coach

Physical Preparation for the Health & Wellness Professional

by Ashleigh Gass

Physical preparation coaches and clients work with a range of “Health and Wellness” professionals such as Physical Therapists, Chiropractors, Massage Therapists, Physicians, and others who actively strive to improve the health and well-being of their clients and patients.

The aim of this article is to give health and wellness professionals an insight into physical preparation the KSI way.

Physical preparation may be a term that is unfamiliar to you. Phrases and titles such as “strength training, cardio, sprints, strength coach”, etc may immediately come to mind when you think of physical preparation. Typically one thinks of physical preparation as one-dimensional, ie, ‘physically preparing an athlete to be stronger’. While this is a component of physical preparation, the KSI approach offers you a more holistic view.

Let’s start with understanding what the components are in physical preparation. We’ll call these The Physical Qualities.

1. Flexibility
2. Speed
3. Strength
4. Endurance

(Foundations of Physical Preparation, Ian King, 2000)

Of these 4 components, we’re willing to bet you are most familiar with #3 and #4. No surprise here, since you and your clients live on these islands 90% of your training life.

Now that you have a better understanding of the Physical Qualities, let’s review The Athletic Qualities.

1. Physical
2. Psychological
3. Technical
4. Tactical

(Foundations of Physical Preparation, Ian King, 2000)

#2, #3 and #4 may have raised a few eyebrows. Often times these qualities are thought to be outside the realm of the Physical Preparation coach.

Thus, physical preparation is defined as the integration of Physical and Athletic Qualities in a manner meant to reduce injury potential and maximize performance in athletes (and all people interested in active lives).

So, we’ve discussed the components of Physical Preparation, and clarified what the term means. Next time you hear the phrase “Physical Preparation Coach” you may have more clarity and appreciation for what this truly involves.

At this point, you may be thinking “Well, that’s nice, but how would this information add value to my clients/patients?” Read on!

This is how: I'm willing to bet that many of your clients are repeat customers. Ok, of course your clients love you and couldn’t imagine life in your absence, but we’ll postulate that the main reason for repeat visits is because their injuries never quite, well, resolve.

If you are humble enough to admit that there may be some truth to this – read on. If you’re in the middle of throwing a fit and writing a nasty email in response, well, this newsletter may not be for you!

You’re still reading – fantastic learning opportunities await!

Typically when you treat clients, you are using a symptom-based approach. Client comes in with pain, you treat pain, pain goes away for a couple days, pain comes back, client comes back. Cycle continues until you and your client get fed up, and they go somewhere else – only to receive the same course of action!!

What can you do to stand out from the rest, and empower yourself to heal clients once and for all?

Gain a greater appreciation of the relationship between the Physical Qualities (remember those?)

1. Flexibility
2. Speed
3. Strength
4. Endurance

Learn to understand the balance (or, more appropriately lack thereof) of these qualities in your client’s training program (you know, all the stuff they do when they aren’t in your office). Take the time to study information that will guarantee long-term results with your clients (and will add to the prosperity of your business like you’ve never seen before)

There are a couple of resources that will be key components to your journey:

DVD: Flexibility Specialization Series

Think your knowledge of Yoga and Pilates is enough? Think again……..

DVD: Injury Prevention and Rehabilitation Series

Convinced that a little bit of rubber tubing will solve all shoulder problems? Not quite…..

I commend those of you who are willing to go the extra mile in your practice. This information will add value to your clients/patients for years to come.

Ashleigh Gass
KSI CMP Coach

Athletic Golfers?

by Jason Pobega

The game of golf was revolutionized in 1996 when a certain golfer came on the scene. Forever changing the way golfers, and the game itself was viewed, Tiger Woods not only gave a new look, but a new philosophy to the sport that many called a ‘pastime.’

But it wasn’t the lucrative endorsements or countless titles and trophies won by Tiger that made the most impact. Those were just examples of the fuel that stoked the fire. Sure Tiger was scoring better than the average Joe at the age of 3, but is it only talent that created this epiphany?

Never before had anyone treated golf as a sport, or a golfer as an athlete. Today, if you aren’t an athlete in golf, you’re not even a blip on the leaderboard. Competitors flocked to find the trainer, the perfect way to get into ‘Tiger Shape.’ But it wasn’t just the competitive golfer that saw this attention to physical preparation as an asset.

The average Joe saw an opportunity to improve their game as well. And so the commercial boom of Yoga for golf, Golf-Fit classes, and specialized DVD’s made their way into the world. But like a lot of things in the physical preparation world, dollars came before sense.

One of the negative sides to a unilateral sport is the imbalance it creates in the body. The force generated in a golf swing is incredible when you figure that the average speed of a swing is in the vicinity of 105mph! Like tennis or racquet sports, a lot of emphasis was put on strengthening the muscles used to create more force-but at the expense of rest of the body parts that were compensating for the tremendous movement that is the golf swing. In this, the expense turned into repetitive injury, which turned into surgery, which turned into therapy, which was unilateral in nature, which leads to….well you get the picture.

So I ask the question, if athletes are treating golf as a sport and taking the dedicated time and cost in preparing themselves in a way that sets them up for success, why would they want to subject themselves to a less than optimal program or system?

The answer is simple: education or lack there of. Many athletes, not only in golf, but other weekend warrior scenarios search for the quick fix to the symptom.

Example: A golfer has a wicked slice that keeps going right.

Solution: Let just compensate to the left so that it evens out at the end!

Now let’s say that by looking at the way the golfer’s body stood still, walked, and then swung the club, could we find any imbalances that may be causing the slice rather than just hiding the symptom just like in the Injury Prevention and Rehab series http://kingsports.net/products-ksi-dvd-injpre.htm. What if this analysis in the long run created a better and healthier set of habits that then created the golf swing the athlete had been searching for? Oh, and what if from that analysis the athlete, stood, walked and did anything in their everyday physical life that had an impact on their life in general?

Which route would you choose? If you are receiving this newsletter, I’d wager that you’d pick the latter.

By visually assessing an athlete that plays a unilateral sport, you would find imbalances in both joint and muscle. Eversion or inversion of the feet, knees locked, hips posteriorally rotated, and shoulders rolled forward, etc, etc. Addressing these imbalances is crucial to building an optimal foundation on which an athlete can build a blueprint of success.

Techniques used in Injury Prevention and Rehab, Flexibility Training http://kingsports.net/products-ksi-dvd-fletra.htm, and How to Write http://kingsports.net/products-ksi-book-htw.htm offer incredible insight into not only addressing the challenges that may be evident, but to also plan, and create a program best suited to getting your game on track and down the fairway.

Jason Pobega
KSI CMP Coach