Years ago, Dan John wrote a very good article on accumulation and intensification. He defines accumulation as, “actively seeking and learning new sports, lifts, moves, ideas, and games.” Intensification, he defines as, “doing what you say you need to do.”

Intensification should be the primary focus of any person after the age of 18. You have a goal to lose 15lbs of fat? Great. Stick to your diet and make sure to exercise consistently. On the other hand, accumulation should be the primary focus of any person under the age of 18.

Why Youth Need to Accumulate

Youth today are missing the knowledge, body awareness, control, and strength to perform basic human movements. There are numerous reasons for this, but the result is that most kids don’t have the strength to do a proper push up or pull up, and don’t know the difference between a squat and a hinge.

The goal of a trainer or physical educator should be to pass on this transferrable knowledge that is useful for a lifetime; something kids can take with them beyond high school and use as adults.

How to Teach Accumulation to Youth

We need to set up a plan, a month by month schedule on systematically teaching the youth.

Let’s use a school year as a template:

August and September: 

• HKC movements: goblet squat, swing, get up
• Bodyweight movements: push up, pull up
• Loaded carries: farmer’s carry, suitcase carry
• Groundwork and tumbling
• Flexibility and mobility for the hamstrings, hips, biceps, and pecs

October and November: 

• RKC movements: single arm clean, single arm overhead press, snatch, double KB front squat
• Barbell movements: back squat, bench press, deadlift, overhead press
• Loaded carries: single arm rack carry, single arm overhead carry

December: 

• Review

January and February: 

• Barbell movements: clean and jerk, snatch
• Bodyweight movements: L-Sit to handstand, front lever

March and April:

• Barbell and kettlebell complexes
• Assessing and programming for the future

May: 

• Review

The Goal Is Not Elite Youth, But Healthy Adults

This is by no means a perfect plan, but can serve as a template of how to systematically teach youth a wide range of strength training movements. The goal is not specifically to create elite-level lifters, but to prepare them for the future by helping them accumulate as many skills as possible.

Whenever you get lost, always come back to our mission as trainers, coaches, and parents of the youth. That mission is to give our youth as many tools and skills as possible, so they are prepared to live active, healthy lives as adults.

Don’t have an advanced facility to train your kids? No problem:

Chasing Rabbits to the NFL: Lessons from Muck City

Headline photo credit: Craig on Flickr | CC BY 2.0

The post A Lesson Plan for the Youth Athlete appeared first on Breaking Muscle.

About three years ago, I trained a client who was preparing for a bikini competition. Before that, I had been working with the over-50 population, so this was going to be a new challenge for me – or so I thought. For the next few months, she trained in a way that was almost identical to my clients who were over fifty, using the concepts Janda outlined in his work. She pressed weights overhead, swung kettlebells, and did lots and lots of hip thrusts. In the end, she ended up taking third in her first bikini competition.

If something worked so well for both a bikini competitor and baby boomers, then it will probably work for anybody. Taylor Lewis has recently made this concept popular by sharing his experiences working with professional baseball players and people with cystic fibrosis. These two populations would seem to be at opposite ends of the training spectrum, but they aren’t as different as we think. They need a lot of the same things.

This is why I’m a huge fan of the Rite of Passage Program (without the pull ups) mixed with kettlebell swings and hip thrusts. This type of program will help a bikini competitor look great on stage, and it will also help a baby boomer feel better and play with the grandchildren.

Here’s an example of what a workout based on these principles might look like:

3-5 rounds:

• 1A: Hip thrust (glutes): x10 (weighted or unweighted)
• 1B: One-arm overhead press (deltoids and triceps): x2ea
• 1C: Hip thrust (glutes): x15 (weighted or unweighted)
• 1D: One-arm overhead press (deltoids and triceps): x3ea
• 1E: Hip thrust (glutes): x25 (weighted or unweighted)
• 1F: One-arm overhead press (deltoids and triceps): x5ea

5-10 rounds (on the minute):

• 2A: Hard style KB swing (glutes): x 10
• 2B: Ab wheel rollout (abs): x 5

1 round:

• 3: Stoney Stretch (pecs, biceps, and hip flexors)

Remember, this is just an example. Insert whatever exercises you feel comfortable using that are most relevant for your goals. The key is to focus on strengthening the “phasics,” while stretching the “tonics.” Let me know how it goes!

The post Bikini Models and Baby Boomers Should Train the Same Way appeared first on Breaking Muscle.