By Blake Cheatham
The common denominator of all successful styles of training or programming is hard work or as I like to say “Intent”. Some strength coaches or sport coaches are supporters of more play and less robotic-like structure in training. I would argue that this can allow athletes to realize the full capability of their body by giving them a direct goal with freedom of movement to try and achieve it. This takes some creativity to do in strength and conditioning, whereas it is much more natural in sport-specific play.
“Weak-knee’d little B***h”
This term sticks in my mind almost every time I train legs, knowing that my hips have always been stronger relative to my knees and my quadriceps have suffered because of it. When I realized this, I soon found that I had allowed a minor meniscus injury when I was younger to scare me away from training my legs with true intent or determination in training. When I would play soccer or rugby, minor discomfort would never stop me from challenging a tackle. In training, I would slowly bend through my knees but lean forward and hinge at the hips to accomplish most lifts. Joint injury and pain aside, I had effectively perpetuated my weak knee’d b***h self for years.
In my case, the feeling of pushing through the balls of my feet and finally driving through the knees allowed me to gain strength in these positions and no longer consider myself a weak knee’d b***h. For many clients I have trained, Intent was either absent from their training if they have always been weaker or a bit slower or “unathletic”, or naturally there with any physical endeavor if they have no issues gaining muscle, strength, or speed. I have had knee-dominant clients with flabby buttcheeks, and clients like myself with strong hips and butt muscles who can’t keep their chest up in a squat. I have also had clients with weak or painful shoulders that had no coordinated sense of how their traps supported their overhead pressing.
In any case, an exercise, a specified training program, or a sport specific practice is absolutely nothing without the true intent it takes to add 5lbs of muscle or make a heavy weight move that you weren’t able to move just weeks before. Sometimes caffeine helps, and good sleep and wholesome nutrition absolutely help, but approaching a deadlift like a loved family member is trapped underneath will surely recruit enough muscle fibers to help one realize what their body is capable of with the right intent. Whether it is turning sprint training into a creative game, or just understanding that 315lbs has moved with a certain speed in a back squat before you think about holding that same weight over your head someday. Develop a way to consistently train with maximal intent and you will progress.