The Internet Age of Training

Editors Note: My new site is now at www.just-fly-sports.com Check it out for a wealth of information on jumping higher and running faster, all backed by research and practical experience!

I have been in the iron/plyometric game for quite a while, I first started reading about training when I was 12 years old, and was always fascinated with anything having to do with lifting or jumping higher, it was all new and fresh material to me. I dunked for the first time at age 14 at 5'11" without reading a single bit of internet training advice. My primary training method at the time was wall sits, leg extensions and playing basketball, very archaic according to todays standards. When I was about 16 years old (year 2000) I started searching the internet for training information. Of course, back then there weren't the forums that there are today, or hardly any of the information that you can find on some internet resources such as T-nation (was just getting started then) Now days, I see high-schoolers on these forums who are light-years ahead of where I was at the same age (knowledge wise), but here is something that I also see............their gains are similar or less than mine when I was their age. I think that maybe I just got lucky with the science of jumping program that I did, but I really improved a lot, without knowing an awful lot.

These days, I learn a lot off the internet, I have some great text books and reference guides here at home, but I probably get most of my knowledge off the internet. (I guess I had a few master's classes here and there as well......but who really cares about action potentials and cell membranes anyways?) Here is a fact though, that very few of us internet training junkies are willing to accept........how much have you improved since you found all this great training info on the net? I am not talking about how much have you put on your squat or clean or single leg BOSU squat while simultaneously playing ping pong.. How much has your vertical jump or sprint speed improved.?? Now I am sure for some, yes, it has increased, but I would make a fair bet that, for a lot of people out there, NO, I have not improved much at all in the last 2-3 years, even though I am learning all these new training programs/ideas on the web. (I am talking for the most part about people who have stopped developing physically, because you will gain speed no matter what if you are still physically maturing, From what I have seen I think that physical abilities (speed strength) no longer on their own develop due to physical growth around age 15-19, however, this does not account for "old man strength" which I am starting to develop.)

So what is the point of this entry? It is just this........practical experience in training trumps anything you hear on the internet regarding training, EVEN MY ENTRIES, hahaha.

Here is my recommendation for evaluating your training program and what you read online....

1. NEVER build a training program around 1 article that you read. Read many articles by different authors, and find the good things they have to say about certain methods and what the authors agree on as sound training methods.

2. STICK to your training program. Don't go for a month and say, oh, well this program really isn't working, I think I'll check (insert website here) to look for another program and see how that works for me. An exception can be made here if you made a terrible mistake in your program selection, but if you follow step 1, you shouldn't come across this. (note: of course, you are supposed to make changes in your program every 2-4 weeks if you are intermediate/adv, but I am talking about the basic structure of the program in regards to long term goals)

3. DESIGN your program with the long term goal in mind. If you have been training for 5 years, your goal should not be to put 4 inches on your vertical in a month. This is probably not going to happen, and if it does, it will be the most unstable 4 inches you ever put on your vertical (quickly gained/quickly lost principle). Try and find resources regarding long term training methods. www.athleticscoaching.ca has loads of GREAT free sport science articles, especially regarding periodization.

4. REMEMBER what has worked for you in the past, and try not to get far away from it in your own training. It is important to vary training procedures from year to year, but you need to know what works for you and what doesn't.


I hope these simple tips can help you in your quest for your athletic goal

Joel