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GP Athlete Spotlight: Paul Emanuele

Paul Emanuele (RB/DB, Franklin Regional HS) is currently in training with specific attention provided to strength/explosive power and speed in preparation for a number of combines this summer, with the most recent being this weekend at the University of Pittsburgh.

Like all athletes who see consistent improvements, Paul has been a hard worker since day one. Tremendous athletic ability and hard work are always a dangerous combo. Paul has the speed, quickness, and power to break open a game at any moment.

Welcome to GP, Paul!

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agility assessment athlete coach exercise nutrition performance quickness recovery routine speed sprint strength supplementation trainer

Have You Mastered Your Movement?

This article was originally published for MPG New England. It has been republished here with permission.

 "The word ‘athlete/athleticism’ is used too loosely amidst the sporting community. It is one thing to participate in a sport and it is another thing entirely to be an athlete."

-James Smith
Athletic development is a long-term pursuit. The organization and implementation of sport training programs can pose many challenges.  Programs should never be a simple concept of various exercises for a given number of sets and reps combined with exhaustive conditioning sessions if individualization in the process of long-term athletic development is of any importance to the coach and athlete.  Athletic development is a process in the mastery of several components. One component of athletic development that is often overlooked (or ignored) by many coaches is proper mechanics as they relate to the acquisition of sport skill. Or in its simplest sense, the concept of movement efficiency. This is especially evident in youth sports, arguably when the instruction and learning of proper mechanics matters most to an athlete.

The training of fundamental athletic qualities should start early in life. These athletic qualities have been described as coordination, mobility, balance, rhythm, relaxation, timing, and kinesthetic sense (awareness of one’s body in space).  It is these qualities or biomotor abilities that separate a true athlete from someone who simply participates in a sport. James Smith wrote, “The word ‘athlete/athleticism’ is used too loosely amidst the sporting community. It is one thing to participate in a sport and it is another thing entirely to be an athlete.”

We all can appreciate this concept. Be it a youth soccer game or an international track and field event, we have seen the ‘superior athletes’. The highest-level athletes standout by their ability to make complex sport movements look effortless due to their high degree of mastery. They simply make things look easy because they have learned to move efficiently.

Whether it is the ability to sprint, jump or throw, several athletes participating within a high level of sport do not demonstrate efficient mechanics. Let’s consider sprinting. Yes, the ability to generate high levels of power and ground reaction forces will allow an athlete to move fast, but speed potential cannot be realized until efficiency of movement is mastered. This often requires the eye of a coach/specialist who understands biomechanics as it relates to sprinting and the ability to instruct what is necessary to the athlete.

The concept of teaching ideal or efficient movement should take priority before increased training loads or demands are implemented. This holds true for sprinting as well as any sport skill or weight room movement. The more a movement or sport skill is practiced at increasing velocities or against greater loads, the more concrete that exact movement pattern becomes programmed at the neuromuscular level.  Meaning that that athletes who perform a specified movement without regard for proper mechanical efficiency only get better at moving inefficiently. This becomes detrimental to their long-term potential as an athlete and elevates their risk of injury. It is the proper mechanical instruction of the sport skill(s) combined with proper management of training load variables that becomes vital in setting the stage for athletic development.

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athlete athletics jump movement sports sprint throw training

Interval/Sprint Training vs. Cardio: Which is Better for Fat Loss and Physique Development?

1. Sprint exercise resulted in 3 times more fat loss while expending 1/2 the calories compared to those who performed aerobic exercise. (Tremblay)

2. Low intensity aerobic exercise participants lost lean body mass. Over the long term, reduced lean body mass results in a lower resting metabolic rate and thus reduces the ability to burn fat. (Mouglos)

3. One study found that the addition of 4 hours of aerobic exercise per week had no effect on weight loss, while another found performing 45 mins of aerobic exercise 5 days per week for 12 weeks had no effect over dieting alone. (Van Date, Utter)

4. Twenty minutes of interval/sprint training, 3 times per week for 15 weeks led to greater fat loss compared to steady state aerobic exercise. (Trapp and Boutcher)

So is cardio pointless? Even thought it pales in comparison to other modes of exercise in the ability to burn fat, cardio is still effective. However, cardio should not be done alone as one's only form of exercise. Cardio is effective in promoting CNS recovery from intensive exercise and should be a small part of an exercise program that includes proper eating, muscle-building resistance training, and fat-burning intervals.

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athlete athletics exercise functional movement performance speed sports sprint training

Training Hard vs Training Smart


"People are incredibly innovative in their efforts to screw up training."

- Charlie Francis, Canadian Speed Coach

When it comes to sport training and many training systems, there are aspects that are poorly managed or misused in their application. One that is very common is the lack of understanding of physiology as it relates to bioenergetic training parameters and workload compatibility in sport.

Programs and coaches may frequently implement high lactate training loads into their program for a variety of reasons. Exhaustive shuttle runs, suicides, gassers, extended sets, and 'circuit' style workouts are all examples of lactic training. The problem is even though they may be performed with perceived 'maximal effort', in order to accomplish the prescribed work, individuals are training at a medium intensity. This level of intensity is too slow to develop speed. They teach muscles to behave slowly. Furthermore, the recovery requirements are high and thus cut into the ability to perform more intensive work that would directly improve speed and explosive strength.

There is not much justification for the frequent use of lactic training loads when the nature of most field/court based sports is alactic/aerobic with varying degrees of lactate influence. This is illustrated by the influence of bioenergetics on mitochondrial concentration in skeletal muscle. Mitochondria are responsible for energy production and oxidative potential. More mitochondria means greater energy supply and faster recovery. Mitochondrial concentration is elevated in skeletal muscle by anaerobic-alactic and aerobic training, while anaerobic-lactic training results in their destruction. Lactate threshold training must be appropriately prescribed and closely monitored.

This is just one example of why training loads and parameters must have compatibility to ensure the greatest transfer into sport performance improvement. The sports training world has fallen victim to a number of gimmicks in the name of profitability. Gimmicks such as high speed or anti-gravity treadmills, ladder drills, and exhaustive circuit-based training are examples of training that has very little to no carry over into athletic performance. Read more about this here.

For athletes and individuals who take their training and health seriously, your results are too important for someone to 'screw it up'.

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activity agility assessment athlete athletes athletics coach exercise jump ladder drills movement quickness speed sports sprint sprinter strength training

Understanding the Role of Olympic Lifts in Training

The Olympic lifts (snatch, clean and jerk) and their variations are often used in the training and preparation of athletes that require explosive strength and power. Although Olympic lifts may be useful for teaching an athlete of low preparation how to rapidly generate force, overall they are not ideal for developing explosive strength for a number of reasons. Of primary importance is the increased risk of orthopedic injury associated with Olympic lifts, namely the overhead portions. So how does one efficiently develop power and explosive strength without undue risk of injury?

If the end goal is to improve explosive strength of the leg and hip musculature, as measured through vertical jump and standing long jump, coaches must select the most efficient and safest means. Charlie Francis placed sprints, jumps, and throws just as high as the Olympic lifts on his motor unit recruitment chart. Sprints, med ball throws, weighted/unweighted jumps all become wiser alternatives for power development as they require far less time to learn and impose less risk of injury.

This is not to say Olympic lifts serve no purpose. They certainly can be useful, but their positive effects are greatly misinterpreted by most coaches. For instance, some coaches utilize various volume and intensity schemes with the Olympic lifts to develop bioenergetic pathways used in acceleration phase of sprinting. Others will use it to develop tremendous starting strength. Keep in mind, there have been Olympic-level weightlifters with remarkable vertical jumps. Some have the ability to keep pace with or beat Olympic-level sprinters in the first 30m out of the blocks.

This sounds like pretty amazing stuff, right? Simply hit some cleans and snatches to get powerful and fast?

However, there's a big problem.

You aren’t as good at the lifts as an Olympic-level weightlifter. Remember, weightlifting is a sport. It is a skill and unless you have a lot of years under your belt, perfecting the lifts, you aren’t even remotely close to having the lifts make a significant impact on your athletic performance.

If you are going to get the most out of training the Olympic lifts, it absolutely matters that you are skilled from a technical viewpoint.

For example, outside of elite status Olympic weightlifters, very few lifters actually achieve full hip extension during the lifts. Meaning, they aren't fully developing powerful hip extension. Full, powerful hip extension is essential to developing explosive athletic qualities seen in sprinting, jumping, and throwing.

So, as an athlete, why would you perform a series of exercises that are ultimately going to take years of practice to learn while reaping little benefit from that effort? Sure, plenty of people think they have "learned" the lifts, but reality is they are far off the mark.

It takes time, a lot of time, to learn how to do the lifts properly. Achieving rapid, full hip extension is not an easy task and don't let anyone convince you otherwise. Nobody ever mastered the lifts in a matter of weeks.

So when it comes down to appropriately addressing power-speed development in athletes, it should become clear that there is potentially wasted time and energy in truly learning the Olympic lifts. Similar training results can be achieved with more basic exercises without the high technical demands.

Looking for ways to develop powerful hip extensions? Variations of sprints, jumps, and med ball throws get the job done faster with greater dynamic correspondence. Unless you are competing in weightlifting, the Olympic lifts don't offer much in dynamic correspondence to many athletes. Consider movements specific to your sport. Whether it is skating or shooting in hockey, throwing a baseball, covering a wide receiver, or kicking a soccer ball, there are very few specific connections with the Olympics lifts when you look at the movement patterns.

For an athlete, the Olympic lifts become very general in their ability to train resisted hip extension and reactivity.

As an athlete, your goal is to get better at your sport. Specificity in training matters. You could be wasting valuable time and energy resources on learning lifts that have little impact on your abilities to perform in competition.

Concluding Thoughts
I’m not here to bash on the Olympic lifts. They can serve a purpose in developing explosive hip extension and reactive/plyometric qualities. However, there are problems that exist with their use and implementation in the training programs of athletes. As mentioned previously, outside of competitive weightlifters, the Olympic lifts lack specificity. Specificity and dynamic correspondence are critical for any athlete. The Olympics lifts also impose greater structural risk and this could be considered unnecessary when developing athletes. The goal of athletic development is to maximize training results while minimizing structural risk. Consider variations of sprints, jumps, and throws. These alternatives are easier to implement and progress, thus providing both athletes and coaches the ability to master power-speed qualities specific to the athlete's sport form.

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athletics clean exercise jerk jump ladder drills nutrition olympic lifts performance power power development program snatch speed sprint throw training

Drop the Confusion, Athletes Need Consistency for Efficiency



What you need to know:

  • Neural efficiency is the key to becoming a better athlete, this is known as athletic mastery.
  • Mastery requires time, intelligent programming, hard work, and dedication to consistency. 
Consistency Matters
The primary goal of any athletic and strength development program should be neural efficiency. Fact of the matter is the nervous system controls and coordinates every movement and every function in your body. The nervous system thus is the regulator of strength and movement coordination. This is why ALL successful athletes have periodization implemented into their programming. Periodization is a fancy word for structured, intelligent programming to address individual needs.

Any athlete that has reached elite status in their sport has used periodization to address their needs and to ultimately promote positive, long-term adaptations from the learning of repeated actions by the nervous system. One observation that can be made of such programs is how little they seem to change or when a change is implemented, it follows a progression based on what the athlete is displaying or what they are capable of from day-to-day, week-to-week, or month-to-month.

Don't Let Fitness Trends Confuse You
Programs and/or trainers that endorse 'muscle confusion', randomized daily workouts, or continual change to exercise without following proper programming will always fail to develop an efficient nervous system. Sure for the ADD crowd and those that get bored easily, this appeals to you. Or maybe you are that person obsessed with 'fitness' and have become convinced workouts of this manner are the Holy Grail. If you are one of these people, be my guest. That's your choice. This article is specific to athletes and those that want to see consistent, sustainable results from their hard work. Not to simply have a workout entertain them.

Randomized workouts may sound interesting, even cool. The marketing placed around these workouts will spin words and science to make them appealing to the masses. Ultimately the end result is not allowing the athlete or individual to properly adapt to their training and achieve mastery.

How can adaptation and mastery be a bad thing when you want to improve? Want to be great?

Mastery is the Goal
For many, the frustration with mastery is it requires time. A lot of time. Mastery is a long-term process. This is exactly why great coaches and great athletes stress fundamentals at any level, from 7 year olds all the way up to the professional ranks. Think about it. Coaches don't just go through random drills at practice and if they do, they likely don't last long or frankly shouldn't be coaching in the first place. Fundamentals are reinforced because the better an athlete is at the fundamentals, the greater chance of success they will have when performing more complex sport skills.

Mastery is a grind. Its prerequisites are consistency and discipline. Mastery takes years to develop and this becomes a problem when the fitness industry wants to sell a 'quick fix'. And most Americans want that 'quick fix'. They want results now, not later. They don't want to put in years of work when they see programs that advertise how they can 'get ripped in 60 days' or 'get faster in 4 weeks'.

That's a Wrap
Athletes should recognize that their goals will not be solved with today's latest fitness trend. The only way to achieve mastery is through consistent, focused effort to become efficient in all fundamentals and sport specific skills. The message should be clear. At GP, this is something we feel strongly about and want to provide you with the information needed to make the best decisions for your goals. Mastery and efficiency are critical to the athlete and we addressed the importance of that in this article.

Is your training program allowing you to develop the mastery needed to achieve your goals?

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athlete functional jump movement performance program quickness routine speed sprint supplementation training