Good training is more than sweating and grunting; it’s about how to move more efficiently…
Sports Performance
Here at Coach K’s Performance Training, we like to think of our training a wee bit differently than other places. Our overriding principle is that the whole body is integrated and moves in three planes of motion (see figure on the left). These ideas were first popularized by Dr. Vladimir Janda back in the 70s and 80s, and then more recently by Tom Myers with his teachings on Anatomy Trains.
And of course, historically these ideas were taught and used by Tai Chi Chuan martial artists. Yes, we train with ‘traditional methods’ like squats, push-ups, etc. but we also teach you how to integrate muscle groups into groups called Kinetic Chains.
Muscle Integration
Here is another example of why we teach integrated movement and one of the cornerstone of our Whole Body Running program. If you look at the area circled in blue in muscle system chart, you will see the pattern of muscle flow/directions that run from the Left shoulder/Lats down to the Right hip/Glutes. In different books, this would be called an Anatomy train or a Myofascial Sling. The point is that muscle activation of the Right Lats will influence the force generated by the Left Glutes.
This is one of the reasons that we walk with our Contralateral arm/leg pattern. If we can learn how to incorporate these natural muscle patterns into our training, then our movement will be so much more efficient…