And we want to stick them in chairs for 8 hours a day and try to convince them they have a mental disorder since they (naturally) don’t want to conform, all so we can feed them prescription pills..
All in the name of “health”.
F*ck all that.
“Guys we’re going to bring Navy Seals in to show us how to train like men.”
Great idea coach. 15 year olds competing for spots on JV definitely need the training of America’s most elite fighting force.
You’re after team bonding?
Go float down a river on a raft.
They’re kids.
Athletes looking to gain weight:
Go to Publix and get a rotisserie chicken and a packet of Uncle Ben’s Rice.
It takes 5 minutes to consume, it costs less than $10, and you’re looking at:
1500 calories, 160g protein, 70g carbs.
I used to eat this meal 10-15x/week.
Eat.
College S&C is broken.
You get a degree.
Then another degree.
Then 5 certs.
Then you take on a 40 hour/week job, working 80 hours for admin who think you’re the same thing as a Wiffle ball umpire.
You then rack up debt, while you chase the biggest logo only to get fired.
This is the stuff that makes kids better.
Not the cute stuff.
This stuff.
Training is about force production.
Put it in the ground with attitude.
And do it often.
Hammers Only.
I’ve ran my own spin on 5/3/1 with thousands of kids for close to 15 years and it just flat works if you have a long term mindset with it.
I have more HS girls pulling 315+ than I can shake a stick at.
Funny enough, none of them are “bulky” either.
🔨🔨🔨
Plyometrics are one of THE best ways to express force.
Said differently, plyometrics are strength on display.
I’m not a “you must squat x before training plyos” guy at all, but I will say each of those 4 girls can squat 315+.
🔨🔨🔨🔨
In 2022, most HS S&C Jobs are better than most college jobs.
Comparable, if not better pay, no travel, better benefits, less hours.
You don’t have to like it, but it’s true.
“Kids these days don’t work hard!”
Yeah, my ass.
There is a difference between kids unwillingness to work hard & adults not having the discipline/ability to properly lead them.
This is Saturday at Zingler Strength.
But it’s like this every day because this is the standard.
I watched a bunch of guys who will run 4.2-4.5 at the NFL combine run sprints.
They were obviously fast.
But then I watched them lift..
And they were all strong, I mean STRONG.
Weak & Fast doesn’t exist. Ever.
Prioritize your training accordingly.
You want the secret?
Be Lame.
Have a couple friends. Love your family. Work really hard at your craft.
It’s the people trying to convince you how great their lives are with Instagram Reels who are the most miserable.
The Lame folks are the ones who are actually winning.
Dad is a 63yo cancer survivor.
Still paying for it.
Especially on vacation.
People talk about being bad mother fu*kers.
I’ve watched him be one all my life.
Strength is the limiting factor for most youth athletes.
The unknowing will argue & say “no, it’s speed.”
Speed is often the most desired quality, however youth athletes often lack the requisite strength to produce the force necessary to get faster.
Strength is Speed.
Here’s what’s happened in youth sports over the last 20 years:
Our kids have never been more UNDER prepared & more OVER specified in the history of mankind.
As a result we have masses of burnt out kids with untapped potential & overuse injuries.
Why?
Irresponsible adults.
500lbs. Trap Bar Pull at 150lbs. 3.3x BW.
Funny enough the kid can run like the wind and jump out of the gym, too.
Big is not strong. Strong is strong.
🔨
Jump, Throw, Catch, & Carry.
Build foundational athleticism with short bouts of exercise disguised as fun.
He’s “trained” nearly every day since he could walk. 10 minutes, 100s of times adds up.
I know this is a crazy concept, but..
Sport Coaches coach Sports &
S&C Coaches coach S&C.
Thinking “it’s just some squats!” Is like saying “ahh whatever, just run some cover 3, I guess.”
Guess what happens when adults try to wear too many hats?
The kids lose by default.
I am a “conjugate” guy.
I use the dynamic effort method, too.
I just don’t train kids to do 800lbs. good mornings with shaved heads and goatees.
Conjugate is simply a rotation of stress.
Adapt methods to meet the needs of your demographic.
🔨
A test for you speed ladder guru’s:
Get a 10 yard ladder.
Have Athlete A run 1 step through each hole as fast as he can for 10 yards.
Put Athlete B next to the ladder and have him run a 10 yard sprint.
Tell me who wins.
The speed ladder is the art of going nowhere fast.
Developing kids isn’t hard.
It just isn’t flashy.
The reason most gravitate towards the flash is because social media has disillusioned kids, parents, & “trainers” to think they are more advanced than they are.
It’s all garbage.
Most just don’t know what they don’t know.
I don’t care about D1, D2, D3, or NAIA.
But many people out there want “D1” but have no idea what a D1 work ethic looks like.
That girl is ABOUT IT.
Hammers Only.
@Malia_11_5
Combine this stuff with high level athletics and you can aid in the development of dangerous female athletes.
Feeding them palatable “speed & agility” ain’t it.
Give them the real stuff.
Real S&C is a cheat code for MS/HS girls.
“Kids today” don’t work hard because they don’t know how.
Nobody is teaching them.
We are creatures who evolved to take the path of least resistance.
Do you think they just stumble their way into working hard?
Work ethic isn’t an assumed trait.
It’s a learned behavior.
If I had one wish in the world, it would be that all kids were exposed to this type of training.
Real Development is a dying construct.
Save it.
Train them right or keep your hands off of ‘em.
🔨
Modern Youth Sports:
Financially incentivized adults created “eLiTe” travel organizations for adolescents & then monopolized the market by leveraging parents’ biggest emotional levers (their kids), to get what they’re after. Your money.
Modern youth sports is ANTI-development.
“DiD yOu KnOw 94.6284% Of PlAyeRs In ThE sUpEr BoWl PlAyEd MuLtIpLe SpOrTs In HiGh ScHoOl!?”
Did you know that billions of people played multiple sports in high school & never played in the Super Bowl?
Stop using biased stat snacks to push your preferred narrative.
Give me a group of kids who want to get better and we’ll do nothing but strategically dose the fundamentals and have a hell of a lot of fun in the process.
They won’t tell you this is the way.
But this is the way.
Hammers Only.
Teaching kids how to work physically hard is one of the most underrated gifts you can give them.
It’s a cheat code in todays world because not only are many unwilling, they don’t even know how to.
Work smarter not harder is nonsense.
Work harder and then work smarter.
Want to help Elementary school students?
You’re not doing it with ladder drills.
Make them f***ing strong.
Strength is a feared & frowned upon quality in the modern world.
But it’s still the most important one.
Hammers Only is my motto.
And this video right here is it.
You want the formula?
Here you go.
Sprint, Jump, Train Heavy, Train Fast, Rotate, & Train on One Leg.
And do it all with great intentionality.
Simple, wins.
Hammers Only.
I’m not a “strength” guy.
I’m a performance guy.
And if you care about performance, you care about strength.
Last week of his baseball season, after training all season, and he runs a 1.13 resisted fly & jumps 40.9.
That boy pays for it.
@StrengthDebates
@ExplosiveMec
When I was 25, I put $80k down on that house, gave another $30k to a stranger to revamp my barn, and then gave another $20k to Sorinex.
It was a lot to me, at the time.
It was scary.
But my mentors told me me to bet on myself. To go all in.
This was today.
Thank you God.
Strength & Conditioning is really just sprinting, jumping, throwing, pushing/pulling sleds, and rotating like 10 exercises in a room full of weights.
You’d never know it if you asked Twitter, though.
Folks are too busy trying to win Twitter with retweets from strangers.
Boxers have camps.
Professional athletes have TEAMS of coaches.
Olympian’s have dedicated training facilities.
But your kid…
Your kid who doesn’t know the difference between a lat pulldown & a complex carbohydrate can do it on his own at the box gym?
🫡
“But won’t lifting in-season make me sore?”
No.
Continuing to train, in a ‘trained’ state will only enhance your GPP & outputs in sport.
Choosing not to train will ‘detrain’ you & decrease your output potential.
Properly dosed In-Season training is paramount to performance.
6 weeks ago, I started my ‘Stairs & Swings’ Protocol.
It was very simple.
100 swings, 10 flights of stadium steps, minimum.
Every single day, rain, shine, hot, cold, ill, well. No misses.
Finished her up today.
Life is a game & I’ve learned winners act on intentions.
“My kid needs speed training!”
-Parents of 10-13 year olds.
No.. your kid needs to hit puberty.
As kids develop, they get stronger, as they get stronger, they produce more force, as they produce more force, they get faster.
Strength training IS speed training.
Most youth “performance” facilities aren’t actually training kids.
They are carelessly filling up their hours, performing random, unplanned, non-compounding drills absent of validity, progression & data to prove efficacy.
You’re paying these people to waste your kids time.
“Those dern strength guys only care about yer squat max!”
Nah strength is simply prioritized because it’s the lowest hanging fruit for young athletes.
Strength is important because it’s where we gain access to more to force to be displayed.
Doesn’t get better than a Baseball Pitcher pulling 6 plates, shirtless & beltless with ‘ol Glory in the background.
Some will say this is unnecessary.
Good luck convincing his mind that.
God Bless America.
You don’t get “tired” or “sore” from training in-season.
You get tired & sore from not having the physical capacity to withstand the demand of tasks.
This is why training while playing sports is critical.
Increased physical resilience = increased performance potential.
Long Term Athletic Development:
Sadly, it’s a DYING concept in America.
I know for certain I cannot control my children’s athletic ceiling and to be honest, I don’t really care at all.
But one thing I will not do is rob of them of their potential via premature advancement.
The longer I train athletes, the less I care about ‘how much’ weight is on the bar.
These days I am far more focused on seeing quality outputs and violent intent.
I want my kids to OWN their weights.
I’d rather see 300 smoked than 350 slow & ugly any day of the week.
Strength training for sport performance isn’t about a big bench press.
Strength training is for speed & agility.
To improve speed & agility, you have to acquire & express more force.
No athlete will ever not benefit from the ability to produce more force.
Strength wins.
Guess what “Performance” Training is NOT:
A patch of turf littered with ladders, bands, small hurdles, & other gadgets set up in the form of stations.
That is called randomized activity.
Randomized activity is not training.
It’s sure as hell not “Performance” Training.
School hadn’t been out (for the summer) 30 minutes and this is what our parking lot looked like.
Create a place where kids want to be and then they’ll give you everything they have.
Hammers Only.
In a world that is trying to replace Easter Sunday with Trans Visibility Day, it’s never been more important to carry chunks of rebar filled concrete up the road with your 5 year-old before teaching him all about Full Metal Jacket.
Pay attention.
The LEGENDARY Dan John calls it “Anaconda Strength”.
There are a number of ways to develop it, but here is one of my favorites.
Simply pick up a heavy object and try to squeeze the life out of it.
Work timed sets.
You won’t find a bigger bang for your buck strength exercise.
Everybody is looking for “sport specific training” for their 12 year old, but the most athletic preteens are always the ones with backgrounds in gymnastics, dance, and soccer, which develop a wide range of general athletic qualities.
Maybe it’s not about ‘spin rate’ at 12, Jim?
There is a lot to be learned from Nick Saban & Alabama.
Each and every week, the team lining up against the Tide are playing in their Super Bowl.
If you beat Alabama, you tear the goal posts down & throw them in the River.
If they beat you.. it’s just a Saturday.
My Top 10 Speed Drills (in no order):
-Flat Ground Sprints
-Hill Sprints
-Resisted Sprints
-Jump/Bound Variations
-Squats
-Deadlifts
-RDL’s
-Split Squats
-Step-Ups
-Rows/Pull Ups
You can do arm swing drills if you want, but developing strength and displaying it works better.
And he thinks we’re just pulling deadlifts in our pasture field.
Being that boys daddy and getting share strength with him is the coolest thing in the world.
🔨
Most HS weight programs consist of ~40 minute sessions, with 3-4 “tri set” supersets running on the minute.
Coaches try to cram in as much as possible because they think the value is found in exhausting the kids.
Nothing like making kids tired at the expense of real progress!
Nick Chubb’s injury needs to be a lesson to all in the sports world.
After that gruesome injury that looked to be career ending, he’s out with only a torn MCL.
No injury is preventable in sport.
But strength, yes STRENGTH, plays a critical role in physical resilience.
27 💪🏾
The Immature Coach loves to impose his will on kids by making up random, grueling workouts (that he himself couldn’t perform).
The Mature Coach understands that having access to kids comes with the opportunity to help them create a lifelong positive association with training.
14 years ago I started Zingler Strength with hand me down equipment in a residential basement.
“He’ll get a real job soon enough.” My friends used to say.
If they doubt your dreams, thats a good sign you should chase ‘em.
14 years later, I thank God I never got a “real job.”
You know what kids want?
They want you to give a shit about them and be real with them.
When they feel your authenticity, it creates an environment where they can authentically express themselves.
Safe Environment
+
Authentic Expression
= Increased Outputs.
Athlete Calorie Hack:
Pack 3 PBJ’s each day.
Eat 1/2 of each sandwich (1-2 bites, taking less than 10 seconds to consume) in the hallways between 6 classes in conjunction with your lunch.
There’s an extra 1200cals per day without even trying.
Kids need structure, yes, but free play without adults telling them what to do is one of the most underrated activities kids do anymore.
It’s how kids learn.
By moving, playing, & problem solving, on their own, within their environment.
Let them loose.
Watch them grow.
Right now it’s about having fun & teaching him to compete.
Giving him “something to beat” gameify’s everything for him and keeps engagement up.
As soon as he starts getting burnt, “last one buddy, great effort.”
Get a Win.
Move on.
+1
“You can’t eat a full rotisserie chicken and a packet of rice in 5 minutes!”
You’re right.
Sub 4 minutes and wasn’t even close to touching the gas.
When you’re eating to grow (I’m not lol) you view and attack food as a resource to reach your goals.
HS kids, you must eat!
My 14yo 165lbs. monster just pulled a quarter ton, beltless off of 1” blocks.
Going to run a 3-week cycle of deficits and he’ll pull this off the floor before graduating middle school.
Kid is ice cold.
Ahh the sweet smell of punishment conditioning at the end of practice.
“We’re going to be the most conditioned team out there!”
What you’re actually saying:
“We’re going to be the best at running slow!”
Hate to break it to you coach, but sports are played fast. Slow loses.
Acceleration/Dynamic Effort Work:
1) Flying 20’s
2) 10-Yard Starts
3) BTH MB Throws
4) Depth Drop Slams
5) Trap Bar Jumps
6) Speed Squats to a Box
7) Kneeling Landmine Presses
We like to make it look more complex than it really is.
Hard Work still works.
We’re worried about perfect sports technique with kids who don’t know how to:
1) Shake hands properly.
2) Look people in the eye.
3) Start and hold a conversation.
You think adding another lesson to their already overloaded schedule is going to help them win the real game?
30k+ hours on the floor with 1,000’s of athletes.
My programming isn’t perfect, but I’ve found this model to work:
1. Accel Sprint Work
2. Plyos/MB Throw
3. “Max” Effort Strength
4. DE/Rep Effort Supplemental
5. Main Assistance
6. Accessory 1
7. Accessory 2
8. Loaded Carry
The world isn’t fair.
It isn’t just.
They don’t “deserve” a damn thing. Not one single thing.
Love the hell out of them. Protect them. But teach them that truth early and often.
Understanding the concept of “earning it” is the greatest gift in the world.
Hammers Only.
The average coach tries to be the ‘cool guy’ & build rapport with athletes, by being their friend, today.
The great coach understands relatability is important, but also the dichotomy of leadership.
Balancing discipline & empathy benefits the kids far more than ‘being cool’.
One of my Middle School Softball Players.
I don’t know a lot, but I do know that girl will be a problem on the ball field in coming years and will find herself a seat on signing day if she stays at it.
Athleticism is art.
Crossover symmetry band training with one of my baseball pitchers…
Lol.
If I had one wish, it would be for all baseball guys to train like this.
He went on to RDL 315 for triples and do Bulgarian’s with the 115# DB’s.
Hammers Only.
“I want to play in college!”
“Are you training & preparing your body like a college athlete?”
“No, I don’t have time.”
College Athletics Yearly Outlook:
Training: 12 months/year.
Season: ~4 months/year.
If you want to make it to the next level, you have to act like it.
To all the “we don’t lift weights because we don’t want to hurt the kids” Bro Trainers out there on the turf...
I know you don’t know, or care to educate yourself, but all that planting, cutting, & shifting is far more “dangerous” than learning to properly load patterns.
Here’s a fact:
The vast majority of people working with youth athletes aren’t qualified to be training them. Not even close.
You’d never take your car to a mechanic who wasn’t qualified, but you’ll drop your kid off with an unqualified guy for “performance” training?
Wild.
I’m not selling workouts.
You can get those for free off the internet.
They likely won’t work well, but you can find ‘em.
Im selling the investment of myself into your life to enhance your life experience.
And you won’t find anybody who works harder for you.
Beginner, Tall, Middle School Athlete.
1. Intent ✅
2. Force Production ✅
3. Triple Extension ✅
4. Deceleration ✅
5. 0 Learning Curve ✅
Grab the dumbbells & jump.
I’m not against nor do I dislike the Oly lifts, I just simplify the cat skinning w/ athletes w/ finite time.
Your success as a Strength Coach directly correlates to your ability to drown out and stay away from the bullshit.
Can you do boring stuff extraordinarily well, consistently, for an extremely long period of time?
If you can, you’ll win by default.
In today���s world simply having your kids do physically hard things, consistently, will give them a huge edge.
What was once a societal expectation is now a massive differentiator.
The kids who do hard things develop a work ethic, discipline, & resilience.
And they win, too.
It’s not the squats.
It’s the act of doing hard things.
It’s not 3x5 or 4x8.
It’s the discipline getting all your reps, develops.
It’s not a faster 40 time.
It’s the accountability required that contributed to faster sprint times.
The game isn’t checkers.
It’s chess.
People don’t buy what you do.
They buy why you do it.
The culture at Zingler Strength is like something I’ve never been a part of.
And it has very, very little to with me.
Thank you guys.
This is Zingler Strength!
Want proof that strength matters?
We’ve literally had to change the rules of football because strength training works so well.
You think the physical capacities of athletes have increased the way they have over the last 20 years because of ladder & cone drills?
Strength wins.
Zingler Strength Renno.
Ain’t another place like it in the land.
This vision, now a reality has been decades in the making.
I’m 33 now and dreamt about this place since I was 12.
🔨