Monday, December 6, 2010

USAW Level 1 Sports Performance Coach Course



Hello, All! I just attended the USAW Level 1 Sports Performance Coach Course this past weekend in Mentor, OH. It was held at The Gorilla Pit and led by Mark Cannella, with help from Dan Bell, Chelsea Kyle, and Mike Cerbus. I have been lifting in the style of weightlifting for over three years now and, while I knew I didn't know EVERYTHING on the subject, I thought I would come into this with little else to learn because of the level of the course. I was definitely wrong! The course started with some lecture, where we learned specific warm-ups and biomechanics of the lifts. After each section, we moved to the practical side of the course. This is an excellent method...learning the material in lecture format and then IMMEDIATELY putting that information into practice. As we all know, there are three styles of learning: tactile, auditory, and visual. The format of the course puts each individual in the best advantage possible to absorb the information through all three styles of learning.

We broke for lunch and I stayed behind to train with Mike Cerbus and Chelsea Kyle, who were there to help Mark with demonstrations and coaching for the course. I haven't been exposed to this level of lifter while training myself too many times, so it was pretty cool. I only worked up to about 88kg in the Snatch and 102kg in the Clean and Jerk, but this was a very helpful session. Mark came in at the tale end of my Snatches and quickly corrected my technique. I am quick under the bar, but do not use my arms enough to pull myself under. He believes if I can fix this I will ad a few kilos to both lifts instantly! I believe him and will definitely start working on this fix!

After lunch, we went through the basics of the lifts and sequences of each. Again, we practiced what we learned in the lecture. We did these for the rest of Saturday's session. Sunday's session focused on strength movements, including squats, pulls, and presses. We also went over program design generalities, such as exercises to include, exercise order, volume, intensity, and progression. Mike and Chelsea commented on their programs, which was most intriguing to me. Mostly this is because, while nearly the same age as them, but of a different experience level, they train completely different than I do. I would like to start training similar (if time permits). Although, I know myself and the volume I can handle right now id nowhere near their volume. I think I could probably handle somewhere in the 5-7 sessions/week range, where they are around 10-12 sessions/week.

A special thanks to Mark, Dan, Chelsea, and Mike for all the fine work you did!

I will be working to increase my training volume/frequency until I am around 10 sessions/week. I think that is a good goal to hit within the next few months. Until then...train hard, train smart!

No comments:

Post a Comment