In this episode, the creator of Jump Science - Daniel Back - joins me to talk strength training for athletic development.
Coach Back shares why the back squat will improve both explosive + athletic movements like no other weight room exercise and why it's superior to the front squat or unilateral training as the 'primary lift'.
Here's the typical trainer's concern; it's believed that players outside of the top 100 have worries that a guy like Federer doesn't - i.e. travel expenses, points to defend and so on. Many of these players perform a concentrated physical prep block for 4-6 weeks in Dec/Jan (just prior to the start of the new season) and then a number of 1-2 week blocks during the course of the year. These same trainers will also agree that this isn't enough - performing one 4-6 week block along with 2-3 smaller blocks during the year is an insufficient amount of time to develop a quality like explosive power, for instance.
I don’t train as many junior players now as I have in the past. It’s not that I don’t want to, it’s just that I’m in a position right now where older players - those that are playing professionally (either on a full-time or part-time basis) - take up a big chunk of my time.
That said, I still manage to coach a number of younger players (both in-person and remote). The ages range but generally fall between 9 and 15… and all of them are exposed to strength training in one form or another.
The reason I’m bringing this up is because I often get asked by parents… “is lifting weights dangerous?” or “will lifting weights stunt my child’s growth?”...