Mike Robertson recently released his new “Complete Core Training” product, and is offering it at $50 off this week only.

As I mentioned to those of you on my newsletter list, I had a chance to review Complete Core Training and thought it was excellent. It’s a great blend of the “whys” and “hows” so you have a complete system of how to train the core, but also know why the system was developed.

I have a lot of respect for Mike. In fact, over the last 5 years, I’ve read his work more consistently than anyone else in the field. He’s constantly looking for ways to improve his programs, and (importantly) he actually trains people on a daily basis, so you know his ideas have been real-world tested.

I asked Mike to write a guest post on the 3 biggest core training mistakes most athletes make, which he graciously agreed to. Check out the post below, and if you have any questions, please post them in the comments section below!

3 Biggest Core Training Mistakes Most Athletes Make by Mike Robertson

For 16 years now, I’ve trained athletes of all shapes and sizes.

From little Johnny, the kid who will never play high school sports, up to pro athletes in the NFL, NBA and MLS, I’d like to think I’ve seen a lot of good (and bad) training.

It should be obvious, but an athlete can’t train like a bodybuilder.

They can’t just do random core training exercises and hope it will carry over to sport.

As such, here are three of the most common mistakes I see athletes making with their training. Enjoy!

Mistake #1 – Not Using Contextual Core Training Exercises

Now I know what you’re thinking here:

What does “contextual” even mean?

Contextual simply means that the body postures and positions you’re using for your core training have some carryover to sport.

Sure, there’s probably a time and place for general work where you’re in a prone position, lying on your back, etc. But at some point in time, you need to get comfortable being in positions that are similar to your sport.

In sport you’re often in a split- or parallel-stance position. From this posture, can you effectively control your abdominals?

Lateral 1/2 Kneeling Cable Chop

If not, you’re missing the boat. You need core and pelvic control to get the hips in the right position.

If you can’t control these areas, that inability to load your hips will lead to excess (or inappropriate) stress in the abdominals, lower back, and hips.

So developing stability and control in specific positions is crucial. But what other mistakes are we making?

Mistake #2 – You’re Not Bridging the Gap

Too often, we assume that if we’re including core work in our program that it will automatically carryover to other aspects of our training.

You might be crushing your core with random, isolated exercises, but we can’t assume that it will magically carry over to speed, power and strength development.

Using contextual exercises is a start, but from there, we need to further bridge the gap by taking those postures and positions into the rest of our training.

For example, I love reactive med ball work in a tall- or half-kneeling position where you rapidly throw and catch a medicine ball. It’s great for creating stability and control, as well as developing a small degree of upper body power.

But from there, we need to take that and flesh it out. We need to make it a true power exercise, versus a lower level stability and control exercise.

This is where you take that rotational med ball throw and make sure that you’re able to control and appropriate position your core in a high speed/high power/high force environment.

Split Stance Med Ball Scoop

It’s just a standard progression, but it’s something I find many coaches ignore. Their athletes look great when they’re doing the low load/low velocity work, but when it’s time to bring it all together, their athletes fall apart.

Think of this as a slow evolution. Dial in the stability and control first, especially in postures and positions that focus on appropriate core position and control.

Then, move to bigger exercises, but continue to reinforce proper posture and mechanics.

Make sure they’re controlling their core and pelvis.

Make sure they’re loading the hips (and not the lower back).

And as this is all starts to smooth out, take your foot off the brakes and let them be athletic!

Mistake #3 – Not Including Alternating Work in the Program

I’ll admit my bias up front: I’m a huge fan of PRI. And one thing that PRI talks about incessantly in their work is the concept of alternating function.

We know that the lumbar spine has a limited degree of rotation available to it. In fact, the entire lumbar spine combined only has 10-15 degrees of rotary capacity!

So while our goal should be to maintain that lumbar rotary capacity, the real end game here is better rotation up top.

Athletes need to be able to rotate, and some of the primary areas to unlock this are the hips, shoulders and thorax. Whether you are running, skating or swimming, the ability to effectively rotate your thorax is crucial for keeping you healthy and improving performance.

I’m a huge fan of half-kneeling and split-stance work my athletes, because I know that core and hip stability are crucial. But I don’t think that’s necessarily the end game.

The end game is to give them stability and control through the hips, pelvis and core, while giving them the ability to rotate freely up top.

Here’s an example of what I mean:

As you can see, my hips are square throughout, but I’m driving rotation through my thorax.

One of my favorite cues (which I believe I stole from Mike Cantrell) is to have the client/athlete focus on their sternum, or chest bone. Imagine there’s a laser on there, and you are trying to point the laser to the right and left.

Doing this will ensure that they are getting their rotation through the thorax.

Summary

I don’t claim to have all the answers for what ails athletes, but these are three of the most common mistakes I see.

If you can create more context with your programs, if you can bridge the gap from isolated to integrated movements, and if you can incorporate more alternating activities into your training sessions, I think you’ll be light years ahead of the competition.

Now get in the gym and put in some work!

All the best

Click here for more information >> Complete Core Training

To your success,

Kevin Neeld
HockeyTransformation.com
OptimizingMovement.com
UltimateHockeyTraining.com

P.S. Remember, the $50 sale ends this week. If you’re thinking about picking up a copy, now’s the time! Complete Core Training

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“Kevin Neeld is one of the top 5-6 strength and conditioning coaches in the ice hockey world.”
– Mike Boyle, Head S&C Coach, US Women’s Olympic Team

“…if you want to be the best, Kevin is the one you have to train with”
– Brijesh Patel, Head S&C Coach, Quinnipiac University

I hope you had a great weekend. This was the first weekend in a month that I’ve been home so it was nice to spend some time with Emily and relax a bit. On Saturday, Emily and I “doubled” with David Lasnier and his ladyfriend at Raw, my favorite sushi place in Philadelphia. Because of the company, David refrained from rolling all of the wasabi into one big clump and eating it whole.

I just assume this is common behavior in Canada

Last weekend I had an opportunity to attend an invite-only symposium on USA Hockey’s American Development Model. They did a great job bringing in speakers from different sports, countries, and disciplines, and I couldn’t say enough good things about the direction USA Hockey is going in general. In a few upcoming posts, I’ll explain more about the state of youth hockey, what USA Hockey is hoping to do, and what you can do to help. In the meantime, it’s been a while since I’ve done a “random thoughts” post and there are a lot of little things I want to share with you.

I get questions about supplements ALL the time, usually from kids that eat like crap and have been “educated” (I use that term VERY loosely) by fellow high school students. Supplements can be very beneficial, but as an athletic society, we need to do a better job of educating our youth on the performance enhancing benefits of proper eating. I think kids view supplements as the key to performance enhancement, and eating a quality diet just as a means of improving general health, which they have no utility for as they’ve never suffered any consequences of impaired health (these things come much later in life). Often times, the best strategies for building muscle, facilitating recovery, and ensuring adequate energy to train and perform at a high intensity are found in pretty basic eating and hydration strategies that don’t require supplements.
If you’re a high school player, it’s safe to say that EVERYTHING you’ve been told from your buddies about supplements is wrong.
Speaking of misinformation, I’m amazed at the amount of garbage that is perpetrated as “goalie-specific training” for hockey goalies. Luckily, Maria Mountain has really stepped up as a CREDIBLE expert in this area and has done an outstanding job of providing goalies with training advice that will actually make them better. If you’re a goalie and haven’t heard of Maria, you’re spending more time pulling pucks out of your net than you should be. Check out her site here: Hockey Training Pro
Citrulline Malate may be the most effective supplement you’ve never heard of. Dr. Mike Roussell first brought this to my attention at a seminar over the Summer and it’s definitely worth looking into. He recently wrote a great review of it on Joel Jamieson’s site here: Citrulline Malate – Your Key to Winning In the Last Round?
Dave Ritter and Anne Davis, two presenters at USA Hockey’s ADM Symposium from the US Tennis Association recommended two NY Times articles that I had an opportunity to read through last week. They were just long enough to test my attention span, but I’m glad I worked my way through to the end. Both question current trends/thoughts in our country in the areas of athletic development and success. Check them out here: What if the Secret to Success is Failure?, How to Grow a Super-Athlete
I’m always on the prowl for new resources. Recently I’ve found myself looking to these 4 guys more and more for new information or a different look at program design/implementation: Joel Jamieson’s 8 Weeks Out, Cal Dietz’s XL Athlete, Jim Snider’s Neuro Explosion, and Kyle Bangen’s Bangen Athletic Development
Have you ever watched a mite or squirt hockey practice and noticed that the coach seems to be yelling more than teaching? Those kids should be having fun the ENTIRE time they’re on the ice. Similarly, the COACH should be having fun the entire time. If you don’t like kids, don’t coach them!
With the popularity Facebook has enjoyed, it seems like every industry is trying to develop their own social media site. I can’t tell you how many requests I’ve received to join DIFFERENT business referral sites! Do we really need a social media site for people to say, “I think you should go train with Kevin at Endeavor”? Inevitably, the industry will overgrow before dying back down to a few reasonable, valuable resources. A local group has started a sports-driven site called UR Sports Page that I think may survive the process. Great idea to provide an exclusive site just for athletes.
Core training continues to be a hot topic in athletic development and fitness crowds alike. Naturally, this means that a lot of people will fall victim (e.g. waste their time and money) to unscrupulous marketers making amazing claims about the crap they peddle. It’s great to see that Mike Robertson has spent the time and energy to put together a quality core training resource. If you haven’t been following Mike’s work over the last week, check out these posts: Should You Crunch?, Should You Crunch? Part 2, My Core Training Story. I know he has some other great posts planned for this week too. Click any of the links above to head over to his site now, read through the content and sign up for his webinar “Complete Core Training”. It’s free!

That’s a wrap for today. Check back in a couple days for a few interesting insights into the chicken and egg cycle with postural adaptations and goalie-specific performance.