Written by: Kevin Cann This trend of hyper-specificity is a bit concerning because it is moving the sport backwards in our general knowledge of how strength is developed.  I do feel a lack of education is a major problem.  In places like Russia, their coaches are also sports scientists.  Here it is just someone with an Instagram account that wants to do it.  They tend to be good at Instagram, or maybe they are a personal trainer with a Read More

Written by: Kevin Cann The ideal model for the development of athletic skill is usually displayed as a pyramid with GPP (general physical preparedness) being the larger portion making up the base, SPP (Special physical preparedness) being right above, and then our competition specific training making the peak. This model was created by the Soviets in the 1960s.  They even created a school system based off this model that led to domination in the Olympic games.  Children Read More

Written by: Kevin Cann Developing the highest levels of strength possible is a complex-coordination problem that the coach and athlete must solve.  According to Frans Bosch, the strategy for this problem must be flexible and multi-purpose and that is only possible under two scenarios: It must satisfy the intent of the movement It must be suitable for solving several motor problems Developing these complex skills are not a linear process.  We do not start from being a Read More

Written by: Kevin Cann Coaching should focus on developing the intuition of each given lifter as this is where their own elite levels of performance lie.  At the top of the hierarchical skill acquisition pyramid is “unconscious competence.”  This is where the athlete is just flowing in their environment without thinking about anything.  This is typically referred to as being in the zone, but it is a subconscious engagement with the environment at a high level. Right below Read More

Written by: Kevin Cann I have been experiencing something in training that is different from anything that I have experienced before.  The last two months, I have been on a tear with PRs.  One week after the next just hitting PR after PR.  Some of these have been smaller 5lb PRs, but a few, like yesterday’s 37lb PR, have been much larger. I have not changed up anything in training.  Perhaps I have made better training decisions, but those Read More

Written by: Kevin Cann “Success is to be measured not so much by the position that one has reached in life as by the obstacle which he has overcome.” -Booker T. Washington I don’t remember the picture at the top of this article.  I must have been under 5 years old in it.  I have always had a confidence about me to put myself out there.  I am pretty lucky to have that genetic predisposition. We always look Read More

Written by: Kevin Cann I had a situation a couple of weeks ago that shattered who I thought I was as a person.  I have always held my ability to overcome adversity at my core.  It has been my greatest asset.  I had received a text message that brought to my attention that I have years of my life that I have no recollection of. At first this really threw me off.  I was trying incredibly hard to remember Read More

Written by: Kevin Cann I was originally going to write about selecting appropriate volume, both exercises and number of sets and reps, but I feel that just gets lost in the noise of the internet.  People only want to read what matches their bias and argue about the things that don’t.  Not many are really trying to learn. I love when coaches will share a picture of their “big” athletes to show everyone why their way is Read More

Written by: Kevin Cann We bend over to deadlift, we start to pull, and suddenly, we feel a sharp pain shoot down our leg causing us to stop in our tracks and drop the bar to the floor.  We struggle to stand up straight and the pain is so severe that we think we just did something major to our back. Chances are that most reading this will have experienced this at one point or another Read More

Written by: Kevin Cann The constraints-led approach (CLA) is a teaching/coaching methodology that utilizes task, environmental, and performer constraints to elicit self-organization in skill development.  This is viewed more as a “hands-off” approach to coaching where the coach creates an environment that offers learning for the performer instead of using a lot of verbal feedback. Typically, we see a program of high frequency competition lifts with a coach that gives verbal feedback through the viewing of Read More