It's been a full-year in the making, but my first "solo" project, "The Ultimate Off-Season Training Manual," is now available.
It seems very fitting that this publication comes less than one week after five athletes who had a profound impact on my development as a coach were drafted into the NBA. From a team of twelve basketball players (nine on scholarship), five were drafted into the NBA (four in the first round), one will be a free agent signing, and a seventh received a two-year contract to be an NFL tight-end. In this same year, three of our athletes were drafted into the WNBA (two in the first round).
My experiences with these athletes and countless others, combined with interactions with dozens of coaches and "booksmarts" of my own, led me to put all my thoughts on off-season training in print. At the risk of sounding overly self-confident, I feel like this manual will serve as a valuable resource for coaches and athletes alike for years to come.
I don't train for a particular sport so don't have an off season, however, I'd love to follow some of your routines, is it worth the investment? Is it still applicable to someone who just wants to become a better athlete in general?
What do you mean concerning those who have already purchased MM and 'coupons'? You lost me.
Also, is the Manual available in the UK?
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Our doubts are traitors,
And make us lose the good we oft might win
By fearing to attempt.
Ed, I dunno if you checked out the page or not but it listed a bunch of different sports on there. So if you pick one of the more...active...sports to follow as a guideline it ought to have quite a bit of weekend warrior carry over. Eric's been real good about helping people in the past so if you had any questions on applying things I'm sure he'd help.
I don't train for a particular sport so don't have an off season, however, I'd love to follow some of your routines, is it worth the investment? Is it still applicable to someone who just wants to become a better athlete in general?
Definitely. The programming touches on a lot of the things I discussed in my FitCast interview. In the Early Off-Season section, I go into a lot of detail on self-tests you can use to determine your weaknesses. From there, you can look over the sample programming to get an idea of what you need to do to bring up those weaknesses. I guess you could say that it's somewhat of a "choose your own adventure" manual.
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What do you mean concerning those who have already purchased MM and 'coupons'? You lost me.
I think it got covered below, but let me know if you have any further questions.
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Also, is the Manual available in the UK?
Yes; no problem at all. All you need to do is select "international shipping" when you order.
It must be the heat (it's hotter than Rio at the moment), I still don't understand. If you already own the MM DVD you get a coupon for this manual or for a future purchase? Sorry to seem so eager for discounts but I'm a lowly student! : D
__________________
Our doubts are traitors,
And make us lose the good we oft might win
By fearing to attempt.
It must be the heat (it's hotter than Rio at the moment), I still don't understand. If you already own the MM DVD you get a coupon for this manual or for a future purchase? Sorry to seem so eager for discounts but I'm a lowly student! : D
I hadn't thought of it prior to initiating the discount, but I don't see why a discount on a future product wouldn't work. Just mention in the comment box on the ordering page that you already have the DVD, but would like a discount on a future product. I'll save all the emails in one place and take care of you when the next one comes along, cool?
I hadn't thought of it prior to initiating the discount, but I don't see why a discount on a future product wouldn't work. Just mention in the comment box on the ordering page that you already have the DVD, but would like a discount on a future product. I'll save all the emails in one place and take care of you when the next one comes along, cool?
Thanks!
Perfect, thanks for taking the time to answer!
__________________
Our doubts are traitors,
And make us lose the good we oft might win
By fearing to attempt.
ed, it took 2 weeks to get MM. it'll probibly be pretty simular for this. the only thing that'd hold it up would be if customs took a special interest, which isn't too likely.
ed, it took 2 weeks to get MM. it'll probibly be pretty simular for this. the only thing that'd hold it up would be if customs took a special interest, which isn't too likely.
Thanks.
__________________
Our doubts are traitors,
And make us lose the good we oft might win
By fearing to attempt.
Thought you guys might be interested in the foreword to the manual...
Foreword
“One’s first step in wisdom is to question everything –
and one’s last is to come to terms with everything.”
-Georg Christoph Lichtenburg
Not a week goes by that I don’t receive a dozen emails from athletes who want the secret to getting bigger, leaner, faster, stronger, and more agile in the off-season. They don’t want to just improve; they want to dominate their competition when the next season arrives.
While I absolutely love their enthusiasm, dealing with these individuals can actually be extremely frustrating. They all want results, and they all want them yesterday, but apparently they don’t like it when I refuse to tell them what they want to hear.
As you scan the pages that follow, many of you will probably feel just as confused as those emailing me do; you might even disagree with me to the point of refusing to read on. However, before you do, ask yourself if you disagree with me because you feel that I’m genuinely wrong in my reasoning, or because my reasoning simply calls into question principles and practices to which you’ve adhered for years.
Whether you’re a coach, parent, or an athlete yourself, this book might not be what you want to hear, but it is something that you need to hear.
In reading this novel, you can expect to rethink what you are doing and possibly even regret what you have done in the past. In the process, I hope that you’ll all walk away from this text with a new paradigm with which to view off-season training.
Conversely, you should not expect to find programming that you can simply copy and paste to use with your athletes, clients, children, or yourself. I am a firm believer that the single-most important component of preparing for athletic success and physical transformation is individualization, and that belief will resound throughout this book. All athletes are unique, and programming must reflect each athlete’s distinctive needs.
Yes, I have included sample templates at the end of this manual; however, the purpose of these templates is to demonstrate a sample “whole” created from dozens of constituent parts. If you want to learn how to create programs that address your unique needs as a coach and athlete, it’s imperative that you first look to the chapters that precede the sample programming. These chapters outline the means to the end; the programs alone will not tell you much – and they may not be suitable for you.
If you’re a coach looking to existing literature as a means of “pirating” programs for your athletes, you need to consider whether doing so is in the best interests of your athletes or just the individual marketing the cookie-cutter program. In no way am I intending to come across as condescending, as I’ll be the first to admit that all coaches – myself included – have areas in which they need to grow.
Rather, my message is that downright terrible coaches don’t look to the literature at all. Mediocre coaches look to these resources so that they can have someone else tell them exactly what to do. The best coaches read diligently and critically, scrutinizing everything they encounter to determine if it is correct and, if so, how it can be incorporated into their existing philosophies.
It is my hope that you’ll treat the information that follows in this final context. You’ve already taken a key step; you purchased this book in hopes of making your coaching and programming more effective in order to help your athletes.
As an accomplished exercise scientist, coach, and athlete myself, it never ceases to amaze me that the problems I will outline are even commonly found in the off-season programs of some of the most prominent strength and conditioning professionals at the highest levels. The shortcomings of such programming errors are “merely” significant at the intermediate level; however, at the elite level, these programming flaws may cost athletes Olympic medals, national championships, individual honors, and millions of dollars in salaries and bonuses.
Those of you who are familiar with my writing will likely notice that this work deviates somewhat from my traditional style, which often includes dozens of references. My rationale is very simple: you won’t find this information in your undergraduate textbooks or the peer-reviewed publications most commonly references in our industry. Instead, you’ll only find this information from getting in the trenches, working with athletes, and seeing what works. That’s what I’ve done, and that’s what dozens of fantastic coaches with whom I correspond on a weekly basis have done.
If there is information in this text, you can assume that it is the result of countless hours of planning, coaching, and interpreting the results we’ve found. It’s all about reading between the lines – not just referencing what’s on the lines.
This is a guide for the practitioner – whether he is a coach or an athlete. If you are someone interested in reading a review of scientific literature that simply doesn’t cut it in the real world – where “what is” predominates over “what should be” – this manual isn’t for you.
As powerlifter and coach Dave Tate, one of my mentors and friends, has said: “Science tells us what we did.” Science might point you in the right direction, but it should never tell you what to do. Instead, experimentation validated with results should tell you what works – and just as importantly, what you use in future situations to guarantee success.
Therefore, it should come as no surprise that experimentation in training settings around the world is occurring every day. New anecdotal and scientific evidence abounds, and we must seek it out. Our perspectives should be constantly evolving as new information becomes available to us.
With that in mind, interpret the information in this book as a 2006 snapshot; many of these ideas may evolve in the years to come. Continue to read and scrutinize, and you’ll be at the top of your field and your game.
It’s time to put hidden agendas aside and apply scientific principles and some actual thought to our off-season training programs. It’s time to get to the truth.
Congrats Eric - I'm sure having so many of your athlete's be so successful was reward enough, but getting your own project out there is icing on the cake. The manual looks fantastic - great work!
E
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"It's what you've got inside that matters. The details and technological things will take you only so far. You still have to pedal the bike. Some people are always looking for the magic secret. There's no secret. Just bust your ass." -Dave Zabriskie
so i just read through most of the chapters intently ie i took notes for my own program, and it was a great read, i comfirmed my suspition that im a "springy" athlete. Since im in the general off season right now i plan to attack my weaknesses with a vengence and gain the title as an elite athlete down the road. Not to mention im tired of being a dixie cup and want to be a big gulp.
Now Available: EC's Off-Season Training Manual!
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