We have sadly witnessed this firsthand with professional athletes that we work with, and usually, we were saddled with the uphill task of restoring capacity after the injury has occurred. Time after time severe breakdowns in communication feedback loops, or complete lack of, has led to multiple athletic injuries. The more accomplished the athlete, the worse the communication breakdown.

Why has our approach been hugely successful when the standard norm is obviously not? How are we taking injured athletes, avoiding surgeries, and developing their capacities to a higher level not even obtained in their “peak” condition?

It took a while to properly articulate the uniqueness of our process. It was not new technology, it was not a new training system, and it was not just repeated luck. It was an all-encompassing thought process that at its root had a defined objective;

‘Skill acquisition is NOT our business; CULTIVATING PHYSICAL CAPACITIES that enable the individual to acquire their skill is our business.’

The thought process was evoked by cross referencing from authors that are experts in their fields. Thankfully, we were able to shelf our egos and bias in order to learn from those who have spent the time in the trenches of research and practical application. At the very least we were smart enough to heed to their advice and avoid repeated mistakes.

Over the next few months we will be exploring each area in great detail from three points of view. One from an internal capacity (Therapist), one from an external capacity (Strength Coach), and finally an article illustrating how internal and external capacities work together. The following content is aimed to generate a conversation about your current thought process. 

As strength coaches, we must alter our perception of the sports our athletes play and in turn the way we prepare them for its demands. Embracing and understanding the fundamentals of chaos theory is the key to unlocking optimal physical capacity.

(Connolly, 2017) states that an optimally trained athlete has a significantly higher reserve of physical and mental capacity to deal with the unknown random actions of a game (Chaos) in comparison to a suboptimal trained athlete.

Why is this?

 A subpar trained athlete has to wastefully expend energy on the tasks we know exist (Order).

It is our job to train the athletes capacity to walk the line between order and chaos (Optimal Training) or in other words to physically prepare an athlete to be the best when they find themselves in the most chaotic situation possible. This third dimension of optimal training is referred to as consciousness (Peterson, 2017)

 It is a trap to think you can fix nonlinear problems with linear solutions. The above is one of the many reasons linear periodization is a sub-par choice for any coach. A reductive training approach will work for an uncomplicated task, but, as we are aware playing professional sports at a high level requires a high competency in executing complex tasks efficiently. 

The first encounter of the term Groove training came from Dan Di Pasqua of the Melbourne Storm. Dan is one the brightest minds in professional strength coaching and has a wealth of experience that would behoove one to study from.

Linear systems can only yield linear (Grooved) results. Once an athlete trains into a groove state any stress occurred outside this safety zone increases the risk of injury, and its degree, tremendously due to lack of physical capacity. So how do you increase capacity?

Well, that leads to the most hotly debated question between sports science, strength coaches, and the highly decorated social media strength personality. What system of training should one use?

The answer is simple, it is the one that works. It is a system that requires relative minimal effort but yields maximum results.

However a simple answer can lead to a complex question. Such as, can you correctly define the parameters of what the individual relative minimal effort is to obtain desired results?

To date, the most effective system of training for chaotic tasks is evolution. Sadly, that takes too long to have an acute effect on the athletes we train.

However, even with our own bias, we find the Westside conjugate method to be the foundation of choice.

Why?

Simply because its dynamic.