Training Methodology

Sorry, no fancy names, catchy phrases,  or acronyms describing what it is we do. If you actually WORK HARD under our program, you will experience results that are second to none.

The Umberger Performance Training Methodology is a collection of what has influenced our lives and athletic careers. Much of the influence in our methodology stems from the former Soviet Union and Eastern Bloc Europe.  Louie Simmons founded Westside Barbell on these principles.  The major influences on the art and science of our methodology of performance enhancement are Charles Poliquin, Martin Rooney, Mike Boyle, the entire Elite Fitness System Team, Buddy Morris, Tim Beltz, Todd Hamer, Pavil, Michael Colgan, Alwyn Cosgrove, Eric Cressey, Charlie Francis, T-Nation, Lisa Regan, Barry Brennan, and many others.  We have incorporated general life readings from Bruce Lee, Dale Carnegie, Napoleon Hill, Brain Tracy, Lance Armstrong, Covey, Zig Ziglar, and numerous other business/life books. Our life’s purpose is to enhance the lives of others. Our parents, the major influential people in our lives, did this for us. It is their guidance, passion for knowledge, confidence, and support that has molded our desire to never stop learning, reading, and discovering.

photo credit: mansionwb

Bruce Lee took many of the ancient eastern martial arts, as well western arts, and combined them into Jeet Kun Do.  Bruce felt that a single methodology left one limited, both in technique and mindset.  As Bruce has stated, “Absorb what is useful, discard what is useless, and add what is essentially your own.” One can’t grow with limitations.  We refuse to place them upon each other or others in our lives.

With this in mind, we entered the world of performance enhancement early in our athletic careers.  From the beginning we were open to all methodologies, always looking for a better, more efficient way to enhance our own performance.  This obsession has led to Scott becoming a top expert in sports performance training and RJ to become a top 15% scorer and clutch playoff performer in the NHL.

Umberger Performance will combine any one of the following influences into a program to assist in developing the client according to their strengths, weaknesses, prior injuries, and goals:

• Traditional “speed” work for sprinting, acceleration, top end, 40-yard dash times, etc.;
• Soviet Union and the Conjugate Sequence System of Periodization (macro and micro cycle planning over the coarse of the year and career);
• Westside Barbell’s application of Russian Science to strength enhancement in the squat, bench, and dead lift;
• Strongman training for general strength, variety, and fun;
• Olympic lifting where applicable;
• Mixed Martial Arts Training, boxing, sled dragging, and other physical aspects of physical preparedness and energy system training; and
• NHL combine and elite camp preparation
• NFL and Arena combined testing preparation.

We place significant emphasis on resistance training, as well as the running and jumping techniques. The end goal is to target, develop and enhance all the biological processes: strength, endurance, oxidative capacity and anaerobic power, lactate threshold, etc.  The energy system is something that we consider to be sport specific and will accommodate to the individual sport requirements.

Following the former Soviet Union and Eastern Bloc training methodologies, Umberger Performance believes that training should be broken down into four basic categories: Tactical, Technical, Psychological, and Physical.

Psychological

To think or to feel???

photo credit: ajari

The Psychological aspect of training takes top priority over any other aspect of training in my program. This sense of importance relates to the athletes’ motivation/will toward obtaining goals and dreams.  Goals and desired results must come from the athletes themselves. All athletes and traditional clients must have achievable goals.  There must be a reason to undergo an intense and detailed training program, to be pushed beyond their perceived limitations. We are all tremendously stronger, both mentally and physically, than we perceive ourselves. It is on this merit that lessons learned will carry from the gym/field/ice/track to real life where true success is obtained.

It is a top priority to assist the athletes to establish short-term, intermediate and long-term goals in life, “real world” careers, college athletics, and beyond.  Through goal setting, what was once considered unobtainable becomes obtainable.  I don’t believe in the word “can’t”.  In the words of Yoda, “Do or do not, there is no try!”

In order to achieve elite level success, one must master the use of sports psychology to reach consistent peak performance.  I truly believe any sport is, at minimum, 90% mental.  There are thousands of athletes who can crush a baseball (the minor leagues are filled with them); however they cannot perform consistently.  The athletes will learn how to push themselves beyond their perceived limits in the weight room, leading to enhanced confidence on the playing field and in life. Once athletes are pushed beyond their perceived limitations, a quiet confidence arises. This, however, is only the beginning of psychological mastery needed for optimum performance.

Visualization and mental rehearsal is needed to obtain an ideal mindset for performance.  Many athletes have been trained in the use of visualization, but fail to use the techniques, as I have personally experienced. Once a slump happens, they look to use the visualization for a quick fix.  This strategy fails because the mastery of mental preparation has never taken place.  By utilizing trigger techniques in practice, they can recall these “relaxed & fluid mind states”, thus removing them subconsciously from the high pressure game situation.

Again, this must be practiced in order to be utilized when it is most needed!

Physical

The physical aspect of my training will be to prepare the athlete for the performance on the playing field. There are two different forms of physical preparedness that we focus on: General Physical Preparedness (“GPP”), and Sport Specific Physical Preparedness (“SSPP”). Each sport carries a very unique energy system requirement and this must be addressed. For example, a hockey player performing a three-mile test run is useless unless the coach is testing for testicular fortitude. With younger athletes, strength is the paramount concern due to tremendous weakness seen in American athletes. We see no perceived value in using a “Speed Ladder” when athletes cannot properly squat their body weight, when to be adequate they need to squat somewhere around 1.5-2 times their bodyweight. Improving skill is the top priority and this is achieved by allowing the athlete to be strong enough to perform their sport specific skill efficiently, not making the athletes power lifters. In addition, the improved strength will allow the athlete to become more resistant to injury.

The SSPP is a constant priority, but becomes more paramount when significant gains in the weight room are no longer transferred to the playing field. At this point, a greater percentage of the training is focused on the sport skills that will translate more efficiently towards performance of the advanced trainees.

Tactical

Much of the tactical training is sport specific. It is the actual game plan prepared by the coach and reviewed with the team. Depending on the sport, the game plan and game specific tactics could be different for each position. We can assist in helping the athlete develop the proper strength and agility to perform the specific technique needed to be successful on the playing field.

Technical

The proper technique in the weight room is paramount.  Impeccable form is desired to obtain mastery of the lift and to avoid injury. Maximum weights need to be lifted in order to train the central nervous system properly. Only proper technique will allow for peak performance and reduced injury.

We are not sport specific coaches.  We will not show an athlete the proper alignment to throw a 100 mph fastball or a Lacrosse snipe. We can, however, assist the athlete in obtaining the proper strength required to execute the said technique.  An offensive line coach can not teach proper technique to a player who is not strong enough to hold proper pass blocking position or is not quick enough to move with the defensive lineman.

Conclusion

We work with athletic teams’ coaches to help athletes achieve their dreams. Within our training system, we set our priorities on the Psychological, Physical, and Technical aspects of training. Through dream realization, we aim to inspire the athletes to achieve mastery over their minds and bodies. This confidence and strength is an unrealized benefit when they leave the playing field and have to make decisions daily in their lives and careers. Greatness isn’t hard to achieve per say. It’s rather simple if viewed from a distance. One must be discipline, systematic, and driven.

Is greatness being a gold medalist, a CEO, or doctor? Maybe… We believe greatness is pushing to the limit the tools that God has given us. Larry Bird comes to mind, as does Lance Armstrong, Alonzo Morning, and so many others who overcame great obstacles (read – their own mortality) and did not listen to the words “can’t”!

It’s about heart, commitment, and desire. Insert company tag line, “Just do it!”