G.O.A.T. Running

 

Back in my early days of coaching high school basketball, I would attend coaching clinics to hear what the big names in the business had to say. Jerry Tarkanian was the head coach at the University of Nevada Las Vegas, and he had built a powerhouse program. He was the keynote speaker at one of the clinics and he opened the session by discussing stretching.

Tarkanian spoke of the strength coach that he hired and fired in the same year. The strength coach had instituted a rigorous pre-practice stretch routine. Tarkanian said he had never had a team that had so many injuries and from that day forward (after he fired the strength coach) they never stretched before or after practice.  Instead, they used a jump rope before practice and a massage after practice. He joked; “we never had another major injury after that year. “

Tarkanian referred to his routine as “Pliability.”  Pliability is a concept from the late 80’s that evolved throughout the 1990’s. It wasn’t widely used, but it was found beneficial for all types of athletes over a variety of sports.

Pliability training has recently come back to the forefront, due to legendary NFL quarterback Tom Brady stating its inclusion in his workouts is one of the secrets to maintaining his high level of performance into his 40’s.

In various interviews, Brady’s explained that pliability is his attempt to keep his muscles “soft, long and ready to move.” By doing that, Brady is able to continually push his body to be better, faster and stronger than in years before, because his body is ready and able to accept those demands.

Tom Brady didn't always utilize resistance bands to complete his workouts, in fact, he used to lift weights often. "You gotta understand, I was like every other American kid," he said in an interview with Men's Health. "I believed if you want to get good, you gotta go stretch, lift, run and stretch, and it's all I ever did."

Unfortunately, that routine landed him in trouble.  He ended up with severe tendinitis due to lifting heavy weights mixed with constant football throwing. It started to get so bad that in 2006, his quarterback rating started to drop, and he needed to take days off from practice.

Weightlifting and static stretching injuries aren't necessarily unusual. A review published in the British Journal of Sports Medicine set out to determine the prevalence and incidence of injuries in both static stretching and weightlifting. In the end, the journal found that the most common injury locations included the spine, shoulder, and knee. In terms of incidence, for every 1,000 hours of training, there were typically between two to three injuries.

Tom Brady essentially lives by one word: pliability. It sounds fancy, but it really boils down to focusing less on strength and more on flexibility.

So, what's Brady's "workout"? Instead of using heavy weights, he uses elastic resistance bands and a whole host of vibrating apparatuses, such as foam rollers and massage balls.

The problem is that many people don’t understand what pliability actually is, and simply confuse it with flexibility and mobility. While they certainly share some common elements, they are all slightly different functions.

The concept of pliability revolves around a muscle’s ability to adapt to the demands of an activity. It is directly related to the overall efficiency and effectiveness of the performance of the muscle. It is quite a broad term that includes elements of flexibility, mobility, and neural toning, which relates to the level of activity and tension within a muscle. Improving your pliability means finding a perfect balance of all these elements, allowing you to perform at peak levels.

The benefits of pliability are wide ranging. The most well-known benefit of pliability is that it can increase both mobility and flexibility. The resulting increase in resilience will help the muscles to better absorb and disperse force or impact. This will reduce the potential for injury, and help the muscles move through their full range of motion.

Another benefit is that it can increase blood flow, as well as improve the oxygen saturation of that blood. As a result, your performance will be improved, allowing for quicker reactions, and the ability to carry heavier weights or move greater distances.

Flexibility vs Mobility vs Pliability

·         Flexibility relates to the ability of soft tissues, such as muscles, ligaments, and tendons, to lengthen or stretch temporarily.

 

·         Meanwhile, mobility relates to the ability of a joint to move through its full range of motion.

 

·         Pliability, on the other hand, refers to the level of effectiveness, efficiency, and resilience in those same soft tissues.

The greater your level of pliability, the better your body will absorb force or impact and adapt to the stimuli it is exposed to.

Pliable muscles, which are not the same as flexible muscles, are 'soft' and not 'dense. Dense, stiff muscles are easily injured, because they are not resilient and can tear during physical activity. On the other hand, soft, pliable muscles absorb the stresses and impacts that occur during daily life and sports.

The most common running injuries, as well as what signals each, include:

• Runner's knee – dull pain around the front of the knee, felt either while active or after sitting for a long time
• IT band syndrome – aching or burning pain on the outside of the knee (which may extend up to the hip), typically felt when active
• Shin splints – pain at the front or inner-facing portion of your lower legs that worsens with activity
• Plantar fasciitis – pain at or near the bottom of the heel, typically felt after activity (not during) or early the next morning.
• Achilles Tendinitis – pain in the lower leg just above the heel that may be accompanied by restricted motion when attempting to lift your toes
• Stress fracture – pain or aching (usually in the shin or foot) that's felt during activity and that worsens over time

In a study conducted by Stanford University, pliability training reduced the risk of these injuries by almost 50%.  The study tested runners at a variety of levels and concluded that pliability training was more beneficial to training and reduced the chances of injury.  More traditional type methods such as weightlifting and static stretching, increased the risk of injury due to hard muscle tissue placing a strain on the tendons and joints. 

In my next post, I will provide you with the pliability plan that Dani used in her quest for speed and Boston.