Practical tips on how to implement this important teaching tool at your school
Pound-for-pound, the best lifter of the 2011 National High School Power Clean Championships was CJ Fort. At a bodyweight of just 169.5 pounds, Fort lifted 315 pounds. A commitment to achieving perfect technique enables athletes to achieve such remarkable results.
Six Absolutes Practical tips on implementing this important teaching tool at your school n important part of Dr. Greg Shepard’s legacy in sports fitness is his development of the “The Six Absolutes of Perfect Technique,” which are training principles that can be used to teach proper biomechanics in any sport, as well as in the weightroom. Learn these absolutes and you can dramatically elevate your strength and sport coaching abilities. In previous articles in this series we’ve defined the Six Absolutes in detail. For review, here they are: 1. Use an athletic or jump stance A2. Be tall 3. Spread the chest (lock-in the lower back) 4. Align the toes 5. Align the knees (knees over toes) 6.
Eyes on target Unlike many textbooks on biomechanics that confuse readers with complex terminology and mathematical equations, the Six Absolutes are extremely easy to learn and to teach. Further, they encourage all coaches to use the same terminology when teaching – after all, how can an athlete or physical education student be expected to learn quickly when the instructions they receive vary from coach to coach or from PE instructor to PE instructor? When teaching the deadlift, one strength coach may instruct an athlete at the start to “Keep the back tight” and another may say, “Arch your lower back!”
These instructions are fine, but it is simpler to have everyone on the same page and just say, “Spread the chest!” To get you started, here are six practical steps to implement these important practice and performance principles with athletes. JULY/AUGUST 2011 Step 1: Have copies of Bigger Faster Stronger available to your staff and athletes. One of the chapters in Dr. Shepard’s excellent overview of the Six Absolutes. Published by Human Kinetics, this professionally produced and extensively illustrated textbook can be found in major bookstores or purchased through BFS.
Also, look for Dr. Shepard’s upcoming book devoted to his teaching methods, 6 Absolutes of Perfect Technique; it is expected to be available by the end of summer and can be purchased through BFS.
To reinforce the importance of striving for perfect technique, BFS offers a series of posters for the weightroom that summarize the Six Absolutes.
Structural Balance p 34 *5,9!5'534 s 2011 BFS Weightlifting Scholarship Winner Chloe Van Tussenbroek p 6 Science of Eccentric Training p 36 BFS High School Female Athlete of the Year p 10 BFS offers many publications that teach and reinforce the principles of the Six Absolutes.
Step 2: Subscribe to BFS magazine and visit the BFS website. has been published since 1981 and is the official publication of BFS. In each issue you will find examples of coaches and physical education instructors applying the Six Absolutes in their programs. If you miss an issue, the posters that highlight each of the Six Absolutes, using examples of many common weight training exercises. Just one glance at these posters will remind everyone using the weightroom that they must always be thinking “perfect technique” in all their lifts.
Step 4: Start with a Six Absolutes review At the start of every sports season young athletes in middle school and even elementary school a head start in physical education and sports training. It’s a truism in the weightroom that it’s best to learn perfect technique when you are weak to reduce the risk of injury. That way, when young bodies mature and are ready to lift heavier weights, they will have a head start and can progress more rapidly.
Learn these absolutes and you can dramatically elevate your strength and sport coaching abilities. section in which you can read all the past issues and download thousands of articles in PDF format – all for free! Of course, there’s nothing like having a physical copy of a magazine, so you should make certain that someone in your program has a subscription – and if you work at a school, ask your librarian to purchase a subscription for the students. Step 3. Put up BFS posters in the weightroom BFS has developed a series of high quality, professionally produced or school semester, give a review of the Six Absolutes.
Many athletes are transfer students from other schools, and in high school you always have freshman athletes who may not have been taught the Six Absolutes. During the orientation, encourage each individual to act as a coach during their practice and use the Six Absolutes to help their teammates and classmates always focus on perfect technique. Step 5: Implement the BFS Readiness Program The BFS Readiness program gives Step 6. Hold a BFS clinic or attend a BFS certification Nothing beats hands-on instruction from a BFS clinician at a BFS clinic or certification.
Our clinician will work with your staff, athletes and physical education students to ensure that the Six Absolutes are being taught effectively. The Six Absolutes are a valuable teaching tool that will help young athletes improve their athletic performance and will increase the safety of any sports or physical fitness program. Get started today!
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From BFS Magazine — July/August 2011. Part of the BFS Magazine Archive (1980–2014).
