Why bother testing?

There should be a reason for taking a Saturday away from family to go to U of T and become tested? What information should come from the effort? Why bother? What is special about AOA Fitness Testing?

In the next couple of articles I’ll explain several tests at AOA Fitness Testing that we are using – they are new and there are seven of them (click here to learn more). I’ll explore the utility of those tests with real life examples, and explain how it relates to ski racing and promoting a healthy active lifestyle. Specifically I’ll discuss:

• Vince Carter, Michael Jordan and Alpine Ski Racing – What is the connection? Vertical Jump
• Skiing and Sprinting: Analyzing sprint mechanics
• Here’s a cool party trick - the Single Legged Squat
• Spine control not Crunches

The importance of fitness testing is immense. In working with AOA for four dryland season’s I’ve seen many movement development problems that need to be addressed. We’re making great strides to improve this; AOA Fitness testing is a great place to start. Likewise, I’ll be writing frequently about key qualities to develop in an alpine athlete, and in general for anyone interested in become a better, healthier, and a safer skier. I’ll also share secretes and key principles that we use with our AOA OST Athletes.

With our AOA OST Athletes away in New Zealand, let’s get right into it and discuss the connection between Vince Carter, Michael Jordan and Alpine Ski Racing.

Dr. Thomas Lam, AOA Fitness Director

Vince Carter, Michael Jordan and Alpine Ski Racing – What is the connection?

Have you ever watched, Vince Carter, Michael Jordan, or any of the great dunkers and marvelled at their jumping abilities? I sure have, and currently there are several Alpine Ontario athletes that are approaching their vertical power capabilities of these athletes. Several male athletes, Andrew Solomon and Dylan Fischer McCarney have vertical jumps over 35 inches, with Morgan Megarry following closely behind with a 33 inch vertical jump. Not to be outdone, Candace Crawford, after a summer of dryland training has jumped a very impressive 26.3 inches, followed closely by Ella Both (24.5”) and Natalie Knowles (24”) – note a healthy Julia Roth is capable of jumping over 26”.

Just for your reference, a typical NBA basketball player will jump 28 inches, the average for a NHL hockey player is 25 inches, and a typical female collegiate NCAA Division basketball player will jump 22 inches. Therefore these young AOA athletes are way ahead of the curve. In fact, jumping 35 inches will rank within the 97 percentile of athletes’ within the NFL combine and no CAST athlete is able to jump higher.

But what does jumping have to do with skiing?

Jumping is a very important measure of vertical power. In fact, if I were only allowed one test to identify talent, power and explosiveness I would choose vertical jump – there is no comparison. Vertical jump has been correlated with agility, skate performance, acceleration, weightlifting ability, sprinting, NHL entry draft selection position, and ski race performance in addition to many other athletic qualities.

In skiing, the ability to pressurize a turn and to handle the forces exerted by gravity requires tremendous power and strength respectively. Without question, skiing requires a great feel, skill and technical capabilities that are only enhanced with improved power capabilities. The greater the power an athlete possesses means they will be able to execute more aggressive lines, translating into improved race performance. 

Testing an athletes’ vertical power is essential, and at a developmental level (Nancy Green, K1, K2) testing an athletes’ ability to land is equally important.Click here to learn about the protocols at AOA Fall Fitness Testing.  In fact, during previous fitness testing we’ve seen some alarming results – please refer to the AOA report: Alpine Ontario Fitness Testing Fall 2009 – Interpretations and Recommendations of Movement Screen. We’ll be discussing more about the problems when we discuss the single legged squat and the “CORE” – (if you’ve read my previous series on the “CORE” you’ll know exactly what I mean.)

Improving vertical jump is a huge athletic development priority for the AOA Dryland Program. To develop this quality requires first sound movement qualities. This is assessed through analyzing basic squat, overhead squat, and single leg squat mechanics.  From here we analyze an athlete’s ability to squat jump, counter movement, and how they jump after dropping from various heights. We call this process the Jump Index. Based on all this information we know how to train them to best develop their vertical power.

I’ll explain more about how we develop vertical, through various articles. If you are interested I would refer you to www.fitstoronto.com for more information on vertical jump training, athletic development, and sports medicine. I love vertical jump training – in fact I’m trying to jump 40 inches.

To contact Dr. Lam directly 416.628.4333.
To visit the FITS centre www.fitstoronto.com