John Wooden, one of the greatest basketball coaches in NCAA history, owed his success to one of his philosophies that he applied to his coaching career: Always refine the fundamentals. His conditioning program involves his athletes to engage in different drills and movement patterns relating to some part of a basketball drill. When Wooden blows the whistle, his athletes would sprint to the next exercise station and practice, focusing on proper technique while focusing on the fundamentals. As a result, his method of training helped UCLA won 10 NCAA championships between 1964 and1975. Why John Wooden was so successful can be theorize by the Functional Performance Pyramid, which is developed by physical therapist and strength coach Gray Cook (www.functionmovement.com). This concept gives you a mental image and understanding of human movement patterns. It is divided into three tiers which represents a certain type of movement. The pyramid must always be constructed from the bottom up and must always have a broad base and narrow top.
The first tier is the foundation which represents the ability to move through fundamental patterns. These patterns include static and dynamic stability, full range of motion, good movement control and awareness, and good posture.
The second tier looks at performance quality and how efficient you move. This can be defined as gross athleticism which looks at measurable factors in movement, such as strength, power, and endurance.
The third tier is the sport specific skill which looks at how well you perform in that particular skill, such as a golf swing, baseball pitch, or boxing punches. This also looks at the competition statistics and any specific testing relative to that sport.
The performance pyramid is not just for athletes but also for the weekend warriors, a mother who wishes to shed the extra baby pounds, or the grandfather who is recovering from physical therapy and wishes to play golf again. This method can not only serve as a guide to see how well you move, but also if you are using the correct approach to get to your goals. In other words, does your current exercise program work?
The “Ideal” Athlete
The first pyramid (see above) is the “ideal” pyramid, which represents a type of athlete whose movement patterns, movement efficiency, and sports skills are balanced and adequate. This does not mean that the athlete cannot improve; however, any improvement should not upset the balance and appearance of the performance pyramid.
This athlete possesses the ability to explore a full range of movement, demonstrating body control, and movement awareness in numerous positions. By having a broad base at the bottom, this athlete builds potential to strength and power output and reduces the risk of injuries. Since the second tier is supported by a strong base, it is able to support the third tier which enables the client to transfer the power and strength to the sport skill.
Many great athletes and martial artists, like Tiger Woods, Bruce Lee, and Bill Walton, owed their supremacy of their sport from practicing and refining their fundamentals.
The “Over-powered” Athlete
The second pyramid demonstrates athletes their ability to generate power and strength exceeds their ability to move freely. The way to correct this problem is to improve their movement patterns while maintaining their current level of power.
This pyramid represents the athlete who scores very poorly on mobility and stability tests, but very highly on power production and adequately in the skill. Their ability to move freely in simple and basic positions is limited by poor flexibility and stability in some movement patterns. This athlete would greatly benefit from yoga, functional training, and tai chi.
A good example would be a football player who trains mainly with weights and ignores other types of training such as dynamic flexibility and stability training.
The “Under-Powered” Athlete
The third pyramid represents athletes who have excellent freedom of movement, but whose efficiency is poor and could be improved. This individual should be involved in training and conditioning that would improve power and strength without negatively affecting the movement patterns.
This athlete would benefit greatly from power training, plyometrics, and /or weight training while maintaining the same level of fundamental movement, speed, agility, and endurance.
A good example would be a devoted yoga or Pilates practitioner who demonstrates excellent fundamentals. Since the activity requires little degree of power and ground-reaction forces, this person would fit into this pyramid.
The “Under-skilled” Athlete
The last pyramid represents athletes whose fundamentals and power and strength generation are adequate. However, skill analysis and sports performance demonstrates an overall weakness or below-average performance. A training program specifically designed around sport skill fundamentals and techniques would be the best investment of time and energy for this athlete.
The athlete already demonstrates excellent freedom of movement in different positions, good power production, but has not yet mastered the sports skill. However, this athlete, when compared to the overpowered and underpowered athlete, would mot likely have the lowest risks for injuries.So how can you determine which pyramid you belong to? In my next article, I will explain three simple tests that you can self-administer to give you an idea of where you are. Note: These three tests DO NOT substitute an actual screening done by a fitness or medical professional, nor does it provide an entirety of your physical condition.
