Train Evil, Train GPP

The way that we train is considered a General Physical Preparedness training approach.  If you're an athlete, the term GPP means that any training that you do that isn't sport specific (skill work and actually playing the game) is technically GPP. Getting stronger could potentially make you a better athlete, but it doesn’t necessarily look like the skills that you practice for your sport.  GPP is general training that improves your specific training by
  • Limiting your weaknesses,
  • Improving your quality of movement, and
  • Enhancing your body's ability to handle greater workloads.

We use the first day or so to simply look at how you move, to understand your current training, and to list all the injuries that you may have. Please be patient as we take in a lot of information for a tailored programming response. We are an FMS [Functional Movement Screen] program, which means we consider quality of movement to be a cornerstone to longevity in your sport and as a functional human (FMS basically means we place healthy movement patterns centrally in our programming more than muscle groups.)

Quality of movement is highly correlated with injury prevention and that is a first priority. Expect to learn how to do a lift properly.  We do not exercise, but we do develop general skills that transfer over into other activities.  Expect that there is a learning curve; you may not get it on the first try.  We practice safety in all our lifts.   One of our primary goals is injury prevention in your sport.

Usually, the first step is to find out what family of movements you do not excel at and start there.  Filling in the gaps automatically seems to make most athletes "all-over" stronger.  The families of movements we cover are:  Pull, push, hinge, squat, press, and carries & groundwork.  We begin by finding out where people are in each of the movement families.  Mastering these basic movements will assist in displaying all other components of fitness

WHY STRENGTH?

As an athlete, you *must* develop strength.  The adaptations that result from an intelligent strength program/practice may include:
  • Reduction of injury risk [developing connective tissue quality that can withstand falls, breaks etc.]
  • Improved skill [read: efficiency of movement--less energy required to perform a task]
  • Overall conditioning improvement

Becoming stronger does improve conditioning. Commonly, athletes in our organization have prioritized conditioning workouts like circuits, interval training, met-cons, endurance-type pace lines, and finisher-like workouts before creating more foundational adaptations from strength training [like stronger, denser bones, more muscle tissue for explosive power, stronger connective tissue, and the ability to create high levels of protective tension to guard ribs, organs, and spine].

As a system, EVIL Strength seeks to address these primary adaptations through Skill offerings [101], Progression offerings [150] and Consistency/Periodization offerings [201]. All programs align with and help one attain the strength standards set out here.

Common Misunderstandings

The thought that many athletes have is that attending boot camps or interval style training sessions that leave one hot, sweaty, and exhausted is an adequate method of preparing for derby.  While these provide a wonderful sense of accomplishment, they unfortunately do not necessarily prepare the connective tissue the way lifting heavy weights does in all the movement families.  The adaptation is categorically different.  

Another misunderstanding is that training one time in this manner is sufficient for athletic needs.  Give your body several 3 month blocks over the course of a year or 3 to adapt sufficiently to the demands of collisions and falls.  This takes a while, but remember, at the end of your relatively short career in your sport [3-7 years], you must be a working, moving human the entire rest of your life.  Take care of that person too.