ASCA World
Clinic 2001


ASCA World Clinic 2001 Summary

Physiology School Notes

Stroke School Notes

Rick Curl Notes

Vern Gambetta Notes

Dick Jochums Notes

David Marsh Notes

Rob Mirande Notes

Eddie Reese Notes

Bill Sweetnam Notes

Back to Gordo Tips

Vern Gambetta
Dryland Training Thoughts


For your strength training, always ask:

  • Why are you doing an exercise?
  • Is the exercise sport specific?
  • Is it making you better or just making you tired?
In his experience, many athletes have a low body awareness and weak basic co-ordination. By improving fundamental skills, we can create more economical athletes. It is particularly relevant when working with kids -- American kids, in general, have a very low level of fitness.

Recommended a series of books:

  • "How to be fit", Robert Kiphuth
  • "Smart Moves, Why Learning is Not in Your Head", Carla Hannaford
  • "Kinesiology", Logan & McKinney
Ultimately, what we are training is the command and control system. Muscles are slaves of the brain. For this reason, he believes in training movements, not muscles. Particularly for swimming, he likes exercises that involve balance and control, he never isolates muscles as they never perform in isolation. He likes patterns of movement.

Like the presenter at the USAT Clinic, he likes "the matrix" for movement.

Dumbbell Complex

  • Alternate DB Snatch
  • Push Jerk
  • Upright Row
  • Alternate Squat and Press (down on two up on one)
  • Rotational Row
I spoke to him after about cycling. He likes squats, also likes step-ups.

Core

  • All training is core training -- never isolate the core and always move in multiple planes of movement.
  • Likes walking rotational core work -- builds swimming rhythm as well as sport specific strength
  • Important to change the plan every six to eight weeks. Must have change in strength programs -- actually in any program.
Stretching
  • He recommends post-workout stretching
  • Pre-workout he prefers warm-up (gave an excellent example with med ball and stretch cords).
  • Lat stretching is very important for swimming, showed an interesting stretch (looking under the arm while stretching the lat, rotational stretch).
  • Hip mobility also important (and good for triathletes), showed an interesting way in increase hip mobility -- hurdle walks.
He ripped into Bompa about his work being drug tainted. Said that many of the Eastern European training cycles are drug cycles. Later I asked him about it in more detail. "If not cycles then what?" He didn't really have a good answer and he admitted that training cycles work well. Interestingly, in the volume presentations of elite swimmers, they never really back off except for meets, injury and illness. No real training cycles -- this is for world class athletes and world record setters.

He thinks that it is important to work all components all year round (strength, power, speed, endurance). He believes in a different emphasis but thinks that there should always be at least a little of everything.

In building a strength program, always consider the end product as well as the time at your disposal. Athletes have a wide variation in adaptability and recovery -- have to take these differences into account when working with athletes.

Females should strength training year round. There are huge gains available to strong women vis-a-vis their competition.

Talked about the concept of the 24-hour athlete, the total spectrum athlete.

gordo - 8 September 2001