By: Victoria Williamson | Sports Editor
Coach Smith training an athlete. Photographed by Caroline Gerke.
At the University of Lynchburg, strength and conditioning coach Ed Smith is utilizing high-tech force plates during lifts to oversee how student-athletes train in the off-season.
By using this dual-plate technology, Smith and the strength and conditioning staff can pinpoint exactly how much power each leg generates during a countermovement jump. The data allows them to identify asymmetries as they look for a gap of 10% or more between the left and right sides of an athlete.
“I would rather close the asymmetry gap for an athlete than have their max numbers go up. If max numbers go up, you essentially are putting more force on an asymmetrical issue,” said Smith.
To combat this issue, Smith has shifted the out-of-season program’s focus toward unilateral exercises, rather than traditional bilateral lifts such as bench pressing or back squatting.
“This is forcing me to get outside of my comfort zone and really do what I tell you athletes, I’m doing, trying to provide you the best opportunities to succeed,” he said.
For athletes like freshman goalie Miles Dixon on the men’s soccer team, the transition to single-leg training has proven a difficult physical and mental challenge. Dixon noted the intensity of the workouts has also increased as each leg/arm must now be trained independently.
“I feel a lot more fatigued and tired after unilateral lifts. I feel as if I have to work almost twice as hard since I have to complete an exercise on one side and then the other immediately after,” said Dixon.
Although exhausting, the data from the force plates offer Dixon motivation that looks beyond just adding weight to the bar and towards long-term health and physical power.
“I feel more explosive and quicker, as I think single-leg workouts and stability make me feel like I’m targeting specific singular parts of my body,” he said.
As the off-season comes to an end for spring athletes, Smith plans to review the data and determine if the unilateral lifts should become a permanent addition to preseason training. For now, the focus remains on helping build balanced and powerful athletes, and Lynchburg’s strength program is ensuring that when these athletes return to competition in the fall, they are moving and feeling more efficient than in previous years.
For more information, visit the Official Lynchburg Sports Network Page.
