Today’s episode features gym owner and sports performance coach Mike Kozak and physical therapist, Stephen Laflamme.
Mike Kozak is the Owner of SOAR Fitness in Columbus, Ohio. He has trained hundreds of youth athletes as well as a number of current and prospective college and pro athletes. Mike has previously worked as a physical education teacher and youth basketball coach. He frequently hosts “Rewire” clinics with Adarian Barr and is a fervent student of biomechanics and cutting edge sports performance techniques. He has written several articles for Just Fly Sports.
Stephen Laflamme attained his clinical Doctorate of Physical Therapy from The Ohio State University in 2016 and graduated from the University of Maine in 2012 with a Bachelor’s Degree in Exercise Science; also attaining his Certified Strength and Conditioning Specialist Certification. Stephen competed twice in the Arnold Weightlifting Championships and qualified for the 2015 National University Championship in weightlifting. Stephen has traveled the country to be a part of the nation’s best educational programs and learn from the nation’s best professionals.
When it comes to things like bilateral and single leg squatting, everyone tends to have their own favorite variations, but how often do we think about exactly why we are performing a front, Zercher or RFE split squat? Are we prescribing these exercises based on what other coaches are utilizing, or based on the individual characteristics and needs of our athletes? In today’s episode Mike and Stephen get into both general and specific principles in catering to athletes optimally in these basic strength movements.
We had a great recent episode with Justin Moore in episode 176 talking about “knees in” from a holistic perspective, getting into the hydraulics of the body and the pelvic floor. In this episode we continue in that vein, and get particularly into this dynamic in squatting, landing and jumping, and the differences that exist here, as well as practical training ramifications. Finally, Mike and Stephen talk about training the foot, as well as integrating some concepts learned from Adarian Barr.
Today’s episode is brought to you by SimpliFaster, supplier of high-end athletic development tools, such as the Freelap timing system, kBox, Sprint 1080, and more.
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View more podcast episodes at the podcast homepage.Key Points
- General squatting concepts that make the movement more athletic
- Squat method difference based on hip structure (eg. anterior vs. posterior tilted)
- Why you might Zercher squat an athlete vs. front squat, as well as how various positions in RFE split squat bias different elements of movement
- Approaching athletes who lack hip internal rotation in a sequential manner
- “Knees in” concepts, timing, and jump training
- Squatting in respect to “knees out” and hip internal rotation
- Generalities in ACL prevention training
- Working with athletes who over-pronate
“On my end, higher box safety bar squats seem to be the one that works the best for the majority of my population” Kozak
“We’ve been big on the heels elevated ramps (while squatting)… putting them up on that buys them some more room to sit down” Kozak
“In order to squat effectively, you need to be able to posteriorly rotate the pelvis, and the hamstrings are a really important muscle to be able to do that; by squatting to a high box, the hamstrings always stay within the range of motion where they can contribute to hip extension” Laflamme
“A split squat with my left foot in front and a kettlebell in my right hand would bias internal rotation of my front leg. A kettlebell in my left hand would bias external rotation” Laflamme
“If someone is really spongy when they land and can’t get off the ground quick, those are the people you see with the sway back posture, and it looks like the hips are tipped backwards. By bringing them forward and getting a little more trunk inclination it helps unweight the pelvic floor a little bit and it can make the movement snappier off the ground” Laflamme
“The people who have anterior orientation, they have a tough time loading, and by tipping the hips backwards, it gives them a little softer loading response, it gives them more time when they land on the ground” Laflamme
“The kid that you are like, man I cannot get their ass behind them to squat, putting that Zercher load on them gets them to get their thorax ahead of their ass and seems to clean that up. If they are lordotic, we are trying to keep their upper body stacked on top of their hips, so front squat helps them to stack more appropriately” Kozak
“At early contact phase of gait, my hip is in external rotation, and that’s the same position at the front leg in a split squat” Laflamme
“Zipper on big toe is something I use in split squat on kids who lack IR” Kozak
“If I jump and stick a landing, there isn’t the need to turn everything around and push it away from the ground, so I can maintain hip flexion, abduction, external rotation because I’m not trying to put my guts back up, I can let my pelvic diaphragm remain eccentrically oriented because I’m not changing direction. If I’m doing something like a quick pogo hop, you’re automatically going to start to see the internal rotation at the hips increase, because you can’t let the pelvic diaphragm descend to a great extent if you want to get off the ground quickly” Laflamme
“Flexion, abduction and external rotation (of the femurs on the hips) allows everything to descend” Laflamme
“At the reversal (of the jump) if we’re seeing toes out and knees in, that’s not the inside edge we’re looking for. Nobody is advocating complete collapse of the ankles” Kozak
“You need internal rotation to be able to push off the ground” Laflamme
“A shoes off bodyweight squat, you can really learn a lot” Kozak
“I’m definitely not cueing them to push their knees out (in squatting), recently I’m cueing them more to keep their knees in line with their second toe or big toe” Kozak
“We’re not putting bands around knees, we are putting balls around knees to get IR” Kozak
“I don’t use the term “ACL prevention”, we move as well as we can” Kozak
“That’s one thing Adarian talks about, if you are going to increase range and have a lot of range, you had better be really fast through that range, so having someone who is extremely lax, and slow, even though they can do the movement, they would not be (able to jump high)” Kozak
“What really seems to work for me (with over-pronators) is getting them to understand that their pressure needs to be on that transverse arch-ball of the foot” Kozak
“If you look at foot steering, and compare it to a car, it actually works pretty similarly” Laflamme
“For 40 seconds, put pressure on your transverse arch and tap your heels in an athletic posture. Heel tapping is something in our team sport population we are doing all the time” Kozak
About Mike Kozak
Mike Kozak graduated from Ohio State University in 2001 with a B.S. in Sport Performance and Coaching and a Master’s Degree in Sport and Exercise Education. In 2004, he became a Certified Strength and Conditioning Specialist through the National Strength and Conditioning Association. He has also added a Speed and Agility certification through the International Youth Conditioning Association.
After graduation from Ohio State, Mike was a physical education teacher at a variety of Columbus Public elementary schools. He also coached 6th grade basketball and worked in conjunction with the G2 basketball camps. In 2002, he created Soar of Columbus with his business partner Nate Fugitt. In between 2002 and 2006, Mike trained youth athletes in a variety of settings throughout Central Ohio including Marysville, Hilliard and Worthington. In 2006, Soar opened its first facility in Lewis Center. There he has trained hundreds of youth athletes as well as a number of current and prospective college and pro athletes. In addition to his duties at Soar, Mike is also working with the NFL as a National Field Supervisor for NFL Regional Combines.
Two simple qualities guide Mike’s training philosophy – expert teaching and sound program design tailored to the individual. Youth athletes receive the teaching that is necessary to establish a sound base of strength and speed technique. Advanced high school and college/pro athletes are trained in a manner that best prepares them for their sport or event. No gimmicks, no bells and whistles – just coaching at the highest level.
About Stephen Laflamme
Stephen Laflamme attained his clinical Doctorate of Physical Therapy from The Ohio State University in 2016 and graduated from the University of Maine in 2012 with a Bachelor’s Degree in Exercise Science; also attaining his Certified Strength and Conditioning Specialist Certification during this time. While at the University of Maine Stephen interned with the university’s strength and conditioning program, the university’s track and field team, and at the world-renowned Mike Boyle Strength and Conditioning in Boston, Massachusetts.
Following his time at the University of Maine Stephen moved to Columbus, Ohio to become a student in The Ohio State University’s Doctorate of Physical Therapy program, one of the top 20 physical therapy programs in the nation. While at The Ohio State University Stephen competed twice in the Arnold Weightlifting Championships and qualified for the 2015 National University Championship in weightlifting. As a physical therapy student Stephen interned with Allen Gruver, a previous physical therapy consultant for the Arizona Diamondbacks and Denver Broncos, currently the medical director for the Memphis Grizzlies.
Stephen has traveled the country to be a part of the nation’s best educational programs and learn from the nation’s best professionals. He utilizes the skills and knowledge from these experiences to provide exceptional, evidence-based care that is supported by an in-depth understanding of anatomy, physiology, and motor learning. Stephen is able to use this background to provide individualized care that is dictated by the patient’s goals, lifestyle, and physical capacities.
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