Taken from www.rawintensity.com

When Strength and Conditioning Coach, Alwyn Cosgrove, agreed to write for this website I was very excited. Why? Well, there are many in the field that speak a lot about training theory and methodology, but very few that produce great athletes. The ability to help an athlete reach their athletic potential is what makes a great Strength Coach. Coach Cosgrove had done just that. He has helped several atheletes get to the top of their sport. So, now we are fortunate enough to have him share with us his philosophy of training with us.

RI: Coach Cosgrove, how did you first become involved in the Strength and Conditioning field?

AC: I first became involved by accident really. I was fighting competitively (Taekwon-do) and the realization hit me that at the top level skill levels were pretty much the same. For example,if you think about boxing — there are really only four punches and a few variations (jab, hook, cross and uppercut)– it is the physical application of these skills that made the difference –if you could consistently hit faster and harder than the other guy – you’ll probably win most of the fights !! So this realization gave me a greater appreciation of physical conditioning and as a result I spent a greater amount of my own time on this aspect. This in turn took me to college to study sports science (partly this and partly the fact that I could basicallytrain like a full time athlete while in college).

When in college I quickly got a reputation for being able to produce results(looking back – I sucked – but was still better than the average personal trainer in the area) – so I got approached by several athletes to design their strength programs – including two junior national rugby players, the college track team, a Taekwon-Do fighter moved so he could work with me and another national TKD fighter actually quit his job and returned to college to train with me (he’s now the strength coach for the England National Netball team and has become quite an authority in the field himself).

This was a good time for me — as I was learning training theory and methodology academically, and actually applying it at the same time –figuring out what works in the research may not work as well with real athletes in real situations — not too many people get to experience both approaches at once. It really helped ‘fast-track’ my development.

After college I moved to New York and began working at the US Athletic Training Center with a few Olympians and a few regular people and my learning continued ….. so here I am !!! Still learning. Still working. And still having a ball doing it !

RI: You have been able to produce World Champions, what is it about your training philosophy that allows you to produce such great results?

AC:First off — while I would love to say I have ‘produced’ them I am more akin to taking a leaf out of Ian King’s book (a man who has been a great help and influence to me) that I don’t take credit for these top athletes success. If you won’t take the blame for your athletes who AREN’T World Champions, then you shouldn’t take the credit for those who are. Essentially I have been lucky to work with some supremely talented individuals who had great work ethics. The only factor I had to play was that I was able to identify weak areas that they had and help with a solution. I mean if Michael Jordan walks in to your gym and you do an assessment — you might find ZERO weaknesses — you might not be much help !!! I always hope that the athlete arrives with a whole bunch of ‘issues’ — that way our job is a whole lot easier !!!

I’m not sure I have a training philosophy per se — I have been positively influenced by so many people that I’m not sure which opinions are uniquely my own ! Bruce Lee once said – “Absorb what is useful, reject what is useless and add what is specifically your own” (- at the time that approach was revolutionary – now all martial artists cross train, definitely ahead of his time) and basically that’s my approach to training. I’ve been lucky enough to have met several good people and learn from them, so my method is basically a scientific treaty of an eclectic approach to total training – gathered from the best sources the industry has to offer.

RI: You have worked with several combative sports, what are some key training concepts to becoming a successful athlete in those events?

AC: All the atheltes are different but the biggest single thing Josh, is that most of these sports are soooooo rooted in outdated tradition (the early morning long run – weights will slow you down etc.) that if we can even take a 1% move towards a more modern or scientific approach, we will yield HUGE results. You just have to get the athlete to trust you and ‘empty their cup’ so to speak, so they will work with you.

Most of these athletes do no strength or speed development work, and the only energy system work they do is aerobic. Dumb as there are no aerobic dominant combat sports.

Combat sports are unique (the full contact ones) in that they are the only sports where the primary aim of the activity is to render your opponent unable to continue – so as a physical preparation coach I need to develop a system where we develop the ability to deliver a more powerful strike, but also prepare for the energy sapping mechanisms of receiving a strike. So we need to work on the give and take conditioning effects of combat.

I think the key worry of a lot of these athletes is that strength work will put on weight — making the weight class is always a real struggle for most of them – so a sound approach to maximizing strength/weight ratio is always paramount. Charles Poliquin once mentioned to me that the average male gymnast can bench 315 the first time they ever try — the average fighter who hasn’t yet strength trained averages about 75% of their bodyweight in my experience. Not good.

My focus is always — injury prevention first, performance enhancement second.

RI: Do you find many of your athletes come to you with well structured training programs, or do you see some common flaws in their approach?

AC: It’s improving but still very poor. I generally see either a bodybuilding program which will not do too much to improve sports performance (unless hypertrophy is essential) or an Olympic lifting or Powerlifting program — aimed at competitive lifters, not multidirectional sprint athletes. The volume of other training needs to be taken into account and it rarely is.

The days of athletes following a generalized program, with no room for individual differences are (hopefully) gone! One size does not fit all! Just as we all require a specific shoe size, we all require a specific program. Every athlete has a different goal, different strengths and weaknesses and a different body. For customized results you need a customized program — but often I see entire teams doing the same program –just by applying the bell curve rule — only 68% of those athletes can possibly be getting anywhere close to an effective training stimulus.

Aside from that – the main common flaw that I experience is usually an overemphasis on strength training with a lack of speed/flexibility/muscle length-tension and postural issues. You can get strong but if it doesn’t transfer to improved scores on the field of play then so what ?? Athletic performance involves more than just strength but a lot of coaches programs just don’t reflect that – I know of a well-known strength coach who is exceptionally strong but can’t touch his toes !!! That’s not well rounded and his programs reflect that, despite lip service to flexibility enhancement. An integrated approach to athletic development is far preferable.

RI: Do you have any advice for athletes that may be reading this interview and wondering what would make their training program take them to the next level?

AC: Either hire a physical preparation coach — or become one !!! Basically if you don’t do your own legal work, your own taxes, cut your own hair or do your own dental work — you really have no excuse to be trying to design your own conditioning program. If you don’t want to hire a competent person (and I admit there are a lot of garbage guys out there) then at least seek out quality information and develop your own plan — but put some thought into it. Lose the bodybuilding mentality and get some assistance.

The fastest way to improve your performance is to have a qualified individual take a look at your performance and your training — if you are not constantly improving your on the field performance then something is amiss.

RI: Coach Cosgrove, thank you for your time and knowledge. Do you have any comments you would like to add to our readership?

AC: Keep reading Raw intensity !!!! Seriously, I’m really looking forward to some of the articles that will be coming out from some of the other authors. When I think about it — some of the best physical preparation people I have met have a lot of fantastic information that just isn’t out there (Mark Verstegen, Jim Liston, Mike Mejia for example) — so I’m excited to be exposed to the ideas and methods of a few new people. There is probably a lot of excellent stuff out there that we never get to see so Raw Intensity will perhaps be the changing of the guard !!! The new generation is here !!