Can You Go?: Assessments and Program Design for the Active Athlete and Everybody Else

by Dan John

appearance of the glutes; again, the butt is the key to a youthful appearance and the secret to youthful power. For the elite athlete, we expect more than body height. If everyone in a specific sport does standing long jumps (SLJs) over nine feet, that’s the target for an elite athlete in that sport. A coach could say, “Somewhere between six feet and nine feet is your problem right now,” and insist on more power, strength and mobility training. If training increases the SLJ, things are going well. If training decreases the long jump, I think you have a problem. The SLJ measures explosive power and overall joint health. Keep an eye on decreases in jumping and address them quickly. Retest the height-to-waist measurement and reassess bodyweight if the SLJ numbers drop. Test Four: Farmer Walk The fourth and final test changed my career: the farmer walk. It was the missing ingredient of my training, and once I added it I began a new start as a thrower. In my forties, I threw farther than in my thirties, and the only change, beyond two daughters, tuition payments, a mortgage and two pets, was the farmer walks. The farmer walk assesses overall work capacity.