Athletes Authority

Looking at output metrics isn’t enough - especially in rehab!

If we understand an injury pattern and likely deficits, it can guide us in the direction of which causal metrics to explore. This will then tell us the bigger picture of where an athlete is lacking and what we can programme them to ensure they’re in the best position possible when returning to the field.

🔵Example A: ACLR - Patella Tendon Graft
🟢Example B: ACLR - Hamstring Graft

Both have a similar jump height output.

🔵Athlete A has a longer eccentric duration because they will avoid deep, fast knee flexion so will go down slowly and be more hip dominant. Their eccentric deceleration duration is relatively short, but this is likely because they are going down slowly so it is easier to counteract the force and transition to concentric.

➡️We need to improve eccentric quad strength, eccentric RFD and knee dominant exposure to increase the eccentric velocity and rapid force absorption through the knee.

🟢Athlete B has a relatively quick unweighting phase, meaning their total eccentric duration is shorter, but their eccentric deceleration duration is longer. This is likely because they’re unweighting (falling) quickly into the transition phase so it is harder to decelerate against that, and also because they have reduced hamstring capacity to co-contract with the quads to brake themselves. This means they leak force from their eccentric to concentric phase.

➡️We need to improve eccentric hamstring strength, eccentric RFD and the transition between the eccentric-concentric to reduce energy leakage and improve SSC efficiency.

It is with sad (but exciting) news we announce that The King of Speed at Athletes Authority will be leaving for a new opportunity as Head S&c coach of an A-League club.

An exciting next step for someone who's operated at the top end of pro sport before, and one that will come with a lot of great new opportunities.

Thank-you for everything you've brought to AA. The athletes, the standard, the energy.

Berg’s Last day will be Friday 12th June.

It is with sad (but exciting) news we announce that The King of Speed at Athletes Authority will be leaving for an exciting new role as a Head of S&c in the A-League.

A great next step for someone who's operated at the top end of pro sport before, and one that will come with alot of great new experiences.

From everyone at Athletes Authority - Thank you for everything you've brought to AA. The expertise, the standards, the energy.

Berg’s Last day will be Friday 12th June.

How can we use CMJ Metrics in ACL Rehab?

Looking beyond the surface level metrics to understand injury defects.

soph

Box Squatting and Squatting to a box... two different exercises.

Why does it matter for athletes?

These exercises are often used interchangeably, but they’re not the same.

A Box Squat involves sitting back onto the box, reducing stretch-shortening cycle contribution and placing greater emphasis on the posterior chain.

Squatting to a box simply uses the box as a depth target. Touch and go. Stay under tension. Reverse direction immediately.

Box Squat = Sit back, pause, explode.
Squat to Box = Touch, stay tight, drive up.
Understanding the difference changes the adaptation you’re chasing.

Understanding the difference changes the adaptation you’re chasing.

Extension loss isn't a failure. It's a diagnostic.

After ACL reconstruction, losing knee extension tells you something specific is happening. Once you know what it is, you know how to fix it.

Is it effusion? Soft tissue restriction? Neural inhibition? Something structural?

Each cause has its own protocol. Each protocol has a clear endpoint.

The mistake is treating extension loss as one problem. It's four different problems with four different solutions.
Hammer extension early. Respect your resting positions.

Keep rotation in the picture. Don't stop working it past the acute phase.

Extension loss is just a symptom. Your job is to find the source.

That's how you get back on the field.

Extension loss isn't a failure. It's a diagnostic.

After ACL reconstruction, losing knee extension tells you something specific is happening. Once you know what it is, you know how to fix it.

Is it effusion? Soft tissue restriction? Neural inhibition? Something structural?

Each cause has its own protocol. Each protocol has a clear endpoint.

The mistake is treating extension loss as one problem. It's four different problems with four different solutions.
Hammer extension early.

Respect your resting positions. Keep rotation in the picture. Don't stop working it past the acute phase.
Extension loss is just a symptom. Your job is to find the source.

That's how you get back on the field.

Extension loss isn't a failure. It's a diagnostic.

After ACL reconstruction, losing knee extension tells you something specific is happening. Once you know what it is, you know how to fix it.

Is it effusion? Soft tissue restriction? Neural inhibition? Something structural?

Each cause has its own protocol. Each protocol has a clear endpoint.

The mistake is treating extension loss as one problem. It's four different problems with four different solutions.
Hammer extension early.

Respect your resting positions. Keep rotation in the picture. Don't stop working it past the acute phase.

Extension loss is just a symptom. Your job is to find the source.

That's how you get back on the field.