Clubbells and Racquetball Performance Enhancement Questions

[pookaboy]

To some of you erudite clubbell meisters out there,
I have a couple of questions regarding racquetball and using clubbells for strengthening and enhancing performance. The reason why I am asking this is because of some of my experiences on the racquetball court today.

I haven't played racquetball in about 8 months, however, I have been dutifully and somtimes not so dutifully swinging my 15lbs clubbells around. I went back to play some r-ball today with some of my workmates after our Air Force PT that we did which lasted about 25 minutes. Racquetball was my "aerobic" component for this. So, upon playing, I wanted to see if there would be any difference in my playing ability and what muscles would tire out the quitckest from this, starting with my right-arm.

Here are the results, the questions will follow in a minute. Working from the hand up to the rest of the body. Hand, wrist, grip, not even worn out, handled it really well, yep, CBs have paid off big dividends here. Biceps/triceps, not a big player, they came out well too. Deltoids: front, mid, and rear, completely worn out from the high-powered swings. Plus, I was a little worn out in the rest of my body too. I kind of suspected that this would be the case, and yep, there it was.

Now, my questions to the folks of the erudite knuckles are these:
1. Because racquetball involves very fast, tight trunk rotation that is transmitted out to the wrist for the final snap at the apex of the swing, what Clubbells and grind exercises would be better for improving that for a stronger swing?

2. Since racquetball, like clubbells, is a 3D oriented sport, what kind of exercises would add strength to the deltoids and trunk that would give a more powerful snap especially at some very odd angles (which is a staple in this sport)? I am not looking for simple swings, I need something that will power a swing and make it both more powerful and much quicker. I have used my 15lbs CBs, and definitely cannot whip them around like I can with a racquetball racquet. Suggestions? 5lbs CBs?

That is pretty much it on that. I have also noticed that when I start doing reaction drills on the RB court by myself, I would start going down the path of Kinetic Chains because the moves became eerily comforting and the body just sort of flowed on the court. The groove was there.
Anyways, thanks for any input on this. You all are the BOMB!!!
Man this board ROCKS!! I knew there was a reason to buy Clubbells! Thanks Coach Sonnon for them!
Tom Loyd

[Scott Sonnon]

Tom,
You ask to concentrate upon two characteristics from the physiological profile of your sport: contralateral core action for tight trunk rotation in your swing and extreme range strength for early power generation in your swing. The Mill delivers both of these with the contralateral action supplied by the Inward Pendulum and the extreme range strength supplied by the Shield Cast. Meshed into the Mill, the exercise meets the physiological profile of your sport and emulates the depth and range of your sport's swing (without simulating the swing's action - which would compete with your swing.)
Go with the Mill. Place it in a rapid scheme which juggles the rest period duration; such as 3 reps - 20 second rest
3 reps 15 second rest
3 reps 10 second rest
3 reps 15 second rest
3 reps 5 second rest
repeat 5X Perform this several times per week (but not within 8 hours of any actual play time) for two weeks charting your progress in the Personal Training Logs. This approach stimulates the physiological profile of your sport: sudden, changing duration, but relatively frequent bursts over a longer period of time in order to cultivate the sport specific stamina you seek.
I expect a full report write-up in article format for CST Magazine. The deadline is November 5th.

[pookaboy]

Coach,
No problem on the date. Now, for some further questions regarding this. I just reviewed the Mill on the AVI file that you had on the internet. That looks good for the overhead part of the swing, but how does it compensate for swings that are more lateral in nature, not overhead like the Mill? The percentage majority of my hitting is done out to either side and the mill is a movement that mimics the overhand hits which are a lot less used in racquetball and more for Tennis. I can see where the Mill will help with overhead shots which do occur, however, I am curious about what works for the lateral-style shots like the forehand and the backhand that have, in my opinion, a different dynamic than what the Mill would prep you for. Also, I am assuming that the 15lbs CBs are going to be fine for me and accelerate my swinging speed. Thanks for your input on this! I'll also start with the clubbells tomorrow! Taking them with me to Tampa this weekend for a seminar!
Thanks,
Tom

[Doug Szolek]

Tom,
I think the point that Coach Sonnon makes is that you don't need to simulate the lateral swing of raquetball (which would compete with your actual performance of the swing). But rather, develop the necessary attributes to perform the lateral swing. So by using the Mill you're not working to add strength to an overhead swing, you're training the extreme range explosiveness of the shoulder which will carry over to everything you do with the swinging arm.

To give you an example of what I mean; the Swipe doesn't travel through the same range of motion as a Hook Punch. But if you ask some of my sparring partners, by training with the Swipe alone, I added measurable speed, power and strength to my hooks. This happened because the performance of the Hook Punch recruits the attributes that the Swipe cultivates.

Now some might wonder why not just work my Hook Punch more to improve it? Or in your case, why not just practice your lateral swings to improve them? Well we can and should, but the great thing about Clubbells is that they afford a broader range of motion than our applications allow. In other words, the Swipe takes my shoulder through a more complete range of motion than the Hook Punch, and it does it with resistance that needs to be controled and overcome. My Hook Punch needs to be short, sweet and to the point to be effective so it is insufficient to maximally train the attributes which it uses due to it's need to be effective. The same can be said of your lateral swing.

It comes down to the difference between Practice and Training. In Practice you will perform your lateral swings many times to improve your Skill of recruiting the necessary Attributes to perform the swing. In Training you will (if you so choose :wink: ) perform the Mill in order to cultivate the Attributes needed to perfrom your lateral swing.

I hope this helps to clarify a bit. If you've got some questions please don't hesitate to ask.

[pookaboy]

Coaches,
Thanks for the input. I will do this for the next couple of weeks and get back to you on the results. Thanks for the excellent replies and information. The reason why I asked the above questions regarding specified movements was because of something that I read from Coach Sonnon about training for the event rather than doing exercises just to exercise. I think he was talking about the marathoner training on 20 mile runs a day versus the actual 26 mile event and I naturally extended that application over to Racquetball with the training empahsis on specific movements versus grosser overall movements like what appeared to me to be what the mills would develop.
Once again, thanks Coach Szolek and Coach Sonnon for your inputs! This is another reason I am glad to have found clubbells and bodyflow! The excellent beyond-the-product support by you folks!
Thanks,
Tom

[Scott Sonnon]

Tom,
You're welcome.

Just remember the CST Maxim: Stimulate don't simulate. If you hit the energy systems of your sport while addressing the range, depth and scope of the skills, you accomplish SPP.

SPP has a very slippery slope spiraling down into skill simulation. Skill simulation with an implement of different grip diameter, center of mass, et cetera, teaches the CNS a new skill. Skills compete with one another for dominance. As a result, simulating your sport skill (on a more regular basis than a few motions) interferes with the precision, power and control of your sport skill.

The Reverse Mill would cover the range, depth and scope of the other skills you mention.

Report back with your progress.

[pookaboy]

Coach Sonnon,
I will not be able to get this in under the deadline you want it by (5 Nov). Due to the short amount of time that has passed to provide a good evaluation of how this training is going, I haven't had a chance to really get out on the racquetball court to see what differences have occurred because I am out for training because of my job, but can train w/ my clubbell. However, I will have it in to you by the end of this month for next month's edition of Circular Strength Magazine. If I were to provide you the scant information that I have right now, it wouldn't be enough to provide a replete article like you are asking for and be a waste of time because of the incompleteness of data. By next month (5 Dec or earlier), I will be able to give you a full report with over a month and half's worth of data,analysis, and photos along with it being in the format you would like and more worthy of an article for consumption in Circular Strength Magazine.
V/R,
Tom Loyd

[Scott Sonnon]

Tom, no problem. Enjoy.

[rave]

I have alot of RB related links if you would like them, provide me your email address