Total Body Transformation Training Blog

The Dot Drill

Runners and most strength-endurance athletes need to have strong and flexible legs muscles. From the ankles and calves to the glutes, hamstrings, and thighs the ability to have supple and relaxed muscles that can explode and endure is the secret to everything from the 400m dash to running a marathon.

The "Dot Drill" has been a staple of coaches at the high school and college level for years. Used initially in basketball and then adopted for football and later for track and field the Dot Drill generates an intense amount of leg activity in a short period of time. This intensity build muscle, flexibility, and coordination. The intensity of the Dot Drill is too much for many when they first try it -- buckling over in the fetal position and reverse peristolis are common. What is that they say about "no pain, no gain"? :)

THE DOT DRILL
You need a mat with five circles/dots on them arranged like a '5' on a single die. We'll call C the middle dot, A and B the bottom left and right, and D and E the top left and right. The mat should be 24 inches across and 36 inches high. Some commercial Dot Drill mats are a little larger. But you'll want to start small. Each exercise is done for 6 reps. One set per exercise. You are looking to minimize total time. Actually, on your first attempts you are looking to keep your cookies down.

DRILL 1
Left foot on A, right on B.
Jump Forward, both feet land on C
Jump forward, feet land on D and E
Jump back, both on C
Jump back to A and B
repeat this 6 times

Drill 2
Left foot on B, right foot in the air
Hop to C-E-D-C-A-B keeping the right foot in the air
repeat 6 times

Drill 3
Right foot on B, left foot in the air
Hop to C-E-D-C-A-B keeping the left foot in the air
repeat 6 times

Drill 4
Feet together at B
Jump to C-E-D-A-B landing on all dots with both feet
repeat 6 times

Drill 5
Left foot on A, right on B.
Jump Forward, both feet land on C
Jump forward, feet land on D and E
Jump and spin 180 degrees, landing back on D and E but with the feet switched, facing A and B
Jump forward , both on C
Jump forward to A and B
Jump and spin 180 degrees, landing back on A and B but with the feet switched, facing D and E
repeat this 6 times

Deduct 0.10 seconds for all missed dots. When you make it under 2 min, don't feel too good. An average high school and college athlete is under a minute! The Dot drill puts a lot of strain on the entire leg musculature so it is advisable to train more than 5 times in the drill per week when starting out.

Runners who Lift Weights... Weightlifters who Run

One of the issues with most people that "work out" to "stay in shape" is that their routine selection doesn't fit their activity level and lifestyle. Nowhere is this more true than with those interested in strength training and bodybuilding. People who enjoy lifting weights -- or have heard that lifting weights is one of the best things they can do to lose fat and get fit -- often find themselves inundated with articles and books describing different workouts and training philosophies. Often, these workouts are made for professional athletes or have base assumptions in them about activity levels, etc.

Many martial artists that decide to get stronger quickly find out the problems with this approach. The traditional beginner and intermediate weight lifting routine usually falls into one of two categories:

• single set to momentary muscular failure


• cycles of 4-6 week periodization routines

Now there is nothing inherently wrong necessarily with either training approach. But they most likely out of the box do not fit with the demands of a martial artist trying to get stronger.

High Intensity Training requires adequate amounts of rest and recuperation. Mixing High Intensity Training with karate workouts too easily leads to overtraining. Also, most HIT routines focus on using machines and various isolation exercises. Martial arts training by definition is functional and too much emphasis on isolation movements can hinder overall full body strength and joint mobility.

Standard beginner periodization protocols have a similar problem. A set of 4-6 week cycles focusing on establishing an aerobic base, hypertrophy (muscle growth), strength endurance, and then max strength does not take into account that martial arts already has a very demanding blend of aerobic and anaerobic activity for most practioners. Also, the martial artist is looking for added strength -- not necessarily added muscle size. Focusing on maximum strength last in a periodizing protocol does not address the goals being sought.

The conclusion to draw here is that you need to take into account all of your activities in order to understand the best base way to train for maximal gains regardless of your chosen hobby or sport. A runner that is interested in functional strength will follow an inherently different program than a strength trainer that wants to complete a half or full marathon as a goal. It comes down to a simple weighing -- you need to have a primary focus and activity and then supplement other workout protocols around that to promote whole body fitness and maximal gains.

Marathon & Ultrarunning Information Site

Marathon & Beyond -- The web site for marathoners and ultrarunners.

This website discusses the major physiological issues with endurance events and specifically with marathon running. If you have always wanted to know about the importance and synergy around VO2MAX, lactate threshold, and peak performance then Marathon & Beyond is a good place to start.

Interestingly, there has been a lot of recent discussion in the functional fitness world on whether human beings are indeed "born to run" as the Marathon & Beyond site suggests. Harvard magazine did an article a while back on "The Marathon Man" suggesting that through evolution man has evolved as being suitable for distance events but not for short term speed work. The hypothesis was that sustained years of short term speed work promoted more physical breakdown than endurance events.

Certainly there is little doubt about the body composition differences of sprinters and marathon runners. Sprinters have a composition that more closely resembles gymnasts, mid distance swimmers, rowers and mixed sport athletes. Marathoners tend to be very lean with little added musculature. But this doesn't describe the composition of triathaletes or other ultra-endurance athletes.