Strength development for athletic performance is one of the most overused and misunderstood tools there is. While it is true that strength training has the most potential to do good for an athlete, by natural law, it has the most potential to do harm as well.
This ax doesn’t just swing one way. Coaches and parents who are completely against strength training are just as dangerous. To make sure you have all the information you need to make great decisions about your athletes, we are going to give you FIVE nonnegotiables for strength development in athletes.
To fully understand endurance training, you must understand the different means in which it can be accomplished. Some people believe endurance work is super long sessions on a piece of cardio equipment or really long runs. While this can be part of a complete endurance program, it is definitely not where most people should start or what their entire program should consist of.
What metrics do you use to determine if you or your child is getting great training?
With the promise of a new American Girl doll, my 9-year-old daughter can easily give any athlete a workout that will be super hard, have continual movement, and be really fun.
If my young child can accomplish the indicators by which you measure great training, don’t you think it’s time to rethink your metrics?
We have all seen the fancy marketing videos for “speed training”. Speed ladders, training in the sand, and a million different cone drills run one right after another.
The problem is, none of the activities listed above actually build any speed.
In this blog, we will walk you through the different types of speed, how they are trained, and most importantly, how we measure them to know if the athlete is actually getting faster.
If you see what floats around social media, you’ve probably heard one, if not both, of two extremes. Something along the lines of “EVERYONE should stretch EVERYTHING, EVERY day,” or gaining more popularity these days something like this… “Stretching is useless, and carries no benefit. Have you ever seen a dog stretch before it chases a squirrel?” For starters, I watch my dog stretch his legs every time he gets off the ground, but that’s besides the point. You and I have enough common sense to know there’s a pretty significant difference of anatomy and physiology between myself and my dog.
Let’s face it, you don’t move quite as well as you did when you were a kid.
Tight muscles can lead to a restriction of activities you enjoy and injuries. There are many reasons for this, but the main culprit is flexibility.
Flexibility must be addressed in any well-rounded fitness program. Unfortunately, there has been much confusion over flexibility in the last 20 years. Have no fear, we are here to clear things up and set the record straight.
Conditioning is far more than the last five to ten minutes of a training session, or a “hard” block of running. By definition, everything that your body goes through is conditioning. Simply put, your conditioning is your body’s ability to accomplish the tasks required of it. What this means is that everything you do is conditioning. This includes practice, the work you put into a training session, and even the amount of sleep you get in a night. For the purposes of this blog, we are going to strictly focus on the training of our energy systems to create what most would call a “conditioned” athlete.
Diets are set up to cause failure, and that is just the way they are! However, there are ways to make a better lifestyle by changing just a few things each day. If you want to take small steps to get bigger results, this blog is for you!
If you think you can’t lose weight, you won’t. If you think working out isn’t for you, then you will never enjoy it. The fact is, every person has the ability to choose how fit and happy they are in life. How you think about food, training and everything else in your life determines the results you receive.
How you think about things is called your Mindset.
We all know sleep is important, but it is easy to forget just how important it is really is! Going through and reading this blog will allow you to understand and change your life!
Breathing is the most important factor in a healthy lifestyle but you might be doing it wrong! Read why and how to improve your health in a couple of easy steps
There are a number of metrics that people use to define their workouts, Pain and Sweat being the top two metrics. However are those the best ones to use? The short answer is no, they are not! Pain is your bodies way of telling you something is wrong, and sweat can be achieved without little effort. It is time to look for better indicators than those two and a good place to start are the three outlined in this blog!
Working out with Stress can be the best way to control your levels of stress. Knowing when your athletes need a little bit of extra help overcoming stress can help you become a better coach! Learn how below!
We’ve all tried and failed at one point or another to lose weight and get in shape, but if you’re tired of the yo yo’ing and want to Set Yourself Up For Success, this blog is for you.
Welcome to the Simple guild to losing fat. Notice I didn’t say easy, because as anyone who has tried to lose fat can attest, there is nothing easy about it, but it can be less daunting if you know the science behind it and how to work around the sticking points you have.
“We look for motivation to lead us towards a goal or to push ourselves into working out or starting a diet or jump out of an airplane, but while motivation is great in a situation, it’s BS for achievement.”
As a parent, many of you know all we want is to be there for our children. We want to be able to comfort them when they are down, celebrate with them when they win, and laugh at past memories. My dad loved his family very much and he would do whatever it took to make sure we not only had what we needed, but we also had a lot of what we wanted.
The ability to focus during a game directly correlates to the athletes mindset towards the activity. Webster's dictionary defines mindset as “the established set of attitudes held by someone.” For competitive athletes we have to take that one step further, not only is mindset the attitudes held by the athlete toward a game, but their sport in general AND the attitudes toward training for that particular sport.
t is my goal to help people like you to enjoy riding their bike pain-free! My approach is to educate and empower athletes through the use of sustainable solutions - Together we can reach the finish line! If you are training for a cycling event, I would be happy to help you out.
Strength: The cure for what ails you. It’s a critical component in longevity and leading a healthy lifestyle. To me and many others in the fitness industry, strength is our home base. It is the thing on which we can build the rest of our goals, it is what helps us perform better in our daily lives, and it’s the one thing that everyone needs.
Your goal as a leader isn’t to make as many friends as possible; rather, it is to create an improved team and more cohesive environment. Ideally, said environment breeds future leaders who are able to learn from your successes and failures.
Do you work out or do you train? You’d better know because the difference can literally change your life—and maybe just save it. This article will give you the tools to make profound changes to what you do at the gym.
Shin splints can be an extremely frustrating injury for runners to deal with! Not only can they derail your upcoming race but they can cause you to quit running all together! A common mistake that runners make is that they treat their symptoms instead of identifying and addressing the true cause of their injury. There are many factors that can contribute to shin splints but most often they can be traced back to excessive overload and poor running mechanics. If you are a runner and you are experiencing lower leg pain, please read on for some tips that will help resolve your pain and get back to running!
In life, there are two constant forces; they are both positively inescapable and destructive by their very nature. The first is Time, which I humbly propose no solution for. The other is Gravity, which, despite being constant and universal, can affect us differently over time depending on our body’s structural alignment.
Fuel your body to perform! Learn what you should be eating to make your body perform like a supercar.
When I was a beginning lifter, I made a ton of mistakes that I am trying to help you avoid. One of the biggest that I wish I could go back and change, is testing my max every week. You need to understand that getting stronger doesn’t happen under maximal loads or by maxing out all the time, it happens by being consistent with submaximal loads. This takes patience, it isn’t sexy, but it is how real results and strength gains happen and in this article I am going to tell you where I went wrong and how you can learn from my mistakes.
You don’t have to be in a tactical career field (i.e. military, law enforcement, firefighter, etc.) to know that their day-to-day demands are far different than most other career options. In my time as a Combat Arms Instructor in the Air Force, I had the chance to train and teach many other military police, firefighters, and special operations men and women. In addition to tactical weapons training, I was a Physical Training Leader for my squadron of around 200 people. To make sure that our squadron was always as mission ready as possible for any short-notice deployments, I would focus on 5 key components to their tactical training regimen; movement prep, strength and power, anaerobic and aerobic capacities, mobility, and nutrition.
This month's MetCon for a Cause is to benefit Nationwide Children's Heart Center. Coach Leanna is not only competing in the Nationwide Children's Columbus Half Marathon, but also taking an active role to fundraise for a department that is very near to her heart. Coach Leanna chose this cause because when her sister was born, she had a heart condition that required surgery. If it wasn't for the amazing people and the resources at that hospital, her sister likely wouldn't have made it. Though it was a different hospital, Leanna wants to make a difference right here in our Columbus community so that other families have the chance to help the most precious members of their families.
What sets The Spot Athletics apart is our unwavering commitment to personalized coaching. We understand that each individual's journey is unique, which is why our programs are meticulously tailored to meet your specific goals. Our coaches aren't just trainers; they're mentors, motivators, and unwavering supporters. They possess an unparalleled depth of knowledge and an infectious passion for fitness, ensuring you receive the guidance and encouragement needed to thrive.