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.
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.
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.
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.
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!
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.
