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.
Research suggests there is a major connection between those who suffer from non-specific chronic low back pain and the ability to breathe properly. This relationship becomes a constant cycle—weakened core muscles and therefore the inability to stabilize the trunk (specifically the lumbar spine), which causes a dysfunction of the diaphragm and results in chronic low back pain.
Often times, in both training and life, this powerful construct is looked over because it requires a concerted effort and continuous internal feedback. For most, an endeavor to be intentional falls short simply because of the work it requires to follow through. When you are intentional about something, it means that the act or behavior is of high importance or value to you.
If you would classify someone as healthy, what are the factors you would consider? Body Composition, how far they can run, how much weight they could lift? What about their mental state? This gets overlooked simply because, most times, you cannot see it. People are better at masking these problems and playing off that everything is fine. I know this because I have struggled with Depression which also affects an estimated 350 million people...
In any well-run kitchen, preparation is nine-tenths of the job. Mis en place for a home kitchen means having every tool, ingredient, and dish you need to execute your dishes without having to do more than pivot around a <10 square foot space. What follows is a list of things to keep on hand at all times. These items are things that you will likely use on a near-weekly basis.
Just like in the gym, you can’t plan your workout until you know what equipment you have available. If you want to squat, but you don’t have a rack, well things are going to get a bit tricky. You may still be able to pull it off, but it’s going to be more difficult. Food prepping is the same: If you don’t have the right equipment for the job, you may need to rethink your plan.
The necessity and demand for a program like this was clear both from a coaching and a parenting perspective. As coaches at The Spot Athletics, we work with youths and adolescents and see a common trend among them. Many of these athletes come into our facility lacking proficiency in foundational movement skills such as running, jumping, throwing, and kicking.
