Overcoming “Gym Anxiety”
A recent study conducted by the Global Health & Fitness Association, showed that 50% of Americans are too intimidated to visit a gym and workout around other people. Signing up for a gym membership may be a breeze for some, but it is a gut-wrenching thought for many. Fear of being judged, fear of appearing confused, not knowing how to exercise with proper form, and fear of injury are just a few things that cause someone to experience “gym anxiety”. We need to be empathetic of gym anxiety because it
Eliminate Golfer’s Elbow So That It Never Comes Back
There’s no question that the golf swing is a full body movement, but your body only has one true connection with the golf club; your hands. Between playing rounds and getting out to the range to practice, the muscles in your forearms that control your grip can take a beating during golf season. Just like any other part of your body, it’s important to take care of those muscles to ensure that you don’t suffer a case of golf or tennis elbow. While these conditions have different names and occur
Managing Training Volume and Sleep
From montages, highlight reels, and commercials of professional athletes, all we’re ever exposed to is how we all have to grind all day to get where we want to be. If we’re not drenched in sweat and nearly passed out on the floor, we didn’t do enough. Although this is a cool and intense idea to think we need to go 100 mph every day, it’s not the truth in how elite performers train and not the ideal way to train with suffering injuries. Truthfully, top athletes are doing intense
Dear Those Who “Don’t Have Time” for Exercise,
It’s no breaking news that exercise is an essential component of a healthy lifestyle. However, despite much of the population knowing that the benefits of exercise range from decreases in depression and anxiety, to improved cognition, to weight loss, to a decreased risk of chronic illness (1), over 75% of Americans do not get the recommended amount of exercise (2). As a strength and conditioning coach, I’m passionate about exercise. Despite my love and appreciation for training and moving my body, combined with four years of learning the importance of exercise
Plyometric Drills For Athletes & Preventing ACL Injury
Plyometric exercises are an important piece to the puzzle when training athletes. They increase power, speed, and explosiveness. Most importantly, learning how to decelerate and absorb force through plyometric training is one of the best ways to prevent ACL injuries. As important as it is to train these movements, it is just as significant to monitor the quality and quantity of such drills. If an athlete lacks stability or strength, especially in the muscles surrounding the knee, they put themselves at a higher risk for ACL injury during sport. Plyometric
Spend Less Time on Your Sport, and More on Being an Athlete
Being in the private sector of the strength and conditioning field, we have the privilege of talking to many different coaches and the parents of many young athletes. In doing so, I’ve started to notice a promising trend from talking to them; they feel like their kids are doing too much of the same. In recent years we’ve seen the money making machine of AAU sports and sport-specific coaching take off, and at this point it’s become borderline ridiculous. Why does any 10-year-old need to be throwing a baseball in December
Goal Setting and Testing for Conditioning
Whether an athlete enjoys working on it or not, conditioning needs to be a top priority for nearly all athletes. It’s impossible to compete at the highest level that an athlete can without being highly conditioned. In order to reach that high level, athletes need to set goals and have proper program to help them achieve them. Setting Goals Goals need to be specific to each sport. A 400m runner should have a different goal compared to a basketball or soccer player. The runner may have a goal of running a sub
Engaging Youth Athletes with Games!
As we’ve written about before, getting young athletes involved in strength and conditioning has numerous benefits. That being said, one of the more difficult aspects of training young athletes is keeping them interested and excited to come to the gym to train. The best way to keep a young athlete coming back to the gym is to make it feel like play, while also improving their sport performance. Here are 5 drills to try with youth athletes to get them faster and stronger, while feeling like recess! Paloff ABCs Any paloff press
3 Exercises that will make you faster
It’s one of the most eye-popping aspects of high-level athletics. When you see it, you can’t help but be in awe of it. It’s what separates athletes as they move from one level to the next, and while it’s usually seen as something that can’t be taught, it can still always be improved. I’m talking about speed. When we watch professional sports, one of the things that draws us in is the explosiveness of the plays. Even within the highest level of sports, you can see how the quickest and fastest
The TPI Screen: Why Every Golfer Needs One
We all know golfers who sound like a broken record when they’re hacking up the course. Every slice or hooked shot off the tee leads to a handful of excuses, convincing themselves it’s the equipment’s fault or some self-resolvable swing miscalculation. Or your annoying self-proclaimed know-it-all golf buddy (we all have one) gives you the “well this is what works for me” lecture every time you’re struggling. But neither yourself nor your friends are helping at all. Low quality advice leads to low quality performance. When irritated golfers have finally had