A conversation I frequently have with fellow coaches and colleagues is whether or not weightlifting derivatives are worth the time they take to teach their athletes. At the same time, the answer (like most things in sports performance) has been inconclusive. A great deal of coach's state that weightlifting is not a great return on investment and that the risks...

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Most strength and conditioning professionals are familiar with the physical representation of the inverse relationship between both force and velocity, otherwise known as the ‘force-velocity curve’. The charted area includes a y-axis representing force measured in newtons (N), as well as an x-axis representing velocity measured in meters per second (m/s). Movements such as a one-repetition max (1RM) back squat...

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Progression and RegressionFundamental human movement patterns are engrained in us all from the time we are born. Throughout our early years, we learn to roll, crawl, stand, squat, walk, and run on relatively similar timelines. Children are not told to “squat with their knees behind their toes” (terrible advice, by the way) or “refrain from picking anything up off the...

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The kettlebell has historically been and remains one of the most versatile pieces of fitness equipment available today. Its popularity has spiked in the United States over the last twenty-five-plus years thanks to coaches such as the Russian chairman of StongFirst Inc, Pavel Tsatsouline, and author/track and field coach, Dan John. The kettlebell may seem like a trendy fitness implement...

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A topic that is often clouded with misunderstanding in strength and conditioning is how muscle size and strength are intertwined. Some believe that a larger cross-sectional area is synonymous with maximum strength, while others believe it carries little relevance. Truthfully, it falls somewhere in between like most of the topics discussed in our industry. In a paper titled “Is muscle...

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What’s Wrong With the Sit-Up?For decades the bent-knee sit-up has served as the go-to core exercise by military personnel, sports coaches, and physical education teachers alike. While there may be some merit to its use, evidence suggests it falls short of addressing the multifaceted training needs our core requires. Even in an attempt to train one component of the core,...

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The strength and conditioning industry has evolved immensely over time. Strength coaches were once considered a luxury item in athletics but are now integral pieces to the puzzle we call human performance. Some professionals despise the label of "strength coach" however, for its limiting perception and prefer a title (i.e. performance specialist) that more accurately encompasses the sphere of our...

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Movement skill acquisition is an essential piece to the development of an athlete throughout their career. Whether they are novice, elite, or somewhere in between they must possess specific motor skills to perform successfully and safely. An area of particular importance that coaches often fail to address all together or do so incorrectly is deceleration. The ability for an athlete...

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Imagine driving across town hoping to find a restaurant you’d like to try but with no directions whatsoever. You’d likely give up with frustration after aimlessly wandering around and eventually call it a day. Of course, this is ridiculous and nobody in their right mind would ever do such a thing because today we can simply plug the address in...

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When an athlete decides they’d like to get in “shape”, they often default to long, slow steady-state cardiovascular training. They get the Rocky Balboa mentality and believe that a 10-mile run first thing in the morning is the only answer to improving their aerobic fitness. While doing so may yield initial benefits, over the long haul, it's rarely a sustainable...

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