Range of motion. It's a term that gets thrown around a lot these days, including here on STACK.com, but do you really know what it means?Let's dive into this popular training topic and explain why range of motion matters for athletes. What is Range of Motion?The term "range of motion" has two prevalent meanings when used in reference to exercising...

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I've begun to notice a troubling trend with my athletes. As a director of strength and conditioning at a private high school, I oversee many lifting sessions. Some of the athletes I train have fallen into the habit of performing their team lifts with me and then going to another facility to perform additional strength training. Their logic is that...

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We live in a society that often equates "more" with "better". Going overboard is engrained in American culture, and our approach to fitness is no different. When talking about training, many athletes feel the harder their workout is, the better. If they aren't exhausted by the end of the session, then they feel their workout was a waste of time....

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The Box Jump is a popular exercise for athletes of all ages. In recent years, a number of viral videos have shown athletes jumping onto absurdly high boxes, only increasing the move's popularity. Unfortunately, it is those same social media videos that often feature crummy technique. A proper Box Jump has become a rare sight nowadays, and improper form or...

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Every few weeks, an athlete will ask me about the Smith machine. Normally, it goes something like, "Hey Coach, there's this thing at the Y where the bar is on these rails and it goes up and down on this track. Why don't we have one of those here?". For those of you who aren't familiar, the Smith machine is...

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When it comes to resistance training, most movements fall into two categories—unilateral exercises or bilateral exercises. Unilateral exercises are performed with one arm or a leg at a time. Bilateral exercises are performed with both arms or both legs at a time. While unilateral training is not a new concept, its popularity in the strength and conditioning field has exploded...

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In the world of strength training, people are always looking for an edge. Often times, that edge falls into the category of ergogenic aids. Ergogenic is simply defined as "intended to enhance physical performance, stamina, or recovery". When it comes to powerlifters and Olympic lifters, these ergogenic aids often take the form of weightlifting shoes, weight belts, lifting straps, etc....

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When talking to strength coaches, the Olympic lifts can be one of the more polarizing topics. Many strength coaches swear by the Olympic lifts as the greatest tool to enhance athletic performance, while others coaches are against the lifts entirely. I am not going to say that you need to utilize the Olympic lifts. There are plenty of ways to...

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