Athletes RSS

In a lot of “functional” training programs you may find different carry variations. Why? Because carrying things is functional! Think about it. Everyday you are carrying your purse, suitcase, baby, grocery bags, dishes, or any other normal activity you can think of. So doing it during your training has functional benefits that carryover to real-life experiences.   Although carry variations have the functional component to them, they also have benefits that help you get stronger. It depends on the variation, intensity, and duration, but all rely heavily on the trunk to be stable. To keep it simple, a stable trunk...

On the first page of our assessment form at VSP, underneath medical history, it asks the athlete to write their goals. Simple enough, they write what they want to accomplish from training here and it usually is the same answer from everyone. “I want to get stronger and faster.”   They aren’t wrong about writing it, but it is never enough for me and I’ll explain why below. Training to be stronger, faster, and whatever other adjective you want to throw in there is usually the goal. But what and why? What will that goal do for you and why...

Imagine this:   You are at a college showcase, with dozens of college recruiters watching carefully on the sidelines. You are running down the field, and next thing you know, you feel the back of your leg tense up and you can barely run. Your coach has to pull you off the field and you can’t go back in because of this cramp. Yes, a stupid little cramp that lasts just long enough for the game to be over. And guess what, you couldn't play. What does that mean? You may have not gotten noticed the way you wanted to....

When you do your next set of squats or overhead presses, I want you to take a little video of yourself. A lot of you will find one thing in common, arching of the lower back. There are many ways of saying this: lordosis of lumbar, hyperextended back or ‘super S’. Frankly, I don’t care what you call it, but it is not a safe position for the spine.   Ask almost anyone if they have had back pain or experience chronic back pain, and 9/10 times the person will say yes. Their reason could be a plethora of things,...

In almost any program ever created, push-ups are in it. Why? They require no equipment, easy to accomplish, and you can get a pretty gnarly chest pump from it. But often times, they are butchered, people have found ways to make one of the most simple exercises look like a train wreck. Although great people have written plenty about doing the perfect push-up, people still do not listen or just have no idea. So, maybe me writing about it, will help a few folks out.   Just like the push-up, I am going to try to simplify this great movement...