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Like many strength coaches who work with field athletes, I do my best to implement a great deal of single leg (SL) exercises. In most cases, I prefer them over bilateral (2 legged) exercises for a few reasons. 3 benefits of SL exercises: Asymmetry: Oftentimes athletes favor one leg over the other. Specificity: In most situations athletes are using one leg in sport (sprint, bound, kick) Risk: Most SL exercises don’t require as much flexibility as bilateral exercises like a squat. Also, these exercises tend to not get as loaded with weight as a traditional squat or deadlift. So, hopefully the risk...

I feel like a broken record when I tell people if you want to be a better golfer, you need to workout like a golfer. Oftentimes when I ask golfers what their fitness regime looks like they go on to tell me about a bodybuilding program they saw on TikTok.  Yes, I am happy they are doing something, but maybe that something is doing more harm than good for them.  Why you ask? Bodybuilding programs are geared towards building lean muscle mass that is aesthetically pleasing. Hence why they go on stage and are judged by the way they look. Their...

My recent post on the “Jab Step vs Crossover” sparked many questions about how to perform the jab step correctly.   Often times athletes perform this movement naturally, but over the years they may have been coached out of it. Another common problem aside from the crossover (I cringe even when I type it) is the “squish”. This occurs when the athlete, instead of “pushing” to initiate a 90 degree turn to acceleration, pivots both feet towards the target and then takes off. Literally think of squishing a bug under each foot as you turn to run; that is exactly...

Over the years there have been two base stealing techniques coached: Jab step and Crossover step. Not often do I say something is completely incorrect. So, I’ll say that one of these techniques is more efficient than the other. Luckily there have been countless videos captured of the fastest base stealers in baseball such as, Ricky Henderson, Tim Raines and Dee Gordon just to name a few. Each one of them performed the same technique; the jab step.   Understanding that some of the best base stealers all use the same technique should shed some light on the debate between...

Don't you hate when you are cueing someone and just can’t get them in the right position? I know I do. So over the years I have compiled quite a few external cues to help my athletes with various movements. Hands down one of the most difficult movements to cue is the hinge. Athletes are constantly ending up in poor positions; it almost hurts to look at sometimes!   Before we get into this “magic” cue, let’s talk about what cues are not always so great to use for the hinge. Of course, every athlete is different and will respond...