Yearly Archives: 2018

The world was introduced to “Cupping” as a practice in the 2016 Olympics, where the tell-tale marks (Purple dots or blotches, giant ‘love bites’, bruises)  were easily visible on elite Olympic athletes that were using the practice to reduce pain and improve performance.  While it may have been little known to the general public, cupping has been around as a form of alternative medicine for thousands of years, What is Cupping? Cupping may have originated as early as 3,000 B.C. in China and is now practiced worldwide. The idea has stayed the same, though the technique has evolved. In the [...]

There is a ton of attention paid to the value of speed in sports performance. Although it is an important aspect of athletic performance, other than running straight ahead, athlete’s that perform on a court, field, or ring have the need for cutting on a dime, shuffle to cut off a drive, or dribbling past a defender. All of these moves necessitate, some would argue the most important aspect needed for athlete performance—agility.As with speed, agility has many components, including:Recognition/Reaction: Recognize the situation and react ASAPDecision-Making Speed: Moving as fast as possible while assessing game situationsBalance/Body Awareness: Controlling and knowing [...]

Most athletes love the athletic performance off-season training, the constant physical training in the weight room, the buildup of successive practices. However, even the most focused sports veteran experiences burnout at one point or another.In essence, burnout is a feeling of being done. The effort you need to make progress is not there, everything feels harder like climbing to the peak of the mountain, with a boulder on your back.For any individual or team to succeed the ascent is how athletes prepare in their off-season training leading to greater strength, fortitude, endurance, and consistency.Here are five ways to help you [...]

Eating the Right Food at The Right Time Food plays a vital role in athletic performance. An athlete cannot eat anything and expect the great results. An athlete’s meal should be cleaner than a normal person. Serious athletes do not eat junk food. This is why there are sports nutritionists. Nutritionists can create meals that are designed for different functions. Depending on the time when the food is consumed, it plays a different role. It can easily be a recovery meal, or a meal which will be used as fuel for performance. One of the most basic things that athletes [...]

Speed rules. No one can argue this. It doesn’t matter whether your sport is football, baseball or lacrosse, you can’t deny the advantage speed can provide over the competition. Traditionally, speed training has consisted of sprints and plyometrics to not only increase speed but power and agility. While that type of training can help you get faster, it’s not the only way. In fact, relying strictly on repeated bouts of jumping and running can be counterproductive over the long term as increases the chances of overtraining and injuries the more you train. Another option to consider to complement your training [...]

Strength and conditioning coaches and trainers are involved in a constant search for top ways to improve sport performance, where it is adult or youth athletes. All things being alike, a bigger, faster, stronger, more conditioned athlete will rule best on the playing court or field. While there is constant discussion over techniques for boosting sport specific speed, power, and strength, we tend to overlook the importance of a comprehensive warm-up, and the role it plays in enhancing performance in each and every workout, practice, or  game. This leads to the obvious question: what is the best way is to [...]