How To Turn a Gym Wall into a Training Space

Many high schools across America are tight on gym space, and even tighter on space in the weight room. And because of this second point, some coaches may claim there is not enough time to get to the weight room. Here’s a solution… Turn your gym wall into a training space. “With over 300 students […]
Training the ‘Team of the Decade’: Montverde Academy Boys Basketball

They are a perennial national power claiming multiple national titles. They are coached by the legendary national coach of the year Kevin Boyle and recent high school players of the year Ben Simmons and RJ Barrett have graced the hardwood here. No wonder why USA Today has called Montverde Academy boys basketball “The Team of […]
Inside Pine Crest Swimming Performance Program

This blog is based on a Q&A session with Pine Crest swimming coach Katelyn Miller and strength and conditioning coach Tim Hibbs. For more than 80 years, Pine Crest School has been at the forefront of providing an educational experience rooted in academic rigor and excellence and complemented by outstanding athletics and arts. The main […]
Northwestern Leads Way in Innovative Sports Performance

The Innovators One of the objectives of the Northwestern Sports Performance program is to “strive to be leaders in the industry, providing exemplary service to our student-athletes along with being at the forefront in current advances in the sports performance field.” From this statement, it should be recognized that Director of Sports Performance Jason Pullara […]
From Training Room to Playing Field: Michigan Athletic Medicine

In the world of sports performance, we tend to be so focused on strength and conditioning aimed at performance enhancement. This is true at Perform-X and within many athletic programs and facilities. However, the reality is that a majority of athletes will get injured at some time during their playing career, and their training program […]
The 750 Club: Bench-Squat-Clean

Many high school and college strength and conditioning programs test the squat, bench press, and clean to evaluate muscular strength and power. These exercises may also form the foundational lifts of the strength training program given that they are compound, large muscle group movements. In terms of testing and assessment, the one-rep max (1-RM) of […]
Tools of the Trade: Trak-Rak

The barbell is arguably the single most important tool when it comes to strength training. However, the centerpiece of most weight rooms is the ‘rack’. These metal cages were originally developed to serve as a mechanical spotter for heavy loads during squatting and hence became known as a “squat cage” or a “squat rack”. However, […]
The Wall-mounted Trak-X™ system: Insight from the University of Michigan

As mentioned in a previous blog The Evolution of the Lifting Platform the Perform-X Trak-X system is being implemented into the inlaid platform of several high school, college and professional weight rooms across the country. However, this customized metal strip that allows for safe and effective anchoring of resistance cords is not limited to being […]
The Evolution of the Lifting Platform

By Joe Eisenmann, PhD The days of the above ground weightlifting platform may be a thing of the past. More and more high schools, colleges, and professional strength and conditioning facilities who are either building a new facility or renovating an existing facility are going away from the traditional above ground lifting platform and […]
Variable Resistance Training in Advanced High School Athletes

Training with bands as added resistance – known as variable resistance or accommodating resistance – has become popular in strength and conditioning. Recently, a comprehensive scientific review article (summarized in a previous blog) noted that variable resistance training appears to offer some superior advantages in producing the greatest comprehensive strength adaptations compared to other methods […]