3 things every high school coach should know about training the female athlete

The National Federation of State High School Associations estimates that there are approximately 3.4 million females who participated in high school sports during 2016-17.  High school sports provides a myriad of physical, mental and social benefits for girls. But, female athletes also need to be physically prepared for the increased competitive demands of the sports. […]

FOCUS ON RESEARCH: Q&A with Dr. Andy Galpin – Effects of Elastic Bands on the Deadlift

This is the first of several blogs that Focus on Research. Here, we will provide a summary for the time-crunched coach, and whenever possible provide insight from the researcher(s) themselves. Recently, there seems to be increased attention on using elastic bands for strength training. This type of training method is referred to as variable resistance […]

You Can’t Fire a Cannon From a Canoe: Training the Lower Body

By Joe Eisenmann, PhD “You can’t fire a cannon from a canoe.” “Don’t build on sand.” “Build the foundation of the house before you put up the walls.” In the context of athletics, these analogies highlight the importance of lower body strength as a foundation to athletic performance. Indeed, several studies have shown that lower […]

The Anatomy of a Perform-X Training Session

By Dan Hutchison, MS, ATC, CSCS How do you design and “flow” your training session? Do you write out the workout on the whiteboard or hand out a workout card and let the athletes have free reign of the weight room for an hour? Or is there an organized flow to the training session and […]

Strength integration for the beginner, advanced and rehab athlete

By Joe Eisenmann, PhD and Dan Hutchinson MS, ATC, CSCS Muscular strength is an important factor in athletic performance and injury prevention – and many strength coaches argue that it is the basis of movement. Likewise, most athletic directors, coaches, and sports medicine staff understand the importance of resistance training (strength training) as an essential […]

Basketball Conditioning: Upper Body Strength Applications Before, During and After Practice

By Dan Hutchison, MS, ATC, CSCS Upper body strength for basketball athletes is essential for power and endurance applications on the court.  All aspects of the front, back and lateral shoulder complex are involved in offense (shooting, passing, dribbling) and defense (rebounding, post moves, defensive position, blocking shots) situations.  At the developmental level (i.e., high […]

Retrofit your weight room to improve strength & power: a case study

In this blog, George Filipiak, better known as “Coach Flip”, from Roosevelt High School in Wyandotte, Michigan shares his experience with Perform-X. Coach Flip was first introduced to Perform-X at the Spartan Strength and Conditioning clinic at Michigan State University. He had his racks and above ground platforms retrofitted with the Trak-X system, an innovative […]