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 […]

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 […]

An Innovative Approach to Cord-loaded Deadlifting

Besides traditional training methods using the barbell, many coaches and athletes are adding resistance with bands– known as variable resistance training. This method of training aligns with the Dynamic Effort method outlined by Russian sport scientist Vladimir Zatsiorsky in Science and Practice of Strength Training and also popularized by Louie Simmons’ Westside Barbell method of […]

FOCUS ON RESEARCH: Variable Resistance Training improves Upper Body Strength & Power

The bench press is the cornerstone exercise for developing upper body strength and power, especially for sports that include contact such as football, rugby and wrestling. As athletes get stronger, it is common to reach a plateau in 1RM bench press. This is often experienced in the ‘‘sticking point’’ region as they ascend during the […]

Training Considerations for Improving Muscular Strength: Q&A with Dr. Tim Suchomel

Muscular strength and power are critical for athletic performance, and most, if not all, coaches recognize the importance of resistance training in the overall program.  However, this also leaves the question – what is the best way to train my athletes? This certainly opens a big can of worms that can take several directions including […]

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 […]

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 […]