If you are looking for a change of pace from doing traditional split-squats, try doing them of a 2” x 4” beam. Elevating your body as little as 2 to 4 inches and placing your feet in a parallel stride position raises your center of gravity, decreases your base of support, reduces stability, increases...

Research shows that proper nutrition and hydration before competition can improve performance. Try these food and fluid recommendations to find out what works for you! Food • Eat a carbohydrate-rich meal with moderate protein 3 to 4 hours before competition. Examples would be scrambled eggs with oatmeal, peanut...

I can’t tell you how often I hear someone at the end of the workout say something like “I need to do more abs; I want to get a six-pack.” The truth is that passing on a six-pack is a better way to get a six-pack than doing 600 sit-ups. The key to abdominal definition is the visibility of the abdominal musculature, not...

The following exercises are designed with three goals in mind. First, they will teach you different positions in which you can hold your pelvis and low back to minimize strain on damaged tissues. Second, the will teach you balance and control in these positions—a healthy low back and pelvis depends as much on a well...

If you are a pitcher in professional baseball you are in the game because you have a love of the game and you have a gift. You were given a gift. I didn’t do anything to be blessed with the arm that I had. It took me a while to figure out that I was blessed with a God-given gift. Once I figured this this out, I...

An efficient runner will accelerate without thinking about it. If you try to run harder, you’ll tighten up and slow down. How many times have you tried to move your legs faster in order to beat out an infield hit or tried to “kick it in” after rounding third only to tighten up and slow down? Have you ever tried harder,...

The following two exercises can be used as core drills to work the total body from the ground up. They are baseball-specific because they force you take the forces produced in the lower body and transfer them through the trunk to the upper body where they are applied to the ball. Both drills train the legs to explode,...

As an incoming college freshman, I received a manual through the mail with my football team’s workouts for the summer. The manual was about 75 pages long and consisted mostly of strength routines and information about the testing to be performed during the pre-season training camp. The core routine was a...

Over the years, I have seen a lot of players who have been given well-designed programs by their strength and conditioning staff and then proceeded to do only the exercises that they enjoyed and omit those that they really needed to do. Usually, the ones they liked were a lot easier than those that they needed to. The...

It’s a great time to become a Strength and Conditioning Coach. The field of strength training is expanding in multiple directions, opening up new and exciting job opportunities in high schools, colleges and universities, graduate assistant positions, professional sports, performance facilities, and the military. And...