We Are Destroying America’s Youth Athletes (Updated)

We Are Destroying America’s Youth Athletes (Updated)

fitness
No Comments

Growing up, playing sports were some of my favorite memories.  I had the most fun,  made my most growth, and made some of my best friends playing sports.  Playing sports itself, is an inherently pure thing…After all, it’s just a game. 

As of 2018, only 38% of kids 6-12 are participating in youth sports, which is down from 45% in 2008. That decline is staggering. Many kids are now missing out on what should be, some of their best life experiences.

We clearly have a problem, and the kids are not to blame. As adults, we’ve somehow screwed this up. We are systematically destroying America’s young talented athletes.  And here’s how we’re doing it. 

Read More

Breaking Down the Myths of Youth Strength Training

fitness
No Comments

Is my child too young to strength train?”..this is a question that every performance coach has heard at one point in time.  It’s a question that comes up often. Although I’m not a parent myself, I understand where the concern comes from.  

However, concerns about damaging growth plates, “throwing off your shot” are often inaccurate.  Today I want to demystify some of these concerns and myths, and help set the record straight…It’s time to let your kids be strong folks!!

Read More

Exercise Upgrade: Changing How You View These 4 Common Exercises

fitness
No Comments

Out w/ the old, and in with the new…Today’s post is a remix on some common gym exercises.   These exercises are all ones that you see just about any time you walk into a gym.  Some of you have probably been doing these same exercise since your 9th grade middle school PE teacher taught them to you. The problem is, as we’ve gained a better understanding about training, these exercises have become ineffective and outdated. My goal today is to show you alternative, and more effective versions of each of these exercises. 

Read More

Warming Up: How to Do it Like an Elite Athlete, Part 2

fitness
No Comments

Welcome back to the Ignite blog!  Today, I will be showing you part 2 of “How to Warmup like an Elite Athlete”. For a recap, check out part 1 of this blog post.

In part 2, we will be covering the dynamic warmup.  The dynamic warmup is is the final part of the warmup and should properly prepare the athlete (you in this case) to train for that session. The dynamic warmup is broken down into 2 parts:  Movement Prep, and Skipping/CNS Prep.  We’ll kick things off with the movement prep.

Read More

Warming Up: How to Do it Like an Elite Athlete, Part 1

fitness
No Comments

I’ve gotten a few people asking me lately about what I like to do and what I have my athletes do for a warmup before they train.  So I decided it would be a good idea to share that with you.  If you have ever trained w/ me before, you know how much emphasis I put on our warmup.  When people ask me why we should warm up, the analogy I usually use is:

“Well, you wouldn’t just start your car, floor it, and speed out the driveway right?”

Even though some of you crazy Arizona drivers may have answered yes to that question, you get the point.  A comprehensive and progressive warmup routine is crucial….here’s part 1 of mine. 

Read More

Re-Thinking The Squat: 4 Biggest Squat Myths

fitness
No Comments

HAPPY #SQUATOBER everyone!….

The squat has been, and remains one of the most popular exercises the strength training.  While it is certainly a great exercise with tremendous benefits, there a lot of misconceptions out there about the squat. I think the squat is misunderstood 

Well today, my mission is to clear up some of those misconceptions and help give you a better understanding, of what the squat actually is.

Read More

Why You Should Be Training Your Hamstrings and my 4 Top Exercises

fitness
No Comments

Training for hamstring strength is like having car insurance….You don’t really see it every day, and you probably under appreciate it…but boy is it good to have when you need it. The hamstrings play a HUGE roll in overall function and injury prevention.  They are often forgotten in favor of the more visible quads and glutes.  Last year, in the EPL (the top soccer league in the world),  there were over 150 hamstring injuries alone!  

Unfortunately,  most people’s definition of hamstring training is lying down and cranking out 15 reps on the leg curl machine.  That simply doesn’t cut it. Today, I’m going to tell you why training your hamstrings is important, and my top 4 exercises to get you started!

Read More

5 Ways to Train Like an Athlete

fitness
No Comments

For me, one of the hardest transitions in my life was going from competing in sports everyday, to just being a regular Joe schmo.  Being an athlete is not only an identity, it truly is a lifestyle.  But why does that lifestyle have to end when you stop playing sports at a high level?

For the rest of our lives we are all athletes.  Things like chasing after our kids, or moving furniture, all take some level of athleticism.  To stay athletic, you have to train like an athlete.  Today, we are covering 5 ways you can be train like an athlete for life! 

Read More

Re-Think Core Training: 3 Exercises to Replace Sit Ups

fitness
No Comments

As the fitness and sports performance fields have evolved, so has the understanding of functional  exercise.  We are doing a better job of doing exercises that transfer to real life, and help us perform your best.  But one area that is still lagging behind is core training.

There is a gross misunderstanding of how your core actually works.  Tell me, how many times have you seen someone do a crunch on the football field?  Or how many times have you done a sit up as your playing with your kids?  I think it’s time we re-think core training, and start doing exercises that improve our quality of life, and our performance!

Read More

Bridging The Gap Between PT and Functional Performance

fitness
No Comments

Having worked in PT clinics for about 5 years, I would often hear conversations between patients and therapists that would go something like this:

PT: Hey Sally, why are you limping?
Patient: My back is hurting
PT:  What did you do?
Patient:  Well my trainer made me do this one exercise…
PT: (places palm on face and dies a little inside)

And there you have it.  Sally’s trainer didn’t fully understand her injury history, and pushed her too hard, too soon.  There is obviously a gap in the transition from PT to functional performance. But why the disconnect? Well, we are here to explore how we can bridge that gap!

Read More