The Transformation of Strength and Power

By David Westerman LMT, FAFS  
Are  we  utilizing  “authentic”  principles  of  Function  when  designing  our  strength  and  

power programs?  

Is  there  a  special  population  that  might  be  missing  two  of  the  most  important  bio‐ 

motor abilities in their training and rehabilitation programs?  

As  a  former  collegiate  and  professional  strength  and  conditioning  coach,  strength  

and power were (and are) the two most emphasized bio‐motor abilities.   

Take,  for  example,  the  “power  clean”  in  an  athletic  weight  room.  This  is  one  of  the  

most  utilized  exercises  in  “power”  [...]

3 Ab Exercises NOT to Do

By Craig Ballantyne (author of Turbulence Training for Abs)
One of my first online training clients, Charlene, had spent years doing long slow cardio workouts and struggling through hundreds of crunches each workout. She even went to “ab classes” on non-workout days (when she could have been at home resting or out with her man) because [...]

Getting at the Core for Gymnastics (or Life)

 
While gymnastics is used in this post the concepts apply to any endeavor.  Most would agree that a strong “core” is essential to all sporting activities and tasks of daily living. What is the core and how do we train it to maximize performance? Generally speaking, the core consists of the lower back, lateral trunk and abdominal (rectus abdominus, obliques, transverse abdominus) musculature. [...]

Verticle Core/Abdominal Exercise

  
   
Here are a few “functionally based” core exercises to follow up my Death Of A Sit Up post. Take care not to overextend the back.  I like to use wall to limit excessive motion.  Can progress to holding medicine ball.  Make sure to stretch the hip flexors as a tight hip flexor will limit hip [...]

The Death of the Sit UP

 
Many years ago the sit up was king of abdominal training.  Today in the world of rehab, function and performance training the tide has shifted away from the sit up.  Our study of the human body, how it works and how it responds to various training modalities has led to a shift in our training [...]