Extra Training for the Glutes and Core

Hello Everyone!

Recently, the AGSP Adult Class had the opportunity to experience a  Body Works Barre class taught by the talented Anne Laing, who is a Certified Yoga Teacher. Anne explained that the class was based on Pilates and Ballet with a focus on core and glutes.

As a Sports Performance Coach I saw the class addressing everyone's, especially athletes, weaknesses in the core (mainly core stability) and the glutes (hitting nearly every muscle that is attached to the pelvis)! As a participant, I could feel the class "waking up" core and hip muscles in ways that they haven't been woken-up in a long time. It was a great reminder that these areas are so under-utilized in our daily lives that we have to give them as much extra training as possible to bring them up to their fullest potential.

If our core and hips are weak, there is no way we are the best athletes we can be. As Anne said at the end of the workout, "many professional athletes (especially NFL athletes) take Ballet and Pilates to supplement their training

Body Works Barre and Sports Performance are located under the same roof!

For a full schedule of classes and their descriptions check out THIS LIFESTYLES SCHEDULE. To reach Anne directly, you can email her at  laing_anne@yahoo.com or visit her Linkden Page.

Keep Training!
Coach Amanda Kephart and Akron General Sports Performance

Achieving Your Full Genetic Potential

Athletes are unique. They come in all different shapes and sizes and all different ability levels.

This pic is the ultimate definition of unique!

Some athletes have very high genetic ceilings with lots of potential from the standpoint of athletic performance. Other athletes have lower genetic ceilings but can still maximize their athletic potential with smart, consistent training. The vast majority of young athletes perform well below their genetic ceiling. Moreover, when athletes of any age are exposed to performance training for the first time, they experience gains almost instantaneously, regardless of how high or low their genetic ceilings may be.

This initial jump in performance occurs because the athletes are learning the proper movement patterns and how to use the right muscles at the right times. Once the athletes can perform the exercises in a coordinated manner with the proper technique and timing, performance gains begin to occur more slowly, and this gradual increase continues until the athlete essentially reaches the point where they are as fast and as strong as they are going to get at their current size. How far an athlete develops depends on where their genetic ceiling lies.

A question I come across quite often with athletes and parents is "How long will it take to reach that ceiling?" This depends on a couple factors, most notably where the athlete is starting from, how high the athlete's ceiling is, and how the athlete is training.

First and foremost, athletes will respond to performance training differently depending on where they are starting from. If an athlete is new to performance training  but begins training early on in their athletic career, chances are good that they'll make gains in the weight room for several years and may develop more fully than athletes who get a later start. Athletes who begin training later in their athletic career can still make gains, but because they are getting a later start, they'll have to devote more time to "catch up" and may not get as close to their genetic ceiling as an athlete who started training earlier and has been training consistently for several years.

How athletes train has just as much influence on how quickly they reach their genetic ceiling as where they start from. If an athlete is going to reach their full athletic potential, they need to be doing a program that is both safe and effective. Moreover, athletes need to understand that just because a program works initially does not mean it will work indefinitely.

Remember that initial jump in performance? If a program is not effective, an athlete will not receive any performance improvements outside of that initial jump.

This is why it is so crucial to have knowledgeable strength and conditioning coaches work with athletes! Said coaches understand what effective and safe programs are and how to implement these programs to maximize results in athletes of all different backgrounds and ability levels.

Coach Amanda understands effective and safe programming! Does your coach?

 So just how long does it take to recognize an athlete's full genetic potential. As a ballpark estimate, if an athlete trains effectively and consistently year round, they'll be able to reach their genetic ceiling within 5-10 years of training. The higher an athlete's genetic ceiling is, the longer it will take to reach it! And remember, this is with consistent training. Because most athletes devote at least part of their year to competing in their sport of choice, it is not uncommon to see athletes, even professional athletes, who never quite reach their full potential!

Keep Training (Effectively & Consistently)
Coach Anthony and Akron General Sports Performance

 

 

AGSP Gets Results for Basketball Athletes

Hello Everyone!

We are nearing the 2013/14 Basketball Season and AGSP has had some amazing basketball athletes training with us for the past several months. These athletes are now jumping higher, have a more powerful first step, are moving quicker up and down the court and in the key, and they are more physical under the rim.

AGSP basketball athletes have learned how to improve their speed for better defense. Much of our speed and agility training is centered around teaching these athletes how to optimally move their hips for faster reactions.  Last season many of our athletes' parents and coaches commented on the noticeable improvement in our athletes defensive skills.


AGSP basketball players also added strength which allows them to pound the basketball more aggressively and play more physically under the rim. Our 100% supervised strength training sessions often include Olympic Lifts, Squats, Lunges, Pullups, and Pushups that have the athletes mimicking movements they perform on the court.  


Join AGSP for a free first session and start the journey to becoming a better athlete!
Good Luck AGSP Basketball Athletes!

Keep Training!
Coach Amanda Kephart and Akron General Sports Performance 

Training Tip: Strength, Conditioning, and Athletic Performance

Hello Everyone,

It's time for another Training Tip with Coach Anthony!

Do you ever find yourself wondering why you train the way you do? This next video will describe the interplay between strength training and conditioning, and explain how these two factors impact your overall athletic performance!

Keep Training!
Coach Anthony Colarusso and Akron General Sports Performance

This Month's Testing Performance Highlights (Sept-Oct2013)

Hello Everyone!

At AGSP we test our athletes once a month to evaluate how well their training here is working. As the old saying goes, "numbers don't lie!"

Here are some of the highlights from this round of testing (the results of just 4 weeks of training!). Wouldn't you love to have these results too?

A high school baseball player put on 6 pounds of muscle and added 9 inches to his long jump!

A middle school basketball player added 2 inches to her vertical jump and shaved 0.2 seconds off her 10 yard dash!

A high school basketball player added 5 inches to his long jump and almost had a sub-4 second Pro-Agility!

A high school softball player shaved 0.2 seconds off her 10 yard dash and Pro-Agility times!

The training and coaching we do at AGSP works! Our athletes get results and take their game to the next level, and the numbers don't lie!

Call 330-945-3150 to schedule your complimentary training session and maybe next month we will be highlighting your results!

Keep Training!
Coach Amanda Kephart and Akron General Sports Performance

Lifting Young for Big Results

Hello Everyone!

Let me start by making one statement clear, IT IS SAFE FOR YOUNG KIDS TO LIFT IN A SUPERVISED ENVIRONMENT WITH A CERTIFIED EXPERT. I'm not sure how it began, but the myth that lifting at a young can stunt growth and damage growth plates is not supported by scientific research. On the contrary, scientific research has shown that supervised lifting for young kids strengthens their growing skeletal and muscular systems, along with developing a more coordinated nervous system. (see article, Strength Training in Children and Adolescents: Raising the Bar for Young Athletes)

Having your son or daughter start lifting when they are mature enough to follow instructions for extended periods of time (which can happen as early as 7 years old) is one of the most powerful advantages and opportunities you could give your child.

Why? Because young athletes improve their training-age quickly. What is training-age? It is the age (hours) of experience you have invested in training. In Malcom Galdwell's book, "Outliers: The Story of Success" he states that the "10,000 Hours Rule" is a huge factor for success in any skill. Through examples and research Mr. Gladwell shows that practicing a certain skill for 10,000 hours (training-age) is one of the biggest factors in success.

So, the 7 year old that starts learning how to lift safely at AGSP (with light, appropriate weights and 100% supervision) will have 7 years of practicing strength training by the time he/she is 14 years old! That's half his/her life! All those hours of practice are hours that a non-lifting 14 year old can never get back. When the non-lifting 14 year old gets to 7 years of practicing strength he will be 21 years old!

The sooner you start investing time into proper strength training with a qualified expert, the faster you see results. And who wouldn't want their son or daughter to be strong?

We welcome younger athletes to try AGSP for a complimentary free trial. When athletes are 12 years of age or younger it is at our coaches' discretion after the trail session to determine if they are mature enough to benefit from our world-class program.

Keep Training!
Coach Amanda Kephart and Akron General Sports Performance