Blogs

I had a great discussion the other week with @Rocky_Snyder for his Zelos podcast, and one of the things that came up was the influence of an athlete’s build on exercise selection. It reminded me of this slide from my “Performance Profiling as a Platform for Program Design” talk from our Optimizing Adaptation & Performance […]

Lateral core variation #4. This variation is a hybrid because the initial press-out requires using the core to resist rotation, and then the move to overhead shifts the stress to the lateral core to prevent leaning toward the cable column. Before pressing out, set-up by pushing your knees through the ground and reaching your head […]

Lateral core variation #3. This one only requires a bench. You can have a partner hold your legs, or just loop your feet under the edge of the bench. Set-up with the top of your hip at the edge of the bench. Unlike many other variations, this is a great option for athletes that are […]

This is another lateral core variation. Similar to the TRX Lateral Lean, the goal is to stay tall and resist bending as the weight goes through the arc pattern. The shoulders should turn slightly toward the direction the bar is moving, but the hips should stay “square”, looking straight ahead. Landmine Anti-Rotation Arc Unlike the […]

When integrating core exercises into a training program, it’s helpful to categorize the exercises based on the pattern of movement or control: Anterior, Lateral, Diagonal, Rotational. Keeping the pattern in mind, there are several different exercises using different pieces of equipment that can be used to target specific areas. This allows athletes some flexibility in […]

There are many ways to individualize a training program to make it more specific to an athlete’s needs. One simple way is to skip phases of an off-season program NOT relevant to the athlete’s needs to create additional time for the athlete to cycle through phases more specific to their goals. This table is from […]

Over the last few months, I’ve shared examples of how an athlete’s speed or conditioning can be limited by different factors, and how game demands vary by position in ice hockey. The reality is that every athlete is starting from a unique place, and therefore requires a specific path to get from where they are […]

Over the years I’ve received a lot of questions worded something like “What’s the best exercise I can do to improve speed (or power, or lower body strength, etc.)”. The allure of the “best exercise” also appears in mainstream media, where we regularly see articles with titles that start with “Top 10 exercises for…” There […]

Lateral and rotational jumps can help goalies improve the speed at which they get across the crease. One piece of feedback I’ve heard from goalies over the years is that after going through a training phase to improve speed/power, they OVER push, and end up past the position they need to be in. A couple […]

Goalies need to generate power in lateral and rotational patterns. The Lateral Bound with Rotational Rebound is an example of a jump progression that emphasizes both patterns along with body control through the transition. The goal is to cover as much ground as possible in each jump, while controlling the transition and the landing. We’ll […]