Blogs

On Monday, I wrote about why the core should be trained for stability and to resist movement, opposed to cause it.  One of the most fundamental core stability exercises is the front plank.   The front plank is such a simple exercise that I think its merit is often overlooked.  In my opinion, planking is […]

  The other day I was going through some old pictures from my college hockey days and this one caught my attention.  Core training continues to be a topic of discussion and debate, for good reason.  Despite most strength and conditioning coaches seeing the light and moving to a greater focus on training the core […]

Thanksgiving is one of my favorite holidays of the year.  With my schedule, I rarely get to spend time with my family, so it’s always good to see them.  For those of you that know me, and think I’m a little weird at times (you know, on days that end in ‘y’), I think my […]

KN: Coach Boyko, thanks for taking the time out of your busy schedule to do this.  Can you please introduce yourself to those readers that may not yet know you? CB: My pleasure.  Thanks for the opportunity.  I am an assistant strength coach at the University of Massachusetts at Amherst.  I have worked with Men’s […]

In Part 1, Mike told us about how he got to where he is today, how his athletic history affects his programming, and how he continues to educate himself to stay at the top of the industry.  Read on to hear Mike talk about the importance of networking, the merging of strength and conditioning and […]

KN: First off, I want to thank you for taking the time out of your busy schedule to do this.  Can you please introduce yourself to those readers that may not yet know you? MR: Sure thing Kevin!  My name is Mike Robertson and I’m a strength coach/personal trainer in the Indianapolis area.  Bill Hartman […]

by Kevin Neeld To stretch or not to stretch…Why is this still a question? There is more than enough research showing that stretching before activity decreases performance measures (strength, power, speed, balance, etc.).  Compared to a static stretching warm-up, a dynamic warm-up lead to significantly greater increases in these same measures.  The misinterpretation of this […]

By Lex Gidley and Kevin Neeld There are a myriad of sources in print and on line which explain the ins and outs of why a cyclist’s back and neck hurt.  Many proclaim that proper bike fit, technique, and even helmet fit can be the sources of the pesky pains we suffer as the season […]

by Kevin Neeld As strength and conditioning coaches, much of what we do involves training the neuromuscular system.  Consequently, the more we can learn about the way the neuromuscular system works to produce force and coordinated movement the better we can train our athletes.  One of the tools used to monitor the neural input to […]

By: Kevin Neeld In collegiate and professional athletics, the term “sports hernia” seems to be frequenting conversations more and more.  While the diagnosis of a sports hernia seems to be increasing both in prevalence and media attention, the injury remains poorly understood and defined.  An in-depth look into the associated research helps explain why there […]