What is your typical warm-up routine? Or, perhaps a better question is, do you have a warm-up? So many of us are guilty of squeezing in a quick gym session and cutting the warm-up short or eliminating it altogether. Unfortunately, in training and competition, tightness and soreness is a hindrance and without a proper warm-up you could be wasting precious practice time.
With school back in full gear, it’s important for student athletes to maintain balance and perspective throughout their busy schedules. Staying healthy, both physically and mentally, can seem like a challenge in the midst of exams and competitions. Let’s analyze a few helpful strategies that you can use right now to improve how you manage your time and energy.
Your abdominal muscles are critical to your core stability and peak power output. However, not all abdominal muscles can be targeted with the same exercise. The muscles in the anterior (front) of your abdomen vary tremendously. These include the external obliques, internal obliques, rectus abdominis, transverse abdominal muscle, and pyramidalis. With a better understanding of your anatomy, you can focus your strength training on underdeveloped areas. Let’s discuss how to target your lower abs.
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Release 11/20/2014:
Today we are happy to announce that the newest version of the BridgeAthletic app is live in the App Store and on Google Play. Check out some of the new features below:
Many athletes have naturally over or under-developed muscle groups based on their sport-specific training. Quadriceps dominance, in particular, extends to a variety of athletic endeavors, such as the constant vertical jumping in volleyball or the precise cutting in soccer and other field sports. Because these athletes over-develop and preferentially activate their quadriceps during lower body exercises, the posterior leg does not respond to resistance as quickly. Over time, this movement pattern becomes habit, and the glutes and hamstrings fail to “turn on” since the quads will automatically absorb the load. This uneven strength distribution between the anterior and posterior portion of the upper legs leaves the lower body exposed to injury. Let’s discuss the importance of glute activation for any athlete’s strength training.
Athletes spend a lot of time training. They also spend a surprising amount of time sitting. Regardless of whether you're a professional, masters, or student athlete, you undoubtedly spend quite a few hours sitting—in the classroom, at work, or at home. Many athletes assume that the extensive hours spent training completely counteract this sedentary lifestyle, while in reality, sitting for long periods of time can negatively impact your body and performance regardless of how much or how little you train. Let’s discuss how sitting creates imbalances in your body and the exercises you can do to correct them.
Every taper is unique (and it should be). You are a different age, have trained slightly or dramatically differently than the year before, and may be competing in different events. Your coach knows how you respond to rest and will create the taper you need.