Being "jacked" is in. The 80's bodybuilder-style action hero is back and dominating in blockbuster films. Even the action figures of children's toys are starting to take on comically collossal appearances in size and mass. And I'm not knocking it. In fact, I think this newfound popularity of a muscular appearance is pretty cool. But there is the key word, "appearance." There seems to be a slight disconnect between what being strong LOOKS like, and what being strong ACTUALLY means.

The shoulder joint is the most mobile joint in the human body. It's tasked with a variety of challenges in daily living that require both a large range of motion and high levels of stability. In sports like baseball, volleyball, and swimming, high degrees of force are generated through the shoulder. Well-developed and balanced musculature is needed to keep a healthy and fully functional shoulder for competition. The shoulder joint is highly predisposed to injury due to the demands placed on it in everyday life, throwing and overhead actions in sports, and performance training. 

With enough training time under your belt, the gains seem to get harder and harder to come by. Eventually you'll have to implement more variation into your training to continue driving adaptation. If you haven't hit a PR on the squat in a while, a few specific squat variations can help you continue to improve without altering your training too much or interfering with your current program. The variations below are easily implemented and can be just what you need to mix up your training stimuli.

In this "Tools of the Trade" series, we highlight important training tools, methods, and protocols to help improve performance and health. This post focuses on the quintesential staple of relative strength, upper-back development, and proper shoulder function: Pull-Ups.

In this "Tools of the Trade" series, we highlight important training tools, methods, and protocols to help improve performance and health. This post will focus on one of the most foundational tools in improving power-endurance, acceleration, and mental toughness: Hill Sprints. 

If you've been having a hard time maintaining your grip on your hang cleans, or have been feeling the fatigue set in on sets of 3's, a quick way to alleviate your issue is start using a hook grip. The hook grip is the go-to method of choice for every high-level weightlifter, and is only typically used on Olympic weightlifting movements (cleans and snatches).

First things first: the classics never get old. Just like Led Zepplin and AC/DC, barbells and bumper plates NEVER go out of style. When you have both, there’s really not much else you need in terms of training tools—but if you’re jonesing to add something new to your training room, it’s easy to get bogged down by whatever latest Thing is new/fancy/trendy. When it comes to what’s best for your athletes, it’s hard to determine which tools will ensure you’re getting the most out of your time AND the most out of your money. Below are a few items I've found to be really worth the price and can be used on any given training day. These items are also incredibly accommodating to ALL skill levels and can fit the needs of your most advanced to your most rookie of athletes.