January 19, 2015

3 Easy Tips for Improving Grip Strength

January 19, 2015/ Volt HQ/ Jace Derwin

The benefits of having a strong grip go beyond just making a good impression when shaking hands or opening jars of tomato sauce. There are serious performance benefits from developing some good, old-fashioned “old-man” grip strength. Sadly, a direct focus on increasing grip strength is often neglected in strength training programs—and more grip strength can translate to better sport performance. Increasing grip strength for sports like baseball, lacrosse, and hockey helps improve the force transfer from the arms through the bat or stick. And contact/combat sport athletes can benefit from having hands like vices, which make tackles and take-downs much harder to escape. Adding focused grip work into your program doesn’t take much time or planning, and can keep your workouts fun by challenging new areas of improvement.

January 14, 2015

Hamstring Talk with Christye: Part 1

January 14, 2015/ Volt HQ/ Christye Estes

How many athletes have you seen tear a quad muscle during competition? I'm guessing it's probably not as many as you've seen injure a hamstring. But why is that? Why are the hamstrings more injury-prone than their opposing muscle group, the quadriceps? Coach Christye unpacks the reasons why your hamstrings are more susceptible to injury in Part 1 of this two-part series, and explains why our forward-facing culture needs to pay more attention to the posterior chain.

January 08, 2015

Tools of The Trade: Weight Belts

January 08, 2015/ Volt HQ/ Jace Derwin

A weight belt is not there to protect you. It's not a back support and it won't keep you from damaging your spine if you're lifting with bad mechanics. The only thing that keeps you safe in the weight room is lifting properly. While weight belts definitely provide a great service in the world of weightlifting and powerlifting, what about athletes weight-training specifically for their sport? Should all athletes use weight belts while lifting—or can a weight belt actually cause more harm than good?

December 24, 2014

Your Guide to X-MASS

December 24, 2014/ Volt HQ/ Jace Derwin

If you’re still working last minute to find that one perfect gift for the Volt Athlete in your life, rest assured it's not too late. We have a few gift ideas that every athlete will love!

December 18, 2014

An Early Holiday Gift for the Volt Family

December 18, 2014/ Dan Giuliani

At Volt HQ, we love the holiday season. It's a great time to reflect on the year, spend time with family, and exchange gifts with those around you. So in the holiday spirit, we wanted to give our Volt Family an early gift for this holiday season: a revamped Volt platform!

December 16, 2014

Volt Athletics Appoints Strength Coach Legend Boyd Epley as the Chair of the Inaugural Volt Athletics Advisory Board

December 16, 2014/ Doug Buser

Seattle, WA – Tuesday, December 16, 2014: Volt Athletics Inc., the global leader in technology solutions for sport performance training, announced today that Boyd Epley, Founder of the National Strength and Conditioning Association, has been appointed the Chair of the Volt Athletics Advisory Board.

December 11, 2014

In Defense of the Bench Press

December 11, 2014/ Volt HQ/ Jace Derwin

The bench press has gotten a bad reputation. The name alone evokes a meat-head stereotype and countless lists of "exercises you should STOP doing. There is a recent, sweeping anti-bench philosophy under the pretense that the bench press lacks functionality and is over-utilized in training. And I am in agreement...kind of.

December 06, 2014

High-Intensity Interval Training and Athletes

December 06, 2014/ Volt HQ/ Christye Estes

Just like the world of fashion, the strength and conditioning universe is subject to ever-changing trends.There are always emerging trends in fitness (remember Tae Bo?) and nutrition (Atkins, anybody?), and it can be confusing to sort through the tried-and-trues and hot-new-fads to find the nuggets of scientific truth—especially as scientific methods are also changing with new studies and advances in technology!

Well, the Volt team has your back. Today we are going to tackle one of my favorite S&C trends: high-intensity interval training, otherwise known as HIIT.

November 26, 2014

Welcome to ThanksGaining

November 26, 2014/ Volt HQ/ Jace Derwin

Once a year, athletes rejoice in jubilation at the return of #ThanksGaining: the annual celebration of maximum food consumption. It is a time honored and cherished tradition. A brief interim from training allows us all to refeed and replenish our systems. On this day there are but a few simple rules that we as athletes must obey. I give you now, the 10 Commandments of ThanksGaining.

November 20, 2014

Valgus Knees and Why RG3's Career is At Risk

November 20, 2014/ Volt HQ/ Christye Estes

Robert Lee Griffin III. Winner of the 2011 Heisman Trophy. Second overall pick of the 2012 NFL Draft. Signed by the Washington Redskins in a four-year, $21.1 M contract (with a $13.8 M signing bonus). Voted NFL Offensive Rookie of the Year in 2012. Blew out his knee in 2013.

While football is a notoriously violent sport, how does a Heisman winner and 2nd overall Draft pick suffer such frequent and catastrophic joint injuries? Take a look at these photos from RG3’s 2012 combine, and the answer becomes quite clear.

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