The NCAA recently passed legislation prohibiting coaches from scheduling early morning workouts for D1 collegiate athletes. But what about high school athletes? In this article, Volt Advisory Board member and veteran high school strength coach Mike Nitka and I discuss the pros and cons of early morning training for teen athletes—and how it may be doing athletes more harm than good.
Read MoreThe rise of social media in the performance training industry has brought us positives as well as negatives. Volt Sport Performance Specialist, Daniel Jahn, CSCS, USAW, NASM-PES, discusses how to navigate this new era of information, and the sport performance tenets that hold true regardless of how information is shared.
Read MoreWhen it comes to producing the best possible athletic performance, doing more is not always better. In this installment of our new Myth-Busters series, we tackle the myth behind the "sweat equity" approach to training, and explain why sometimes less truly is more.
Read MoreChampions are built in the off-season—which is why our Sport Performance team has created the ultimate guide to designing a comprehensive off-season football training program. The guide lays out how strength and conditioning professionals create research-based, periodized, and effective training programs for football athletes, step by step. Best of all? It’s free to download!
Read More"Leg Day" has become a cultural obsession (and popular meme topic!) for athletes and gymgoers, but it can create some serious problems if you're training to improve performance. And yeah, this may ruffle some feathers, but here are my top 3 reasons why you should STOP doing Leg Day.
Read MoreYou know you can’t just roll off the couch after months of inactivity, show up on game day, and expect to be successful—if you want to be competitive, you’ve got to get in the weight room. But showing up to the weight room is only one piece of the puzzle—you have to know how to utilize the weight room THE RIGHT WAY in order to see the results you’re after. Here are the top 5 most common mistakes we see high school athletes making in the weight room, and what YOU can do to avoid them.
Read MoreAdversity is a necessary part of sport. Without challenges there are no opportunities to grow, to learn, to develop. In essence, without adversity where is the fun? Yet many athletes view adversity in a bad light and as a result they are not prepared for when it comes. Guest author, Brandyn Fisher, PhD, outlines three ways champions succeed when challenges and adverse situations appear.
Read MoreEver wondered why your athletes play great one half, and poorly the next? Or why they score 10 points one game, and 30 points the next? Consistency has a lot to do with your athletes' "arousal level," a measure of their internal energy level (or butterflies). Guest author Lindsey Wilson of Positive Performance explains how to quantify arousal level and use it to help your athletes perform better, and more consistently.
Read MoreIf your sport season is coming to a close, it can be tempting to attack the weight room with new enthusiasm. As the volume of practices and games dwindles, many athletes feel the need to start lifting heavy right right away, to counteract the slowing momentum of the competitive season. But while you may be itching to hit the ground sprinting, it’s important to take some time for rest and recovery before you begin your post-season championship run or look toward next season. Here are three quick tips to help you maximize your rest and recovery before you start training again in earnest.
Read MoreSometimes, mental preparation can be just as important for your athletes' success as their physical preparation. Guest author Lindsey Wilson of Positive Performance shares 3 easy techniques coaches can use to help their athletes get ready to compete at their highest level.
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