All About Long-Term Athletic Development (LTAD)
What is long-term athletic development (LTAD) and why is it important? Image taken from Brett Wharton (Unsplash) Physical activity improves the overall health of children and young adults by reducing the risk of obesity, cardiovascular disease, diabetes, depression, and suicide, among other chronic medical conditions (Washington et al., 2001). Increasing youth physical activity has become […]
How To Analyze the Main KPI Of Your Athletes
What is a key performance indicator (KPI)? Image taken from Jonathan Chng (Unsplash) A Key Performance Indicator (KPI) is a measurable value that shows how effectively an athlete’s specific objectives are being met. Key Performance Indicators (KPIs from now on) are useful to evaluate the success of the objectives set for each athlete. Every athlete […]
Boxer Velocity, Strength and Explosiveness Training
Why is velocity training important for the boxer? Image taken from Roman Aguila (Unsplash) The main objective of boxing is to land a clean blow to the opponent without receiving any in return. The greater the impact against the opponent’s head or torso, the greater the likelihood of success in achieving a knockdown or knockout, […]
Difference Between Rotary and Linear Encoders
What is an encoder? What is a motion velocity analyzer? An encoder is a motion sensor that generates digital signals in response to motion (1). Encoders can provide users with information on the position, velocity and/or direction of all types of machinery (2). Encoders are generally used to measure one or more specific parameters about […]
All About the Bat’s Exit Velocity and How to Improve It
What is Bat Exit Velocity and Why is it So Important in Baseball and Softball? Image taken from Chris Chow (Unsplash) Bat velocity is the speed with which the ball leaves the bat just after the impact (Nicholls, Elliott, Miller, & Koh, 2003). Exit velocity is one of the main metrics taken into account in […]
Baseball Velocity Training: How to Throw Faster
Specific Training Needs of The Baseball Pitcher to Gain Velocity Image taken from Shane Stobbe (Unsplash) Pitching velocity is one of the most highly valued performance metrics in baseball. Since the radar gun was introduced in baseball in the 1960s, pitching velocity has become a major part of evaluating pitching talent (Erickson et al., 2020). […]
How To Measure Bar Velocity Step by Step
Reasons why it’s important to know how to measure bar velocity Image taken from Marvin Cors (Unsplash) The average velocity at which we move the bar can be used as a very good estimate of the relative load we are lifting. In 2010 this finding was first published in English (J. J. González-Badillo & Sánchez-Medina, […]
How Many Days Should I Rest Per Week?
Surely, you’ve already taken a multiple-choice test or had an option in which all the previous ones were correct. That happens when we ask ourselves “how many days of rest should I have per week?” Multiple answers are valid since there is no single solution. It will depend on our level of training, the qualities […]
Should I Work Out with Sore Muscles?
Before you know if you should train with stiffness, what is it? Image taken from Bruce Mars (Unsplash) Delayed onset muscle soreness (DOMS) is a functional muscle disorder caused by eccentric muscle contractions or unknown forms of exercise (Hotfiel et al., 2018). By performing biopsies at the muscular level, it has been proven that there […]
How Many Days A Week Should I Train?
Image by Jonathan Borba (Unsplash) How did you plan to study for an exam? Most students focus on studying the days leading up to the test, but they know that they would do much better if they spread out those hours of study over the months. Many of us have experienced the end result firsthand: […]
