Strength and Conditioning Knowledge Center

The old hands from the gym only know one thing: that execution to muscle failure (in addition to strain and tension) should be a prerequisite for the muscle growth stimulus. This means that if you do not do push-ups, squats, or other exercises to the point of complete fatigue, you will hardly achieve muscle growth. …

What Is Plyometric Training? Strength and fitness specialist Vladimir Zatsiorsky was the first to introduce the word plyometrics, back in 1966. The term justifies the use of the stretching reflex with this term that etymologically comes to mean an “increase in measurement” or an “increase in length” (Commetti Gilles & Perramón, 2007). Verkhoshansky, another of …

Contact sports can be grueling; you have to be quick, not just to carry the ball to the goal post but also to keep injuries at bay. For this reason, building strength, speed, and agility play a vital role in basketball performance training. Being a basketball player, you must move quickly, have a quicker response …

What are conditioning circuits? Circuit conditioning is a combination of several exercises performed with no rest in between, or as little rest as possible. The objective will be to complete the conditioning circuit as quickly as possible or complete the maximum number of repetitions in a given time. Depending on the number of exercises and …

If you think sprinting along a 400-meter track at full speed is the hardest thing to accomplish, think again. A 300-meter hurdles race might be an even more grueling undertaking. Not only do athletes have to run through most parts of the track, but they also have to clear eight hurdles along the way. And …

110m hurdles race is not like any other sprint on a track. Not only do you have to maintain your full speed on the track, but you also need to clear ten 42” hurdles while doing the best you can to reach the finish line before other opponents. So, it is not just about speed; …

A bit of history of the 1×20 training method Dr. Michael Yessis popularized the 1×20 method, and his is the original method. Since he exposed it to the sports community many adaptations have been made by coaches for different sports and athletes. Dr. Yessis is a biomechanical and athletic performance coach who has worked with …

In the field of training focused on hypertrophy, there are many fundamental variables for these gains in muscle mass to take place. Knowing the main hypertrophic mechanisms (mechanical tension, metabolic stress and muscle damage) and controlling each of the training variables (volume, intensity, frequency, etc.) must be the basis of good planning in order to …

Professional athletes have to work exceptionally hard to achieve strength and power at a competitive level. But they are not alone in their endeavor. Each of their moves has to be properly strategized and managed, something which is possible only with professional coaching.   Customized workout plans The most essential role of a fitness coach …

The reason athletes spend countless hours in the gym to train their bodies is to prepare for one precise moment in which they show their strength, power, and force to secure victory. This moment of truth in which you show your ultimate physical attributes is called peaking. It is the moment a bodybuilder’s entire training …

The deadlift is one of the most repeated strength exercises by all athletes who come to a gym. An exercise that focuses mainly on the muscles of the back of the body and that replicates very well the movement of taking any object from the ground (shopping bags, small children, any object that falls, etc. …

Weight training is something that is becoming very common among men and women of all ages. Today, looking better is the main cause for physical exercise for both men and women. However, this has not always been the case due to the imposition of the thought that a muscular woman was less feminine. Currently, the …