A Holiday Story- Winning Game Shot by Adam

With the high school, college and finally the NBA basketball season under way, speed trainer, Adam Kessler of Columbus, Ohio, shares the excitement of a game winning shot he made during one of his high school games. This shot did not happen until the last second of a second overtime!
To read about this game thriller, click here: A Holiday Story- Winning Game Shot by Adam

Workout Of Recently Traded Chris Paul

With the recent trade of Chris Paul to the Los Angeles Clippers, Columbus, Ohio, speed trainer, Adam Kessler, takes a look at a workout of Paul's. For those that are unaware, Paul had a fairly big knee injury in 2010, that resulted in arthroscopic surgery to remove a torn meniscus. In spite of that, Paul is still quite the player. The workout found was from Paul's second year in the NBA. There are a couple of good exercises that Adam will most likely be incorporating into his training program. To read about Chris Paul's knee injury and this workout click here: Workout Of Recently Traded Chris Paul

Treatment for Plantar Fasciitis

Ohio State's sophomore basketball star, Jared Sullinger may be having back spasms, but the root cause of his problem is actually plantar fasciitis. Since everything in the body is linked, and because of the pain from the plantar fasciitis in his foot, Sullinger's body is compensating in other ways, thus causing the pain/spasms he is suffering from in his back. Today, Columbus, Ohio speed trainer, Adam Kessler, gives some insight into the cause of plantar fasciitis as well as some ways to treat the problem if you are suffering from this often, very painful, foot problem. To read todays blog, click here: Treatment for Plantar Fasciitis

Should You Do Sprints or Endurance Runs For Off-Season Football Conditioning

With the current football season completed for high school athletes, and nearing completion for college players, you might be wondering what your workout should focus on in preparation for next season. Speed trainer, Adam Kessler of Columbus, Ohio, was recently asked whether endurance runs or sprints would be a better conditioning program for off-season football training.
Since it is only December, the focus is obviously different than if it were June. If you are a football player and would like to see what Adam's recommendations are, click here: Should You Do Sprints or Endurance Runs For Off-Season Football Conditioning

Speed And Strength Training for Whitewater Canoe Slalom

Adam Kessler, a speed trainer in Columbus, Ohio, was recently contacted and hired, via email, by an Australian athlete to develop a speed and strength program for his sport of whitewater canoe slalom. This athlete has two big events in February that could earn him a spot on the National team and possibly the Olympics. Adam developed a program to get this athlete stronger and faster; especially working hard on strengthening the core and lower back while incorporating anaerobic conditioning. If you would like to read about the program Adam developed for this whitewater canoe slalom athlete, click here: Speed And Strength Training for Whitewater Canoe Slalom

A Tennis Conditioning Workout For The Off-Season

If you are a tennis player, have you stopped to evaluate where you need to make improvements before next season arrives? Speed trainer, Adam Kessler of Columbus, Ohio, is here to help you with your speed, agility, and overall fitness level before your next season begins. As a tennis player, you need to try to balance the strength on both sides of the body; get a strong core and legs that are not only strong, but also flexible. Flexibility is key, not only in the lower extremities, but the upper body as well. To read more about an off-season conditioning program with Adam, click here: A Tennis Conditioning Workout For The Off-Season

Speed Program Secret Strength Exercises For Your Program

Today, Columbus, Ohio, speed trainer, Adam Kessler talks about 4 "secret" strength exercises he has athletes incorporate into their workout routine to complement their speed training program.
These may not be truly "secret" exercises, but are ones that Adam has found to be beneficial to his athletes training. Although many speed and strength training coaches are guarded when it comes to sharing their "secret" or favorite exercises for speed and/or strength training, you can click here to see the exercises Adam uses: Speed Program Secret Strength Exercises For Your Program

Kobe Bryant's Training and Workout Routine

With the NBA lockout finally coming to an end, Columbus, Ohio, speed trainer, Adam Kessler takes a look at the training and workout routine of NBA pro, Kobe Bryant. Kobe implements a number of Olympic style lifts to help with his speed, power and explosiveness. He combines this with running sprints and suicides. Kobe continues his workouts during the regular basketball season to continually build up his strength. The key point to Kobe's (and anyones) workout routine- consistency and intensity. To read more about Kobe's routine, click here: Kobe Bryant's Training and Workout Routine

Are You Able To Handle Adversity In Sports?

If you have recently completed participation in a sport and did not achieve what you wanted, are you going to do something about it? Adam Kessler of Columbus, Ohio, is a speed trainer that works with all levels of athletes. He recently worked with an individual who did not achieve what he wanted to last basketball season. This athlete worked hard in the off season and just recently made his basketball team! If you love your sport, and are willing to put in a little hard work to improve your skills, click here to read: Are You Able To Handle Adversity In Sports?

The Success Of Some Of Our Columbus Ohio Athletes

I wanted to take a moment and say congratulations to some of the Columbus, Ohio area athletes who have worked with us in the past for speed training.  Some we have kept in touch with, others we haven't, but nonetheless these athletes came to us to get faster in one capacity or another.  These athletes had some success this fall in some of the Central Ohio sports so congrats and here is the list:

• Sophie Tikson was part of the Ohio state champion field hockey team from Thomas Worthington.
• Courtney Deena was named All Ohio in field hockey for Columbus Academy and as a junior just committed to play field hockey at Maryland.  Awesome!!
• Mitch Kraly for Dublin Coffman was named second team defense for division I all district.
• Jake Raymond for Pickerington Central was named special mention all district, in division I football.
• Reno Reda for Watkins Memorial was named first team all district for division II in football.
• Carson Tunney for New Albany was named second team all district for division II in football.
• Zach Ratcliff for Columbus Academy was named second team all district for division V in football.  Zach also committed to play baseball at Ohio State University.  Great job!

As more end of the year awards come out, I will try to keep you updated about how some of our former athletes are doing.

Workout Routine Of Manny Pacquaio

What kind of workout does boxer Manny Pacquaio do? Adam Kessler, a speed trainer in Columbus, Ohio, did some researching and found a few of the exercises and some videos of his workouts. You won't be reading about a bunch of boxing drills today however. Instead, Adam takes a look at some of the conditioning and several of the core exercises he found that Manny performs. This article may make you re-think and re-vamp your core exercise program! Click here to see what exercises Adam found that are a part of Manny's workout routine: Workout Routine Of Manny Pacquaio

The 6 Best Informational Speed And Strength Training Websites

Have you ever wondered where Columbus, Ohio, speed trainer, Adam Kessler gets all of his speed and strength training information? Today he shares his 6 best informational websites with you. The sites are listed in no particular order, but they are the sites he goes to first when seeking information on a particular question. If you would like to see what Adam's favorite websites are, click here: The 6 Best Informational Speed And Strength Training Websites

2011 MLB Players Top Ten Fastest List

With the completion of yet another baseball season, Columbus, Ohio, speed trainer, Adam Kessler, gives a listing of whom he deems to be the fastest players in the MLB in 2011. Most of the players he lists, no surprise here, are at the top of the stolen base category. Their speed helps them get infield hits and they tend to hit a larger number of triples than other players. Who do you think is on this list? To see who is on Adam's 2011 list and why, click here: 2011 Baseball Players Top Ten Fastest List

Not To Be Missed-Ndamukong Suh's Workout

Ndamukong Suh, of the Detroit Lions, is currently one of the most feared NFL players. At 6'4" and 307 pounds, Suh is pretty impressive physically. At the 2010 combine, he ran the 40 yard dash in 4.98 seconds; bench pressed 225# for 32 reps; his vertical was 35.5" and his standing broad jump was 8'9". What did Ndamukong do to prepare for the combine and playing in the NFL? Adam Kessler, a Columbus, Ohio speed trainer, takes a look at Ndamukong's hard work and training. Click here to see what Ndamukong's training consisted of: Not To Be Missed-Ndamukong Suh's Workout

Could Speed Training Help You?

If you, your parent, or coach, is asking this question, then you may benefit from a speed training program. Several recent research studies highlight the benefits of speed training. Adam Kessler, a speed training professional in Columbus, Ohio, has changed approximately 75% of his program in recent years because of some of this research, so you may benefit more. If you have recently completed participation in a fall sport or are looking to make improvements for an upcoming sport, then click here to see if our program is something that you may benefit from: Could Speed Training Help You?

One Of Tim Tebow's Workout Programs

Speed and conditioning trainer, Adam Kessler, of Columbus, Ohio, takes a look at one of Tim Tebow's recent off-season work-outs. Tebow, the current starting quarterback for the Denver Broncos, performed 3 reps of the following workout to prepare him for the upcoming season:
He initially warmed up doing a lot of rotator cuff exercises. He then went into a Metabolic conditioning circuit, a vertical set circuit, and did some sled drives. Next, he did an upper body work to rest the lower body some. To read more details about the workout, click here: One Of Tim Tebow's Workout Programs

Workout Program For Carson Palmer In Preparation For The Raiders

It looks like Carson Palmer isn't retiring after all, considering his recent trade from the Bengals to the Raiders. How could Carson have stayed in shape during his short "retirement" in case a trade did occur? Adam Kessler, a speed trainer in Columbus, Ohio, offers his thoughts as to what he would have had the NFL quarterback doing to get him as close to game-ready as possible. The workout Adam recommends is not just for an NFL player though. Most any athlete can take bits and pieces and formulate a good workout program. To see what Adam would have with Carson in the off-season, click here: Workout Program For Carson Palmer In Preparation For The Raiders

Are Your Running Mechanics The Cause Of Those Nagging Running Injuries?

Are you inconvenienced by nagging running injuries? Do you think it is just time for a new pair of running shoes or could the "new" injury be caused from a previous/old injury? Adam Kessler, a speed trainer in Columbus, Ohio, takes a look at some possible causes for these nagging injuries. It may be that your running mechanics are partially to blame. To read Adam thoughts on some of the causes and the recommendations he makes to help correct and/or prevent these injuries in the future, click here: Are Your Running Mechanics The Cause Of Those Nagging Running Injuries?

Top 7 Non-Fast (Mostly Successful) Athlete Moments

Most speed trainers talk about how they work to get their clients faster or what some of the newer "tricks of the trade" are to help you improve your speed and ultimately run faster. Today, however, Columbus, Ohio's, Adam Kessler, takes a look at some athletes, or sports figures, that were not so fast in a given event. Before you click here though, Top 2 Non-Fast (Mostly Successful) Athlete Moments, take a moment to go through who you think should be on this "historical" list. Maybe there are more than just 7!

Speed Training Injuries

Do you think sports injuries only occur to athletes during practices or games? Most of us know that unfortunately, this is not always the case. Speed trainer, Adam Kessler of Columbus, Ohio, highlights a few of the milder injuries that have occurred while he or an assistant were training clients at their Columbus facility. When an injury does occur, Adam takes a look at why the injury occurred, re-evaluates the exercise, makes changes and hopes to keep this from happening again. To see what injuries have occurred and what has been done to modify the program, click here: Speed Training Injuries

Hard Work Produces Speed Improvements

Would you like to increase your vertical jump by about 5"? How about decreasing your 10 yard dash speed by almost .15 seconds? BTW-With that decrease in time, your "new" self would beating your "old" self by a little more than 2' ! To see how the hard work of a current speed training client of Adam Kessler's from Columbus, Ohio, paid off with these types of results to get this individual ready for the upcoming basketball season, click here: Hard Work Produces Speed Improvements.

Is Andre Johnson's Injury Related To His Workout?

Another NFL injury! Andre Johnson, of the Houston Texans is out with a hamstring injury. If you have been a follower of Adam Kessler, a speed trainer in Columbus, Ohio, you already know the importance he places on incorporating hamstring strengthening exercises into your routine. Today Adam takes a look at Andre's workout routine and whether or not he was incorporating enough hamstring strengthening exercises. To view Andre's workout and the recommendations Adam makes, click here: Is Andre Johnson's Injury Related To His Workout?

Running the 400M Dash

Is running the 400M dash really a dash or more of a sprint these days? Adam Kessler, a speed trainer in Columbus, Ohio, likens it to more of a sprint. In todays blog, he recalls his experience participating in high school track, both in running the 400M and the mile relay. To see how Adam did running these events in his high school track career and what recommendations he has to help you become a better runner, click here: Running the 400M Dash

How to Improve Your Speed With A Sled or Weights

If you would like to work on increasing your running speed, then todays blog from speed trainer, Adam Kessler, is for you. Since it is not always possible/realistic to have the bulky and expensive equipment like we have at our facility in Columbus, Ohio, Adam highlights an alternative that should help to produce some of the same results using Olympic style weights. Click here to read about the workout that could help you to get faster: How to Improve Your Speed With A Sled or Weights

New Speed Training Research and a New Recovery Program

If you have ever wondered what type of speed training exercises would produce the best results for you, then you need to read this blog from Adam Kessler of Columbus, Ohio. There has been recent research done comparing assistance and resistance training versus traditional speed training. To see what results this research produced, click here: New Speed Training Research You Should Know


There is a new Active Recovery Program available at our speed training facility in Columbus, Ohio. This program is not only for the athlete, but also the avid exerciser or anyone looking to become more flexible. To get more information on or to sign up for Adam Kessler's new program, click here: Active Recovery Program

Are NFL Injuries On The Rise This Year?

Does it seem that there are more NFL injuries at the beginning of this season, than in seasons past? Is it possible that the recent NFL lockout had anything to do with this increase? Today, Adam Kessler, a speed trainer in Columbus, Ohio, provides his insight to these questions.
Maybe the players didn't have the availability to train during the lockout, or didn't train as hard as they would have normally. To get Adam's thoughts to this question as well as what he would have players do to better prepare themselves for the season, click here:
Why NFL Injuries Seem To Be On The Rise This Year

Speed Highlights From This Weekends Sports

With another weekend of college and NFL football behind us, it is no surprise that speed trainer, Adam Kessler of Columbus, Ohio, is weighing in on some of the games he was able to watch. Of course, he has a few thoughts regarding his Ohio State Buckeyes loss to Miami. The Eagles/Falcons game caught his attention too. To see what Adam has to say about the speed displayed this weekend in sports, click here: Speed Highlights From This Weekends Sports

My Experience At The 2011 Ironman Wisconsin Event

For anyone who has ever wondered what it would be like to attend an Ironman event, Columbus, Ohio speed trainer, Adam Kessler talks about that in todays blog. He attended the 2011 Ironman event in Wisconsin this past weekend to cheer on his sister-in-law, Meredith Kessler as she participated in this grueling and physically challenging competition. To see how the day unfolded and how Meredith did, click here: The 2011 Ironman Wisconsin And My Experience There

The Success of Older Athletes

Attention bloggers- Columbus, Ohio speed trainer, Adam Kessler, has turned 40. In light of this milestone, todays blog takes a look at some professional older athletes that had successful careers after turning 40. To read about who some of these athletes are, click here: Athletes Who Succeeded After Age 40

Increased Quickness for 2 NFL Stars

Today, Columbus, Ohio speed trainer, Adam Kessler, talks about Chris Johnson and DeSean Jackson's speed and quickness and the drills they specifically do to help increase their strength and power.
Even though both of these guys have a lot of natural talent, they must continuously work on exercises and drills to keep them in the best shape possible.

While speed training with Adam, you would be doing several of the same drills that these 2 athletes do. To read about these training drills, click here:
How 2 NFL Stars Get Faster

Usain Bolt- Running Faster Than Any Other Human This Weekend

In today's speed training blog, you will be reading about the lightening fast speed of Usain Bolt during the Track and Field World Championships that took place over the weekend. It is not all about track and field though! You will also read about some of this weekends season opening college football games. A couple high school athletes and teams from Columbus, Ohio, receive some mention as well.

To read Adam's take on Usain's remarkable speed, click here:

Running Faster Than Any Other Human This Weekend - Usain Bolt

If You Hate Exercising- Read This

As a fitness/speed trainer in Columbus, Ohio, I tend to receive this chain email every so often from clients of mine. I've seen it several times over the last 10 years, so I thought I would share it with you. It is good for a laugh. If anyone has the "male" version of this story (a guy getting trained by a female trainer), please send it to me. I'd like to keep it in my archives. This is pretty hilarious-enjoy!!

Dear Diary,

For my birthday this year, my Husband (the dear) purchased a week of
personal training at the local health club for me.

Although I am still in great shape since being a high school football
cheerleader 43 years ago, I decided it would be a good idea to go ahead and
give it a try.

I called the club and made my reservations with a personal trainer named
Christo, who identified himself as a 26-year-old aerobics instructor and
model for athletic clothing and swim wear.

My husband seemed pleased with my enthusiasm to get started! The club
encouraged me to keep a diary to chart my progress.

________________________________
MONDAY:
Started my day at 6:00 a.m. Tough to get out of bed, but found it was well
worth it when I arrived at the health club to find Christo waiting for me.
He is something of a Greek god - with blond hair, dancing eyes and a
dazzling white smile. Woo Hoo!!

Christo gave me a tour and showed me the machines. I enjoyed watching the
skillful way in which he conducted his aerobics class after my workout
today. Very inspiring!

Christo was encouraging as I did my sit-ups, although my gut was already
aching from holding it in the whole time he was around. This is going to be
a FANTASTIC week-!!

________________________________
TUESDAY:
I drank a whole pot of coffee, but I finally made it out the door. Christo
made me lie on my back and push a heavy iron bar into the air then he put
weights on it! My legs were a little wobbly on the treadmill, but I made the
full mile. His rewarding smile made it all worthwhile. I feel GREAT-!! It's
a whole new life for me.

_______________________________
WEDNESDAY:
The only way I can brush my teeth is by laying the toothbrush on the counter
and moving my mouth back and forth over it. I believe I have a hernia in
both pectorals. Driving was OK as long as I didn't try to steer or stop. I
parked on top of a GEO in the club parking lot.

Christo was impatient with me, insisting that my screams bothered other club
members. His voice is a little too perky for that early in the morning and
when he scolds, he gets this nasally whine that is VERY annoying...

My chest hurt when I got on the treadmill, so Christo put me on the stair
monster. Why the hell would anyone invent a machine to simulate an activity
rendered obsolete by elevators? Christo told me it would help me get in
shape and enjoy life. He said some other sh!t too.

_______________________________
THURSDAY:
A$$hole was waiting for me with his vampire-like teeth exposed as his thin,
cruel lips were pulled back in a full snarl. I couldn't help being a half an
hour late - it took me that long to tie my shoes.

He took me to work out with dumbbells. When he was not looking, I ran and
hid in the restroom. He sent some skinny b!tch to find me.

Then, as punishment, he put me on the rowing machine -- which I sank.
_________________________________
FRIDAY:
I hate that b@$t@rd Christo more than any human being has ever hated any
other human being in the history of the world. Stupid, skinny, anemic,
anorexic little aerobic instructor. If there was a part of my body I could
move without unbearable pain, I would beat him with it.

Christo wanted me to work on my triceps. I don't have any triceps! And if
you don't want dents in the floor, don't hand me the damn barbells or
anything that weighs more than a sandwich.

The treadmill flung me off and I landed on a health and nutrition teacher.
Why couldn't it have been someone softer, like the drama coach or the choir
director?

________________________________
SATURDAY:
Satan left a message on my answering machine in his grating, shrilly voice
wondering why I did not show up today. Just hearing his voice made me want
to smash the machine with my planner; however, I lacked the strength to even
use the TV remote and ended up catching eleven straight hours of the Weather
Channel.

________________________________
SUNDAY:
I'm having the Church van pick me up for services today so I can go and
thank GOD that this week is over. I will also pray that next year my husband
will choose a gift for me that is fun -- like a root canal or a
hysterectomy. I still say if God had wanted me to bend over, he would have
sprinkled the floor with diamonds!!!

Dublin Jerome Football Captain Week One

An athlete that worked with us a couple years ago, Nathan Lex, was named a week one captain for Dublin Jerome's football game this past Friday.  In the picture, he is number 27.  Unfortunately, Dublin Jerome lost the game to Reynoldsburg, but Nathan played an integral part for Jerome's defense and will all season long.

Nathan is the athlete in one of my Youtube videos.  He is demonstrating how our program helped improve his stride length, thus helping him to run faster.  I hope to be making quick talks about a lot of our athletes as the sport year moves on, but for now, I'll let you watch Nathan's video that has made him a Youtube sensation (not really, but maybe someday).

Columbus Ohio Athletes To Watch This Fall

The fall sports season has arrived. It seems like yesterday I was telling you to get in to the Columbus, Ohio facility for some summer speed training to get prepped for the fall. This week I am going to talk about a few of the athletes that I've worked with this past year who will be trying to lead their teams to victory in their respective sports this fall. Most of these athletes are from the Columbus, Ohio, area, so I want to give them a little love before their season starts.

I was contacted by Mitch Kraly during the winter to get him prepared more for some football combines he was going to attend, rather than the season itself. Mitch is a linebacker for Dublin Coffman, but envisions himself playing safety in college. He had some pretty good numbers when he did a couple of his combines. Now he is focused on trying to have a great senior season. You probably won't read much about him unless he happens to run an interception back for a touchdown since they rarely talk about defensive players in the paper, but I anticipate seeing some end of the year accolades for him.

Megan Tolnar plays soccer for New Albany. She has already scored 2 goals in a game thus far this brief season. Megan was consistent in coming in over the winter as we worked on her running mechanics to improve her speed. Her team lost a lot of seniors, so Megan knew she had to step up and be the leader that her team needed for this season. It looks like she has gotten off to a fine start.

Emily Winnegrad is a Bexley soccer player. She actually trained with me over the winter for her track season and it seemed to turn out well for her. Emily was part of a relay team, I think the 4x100, that qualified for the state track meet. Having run in the Ohio state track meet myself, it is an awesome experience and regardless of what the outcome was she can always say she made it there. Now, the goal is to continue that speed development right onto the soccer field.

Jake Raymond was a client of mine back when we had a facility in Gahanna. He and his brother, Nick, worked with one of my assistants and enjoyed the experience. Now that we consolidated to Dublin, it wasn't as accessible for him to travel here from Pickerington. He plays football and lacrosse for Pickerington Central. If you are good at what you do, people will travel and I guess Jake decided I was worth the travel, as we speed trained to prep him not only for lacrosse, but his combine at his school. It went pretty well for him as he ran a 4.5 in his 40. He was pretty excited about it.

Another of my former clients has been doing online coaching with me. Mara White is a distance runner for Watkins Memorial. She is one of the top runners in the area and her bid for another state appearance was cut short when she acquired a stress fracture. She has been diligently rehabbing and everything seems to be healing great. She should be back on the scene later this month so watch for her as she tries to make a strong push for states in cross country.

Abby Barker played on her high school field hockey team at Bishop Watterson. She is now a freshman at Michigan State University hoping to get significant playing time. She was one of the few athletes I have worked with where we covered all aspects of training: strength/power training and speed/agility training. For someone who had never lifted before, she made huge gains in her strength and I feel will make a big impact as a freshman for MSU.

Here are some athletes that worked with me in the past, but not in the last 9-12 months:

• Grayson Fisher plays football for Upper Arlington and has committed to playing for Princeton. I saw the announcement in the paper this past week.
• Courtney Deena will be tearing it up for Columbus Academy's field hockey team. When I was working with her, she was focused on soccer, that's how long ago it was.
• Rena Reda came for a weekend speed camp that we had and is one of the area's better football players for Watkins Memorial.
• Zach Ratcliff plays football for Columbus Academy. I worked with him way back when and he has grown into quite an athlete.
• Duncan Van DeCarr plays football for Dublin Coffman and worked with us a couple years ago when we first opened our Dublin location.

I know there are a few more I'm forgetting, but these are a good group of kids that you can watch initially. I do have some athletes that are playing fall sports, but it isn't their big sport that they were training for. I will talk about those athletes when the time comes. Good luck guys and we'll be watching you.

First TIme I Dunked A Basketball

In today's newsletter, you will be able to read about how speed trainer, Adam Kessler of
Columbus, Ohio, learned how to dunk a basketball during his high school playing days.
He talks of how he progressed through and had to try a few different techniques before
being able to succeed.

If you would like to read about how Adam was able to finally achieve the dunk, click here:
First Time I Dunked A Basketball

A Speed Program To Get Wide Receivers To Run Faster

Last week, I wrote an article about a strength training program I use at my speed training facility in Columbus, Ohio, that will help wide receivers run faster. The program was designed to emphasize power and overall total body strength which can be transferred into explosive speed used on the football field.

I had a couple good responses to the newsletter. Today I am going to discuss a speed workout that you can do if you are a wide receiver that will complement the strength program I gave you and allow you to run faster on the field.

As a bonus, I'm also going to tell you about a great conditioning workout that will get you in awesome shape for football practice. I love this workout and more football teams should be using it for their players, but I'll get into that here in a minute.

I begin all my speed workouts with a dynamic warm-up. You need to do this to get your athletes physically prepared for the movements that they will do during the practice, workout, game, etc. You could talk with 50 different speed coaches and they probably would have different dynamic warm-ups, but my guess is they would consist of a few of these drills: high knees, butt kicks, walking lunges, power skips, back pedals, and side shuffles. Using these drills will put your body in a variety of different movements to get it loose and ready to go.

You would then start with some form drills. Mechanics are imperative when it comes to speed development. Sometimes, people's speed will improve just by running with proper mechanics and nothing else. But the rest of the workout will be meaningless if we don't correct their form. Some of those drills that I use are: seated arm swings, A skips, flutter kicks, B skips, and arm swing hops. All of these work on the proper arm position for swinging, power of the balls of your feet, and other subtle mechanical positions that you need.

The next part of the workout would be power development. You can use resistance and assistance running for this. One of the simplest drills you can do would be incline and decline running on hills. The key is to find a hill that will be at a 10 degree grade. You don't want it too steep because that might hurt the mechanics. Run for a 20 - 30 yard stretch and run as fast as you can up and down the hill.

You need to run mechanically sound, especially downhill. If you find that as you run downhill, your mechanics breakdown and you are running on your heels than the hill is too steep. Running uphill develops power and running downhill with its overspeed effect will improve your speed.

Finally, to help your game-speed and quickness, we would do some agility drills. Most routes run by wide receivers don't go past 15 yards and some are even shorter and quicker depending on if you are a slot receiver, a deep threat, etc. I like to do cone drills for this. I set up patterns with the cones and have the receiver go full blast through the cones.

One drill I have is to set 4 cones up in a square. You can have them 5 - 10 yards apart. Pretend like the cones are two triangles, a top part and bottom part. If you start on the right side of the square, you run up and go around the first cone (to your left), then when you go around the second cone, you will run diagonal back to the starting cone, then go around that cone to your right to the 3rd cone, up to the second cone, and then diagonal back down to the starting cone.

So, that's a speed workout you can do for your wide receivers. To put a pretty bow on this article, I'm going to talk about an awesome conditioning workout that maybe you are doing currently with your football players. It is called pattern running.

Pattern running is when you divide your players up by position. Each position has different cardio levels depending on the demands of the job. A lineman is rarely running 10 yard sprints, where a receiver might do that a lot during the game.

So, what you do is figure out 10 patterns for your receiver and put a cone on the ground. That cone is the line of scrimmage where he will start. You shout out the first pattern, he runs it full speed, then jogs back to the cone, as he is jogging back you shout out the next pattern. Once he goes through all ten, he can rest for a set duration before you do your next set of patterns. You can have him do 2-6 sets if you like, with rest anywhere from 0 - 2 minutes.

You can do all sorts of different patterns, short and quick, or deep sprints. It is your call . I'll do something like this: 10 yard sprint, 20 yard sprint, slant, curl, an out, then run them all to the other side (e.g. slant to left, then slant to right). That would be ten patterns and you're good to go. It really simulates game conditions and makes conditioning a little more tolerable for the athlete.

Normally, the first set seems to be a piece of cake for the receiver, but after that, the fatigue creeps on them quick unless they have been doing some serious conditioning prior to these workouts. This would be a great drill to finish your speed training with and this type of conditioning can take you anywhere from 6 to 12 minutes. Short and sweet.

Alright, now you have the other piece of your speed training component for your wide receiver. Once again, this probably would have come in handy back in June, but better late than never. I think you could use that conditioning piece right now though. There really isn't any bad time start that. Feel free to comment on my blog, http://howtorunfasternow.com after you have tried some of these drills and good luck.

A Strength Program To Make Wide Receivers Run Faster

August is a great time of year. My annual fishing trip to Canada is in August (I'll be posting some pics on my Fan page - click here to visit). My daughter is starting back to school (which means the house in Columbus, Ohio will be a little quieter). But to most Americans, August signals that football is beginning. A time when we will soon see these awesome athletes running faster than their opponents for a touchdown. Or with blazing speed smashing into a helpless running back to make the tackle. At all levels, football teams are starting their August practices so that the season can begin in a few weeks and we can have another fun filled season of football.

A little more than 30 years ago, these August sessions were used for football players to get back in shape from their lazy off-season. Training to run faster, get stronger, and get tougher were the big reasons for these August sessions because the players really let themselves go in the off-season. You played your way into shape.

Nowadays, you are expected to be in tip top shape when training camp begins. Your speed and quickness should be at their optimal best. You should already be as strong as possible when you walk into camp. The training camp is then used to weed out the people who AREN'T in shape, and to fine-tune all the plays you are going to run during the season.

What I'm going to share with you today is a workout I used with a couple of my older football players (18 and older) to get them stronger and faster for football. Specifically, I wanted to make them be the fastest and strongest wide receivers for their team. This workout is designed for a lifter who is older and has been part of a team strength program for several years. The knowledge of the lifts and exercises I'm going to discuss is imperative and should have already been exposed to the athlete as a younger lifter.

This strength workout, specific to wide receivers, is for making them run faster and to get stronger for the game of football. It is designed to be a three day a week workout. Ideally, you should have a day's rest in between workouts. Those off days should be used to do any speed training or conditioning that you would need for your team.

So here is the workout:

Day 1

Core - Superset Planks, then Side Planks

Power Cleans, then superset Reverse Hypers

1 Leg Squats, then superset a Glute Ham machine (if you have read my newsletters you know this is one of my favorites for improving your speed)

Dumbbell Stability Ball Chest Press, then superset a Ball One Legged Dumbbell Row

Combo Lateral/Front Raise, then superset Manual Neck Exercises (so you would need a partner for these)

Day 2

Core - Stability Ball Pikes, then Med Ball Rotational Twists on a Stability Ball

Hang Cleans, then superset Hyperextensions

Bench Press, then superset a Bent Over Row

Plyometric (or Clapping) Push-ups, then superset Pull-Ups

1 Arm Shoulder Press, then superset a 1 Arm Shrug (with your opposite arm holding onto something to keep that trapezius from moving)

Day 3

Core - TRX Jackknives, superset with Sliders (using moving discs and you are in a pushup position with your hands on the sliders and you move one arm out as far as you can, return it, then move the other arm out - a great core exercise. You can watch a Youtube video of it by clicking here)

Split Jerks, then superset a Birddog (for the lower back)

Squats, then superset a 1 Leg Hamstring Curl

Walking Lunge, then superset a Romanian Deadlift (RDL)

A couple items of note:

• Once again, I will reiterate that this is a workout for the older wide receiver. Someone who is around 18 and older.
• When you see "superset" what that means is you do the first exercise and immediately, when you are done, start the second exercise, then rest before the next set.
• The athlete should have had several years of strength training experience prior to working on this program. That way their system isn't shocked when starting this routine. The muscle memory will kick in and they should have an easier time adapting to this program.
• You will notice that I do core everyday. The core is the foundation for a strong and fast wide receiver. The longer I can prevent that area from getting tired during a game, the longer his running mechanics will stay sharp and help him do what he needs to do on the field effectively.
• I like doing an Olympic lift for every workout. I think they are great total body lifts and really help develop the athlete's overall strength, power, fast twitch muscle fibers, and explosiveness. Make sure you have had proper instruction prior to doing these. Technique is everything. Sacrifice putting weight on so that you can learn the proper form at conservative weights.
• Finally, with the receiver's legs, a solid plan for strengthening them is key to improve speed and get him running faster. I like doing an overall strength developer with the squats, but I really try to emphasize single leg strengthening with the lunges and 1 leg squats. When you sprint it is a series of single leg explosions, so we need to train it accordingly. You will also notice that I have my hamstring work in there as well. We need to keep them strong to get you running at maximum speed and help prevent injuries.

So there you have it. A strength workout for a wide receiver to get him stronger and ready to handle the rigors of football (college or NFL). This program is also designed to develop the fast twitch fibers in your body and recruit as many muscles as possible to develop the speed and power you need to run faster.

I think I stated earlier that this workout probably should have already been accomplished by now. What you need to do is save this newsletter, print it off, or store it however possible and pull it out once your off-season conditioning starts next year. If you want to be prepared for that next level, then this is the strength program for you. Take it, thank me later, and I'll look forward to watching you dominate your competition.

Why NFL Injuries Will Be Rising This Year

I think I was among many who breathed a heavy sigh of relief once the NFL lockout ended. Of course I am a fan, not a player. However, I was training a player this year in Columbus, Ohio, who was also anxious to get going for a different reason. Many of you probably read about me putting Armand Robinson through a great football/wide receiver specific workout this summer. Not only was it important to try and work on his speed and strength, but we wanted to put his body in an optimal position to reduce the chances of any injuries happening.

Armand and I worked for about 10 or 11 weeks, right up until the day the lockout ended. We worked on strength training, speed training, agility and explosive work, plus football specific conditioning. The hope was that all the drills and stress I was putting his body through was preparing his body for the type of stress he was going to feel when he started practicing with an NFL team. You would think that every NFL player and hopeful was going through this process, but my guess is that not everyone was as diligent as Armand was.

Could Armand and I have worked a little harder together? Perhaps. But, my guess (and I'm judging this by what he has told me that he has seen from other players during training camp) is that a lot of players said heck with the working out or just half-a$$ed it.

Since most of us have never played in the professional ranks before, let's liken this to getting ready for your beer league softball season. A lot of these guys lie around the couch all winter, then in the spring have a few batting sessions with the team, then get right into softball. The first big swing or hard run to first, they're pulling something. You can't have all that inactivity for 5 months, then go 0-60 in 5 seconds and expect to be right where you left off the previous summer.

Plus, take into account your age, not exactly the exuberant early 20 something guy, and you have a recipe for disaster.

Now multiply that experience by a lot and that is what these NFL players are going to go through. With the lockout, they couldn't do their scheduled team workouts with their certified strength and conditioning specialists. Without the professionally designed workouts and the accountability with the team, it was up to the athlete to get his workouts in.

You had three options: either work with a professional speed and strength coach such as myself; do the workouts on your own based on what you have done before in the past; do nothing at all and rely on your extremely gifted athletic talent to get you by.

My point is you should watch this season. I don't think as many guys will be in as good of shape as they think they are. Consequently, there will be more injuries because the body isn't prepped for the game yet. The players seem to think that the added time off will help their bodies and they won't miss a beat. I'm betting on the former. We will see who is right.

Remember, as you are preparing for your upcoming season, speed development and strength and conditioning isn't just all about getting bigger, faster, stronger. That is people's first big goal and really what most care about. But, the second goal, which is more important, is getting the body healthy to prevent injury. You do the team absolutely no good with all that speed and strength, if you are sitting on the bench next to the coach with a pulled muscle.

Tiger Woods Workout For 2011 PGA Championship

With the 2011 PGA Championship coming up this week, a lot of eyes will be on Tiger Woods to see how he performs. After competing this past weekend in Akron for his first tournament in what seemed like months, he definitely wasn't the Tiger of old. It was a good match to kick some of the rust off before the last major of the year though. With that in mind, the following workout isn't necessarily Tiger Woods workout, but one that I would have done for him if he had asked me to help him out if he were living in Columbus, Ohio.

Throughout the years, Tiger has transformed golf fitness into something comparable to a football player. His specific workout is closely guarded. I wrote a newsletter several years back on his workout based on a few articles I had read, but nothing was ever found to be concrete. The only thing that was for certain was that he attacked his workout hard and was strong as an ox.

The following workout is what I would do with Tiger Woods and for any golfer for that matter.

• Medicine Ball Wood Chops - This is a great cross-sectional core exercise that strengthens and improves the mobility of the core. It is perfect because it kind of looks like a golf swing.
• Birddogs - This is a lower back exercise that I would do which is just added security for the core. Golfers spend a lot of time hunched over so keeping that lower back strong is going to be important.
• Squats or Lunges - A lot of power is derived from the legs, so either one of these exercises would be great for power and strength in the legs.
• Push/Pull - You need balance in the upper body, not size in the chest, but strength. The chest and back must balance each other out, but the back is a little more important to help with posture. You could do something as simple as push-ups and pull-ups to work that upper body.
• Wrist Curls - I would do these to strengthen the forearms to help with power in your grip and also to prevent most types of tendinitis that might occur in the elbow.
• Flexibility - Stretching is huge in the posterior and upper body. Specifically in your hamstrings, glutes, and lower back, then also in your chest back and shoulders. Keeping your range of motion at its greatest is very important for golfers.

So that would be my workout for Tiger Woods as he approaches the 2011 PGA Championship. This workout would help with his strength and power, but at this stage in his career, I think more importantly, it would help with injury prevention. The better you can keep your body strong AND limber, the better injuries will stay away. Or if you do get an injury, you should be able to bounce back a lot quicker. Be proactive and not reactive. Start implementing a strength and conditioning workout for your golf game today, and start reaping the rewards very soon after.

Improving Your Speed And Explosiveness For Wrestling

Recently, I was asked a question via twitter about writing an article on speed and explosiveness for shooting in wrestling. This got me thinking. I want to interact more with this social media so if you have questions, click here to throw them on my Facebook fanpage. Or you can ask them on Twitter. I will try to respond on twitter or if I really like the question and I don't have anything planned for my speed training newsletter, I will answer it via my newsletter/blog.

The question that was posed to me today was asked by @RJaniceUSMC. I want to give credit where credit is due and thank you for following me. You gave me some props, but I need to give you a bunch more props and kudos for doing what you do to protect our country. I have good friends and former athletes I have trained in Columbus, Ohio, who are in the military, so I appreciate what you guys do.

Now on to your question.

I am a speed coach, but I usually don't train people for the type of speed they need in wrestling. They usually spend their money on private coaches and work on their wrestling moves. I did work with wrestlers from a strength training/conditioning component when I was head strength coach at Columbus Academy and one of my wrestlers ended up being a state champion. Upon researching an answer for this question, it boiled down to two items. To improve your speed and explosiveness in wrestling, you need to train with Olympic style lifts and do plyometrics.

The clean and jerk, snatches, and pulls are all total body lifts (working every muscle group) that train the fast twitch fibers. You are working on total body strength and power, but the speed at which you have to perform those lifts is what helps your speed when you wrestle. It really stimulates those fast twitch fibers so you can be quicker to make your moves.

I've even done these movements at the END of a workout. I know, I know. Normally, because of the physical demand of these exercises you want to do them first while your energy levels are at their best. But, wrestling is such a demanding sport that doing these lifts at the end will train the body to be explosive even when you are fatigued.

Caution: Those lifts are very technical, so make sure you have a good coach teaching you how to do those lifts. Once you get them down though, you will really start to reap the benefits.

Plyometrics are the other exercise you should do. These explosive movements help with the lunging forward that you will do (at a fast speed). They train the muscles to unload and explode. Horizontal plyometrics are what's going to be really beneficial. Doing standing long jumps (off two feet and/or one foot) and tuck jumps, really train those legs to be explosive in movements that are similar to what you would perform when you wrestle.

There you go. You implement those two items into your exercise program and you should be a lot quicker and more explosive for your moves in wrestling. Thanks again to @RJaniceUSMC for the question. If you have a question that you want me to answer about speed in your particular sport or other athletic questions, please give a holler.

Top 10 Speed Drills To Help You Run Faster - Part II

On Monday, I gave you a list of the first 5 out of the top 10 speed training drills I think will help you run faster. Today, I'm going to give you the bottom 5. All of these are great drills that we utilize in our training facility in Colulmbus, Ohio. Without further ado, here we go:

6. Speed Sled – I just purchased one of these and am liking it more than my sprint cords. I can adjust the weight I put on in relation to the athlete using it. Thus some of my younger athletes can use it, with little added weight, but good enough for them, and they feel they are doing something cool. I have the athletes run 20 or 30 yards and watch their mechanics. As soon as the running mechanics start to breakdown, I take a little weight off and keep the athlete there for awhile. Great for developing speed and power.

7. A Skips – This is the ‘old reliable’ of the speed drills. One of the best drills to work on arm placement, opposite arm and foot movement, dorsiflexion, and skipping on the balls of the feet. These are short quick skips and I focus on keeping the arms in L shapes and making sure they are quickly skipping on the balls of the feet. I want their foot to pop off the ground in a dorsiflexed position (toes pulling towards the shins) and the upper thigh to get just about parallel. You can never do too much of these to work on running form.

8. Toy Soldiers – Another great drill to work on the lower body mechanics. I have my athletes put their arms straight out in front of them. They then swing one leg out in front just a little bit and paw the ground with the ball of their foot. After pawing the ground, the foot leaves the ground behind them shooting the heel straight up like it is kicking your own butt, then whipping the dorsiflexed foot in front of your body with thigh parallel to the ground. Place it down, step up to that foot, and proceed with the other leg. Great to work on that leg turnover.

9. Striders – I always want to maximize my athletes’ running stride. I want to make sure they are covering the most ground possible for their running form. I have them run 20-30 yards at 75% speed, with as long a stride as possible. This is almost like bounding, but really trying to maintain their running form, land on the balls of the feet, and get as long a stride possible.

10. Overspeed Runs – I like this drill for developing speed with my older or more mature athletes. I use a sprint cord, but you can use a small decline (like 10 degree angle). You just want to run 20-30 yards at a speed faster than what you normally can do whether it is on that decline or being pulled by a sprint cord. Once again, the key is running mechanics. Run as fast as you can, but if your mechanics are shotty, then you are being pulled too fast or the decline is too great and you’re not getting out of it what you really need.

There you have it. 10 great running drills that will make you a better runner. These drills cover everything: mechanics, power, speed development, and increasing stride length. If you want to improve your speed, than these drills will work. I have video of athletes getting faster, stride length improving, etc. You just have to put the time into it. I can’t overemphasize running mechanics enough though. Once your mechanics are picture perfect, then these drills will really help you out. Enjoy!

Top Ten Speed Drills To Help You Run Faster

Being a speed training coach, people will frequently ask me what my favorite drills are for developing ones speed and/or running. I finally stopped long enough to think about and narrow down what my favorite top ten running drills would be. The drills discussed in today's list are a mix of ones I use with my clients in Columbus, Ohio, for developing speed and explosiveness plus honing the athlete's running mechanics. If ones running mechanics stink, then these drills are meaningless. If I had an athlete that was wanting to improve his/her running and I was limited to only ten exercises, here is the list of drills I would use:

1. 1 Leg Horizontal Jumps – Essentially, these are like doing a triple jump, except you never hop on the other leg. This drill is for a more mature athlete because of the demand that is placed on the leg. Running is a technique of single leg explosions, so that is why this is on my list. I usually have my athlete jump 4 times (jumping and landing on the same leg), making sure they stick the landing with a nice knee and hip flexion and soft landing on the ball of the foot. I will then do some rapid fire jumps as well.
2. High Knee Jump Ropes – I love this drill. This could have been my number one. It develops speed, hand/eye coordination, plus it puts your legs in very similar positions you will find when you are sprinting. The athlete jumps rope alternating feet with a high knee action. I usually start them off jumping rope on one leg to develop the strength, then do a simple alternating style, then try the high knee. It really develops those fast twitch fibers.
3. Hurdle Jumps – One of the big mechanical issues I see with runners is a slow frequency rate (or the leg turnover quick). Sometimes due to lack of strength, hurdle jumps helps that out. I start at a conservative height and set four of them up. The athlete has to jump over all four without hitting the hurdles and do it quickly. Those knees go up and the heel fires up to the butt, just like trying to run fast. The speed and leg turnover is improved with this drill.
4. Walking Lunge – This is a great drill to do with younger runners. It develops core strength, coordination between the opposite arm and leg, strength, and balance with the legs. You step forward with one leg and lunge down so the back knee almost touches the ground. Keep your opposite arm in a good L shape and in running position. When the knee almost touches you explode up and step forward with that back leg while switching arms (keeping that opposite arm/leg action you have when you run). Keep the torso nice and tight, don’t lean forward. Doing that will help you develop good core strength.
5. TRX Sprinting In Place – Obviously, you need access to a TRX suspension unit, but this is a very similar drill to the jump ropes. You lean forward holding the TRX in your hands with the straps under your arms. Your feet are behind you and your body is at a 75 degree angle. If you were to let go, you would fall down. Start running in place (high knees) as fast as you can, staying upright, and keeping that angle. Great for the body to feel that acceleration phase and the rapid fire foot contacts.

That is the first part of my top ten list. On Thursday, I will finish up this topic and you will have ten great exercises that you can utilize to improve your speed.

How To Eliminate Shin Splints

Recently, I have had some repeated questions about shin splints. What do you need to do to get rid of them? I thought I would devote this article on how to get rid of shin splints.

I first became aware of shin splints when I was a freshman in high school (a mere 4 years ago - I'm pretty advanced for my age). Several of my teammates had shin splints varying from them tolerating it throughout the season to causing problems to the point where they couldn't run. One of the remedies I would see would be them wrapping athletic tape around their shins tightly. I have no clue if that worked, so if you want to try that, it is on you. I have a couple other solutions that I know will work so why don't you read on to find out what they are.

Here is a quick video you can watch that will demonstrate everything I'm about to discuss:

Shin splints are when you have a dull or constant ache in your shins. Usually, it is in the front of the leg either in the muscle or on either side of your shinbone. The pain varies from hurting during activity and/or after the activity. The muscle could be swollen and painful to the touch.

Why do you get shin splints? For a myriad (I know, big word for me) of reasons, but here are a few:

1. A weakness in the tibialis anterior. This is the thin muscle on the front of your shin. This is the muscle that could be tender to the touch if shin splints occur.
2. Your foot wear isn't great and doesn't provide much arch support.
3. Your running form stinks, excuse me, your running mechanics are flawed.
4. You have the beginning of a stress fracture. This would be the worst-case scenario. Ugh!

Usually, your issues are any of 1 through 3. I start by strengthening the tibialis anterior. You can do this with 2 exercises. The first would be to stand on a step with just your heel and let the rest of your foot hang over the step. You then want to pull your toes up as high as you can towards your shin (this is called dorsiflexion) then lower them back down. Repeat for 2 to 3 sets of 15.

The other exercise would consist of an exercise band wrapped around a pole. Make the band into a loop or if it has a handle place that over your foot as you sit down away from the pole. When you sit, the band should be around your foot and the pole and no slack in the band (so you should be 2 or 3 feet away from the pole). Pull your toes towards you (dorsiflex your foot), then return. Repeat for the same number of sets and reps. At some point, I will make a video for Youtube to show you how to do these exercises. I will let you know when that is completed.

Those two exercises will strengthen the muscle you need to get stronger. The other thing you could do is take paper cups, fill them with water, and freeze them. You then will ice massage your shins for 15-20 minutes definitely after your activity, but possibly twice a day. As the ice melts, you tear away the paper. Piece of cake! And if you need to, take some ibuprofen or some other anti-inflammatory.

In my experience with my athletes, this usually does the trick. You should start seeing signs of relief within four weeks, possibly a little longer. Severe conditions have been known to take up to 6 months. I would recommend seeing a doctor if it is lasting this long, just to make sure it isn't a stress fracture.

Well, I hope that helps you out. Oh, just to make sure it isn't your running mechanics, you might want to have those looked at by a particularly studly speed coach that I know. And yes, he is only 4 years removed from high school (multiply that by ... I'll let you guess the number).

The Professionals I Use To Keep My Body Feeling Young

When I started training athletes and my wellness clients, I wanted to give them the feel that they were being trained as if they were a professional athlete getting paid the big bucks. The training that we do is no different than what a pro would be doing with his/her workouts. If you watch video, they are doing jumps, using speed sleds, parachutes, working on form. It is the same training that our athletes would do, it is just scaled down to their maturity level.

Speed/strength training is just one component for an athlete to be great. An athlete hires other services to fine tune his/her body to be the best that it can be. Massage therapy, dieticians, chiropractic care, and trainers are just a few of the amenities that an athlete might hire. So I thought it would be neat to show you who I have used to take care of my body. I wouldn't recommend these services if I didn't believe that they helped me out. I've got three services I'm going to discuss and the people who I use.

If you don't live in Columbus, make sure you really look at credentials and references. It helps if you know someone who is using that person, then if they pass those tests, you should feel a little better about using them.

For massage therapy, I use Melissa Muguruza Weaver, LMT. You can click here to visit her website. Her office is located in the Marble Cliff area. I have had several clients/former clients use Melissa and so I decided to try her out. She is great. She knows her stuff. She is very professional and runs her business that way, which is important to me. Plus, she gives a great massage. I've been fortunate enough to hand out some of her gift certificates to my clients and they have all come back with great kudos. She knows the body real well and you leave there feeling like a million bucks. If your body needs to recover from soreness, then a good massage will help. There are all different types of massage and I'm sure you need to figure out what style works best for you. You won't be disappointed if you try Melissa.

I'm a big believer that your body needs to be in good alignment in order for you to avoid injuries. Your bones should be aligned, but your muscles as well. Through the years, your movement patterns, if not proper, will lead to inflexibilites and possible injuries. One thing I have used to keep my muscles in good alignment is Rolfing. Basically, it is muscle manipulation that can be anything from relaxing to extremely painful. One of my clients got me turned onto this and I have found it extremely beneficial for my aches and pains. Getting my muscles into alignment has eliminated some issues I've had in my lower back, my abdominals, and my trapezius. Michael Loukas is the rolfer I have used for the last couple of years. Check out his website by clicking here. This guy is top notch, very professional, and really knows how the body works. Rolfing is a 14 step program and once you have done that, you can continue on as often as you want or do what I do and check back for refresher visits. It can be a little painful, but it is well worth it. If you have had some nagging health issues, muscle or joint aches, strains, etc., call Michael and see what he can do for you.

Chiropractic care can be very skeptical to a lot of people. Finding someone who is good and not out to take your money is hard. But, I believe when you find that good chiropractor, you use him as wellness prevention. Meaning, once he helps your issue, then continue to go on a maintenance schedule for injury prevention. Dr. Brian Neidenthal was referred to me, by you guessed it, a client. Brian is the owner of Atlas Family Heath Center and you can see his website by clicking here. Brian's specialty is the atlas, essentially your head and neck. If your head and neck are properly aligned then the rest of your body will be aligned. If there are issues, you align it and the body will then be able to heal itself. He rarely cracks my back, only if he feels he needs to. Really, it is about keeping my head and neck aligned which is done with a special laser.

Look, all sorts of athletes go to these people. Tons of them have massage therapists. Charles Barkley had a rolfer. Tiger Woods has a chiropractor. I think the combination of these three have helped my body stay young and helped my aching knees. Don't wait until you have an injury or health issue. Go to these specialists now for wellness prevention and get the star athlete treatment you deserve.

Stride Length vs. Stride Frequency

Recently, I have been having a great discussion with one of my Youtube subscribers about sprinting and the different things that you need to do to run faster. Specifically, this person wanted to discuss improving your maximal speed. One of the topics that was brought up was about stride length and stride frequency. The question was, "Which one is more important for you to run faster; stride length or stride frequency?"

This is a great question. I have heard some of your top professionals take both sides of this debate. Some will say to really start running faster you need to work on stride length. While others have said that stride length is somewhat fixed and that a stride frequency improvement will get you running faster.

When it comes to my clients, a lot of times I have to take it by an individual case. If I have an athlete who has a decent stride length, but their stride frequency isn't that great, then I will focus on the stride frequency and sprinkle in some stride length to see what can be improved. If I see the reverse, then obviously my focus will be switched. Ultimately, for my athletes (understand that most of them range in age between 10-17) developing leg strength and power will be the solution for both issues.

If your legs are generating more force as they are pushing off the ground, then stride length is increased because you will have a little more hang time with your strides. Thus, you are making the stride length longer. Also, if those legs are generating more power than the turnover speed of those legs is quicker. Because it is quicker that means you move from point A to point B faster.

Now let's go back to the question at hand. The only way to truly answer this question is to discuss it with an athlete that really has no mechanical flaws. There are no flexibility issues that are limiting the range of motion for the legs (this can really affect both stride length and stride frequency). Essentially, the runner is perfect. So how to get this athlete faster?

If you had a gun to my head and forced me to pick an answer, I would give the slight edge to improving the stride frequency that would give you the better shot of the athlete getting faster. My reason is that the stride length first will be limited by leg length. So at a certain point you can only get out so far before you would be increasing your hang time to a point that is detrimental to speed development. Once you have maxed out that stride length, then you need to apply all your tricks to get that frequency as fast as possible. How quick can those legs turnover? That is where training, strength training, and speed drills will come into play to continually develop that over time.

Lucky for you though, when I develop a speed program, I don't have to make a decision which one I'm going to work on. I usually will be hitting both because those are the athletes that I'm working with right now. Most have some very noticeable mechanical flaws (at least noticeable to me) and those flaws usually include an improvement of both stride length and stride frequency. So, as fun a debate as this was, I will never have to pick and choose and I will work on both areas for you to start running faster.