It's no secret that there is a definitive link between agility and quickness (change of direction), acceleration, top speed, and vertical jump capacity. 2 A real-world example of this can easily be seen at the Annual NFL Combine each and every year. Top performers routinely turn out great performances in all 3 skill types in skill players. Of course, there are the exceptions and some differences, but as a norm, there is more similarity than difference. Obvious reasons for

Yes, you read that right, more clickbait. But hey, if it's legitimate, then who cares. I believe this article I'm about to share with you will more than deliver. The hamstrings are a very unique and somewhat odd muscle group when compared to traditional mainstream exercises and need to be treated as such and according to their design. And rather than just re-write or copy and paste what I wrote about this very effective exercise years ago, I'm just going to link it here f

Sometimes during this wonderful journey of learning and growing as a coach, you simply miss or underrate training concepts or exercises that you should have been doing. Fortunately, if you are reading this, then I'm going to be providing you with some valuable insight that has somehow managed to stay under the radar for all these years. I should have connected the dots, and usually do when it comes to the practical application of training theory and research, but for some r

Now I'm sure many of you have heard of the three hip flexors which comprise the Iliopsoas muscle group (Psoas Major and Minor, and Iliacus). Right now we are going to cover this very powerful and still misunderstood muscle group thoroughly. T he reality is that if you want to become your best athletically and remain healthy, then you need to emphasize the Iliopsoas in your training program regularly. Reports from elite coaches years back showed greater cross-sectional areas o

The speed training industry is always in search of the next best technique, exercise, or training theory to make an athlete faster. Unfortunately, the best methods have been identified and continue to be re-confirmed in both the real world and research settings. But here are a few specialized "Speed Hacks" that you as an athlete or coach can utilize regularly to gain a definitive edge. For ease of learning and understanding, all drills will be broken down into two training ca

In part #1, you were shown some of the foundational reasons why deceleration is so critical to both your short-term and long-term health and performance capacity, and now you will be provided with a short list of active training strategies to ensure you are maximizing your deceleration potential, giving you peace of mind. Here is the list of methods we will explore in this article: Primary Training Methods: -Strength Training -Plyometrics -Specific Deceleration Strategies (Ov

When it comes to staying healthy and performing at an ultra-high level, regardless of the type of sport you compete in, there is zero doubt that being able to decelerate properly will make or break your performance. Look at the likes of Stephen Curry, Lionel Messi, Tyreek Hill, Cooper Kupp, and countless others, and you'll quickly notice that it's all of these individuals' innate and or acquired ability to stop on a dime and gain separation that provides the freedom to contro

Here is a fresh set of training tips to help support your hamstring health. Hamstring injuries are still running rampant in sport and training culture today, and it's at the expense of an athlete's goals and showcasing all of the prior hard work and blood, sweat, and tears that were put into practice. Fortunately, hamstring issues can be either prevented or reduced in severity. Here is a fresh set of training tips to help support your hamstring health. Active stretching durin

Welcome to the second installment of sled training exercises. I decided to break up the theme into two pieces just to make it easier to read. Ten drills can be a lot to digest for some, so I hope the format helps. #6-SLED MARCHING I never write to appease people because I'm interested in what truly helps and the truth. What's unfortunate is that this video, like many others, receives more attention and does far less than the ones that do far more for athletes and coaches.

I thought it would be helpful to coaches, trainers, athletes, and general gym goers if I disclosed my top go-to sled training drills. The sled can seem a bit bland and limited if you look at the web, and it can be difficult to identify variations that satisfy the purpose outside of just pushing and sprinting a loaded sled. Fortunately for you, there are some applications that you can implement with anyone to immediately develop or sustain several training skills which I wil

Common knowledge would tell you that you need to lift relatively heavy to get stronger. In other words, attempt to push as much weight as possible as often as possible with proper form. At least this is what your intuition and ego would tell you, especially when you are highly motivated to attack your lifts in the weight room. But is this approach of maxing out weight often the best road to getting stronger and staying healthy over the long-term? Of course not! Like everythi

The Core is, without a doubt, still one of the most popular topics in the fitness industry today and probably always will be for various reasons. Before we can discuss anything related to the core, it’s important to first define what the core is according to science. The core musculature is centered around the lumbo-pelvic-hip complex. It consists of over two dozen muscles attaching throughout the region at different origins and insertion points. According to movement science

In the world of sports, speed is king. Athletes, parents, coaches, and trainers always ask me if different forms of balance training create noticeable improvements in running speed. And rightfully so, with all the information out there, that’s a great question. Instead of giving you just my opinion, I’ll give you the scientific research and facts that I have on the matter, but first I want to briefly discuss the definition of balance-stabilization-based training, and break th

Sprint timing technique was originally popularized by world-class speed coach Chris Korfist. I could bet almost no one reading the title above has heard of the word before, unfortunately. We will dive into the nitty-gritty here shortly, but in its simplest sense, you can view Sprint Timing as your total body"vertical" based posture during high-speed sprinting. Ideally, the body should remain tall at midstance once the initial acceleration phase is complete and an athlete bec

If you were to select a particular technique that most coaches advocate for in the industry with their athletes, I'm certain that the arm drive would rank up there with the rest of them. Unfortunately, "Bongo Drills," and any other derivative seeking to enhance arm drive technique will not carryover to actual sprinting, especially with how it has been traditionally advocated. The aim should be to develop the associated arm muscles with specific strength training exercises t

Speed is found on the balls of your feet This key technique calls for a majority of our body weight to be concentrated over the front of our foot. The more forward our weight is over our feet, the more forefoot dominant we are, and vice versa. This technique encourages “leaning” while sprinting, but make sure you are not breaking at the hip. Below are a couple of training video progressions that will help you hone, reinforce, and effectively showcase this essential skill

The final acceleration workout option that hasn't been covered in terms of distance is the Transitional Acceleration phase. For many,...

The next phase after the sprint start would be the initial acceleration phase. This is where you really start to pick up some speed, or at least attempt to do so. Before we get started, though, make sure that you are performing a proper speed-based dynamic warm-up. Once complete, a very effective stimulation (PAP) drill can really benefit you. See below. The Sled Bound is a new age version of traditional bounds that intensifies and challenges bounding skill leading t

Hello everyone. Before we get started, it's vital that you perform a thorough dynamic speed-based warmup before performing any of the acceleration work to follow. Not only will this help facilitate speed gains, but it will absolutely help prevent any injuries from occurring as well. If you don't have a complete warmup system, you might want to visit the link below: https://thansen101.wixsite.com/website/product-page/rbs-warm-up-manual-for-athletes Now, after the warmup

For as long as I can remember now, coaches in any sports realm have been advocating keeping the elbows tucked to run faster. Unfortunately, this information is both misleading and counterproductive when the goal is to get faster. Last night, I had the mom of an athlete I train encourage her daughter to practice an elbow tuck, per the request of her club track and field coach. Suffice it to say, I'm still amazed that this kind of misinformation is being passed around, and ri