BUILDING A STRONG FOUNDATION

When young athletes start the process of training for athletic performance it is an exciting time! With dreams of being the next Kyle Snyder or JJ Watt they want to get there as fast as possible. Some of the things young athletes and parents have keep in mind is the “process”. The process of building a strong foundation properly on technique and reposition. Kyle Snyder didn’t become a national champion and Olympic gold medalist wrestler over night and JJ Watt’s 100 rep tire flip didn’t just happen the day it was posted on insta gram. Years of training and tens of thousands of reps developed their bodies to allow them to train how they do to make them the best in the world.

We have athletes come in for an assessment and they say” I squat 185lbs” but in the assessment they can’t do 10 body weight squats below parallel or “they hang clean their body weight” but what they really are doing is a rounded back rdl with an upright row and the parents asking why they have lower back pain in 9th grade.

Proper form and movement patterns must taught before these barbells are being utilized. Body weight, sand bags and balls are just some of the tools in our opinion that should be used to teach these movements. Increasing their range of motion and strengthening the young athletes body though out the entire movement is one of the first keys to success.

The second key is hammering home the technique rep after rep when the athlete does jump onto the barbells. Finding the right cues and language to have the cues stick with the athlete is huge. This way if the athlete is training outside of your supervision he or she is still training safely.

Finally, making sure to take the time and have enough quality reps performed before going after weight room records. In our room we have sessions full of SAVAGES everyone of them is trying to beat last weeks workout, the training partner next to them and the athletes across the country I keep telling them are out working them! So pulling them back isn’t easy to say the least. But by pulling back on the weight and having the athletes put in the work with the reps you are building the foundation and the muscle memory needed to go after those big numbers.

Join our news letter for tips on everything from training, rehab, mindset and nutrition.