Are You Ignoring Your “Check Engine Light?” by Andrew Banner, CPT

            Can you imagine going a day without your vehicle to get you through your normal routine?  The answer for 99 percent of people is NO!  You need to get from point A to point B to fit every thing into your busy lifestyle.  If your check engine light pops up today, most likely you will schedule an appointment with your trusted car mechanic because it is vital that your vehicle performs for you.  The last thing you need is for your car to completely breakdown because you chose to avoid the check engine light for days.  Your body needs the same attention to perform at optimum levels day in and day out.

            When you experience aches and pains in your daily life, those are your signs (check engine light) that you should not ignore.  Therefore, selecting a quality performance coach (mechanic) is important to your health.  The best car mechanics run diagnostic tests, test drive your vehicle, and provide quality customer service.  Your performance coach should be doing all of the above when they first meet with you, if not, it is important you make a change.  Too many people waste their time and money paying personal trainers to essentially count repetitions.  Most personal trainers take a “cookie cutter” approach with their programming or lack there of, and forget that every person has their own unique needs.  Remember, every car that comes into the mechanic’s shop has different problems and so do you!  This is why the best performance facilities take the time to check your range of motion (diagnostics), test your movement patterns (test drive), and provide quality customer service.  With the combination of the three components, the performance specialists can provide you with a program that best meets your body’s needs to help you get back performing on all cylinders. 

            Listen to your body, when you are experiencing aches and pains, do not ignore them, seek out a performance specialist that tests for range of motion and quality of movement patterns in their assessment all while providing top-of-the-line customer service.  With the help of a performance specialist and a little dedication on your end, you will be back on the road performing as good as new in no time!

A Customized Approach to Post-Workout Nutrition by Jon DeMoss

     As an athlete, you've probably participated in (or at least observed) the following popular post-workout food ritual: a set of free weights crashes down after the last rep; a bottle filled with a chalky liquid gets a good shake; and down goes another protein shake in a single gulp.
     Clever marketing and misinterpretations of research have created lots of confusion about post-workout nutrition. Many athletes take the misinformation and rush to their local supplement store to load up on concoctions of chemical compounds. But post-workout nourishment is more complicated than that. It's important and it needs to be planned properly. Failing to take your workout effort, body composition and training goals into account could prevent you from getting key nutritional components; reduce the benefits of all your hard work in the gym; and derail your progress.
The correct answer to the question of effective post-workout nutrition?

Click Here to read more.

The Secret to Running Faster by Jon DeMoss

"Speed kills!"

Coaches have been chanting this mantra for decades while implementing various training principles to get their athletes to run faster. Some have been successful. Some not so much. Scientific research has provided the template for the fastest way to accelerate your speed training.

Click Here to read the rest of this article.

Building Strong and Mobile Shoulders, Part 3: Stability Training by Jon DeMoss

In Part 1 and Part 2 of this series, we provided a self test to measure your shoulder health and a strength workout. We now cover stability training, the final piece of the puzzle for building strong and mobile shoulders.
To understand the concept of stability, imagine an anchor on a boat. An anchored boat can float around on the surface of the water, but it won't completely drift away. Think of the shoulder’s mobility (range of motion, tissue flexibility and joint movement) as the length of your anchor line—the longer the line, the more you can drift before the current carries you away. Stability is the weight of your anchor—the heavier the anchor, the stronger the current you can withstand.
You want to maximize joint range of motion to increase skill execution for throwing and swinging, but you are limited by what you can successfully stabilize. If you are forced outside your zone of control, your performance will decrease and your risk of injury will increase.

Read More

Building Stronger and Mobile Shoulders by Jon DeMoss

In Part 1 of this series, we highlighted a simple self-test that sets a baseline for your shoulder health and mobility. This important test alerts you to any potential shoulder issues and suggests possible causes of movement restrictions. If the test gave you fits, read on to learn simple workout tweaks that can restore mobility to one of the most important areas of your body.
Read More

The Power of Your Imagination

“Imagination is everything. It is the preview of life’s coming attractions.”

–Albert Einstein

The power of our imagination is boundless. It is the one thing that we have clutched to since our childhood. It is the one thing that acts as a catalyst for our hopes and dreams. Yet, how many times have we shelved our enthusiasm for creating the imagination into reality?

When we have an inspired thought or hope we have to trust it and most importantly, we have to act on it. We have to learn how to habituate our imagination and make it our reality. It is an incredibly powerful process that takes us on amazing journeys. Or to put it simply, whatever you are imagining is a perfect reflection of what is in the process of becoming.

I have become inspired by how far our imagination can take us. I have also seen how one small stumbling block in that process can alter our path and divert our passion for our dreams. It is an ugly word, doubt. Or in this example, doubt comes in the form of another word….just.

Let me set the stage: In the movie Neverland, Johnny Depp’s character, J.M. Barrie, is in the park about to dance with his enormous St. Bernard, Porthos…now acting as a huge, dancing grizzly bear for the Davies’ boys. The boys at the time are fairly skeptical yet willing to be entertained until the young Peter Davies chimes in……

Peter Davies: This is absurd. It's just a dog.
J.M. Barrie: Just a dog? *Just*?  
J.M. Barrie: [to Porthos] Porthos, don't listen!
J.M. Barrie: [to Peter] Porthos dreams of being a bear, and you want to shatter those dreams by saying he's *just* a dog? What a horrible candle-snuffing word. That's like saying, "He can't climb that mountain, he's just a man", or "That's not a diamond, it's just a rock." Just.

One simple word can diminish our imagination and quelch our hopes and dreams, just. Never let doubt into your pathway of making your dreams a reality!

“With a lift of his chin, and a bit of a grin…without any doubting or “quit it,” he started to sing, as he tackled the thing that couldn’t be done, and he did it.” –Edgar A. Guest  

Three Power Exercises for Every Tennis Player by Jon DeMoss

As a tennis athlete, you know that consistently performing on-court drills will improve your game. But do you also know how to train off the court? Too few tennis players understand the performance benefits of weight training.
I highly recommend seeking out a strength coach for an individualized training program. If that isn't feasible for you, try my workout below. I suggest three areas of the body to focus on for dramatic improvement in your game. Incorporate the following exercises into your tennis training program and you'll dominate your opponents on the court.

                                                            Click Here To Read Full Article