I often say to my aspiring triathletes, “Your form begins in the swim.”   Just like there are parts of a swimming stroke, there are parts of a pedal stroke: start, power, finish, lift and recovery. The better you master each part, the more efficient your pedal stroke will... Read more

Driven by her desire for gold, U.S. National Team gymnast Christy Henrich practiced diligently for hours each day while maintaining a disciplined diet in hopes of becoming the best. But by the age of 22-years old, she weighed less than 50 pounds, and her tragic death illuminated the importance of... Read more

Parents of young athletes have it tough. As youth sports become increasingly more complex and competitive, parents are tasked with nurturing, teaching, motivating and training their athletes. I believe parents have the best intentions for their children’s pursuit of reaching their highest level of performance. But far too often... Read more

Thinking of taking up swimming because you heard the activity would be easier on your joints? Although most aquatic sports are considered non-weight bearing, knee injuries are the most common (after shoulder injuries) with swim- mers, water polo players and synchronized swimmers.   The injury rates increase based on... Read more

In my many years of strength training, there have been three predominant lifts that tower above all in the weight room as the pillars. The squat, deadlift, and the bench press. Then if you were to narrow it down to the most per- formed exercise you would be left with... Read more

   Pushing through discomfort isn’t always a sign of strength; it’s often an avenue to injury. POWERED BY TRUCKS: Anthony Trucks    “It’s nothing, I can handle it. I’ll just push through the pain”    Worse words have never been uttered when in my presence at the gym. I... Read more

   Speed, Quickness and Agility: There’s a fine line between condition training and speed training.    If athletes are going to increase their speed, quickness and agility they must train at high speeds. Many times coaches keep the drills too long and the rest too short; this simply becomes... Read more

  By Tonya Marie Amos | For Aspire Pilates Center   Did you know that Pilates is incredible cross training for any sport? Perhaps you always thought that Pilates is “just for girls”?   Actually, Joseph Pilates was a professional boxer. Beginning in early 19th century Germany, Mr. Pilates extensively trained... Read more

  By KEITH POWER for KPA ELITE Having been involved with elite level youth sports for 25 years, it is clear the expectations today for our young athletes have never been higher. Parents and kids alike feel the pressure to navigate this hyper-competitive, pressure-filled, make-it-or-break-it world of youth sport.... Read more

GET MENTAL : Erika Carlson     A growing trend in youth sports, especially female youth sports, is early commitment to college. In 2014, the New York Times ran a story about Haley Berg a 14-year-old 8th grader who, just a few weeks before her first day of high school,... Read more

Powered by Trucks : Anthony Trucks    Like everyone else this year I made it a point to kick up my physical training.     In fact, I dug out my original training program from Oregon when I used to play football for the Ducks. In the back of my... Read more