Vitamin D undoubtedly remains one of the most hyped and popular sports supplements on the market today. In this blog, you will discover answers to some of the more common topics related to this sports supplement. To get things kicked off, here is a quick and very detailed primer that I contributed to over at T-Nation.com . It depicts how The Vitamin D pathway works in the body, along with some more evidence for athletes who may be lacking in the vitamin if you are intereste

As it stands, training status seems to play a significant role in whether nitric oxide will be useful to an athlete, and research has been limited to young males exclusively, so more work is needed to examine other training populations. However, in untrained or moderately trained individuals, NO may improve performance. With those who are highly trained, the benefits of incorporating NO are unlikely. 2  Let's Look at The Research A study found an anaerobic sprinting ben

This comparison was a topic of debate years ago among coaches, parents, and training practitioners.  Some advocated one or the other, while others settled for a healthy blend of both.  Like most things in life, the answer will ultimately favor the latter and land you somewhere in the middle.  Let's quickly look at the benefits of each: The Pushup: *Moderate Press Strength p

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...

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

The metabolism can be simplified and broken down into two distinct phases that occur simultaneously around the clock where one phase...

Glutamine, or L-Glutamine as it’s often called is one of the more popular and hyped up sports supplements on the training market today....

This post was originally inspired by new sign-ups to build expectations and see who is serious about "training" and working hard, cause after all that is exactly what training is when you break it all down. As a coach, it's a way to remove any potential drama, put the ball back in the client's court, and hold your clients accountable. The Real Role of Your Trainer Contrary to popular belief, the real role of a personal trainer is to not babysit and coddle you emotionally, a

If you are reading this and under the impression that "fat loss" is a rapid process, then you are sadly mistaken. Fat loss is difficult and takes time just like anything worthwhile in life, but the upside is that you will be rewarded indefinitely at the end. Not just through a better state of health, since excessive body fat is linked to every human disease state, but fat loss is a numbers game. Here are some interesting body weight facts for you to consider: 1 lb. of fat

No-nonsense approach to muscle building Everyone meet Skylar Schroeder. Skylar was just your skinny young teenager with strong aspirations of becoming his biggest and best self. Fast forward 6 months later and he had gained 35 lbs. of raw muscle mass following sound nutrition and training advice that included an effective workout plan with set, rep, and tempo guidance. But that is neither here nor there. If you're interested in the collective approach Skylar used then fe

If there is one exercise that even the top coaches tend to shy away from it would be overhead pressing, and with good reason. In order to be successful with the movement there is so much that has to go right from head to toe to elicit proper shoulder mechanics, rhythm, and functioning, otherwise injury is a certainty. If the hips, core, low back, upper back, or shoulder joint itself are dysfunctional in any shape or form it can affect the shoulder in a negative fashion result

It’s hard to come by a unique way to perform arguably the most classic upper body exercise aside from bench pressing this day and age. And anytime that a new exercise is brought to the forefront it should definitely serve a strong purpose in the training program and ultimately contribute to your success. The Foam Roll Press does exactly that and affords you a unique way to challenge your pushup ability to help keep your shoulders healthy, stronger, and bigger if you match the

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

In the world of agility and quickness training it is suddenly becoming increasingly difficult to search for and identify original techniques that can benefit an athlete in improving their change of direction ability. Fortunately, I've integrated a series that you can adopt with your athletes that cover a majority of the training need when it comes to agility and quickness development. Remember that after the initial cut or first step strategy the remained of movement is goi

Ever since I took my first trainer certification through the National Academy of Sports Medicine, the debate between performing a draw-in maneuver, versus bracing the core, or attempting to tighten and firm and generate a rigid spine has existed. And unfortunately, the topic is still emphasized in training culture today. I’m not sure if people keep ongoing discussion out of pure boredom, or if they don’t know what the real answer is on the topic, but this seems pretty straigh

The reality is that people will often tell you that you need to be stretching and performing some form of manual therapy or soft tissue work to the Illiopsoas group. But what they wont tell you is that your Psoas is more than likely weak, and could use some extra focus in training. Drills like the one below along with sled sprints, prowler sprints, deep squats, mountain climber progressions, and single leg work with and without deficits will all recruit the psoas more and ens

Assisted speed training comes in many shapes and forms, and some methods have been studied more so than others, but each technique carries with it some benefit when implemented appropriately in an athlete’s overall training program. Remember that there isn’t just one specific exercise that is going to make you or your athletes faster, but rather a “collection” of drills strategically programmed over time that creates a potent combination resulting in faster running speed. T

The glute bridge has been a staple for quite some time now, and there are plenty of variations of the exercise to go around. Initially, it was promoted to increase activation of the glutes and minimize overuse of the hamstrings and other surrounding muscles, but the bridge can offer more benefit if you get creative and start to think outside of the box a little. One of the more significant challenges as a competing athlete or someone that trains hard regularly is being able t

As trainers and coaches, we are always looking for new and improved ways of delivering training for our clients. This approach helps to make sure that athletes and clients stay engaged in the program, and there seems to be a strong psychological component to rotating drills to help keep things exciting and fun. Conversely, you could also elect to keep your program consistent with very little change for an indefinite period of time and still make progress without any plateau o