It’s not the words you say aloud, because half the time [around your teammates] it’s gibberish anyway; it’s the words you say in the privacy of your own mind.

“I’m not big enough” or “I’m not strong enough” may sound like petty self-judgments of who you are as an athlete. Actually, they are the instructions that have led you to your current position.

Begin simply by declaring who and what you want to become and soon the words will become facts.

What makes the combine so important for high school football athletes is that NIKE sends off each player’s test scores to every college football program in the country. Athletes have the option to “scratch” their scores if they’re not happy with their result, however our hard-working clients performed very well considering the poor conditions.

Notable performances came from Blaze Richardson, an 8th grade running back who will attend Bayside High School next season – he ran a 4.88 sec 40-yard dash and a 4.56 sec 20-yard pro shuttle. Vinny Smith, a sophomore quarterback from Merritt Island High School, tested well in the power events recording a vertical jump of 32″ and a 35-foot power ball toss.  Austin Mcguire, a junior linebacker at Palm Bay High School,  ran a solid 4.52 sec 20-yard pro shuttle after the field was wet & torn-up, plus he recorded a 31-foot power ball toss. Jake Smith, a junior quarterback from Palm Bay High School, recorded an above average 27.5″ vertical jump, but what makes his stat so incredible is that at 6′4″ he also boasts a 100″ standing reach!

Athletes will now prepare for the Schuman Underclassmen Combine in Orlando, FL on April 9th-10th where they’ll also test the broad jump, 3-cone drill and bench press.

When examining performance data, the athletes who have “hyper-tempo” (a word I’m coining) all test in the top 95% on the vertical jump, 10-yard dash, 20-yard shuttle and pull-up rep test.

It’s my belief that more factors come into play when talking about slow workout tempo (like nutrition status & personal stress outside the facility), but if it becomes habitual an athletes’ body doesn’t look or respond the same, often times exhibiting what I call the “drag effect.”

Educating my athletes on optimal nutrition, hydration, supplementation and mental focus while “in-training” has become a priority. Some have made the necessary changes and seen the results, but for others being “chill” is just a way of life. Unfortunately, their athletic window also seems to be closing.

Bottom line, athletes who want results “get after it,” even when they’re resting.

When you enter the gym you need to know; what is my preparation, what power is behind me?

Whose body is it you are working out? Honestly, whose? Why are you working out? Are you pushing and pressing aimlessly doing numbers and pounds or is there an inner purpose to how and why? We can force and push and maybe achieve a stronger body, but will it perform for you to it’s peak?

Whose body are you improving? Yours! Get in touch with it. Get used to You. If we ever have dreams of being the best or great, get it and believe it now! Look within you, now, and find something that is good or great. Forget the voices, forget the critics, in you is a truth about you that is good and true. Believe it now. That is your Highest source of internal power.

If we are unfocused or partially empowered our results will be partial. Take the moment, ask who am I? What is my strength? What is my gift? What can I do or where do I come from that gives others something of benefit? We each have gifts and talents and we all can operate from our inner best or we can push pounds and count numbers.

Do you like spending time with some people and seem bummed or drained when being with others? That same energy happens when we work out. Focus, get in touch with your power and then when you work out you will be empowering your entire system not just a few muscles. You know one star player doesn’t make a team, a few big muscles will not be your best powerhouse unless you incorporate all of you.

Here is to great performance! Below you will find a couple of techniques you can use to connect to more of you to empower yourself to become a better athlete.

1.)  What is your strength? What is the strongest part of you as a teammate? Are you the encourager? Are you the eagle, do you get powerful leading? Are you the communicator, do they get it after you explain it? Keep asking the questions until you find your quality, they are all necessary and are all good!

2.) Take a moment, sit down, get quiet, get clear and focus. Why are you working out now? What do you hope to accomplish?

3. ) Feel what you want! Feel it, dream it, believe it! Michael Jordan played entire games out in his head before he took the court. You can spend a few minutes in visualizing your desired outcome. More speed? More vertical? More agility? HOW? WHAT DOES A BETTER YOU LOOK LIKE AND PERFORM LIKE ON THE COURT, THE FIELD? Now we have a focus, you are now connected to the energy in your body that puts the formula of strength, ability and performing into one action!

4.) Think and feel for a moment. If you had a friend coming over to help you with a project would say, “You’re here, do this, then do that and that and that and that….” Or would you greet each other, thank them for coming over and then plan? Same thing, think, feel your arms, your legs, your thighs…… Literally notice them and acknowledge them. For God’s sake be grateful for your intense amazing body that is going to do everything you ask of it! Again would you like to help someone that says oh you’re here, lets go? Or would you work better being acknowledged for your willingness and efforts before you even began? Your body is the same way, look at the glutes, the quads and so on and say thank you. Try it. If you do this one thing for one week and change nothing else, you are going to be amazed at the added strength and definition!

5.) Get in touch with your physical powerhouse. Clench your glutes, TIGHT. Move your hips slightly forward feel the pressure, 1, 2, 3 seconds and release. Step back and away from the exercise, release the thought and the tension 1 or 2 seconds max. Walk forward to the exercise (very important) then feel YOU and begin.

You are going to be in the gym for an hour and a half or so anyways, why not make it the most empowering and purposefully engineered time? Power is yours to create. Focus, intention, self connection and physical energy combined will give you the powerful results you desire!

Joe Petroski
PainEliminated.com

In golf the hip is exposed to a great deal of stress on the downswing. The increased risk of hip injury is greater today because of the greater rotation favoured by the modern golf swing. The hip rotator cuff can be sufficiently warmed-up and activated with the following exercise:

Note: hip activation complex-II is a more advanced version of the exercise and can be performed with athletes demonstrating good core control. In this video, our athlete does not maintain proper core stability to progress to this drill.

In addition to helping athletes increase their speed, single-leg training is recognized as a key in knee injury prevention. The video below is the first exercise we introduce to all our new clients. The split squat must be performed with no upper body movement and full range of motion. We use soft foam pads below to guide our athletes to proper depth.

An easy progression to include in your program is performing 3-4 sets of 8-12 repetitions for 3-4 weeks. Choose a heavy enough weight that forces your body to “work” but not so heavy that your form is compromised.