All three of my teenage sons have very good verticals (30”+). One of my sons has a particularly exceptional vertical jump. Combine that with the fact that he is tall for his age, has reasonably long arms, isn’t yet in high school, and that makes his jumping ability a common talking point at basketball and football games. Many people know I am a trainer and a strength coach, and I have been surprised how many people have asked me, “Is a good vertical from training or genetics?”
Strength Training for High School Football Players
The main priorities for football players are: strength, power, size, and speed 3-6 hours of strength training per week are required for a program to provide optimal gains in strength, power, and size. In this article I’ll provide you with key strength standards for high school football players some background, philosophy, and simple programming guidelines for high school football players…
2021 March Animal Faceoff
If you know me, you know I love theoretical animal fights. Who wins: A chimp vs a pit bull? An anaconda vs a wolf? The World’s Strongest Man vs a Leopard? In fact, the most popular article I have on this site about powerlifting is Who Wins: A Gorilla vs A Grizzly (Given all of the good quality fitness info I…
The 1-5% Rule of Fitness: Why You Should Follow It
As a trainer and a coach, it is my job to simplify the concepts in fitness and health and then relay that information to my clients and athletes. How often should I work out? How much time should I spend in the gym? How do I know what to do? How much exercise is too much? How much should an…
The Massive Plug-and-Play Home Workout Guide
Everyone is stuck performing home workouts right now because of the COVID Pandemic. I have had to redesign countless workout programs for my clients and my athletes who can no longer train in a gym and may not be able to for an extended period of time. Initially, I was getting frustrated trying to balance out who could do what…
What to do if you can’t train with a barbell?
As I write this article the Coronavirus is high on everyone’s mind, and many gyms and fitness centers are set to close down for 2-4 weeks, perhaps even longer. Many serious lifters are wondering – what should I do? How can I train to at least maintain if not increase my strength? What if I have a competition in a…
How Strong are You Really?
It is pretty natural for those who enjoy throwing around the weights to wonder how strong they are compared to others out there. It is easy to look around your gym and see what others are lifting, and if you are reading this blog and you own a copy of All About Powerlifting it is likely you are one of…
Should Transgender Women Compete alongside Cisgender Women in Sports?
The goal of this article is to explore the idea of transgender women competing with cisgender women in sports. This is a topic that tends to ignite passion on both sides of the aisle. My hope is to be able to write about this in a scientific and non-polarizing way. Some of the terms involved in this discussion change over…
ARE DEADLIFTS WORTH THE RISK?
Accomplished strongman Robert Oberst made the comment on Joe Rogan’s podcast (one of the most popular podcasts in the world) that deadlifts that are not worth the risk. Here is his exact quote: “If you are deadlifting to be a better deadlifter, fine. If you are not doing that for deadlift’s sake, then don’t f*cking do it. The risk to…
Can Lifting Weights Stunt My Child’s Growth
I teach a kid’s fitness and fun camp. When I tell parents about that class, one of the questions I often receive (spoken or unspoken) is: Can lifting weights stunt my child’s growth? Let me do my best to answer that question as clearly as I can. There is no evidence that lifting weights can stunt a child’s…