New year, same us!

Please read on for news and updates.

In This Newsletter

Fill The Sleeves

For the month of February, we are bringing back the Fill the Sleeves Campaign, benefitting the Best Friends Animal Society. The goal to of this campaign is to demonstrate the power of consistency in small habits. 
If you haven’t seen Oregon’s Coach Aaron Feld’s motivational curls on a mountain top, check it out. 

How it works:

After every workout, coaches will lead you through the Fill the Sleeves finisher. Donations go like this:
1. Individuals can commit to donate a set amount for each day they participate that they will pay out at the end of the month. (Ex: Steve will donate 1 dollar for every “fill the sleeve” workout he executes. At the end of the month he executed 20 workouts, so he will donate $20 to Best Friends)
 -OR-
2. Pick a designated amount you would like to donate at the end of the month. (You do not have to participate in the challenge to donate!)

 *Donations will be collected between Feb. 26th and March 5th. 

Cash or check donations are preferred – please make checks out to Best Friends Animal Society. (If you wish to donate by card, there will be a small service fee of $1.25) 

U of U Women’s Lacrosse

As many of you know, we are lucky to work with the University of Utah Women’s Lacrosse Team and, this season, we’d love to provide them with additional support, beyond training. If you would like to contribute to the team, please reach out to Steve or Danielle.  

Current Training Phase

2024 First Block

After working through our last phase, where we incorporated heavier weight and increased our strength, we’re ready to apply that strength towards power output. In terms of strength, power output plays an important role in movement.  

During this block, we’re implementing different methods of loading with the use of chains and bands which is called accommodating resistance. Accommodating resistance increases muscle activation when the muscles react, at a higher rate, to stabilize the joints. Not only does this help with strength but it improves power output and increases muscle hypertrophy, or, development of the muscles (2,3). By increasing intensity at the top point of lifts, accommodating resistance is also going to help with sticking points (1,2,3). 

Main emphasis of next block 

• Off Season-Keep building the body up 
• Power Output 
• Muscle Hypertrophy (keep building muscle)  
• Strength (can never have enough of it)  
• Build Higher Aerobic/Anerobic Bases (increase our conditioning)  

 If you are in-season with your sports or activities, you can still focus on all of these elements, but be less aggressive. For example, by limiting range of motion for joint recovery. By continuing to train during your in-season you’re engaging your muscles, which improves performance and prevents injury or muscle atrophy (5,6,7). Many injuries happen in sports due to the lack of preparation for the demands of the sport or activity, during the off-season (7). Fun fact: muscles can start to atrophy and lose strength within 3 weeks of no lifting or exercise.  

Lastly, remember to embrace the process! Your numbers may not always go up, but you may improve your squat depth, refine your deadlift technique, or bench to full range of motion. Sometimes better technique means decreasing your load because you are increasing muscle engagement, working at a fuller range of motion, and properly stabilizing joints. The technique is what will always develop the lean body mass and burn more calories. Also keep in mind that consistency does not have to mean giving 100% every time you train. We all have rough days and continuing to move your body and engage your muscles will contribute to foundational strength on days you’re ready to push harder. 

References 

1-Similos, I, Pilianidis, T, Sotiropoulos, K, Antonakis, M and Tokmakidis, SP, Short-term effects of selected exercise and load in contrast training on vertical jump performance, J Strength Cond Res 19: 135-139, 2005. 

2-Scott, D. J., Ditroilo, M., & Marshall, P. (2018). Effect of accommodating resistance on the post activation potentiation response in rugby league players. The Journal of Strength & Conditioning Research, 32(9), 2510-2520. 

3-Masel, S., & Maciejczyk, M. (2024). Accommodating resistance is more effective than free weight resistance to induce post-activation performance enhancement in squat jump performance after a short rest interval. Journal of Exercise Science & Fitness, 22(1), 59-65. 

4- Beattie, K., Kenny, I. C., Lyons, M., & Carson, B. P. (2014). The effect of strength training on performance in endurance athletes. Sports Medicine, 44, 845-865. 

5- Allerheiligen, B. (2003). In-season strength training for power athletes. Strength & Conditioning Journal, 25(3), 23-28. 

6- Cross, M. J., Williams, S., Trewartha, G., Kemp, S. P., & Stokes, K. A. (2016). The influence of in-season training loads on injury risk in professional rugby union. International journal of sports physiology and performance, 11(3), 350-355. 

7- Castañeda-Babarro, A., Etayo-Urtasun, P., & León-Guereño, P. (2022). Effects of Strength Training on Cross-Country Skiing Performance: A Systematic Review. International Journal of Environmental Research and Public Health, 19(11), 6522.  

Welcome Brooklyn!

We’re so excited to announce the addition of our newest coach, Brooklyn Mohamud. She joins our team with three years strength and conditioning experience and is a passionate coach eager to positively contribute to our SLC Strength community. 

A note from Brooklyn: I am very proud to be a strength and conditioning coach and believe that I coach for the right reasons. I love that I have the ability to positively influence and help mold men and women of all ages and abilities to function the best they possibly can, whether that be in a sport, hobby, or just life in general. I’m also passionate about furthering the field of strength and conditioning and feel compelled to learn all I can to share in the positive development of my community (i.e., clients, athletes, parents of youth athletes, current and future coaches, teachers, leaders, etc.) and their perceptions of strength and conditioning. I’m excited to be joining this incredible community and look forward to meeting and getting to know you all!

Spencer Update

As we welcome Brooklyn to our team, we are also saying goodbye to Spencer. We’ve enjoyed having Spencer coach with us and we wish him all the best in his future ventures!  

Housekeeping

Class Reservations

Friendly reminder to reserve your class space through the Zen Planner app or the Class Calendar on our website. If you have questions about how to reserve your classes, we’re happy to help!  

Cold Season

We are in cold and flu season and with that comes sniffles, sneezes, and coughs. As a general reminder, if you are symptomatic with any cold or flu like symptoms, regardless of COVID 19 potential and bearing in mind all other potential viruses, please stay home and focus your energies toward getting better. Along these lines, please also be mindful that we provide training services to a diverse population and with that we have several members that have known underlying, non-contagious, conditions that may cause coughing or other symptoms that may mimic aspects of infection. Our team is generally aware of these individual’s circumstances and want to ensure they have the same access to maintain and improve their health and fitness. This note will continue to be in our newsletters during cold and flu season, as a general reminder 

Whether you’re new to our classes or a seasoned attendee, we’d appreciate if you took the time to leave us a review!