We strive to provide you with scientifically backed research to educate and empower you to meet your training goals. Each month we take a deep-dive into training topics that you can learn about via our newsletters or here! All peer-reviewed research that was used in creating each write-up will be referenced within the article.
IMPORTANCE OF CONTINUING YOUR STRENGTH & CONDITIONING TRAINING DURING YOUR IN-SEASON
With transition in weather comes the transition in our seasonal sports and activities. Running, cycling, hiking, skiing, or boarding are great ways to train outside of the gym but it’s important to remember that consistently training in the gym will mitigate injury and improve your performance.
Our objectives in the weight room are to (1) strengthen and balance the muscles, ligaments, and tendons so they can adequately handle the stressors of acceleration, deceleration, and change of direction against varying external forces (i.e., ground, snow, water, air, bike pedals, mountain sides, etc.) without breaking down or tearing, and (2) build stamina and endurance to ensure our body can endure repeated stressors for a duration of time.
Fun Fact: The glutes, hamstrings, and hip adductors are the primary supporters of the knees and ankles, and produce the most force in acceleration, deceleration, and change of direction. Unfortunately, these muscles are generally not primary muscles worked in sports and are therefore neglected and underdeveloped. This imbalance will eventually lead to performance plateau and decline—if an injury doesn’t occur first! (5,6) Read more »
Nutrition Guidance at SLC S&C
Within the field of health and performance-based professionals, there are Certified Strength & Conditioning Specialists (CSCS), Registered Dietitians (RD), Licensed Physical Therapists (PT), Licensed Athletic Trainers (LAT), and Mental Health/Cognitive Performance Practitioners. Among these professionals, there is some educational overlap that allows them to communicate or coordinate, but it is important to understand what is in or outside their specific scope of practice. With this in mind, all of these licensed professionals operate as a team to utilize a colleague’s expertise for an individual’s needs rather than operating outside of their scope.
All of our SLC S&C coaches are Certified Strength and Conditioning Specialists (CSCS); not RDs, PTs, LATs, or Mental Health/Cognitive Performance Practitioners. Continue reading to learn more about what is and is not in scope when it comes to guidance we’ll provide when it comes to nutrition!
Sport Specific Training & Why We Don’t Do It
We get asked about this subject A LOT. So we wanted to address why training as a whole is significantly more beneficial than doing sport specific movements.
Generally speaking, the goal of training is to develop your body so it can handle the stressors of life and the activities or sports you participate/compete with intent to increase strength and performance. More specifically, objectives in the weight room are to (1) strengthen and balance the muscles, ligaments, and tendons so they can adequately handle the stressors of acceleration, deceleration, and change of direction against varying external forces (i.e., ground, snow, water, air, bike pedals, mountain sides, etc.) without breaking down or tearing, and (2) build stamina and endurance to ensure our body can endure repeated stressors for a duration of time. Read more »
Importance of Neck Training
Neck muscles are a vital part of head stability and movement. By training neck muscles, we’re aiding during falls and direct impact of the head. This is important to our coaches because the majority of our member base participates in other activities outside of the gym including running, climbing, biking, skiing, snowboarding. All of these sports have high rates of falls and concussions. Read more »
Beat The Holiday Hangover
As you know, January can come with a lot of high expectations and unrealistic goals for your body, but we are here to give you some tips to help with the holiday hangover and take a healthier approach to the New Year. Read more »
In-Depth Article Review (2)
ELECTROMYOGRAPHY COMPARISON OF SEX DIFFERENCES DURING THE BACK SQUAT – Which muscles are activating/signaling more throughout the movement of the back squat? Read more »
In-Depth Article Review (1)
AUTO-REGULATED EXERCISE SELECTION TRAINING REGIMEN PRODUCES SMALL INCREASES IN LEAN BODY MASS AND MAXIMAL STRENGTH – Individuals selecting exercises that are similar to the prescribed exercises and seeing increases in overall strength and body composition. Read more »
Are You Getting the Most Out of Your Warm-Up?
You know those days where time seems to be moving at hyperspeed and you end up hauling ass at 50mph down the road, just so you can make it to class 10 minutes late? What about those days where you just don’t feel like doing the warm-up so you just skip it completely or give less effort than you normally would? Read more »
Reading a Lift Card at SLC S&C
Lift cards are a great resource to use while attending a class, coached open hours, or if you’re training at home. We’ve put together a few helpful videos breaking down how to read our lift cards here.
Max Effort Week
As a training phase concludes, you will have the opportunity to see your strength in a number of lifts. Those lifts consist of: Back Squats, Bench press, Deadlifts, Chin ups, and Push-ups.
Max Effort Week can be a lot of fun, however, it is imperative that those that are planning on participating follow our guidelines. As always injury prevention and your safety in the weight room is priority and although, we as coaches are prepared to help you hit those high numbers, we also need your help when it comes to listening to your body and keeping us posted on that. Read more »
Deload Week Basics
When we exercise or workout, such as weight lifting, running or other forms of cardio, we are actually stressing the body out and breaking down our tissues and muscles at the cellular level. Something to keep in mind, however, is that our bodies can only handle so much stress for so long. While it is easy to get addicted to the post-workout euphoria and seeing weekly strength gains or weight loss results, it is also important to allow our bodies to adequately and actively recover.
If we overload the body too much for too long without adequate recovery, we start to experience excessive physical or mental fatigue, get sick, experience burn out and defeat, start to plateau, or we get injuries. It is important to recognize this and take a deload week. This is basically an opportunity to build the body back up from the 4-6 weeks of hard work and stress from working out. Read more »
Gym Rules
Our number one priority is your safety. Please do your part by following these rules while you’re in the facility to keep you and those around you safe!
- Uneven surfaces – Watch your step!
- Awareness of surroundings is required at all times while in gym
- Be respectful of your coaches and peers
- Lift and exercise responsibly
- Re-rack weights and equipment when finished
- Practice good hygiene and clean workout areas when finished
- Headphones and talking on the phone on the weight room floor and turf areas is prohibited
Lifting Etiquette
Whether you’ve been a long time member at SLC S&C or you’re brand new, we have a few key reminders on weight room etiquette. Read more »
The Ins and Outs of Strength and Conditioning
We often get asked how we’re different from other services or, more specifically, what strength and conditioning is. In an attempt to answer this, below is a high-level overview of what strength and conditioning is, how we implement core concepts, and why we do it the way we do. Read more »