TRX, or better known as Suspension Training, was born in the Navy SEALs and delivers a fast and effective total-body workout. As we well know, athletes must engage their core throughout various movements in order to perform to the best of their ability. TRX leverages gravity and your body weight to perform hundreds of exercises all while keeping your core engaged. Here's a list of why TRX is important for athletes:

1. It improves mobility and flexibility by combining safe and effective movements

2. It builds lean muscle by putting the athlete in charge of how challenging he or she wants the resistance

3. The TRX straps are very portable and lightweight. 

4. It develops functional strength, meaning it will help you perform everyday tasks or sports skills. 

5. It benefits athletes at all levels. 

6. It helps build a rock-solid core. 

These are some key things to keep in mind if you want to progress into a stronger athlete. What may come hard at first, will eventually become easier over time. One of my favorite quotes is "success is the sum of small efforts repeated day in and day out." If you consistently use effective training tools, such as TRX, you will drastically change your athleticism and overall strength. Miracles don't happen overnight, and that's why we as athletes need to push ourselves to achieve the results we desire. We challenge our athletes to try new things and be the best they can be! If you see TRX straps in your next class or private lesson, look at it as a means to achieve success. It won't be as daunting, I promise. ;) 

If one of your goals is to run faster and beat out your opponent, then the simple yet effective "Wall Drill" is what you should be working on. 

What is it?
- The Wall Drill is one of the most basic drills to help with acceleration and teaching proper running mechanics. 

How do I do it? 
- The Wall Drill can be easily performed by placing your hands on a sturdy wall and your body will be in a start position of about a 45 degree angle. You want to try and maintain a straight line from your shoulders down to your ankles. Have your hips slightly forward and your chest up facing the wall. From there, you will lift one foot in a flexed position driving the knee upwards past your hip. Pretend you are pushing the wall away from you, and switch your feet driving the next foot down and back. You can start slow and gradually pick up speed, focus on maintaining proper form throughout the drill. 

What do I need?
- A wall, water, and the right attitude!

How often should I perform this drill?
- If you really want to see improvements in your running, you can practice this drill every day. Start by doing short periods of work, lets say 5 knee drives total and then practice holding the knee at the top of the movement. This is great for maintaining core stability and balance. As you progress, you can try performing the drill for timed periods of 30 seconds intervals. Depending on your stamina and form, you can modify the drill as needed. 

Is there anything else I should know?
- Remember to stay light with your foot contact on the floor, and posture is key! If you feel you are becoming fatigued and your form is breaking down, take a break and rest your muscles. 

Now take this drill and run with it!
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What are you doing to improve your fitness in the new year? 

Lunges are an amazing exercise that can be used to prevent injury, strengthen your hamstrings and quadriceps, improve core stability, and improve your tennis game! Since many of our FiT Athletes are tennis players, we want to introduce a few lunge variations to help improve your speed and strength on the tennis court. 

1. The Basic Body Weight Lunge - begin with this lunge first, as it is the building block for the rest of our variations. Start with your feet together, and slowly lift your right or left foot forward. Keeping your abs engaged and shoulders back, slowly lower your body down towards the floor. Try to get your right thigh parallel with the floor, bent at a 90 degree angle. Make sure you push up through the front heel as you return to starting position. You may alternate legs. For a good warm up, perform walking bodyweight lunges to a cone and back. 

Reactive training, or more commonly known as jump training, utilizes the stretch-shortening cycle to enhance neuromuscular efficiency and rate of force production. In order to improve athletic performance, it is important to understand the three phases.

1. Eccentric phase: The muscle stretches prior to activation and increases muscle spindle activity. Potential energy is stored in the elastic components of the muscle during the force reduction phase.

2. Amortization phase: Involves dynamic stabilization and is the amount of time between the eccentric contraction and the initiation of the concentric contraction. You want to limit the amount of time spent in this phase, because the more rapidly you can change from eccentric to concentric contraction, the more powerful the response.

3. Concentric phase: Force production resulting in enhanced muscular performance following the eccentric phase of muscle contraction. 

Reactive training programs have been proven to be beneficial for decrease in injuries, increase in strength and endurance, enhanced muscle balance ratio of the hamstrings and quadriceps, increased leg power and performance, and a decrease in ACL injuries in females.  

One of our most basic but often hardest moves to master at FiT Athlete, is the push up. In order to perfect this move, you must have patience and be willing to practice, practice, practice! 

Athletes who struggle with push ups often let their hips sag, hold their breath, or strain their neck (resulting in the "chicken peck" movement). To avoid these common mistakes, make sure you are keeping your body in a straight line, focusing on your breathing, and keeping your spine neutral. Performing this exercise with a partner or in front of a mirror can help you check your form and avoid the common flaws listed below.  

IF your hips are sagging: Focus on engaging or tightening your glutes, legs, and abs. Focus on lowering your chest to the floor and keeping your body on that straight line. 

IF you're holding your breath: Focus on breathing properly, this means inhaling on the way down and exhaling as you push back up. 

IF you're straining your neck: Pick a spot on the floor slightly out in front of you rather than rounding your neck. Tighten your abs and focus on good form. 

Performing a push up is challenging, but if done correctly engages many different muscles and can improve your athletic performance. Practice at home with a cone, foam block, or pillow and try to touch your chest down to one of these objects. As you become stronger, take the object away and try to touch your chest to the floor. You may also want to start in a modified position on your knees, this advocates proper form from the get-go and often times keeps you from flaring your arms out. (Work those triceps!) 

The split step in the game of tennis is crucial for players to master at every level. Perfecting the split step is important because it allows you to move more explosively around the court. 

The split step movement is a small jump off both feet followed by a soft landing in roughly the same spot. When landing the split step, you bend your knees allowing your body to get in ready position for your next movement. 

Timing the split step is also very important. You should be executing the split step when your opponent is making contact with the ball. 

Practice this at home!
What you need: cones and flat surface 

1. Set up 8 cones in a vertical line, evenly spaced about 3-5 ft between each cone 
2. Sprint forward two cones, back pedal back one cone and perform the split step
3. Repeat this process until you have gone through the line of cones. 
4. Remember to keep your abs engaged and have your upper body relaxed. 
5. You may repeat this drill 6-8x

If you have a ladder at home, you can practice your speed by running through the ladder and adding in a split step at the end similar to the drill we perform in class.

Have fun!

Whether you are a beginner or a seasoned athlete, proper nutrition is key no matter your level of play. The homework this week will be having our FiT Athlete’s focus on improving their diet to boost their athletic performance. Below are some tips that athlete’s of all abilities should pay close attention to.

1. Have a filling breakfast. A good breakfast containing carbs (think bread or cereal), and protein (eggs or yogurt), can help you feel energized from the get-go, and will fight off those hunger pains mid morning.
   
   
2. Carbs are your source of energy. Carbohydrates delay fatigue, and will keep you going longer. If you are eating 2-3 hours before a game or match, look for pasta as your go-to meal. If you are in need of a snack 1 hour to 30 minutes before a game or match, look towards eating crackers or a granola bar.
   
   
3. Stay hydrated. I know we stress this in almost every homework assignment, but drinking water is crucial when performing in endurance sports. Drink plenty of water before, during, and after a game/match to replenish any lost fluids.
   
   
   • Sean’s tip: Take a Vitamin water, and disperse it into 3 bottles ⅓ full. Fill the rest of the bottle with water. Doing this not only keeps the flavor of the Vitamin water(motivation to drink it), but it also contains the electrolytes needed to improve performance and keep you hydrated.
     
     
4. Limit the fatty foods. Foods high in fat slow digestion and can often make you feel sluggish and/or tired. Limiting these foods will keep your energy levels high for competition.
   
   
5. Pay attention to your body. Never ignore the signs or a growling belly or an oncoming headache. Your body needs proper nutrients to keep it going throughout the day and long into your athletic event.
   
   
   • Devon’s tip: Write down what you’ve eaten. It’s never at the top of an athlete’s list because of homework, presentations, and social events, BUT it will help you focus on what you need to be eating to fuel your body. Keep a small notebook with you throughout the day, writing down your meals and how you feel before and after them. If you’re getting the proper nutrients and you’re timing your meals in conjunction to your sporting event, then you should be feeling energized throughout the day.
     
     

While the warm weather is still upon us, it is important to take the necessary steps to preventing muscle cramping during athletic events. By making simple lifestyle changes, athletes can reduce the risk of cramping while performing strenuous activities outdoors. Below is a short list of ways to prevent muscle cramps:  

1. Hydrate. Aim to drink 8-12 glasses of water a day, even more if you're participating in a sporting event. 
2. Stretch. Maintaining flexibility will relieve muscle cramps, and stretching is often the quickest resource when time is limited. 
3. Maintain electrolytes. You lose electrolytes when you sweat, so drink a few ounces of a sports drink before an activity to maintain your levels of sodium, potassium, magnesium, and calcium. 
4. Improve circulation. When a muscle cramps up, massage the area and apply a heat balm if available. These techniques will increase blood flow to the area and relieve the cramping. 
5. Apply ice. This may help the cramp subside and can be used interchangeably with stretching during or after a game. 

Remember, your performance is dictated by how well you take care of your body! 

Have a fun and safe Labor Day!