PNF Stretching Improves Range Of Motion

PNF stretching or proprioceptive neuromuscular facilitation will improve your range of motion. This type of stretching is commonly used to improve range of motion with the hamstring muscle group.

As an athlete, it is critical that you constantly strengthen and condition your hamstrings. Besides being part of your "power center," hamstring injuries are some of the most nagging injuries for athletes. Its best to prevent hamstring injuries.



PNF stretching should be used with great caution! Your partner should also be knowledgeable about PNF stretching techniques. This type of stretching is good for targeting specific muscle groups, increasing range of motion and improving strength. The hamstring stretch is good for applying this stretching technique.

While lying on your back, you would contract your hamstrings while your partner holds your leg in place during the stretch. The stretch would last for about 5 seconds. The hamstrings are relaxed, your partner then immediately and safely pushes the muscle group past its normal range of movement for 20-30 seconds. That would be one repetition. Rest for about 30 seconds and repeat 3-5 times.

Many athletes have trouble with nagging hamstring injuries. Reduce your risk of hamstring injuries by conditioning and strengthening your hamstrings!

Train hard and smart!

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Athletes' Performance, Rest And Recovery

Athletes' performance, rest and recovery are all important! You can't perform if you are hurt all the time! And, if you don't allow your body to rest and recover, you will get hurt! Prevent or reduce the risk of injuries with the proper sports training techniques so that you can perform at a high level!

Here are some training tips:

This might sound elementary but..... warm-up properly to avoid injuries.... walking for 2 minutes is not a good warm-up. A good dynamic warm-up prepares your body best for intense practices or games. A sample dynamic warm-up could be a 5-10 minute jog, prisoner squats, cone/ladder drills, lunges, etc. Static stretches would be done after your workout or game.

Don't underestimate the benefits of sports massages. The benefits include improved flexibility, tension release, relieving of swelling, alleviation of fatigue and prevention of injuries.

Along the same lines, self myofascial release with foam rolls (SMFR) is a type of self massage that you can do every day and prevent various muscle injuries, strains and tears.

Protect your feet....its amazing how many injuries can be avoided by wearing quality footwear (interpreted: don't wear cheap athletic shoes). If you have flat feet or high arches you definitely need the right footwear.

Avoid various tendonitis injuries (pain, swelling) caused by over-training and wear and tear. Rest and recovery is important. R.I.C.E.R. (REST, ICE, COMPRESSION, ELEVATION, REFERRAL FOR MEDICAL ASSISTANCE) should be followed immediately after a muscle or tendon injury.

Train to lessen the risk of a knee anterior cruciate ligament (ACL) injury....it is the most common injury affecting the knee joint. Do this by having adequate hamstring strength and practicing proper landing, jumping, stopping and cutting techniques.

Continuing on with hamstrings...prevention of hamstring injuries is the best solution. They are tough to recover from so adequate hamstring strength and flexibility is needed to lessen the risk of injury.

Strengthen and stretch your throwing shoulder muscles to avoid rotator cuff, shoulder and elbow injuries.

Strengthen and stabilize your core to prevent injuries such as low back pain, oblique strains/pulls, neck pain, ruptured disks and various other muscle and ligament strains.

Avoid shin splints by not over-training and wearing quality footwear.....also exercising on hard or uneven surfaces or excessive uphill or downhill running can cause shin splints. If you over-pronate (foot and ankle rolls excessively inward when running) you are at risk for shin splints (don't wear cheap shoes!).

Lessen the risk of a torn or injured Achilles tendon (the largest tendon in the body). It takes a full year to recover from a torn Achilles tendon. Stretch and stabilize the tendon with one-legged exercises, calf/peroneal stretches and Achilles tendon stretch.

You don't want Plantar Fasciitis (the long, flat ligament on the bottom of your foot stretches too much, small tears develop and the ligament inflames (ouch!!)! Folks, this is serious pain!

Plantar Fasciitis usually develops over time so takes steps to correct the problem when it first occurs by keeping your foot and ankle area flexible. Also, don't wear (you guessed it!) cheap running shoes! Excessive running on steep hills or inclines can also cause Plantar Fasciitis.

The point is this: prepare your body to perform (stabilize, strength, flexibility, etc.) and maintain your body over time with rest and recovery. Don't ignore the warning signs---LIKE PAIN!

Train hard and smart!

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Other things being equal, a muscular, powerful athlete will outperform a fat, slower or skinny, weaker athlete. Sports Fitness Hut's Fat Blaster Athletic Power Training System will give you your "lean and mean" athletic machine!

Mark Dilworth, BA, PES
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In-Season Strength, Speed And Power Training

You need to do in-season strength, speed and power training! If you don't, you will wear down and lose power and explosiveness during a long season!

During in-season speed and power training, increases in strength and speed may still be needed (as in track and field). In other sports, such as baseball, soccer, hockey, lacrosse or football, strength and power needs to be maintained during the season.

Simply put, you don't won't to lose any of the hard-earned strength, power and speed you improved in your offseason program!

In general, a weekly training program that includes 1 strength, 1 speed and 1 plyometric workout during the season will maintain your strength and explosiveness for competition.

Your strength workout doesn't need to include "max out" lifting but should include full body strength training in the 8-10 repetition range for each exercise.

Your speed workout can also be as simple as running ten 60-yard sprints at maximum effort before practice. You should also perform all drills, scrimmages, plays, etc. at full speed. This way, you will continue sport specific speed training during the season.

Your plyometric workout should include exercises for your upper and lower body such as medicine ball throws, depth jumps, squat jumps, tuck jumps, etc. During the season, some coaches incorporate plyometric training into regular team practices.

Train like a champion during the season!

Be sure and download your Free Dumbbell and Medicine Ball Metabolic Fat Burner Workouts and start shaping your body faster!

Other things being equal, a muscular, powerful athlete will outperform a fat, slower or skinny, weaker athlete. Sports Fitness Hut's Fat Blaster Athletic Power Training System will give you your "lean and mean" athletic machine!

Mark Dilworth, BA, PES
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Build Muscles While Sleeping By Feeding Muscles

Build your muscles while you sleep by feeding them! Stop your muscles from breaking down (catabolizing) while you sleep 7-8 hours. When your body is fasting, your muscles will take the hit.

Protein-based drinks are good for this purpose. A great slow-digesting protein powder to use is casein (fast-digesting whey protein is good for pre- and post-workout nutrition).

Casein protein powder drinks consumed before bedtime and between meals delivers a steady supply of amino acids needed to stop muscle breakdown. Casein is insoluble in liquid causing it to digest slowly.

Eat like an athlete!

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Medicine Ball Squat Jumps Improve Speed and Power

Use the medicine ball squat jump exercise to improve your speed and power. In sports competition, it is not always the fastest player who makes the play. You will rarely reach maximum speed during a play or sequence of plays because it takes 4-5 seconds to reach maximum speed. Many times, if you accelerate faster you will usually make the play.



You can train to improve your speed acceleration and power. One great exercise to do is medicine ball squat jumps (bodyweight squat jumps should be mastered first). Just descend into your squat, jump up explosively and repeat for the required repetitions.

While sport-specific plyometric training improves power, non-specific power training should not be ignored. Researchers from Canada found that athletes who performed better with weighted squat jumps were the best accelerators at 10 meters.

Therefore, concentric force development (jumping power) is critical to improve sprint acceleration. The first step from a stand-still (or near stand-still) position requires concentric muscle power.

It is important to learn proper jumping and landing techniques before doing medicine ball squat jumps. Read this post about jumping and landing techniques.

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Power Step Up Exercise Improves Speed

Improve your speed with power step ups. Do this exercise full speed with control.

Doing one-legged power step up exercises will improve your speed because you use the same pathways that it takes to run.



1. Face a bench or platform (knee high) and put your right foot on the bench. Your knee should be bent 90 degrees. Don't do this exercise with dumbbells until you have mastered the bodyweight version.

2. Alternate your feet on and off the bench or platform (you will be sprinting in place).

3. Explosively drive your knees up and pump your arms as fast as possible. Each set should be 20-30 seconds.

4. Do this exercise with correct running mechanics.

Challenge yourself to get better each day!

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Mark Dilworth, BA, PES
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Sport Specific Training

Sport specific training receives the most attention through television, magazine and internet advertising. Sport specific training is important but can lead to injuries if your body is not ready for the intensity. Foundational strength and stability should come before sport specific training!

You should do a major part of your sport specific training during the offseason when you have more time to devote to improving your athletic skills, strength, power and speed.

Offseason training also gives you time to recover from the full speed, intense exercises. YOU MUST TRAIN FAST TO GET FASTER AND MORE EXPLOSIVE.....IT IS HIGH RISK, HIGH REWARD!

During sport specific training, the exercises mimic the actions made in your sport and strength is developed in the same range of motion used in your sport.

Running exercises also duplicate what you need to compete. For instance, football players would need starting speed, acceleration speed, speed endurance and power. Both training volume and intensity is high during this phase.

Plyometric exercises are also a big part of sport specific training. This is a critical phase for the elite athlete. See this post for common plyometric exercises.

Here are examples of sport specific exercises of different sports:

Basketball - Crossover Lunge



Soccer - Lateral Footwork Drills



Football - Shuffles



Baseball, Softball, Hockey, Lacrosse (just about all sports require rotational power) Medicine Ball Rotational Throw



Start taking steps now to improve your athletic success on the field or court!

Mark Dilworth, BA, PES
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Sports Power, Speed Endurance And Core Strength

Sports power, speed endurance and core strength will make you an explosive athlete in the first quarter of the game----and the last quarter! When your opponent gets tired at the end of the game, you will still be going strong!



One of the first signs of fatigue that I look for in an athlete is whether he or she can remain strong and upright towards the end of the game. If your core is weak, you will start to "bend over" and lose power and explosiveness when you run. Next, your arms will start to "flail" instead of pumping powerfully to fuel your running.

Adequate core strength helps your speed endurance, which is the ability to maintain maximum velocity or a percentage of maximum velocity for a prolonged period of time or in a fatigued state. The best players and teams have excellent overall body strength, core strength and speed endurance (and they win the most games).

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Mark Dilworth, BA, PES
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Fat Athletes Will Lose Out!

Don't be a fat athlete! If you are too fat, you won't be the player you could be! Eat less food, burn fat and lose weight! While its true that you inherit a certain body type, don't blame genetics if you're overweight or fat. Ultimately, your body weight will depend on how much you eat and how much you workout, not your genetics.

If you consistently eat more calories than you burn (caloric surplus), you will consistently gain weight and add on body fat, no matter what your genetics may be. This can be a good thing if you are pumping iron and building muscle. But, if you are lazy, you will get fat!

You need to know how many calories you need each day. Start by learning your basal metabolic rate (how many calories you would burn if you did nothing all day). If you have a caloric surplus, you will gain weight.

Keep a food journal. Research has proven that you will have a better chance of succeeding with your meal plan and fat loss if you keep a food journal!

Take responsibility for your body and do the things necessary to change your body composition! It will make you a better player!

Be sure and download your Free Dumbbell and Medicine Ball Metabolic Fat Burner Workouts and start shaping your body faster!

Other things being equal, a muscular, powerful athlete will outperform a fat, slower or skinny, weaker athlete. Sports Fitness Hut's Fat Blaster Athletic Power Training System will give you your "lean and mean" athletic machine!

Mark Dilworth, BA, PES
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Deadlift To Strengthen Low Back Muscles

The deadlift will add thickness and stability to your low back muscles (among many benefits). The deadlift is probably seen as a grunting, strongman contest-type exercise, but it should be a part of your sports fitness training program.....



1) It works many large muscle groups including the latissimus dorsi, trapezius, erector spinae, gluteals, hamstrings, quadriceps and hip flexors. Your forearms and trunk stabilizers are also recruited to a lesser degree.

2) The deadlift is a multi-joint exercise covering three joints with extension occuring at the hip, knee and ankle joints. Multi-joint exercises will give you greater strength gains and hypertrophy (muscle growth).

The deadlift is also great for working the hamstrings which helps lessen the risk of knee anterior cruciate ligament (ACL) injuries.

3) The deadlift is a great functional exercise. It mimics every day activity such as bending over and lifting objects.

4. The deadlift is one of the best exercises for growing thickness in your lower back muscles.

Here are the biomechanics of the conventional style deadlift.

1) The grip of the bar (closed, alternate grip) is outside of the legs with the feet about shoulder width apart and slightly turned outward. Keep your head up and chest out.

2) The legs should be flexed (like the squat position) and the bar should be as close to the shins as possible. Your back posture should be straight. DO NOT ROUND YOUR BACK AT ANY POINT OF THE LIFT. Your feet should always be flat on the floor and pushing from the heels.

3) Pull the weight up by extending at the knees (exhale during the pulling phase). The hips and shoulders should move at the same pace. The shoulders should be above or slightly in front of the bar.

At the end of the lift, thrust your hips forward and abduct your lats. The hip and knee joints should be fully extended. If your knees are moving from side to side (shaking), you are lifting too much weight.

4) To lower the weight to the floor, flex your hips and knee joints (you will end in the squat position). Inhale as you lower the weight. That is one repetition.

5) The deadlift will require more rest between sets because so many major muscles are engaged.

If you have lower back problems, you would need your doctor's clearance before exercising with the deadlift. There are also many variations of the deadlift. Dumbbells and other specialized bars can be used to perform the deadlift.

Work hard and train right to become a better player!

Be sure and download your Free Dumbbell and Medicine Ball Metabolic Fat Burner Workouts and start shaping your body faster!

Other things being equal, a muscular, powerful athlete will outperform a fat, slower or skinny, weaker athlete. Sports Fitness Hut's Fat Blaster Athletic Power Training System will give you your "lean and mean" athletic machine!

Mark Dilworth, BA, PES
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Rehab Your Injured Knee Ligaments

Rehab for an injured knee is a critical process for your complete recovery! If you rush the rehab process, you will reinjure yourself! One of the most devastating knee injuries is a knee ACL (anterior cruciate ligament) injury.

A knee ACL (anterior cruciate ligament tear) injury rehab is a process that can take 8-12 months. And, if you play a sport, it will probably take another year for you to regain your former speed and power (or as close as you can).

Your knee injury rehab will probably start with you and a physical therapist. The rehab process is a team approach---you, your physical therapist and your personal trainer.

You should rehab the injured knee area as follows:

1. Restore the range of motion.
2. Restore flexibility and strength of the injured knee area.
3. Regain balance lost because of the knee injury.

Stop any exercise that causes sharp pain. Continuing an exercise in pain will only set your rehab back.

Restoring the range of motion is critical because it lays the groundwork for future training. Range of motion should be restored in all 3 planes.

If you had a knee injury, you might have to begin your exercises with partial range of motion (working towards full range) in one plane. You would gradually work towards including exercises that required sideways, rotating, twisting or turning actions.

Once range of motion is restored, you can then begin to introduce light weight training exercises and stretching exercises to strengthen the injured muscles, tendons and ligaments.

It is also important to stretch and strengthen the areas around the injured area. Use of machine weights, isometric exercises (the injured area contracts but doesn't move), resistance bands or bodyweight exercises are all good in the rehab process.

Balance and proprioception (limb position sense in 3D space) must be restored or the injury will probably reoccur.

When a part of the body is injured, the nerve cells in that area are also damaged. This affects your control and the stability of the joint structures. Once you have regained some strength and flexibility, you should begin to do balance exercises.

You could start with simple exercises like walking in a straight line and progress to one-legged or closed-eyed exercises. You would then gradually progress to stability ball exercises, foam cushion exercises, BOSU exercises, etc.

The rehab process should not be rushed. Trying to come back too fast from a serious knee ACL injury will almost certainly lead to reinjury.

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Mark Dilworth, BA, PES
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Sprinters Should Limit Distance Running

Sprinters should limit distance running during training. Sprinters need to activate and train the bulkier fast twitch muscles. If you do too much long distance running, your slow twitch muscle fibers will take over and make you slower and nonexplosive.



I was once asking a client about running exercises they were doing in school athletics to improve running speed......the answer was disappointing and typical....

Some of the running drills were:

1. mile runs
2. stadium steps for endurance
3. gasers for conditioning

"Did you run any sprints?" "No." Guess what? Those athletes aren't getting any faster....they are just basically running for conditioning.

Conditioning has its place.....but if you want to get faster, you have to train fast.....that means sprinting drills with enough recovery time to run each sprint full speed. About 1 minute of recovery time is needed for each 10 yards sprinted (50 yard sprints need about 5 minutes recovery time).

Running sprints after practice won't get the job done either....players are too tired at this point to give maximum effort. So, coaches, do your sprinting drills at the beginning of practice when your players are fresh.

Train hard and smart to get faster!

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Mark Dilworth, BA, PES
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