Monday, November 24, 2008

Why our training methods work.....

If an athlete wants to improve their game, even the smallest amount of extra work will help that athlete get better. Go outside & run up & down the street as hard as you can 10 times a day for 4 weeks, and guess what? You will have improved your speed. Go over to the nearest stadium & run bleachers up and down as hard as you can 10 times a day....guess what? You will be a little stronger. Go hire a personal trainer or join any fitness center and work out for a few weeks....guess what? You will be better than when you started.

My point is that any sort of activity will cause the human body to improve upon itself----it's the way the system is designed....the body adapts to specific demands placed upon it. So, if doing just anything is good for performance, then why pay for additional training at Arkansas Sports Performance Center, or any other place for that matter? It's the goal of this post to shed some light on this question.

1. "Let the plumbers plumb...": It's no secret that if you consult an expert on how to do something, odds are pretty good that they will know more than you do. Would you think that the rise of the big-box home improvement stores has been good or bad for the handyman repair business? You would be surprised to know that it has actually increased a repair business' bottom-line....they now get called to do more work on a do-it-yourself project that started out simple but has been turned into a bigger problem by the do-it-yourselfer. Folks who think that just because they have access to parts & equipment that it also provides "how-to" knowledge as well. It just doesn't. The same is true with improving speed or athletic performance. Let the experts show you a better way.

2. "Maximize your time & results": As I mentioned earlier, if you do anything workout-wise, you should show some sort of improvement. But if I were to say to you that I could help you DOUBLE your amount of improvement in the same amount of time you would put in on another program....would you listen? It doesn't take a math genius to see that double the amount of improvement in your 40 yard dash for the same amount of time comparing two programs is a big deal....no, a HUGE deal. A recent published study compared the way we train athletes to a traditional ground-based program---this was using college football players, not untrained athletes---and it showed a 40 yard dash improvement over 6 weeks of 0.08 for ground-based & 2.2 for our training...that's almost a three-fold improvement in the ultimate gold standard for speed! My point here is that why train hard to only get from Point Zero to Point Two, when, in the same amount of time, you can go from Point Zero to Point Four?

3. "Train not only against yourself, but others": We emphasize lots of individual attention here at Arkansas Sports Performance Center, but we do it in a unique way. We keep a max of 4 athletes to 1 trainer each block. This allows for each athlete to take turns doing an activity but not in an way that allows too much rest or cool-down time. If I see someone do something 10 times, well, my competitive nature wants to do 11. The small-group setting allows for that, but without sacrificing individual attention.


SO WHY USE A TREADMILL???

This is a great question, and one that I do not hide behind. I believe strongly in what our training systems do, and the results clearly speak for themselves. We have had anti-treadmill athletes come in here, and once they saw what was going on with their own eyes (instead of rumors), they understood and were hooked.
MYTHS:
---Treadmill Training only affects the front part of the leg & stride.
This is FALSE...more muscle activity happens in the glute & hamstring areas during high-speed treadmill training. Our methods & protocols activate more "push-off" force required for running than any other speed training methods.

---Treadmill Training causes injury
...again, FALSE. In fact, we see less hamstring injuries with our training traditional ground-based methods because of our emphasis on technique & safety. No one else allows the athlete to see what they do right & what they do wrong. We provide instant feedback which decreases injury risk.
---Treadmill Training causes overstriding because it does the work for you.....bottom line here, is that if you do not match the force put out by the treadmill, you will find yourself thrown off. You HAVE to do the work.


Here's my challenge to anyone....I will put our way of training up against ANYONE else's. Why? Because I see the research. But more importantly, I see the results on the field & on the court.

Why train at Arkansas Sports Performance Center?
• ATTENTION: no more than 4 athletes per trainer---this allows us to provide attention for each athlete, helping that athlete with what they need to work on
• RESULTS: we have results that cannot be beat….a recent study comparing our method of training vs. traditional ground-based training showed almost DOUBLE the improvements in speed, quickness & jump tests. We are so confident in what we do that we offer guaranteed results.
• EQUIPMENT: cutting-edge technology that reveals the latest in speed & strength training
• SPORTS-MEDICINE APPROACH: programs designed to prevent injury, not to cause more injury, all supervised by our certified athletic trainer. In fact, studies show that athletes who train like this are less likely to sustain leg & ankle injuries
• FLEXIBLE SCHEDULING: you set your own appointments! We understand how busy life can be, and we are not locking a certain age group into coming only at certain times.
• WE BUILD CONFIDENCE! Kids leave our program with more self-esteem, discipline & confidence

PROGRAM CONSISTS OF:
• Pre- & Post-Training Testing
• Average improvement of 2/10 sec. in 10/20/40 yard dash
• Average improvement of 2/10 sec. in agility run
• Average improvement of 2-4 inches in vertical jump
• Plyometric Sessions, focusing on speed, quickness, agility, vertical jump
• Super Treadmill Sessions, featuring incline & high-speed work
• Age-specific training
• Safety first in everything!
• All protocols are research-based & scientifically-proven for best results
• Video analysis of running form & mechanics
• EACH VISIT IS 1 ½ HRS. LONG!

Thursday, November 13, 2008

Cliff Lee wins Cy Young!

Congratulations to Benton's Cliff Lee, winner of the 2008 American League Cy Young Award, honoring the best pitcher in the league!

Lee led the AL in wins with a 22-3 record and in ERA with a 2.54 mark, posted the third-highest winning percentage (.880) for a 20-game winner in baseball history and became the Cleveland Indians' first 20-game winner since Gaylord Perry in 1974.

Thursday, November 6, 2008

TAILGATE PARTY

Friday, November 28, before the Arkansas-LSU football game, Arkansas Sports Performance Center is hosting our first Tailgate Party!

Come see what's new!
Come try out some of our training equipment!
Come eat some food!
Come watch some TV!


Lots more to come....

If you are interested in eating with us, let us know you are coming by emailing us info@arsportsperformance.com

Food will start around 10am, and we will be going strong until the 1:30pm kick-off.
We will be on Markham right across from Wendy's

Tennis Champs!

Here is a quick summary of what is going on with our tennis athletes here at Arkansas Sports Performance Center:

Mario Martinez: LR Central: state runner-up in singles
Rebecca Bailey: Mt. St. Mary's: state runner-up in singles
Julio Olaya: Champion of the Chick-Fil-A Junior Open

We are seeing some really big things come out of tennis-specific training programs. Just ask these athletes! Also, we recently trained a group of youth tennis players from Mexico for a week!

Darren McFadden

This guy is the real deal. If you are from the state of Arkansas, or a college football fan, you know this to be true. All of the records he set....his accomplishments (TWICE a Heisman finalist)....his contributions to Arkansas cannot be overlooked.

While his rookie season has not lived up to most people's expectations, keep a couple of things in mind:
1. INJURIES: not only has he been battling one toe injury, but two toe injuries.
2. ROOKIE YEAR: in case you haven't figured it out, the NFL is where the best of the best play. I say that because people have to understand that it takes time to adjust to what defenses do, to learn new offensive schemes, and to adjust to this new NFL life.
3. RAIDERS: 'nuff said.

ANYWAY...here's the point: D-Mac gives credit to what we do here at Arkansas Sports Performance Center for where he is today.

"Training with the equipment & protocols at Arkansas Sports Performance Center helped me improve my speed & first-step explosiveness...you can get better too."

This is printout of one of the computer strength tests we did on Darren:






Know this....you can take advantage of everything we did for D-Mac yourself. In fact, we have more equipment than ever to help you get that individualized attention. Come by & see what we did for D-Mac & what we can do for you!