Give the Gift of Speed

Hello Everyone!

This Holiday Season give a gift that lasts a lifetime! 
The Gift of Speed!

Sports Performance Gift Certificates are available in any amount and can be purchased over the phone or in person at either performance center.

A great gift for the athlete in your life!

Your athlete can start using their gift right away!  

We are open throughout the holidays!

Keep Training!
Coach Amanda Kephart and Akron General Sports Performance

Athletes Beware: Butt Erosion

Hello Everyone!

If you've ever worked out in one of my training sessions you've probably heard me say, "the front is for show, the back is for go!" Which refers to the fact that the muscles behind us are the ones responsible for our speed and power and the muscles in front are mainly for looks.

At AGSP I'm always happy to hear an athlete say that their butts and hamstrings are sore because that tells me that they were training properly in their last session.

In a world where the hottest toys for the holidays usual involve sitting down to enjoy, we have to fight against "gluteal amnesia" if we want our athletes to compete at their fullest potential. (Gluteal Amnesia is lack of proper glute recruitment and firing. Visit some of these search results for more information.) 

Jeff Foxworthy joking calls this "butt erosion" at the end of this funny skit. 

When we get our athletes' glutes firing optionally we get athletes that are more explosive and powerful. We get athletes with more go!

If you suspect your athlete is suffering from "butt erosion" or "gluteal amnesia" it might be time to visit AGSP!

Keep Training!
Coach Amanda Kephart and Akron General Sports Performance 

2013 Holiday Hours

Hello Everyone!

2013 HOLIDAY HOURS

Thursday November 28 (Thanksgiving)
CLOSED

Friday November 29 (Black Friday)
09:00am Athlete
10:30am Athlete
12:00pm Adult

Tuesday December 24 (Christmas Eve)
09:00am Athlete
10:30am Athlete
12:00pm Adult

Wednesday December 25 (Christmas Day)
CLOSED

Tuesday December 31 ( New Year's Eve)
09:00am Athlete
10:30am Athlete
12:00pm Adult

Wednesday January 1 (New Year's Day)
CLOSED

Monday December 23 - Friday January 3
10:00am Athlete
05:30pm Athlete
*overflow groups scheduled as needed

Keep Training!
Coach Amanda Kephart and Akron General Sports Performance

Results in Returning Athletes at AGSP

Hello Everyone!

With the change of sport seasons we are having some athletes return for their second, third, fourth, even fifth year with us. Many of these athletes started at AGSP when they were only 9, 10, 11, or 12 years old, and now as teenagers, their early exposure to proper training is really paying off.

It is easier to train a puppy than it is to teach an old dog new tricks.

We've all heard that saying before, but our multi-year returning athletes are showing how this saying can truly impact an athlete's performance and life. With a foundation of proper movement given to them, these returning athletes have better coordination and stronger foundation to work from. Their body remembers what it learned as "a puppy" and now doesn't have to lose time "learning new tricks." Therefore, these athletes are literally able to pick up where they left off and are ahead of their fellow athletes who didn't learn proper training and movement as "a puppy."

Do you have a young pup who loves sports? Maybe it is time they come try a complimentary training session with us at AGSP.

Or, do you have a teenage athlete who could learn some new tricks? The sooner they start training and building their foundation the better!

Keep Training! (our returning multi-year athletes are!)
Coach Amanda Kephart and Akron General Sports Performance

Basketball and Learning Skills

Hello Everyone!

With basketball season gearing up we are looking forward to seeing the athletes that trained at AGSP show off their improved speed, strength and power. Some of our athletes also worked on their specific basketball skills at The Cleveland Basketball School. This combination of speed and strength training, along with specific skill training, is exactly the type of training Division One Athletes do (hence why university's have separate strength coaches from the sport coaches)

Coach Robbie, Coach Amanda and Coach Paul work together to make athletes better!

Working on skills in the off-season is one of the best ways to truly become a better athlete. I like to remind our athletes, "If you are playing more games with the same skills you've always had, you are not going to magically become better. You have to learn new skills and then apply them."

Training at AGSP and at programs like The Cleveland Basketball School teaches you how to improve your skills. To see what skills you will learn at CBS check out their new promo video!

 

Keep Training! (and good luck AGSP basketball athletes!)
Coach Amanda Kephart and Akron General Sports Performance 

Extra Training for the Glutes and Core

Hello Everyone!

Recently, the AGSP Adult Class had the opportunity to experience a  Body Works Barre class taught by the talented Anne Laing, who is a Certified Yoga Teacher. Anne explained that the class was based on Pilates and Ballet with a focus on core and glutes.

As a Sports Performance Coach I saw the class addressing everyone's, especially athletes, weaknesses in the core (mainly core stability) and the glutes (hitting nearly every muscle that is attached to the pelvis)! As a participant, I could feel the class "waking up" core and hip muscles in ways that they haven't been woken-up in a long time. It was a great reminder that these areas are so under-utilized in our daily lives that we have to give them as much extra training as possible to bring them up to their fullest potential.

If our core and hips are weak, there is no way we are the best athletes we can be. As Anne said at the end of the workout, "many professional athletes (especially NFL athletes) take Ballet and Pilates to supplement their training

Body Works Barre and Sports Performance are located under the same roof!

For a full schedule of classes and their descriptions check out THIS LIFESTYLES SCHEDULE. To reach Anne directly, you can email her at  laing_anne@yahoo.com or visit her Linkden Page.

Keep Training!
Coach Amanda Kephart and Akron General Sports Performance

Achieving Your Full Genetic Potential

Athletes are unique. They come in all different shapes and sizes and all different ability levels.

This pic is the ultimate definition of unique!

Some athletes have very high genetic ceilings with lots of potential from the standpoint of athletic performance. Other athletes have lower genetic ceilings but can still maximize their athletic potential with smart, consistent training. The vast majority of young athletes perform well below their genetic ceiling. Moreover, when athletes of any age are exposed to performance training for the first time, they experience gains almost instantaneously, regardless of how high or low their genetic ceilings may be.

This initial jump in performance occurs because the athletes are learning the proper movement patterns and how to use the right muscles at the right times. Once the athletes can perform the exercises in a coordinated manner with the proper technique and timing, performance gains begin to occur more slowly, and this gradual increase continues until the athlete essentially reaches the point where they are as fast and as strong as they are going to get at their current size. How far an athlete develops depends on where their genetic ceiling lies.

A question I come across quite often with athletes and parents is "How long will it take to reach that ceiling?" This depends on a couple factors, most notably where the athlete is starting from, how high the athlete's ceiling is, and how the athlete is training.

First and foremost, athletes will respond to performance training differently depending on where they are starting from. If an athlete is new to performance training  but begins training early on in their athletic career, chances are good that they'll make gains in the weight room for several years and may develop more fully than athletes who get a later start. Athletes who begin training later in their athletic career can still make gains, but because they are getting a later start, they'll have to devote more time to "catch up" and may not get as close to their genetic ceiling as an athlete who started training earlier and has been training consistently for several years.

How athletes train has just as much influence on how quickly they reach their genetic ceiling as where they start from. If an athlete is going to reach their full athletic potential, they need to be doing a program that is both safe and effective. Moreover, athletes need to understand that just because a program works initially does not mean it will work indefinitely.

Remember that initial jump in performance? If a program is not effective, an athlete will not receive any performance improvements outside of that initial jump.

This is why it is so crucial to have knowledgeable strength and conditioning coaches work with athletes! Said coaches understand what effective and safe programs are and how to implement these programs to maximize results in athletes of all different backgrounds and ability levels.

Coach Amanda understands effective and safe programming! Does your coach?

 So just how long does it take to recognize an athlete's full genetic potential. As a ballpark estimate, if an athlete trains effectively and consistently year round, they'll be able to reach their genetic ceiling within 5-10 years of training. The higher an athlete's genetic ceiling is, the longer it will take to reach it! And remember, this is with consistent training. Because most athletes devote at least part of their year to competing in their sport of choice, it is not uncommon to see athletes, even professional athletes, who never quite reach their full potential!

Keep Training (Effectively & Consistently)
Coach Anthony and Akron General Sports Performance