Questions about our training methodology
For Private Training: In the event that members arrive late for a scheduled private training session, coaches may be forced to end the session at the regularly scheduled time due to scheduling conflicts. For Group Classes: If you have missed the warmup, it is typically too late to join the class.
In most cases, the answer is a resounding "yes." One of the things we do best is develop training plans that fit for every circumstance and this includes cases of injury. Research and years of anecdotal evidence suggests that recovery and return to fitness will be significantly faster if you train safely and appropriately while recovering from the injury.
Yes. Research has proven that well-supervised strength training can be an integral component of not only injury prevention but also performance enhancement in developing athletes. Although myths persist that weight training will stunt growth and harm bones and joints there is no (NONE!) research to support this notion and there is overwhelming evidence to suggest that appropriately implemented strength training can help in motor development and athletic performance. As with all program planning, appropriate progressions which are age and developmentally appropriate will be employed to ensure that the training is both safe and effective.
Yes?.and no. If your sport requires speed, power, strength and agility then we do sport specific training. If you're expecting "training for baseball catchers" or "specific exercises just for soccer defenders" then you might be a little disappointed. The fact is that anyone who sells you specific training for sport positions, and even to some extent specific sports, is selling you a bag of wind. Many of the super-specific exercises touted as "sport specific" are gimmicks more than effective training. This is especially true for developmental athletes. Athletes younger than 20 years old should train largely as generalists and progress to greater and greater sport specificity over time. This is what years of sport science research recommends and this is how we train our athletes.
This depends on your goals. In most cases, for athletes competing or practicing for their sport, 2-3 times per week is ideal. 3 times per week will typically yield better performance gains as long as it can be fit in to the training schedule. At 2 times per week, performance gains will still be made however if attendance drops to 1 time per week then the best one can hope for is maintenance of prior training adaptations. The same holds true for our Performance Fitness class. Most clients attend 3 times per week however those with special performance goals will often attend up to 5 times per week. As with most things fitness related, the effect is dose-dependent. The greater your frequency and commitment the greater your rewards will be.
At Athletic Lab it wouldn't be unusual to see a workout that involves some form of squatting (overhead, back, front, loaded, bodyweight, etc) every day of the week. Squatting is a foundational movement that provides a high 'bang-for-your-buck' in terms of training stimuli. Because you're incorporating the majority of muscles in your body to perform a squat it is a great exercise for training economy...no need to do leg extensions for the quads, leg curls for the hamstrings, and hit the "Thigh Master" for the adductors when the squat hits all those muscles at one time in a much more functional manner. Because the squat hits so many muscles at the same time it kicks your metabolism in to overdrive really quickly. The squat also has a lot of carry over to other exercises. In fact, Russian sport scientists found that when technique in the Olympic lifts is proficient, the limiting factor is often one's back squat max (an efficient power clean:squat ratio should be 1:1.3). The same thing has been found for the deadlift by the elite powerlifters of the famous, West Side Barbell powerlifting club. Finally, the squat is functional. It's something we all need to be able to do well or we risk losing our ability to accomplish many simple tasks. Standing up, sitting down, picking things up, carrying heavy objects, and a host of other activities are all related to our hip and leg strength and mobility. Once we lose either the strength, range of motion, or both to perform a full deep squat we are on the road to a lower quality of life where we're unable to do many seemingly simple actions. The squat is a great movement because, [...]
We squat deep regularly. In fact, one of our beliefs is to emphasize range of motion before load. This means that if you're unable to perform a movement through its entire range of motion that we don't want to see you go up in weight until you can. Strength training is one of the best ways to enhance joint mobility and flexibility, but only if you are moving through the largest range of motion possible. For this reason, we squat deep to ensure you attain or maintain the range of motion that we're supposed to have in the ankles, knees, and hips the same range of motion that we're all born with that allows babies to easily sit down in to a deep squat. Additionally, squatting through the entire range of motion is the only way to maximally develop the glutes (your butt). The glutes are most active only during the deepest range of motion. And because glute strength is so important in posture, running, lifting things up, etc., it's important that we perform the movement to develop the glutes to the greatest extent possible.
Many gyms, especially those that practice CrossFit, perform kettlebell swings so that the swing ends with the arms completely overhead. We do not. We prefer to teach what is known as a Russian kettlebell swing. The high swing is characterized by an end point where the kettlebell is completely overhead at the top of the swing and the knee and hip opened completely. This is referred to as an American kettlebell swing within the fitness community. It's motions is longer and smoother. In contrast, we teach what is known as a Russian kettlebell swing. This is characterized by a high point right with the kettlebell directly in front of the eyes. The movement is shorter, faster and more compact.We feel very strongly that this kettlebell swing variation is superior to its American counterpart. It's not only the original and most widely practiced version of the swing around the world, it's also safer and a better training method than the American version. While the American version of the kettlebell swing moves the kettlebell through a greater range of motion, it places the highly unstable shoulder joint in a compromised position at the top of the swing. The shoulder joint is the most unstable joint in the human body and bearing a load overhead in a close grip position is not orthopadeically sound. Furthermore, despite claims that the greater range of motion associated with an American swing increases work (Work = Force x Distance) and therefore power (Power = (Force x Distance) / Time)), we are certain this is simply not the case in actual application. Although the range of motion in an American swing is greater than its Russian counterpart, this also requires the athlete to [...]
When we're working on speed, power or maximal strength (rather than aerobic or anaerobic conditioning or muscular endurance) you need to take sufficient rest to ensure that the body can continue to operate at the level necessary to best train those qualities. To train those qualities you need to be relatively fresh. You can not be overly fatigued and expect to train speed, power or maximal strength well. To train these them, one needs to be able to recruit muscle fibers maximally and efficiently. When someone is overly fatigued this is not possible. So while there's certainly a time and place for fast-paced, minimal-rest workouts or portions of workouts, that would be inappropriate if the goal of that workout or portion of the workout was to train maximal strength, power or speed.
The matches are over but we`d like to congratulate Patrick Kypson on competing at Wimbledon where he earned a spot in the main draw after breaking into the ATP Top 100 earlier this year and continuing his rise on the professional tour.
Patrick reached a major milestone, earning a Grand Slam main draw victory with an impressive four-set win over fellow American Mackenzie McDonald, 3-6, 6-1, 6-4, 6-4.
Patrick advanced to the second round before facing world No. 6 Taylor Fritz on Court 2 at the All England Club. While Fritz earned the victory, Patrick battled throughout the match and showcased the level of play that has made him one of the country`s top rising professionals.
Athletic Lab has had the privilege of being a part of Patrick`s performance journey, and we`re incredibly proud to see his hard work and dedication rewarded on one of the biggest stages in tennis. Reaching Wimbledon is a testament to years of disciplined training, perseverance, and an unwavering commitment to improvement.
Congratulations, Patrick, on an outstanding achievement!
Congratulations to @tim_usaw on an outstanding performance at the @usa_weightlifting Junior National Championships in Colorado Springs, Colorado earlier this month, where he earned a gold medal in one of the nation’s most competitive junior divisions. Tim is a long time member of the @athleticlab_weightlifting Team coached by USA Weightlifting National Coach @j.t.nobbe_
Weightlifting National Championships Week brings together the country’s top youth, junior, U25, and senior lifters, making every medal hard-earned. Tim rose to the challenge with a personal record in the clean & jerk to secure the top spot on the podium.
Congratulations, Tim on becoming a USA Weightlifting Junior National Champion! We are incredibly proud of your accomplishment and look forward to seeing what comes next as you continue to represent Athletic Lab on the national stage.
The ALWC 2026 Nationals Schedule!
(All times listed are MDT)
Get your stretch on! Our MoMo (Movement & Mobility) classes are offered Thursdays at 5pm. In our MoMo classes, we work on asymmetries, imbalances, and restrictions that may be limiting performance or increasing the likelihood for injuries. Paying attention to these seemingly little things allows you to keep your goals big.
#athleticlab #iloveal #cary #fitness #mobility
Happy Mother’s Day to all our strong moms. ⠀
⠀
#mothersday #strongasamutha #moms #gymlife #crossfit strongmoms fitmoms fitness strength
Most coaches stop sets based on how athletes look, rather than how they are actually moving. VBT allows you to set a simple cutoff by monitoring bar speed. A bar speed drop of more than 20% from the first rep is an indicator that no matter how the athlete looks or what percentage of 1RM they are supposed to be moving, that they are fatigued beyond the necessary output they need to reach the target stimulus. We shut down the set so that we don’t keep the athlete accumulating a bunch of junk reps.
#BeTheStandard
#velocitybasedtraining #vbt #powertraining #strengthandconditioning
Top 5 Reasons to use VBT with your athletes: Reason #3: Objective load & zone prescription. Research over the years has mapped clear velocity zones for different strength qualities. Accelerative strength, strength speed, speed strength, and starting strength all live in different velocity zones. While percentage based training can target these qualities by prescribing an “ideal” load that can allow for different velocities, verifying the quality of the reps becomes a coaches visual interpretation and is subjective. Using VBT gives a clear picture of the athletes bar speed and verifies the quality of the bar speed and whether or not the target is hit on every rep. For the full series in more detail, follow @mikeyoungphd
#BeTheStandard
#velocitybasedtraining #vbt #morepower
We know there are weight room activities - squats, cleans, plyos, etc that contribute to speed development but we also know that these activities don’t come close enough to the intensity of forces and contraction speeds seen during a max velocity sprint. Therefore the best way to become faster is…..to sprint.
To reach a proper stimulus, sprinting must be done at 95%+ of the athletes max velocity. Do not confuse this with EFFORT. An athlete can be at an RPE of 10 yet not sprinting at 95%+ of their max velocity. So even if an athlete is running fast, even running as fast as they can, it doesn’t mean they are sprinting.
🔹 More in-depth speed training guidelines are found in our CHPC L1 online course #linkinbio
#BeTheStandard
#strengthcoach #sportsperformance #trainingsession personaltrainer fitnesscoach physicalpreparation coachingeducation alca highperformance ltad athleticdevelopment weightroom weightliftingcoach strengthandconditioning exercisescience kinesiology speedtraining sprinttraining
Athletic Lab
110 Competition Center Drive
Suite 150
Phone: 919.617.1472
Email: info@athleticlab.com
Web: athleticlab.com
The matches are over but we`d like to congratulate Patrick Kypson on competing at Wimbledon where he earned a spot in the main draw after breaking into the ATP Top 100 earlier this year and continuing his rise on the professional tour.
Patrick reached a major milestone, earning a Grand Slam main draw victory with an impressive four-set win over fellow American Mackenzie McDonald, 3-6, 6-1, 6-4, 6-4.
Patrick advanced to the second round before facing world No. 6 Taylor Fritz on Court 2 at the All England Club. While Fritz earned the victory, Patrick battled throughout the match and showcased the level of play that has made him one of the country`s top rising professionals.
Athletic Lab has had the privilege of being a part of Patrick`s performance journey, and we`re incredibly proud to see his hard work and dedication rewarded on one of the biggest stages in tennis. Reaching Wimbledon is a testament to years of disciplined training, perseverance, and an unwavering commitment to improvement.
Congratulations, Patrick, on an outstanding achievement!
Congratulations to @tim_usaw on an outstanding performance at the @usa_weightlifting Junior National Championships in Colorado Springs, Colorado earlier this month, where he earned a gold medal in one of the nation’s most competitive junior divisions. Tim is a long time member of the @athleticlab_weightlifting Team coached by USA Weightlifting National Coach @j.t.nobbe_
Weightlifting National Championships Week brings together the country’s top youth, junior, U25, and senior lifters, making every medal hard-earned. Tim rose to the challenge with a personal record in the clean & jerk to secure the top spot on the podium.
Congratulations, Tim on becoming a USA Weightlifting Junior National Champion! We are incredibly proud of your accomplishment and look forward to seeing what comes next as you continue to represent Athletic Lab on the national stage.
The ALWC 2026 Nationals Schedule!
(All times listed are MDT)
Get your stretch on! Our MoMo (Movement & Mobility) classes are offered Thursdays at 5pm. In our MoMo classes, we work on asymmetries, imbalances, and restrictions that may be limiting performance or increasing the likelihood for injuries. Paying attention to these seemingly little things allows you to keep your goals big.
#athleticlab #iloveal #cary #fitness #mobility
Happy Mother’s Day to all our strong moms. ⠀
⠀
#mothersday #strongasamutha #moms #gymlife #crossfit strongmoms fitmoms fitness strength
Athletic Lab
110 Competition Center Drive
Suite 150
Phone: 919.617.1472
Email: info@athleticlab.com
Web: athleticlab.com
Copyright 2026 Athletic Lab | All Rights Reserved
Copyright 2026 Athletic Lab | All Rights Reserved
