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September Member of the Month: Rachel McKinney

Rachel McKinney is our September 2026 Athletic Lab Member of the Month. Rachel is a long time member of our Weightlifting Team.

Athletic Lab provides evidence-based, field-proven training to competitive athletes and fitness enthusiasts alike. Athletic Lab is the trusted training home for dozens of elite professional athletes and trusted by both local and international teams. These same training methods are available to high school athletes looking to excel on the field, court or track in our Scholastic program.

Athletic Lab is one of the top fitness and performance training centers in the country. We have a vibrant and diverse community ranging from fitness enthusiasts looking to get in the best shape of their lives to elite professional athletes. You can read about previous members of the month here.

What city were you born in? Apex, NC

What’s your favorite exercise? Least favorite? Favorite: snatch balance;
Least favorite: RDLs

What do you feel has been your greatest accomplishment since you started training? Hard to pick just one thing after 7 years with Athletic Lab- competing in U25 Nationals, overcoming injuries, making friends, and meeting my now husband are some of the top highlights!

What motivates you in your training? Getting the opportunity to try and be a little better than yesterday- having the time, energy, and health isn’t something to take for granted.

By Athletic Lab|2026-09-23T12:06:09-04:00September 23rd, 2026|News|0 Comments

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The ALWC 2026 Nationals Schedule!

(All times listed are MDT)

44 1

Open post by athleticlab_weightlifting with ID 18186689326390519

The ALWC 2026 Nationals Schedule!
(All times listed are MDT)

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

19 0

Open post by athleticlabacademy with ID 18578052283056183

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

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

27 0

Open post by athleticlabacademy with ID 18088613996617480

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

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

113 2

Open post by athleticlabacademy with ID 18003701174758349

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

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

Top 5 Reasons to use VBT with your athletes: Reason #4: Autoregulation & Readiness. There’s nothing wrong with percentage based training, we use it all the time… but when an athlete is under-recovered, that 85% could feel like 95% and the bar speed will drop significantly. VBT accounts for these fluctuations by allowing athletes to autoregulate in real time based on bar speed. Bar speed can tell us when to add or reduce weight to complete the day’s workout. For the full series in more detail, follow @mikeyoungphd

#BeTheStandard

#velocitybasedtraining #vbt #morepower

8 0

Open post by athleticlabacademy with ID 17927837568085534

Top 5 Reasons to use VBT with your athletes: Reason #4: Autoregulation & Readiness. There’s nothing wrong with percentage based training, we use it all the time… but when an athlete is under-recovered, that 85% could feel like 95% and the bar speed will drop significantly. VBT accounts for these fluctuations by allowing athletes to autoregulate in real time based on bar speed. Bar speed can tell us when to add or reduce weight to complete the day’s workout. For the full series in more detail, follow @mikeyoungphd
#BeTheStandard
#velocitybasedtraining #vbt #morepower

Top 5 Reasons to use VBT with your athletes: Reason #4: Autoregulation & Readiness. There’s nothing wrong with percentage based training, we use it all the time… but when an athlete is under-recovered, that 85% could feel like 95% and the bar speed will drop significantly. VBT accounts for these fluctuations by allowing athletes to autoregulate in real time based on bar speed. Bar speed can tell us when to add or reduce weight to complete the day’s workout. For the full series in more detail, follow @mikeyoungphd

#BeTheStandard

#velocitybasedtraining #vbt #morepower

Are you phoning in your warm-ups? Beyond the more obvious objectives of a warm-up, you can also use them to “screen” your athletes.

#bethestandard

#movementscreen #warmup #warmupexercise #movementquality sportsperformance sportscience physiotherapy stretching sprintdrills strengthcoach strengthandconditioning exercisescience kinesiology physiology sportsmedicine dynamicwarmup staticstretching functionalmovementscreen

39 0

Open post by athleticlabacademy with ID 18041190656770827

Are you phoning in your warm-ups? Beyond the more obvious objectives of a warm-up, you can also use them to “screen” your athletes.
#bethestandard
#movementscreen #warmup #warmupexercise #movementquality sportsperformance sportscience physiotherapy stretching sprintdrills strengthcoach strengthandconditioning exercisescience kinesiology physiology sportsmedicine dynamicwarmup staticstretching functionalmovementscreen

Are you phoning in your warm-ups? Beyond the more obvious objectives of a warm-up, you can also use them to “screen” your athletes.

#bethestandard

#movementscreen #warmup #warmupexercise #movementquality sportsperformance sportscience physiotherapy stretching sprintdrills strengthcoach strengthandconditioning exercisescience kinesiology physiology sportsmedicine dynamicwarmup staticstretching functionalmovementscreen

Top 5 Reasons to use VBT with your athletes: Reason #5: Many athletes coast through submax loads. They may move the bar but they don’t move it fast. They don’t move it with intent. VBT allows athletes to chase speed by giving immediate feedback. If your athletes see a velocity number every rep, effort stops being a suggestion and becomes a target. For the full series in more detail, follow @mikeyoungphd

#BeTheStandard

#velocitybasedtraining #vbt #morepower

31 0

Open post by athleticlabacademy with ID 18032449991606411

Top 5 Reasons to use VBT with your athletes: Reason #5: Many athletes coast through submax loads. They may move the bar but they don’t move it fast. They don’t move it with intent. VBT allows athletes to chase speed by giving immediate feedback. If your athletes see a velocity number every rep, effort stops being a suggestion and becomes a target. For the full series in more detail, follow @mikeyoungphd
#BeTheStandard
#velocitybasedtraining #vbt #morepower

Top 5 Reasons to use VBT with your athletes: Reason #5: Many athletes coast through submax loads. They may move the bar but they don’t move it fast. They don’t move it with intent. VBT allows athletes to chase speed by giving immediate feedback. If your athletes see a velocity number every rep, effort stops being a suggestion and becomes a target. For the full series in more detail, follow @mikeyoungphd

#BeTheStandard

#velocitybasedtraining #vbt #morepower

It’s about that time!
-
ALWC x Virus Weightlifting Series I

41 0

Open post by athleticlab_weightlifting with ID 17937693594016894

It’s about that time!
-
ALWC x Virus Weightlifting Series I

CONTACT INFO

Athletic Lab
110 Competition Center Drive
Suite 150
Phone: 919.617.1472
Email: info@athleticlab.com
Web: athleticlab.com

athleticlabacademy

455 9,422

High performance coaching education for aspiring sport science experts & master practitioners.
#BeTheStandard
FREE SAMPLE of our CHPC L1 Course ⬇️

The ALWC 2026 Nationals Schedule!

(All times listed are MDT)

44 1

Open post by athleticlab_weightlifting with ID 18186689326390519

The ALWC 2026 Nationals Schedule!
(All times listed are MDT)

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

19 0

Open post by athleticlabacademy with ID 18578052283056183

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

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

27 0

Open post by athleticlabacademy with ID 18088613996617480

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

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

113 2

Open post by athleticlabacademy with ID 18003701174758349

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

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

Top 5 Reasons to use VBT with your athletes: Reason #4: Autoregulation & Readiness. There’s nothing wrong with percentage based training, we use it all the time… but when an athlete is under-recovered, that 85% could feel like 95% and the bar speed will drop significantly. VBT accounts for these fluctuations by allowing athletes to autoregulate in real time based on bar speed. Bar speed can tell us when to add or reduce weight to complete the day’s workout. For the full series in more detail, follow @mikeyoungphd

#BeTheStandard

#velocitybasedtraining #vbt #morepower

8 0

Open post by athleticlabacademy with ID 17927837568085534

Top 5 Reasons to use VBT with your athletes: Reason #4: Autoregulation & Readiness. There’s nothing wrong with percentage based training, we use it all the time… but when an athlete is under-recovered, that 85% could feel like 95% and the bar speed will drop significantly. VBT accounts for these fluctuations by allowing athletes to autoregulate in real time based on bar speed. Bar speed can tell us when to add or reduce weight to complete the day’s workout. For the full series in more detail, follow @mikeyoungphd
#BeTheStandard
#velocitybasedtraining #vbt #morepower

Top 5 Reasons to use VBT with your athletes: Reason #4: Autoregulation & Readiness. There’s nothing wrong with percentage based training, we use it all the time… but when an athlete is under-recovered, that 85% could feel like 95% and the bar speed will drop significantly. VBT accounts for these fluctuations by allowing athletes to autoregulate in real time based on bar speed. Bar speed can tell us when to add or reduce weight to complete the day’s workout. For the full series in more detail, follow @mikeyoungphd

#BeTheStandard

#velocitybasedtraining #vbt #morepower

CONTACT INFO

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