One of the most effective yet overlooked strength building exercises is a loaded carry. This is most commonly referred to as a farmer’s walk. Essentially you are walking for a specified distance or time with moderate to heavy weights while maintaining as much muscular tension as possible throughout the body, specifically the upper back and…
By now our readers are very familiar with the importance of strengthening the core musculature of the body, which includes the abdominals, obliques, low back, glutes and hamstrings. Additionally, you know that it takes a strong core to prevent injuries to the low back as well as to maintain proper posture which will help to…
A healthy pair of shoulders is crucial for every baseball player that steps out on the field. Strong shoulders are crucial not only for hitting and throwing but for injury prevention as well. Pitchers need to be especially cautious with their shoulders as too much pitching as well as year-round play can have detrimental effects…
In terms of running speed, acceleration can be defined as the rate of change in velocity where an athlete attempts to achieve maximum velocity in minimal time. Typically, the highest rate of acceleration is achieved within the first 8-10 strides an athlete takes with maximal running speed generally reached within 4-6 seconds; this is referred…
Last week we highlighted one of the most effective agility ladder drills for developing quick and coordinated footwork; the ickey shuffle. Once the athlete becomes adept at moving forward as well as backward utilizing the ickey shuffle, the next step is to expand the number of steps utilized which can be useful for developing greater…
One of the tools we like to use at Cactus Camps to help develop foot speed, dynamic balance and total-body coordination is the agility ladder. There are numerous ladder drills which can be employed using this fundamental tool but we have found a few we consider to be our “staple movements”; one of which is…
One of the controversies in the sports world is the proper age children should begin using resistance training devices such as barbells, dumbells and machines. Extensive research and experimentation has been done by several countries to show that children as young as eight years of age can benefit from resistance training. The primary problem which…
Last week we introduced a basic foundational exercise that taught proper lateral movement with an emphasis on balance; the stutter step and stick drill. This week we will progress to using quicker lateral movements as well as cutting and changing direction while running. The first drill this week is the same stutter step drill as…
Agility training is all about change of direction as quickly as possible while maintaining one’s balance and one of the best foundational drills for challenging lateral agility is the stutter step and stick drill performed with speed hoops. This drill focuses on lateral (sideways) movement with a balance component followed by a change of direction…
One of the best uses for speed hurdles is to teach the quick, high knee action necessary for sprinting. Another great use for this tool is to use it during warm-ups. One useful drill that opens up the hips and activates the muscles of the legs is the around and over drill which combines a…