3.)    Form and function;
Every aspect of your training needs to be performed with great for and technique. By paying extra attention to your form you will teach your body to function correctly not just when training, but on the field or court too.

4.)    Functional Strength Training;
As part of an effective strength & conditioning program you should definitely incorporate strength training. However, as an athlete you should not train like a body builder. Instead, you should focus on more athletic movements that will increase your overall functionality. Things like Olympic weightlifting (cleans & snatches), single limb training, and exercises that help increase balance, agility and relative strength.

5.)    Proper recovery and nutrition;
Recovery techniques like myofacial release, deep tissue massage, static stretching, and     mobility training will help aid in preventing over use and injury. Additionally your body     will have the better ability to recover from a well-balanced nutrition regimen. You are     what you eat and fueling your body with the right nutrients will help with recovery which     will prevent injury.

6.)    **Bonus** Get qualified help of a reputable strength and conditioning specialist. They will be able to tie all of the above together in a sound training regimen that will not only increase your performance on the filed or court, but will absolutely prevent you from being sidelined due to a preventable injury
There you have it. 5 solid strategies to help you increase your sports performance while decreasing your chances of getting injured both in preparation for your sport as well as actually competing in practice or games

Jason Zaretzky is owner and program director of Optimal Performance Training Center, Rockland County’s leading sports performance enhancement facility located in Valley Cottage. For more information or to register for their cutting edge sports training programs visit http://www.rocklandsportsperformance.com

Yup,  just one exercise!

It Will Increase Speed, agility, coordination, power, strength, overall conditioning, etc…

Yes, In my opinion there is one exercise that will do all the above….

Can You Guess What It is?

Well, if you said the  “All mighty” Olympic Lift – Power Cleans , Clean & Jerk Or any of their variations…

You Were Right!

This Lift is a must have if your are a serious athlete and want to elevate your game – No Matter What Sport or Position You Play…

This exercise incorporates all major muscle groups in your body to work together as a unit, just as all sporting activities require.

However, this lift is a very technical compound movement and requires great skill to master. And without appropriate coaching and instruction – you can seriously hurt yourself or not see any of the “cleans” great benefits like increase explosion, speed, strength, coordination, etc…

That’s Why all of our performance coaches at Optimal Performance Training Center are highly educated on all aspects of Olympic weightlifting. A few of us even compete  in nationally sanctioned organizations.

So if you are an athlete and are seeking to achieve your best potential you need to incorporate this lift into your program, and you MUST DO IT CORRECTLY

here is how it’s done;

JZ

FYI – All Of our athletes programs incorporate the Olympic Lifts and variations of them. Come see for yourself with our Special Limited time Rockland Sports Training Trial offer…

Check it out here – http://www.optcfitness.com/athlete-training/athlete-membership/

Have you taken advantage of our Free – No Obligation Consultation Click here and schedule yours today

a) x band walk(bear crawl)/ lat lunge

b) sandbag shouldering/ Croc drag

c) step up + curl/ rev lunge ->press

d) 1/2 getup/ Flr press+ tri ext

turkish getups = awesome

60/60    (60 sec for ea. excer/60 sec off hold diff. plank variations)

Db bench press

CG handle Inv rows

Keiser Push/pull

Db cln’s

crazy ropes

getting swole on

for todays express class we’ll go back to an oldie but goodie the 20/10 interval                     a) alt lunge/lat lunge

b) Trx muscleup/Kb swing

c) Inv row/Flr press

d) TRX  jacknife/Plank

- each pair done for 20 sec “on” and 10 sec “off” each one taking 4 minutes 

Greatest 80's movie ever!!!!!

I can’t say enough good things about Chris. He’s all heart and puts in even more hard work in the gym than anyone can imagine. And to say his efforts off the field pay off is an under statement…

Since this past football season we have been getting him ready with our combine prep program as he’s been getting some Pro looks.

Here is Chris’s private workout he did with his agents a few weeks ago;

Chris also has had pro day’s or football combines at Yale University’s “Pro” day as well as few other in the Northeast, with a BIG Time Private workout at Giants Stadium with The NY Football Giants earlier today.

Like I said Chris has been a long time Athlete of ours here at Optimal Performance and has become a great friend.

With his heart mindset and work effort , combined with his football skills – if he gets a shot in the pro’s, I know he’ll make some heads turn!

Good Luck Chris

JZ

Baseball, Lacrosse, Tennis, Softball, Golf, Track and Field… So many great sprig sports and they all have one thing in common (besides being played in the spring).

So what’s the main thing all these sports have in common?

A term we at OPTC call “Rotary Power” or the ability to swing a bat faster, throw a pitcher harder, shoot 90+, Drive a golf ball 300yards, or even run faster!

The common theme with most spring sports is that your need to have great ability to rotate your torso with great power and speed, while maintaining stability throughout the rest of your body.

The good thing is developing a strong and powerful core to enhance rotary power is pretty simple…

All you need is a solid block wall and a medicine ball!

What to do;

Simply stand in front of the block wall with med ball in hand and heave the ball at the wall in various positions.

Sounds simple right?

There is one thing to consider though – if you are like most athletes the thirst to lift, throw, and move heavy things is felt as a necessity as they think the heavier you can lift or throw the better the result. There is truth to that however, rate of speed and explosiveness is just as if not more important. What you want to do is choose a medicine ball that’s heavy enough to make your muscles to work, but the key to getting results that transfer into your sport, you want to be able to throw the med bal l as fast as possible while maintaining control.

Here is OPTC’s Rotary power training in action;

Now if you play a spring sport a or any sport that calls for rotational power – get yourself hammering a ball at a wall ASAP

Lata

JZ

PS – OPTC is now offering an unlimited group training package for 1 month, so you can try us out and let us prove to you that we are the best in sports performance enhancement training. Simply click the picture below and lock in your unlimited sports training month today!

 For todays express workout we’ll hit 2(3) excercise circuits for 15 min’s

 circuit A) Inv row=> curl/sq=>row/Mb twist

circuit B) BB RDL/Pit squat/Trx Fallout’s

* Both set of circuits do 10 reps for each excercise….get as many rounds through as you can in 15 min’s