The age old questions – when is it ok for my kid to start training? I’d like to start out by defining what training is. Often when we think of training, our brains immediately go to strength training. However, as any athlete knows, training can refer to a host of activities, only one of which involves being in a gym weight training.

With the off-season coming to an end, it’s important to shift your focus in your training approach to optimize athletic performance and health. Far too many times, I have seen athletes bust their ass in the weight room during the off season and completely disregard any type of in season training, and actually lose some of the strength they worked so hard for. With loss of strength comes loss of power, which is a big factor in maximizing your athletic performance.

I have trained everyone from elite athletes at the professional and national levels, to middle school athletes, busy moms, business executives, grandmas, grandpas and everyone in between. Over the years there are several characteristics that continuously appear in those individuals who reap the greatest benefits from their training. I will share with you my top 4.

Life can be difficult. It’s a step ahead of us at all times, and we are just trying to narrow that gap as best as we can. One day things are easy, our business is booming, our relationships are strong, our car is running great, our health is not in question. The next, our capital is dry, we are drifting away from loved ones, we need a new transmission, and we have received a diagnosis we thought would never come. Life throws things at us at the worst of times, perhaps, just to see how we respond.

Overhead pressing is a topic often misunderstood and discouraged amongst pitchers in the baseball community. One of the biggest questions asked is, “Is overhead pressing bad for a pitcher?” Well, it depends. That might not have been the answer you were looking for, but it should be understood that all overhead pressing is not created equally and not all overhead pressing movements are meant for everyone.

Let’s face it, drinking is a large part of western culture. Realistically, drinking culture isn’t going to change. As far as we have a written record, human beings have been experimenting with alcohol for one reason or another – religious practices, social and sporting events, and even in the hopes of cognitive expansion. Sometimes it may feel like there is no escape from the vice that plagues every gathering we are invited to.

It’s 6pm on a Tuesday. You’ve been sitting in traffic for an hour after working for 9 straight hours at a job that’s glamour wore off years ago. You’re stressed, moderately frustrated, and tired because you haven’t slept well since ’97 when your third child was born. You meander into the bank’s home that you someday hope to call your own, put your bag down and head to the cabinet mindlessly, grab a handful of your favorite snack, which incidentally you’ve been doing since ’92 when your first child was born…

Pick up any fitness magazine, or go to any popular fitness website and you will likely find an article or two about habits. It may be titled, “5 Daily Habits of Incredibly Fit People,” or “7 Practices to Cultivate a Shredded Physique.” People who have no relation to our lives, or have any understanding about how we live, or the things we have going on, like to share their opinions about the manner in which we should conduct ourselves in public and behind closed doors.

Sickness can be plaguing (pun intended). Being sick cuts away at mood, productivity, and for some, financial status. Nobody likes being sick. You feel gross, out of place in your skin, and sometimes don’t know what to do or how long it will last. Conventional measures and marketing schemes say to reach for the medicine in the cabinet, drink some over-priced and under-dosed liquid from the shop down the street, but often we only feel marginally better. These things, however, only address the issue after you have already been affected by it.

Did you know that injuries are 10x more likely to occur in April than September? Did you also know that 50% of starting pitchers will go on the IL as well as 34% of all relievers? The research may seem extreme and alarming, but the numbers don’t lie. There are multiple reasons as to why this is happening and they all lead to a common theme, a lack of PREPARATION. The primary factor that predicts injury risk in throwers is overuse – making high school kids primarily susceptible.