Learning to lunge correctly can strengthen the lower body musculature, improve core stability and balance, enhance hip flexibility, and increase functionality. There are a plethora of modifications and progressions to consider.
A major concern with balance and joint-stabilization exercises is to avoid potentially dangerous movements that depend on the preparedness of the athlete or patient and on the state of the healing tissue. Learn about progressions that minimize risk to the athlete or patient.
Ground-based free weight lifts, especially the explosive Olympic-style lifts, are highly recommended for athletic conditioning for the core muscles. They can provide a moderately unstable stimulus to augment activation of the core and limb muscles, while still providing maximal or near maximal strength, velocity, and power output.
Isolated muscle training methods do not necessarily transfer to better sports performance, because technique as well as strength contributes to successful performance. Resistance training for dynamic sports must involve ground-based movements that incorporate the coordinated stabilizing and dynamic functions of multiple muscles.
"Can personal trainers cure disease?" Phil Kaplan asks during the 2014 Personal Trainers Conference as he talks about shifting the perception of personal trainers towards something greater. What if personal trainers addressed the largest market in a way that they have never been helped before? Join Phil as he discusses big ideas.
Power and strength translate into force, the key behind any push athlete's success. In this lecture from the NSCA's 2015 Coaches Conference, USOC Coach Brad DeWeese discusses periodization and the need to develop phase potentiation for push athletes.