CPI's Youth

I just wanted to share a little bit about one of CPI's youngest athletes. Luke Ramsey is a nephew of one of our clients and has been visiting from Texas for the past month. Luke competes in powerlifting, plays baseball, and runs track as a sophomore in high school. While visiting he wanted to get some insight on his training, especially for powerlifting. Over the past month we have been working with him for 3 days per week. A lot of our focus was on form and identifying weak points in his movement and body. From day one we noticed a big lack in core strength and have really pushed him to strengthen that as well as learn how to activate that area when needed. It was mostly noticeable in his deadlifts where his core would just give out and his back would round like crazy. Taking his weight down and getting him to focus on activating the core and keeping it rigid, he has improved immensely and keeping a tighter core and better posture throughout his pull. Still not perfect but getting to where it needs to be so that he can really start to move some weight.



Another factor limiting some of his strength are his hips during his squat. He has a hard time keeping the knees from caving in, so we got him working on his abduction with band walks and seated band abduction. Again, for many younger trainees, it is all about correct activation and coordination. Movement is a huge factor during all of training, but especially during the first years of training. A foundation must be built throughout a full range of motion. It's not just about the amount of weight you lift, you have to move good weight through a full range of motion with correct form. This will create a healthy, balanced body for more strength to be built upon.



Luke has been great to work with. It is always fun to work with younger athletes because there is so much potential for growth both physically as well as mentally. At a young age and being an athlete, too many times the focus of training is put on the wrong things. Year-round leagues of the same sports and strength coaches just trying to get bigger numbers really puts these kids at risk of burnout and injury. At a younger age the keys need to be movement quality, athleticism as a whole, and then on top of these we can start looking at strength and specialization. Don't risk your kids health down the road and get a qualified specialist like CPI to help with the development of great movement patterns and a solid foundation of athleticism.

Core to the Core

I recently posted about core training and the way to get more out of your workout than just doing crunches. I wanted to follow up with some exercises that can be done instead of your basic "ab" workouts you are used to. These can be done daily to help strengthen your core and protect your spine. Not to mention, strengthening your core will help all of your other lifts increase. Try out a couple of these exercises next time you hit the gym.










The four examples I have given cover the different movements the core is capable of. The first is a simple plank which is an anti-extension exercise. The core muscles need to contract to prevent gravity from pushing down on the center of the body. The second exercise is a more dynamic example of this same movement. As the bar rolls out the core has to activate to maintain a straight line. The third is an anti-rotation exercise. Just like the plank, the core is working to prevent the movement the band is forcing. And the final exercise is a more encompassing exercise. There is an imbalance of weight from side to side, so as you squat down the core is working to prevent a side bend. So not only are you working the legs with a squat, but also the core.