Corrective exercises have their place in training but I have not seen enough results in evidence with real case studies to believe that some thera tubing and activation drills will fix injuries. Corrective exercises are often done during "rehab" periods, or periods when athletes are reducing training loads, stop competing or training, and paired with conventional methods, making one wonder what [...]

A couple days ago I received a couple new stretching and rehab product that I intend to use in my soon-to-be-opened training facility. It's not any kind of heavy hitter strength and power development tool but it is something that will likely come in handy for some of the athletes I train. I work with quite a few multi-eventers as well as the occasional javelin thrower, pole vaulter and baseball p [...]

If I hear the term prehab one more time I am going to get sick. What is prehab? It is a guru term that has no real meaning. I take as a negative term; to me it means you are preparing to get hurt, because it is inevitable. I use the term remedial work; it is a term I have used for years to describe the injury prevention component of training. It is usually just that very remedial work designed to [...]

It is absolutely amazing to me that people still make extensive of isokinetic testing both for injury screening, rehabilitation, and research. This was considered cutting edge in the 1970’s when we did not know any better. At best isokinetic testing serves as a random number generator. It tells us what an individual muscle or group of muscles is capable of in a very controlled (but very unna [...]

Dan is a professor of Exercise Science at San Diego State University. I first got to know Dan about 16 years ago when he was working for Gray as a Physical Therapist. He taught for many years at University of Toledo Physical Therapy School. He was a real pioneer in Functional Therapy. Dan is a great practioner who is now really into research to find the find the why and how.What is “function [...]

Coaching is so much more than writing workout. I was reminded of this again this week when I started working with the Sarasota Exiles Rugby club. With out managing the workout properly a great workout can quickly turn into chaos. To be the best you must go the extra mile and do things other people cannot be bothered with, the areas of coaching management are often neglected.There are three realms [...]

A limited number of Building and Rebuilding the Athlete seminar workbooks are available for sale on the web site http://www.gambetta.com This seminar is no longer being offered, The Following the Functional Path Seminar is replacing it. The workbook is a good resource for those interested in functional training and rehabilitation. Get yours while they last. The cost is $18.95 plus shipping. It is 101 pag [...]

I was asked by Jason Krantz to comment on lunges versus squats. I cannot choose between the exercises in a total program they have slightly different functions depending on the level of athlete and the phase of training. Also where they are used in rehabilitation must be considered. The most basic leg exercise is the single leg squat. That is really the basis of a sound lower extremity strengtheni [...]

Are there optimal firing patterns for various muscle groups? According to many gurus there are. They can put someone on a plinth and do some manual muscle testing and tell if the hamstring I firing before the glute or vice versa. Personally I feel that the body is much smarter and more adaptable than this. The body is a genius at solving whatever movement problems that are presented to it. Being a [...]

Prehab is another guru term that has taken on a life of its own. The term was originated by Pitching guru, Tom House. I think he coined the term because so many of his pitchers were getting hurt using his program that he had to prepare them for post op rehab, hence the term prehab. There is no place for the term. Every sound training program should have an injury prevention component build into it [...]