TPEA Wants YOU!

TPEA was founded on the premise that the profession of strength and conditioning, sports performance, personal training, nutrition or any other related and applicable field needs a place where growth, collaboration, learning and opportunity exists.  It is all too common in our industry to see professionals who market themselves through products, positions, methodology or any other form of leverage that is suitable to make a name for themselves.  From the standpoint of other professionals and consumers, those who are the most successful at attaining an audience appear to be the highest influencers of what is relavant, effective, valid or on leading edge of what our industry represents.

Some might assimilate to programs like P90X, Insanity, Crossfit or even Weight Watchers as programs that have captured the public eye.  Conversely, if asking who are the most influential performance coaches of today, you might throw out names like Boyle, Verstegen, Gambetta, Twist or Seagrave. Even with these names there is a high probability that those reading this blog may not identify with any or all these coaches or have a list of their own as those who are influential in our industry.

So what is the point?

TPEA Wants YOU! Have you ever wanted to write, contribute, become a leader, present or help be a growing part of our ever changing industry? Email TPEA today at webmaster@tpeagroup.com and let us know what skill sets you have, articles you would like to try to publish, ideas that you think are relevant or impactful for the betterment of the industry or anything related.  TPEA wants to provide a platform that is externally motivated to growth and not intrinsically motivated by the ideals of a few.

So get in the action! Become a leader, share your expertise and be a part of the future of strength and conditioning.  We can 't wait to hear from YOU!    

Camp Time!

It is that time of the year again and the sport and performance camps are rolling out all over the country.  Parents, athletes and coaches flock to camps during the summer months trying to gain an edge on the rest of the competition.  As a coach it can be difficult sometime to seperate yourself from the pack with the number of summer programs that are available these days and as a parent it is sometimes even more difficult to determine which programs are going to be the best suited for your needs and the quality of training that your son or daughter will recieve.  I think that it is crucial to do your homework if you are a parent and make sure that you are signing up for quality service from reputable and "qualified" coaches.  There are plenty of "assembly line" camps out there that run kids through basic drills, don't teach the kids much and take the money and run so to speak.  Additionally as a coach it is important do your homework too.  What camps are you competing against, what are their costs, dates and what are they offering?  These are some simple tips that should be addressed as a coach or parent. 

I find camps and clinics to be a very crucial opportunity to make an impact that will hopefully carry into higer levels of understanind training.  I think that it is important to understand the previous statement.  I did not say improve performance, or improve 40 times or whatever.  I said create a better understanding.  Most camps are simply small snippets of time that allow us as coaches to introduce to young athletes, coaches and parents the value in sound training methodology.  Time alone will tell me that I will not be able to accomplish any major improvements but moreover will simply provide the opportunity to demonstrate effective variables that will improve performance if said variables are implemented and worked on over time.  Thegoal should be to communicate the how, why, what and where of training.  It is a basic "tool box" philosophy.  If you utilize the tools that are given under the right circumstances, your ability to improve performance qualities will be most likely enhanced. 

The more that you can connect with each group that you work with the higher the likelyhood that they will be able to understand and execute whatever drill or concept that you want to teach.  This also means that you must create an environment that will be best suited for the campers.  This simply means that you cannot expect that the 12 year old will be at the same level as the 16-18 year old.  We typically will split up groups initially by age and then adjust them accordingly after the athletes demonstrate their "training age".  Training age is key b/c there will always be athletes within groups that perform higher or lower than the projected range.  This is the real challenge within the whole picture as a coach.  Can you create a challenging environment for each athlete through simple progressions and regressions so that each athlete will be able to be challenged at their own level. 

The last bit of information that you may want to focus on is making sure that you keep everyone as active as possible while maintaining quality work.  This can be done by creating stations, group distribution and also by having small incremental workloads with breaks built in.  If young athletes stand around too much, they tend to lose interest or focus so we like to spend short amounts of time before changing things.  This forces the athlete to stay alert and pay attention.  I like to do this by being as vocal as I can, involve the campers, ask them key point questions, allow them to ask questions and even create small competitions or incentives to stay engaged. 

The most important of all though is taking ownership of your own actions and bringing as much energy and enthusiasm to each drill, segment, or group that you can.  Young athletes will feed off you and how you act or carry yourself.  If you are enthusiastic, energized, etc, they will see your passion and usually give you good energy.  Pull the group together at the end of each session and make sure that they always leave on a positive note and will this energy by creating short rants or cheers that they can be a part of and have some fun with.  If they feel like you are simply drilling them and sending them on their way, they will not achieve much throughout the camp.  Your goal is to get them excited, keep them excited and this will yield a motivated and hard working camper. 

I would love to hear more ideas from those who read this.  Give me your feedback, ideas or ways that you make your camp a success!  Or if you would like to hear more about how TPEA can help you build successful camps, check out our consulting services from the main page and let us help you!

The role of the pelvis and performance

By: Joel Raether


The title of this blog is pretty straight forward and is stemmed from a few young athletes that I have been working with recently and qualities that they have presented to me in our initial sessions.  Essentially the role of the pelvis in each of these athlete's function has seemed to become a focal point in the early stages of our training.  Whether it is pelvic coordination, postural issues, control or combinations of any or all the above, it has simply raised an eye brow to me because this common denominator plays such a crucial role in performance and function.

In conversations that I have had with one of the brightest minds I have come across in my career, Loren Landow, he expresses the role of the pelvis as such:  "an anchored pelvis is a stable pelvis" and I really like this statement because it could not be more true.  If the athlete cannot maintain control and stability of the pelvis during force application, absorption or redirection the athlete will most likely experience a host of residual affects that will diminish performance and increase the probability for injury.  The most common areas that are affected negatively by poor pelvic qualities are that of the intervertebral discs in the lumbo-pelvic area, the groin and musculature associated with the groin, glutes, hip flexors and hamstrings.

If the pelvis is unable to maintain neutrality generally there will be lengthening and shortening qualities about these areas that will impact function and efficiency.  Some of this can be easily identified simply through visual account of natural upright posture and the ability to cognitively coordinate anterior and posterior tilting of the pelvis.  I typically will establish this in the initial consultation.  If the athlete presents with an anteriorly (lordodic) posture and lacks the ability to coordinate the pelvis, I generally will assume that this needs to be bolstered before we can accomplish higher levels of force capabilities, coordination and movement qualities.

I feel that most athletes that come to me with periodic or chronic issues with the low back, groin, hamstring or other hip related issues will present poorly with these simply postural and coordination assessments.  It is crucial to be able to identify this and create training strategies to improve function of the lumbo-pelvic hip complex before I can expect that higher levels of performance will be possible.

I would encourage more conversation from readers on this and will follow up the next blog post with some of the training strategies that I incorporate to improve these areas.  Thanks for playing along.  Have a great week everyone.  Be well! 

The Value of Sandbag Training

By Mark Roozen

 The following information was put out by Jason C. Brown off the IYCA  website.  They were looking at the difference between Kettlebells vs Dumbells.  Another avenue to exam is, what is the difference between Kettlebells vs Sandbags.   Jason talks about that some of the questions he gets are:

1.        "What's the difference between and kettlebell and a dumbbell?"

2.        "Will kettlebell training carry-over into my activities of daily living more than training with dumbbells?"

He goes on to explain that there is a distinct mechanical difference between a kettlebell and a dumbbell based on law of levers.   So my question would be, what is the mechanical difference between the kettlebell and sandbags from the law of levers and also from how to maneuver and adjust to the shift of movement and awkward weight.

Since kettlebells possess what is called Extended Moment Arm of Resistance, sandbags would could be classified under the same category.  What this means is that both forms of training will have the implements center of gravity outside the grip or palm.  Brown goes into explaining that dumbbells do not possess this and have a center of gravity that is fixed or static, always within your grip or palm.  We understand that a shorter Moment Arm of Resistance (shortening the lever) makes a movement easier; choking up on a baseball bat is a great example of creating a shorter Moment Arm of Resistance.   Brown explains that technically a dumbbell swing should be easier than a kettlebell swing, but with a different size sandbags – and force moving farther away, we could then say that the kettlebell is easier than the sandbag.

Jason Brown finishes with talking about how objects that you deal with in everyday life have both an Extended Moment Arm of Resistance and a Variable Moment Arm of Resistance. Suitcases, backpacks, children, grocery bags, and six packs all share a center of gravity that lies outside your grip...just like a kettlebell.  What he doesn’t mention is that the kettlebell, like the dumbbell, is a solid mass with the weight distributed in a center mass.  The dumbbell and kettlebell’s center of mass doesn’t shift or move when being used.  So in terms of items like a backpack, children and items shifting in a grocery bag, the sandbag training would be much more "Functional." In Mr. Brown’s own words, “Make sense?” 

To me it does – it makes sense to use sandbags in your training if you are looking to work with extended moment arm resistance, variable moment arm of resistance, and working with shifting mass of an object – like we deal with in life, in movement and in sport!

TPEA Has Arrived! Be a Part of the Future of Strength and Conditioning!

With the launch of TPEA in 2012, there is a lot to be excited about in the world of strength and conditioning.  TPEA will offer the best educational content, tools, professionals and resources in the field today.  We want to encourage interaction, foster growth in the all areas of performance, leadership, nutrition and tactical training while provide networking, contributing and presenting opportunities and more importantly, offer TPEA as a member outreach portal where virtually anything can be achieved through visiting and participating in THE Performance Education Association's vision for the future.

With that being said, it is paramount to understand that TPEA was created simply as a platform where professionals from all avenues and affiliations that pertain to health, wellness, performance or any other synergistic field can resource and contribute to what is effective, valid, cutting edge, controversial or thought provoking for the betterment of all professionals who seek to achieve greatness and/or success in their respective arena. TPEA wants to encourage everyone who visits our site to be an active member.  Being active means, contributing, providing feedback in our "ask a coach" section, posting to our forum or simply sending us an email with any questions, concerns, comments or suggestions on how we provide better service and content on this site.

Ever want to write or establish yourself as a leader in the field? TPEA was created to provide professionals with the opportunity to publish.  Send us anything that you would like to see published and your work may be posted straight to our website.  Ever want to present?  TPEA will host monthly webinars and podcasts from professionals in the field.  Submit a request with your presentation today and you could be broadcasting to our listeners soon!  It is within our scope to hold live events in the near future too!  TPEA is excited to announce that our live events will be host to some of the most cutting edge and interactive conferences and seminars in the country today where our motto of "Education Through Application" will put attendees in the trenches and getting hands on learning from the best coaches in the country.

Ultimately, TPEA was designed by coaches and professionals from the field who want to learn and facilitate better education, strategies, practical application and scientific foundations for professionals of the future.  We hope that YOU will come along for the ride and thank you in advance for visiting our site and being an active part of The Future of our fantastic profession.   

TPEA Blog Site is up and running!

From the founders of TPEA we are happy to announce the the TPEA Blog Spot is up and running!  TPEA is excited to offer our blog as a way for professionals in the field to interact, debate, provide input, and create a larger networking arena for practitioners to collaborate.

The goal of the TPEA blog will be to provide thought provoking information from various avenues that exist in the performance trianing realm and encourage its members and followers to bolster the blog posts with supplemental discertation as well as provide additional thoughts, comments, ideas, critiques, or any other applicable dialogue.

Stay tuned as this page will have much more coming soon!  From everyone at TPEA, thank you for following us and be well!