Not too long ago I had a 10 year old in my gym tell me what his favorite flavor of C4 was. This got me thinking about why these kids are drinking energy drinks at such young ages. Do they actually need more energy or is it something else? Kids have more energy than they know what to do with. We've got an epidemic of young boys being put on ADHD meds, do they really also need caffeine?? Well, one thing's for sure, they're not buying them for themselves so this is a conversation that needs to be had with their parents. Today we're going to go over why energy drinks are bad for your kids, and what we should be doing to create an environment in their day where they don't feel the need to reach for these energy drinks.

This week Coach Connor talks about training sub-max weights to failure, when to use it, how to use it, and why to use it. If you've ever thought about including training to failure in your own programs, give this week's episode of Strength Coach Rants a watch!

This week we're gonna talk about the quest for that coveted hyper trophy! We'll talk all things gains this week as Coach Connor lays out the mechanisms for hypertrophy. He'll differentiate between functional and nonfunctional hypertrophy and go over the mechanisms for both!

It's the first episode of 2023 and we're gonna talk about the core. Many people have the misunderstanding that the core consists of really just our six pack, but did you know that your core is everything that attaches to your spine or hip? It's every muscle from the knees to your nipples and it all needs to be trained. From your glutes to your lats it's all connected and needs to be programmed and trained in a way that attacks the whole system, not just your abs. If you're looking for an exercise list then this episode isn't for you, but if you're interested in understanding the "why" behind your core training then give this one a listen or watch!

This week we step away from the training to talk about something more important. With it being the last episode of 2022, we thought it would be good to talk about changing your mindset, managing expectations and chasing true happiness. This week Coach Connor touches on mental health in young athletes and how he personally got through addiction, into sobriety and eventually well into recovery. There's a lot more to getting clean than just getting sober, and Coach Connor talks about his journey through it all.

Ever wonder why the dynamic effort work you include in your programming isn't contributing to strength or even if it does at all?? Well wonder no more! This week Coach Connor walks you through the science behind it, why it probably isn't working for you and what you can do to modify it to work for your athletes in the gym. We'll go over speed endurance adaptations, complex/contrast training and the dynamic effort method as a whole. 

Ever wonder what makes some athletes more agile than others? There's a way to train for this adaptation and today we're going to talk about it. From strength, to body positioning, to edge work with the feet, to angles/force vectors we'll talk about it all! If you're looking to increase your agility through your training check out Coach Connor's tips for your agility training in this week's episode of Strength Coach Rants!

Let's talk about the bench! Who the hell made the metric for upper body strength the bench? Why do we bench? What good is the bench? Coach Connor talks about why you shouldn't put all your efforts into the bench press when it comes to upper extremity strength and what we can do to shift our focus when it comes to the "king" of upper body lifts.

Let's talk about warm ups! Most people completely neglect the amount of work that can be done within a warm up and it's to their own detriment. From mobility, to movement proficiency, to core strength and speed, warm ups are essential! In this week's episode we're going to talk about warm ups, why we do them, and what to include in yours.

We talking bout practice! Skillset acquisition takes time, but the 10,000 hour rule is based on fallacies. This week Coach Connor asks "Does practice actually make perfect?" and he dives into conditioning and what's wrong with most practice plans.