PowerStrength is a blue-collar strength and performance
facility and our athletes reflect that. Our workouts are tough and our athletes
are strong. We’re known for our intensity and lifting heavy (correctly!). We
have a stable of football players that fuel our gym. However, this summer we
have seen some new faces and have welcomed them big time!
We have athletes that play football, basketball, lacrosse,
soccer, hockey, baseball, softball, and...volleyball. I had the pleasure of
training six members of the Cornerstone University volleyball team and one
member of the Marquette University team. Cornerstone University head coach,
Ryan Campbell, led the CU girls to PSTS.
Ryan trained with me for 3-months prior to the girls coming
to the gym. He wanted to experience our methods on himself before recommending
it- I couldn’t blame him. More coaches should walk the walk- in Ryan’s case; he
did much more than walk. In 3-months he transformed; 100+ pounds in his box
squat, 30+ pounds on his bench, went from 10 to 14 chin-ups, could perform 40+
push-ups in a row and added 2.5” to his vertical…all while gaining 8 pounds of
muscle. After all this, he was confident in his PSTS recommendation.
Six girls committed 8-weeks of their summer to training at
PSTS. These girls trained 2x/week and were very consistent. Some were skeptical
at first as our gym isn’t exactly the Ritz Hotel of gyms- it’s not what they
were used to. From day one I said that
the training would be tough but that’s what makes it effective- mentally and
physically. They were going to be treated as athletes- not just girls in the
gym lifting weights.
You see, most training programs for females are lacking many
things. I don’t know why, and I’m not getting into all the philosophies on male
vs. female training. I do know that females should be trained just like males
when preparing for athletics. The goal is to get stronger by adding weight to
the bar, staying safe through proper lifting techniques and injury prevention
exercises, and raising the intensity as needed. These girls were smart in the
gym. They learned correct techniques AND remembered them from workout to
workout. The education they learned from just being in the gym will benefit
them big time when they go back to their college weight room. Since we only had
8-weeks we had to progress them accordingly to get results but also to provide
enough variety so they can learn proper form on as many exercises as possible.
This can get tricky but they all were eager to learn so it wasn’t an issue
throwing a lot at them.
Oh and guess what, females can get strong and explosive too!
These athletes came to us after a spring full of workouts so they had a general
level of conditioning. After weeks of
progressions and technique reinforcement (to new and ‘old’ exercises) at the
gym we slowly began to add weight to the bar. Box squats of 225x3. Trap Bar
Deadlifts of 225x3. 30+” box jumps. Sled drags with 6 plates (they sprinted
with this!). 15-20 push-ups performed in a row. These were some of the
highlights. All of them could do at least a couple chin-ups at the end as well.
Mobility, balance, and coordination all improved. (Check out the video below
for some training clips and highlights!)
Not many of their opponents (or even guys their age) train
the way they trained. Some of the workouts had them floored and feeling sick at
the end but they always kept coming back for more. They got tougher and
embraced it. These girls were blast to have in the gym and I was fortunate of
having the privilege of helping them prepare for a HUGE season! Follow along
with them this season and you’ll see what I mean!
The gap between females who train, and train properly,
compared to those that don’t is much larger than males who train and those that
don’t. Meaning, if a female trains the right way she’ll be so much farther than
the competition because it makes that big of a difference! Female athletes must
find the gym and do things right- just like these girls did.
PSTS College Volleyball Players
-Jalyn Smith (Marquette- and was the first female athlete
PSTS ever had!)
-Abby Miedema
-Kate Zwier
-Kim Weaver
-Erin Swinger
-Chelsea Lake
-Cailie Johnson
An AWESOME group to work with!
-Mark
Check out the video HERE!
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