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Anthony Adams, CSCS | Sports Performance Coach

@anthonyadamsperformance

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TCU Human Performance
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This is our first block Day 3 lift of training, geared toward learning and owning positions. Slow tempo work gives me a chance as a coach to see how athletes move and coach them through the movement, along with slowing the athlete down enough to truly feel every degree of rotation and motion. For example, feeling the pelvis rotating on a lateral shift squat. Especially for a population that has “tight hips”.

The 4 exercise warmup allows me to pick some lower intensity movements that act as “mobility” and gives me a chance to tailor some movements based on how the athletes are feeling or feed into what they might be missing on a week to week basis.

Something I’ve noticed working with tennis players is that they’re super tight around their hips and spine, and the warmup is an opportunity for me to accumulate some movement and assistance exercises.

Tempo work for rep integrity in the first block and to build the underpinnings of power. taken in Texas Christian University by @anthonyadamsperformance

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a month ago

Arm Care for Overhead Athletes that hasn’t left my program.

My approach to arm care is to train specific tissue actions/functions that hold priority in the sporting movement especially for overhead athletes. The goal is to load and train tissues that general compound or accessory movements don’t fully cover. It’s not just about lifting weights, but about making sure the exact tissues that experience the high stress in sport are prepared for it.

5 Arm Care Targets I keep year-round for overhead athletes:
1. T-spine mobility
2. Scapular stability and strength (serratus anterior)
3. Mid/low trap
4. Forearm flexion
5. Rotator cuff stability/ External Rotation

Ribcage/ T-Spine — flexion, extension, rotation. If the ribcage can’t move, it affects everything distal—but most importantly the scapula. It impacts the scapula and humerus’ ability to stabilize, mobilize, and efficiently move.

Scapular stability/ Serratus — protraction, upward rotation. If the scapula can’t adequately move and rotate around the ribcage, the humerus and rotator cuff will make up for a lack of scapular stability or strength.

External Rotation and Rotator Cuff Stability. External rotation is usually lost during the in-season. This work strengthens the rotator cuff and helps keep the humeral head centered in the glenoid. The goal is to maintain the cuff with all the distraction forces from overhead activity. The rotator cuff is also a main decelerator of the arm.

Mid/Lower Trap — Helps support upward rotation, posterior tilt, retraction and depression. Aids overall scapular motion.

Elbow Flexion — Specifically targeting distal forearm flexion to support the FDS and FDP. These muscles help protect the UCL and strengthen the flexor tendon.

Pullups are a great exercise to tie it all together. They train upward rotation in a loaded environment, take the shoulder through full flexion/extension, require a ton of proximal cocontraction, and the distraction forces challenge the rotator cuff.
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#strengthandconditioning #tcuhumanperformance #tcu #sportsperformance #strengthtraining taken in TCU – Texas Christian University by @anthonyadamsperformance

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7 months ago

The spine is meant to bend, rotate, and twist, especially in the context of your sport. And if the goal is to prepare for the demands of the sport, then programming should reflect that. That means including degrees of spinal movement, regardless of whether it’s loaded or unloaded.

The spine is not one rigid structure. It’s made up of individual vertebrae, vertebra by vertebra, each acting as its own joint. The spine is meant to move segmentally, and it adapts just like any other organism in the body.

In sports, there are absolutely times where we want the spine to be rigid, tight, and stiff. But there are also times: kicking a ball, swinging a bat or racket, throwing an object, hitting an object, where we need segmental spinal rotation.

Sometimes we can even use load to pull us into more passive positions. This can help us gain access to range of motion, reduce inhibition, and create a more sequenced flow through the spine. Ideally, we want the spine to move like a whip, not like a wooden dowel.

Movement is our friend. Taking movement away or refusing to load it just because “it’s the spine” doesn’t prepare athletes for the demands of sport.

Anytime someone is dealing with an upper-body limitation, the first place I look is the spine and ribcage. It’s the nucleus of the upper body. Everything proximal, whether that’s movement or stability, will influence distal segments. Spine / ribcage → scapula → humerus → elbow → etc.

This doesn’t mean going out and ripping weighted medball GHR around the worlds…(be careful) thank you. It means respecting the spine as a living, adaptable system and training it accordingly.
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#strengthandconditioning #tcuhumanperformance #tcu #sportsperformance strengthtraining taken in TCU – Texas Christian University by @anthonyadamsperformance

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8 months ago

Not all forearm training is the same

Most weight room grip work is done in a shortened range (closed fist) and doesn’t specifically target the 3 muscles that cross and protect the UCL. Doing closed fist grip work is like only doing quarter squats and expecting yourself to remain strong through a full range below parallel squat.

The harder you throw, the more peak torque. People are throwing harder than ever which shows the importance of training the muscles that protect the UCL. FDS, FCU and FDP control finger movement and originate outside the medial elbow. FDS controls midfinger flexion, FDP controls fingertip flexion. One originating on the distal side and one on the proximal side of the elbow. All 3 help to offload valgus torque on the UCL.

Fingertip and midfinger grip work in a lengthened position targets FDS and FDP (2 of the 3 muscles that are apart of the flexor tendon bundle). Plus training in a lengthened position with distal strength increases the length tension relationship. Plus, when you apply force to a baseball you’re in a lengthened position with your forearm muscles. Training these muscles helps reduce strain via stiffness. As fatigue increases, stiffness decreases. The goal is to increase stiffness, strength and endurance of these muscles. Throwing fatigued decreases stiffness, which increases risk of a UCL injury 36x more.

Training Application
Train at ~70% for stiffness adaptation. Isolate each finger in your program. Target fingertip and midfinger flexion compared to closed grip work. Isometrics are best to stimulate tendon. The more stiff the muscle, the better the tendon accepts load. Isos have less fatigue cost, are easy to get time under tension due to keeping a relative joint angle and muscle loading, and it’s easy to fit into a post throw routine.

40–70% of pitchers never return back to previous performance. Proper finger training increases spin rate. From 2003–2014 UCL tears have gone up 343% and takes 12–18 months off your career.

For a more structured program and practical application, @the.baseball.physio offers a great program!
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#strengthandconditioning #sportsperformance #tcuhumanperformance #tcu #strengthtraining taken in Texas Christian University by @anthonyadamsperformance

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7 months ago

My warmup circuit for the lift is usually 3–4 exercises that prepare and mobilize you for the main movements of the workout. It’s also a place where I can add some variability or accessory movements that we may not be hitting anywhere else during the week.

I believe warmups should be progressible over time. If an exercise never progresses or changes, I think there are gains being left on the table. The warmup is still training, just at a lower intensity.

For example, before our squat and pull-up day, we did hang shrugs, front foot elevated deep tier hops, half kneeling med-ball rotations, and criss cross stand-ups ERD (every rep different, stand up a different way every rep). Within four exercises, we’re getting hip mobility, spine mobility, shoulder stability, low intensity jumps, and preparing for the main movements of the day.

We accumulate as many quality rounds as we can in about 10 minutes. The circuit also gives me flexibility. I can switch movements if there’s something we need to get in that week, or quickly adjust the warmup based on competition, schedule changes, soreness, or what an athlete needs that day. It takes about the same amount of time as a traditional dynamic warmup, but in my eyes, we can accomplish a lot more with it.

Got this idea from @zack.losack_training and I know @dimarco.w.nick does something similar.
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#strengthandconditioning #tcuhumanperformance #tcu #sportsperformance #strengthtraining by @anthonyadamsperformance

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4 days ago

Lily has PR’d her max speed, acceleration, and vertical jump since starting training at ISP.

You can never be too explosive, too fast, too quick, or too strong as a soccer player. Strength & conditioning isn’t meant to replace the skill of soccer. It’s meant to prepare your body so you can practice the skill more, tolerate more high quality work, recover faster, and ultimately be better prepared for game performance.

If you’re not consistently training speed and power, don’t expect those qualities to keep improving. Over time, they’ll plateau or even decrease. Energy system development matters more than people think for soccer players who need the ability to recover between high intensity efforts, training sessions, delay fatigue, and continue producing high outputs late in games.

The basics of our programming aren’t complicated:

• Single-leg strength
• Frontal-plane movement
• Sprinting and acceleration
• Speed and power development
• Core strength
• Sprint specific isometrics
• Energy system development

If your goal is to play college soccer, your training should reflect that goal. But the #1 goal isn’t finding the “perfect” sport specific program, It’s consistency. taken in Ideal Sports Performance - Fort Worth by @anthonyadamsperformance

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9 days ago

I talk a lot about adding variability, complexity, holding extreme ranges of motion, trying different movement skills, and changing your warmup. But that doesn’t mean you just throw more complexity at your workout. There still needs to be some consistency and progression of the stimulus you’re trying to adapt to.

I also don’t think variability should be random. There should be purpose behind the movement challenge,whether that’s challenging control, proprioception, exposing yourself to new positions, or doing things that require extreme body control and awareness (Handstands, splits, rolling, tumbling, back bridges, hanging.)

More complexity shouldn’t be random either. It should be added when the basics are achieved. Adding more degrees of freedom, more speed, more moving parts, or more coordination is still giving someone something to adapt to.

My warmup usually progresses from something more isolated to more dynamic, less moving parts to more moving parts. It still achieves the same goal as “warming up,” but the end result is that you feel better, move better, more mobile, and more “athletic” than you’ve ever been before. The warmup and movement prep is a great place to include a ton of variability. It’s a place to expose yourself to new positions, challenge control and awareness, try new movement skills, and expand your movement bandwidth without stealing from the main training adaptation. I believe building capacity goes beyond expanding the ability for physiological tissue to withstand more work.

Expanding your movement bandwidth, solving movement problems, exposing yourself to new positions, and challenging yourself to try new movement skills is important too. Keep the main thing the main thing, but use the warmup to expand what your body is capable of. Shoutout spotter @hubbellaustin
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#strengthandconditioning #tcuhumanperformance #tcu #sportsperformance #strengthtraining taken in Texas Christian University by @anthonyadamsperformance

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At ISP, everything we do is centered around helping our athletes become the best version of themselves!

Through intentional training, quality coaching, and a competitive environment, we help athletes build the strength, speed, power, and confidence needed to elevate their game.

Every session is another opportunity to grow, improve, and prepare for competition.

#strengthandconditioning #training #athletedevelopment #ispfortworth taken in Ideal Sports Performance - Fort Worth by @anthonyadamsperformance

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15 days ago

Goals stay the same- consistent progress overtime. Get faster, jump higher, lift heavier, move better, continue to become a better athlete and help people do the same. taken in Texas Christian University by @anthonyadamsperformance

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19 days ago

I do some weird, crazy, unusual things in my training, and it’s not because I was born with the ability to do it.

In high school, I was always the strong guy who couldn’t move, couldn’t run fast, or jump high. As a kid, I couldn’t even hang, cartwheel, handstand, or do basic things that kids do. Once I got to college, I started taking my training more seriously, but I also started to expand my movement library. I started to realize that elite athletes actually could do crazy “athletic” things like backbridges, splits, handstands, cartwheels and had crazy body control and awareness.

Just like any other skill, you can’t get better at something by not doing it. I think a lot of people are scared to fail in training. And I don’t mean failing on max reps or max weight. I mean looking absolutely silly doing something. Being scared to fail just leaves you at the exact same spot you’re at.

As you expand your movement skills, you become more aware of your body, your positions, and your movements, and are more able to adapt to something else. You start to care less about what people think and accept failure as something that’s okay. I think exposing yourself to learning new skills/ movements increases your ability to adapt and try even more complex skills. Then you get to a stage where you feel like you can do anything you want, whenever you want, however you want, at whatever complexity, while still keeping the main thing the main thing.

I used to think the exact same thing about handstands: “I would never be able to do that.” But it took a lot of falling, embarrassment, and progression to get there. Being able to do complex skills isn’t just handed to us. The lack of attempting, failing, and trying is what keeps you from seeing the extent of what your body is capable of. The body adapts.

I still keep the main thing the main thing (bench, pullup, squat, hinge, etc.), but making better movers is also important. Practicing these skills doesn’t have to take any longer than your warmup. taken in Texas Christian University by @anthonyadamsperformance

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25 days ago

I put together a free handstand resource with 30+ exercises that progress from a push-up position all the way to a handstand walk, plus 20+ more advanced variations.

Every exercise includes a video, and I also included an article covering how I implement these exercises in a program, different ways to progress them, and why I like handstands for overhead athletes.

For me, the goal isn’t just being able to do a handstand, rather it’s the ability to progress an inverted stimulus. Even if an athlete never performs a true handstand or handstand walk, I still think there is a lot of value in progressively exposing the upper body to more bodyweight, greater stability demands, unilateral loading and different shoulder positions.

You can progress from a pushup position to elevated positions, wall supported handstands, weight shifts, hand pickups, single arm support, and locomotive variations without ever needing to master a free standing handstand.

Comment “HANDSTAND” and I’ll send you the free resource.
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#tcu #tcuhumanperformance #strengthandconditioning #sportsperformance #athleticperformance taken in Texas Christian University by @anthonyadamsperformance

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