I’m very excited to announce the launch of Strength and Conditioning Research, a monthly research review service. I believe that this is a much needed service in our profession, and I am very excited and honored to be presenting coaches, trainers, lifters, and therapists with updated findings in their respective fields. I believe that this will really help our industry improve in terms of scientific understanding as well as practices and methods. I suspect that this service will help important studies receive the attention they deserve and that from here on out you’ll see more educated coaches and more intriguing conversations online.

I team up with Chris Beardsley to provide a monthly summary of all the most exciting research in the fields of Strength and Conditioning, Biomechanics, Physiology and Physical Therapy. We want to bridge the gap between the lab/journals and the weight room/field. We’ll bust our butts scouring through the journals and summarizing recent findings so you can rest assured that you’re up to date without having to spend hours sifting through Pubmed or various journals.

Each month we’ll be writing up around 50 studies and giving you the links to the other important studies that we haven’t written about for the month.  Subscribe, and you’ll soon be the most informed person you know when it comes to the latest developments in sports science.

If you sign up now, you can get our first edition for $1! After that, they’re going to be $10 each, which I feel is an insane bargain, given the amount of time we put into the reviewing and writing of each article.  It’s so affordable and you won’t find this quality of information anywhere else unless you camp out in the library for a week.

March Quiz

The March issue alone will help answer the following questions:

• Does core strength improve explosive power?
• Do partial reps improve strength and hypertrophy to the same extent of full range reps?
• Is power or strength training more effective for the elderly?
• Is early specialization necessary for sports success?
• How do the various NFL combine tests correlate with one another?
• What’s best for strength gains – one set, four sets, or eight sets?
• Is sled towing and jump squatting more effective than free sprinting and jumping?
• Does resisted treadmill sprinting improve speed?
• How do powerlifters train, what are their favorite assistance lifts, and what percentage of them incorporates bands, chains, plyometrics, and Olympic variations?
• Does resistance training improve running economy in marathon runners?
• Can mental imagery training be used to alter landing kinematics and decrease the risk of ACL injuries?
• Can low-load glute activation exercises be used to improve power output in a countermovement jump?
• Should the NFL Combine Test include a flying-sprint in their arsenal, and how do combine results break down between different positions?
• Do plyometrics improve sprint running speed?
• Does the entire transverse abdominis truly contract prior to limb movement?
• Which activates the leg muscle better and causes the release of more testosterone – the squat or the Bulgarian split squat?
• What effect do weightlifting shoes have on forward trunk lean and depth in the squat exercise?
• Do sprinters have thicker tendons and more tendon stiffness than sedentary controls?
• Does the nucleus pulposus within the intervertebral disc truly migrate, or does it simply deform?
• Do high heels change gait and increase the risk of knee osteoarthritis?
• Do high heels increase leg muscle activity?
• What protein has recently been found to basically restructure everything we knew about muscle dynamics (hint it’s a molecular spring that stores energy when muscles actively stretch)?
• Does abdominal muscle activation change depending on whether lumbopelvic motion is initiated in the pelvis or the trunk?
• Do weight bearing and non-weight bearing stretches both lead to increases in ankle dorsiflexion ROM?
• Do cell-phones change the way we walk?
• Do the rotator cuff muscles function differently during bench press and rowing exercises?
• Static stretching reduces subsequent power production, but what if the stretch is held to less than 45 seconds?
• Is increased stiffness following a plyometric regimen due to increases in muscle or tendon stiffness?
• Is the pullover primarily a pec or a lat exercise?
• Is the stretch-shortening cycle (SSC) mentally pre-programmed or simply automatic?
• Does the kettlebell swing with a 16 kg kb activate over 50% MVC for gluteal activation?
• Do maximal strength and endurance resistance training improve insulin sensitivity through the same or through different mechanisms?
• Does strength training lead to improvements in semen quality and anabolic hormone status?
• Does fatigue influence spinal excitability and muscle activation?
• Is it time we abandon the concept of motor unit types?
• Does increased time under tension (TUT) indeed lead to greater muscle protein synthesis (MPS)?
• What percentage of adult population is in anterior pelvic tilt?
• Does inadequate hip range of motion increase the risk of low back pain in judo athletes?
• Does inflammation affect fascial pliability?
• Does fascia impact transmission from muscle force to bone and play a role in ballistic movements?
• What is the greatest risk factor of hamstring injury in sport?
• How does scapular movement differ between normal individuals, individuals with shoulder impingement syndrome, and individuals with glenohumeral instability during shoulder elevation?
• There must be proper coordination between the abdominals and which muscle during challenging activity in order to maximize performance?
• Can VMO onset be improved through rehabilitation exercise?
• What route is better for improving FMS scores – focusing mostly on movement quality or focusing mostly on setting personal records?

$1 Promo Ends This Week

This is cutting-edge sports-science research, and remember this is just one issue! You will learn a ton each month and after an entire year you’ll be much more educated in your practice. The first issue will go out on March 1st. Don’t delay as the $1 promotion is only good for this week.

Free Extract

You can download a free extract HERE which includes the intro, TOC, and first few reviews. Knowledge is power!