tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-36850323413270892612024-09-13T00:11:51.599-07:00Strength and Conditioning, Articles, Information and anything I find interesting!Brian Van Hookhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07198628322892998078noreply@blogger.comBlogger44125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3685032341327089261.post-13081079136931629382010-09-28T22:45:00.000-07:002010-09-28T22:49:49.508-07:00

I often have parents of young baseball players in Las Vegas ask me about training their child in a “baseball specific” program and working on the shoulder or rotator cuff. A “baseball specific” program…mmm….really. Ok you want your son to: 1. Run fast? (That’s important in every sport!!) 2. Have superior hand eye coordination for catching? (Again all sports) 3. Have a strong core and

Brian Van Hookhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07198628322892998078noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3685032341327089261.post-38644631617021770372010-09-09T20:43:00.000-07:002010-09-09T20:51:47.288-07:00

OK, there is only a handful of things in this world that really aggravate me and the statement of “Lifting heavy weight will make you big and bulky” is one of them. I often have female clients (and some uninformed personal trainers for that matter) tell me that lifting heavy weight will make you big and bulky. This is called steroids! Ok, first off you need to remember the following points

Brian Van Hookhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07198628322892998078noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3685032341327089261.post-79124813760355351762010-08-25T22:41:00.000-07:002010-09-08T21:05:45.447-07:00

One of my D1 baseball players recently came into the training center today after his first workout with the team strength and conditioning coach and told me about an exercise that got me steamed! (Honestly the whole workout he described was seriously lacking, but this really stuck out). The particular shoulder exercise was the “Empty Can” (EC) exercise. Now I should say the empty can

Brian Van Hookhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07198628322892998078noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3685032341327089261.post-43414859901672070692010-08-12T19:28:00.000-07:002010-09-05T18:26:57.819-07:00

Hey Hook, my shoulder hurts when I raise my arm above my head! I have gotten this from several athletes that come in to train and are coming off of a season of playing sports (mostly baseball and football) that often complain of this problem. So I thought I would make a quick post on the subject. Shoulder impingement is one of the leading causes of chronic shoulder pain in athletes and adults

Brian Van Hookhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07198628322892998078noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3685032341327089261.post-4713609749625810682010-05-26T22:00:00.000-07:002010-09-05T18:28:11.450-07:00

I wanted to repost this article from a great Strength Coach by the name of Mike Boyle! In my mind he is one of the smartest guys in the business! This really is a good read and discuses the importance of a quality Strength and Conditioning Coach! By, Mike Boyle I wrote it a few years ago but, the debate continues regarding the value and impact of the strength and conditioning coach. Football

Brian Van Hookhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07198628322892998078noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3685032341327089261.post-40859845361595943742010-05-02T16:47:00.000-07:002010-05-02T16:47:43.966-07:00

I am just finishing up with finals and just wanted to give Congratulations to Van Hook training alumni E.J. Reid for signing with the Rams as a free agent! Trust me what I say he put in a lot of work and he deserves it! It was a real pleasure working with E.J., he is a hard worker and I expect great things from him in the future!

Brian Van Hookhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07198628322892998078noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3685032341327089261.post-89075487468329782922010-03-25T23:37:00.000-07:002010-03-26T00:49:21.220-07:00

Well it’s been a long time since my last post and boy have I been busy! Thinks are going good, classes are coming along and the Masters program is not as hard as I thought it would be (but VERY time consuming) and I will finish up his July!! On a training note, congratulations to Martin Tevaseu, DT from UNLV on his Pro-Day today! He did a great job! Our biggest task was dropping his weight from

Brian Van Hookhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07198628322892998078noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3685032341327089261.post-89713207395771887152009-12-10T22:46:00.000-08:002009-12-10T22:48:21.347-08:00

Van Hook Sports Performance in finally on You Tube, I’m hoping to add videos weekly. I will try to include a lot of the stuff we do with our athletes. http://www.youtube.com/user/VHSportsPerformance Brian

Brian Van Hookhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07198628322892998078noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3685032341327089261.post-82642212076321818492009-11-28T19:20:00.000-08:002009-11-28T19:20:48.761-08:00

Drills for Offensive Lineman,! Yes if your looking for Offensive Lineman drills, technique, workouts...etc. Please check out my blog about the big guys! http://www.offensivelinemanworkout.com/

Brian Van Hookhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07198628322892998078noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3685032341327089261.post-62428221226463253142009-11-24T20:27:00.000-08:002010-09-05T18:37:43.818-07:00

One leg bench squat (AKA rear foot elevated split squat, AKA Bulgarian lunge) Brian Van Hook MS CSCS VH Sports Performance We have all heard of the infamous back squat: "The squat is the King of all exercises." The honest truth is you do not need barbell squats in your program to build strong muscular legs. Now I am not saying you should not squat, what I am saying is the squat is not the end

Brian Van Hookhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07198628322892998078noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3685032341327089261.post-32077068666446607372009-11-16T10:27:00.000-08:002009-11-16T10:27:15.279-08:00

I Just received an email from Michael's dad and wanted to give some props to Michael Marusa's football team. He is a great kid!! THOUSAND OAKS, Calif. - Cal Lutheran earned its first ever outright conference title following Saturday's home victory over Redlands. The 30-21 win over the Bulldogs capped off an undefeated run through the conference and secured the program's first NCAA

Brian Van Hookhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07198628322892998078noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3685032341327089261.post-86323233013618024762009-11-04T10:20:00.000-08:002009-11-13T21:59:38.310-08:00

mmm…is lifting weights on a stability ball such a good idea? I was just reading a blog post from Mike Boyle’s blog that talked about this potential hazard! I have personally never used Dumbbell’s while lying or standing on a stability ball, I just see it as an accident waiting to happen. I understand why trainers are using this method (stabilizers, synergistic muscles…etc) I just think

Brian Van Hookhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07198628322892998078noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3685032341327089261.post-40290647353163129832009-10-30T22:55:00.000-07:002009-10-30T22:55:40.344-07:00

Guiliano Stroe, the 5-year-old bodybuilder from Romania. Watch this Video! There has been much debate about resistance training at such a young age. No matter what you or I may think, this kid is doing some incredible feats of strength.

Brian Van Hookhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07198628322892998078noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3685032341327089261.post-22319996816537616712009-10-18T19:14:00.000-07:002009-11-13T21:55:13.202-08:00

Open or Closed Kinetic Chain Exercises After Anterior Cruciate Ligament Reconstruction I wanted to post about a recent research paper I was reading titled “Open- or Closed-Kinetic Chain Exercises After Anterior Cruciate Ligament Reconstruction”. I was reading this research paper because from strength and conditioning/sports performance point of view I believe in Closed-Kinetic Chain exercises,

Brian Van Hookhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07198628322892998078noreply@blogger.com4tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3685032341327089261.post-45114860486986229412009-10-16T18:26:00.000-07:002009-11-13T21:58:52.480-08:00

Single Leg-Romanian Deadlift (RDL) Muscles Used: Hamstrings, gluteals, adductors Most people know about RDL (Romanian Deadlift), but have you ever tried them single leg? Not only does it strengthen the hamstrings to a high degree, but it works on dynamic balance, dynamic flexibility and strengthens your adductors as well. Just don’t get too crazy with the weight, because this exercise is

Brian Van Hookhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07198628322892998078noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3685032341327089261.post-1485029417380018292009-10-15T15:35:00.000-07:002010-09-05T18:25:28.152-07:00

I wanted to write about something that has been bothering me for a couple of weeks now, it’s kind of my little rant! I see trainers around town doing squats, lunges, curls, and anything else you can manage while teetering hazardously on a stability (or Swiss) ball, balance disc, Bosu ball or wobble board. So why do they think this is a fabulous idea, the main being that such exercises add a

Brian Van Hookhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07198628322892998078noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3685032341327089261.post-71178574733155460712009-10-04T14:25:00.000-07:002009-11-13T21:55:51.980-08:00

Among the different aspects of training, flexibility may be one of the most lacking in programs. Back when I went to High School, pulling your arm across your chest and bending over to touch your toes was considered a good way to warm up before training. Not because it was the best way, but because that’s how my coaches were taught to stretch so it’s the way they taught me. It seems like it is

Brian Van Hookhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07198628322892998078noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3685032341327089261.post-51424080828938482672009-09-24T22:22:00.000-07:002009-09-24T22:23:45.186-07:00

Caffeine is one of the most extensively consumed stimulants in the world. (3) However, compared to short-term effects of caffeine, the long-term effects of caffeine consumption on learning and memory are poorly characterized. Several studies have shown the positive and negative effects of caffeine use. One study found that long-term consumption of low dose caffeine (0.3 g/L) slowed

Brian Van Hookhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07198628322892998078noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3685032341327089261.post-1766984642524740692009-09-18T10:04:00.000-07:002009-09-18T10:04:03.660-07:00

I was reading a blog post by Coach Dos about the TV show “the biggest loser” and wanted to share it with all of you. It was kind of funny to see he posted this, because I just had one of the girls I train ask me about the show this week. I basically told her I hate that show!!! The main reason is I am not a fan of trainers or coaches screaming and belittling athletes or people in general. And

Brian Van Hookhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07198628322892998078noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3685032341327089261.post-50591907561757673762009-09-08T11:01:00.000-07:002009-09-08T11:03:39.638-07:00

I was reading Alwyn Cosgrove’s blog and I wanted to share one of his posts “September Q&A”, I really liked his comments to the “computer programmer” question. Did you ever stop to think WHY you are doing a body part split?

Brian Van Hookhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07198628322892998078noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3685032341327089261.post-48555813969773259552009-09-03T23:32:00.000-07:002009-09-03T23:33:32.854-07:00

Hello everyone! Just wanted to post a quick note about the new Guestbook on my training website! If you have trained with me, received information or purchased the Long Snapping manual please feel free to post your comments! Van Hook Training Guestbook Thanks, Brian Van Hook, CSCS

Brian Van Hookhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07198628322892998078noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3685032341327089261.post-56559690188993593232009-08-30T11:15:00.000-07:002009-08-30T20:57:52.139-07:00

One of the many things I have learned for some of the best in the business is that you should never stop learning! So over the years I have made it a point to read two new books a month. One on the subject of sports performance/ strength and conditioning/ fitness, or whatever you want to call it. And one on the business side of things. The following is a list of some of the books on the

Brian Van Hookhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07198628322892998078noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3685032341327089261.post-12493524890724318742009-08-29T22:44:00.000-07:002009-08-29T22:50:22.242-07:00

Originally featured at charlespoliquin.comEven the best athletes are limited by their most significant weaknesses. For some athletes, weaknesses may be mental barriers along the lines of fear of playing in front of large crowds, or getting too fired up before a big contest. Others may find that the chink in their armor rests with some sport-specific technique, such as shooting free throws. While

Brian Van Hookhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07198628322892998078noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3685032341327089261.post-28246541441492464032009-08-26T21:01:00.000-07:002009-08-26T21:30:01.934-07:00

Overtraining syndrome most often occurs in athletes who are training for competition or a specific event and train beyond the body's ability to recover. Your sports season is starting in a few months and it’s time to start training. You want to be in the best condition possible when the first day of practice comes. Most student athletes often throw themselves head-first into their conditioning.

Brian Van Hookhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07198628322892998078noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3685032341327089261.post-82658590713926735232009-08-24T09:12:00.000-07:002009-08-24T09:13:21.143-07:00

I was thinking about my last post about Usain bolt, some say he is a little too cocky, and I might agree. As I stated in my last post, I was a little pissed when he turned to the crowd before the finish line. Sure he was ahead and still broke a world record, but imagine what his time would have been if he finished the race without turning? Don’t get me wrong, Usain bolt is a great athlete!!

Brian Van Hookhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07198628322892998078noreply@blogger.com0