More pain more gain? Absolutely not. Young athletes are not indestructible, rather quite the opposite. They're just young and play through or brush off pain and discomfort to be tough many times. Youth, high school and club coaches need to understand that more is not always better - physically or mentally. Read the article below for considerations and proven techniques to help your athletes recover smarter.

Spring high school sports are now in peak season. The early season is over, most have had Spring Break come and go (most had at least a few days away from their sport) and now student-athletes face multi-competition week's and their coaches and teammates expect them to recover quick. What is the best way to help the mind and body stay ready with competitions now every second or third day? SLEEP is the student-athletes NUMBER ONE priority moving forward as "[I]nadequate sleep is strongly linked to increased risk of injury" Click below for a short read on the strategies that have proven successful to support busy student-athletes.

Sleep research suggests that a teenager needs between eight and 10 hours of sleep every night. This is more than the amount a child or an adult needs. Yet most adolescents only get about 6.5 – 7.5 hours of sleep per night, and some get less. Regularly not getting enough sleep leads to chronic sleep deprivation. This can have dramatic effects on a teenager’s life, impacting their mental wellbeing, increasing their risk of depression, anxiety and low self-esteem. It can also affect academic performance at school. Click below to download a short article that includes recommendations to help you(r teen) sleep better! (We recommend you print it out and keep a copy where you will see it often!

Everyone has to eat. Athletes have to eat more. Below, find our chart on what the needs are for active individuals. Whether you're trying to add, lose, or maintain weight, this chart will give an APPROXIMATE intake of macronutrients that individuals need. If you're trying to gain weight, eat like someone 5-10% above your current weight. For those looking to lose, the opposite. In general, everyone has to find what works for them, the below chart is a flexible guide, not a hard truth. Click here to purchase your own water bottle macro chart to keep you fueling the right way with the Macronutrients your body needs!

As a father to a young woman, a sport coach to many others, and a strength coach to women of all ages, this is an incredibly powerful 40 minutes of information that can and will support the women athletes in your life.

Asymmetries are very common and sometimes can lead to imbalances that can cause injury. At LRN 2 Move, clients are assessed and regularly challenged to overcome asymmetries. For athletes, they can limit performance efficiency and, worse, sometimes lead to injury. If not addressed, asymmetries could contribute to long-term issues, including limiting athletes' time in competition, quality of performance, or both. If L2M can help, reach out. We want to help, and we hate to see athletes not reach their goals.

Your Training Age will never be greater than you are years old, however, if you can consistently train your Training Age can overcome how older you may feel. Life is good when you're training your body better at 50 than you did decades earlier. I've been asked a few times recently if I train middle-aged (and older) clients. You bet I do, and I start with myself. Women, men, special populations, tactical operators, FBI agents, and many more, in addition to my young athletes. LRN 2 Move offers a complimentary intro session to all prospective clients. Email Drew at lrn2move@gmail.com

Student-Athlete Priority Protocols With student-athletes returning to school, LRN 2 Move recommends prioritizing self over everything else. It will take some time and discipline to fully get out of summer and into student-athlete, school mode, however, here are our top priorities. 1.) Great, consistent sleep ( NIH, Milewski et al. ) 2.) Powerful nutrition (& hydration) ( LRN 2 Move Blog Post ) 3.) Strength/Resistance Training ( Adam Virgile, NSCA )

I see and work with a lot of different ages and athletic levels. The one thing they all have in common is that in their daily lives (training for sport, everyday living, etc...) until they train with L2M: A lack of variety in their movement patterns. This lack of variety leads to problems. Sagittal Plane, Frontal Plane, Transverse Plane, Bilateral, Unilateral, Flexion, Extension, Abduction, Adduction, Internal Rotation, External Rotation, Isometric, Concentric, Eccentric, Dynamic, Plyometric, & more. If you're an athlete, or a parent of one, ask your athletes sport coach, or yourself, if they/you train in any of the above movement patterns - a large percentage will have little to no idea what you're asking. For me, I am seeing a lot of high school age athletes heading back (or for the first time) into the weight room with their high school sport team and coach. The feedback I am getting is the following are the overwhelming majority of patterns/planes these young athletes are working in: Sagittal and Bilateral (think traditional two footed squats and deadlifts, upper body: barbell bench press, etc...) . Two. Yes, two of many. If you're movement patterns monopolize only a couple (or few), you and or your athlete are going to run into problems. Weakness, tightness, asymmetries and most of all, a failure to reach your (or your athletes) potential. Athletes and parents, you spend lots of time and treasure playing sport, from school to club, find yourself a strength coach that can help you reach your potential and knows a great deal about the above and can provide a consistent, progressive training plan. LRN 2 Move offers a complimentary assessment and training session to all new prospective clients. Book your free session with me today! Email lr2move@gmail.com - Coach, Drew Stevenson, MS, CSCS, USAW Below is just a small sampling of movement patterns L2M clients work in, including imbalanced split deadlifts, triple flexion/extension with abduction/adduction cross-over step-ups, and an overhead sagittal/frontal bent press w/ internal/external hip rotation (to name a few). Strength + Stability + Mobility is key to athletic performance and a long life of feeling and moving well!

50% of the physical decline associated with ageing is actually disuse atrophy (ie. you're not moving enough, with resistance, through full range of motion) resulting from inactivity. Credit: https://x.com/Strength4_Life/status/1930729417124487298 Halt the decline!! Lift weights!

Every movement in sport is unique, so athletes should train as uniquely as their sport demands. Bench press, squats, and pullups are all GREAT, fundamental human movements to develop base strength, but how do these translate to demonstrating power on the field, court, or ice? At some point you have to incorporate competition level (sport/position specific) movements for athletes respective sport or position. Ground Work: Bear Crawl Kettlebell Drag At LRN 2 Move we train the fundamentals but also the non-traditional. The hits, slips, movements, and falls in sport demand the non-traditional training movements to compete at a high level as well as remain healthy. We train athletes in a variety of sports, including basketball, wrestling, and lacrosse so training in a variety of movement patterns, planes of motion (Sagittal, Transverse, Frontal), and keeping things fun/challenging is critical! For example, lacrosse faceoff specialists, football linemen, and wrestlers all need power near or on the ground and this power cannot be static (still) in nature. Rather, the athletes must incorporate powerful movement while in these lowered positions, so that's why we train the way we do here at LRN 2 Move - take for example the Bear Crawl Kettlebell Drag (pictured). We encourage all of our athletes to take these movements as seriously as the movements they see being done on Social Media or maybe, in the team space with their sport coach (many of whom are not experienced in strength training protocols). Contact LRN 2 Move (lrn2move@gmail.com or call 312.720.4295) and we'll answer your questions and take advantage of our FREE initial consultation and training session.