Many people walk into our facility and ask what we do? This article is designed to help educate you on some of the differences between what we do vs other training styles.
Overall, WE HELP PEOPLE PERFORM BETTER IN SPORT AND IN LIFE.
What is Strength & Conditioning? (S&C)
S&C is the practical application of sports SCIENCE to reduce injury risk while improving fitness and physical performance. It is the deliverance of structured exercise prescription using both strength and aerobic training as well as several other methods. To this end, the primary objective of S&C is injury prevention, followed by performance enhancement.
S&C covers most movement styles and methods including body weight training, weightlifting, powerlifting, plyometrics, High Intensity, Body Building/Hypertrophy, ‘Functional Training’, Crossfit, Strongman and various forms of conditioning just to name a few. S&C is the over-arching principle or philosophy, the variation comes in the ‘method’.
The goal is to improve speed, agility, endurance, strength, stability, flexibility, injury prevention and the management and rehabilitation for the purposes of enhanced performance. Generally, the program is tailored to meet the specific needs of the group as opposed to completing movements which do not meet those needs.
What’s an S&C coach?
“A strength and conditioning coach is an ACCREDITED Australian Strength and Conditioning Association (ASCA) coach who develops the physical capabilities of competitive athlete populations.” (*ASCA Website). They are a professional who specialises in performance using exercise prescription, developing proper mechanics and an understanding of other aspects of performance such as nutrition, recovery and mindset.
Strength and conditioning coaches have the option to specialize in a sports team, type of performance, training type, training philosophy and a number of other areas.
What’s the difference?
Strength and Conditioning is a training philosophy. Many training styles use aspects of strength and conditioning, but often don’t understand the underlying principles or science behind the training. Some, on the other hand, have a very deep understanding of their training method and the science behind it. The best bodybuilders, for instance, are at the cutting edge due to continued experimentation of types of movement, nutrition and loads. A lot of this information is anecdotal but is often ahead of proven science. S&C’s must continue their education to ensure they are up to speed with cutting-edge practices both anecdotally and scientifically.
What do you do at CORNERSTONE?
We train all our tribe (not just ‘athletes’) using a strength and conditioning model, because to us, we are all athletes who need to be able to PERFORM AT LIFE. Its why our classes are called LIFE PERFORMANCE.
We use exercise prescription to firstly improve function and reduce imbalances (mobility & stability), then build strength through controlled full range of motion and only then do we add more speed or complexity. We start small, focus on injury prevention/rehabilitation and then performance.
The program is carefully periodised to ensure our clients build toward a target specific to them, get a wide variety of different stimulus, and with high and low-intensity days so you don’t get destroyed every single day. Some training elements and corrective exercises are not always sexy, but we take a long-term approach to training and health. Pain is NOT normal. In saying all that, our sessions are designed to get you strong, lean, supple and as fit as you’ve ever been. Real World Fitness.
The strength of the body is directly related to the strength of the mind, so we highly value skill and brain development. We re-acquaint you with things you maybe could do as a child, or maybe have never done. All the tools we use improve your brain and improve your ability to function and perform in life. They take time to develop, so they fit with our ethos of long-term development.
Our sessions are small to ensure every athlete receives high-level coaching in every session. Every athlete also undertakes a screening, provided with a life performance plan and receives individualised coaching to ensure they are comfortable and understand everything that happens in our sessions. Many people come to us with special needs or injuries from elsewhere, so we take extreme pride in our ability to understand every member’s needs and personalise sessions.
Overall, we try to take a holistic view of health and performance with every tribe member. One thing won’t work for everyone, so we try to work with a range of professionals to obtain the best results. The Cornerstone is the first block to be placed during any construction. Build the foundation of health wide and strong, and the structure has limitless potential.
That’s our goal for YOU!