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When it comes to speed drills, not many people will consider the significance of ankle and foot strength, and the literal impact it has on an athlete’s speed.

In this video, I cover a Pogo hop drill variation that helps to increase the threshold of ankle strength that can directly translate to improved speed, acceleration, and change of direction capabilities.

If you are an athlete looking for more exact drills to immediately implement into your training routine, then check out our Athlete Development Program here and let’s set up a time to chat!

Work hard. Work smart.

Creatine is one of the most popular supplements taken today to help with packing on size and improving performance.

And for good reason.

Most people however are not too familiar with the specifics of creatine, how to take, and when to take properly. When understood, creatine can be one of the most beneficial supplements  to help  you with performance gains.

Here is a quick breakdown of what creatine is exactly, its benefits, how and when to take it, and who it is the best for:

Creatine: What Is It?

Creatine is a molecule that is produced within the body. It is also found in foods like meat, eggs, and fish.

It is composed of the amino acids L-arginine, glycine, and L-methionine and is present in almost every cell, where it acts as an energy reserve. Approximately 95 percent of the body’s creatine is stored in muscle, mostly in the form of phosphocreatine.

Both creatine and phosphocreatine provide an important energy reserve to replenish adenosine triphosphate (ATP) during high intensity exercise.

How it works?

During exercise that lasts between 5-15 seconds, the muscles rely on phosphocreatine stores to resynthesize ATP. Once these stores become depleted, then the body relies on other forms of metabolism for ATP.

Supplementation with creatine increases stores of phosphocreatine, which allows muscles to work at higher intensities for longer periods of time.

This is beneficial for explosive, high intensity work, and for sports that rely on short or intermittent bursts of movement.

Other benefits include:

• Immediate improvements on maximum strength and power
• Faster rate of muscle building
• Improved anaerobic endurance
• Improved muscle recovery
• Has also shown anticatabolic effects (slows muscle breakdown)

How to Take

There are numerous research studies performed on creatine that have shown that it is one of the safest and most effective supplements to take for immediate performance improvement. Though there are multiple types of creatine, creatine monohydrate is the most researched and trusted form by which others are compared to. Powdered creatine monohydrate is your best bet.

Here are the most effective and researched ways to supplement creatine:

• Consume .3g/kg of bodyweight or .25g/kg of fat free mass for 3-5 days
• Follow this up by 3-5g/ day
• Research has shown that creatine uptake is better when taken in combination with protein and carbohydrate
• during the 3-5g/day loading phase, separate servings throughout the day to 4-5 small servings throughout the day
• consuming creatine post workout has been shown effective

Though these are general guidelines, always make adjustments based on your personal results, goals, and how you are feeling.

Who is creatine best for?

If you are trying to pack on lean mass, or trying to increase your explosiveness, or even enhance your recovery, then creatine is a good option.

If you have weight gain plateaus, or strength plateaus, then creatine can be a good solution as well.

It is also recommended that if you are new to training or just starting up a resistance training program, then creatine should not be of use just yet.

In conclusion, creatine can be one of the most effective, and safest immediate performance supplements that you can take.

It is already produced within the body, so is not foreign, and proper supplementation will further increase the threshold your of muscle’s potential to produce force, develop power, as well as recover.

If you are looking for a good creatine supplement, we recommend checking out PŪR CREATINE from Willis Performance Labs. It is in a creatine monohydrate in powder form for better and hydrolyzed for better absorption.

Train hard. Train smart.

People tend to make getting in shape over complicated.

It does not have to be.

Here are 4 things to keep in mind as you continue your fitness journey:

1.) Set A goal

Essentially, work towards something. And make sure that something is realistic but challenging. It is easier to become discouraged and get lost if you do not have a concrete goal that you are working towards. You just have to make a plan and stick with it. There are really no tricks to it.

2.) Be Consistent

Make the decision that no matter what, you will put in the consistent actions. Most people struggle getting the results because they lack the consistency. When you think about it, hitting your goals comes down to your daily habits. Therefore, if you are in the daily habit of getting in your exercise, and making good nutritional choices, then you are consistent.

It’s not just about what you do, but how much you do it.

3.) Make it convenient

Sure, you can sign up for a monthly membership gym, but is it out of the way for you? Does it take just as much energy to get there?

If so, then these things can demotivate you from be as consistent as you want to be. You want to create conditions that will make it easier for you to succeed. Chances are, if it is inconvenient for you to do, then you won’t be as motivated to do it.

If you are not willing to join a gym right now because of the pandemic, then create a “station” at home and designate a space for you to get your workouts done.

Make it convenient

4.) Stick with the diet fundamentals

Here is where most get hung up. Dieting.

Should you eat a low carb diet? Should you be counting macros and every single calorie? Should you do intermittent fasting?

This goes back to the convenience aspect. Is this going to create more unnecessary work that you are already NOT used to doing that will overload you?

If you were already careless about how you ate, is it realistic to suddenly grab a food scale and weigh your foods daily?

If you can, great!! Go for it. But if not, no need to push the envelope.

Doing the simple things like drinking a gallon of water per day, aiming for 7-8 hours of sleep per night (the hardest for most), eating more whole foods, and aiming for 30-60 minutes of exercise at least three days per week is all you really need to do.

How about just eating more mindfully and distraction free?

That alone is a powerful system to start with. And when done consistently, will not only help with your fitness goals, but will be life changing.

Hopefully knowing these 4 things will help you as you begin or continue your journey.

Let us know in the comments below which of these you struggle with the most

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By the way, if you have tried to do these things and maybe have struggled with the accountability aspect, and have found yourself thinking “I know what I need to do, but I think I need more accountability from someone else!” then let’s set up a complimentary Success Phone call where we can strategize.

Schedule your call here and let’s see how we can help you.

8 months ago we began a plan to start engineering our very own supplement line.

We didn’t just want to create a basic line that had no integrity, or quality product behind it, but a product that was certified, high quality, well researched and studied, and most importantly delivered results to people who needed it the most.

Out comes Willis Performance Labs; a company devoted to helping to engineer better athletes.

From the highest quality whey, to soothing CBD cream, we have taken a major step and partnered with a manufacturer to create our own brand supplements, solidifying Willis Performance as one of the only training businesses with it’s very own brand of supplements in the region.

As we are finalizing the lasts parts of the process before we actually go live, below is a sneak peak into the WPT Labs vault and what is to come.

When you hear of exercises to activate the glute, you often think of doing monster band walks, hip bridges, clams, or something related. Surely if you have been to your local PT office, they probably have had you doing something along these lines.

While each of those exercise serve their role, occasionally they may not address the root cause of glute-malfunction.

In this video snippet, I walk you through how you can truly awaken your glutes not on a muscular level, but mechanical using RPR technique.

Brace yourself.

And If you are looking for ways to effectively implement techniques like this into your training program whether from home, or your gym, let’s schedule a call here and see how I can help.