Athletic Lab is better defined by the equipment we do not have than the equipment we do have. We don't have any recumbent stationary bikes, no elliptical machines with inset TVs, no preacher curl bench, no seated calf raise machine, no smith machine, and definitely no adductor machine to 'sculpt the inner thigh.' The reason you'll never see any of these or related pieces of junk equipment in Athletic Lab is because we are a training center dedicated to achieving elite levels of fitness and performance rather than a 'health' club trying to lure you in with fancy machines rather than world-class training programs. Gimmicky equipment and easy-way-out workouts will never have a place at Athletic Lab because they have nothing to do with what our staff or our clients are trying to accomplish.

While we're in the midst of a January Pull Up challenge, that hasn't stopped us from doing a lot of push ups lately. Push ups are a great total body exercise because they force the core of the body to stabilize the mid-line and the legs are forced to contract isometrically to keep the body in a plank position. Here's some variations of pushups from a video we shot several years back:

For those who have not seen already, we have made a slight shift in how we're handling our Scholastic classes. Starting today, we're offering Scholastic training at 3:45 pm and 5 pm Monday through Friday and at 11 am on Saturdays. More importantly however, each days training will have one of the following three themes: Speed Strength Conditioning and / or Agility Previously, we tried to do a little bit of everything in every class. This worked well but we were finding that development wasn't as good as it could be. The problem when you do a little of everything is that the training stimulus necessary for adaptation is muted from lack of intensity, volume, or both. Given that, and the fact that we wanted to further cater to the specific needs of each sport, the shift towards themed sessions was a no brainer. By moving to themed training sessions, athletes will be able to select training sessions based on the specific needs and demands of their sport while also taking in to consideration their personal strengths and weaknesses. As general guidelines, we are recommending the particular ratios of theme based sessions for the following major sports: Baseball / Football / Track and Field: Pre-Season: 4 Day Cycle: 1 Speed, 2 Strength, 1 Conditioning In-Season: 4 Day Cycle: 2 Speed, 1 Strength, 1 Conditioning Soccer / Field Hockey / Lacrosse / Basketball: Pre-Season: 4 Day Cycle: 1 Speed, 2 Strength, 1 Conditioning In-Season: 5 Day Cycle: 2 Speed, 2 Strength, 1 Conditioning For maximum results, it is recommended that each training cycle be completed in a period of time no longer than double the length of the recommended training days. To facilitate this at no [...]

The effects of training are dose dependent. If you commit yourself to train hard and train smart you will get better. This is something we try to stress at Athletic Lab because unlike many in our industry, we REALLY TRULY CARE that you achieve your goals. And we realize this isn't possible unless a commitment is made on your part. We don't want to take your money and never see you again. In fact, we NEED to see you twice a week to guarantee results and at least once a week to maintain what you've already learned and developed. When we see clients regularly, we can plan training more effectively, ensure that all physical capacities necessary for top-level performance are trained, and make steps forward in development (as opposed to always taking one step forward and one step back) because training can be progressive rather than helter-skelter. We take personal pride in your improvement and want to see you get better and achieve your goals. We know that when you get better it helps us because you become a walking billboard for our services. And we'd rather there weren't slow, out-of-shape, weak people running around saying they train at Athletic Lab when really they just come once a month. We're committed to your progress. Show up, bring some effort and we'll do the rest.

While we strive to provide the best quality athletic development and training services in the country, it's important to note that the outcomes of the best training will only be fully realized if a strong nutritional foundation is in place. Nutrition is an important part of an athlete's restoration from training and shouldn't be overlooked. A balanced nutritional program that meets the needs of the individual will go a long way in maximizing progress from daily workouts. Here are some general pointers for a sound nutritional program for athletes. Athletes should consume approximately 1-2.0 grams of protein per kilogram of body weight daily. For example, a 70 kg athlete (~154 pound) would need between 70-140 grams of protein daily. Consumption of processed foods should be minimized. Processed foods are those not from mother-nature. Examples of unprocessed foods are fruits, vegetables, nuts, and grains. Examples of processed foods are candy, bread products, and luncheon meats. Alcohol should be eliminated or minimized from the diet as it is an empty source of calories and also puts the body into a catabolic state. Not all fats are bad. Certain fats such as those found in olive oil, avocados, nuts, and fish are excellent for vascular health. Saturated fats, such as those found in fried foods, are terrible for vascular health, blood pressure, and cholesterol levels. Not all carbohydrates are good (or bad). Sugars are a type of carbohydrate that should be minimized for their negative effect on energy levels, fat storage, and blood sugar levels. Complex carbohydrates are best because they will provide a more sustained and longer lasting source of energy. Not all proteins are the same (part 1). Proteins can be sub-grouped into complete and incomplete [...]

The difference between an Olympic winner and the 4th place finisher in sports like Track & Field, Olympic weightlifting, Swimming and Cycling is less than 3%. Typical basketball games are often decided by less than a single basket. The difference between a home run and an out can be as little as a couple inches. Given that outcomes in sport are decided by such small margins why would you be willing to train with anything less than the best. Is being good good enough?

While many think that speed is something that you're simply born with, we've proven this to be a myth. We regularly improve the sprint times of our athletes by as much as a half second over distances as short as 40 yards. We do this by enhancing both the physical capacity of the athlete as well as teaching them the most mechanically efficient way to sprint. Get faster today, sign up for our Scholastic training sessions.

Open source describes practices in production and development that promote access to the end product's source materials. Some consider open source a philosophy, others consider it a pragmatic methodology. -Wikipedia CrossFit is an open source model. This means that there is room for practitioners to contribute to the model as they see will develop there clients to the highest level of fitness. At Cary CrossFit we do this by following a significant strength bias over many of our peers. While we do metabolic conditioning workouts (MetCons) several times per week we try to balance that with a steady diet of heavier lifting using functional, multi-joint movements and allow sufficient rest to ensure the intensity remains high. We started posting our Workouts of the Day (WODs) on Monday and have received a positive response, however, we want to point out to that the workouts we're posting are just a portion of the work we're doing. We typically begin every session's workout with 1 or 2 strength movements performed at higher loads for 2-8 repetitions and sufficient rest for the client to be able to perform the desired workout with the most beneficial load. The strength we build with these protocols helps us with our conditioning workouts that typically employ lighter loads moved for a greater number of repetitions. The reason for this is that being able to move heavy objects a couple times makes it easier to move lighter objects a lot of times. Unfortunately, the reverse is not true. At Cary CrossFit our goal is to get you strong and fit and we recognize that you can't have one without the other.

You sleep less than your body needs so your cortisol levels are really high and growth hormone levels are low. You wake up and if you eat breakfast at all it's the quickest possible solution with little nutritive value and requires no activity to prepare. You hop in your car and sit for 15-30 minutes as you drive to work. At work, you find the closest possible parking spot to your front office door and park there so you don't have to walk. When you've walked the hundred or so feet to your office building and if you're office is on the second floor you probably take an elevator up to your floor. Then you work 8 hours at a desk while sitting for 90% of the time. If you eat lunch it's likely something similar to your breakfast, or worse...you go out to eat an throw calorie-laden junk in your body. Then you take the elevator back down stairs, walk the hundred feet to your car and get in and sit for another 20 minutes as you drive home. On the way maybe you pick up a prepared meal for the family. Then you get home, sit and eat dinner, and then sit on the coach for 3-5 hours as you watch tv. Because you're hungry before bedtime you eat a bowl of ice cream before tucking in and repeating this entire process all over again. That scenario is the average day for millions of Americans around the country. With cars, elevators, escalators, strategically created parking lots, computers, the internet, TV remotes and dozens of other technological advances we've engineered physical activity out of our day. Heck, we rarely have to stand in line [...]

Our Performance Fitness class isn't for everyone. We readily admit that. It's far too hard. This class is about getting results and putting in the work necessary to get those results. The training is smart. The training is effective. And the training is hard. No sitting on a recumbent bike for 30 minutes while you watch TV on a health club monitor. No leisurely walking around the park. And no mindless exercises with pink dumbbells in a vain attempt to 'tone' your muscles. You'll lift heavy, you'll breath hard, you'll sweat harder, and you'll likely curse your trainer. But you'll get results. If you're more interested in socializing, watching TV while you workout, and being able check 'working out' off your list of to dos, then this class is not for you. If you're ready to work hard and reap the benefits join us today.