Blog

We’re Moving!

2010-09-08T18:41:24Z

We are proud to announce Athletic Lab is moving to a bigger and better home. In approximately 2 weeks, we will begin the move in to our new training center. The new location will sport men’s and women’s locker rooms and showers, and a training area that is 50% larger than our current location. The new facility is located at 1823 NW Maynard Ave in Cary. We are planning to begin on Friday the 24th. While details are not finalized, we hope to only close for 1-2 days during this transition. Thanks to everyone who’s supported us during our first 13 months in the Triangle. We appreciate your business and support; and we look forward to serving you for years to come. We believe our new training center will only enhance our ability to provide the best possible sport and performance fitness training.

Labor Day Holiday Hours

2010-09-03T17:07:18Z

We’ll be open Labor Day weekend but offer special hours. We will have our “Open Gym” training session on Saturday as usual. This session is open to both Scholastic Training clients as well as Performance Fitness training clients. On Monday, September 6th, we will be having special hours to better let you enjoy your day off. On Monday we will have a Performance Fitness training session at 7am and 11:30 am, Scholastic Training session at 12:30. Please reserve a spot via our website or by contacting our staff to let us know if and when you intend to train. If you are unable to attend any of these sessions and would like another time slot please let us know and we’ll do our best to accommodate you.

Invest in Yourself

2010-09-03T03:43:49Z

If you want to look and perform like $7.95 a month…well, then head down the street.

This isn’t something we’d ever say to a prospect but it’s the truth. As with most things you get what you pay for. If all you want out of a gym or training center is the opportunity to feel good about yourself for working out, then the $7.95 per month health club will work just well. If you care about results, however, then look no further than Athletic Lab. We know you can find a much lower price at the Y or health club, but you will not find the quality programs, coaching and competition you will find at Athletic Lab. We differentiate ourselves on training expertise and our client’s results. If this is what you’re looking for then consider signing up for a FREE trial.

In-Season Training at Athletic Lab

2010-08-30T18:48:44Z

School has started back in session and many local athletes have already begun their competitive seasons for their high school teams. While the most common thought is that you do your conditioning in the off-season and play during the in-season, this practice is out-dated and ensures that fitness and physical capacity are at their lowest at the time when they need to be highest (at the end of the season). Physiological markers of fitness and performance can drop off with as little as 5 days of deconditioning. 5 days…that’s a long weekend holiday. Here’s a quick detraining timeline:

Days 1-2: Beta-endorphin and adrenaline levels drop. Mood is affected negatively.
Days 3-5: Muscles lose elasticity. Aerobic capabilities drop off 5% by the fifth day off.
Days 7-9: Body’s ability to use oxygen (VO2 max) drops by 10%. Less oxygenated blood is pumped with each beat.
Day 10: Body’s metabolic rate begins to drop. Eat less or you’ll gain weight.
Days 11-13: Maximum heart rate and cardiac output decline by 15%. Muscle tone sees first appreciable loss.
Days 14-16: Mitochondrial activity (energy production) in muscle cells begins to decrease rapidly. Loss of muscle mass, strength and metabolic rate occurs.
Days 17-19: Body becomes less efficient at thermoregulation. You are forced to spend excess energy cooling off.
Days 20-21: VO2 max has dropped by about 20%.
Days 22-25: 10-15% loss of muscle mass and that lost mass is replaced by fat.
Days 27-29: Muscle strength has declined by as much as 30%.

Athletic Lab Fall Schedule Change Reminder

2010-08-28T19:29:05Z

We just wanted to send out another reminder that our Fall training schedule changes tomorrow (August 30, 2010). Here’s a quick glimpse of the new schedule. For details click HERE.

Athletic Lab’s Scholastic Training for High School Success and Beyond

2010-08-26T11:30:09Z

As local high school athletes return to school, many are already involved in their school’s athletic teams. Of these, many aspire to play at the proverbial ‘next level’ of Collegiate athletics. To make the jump is difficult. Research from the NCAA suggests that only 3-5% of high school athletes will be able to play collegiately. This places an emphasis on being prepared to shine during the high school years and being prepared to make a collegiate team when the opportunity presents itself. Athletic Lab can help on both fronts. Our speed, strength and fitness training for Scholastic athletes is designed to best prepare high school athletes for their sport. This gives athletes the best opportunity to stand out amongst their peers and catch the eye of recruiters. With 3 former collegiate coaches on our staff we understand the recruitment process and what coaches are looking for athletically. We also know what it takes to prepare and compete collegiately. This second point ensures that we can train a high school athlete to be better prepared for there collegiate training when they do make the transition. Check out this recent quote from the mom of one of our very first clients who has made the big step to collegiate competition:

Marlee mentioned twice that everyone else is struggling with the workouts. She is a little sore, but not like the others. She is very thankful for the work-outs that you provided for her. You prepared her for the collegiate aspect of athletic training. Thanks for all the work you did with her.

An athlete’s athletic career can be short so it’s important to make sure you’re prepared to excel and not waste time you’ll never get back. Athletic Lab Scholastic Training can help you maximize your potential and give you the best likelihood of succeeding in high school and beyond.

Small Group Training at Athletic Lab

2010-08-24T22:05:13Z

At Athletic Lab, 90% of our training sessions are designed as small group training sessions. We believe strongly that most people (but certainly not all) will find that small group training provides a better training experience. Here are some reasons:

Support: The small group environment creates a micro-community where other classmates quickly become friends and offer support both inside and out of class.
Fun: Training with other hard working, goal-oriented individuals makes the training more enjoyable.
Motivation: When you’re training with other individuals who are able to push you through difficult training exercises, many find that they are able to push harder and longer than they would be if they were with a trainer by themselves and certainly more than if they were training by themselves.
Value: Group classes are less expensive for the client and when implemented in the manner used at Athletic Lab offer an almost identical attention-to-detail experience as one-on-one training sessions.

Athletic Lab Fall Schedule

2010-08-23T19:15:23Z

Summer is almost over and we’re ready to launch our Fall training hours. The schedule changes begin next week Monday (August 30, 2010). Here’s the schedule with notable written changes below.

Please note the following changes:

We will continue to have “Open Gym” training sessions that are open to members of the Scholastic Training, Performance Fitness, and Elite Development classes. For the fall hours, open gym will be available on Tues, Wed and Fri at 6 pm; and Sat at 11 am.
The Scholastic Training sessions remain at their usual Mon-Fri at 3:30 pm time slot and return with the evening 5pm time slots on Tues and Thurs.
The Olympic Weightlifting training sessions are now on Tues and Thurs at 7 pm.
The Performance Fitness class is now available Mon-Fri at 7 am; Mon, Wed and Fri at 5 pm; and Mon and Thurs at 6 pm

Happy Birthday Athletic Lab!

2010-08-18T18:26:25Z

August 7th marked our first birthday. We’ve had a great first year servicing some of the Triangle’s best athletes and hardest working fitness enthusiasts and we’re looking forward to many more years as we build our community and make more people fast, fit, and strong. Thanks to all our great clients who helped make our first year a great one.

Athletic Lab to run Climb for Life

2010-08-18T04:45:22Z

We’re trying to put together a team of staff and clients to run the Climb for Life challenge on Saturday, October 30, 2010 to benefit Cystic Fibrosis research. We can’t think of a better way to help out others than to exercise and raise money for a great cause at the same time. We’ll need at least 4 people to make a team. Our goal is to raise at least $1,000. If you’re interested in doing the run or if you’re unable to run but would like to donate to our efforts please contact Mike Young. Each team member must raise at least $100 to participate in the race.

Final Days for Summer Speed Camp Sign Up

2010-08-12T14:33:26Z

We’re in the final days to sign up for our last Speed Camp of the Summer. The Speed Camp will take place at Athletic Lab which is conveniently located in Morrisville, NC just a mile from the I-40 exit. Athletes will improve the mechanics of their running and learn the best practices for speed development. We’ll be using extensive video review during and after many of the sessions so that the athletes can see any errors and learn from their mistakes. Athletes in our first two Speed Camps earlier this summer improved their 30m dash time by 0.36 seconds (approximately 0.38 seconds over 40 yards). That’s game breaking speed improvement!

When: August 16-21 from 10:30am to noon
Cost: $189.95 or $249.95 for 2 (“Bring a buddy discount”)
Where: Athletic Lab: 951 Aviation Suite 1000 Morrisville, NC
Why: Because you want to get insanely fast

Click HERE to sign up today.

Friday 3:30 Scholastic Training Session Canceled on August 6

2010-08-05T18:12:56Z

Our regular 3:30 pm Scholastic Training session tomorrow (August 6, 2010) will be canceled. We are sorry for any inconvenience this may cause. All other scheduled classes including the Performance Fitness class at 5pm and Olympic Weightlifting class at 6pm will take place as planned.

Athletic Lab - THE place for Soccer Conditioning in the Triangle

2010-07-30T03:10:10Z

In July, Athletic Lab further cemented itself as THE place for soccer players in the Triangle to train. Athletic Lab is the official training center of the Carolina Railhawks professional soccer team. The Railhawks are one of the best teams in the NASL and always the fittest and fastest team on the field. In July, we were asked to run conditioning sessions for a soccer camp at Next Level Soccer Academy as well as the conditioning sessions at the Railhawks High School team camps at Wake-Med Soccer Park. We work with soccer players from the age of 10 in a manner that is age and developmentally appropriate to best prepare the athlete for the multi-faceted demands of the game. If you’re interested in training with us sign up for a FREE TRIAL SESSION today.

Athletic Lab runs conditioning sessions at Railhawks High School Team Camp at Wake-Med Soccer Park

Athletic Lab runs conditioning session at Next Level Soccer Academy

Athletic Lab staff runs Conditioning Program at Carolina Railhawks Team Camp

2010-07-27T12:23:01Z

The Carolina Railhawks are running a summer camp for area soccer teams and the Athletic Lab staff are running the conditioning portion of the camp. Every day this week over 120 athletes from 6 local high school teams meet at Wake Med soccer park for 4 hours of physical, mental and skill development. Athletic Lab staff start off the session each day with a warmup and athletic development session to develop speed, agility and explosive power. Athletic Lab is proud to be the official strength and conditioning center for the Carolina Railhawks.

Why you need Performance Fitness

2010-07-23T12:39:07Z

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 anymore. Most don’t fix their own house or car. Many don’t garden or clean there own home. Even if you eat healthy, the fruits and veggies are pre-cut and pealed, the sauces are made, and in many cases things are already cooked so we don’t even have to expend energy cooking…much less hunting, foraging, planting, gathering and preparing the food.

So what’s a 21st century man or woman to do? Try to keep the aforementioned points in mind will go a long way. Park further away from your destination. Forgo the elevator for the stairs. Hand prepare your own meals. Use a push mower instead of a riding mower. That’ll get you headed in the right path. And then consider taking our Performance Fitness class. You can come as little as 2 times a week and get fit. There are no gimmicks or short cuts though. The trick is that you’ll be worked harder than you’ve ever worked before with a smart and effective training program. It’s not for everyone. But then again, neither are obesity, high blood pressure, physical weakness, shortness of breath or any of the other symptoms of an inactive lifestyle.