yourperformancelab

[yourperformancelab]

(via Why Choose The Performance Lab » The Performance Lab of California)

[yourperformancelab]

The biomechanics of digging illustrating muscle loads

[yourperformancelab]

Want to RUN FASTER? Click the photo to read more.

[yourperformancelab]

Learn How to Jump Higher

Jump Higher

The key to getting the most out of your vertical jump is to ensure proper activation of the right muscles at the right time. This is not an easy thing to do and that is why only a small percentage of people have really great vertical jumps. Your goal of increasing your vertical jump is absolutely attainable, but before you continue reading just remember it is going to take hard work and dedication to your body to reach your goals.

The most important thing about the vertical jump is to reach triple extension at all your joints. Triple extension is when max force is produced at the hip, knee, and ankle joint at a flexion angle below 15 degrees. The graph below shows an example of max torque production with the percentages as well as the angle when max torque was achieved. Awareness of information like this is essential in knowing what specific joint(s) to work on to make the biggest gains in your vertical jump.

After knowing what specific joint you need to work on, a workout can be tailored to ensure you see the greatest increase in your performance. For example, if you do not get to triple extension in your knee and generate the most amount of force when your knee is in let’s say 75° of flexion you are overusing the rectus femoris quad muscle to take you through the jump. This causes tight hips, increased injury risk, and puts a ceiling on vertical jump achievement that can be reached. If this issue came up more collaboration would be needed between the quad muscles, especially at the vastus medialis. The vastus medialis is the quad muscle that activates within the last 30° of extension during a jump producing max force within that range ensures all quads are activating and that you are accelerating throughout the motion instead of just at the beginning of the motion. Activating of the vastus medialis consists of specific lunge or leg lift exercises.

Another key in reaching maximum vertical height production is ensuring max torque output happens at the same time at every joint.  Here are two examples: The first chart shows triple extension at all joints evident with one single green line. The second chart however shows a green line, orange line, and blue line representing that the athlete didn’t get triple extension at the same moment. This hinders an athlete’s performance because muscles are not coordinated when producing max force.

Fixing uncoordinated max torque outputs at different joints is done by muscle activation with proper form. Muscle activation is most important and would be addressed with plantar flexion, knee extension, and proper hip extension. From there, proper flexion angles to recruit all the muscles of the lower leg is essential to generate the muscle contractions necessary for maximum height.

The vertical jump like many other movements are very specific to the individual. How to see the biggest gains is by concentrating on your specific needs. There are many different techniques to increase vertical jump that are broad and will certainly give you results. However, in order to see the biggest gains the fastest your specific muscle needs must be found. Followed by proper activation of all the muscles of the lower body. The right information combined with knowledgeable training is the best way to see the results you want. Knowing your specific needs would be impossible without an accurate muscle assessment to find the over and underused muscles in your body.

Click Here To Learn More About Our System

The PLC Team

[yourperformancelab]

How To Improve Your Everyday Performance

Muscle Activation is KEY!

The most common corrective exercises we give are for specific muscle activation. Overused muscles cause tightness and lead to pain usually at the knee and hip joint. While atrophied or underused muscles at a specific joint lead to under performance and may even cause injury. Which is why the information here we provide for you is key. We find the cause of the problem and provide the solution.

Below are the primary movers acting on the three joint of the lower body:

The Gluteus Maximus should primarily be acting on the hip.

The Vastus Medialis (Hamstring Muscle) should be the primary muscle acting on the knee.

Then the Gastrocnemius (Calf muscle) should be the primary mover acting on the ankle.

Knowing all of this is important because when the wrong muscle is being acted on a certain joint, for instance using the Semi-Membranosus (Hamstring Muscle) instead of the Gluteus Maximus to act on the hip joint, puts the individual at a high risk for a hamstring pull.  Over 90% of the time someone pulls their hamstring they pull the Semi-Membranosus (Hamstring). So being able to really see and understand how you are moving and the exact muscles that are being used, puts us in the position to see what specific area(s) to address.

After we find which joints do not have the correct muscles firing we give you exercises/muscle activation to produce more out of your body . Our correctives should be done 5-7 days per week. Similar to our motion analysis the corrective exercises are not extremely difficult. They are tailored to the individual and will result in massive results for sports, fitness, health and many everyday activities like walking/hiking. With our technology being so new, our focus is to bring the most value to your every day life. Our next blog post, will be a topic you choose in the comment box below. 

Click Here To Learn More About Our System

[yourperformancelab]

The most advanced part of our Performance Lab is our markerless technology allowing us to start testing immediately. We felt the best way to show our technology is through a quick. The video shows how simple it is to get acquired, the freedom of movement once acquired, and the report we generate from the movements. In case you were wondering about accuracy, the joints plotted on David are exact to the millimeter. The report's information measures degrees and depths to the nearest hundredth, all tailored toward the specifics of the individual and how they move.

Our goal is to provide massive value to athletes, trainers, and fitness enthusiasts. Every joint counts in the human body so to understand what is going on at each joint proves to be important in sports performance, injury prevention, rehabilitation, and fitness education. At the beginning we want to show you how we generate information through our lab and report. So that when we post videos and articles about the report, the information is easily understood by you.

-The PLC Team

[yourperformancelab]

Last night was a very successful Open House. It’s great to see so many talented individuals here in Los Angeles. Technology is innovating the industry day by day.

If you weren’t able to make it, I encourage you to come tonight at 6:00 PM. There will be FREE Food, Drinks, and Live Demos. We are expecting twice as many people, so get ready to network!

Click here to get your FREE TICKET: http://bit.ly/1nz8wVC

The PLC Team

[yourperformancelab]

Yes. We also do Animation!

Friends,

Not only do we specialize in Fitness, Health and Sports. Our system is also equipped for animation. With our two partners Organic Motion and Radius Motion Capture, we are able to provide the leading marker-less motion capture camera system and features. Anywhere from game development, animation and life sciences, we have the system to meet your needs.

If you're anywhere in California we'd love for you to come check out our brand new facility. Contact us at 818-578-5013 or email us at info@yourperformancelab.com for a private showing or demo. The Open House schedule is listed in the image below.

Have a great rest of your day.

The PLC Team 818-578-5013 info@yourperformancelab.com www.yourperformancelab.com

[yourperformancelab]

Never give up!

[yourperformancelab]

Heres a look at our websites Introduction Video Your Performance Lab Let us know what you think.

[yourperformancelab]

Introduction Video: www.yourperformancelab.com

[yourperformancelab]

We can't be any more excited for the opportunity to be here in Los Angeles. Our team day in and day out will be providing you with a platform to better your health and fitness goals. Take a look at the link above and share your feedback. Thank you again. Have a great rest of your weekend.

The PLC Team