Derek Yush has been coaching college athletes for nearly twenty years, first at the University of Rhode Island and now at Louisiana State University. Coach Yush has gained a wealth of experience and knowledge as a collegiate athlete and a coach on how to help athletes perform at their best. Some of his expertise can be used to improve the fitness levels of us average trainees. Although we are not competing at the high level demanded of collegiate athletes, we are always seeking the latest fitness tips to help us to improve.
Holistic Fitness Tips for Better Results
One of the more valuable fitness tips Coach Yush has learned over his years of coaching is to embrace a philosophy of holistic fitness for coaching his athletes. While it can be satisfying in the short term to focus on “immediate performance markers” such as a one-repetition max or a timed sprint, these tests don’t give the coaches or the athletes the full picture. Coach Yush is careful to design balanced training programs that seek to improve a range of factors including speed, power, nutrition and flexibility. Coach Yush is also careful to remind his athletes of the importance of rest and restorative activities like stretching. He describes this approach as a lifestyle choice to be embraced not simply as a program to be followed.
Beware of Fitness Gimmicks
Coach Yush has seen it all when it comes to separating genuine fitness tips and advice over crass commercialization: “Distinguishing between effective advances and gimmicks is becoming more and more difficult with the continuous bombardment of unfounded training methods found online.” He’s right – the Internet is rife with ineffective and even dangerous training advice that often ignores the basic tenets of holistic fitness. The average trainee may not always be educated enough to resist the siren song of quick results with minimum effort. This is why a dedicated professional like Coach Yush is so valuable as a source of knowledge and expertise who improves performances and, more importantly, the lives of his athletes.
Mike Phelps
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