Walk into any health club or high school weight room and you will see athletes performing strength training exercises while seated or lying down (e.g., bench press, leg extension/flexion, seated row, shoulder press, crunches). Why is this? Since most sports are ground-based it only makes sense that the bulk of an athletes training should be performed while standing on either one or both feet. I have often said to my baseball players that "there's no 'lying' in baseball" or any other sport for that matter. So why would an athlete perform the bulk of his or her training while in a seated or lying position? One must realize that seated exercises are performed in health clubs and high schools primarily because of their simplicity as well as the lack of supervision by a certified strength and conditioning specialist. While the exercises mentioned above may be effective for your average aspiring "body builder," they are not very effective for the development of the strength, power, balance and coordination needed to improve ones athleticism. Athleticism is used to describe an individual who possesses the power and acquired strength and skill to excel in a given sport or sports. Athleticism may be enhanced through special training and exercise.

When performing an athletic movement (i.e., throwing, hitting, jumping or running) one must initiate that movement from the ground. This force application is then transferred from the lower extremities up through the "core" and then to the upper extremities. For instance, how far can you throw a ball using only your arm while keeping your body completely still? This is similar to how a child throws before sufficient body control is learned. Athletic movements must also be coordinated and synchronized to be effective. Ground-based training aids in the improvement of ones coordination and synchronization of various body parts that lead to powerful, yet smooth athletic movements. Ground-based training uses free weights, medicine balls, elastic tubing, or anything else that requires an athlete to generate force from the ground up…because that's the way the game is played - on our feet!