WPCS Strength and Conditioning

What is Catapult? 🏃💨

Catapult is a wearable GPS tracker. It can measure key metrics like total distance, top speed, sprint distance, training load, and more. Keep an eye out for a video coming soon showing you exactly how we use it in our program!

Coming soon! The Blaine Center will be undergoing a HUGE renovation this upcoming summer! All racks and dumbbells will be removed and are being replaced by machines and bosu balls. This is all being funded thanks to a generous donor known as Mr. April Fools!

Don’t worry, these racks and free weights aren’t going anywhere 😁 Happy last day of spring break!

Power output is one of the metrics examined with our Perch technology. This is evaluated in our Strength and Iron groups during their DB Squat Jump variation. Explosiveness and power is key to athletic success. What is power?

Power = Force x Velocity

Perch removes subjective elements of sports performance by providing our athletes realtime feedback on how much power they’re producing each rep.

What is Perch?🦉

One way our program aims to maximizes performance is through a velocity-based training technology know as .fit. With 3D cameras tracking bar movement, we’re taking training to a whole new dimension. Perch can measure key metrics such as velocity, power output, and jump height while providing real time feedback to our athletes. Keep an eye out for a video coming soon showing you exactly how we use it in our weight room!

We hope everyone had as much fun as we did during Friends Multicultural Day today! Our staff experienced everything from the history of ice cream, to dumplings, to rock climbing, and hair braiding. 🍦🥟🧗💆‍♀️

Did you know that out of the 2,040 private high schools surveyed in the United States, only 28% of them have a full time Athletic Trainer on staff? When we break it down by state, 64% of schools surveyed in Pennsylvania report that they have a full time Athletic Trainer. This includes public and private schools.

Penn Charter is extremely lucky to have the expertise of three full time Athletic Trainers in Jess, Bashir, and Mary Jane as well as the resources provided in the Dr. Jacob A. Shipon and Family Athletic Training Suite when it comes to the health and safety of our students!

We have to show some love to our favorite Athletic Training trio today because it’s the first day of National Athletic Training month! Go show them some love this month and every month after because they’re simply the best!

Why squat low? 🏋️

The minimum standard for our squat depth is parallel. There are a few reasons why parallel and below are important to us when squatting.

1. Full Range of Motion (mobility and stability): Having the mobility to reach a full depth squat is important for overall tissue and joint health. Science has shown that squatting deep may even have a protective effect on our knees by increasing its stability.

2. Muscle Recruitment: In the second photo, this shows the degrees of knee flexion relative to muscle activation seen during different squat depths. Parallel and below are the depths required to activate maximal quadriceps and glute muscles.

3. Shear Forces (how much the bones in our knee want to slide over each other in opposite directions): Stopping above parallel creates the highest shear forces on your ACL and knee joint in general. These excessive shear forces can lead to injuries of these ligaments. As depth increases, the shear forces placed on the ACL significantly decrease.

We understand that not everyone’s squat is created equal. Some of our students come to us with a lot of mobility issues or previous knee injuries. This doesn’t mean they can’t achieve these depths.

Instead, it’s our role as a Strength and Conditioning Coach to identify those issues and help them work towards the desirable goal.

Spring sports are here! Check out an inside look of the first day of the season yesterday with baseball, softball, boys tennis, boys lacrosse, and boys track!

In December, we started working on creating an upstairs space that was more useful to our program’s needs. This week, we finished adding all of the needed equipment to have three additional fully functional racks in the room. This will allow us to accommodate teams in a more efficient way starting this spring! Keep swiping to check it out!

If you don’t use it, you lose it. Swipe through to see how long it takes to lose these different adaptations when you stop training. This is why consistent training is important when it comes to maintaining your athletic abilities!

New dumbbell shelves are up!