Technique trumps using heavy weight. You’ve heard that or a variation of that phrase before, we’re guessing. And it’s something Tripp Smith, owner and operator of the Hammer Smith Sports facility in Atlanta, makes sure every athlete that steps through his door understands. The athlete-focused training center is a high-tech and state-of-the-art 30,000-foot space that provides athletes with the necessary tools to progress. But it’s Smith and his team that must detail how an athlete can put those tools to use to maximize potential while minimizing risk of injury.
“We’re specialists,” Smith says. “We focus on athletes and get them ready to play, or we help them get back to playing after injuries. I work with a lot of kids in middle school and high school, and using improper form on exercises such as the squat and power clean can injure the back. An improper warm-up can hurt the shoulders when benching, too. Injuries are going to happen, but we dial in the technique and try to reduce those chances.”
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Educating clients and helping them achieve their athletic goals while reducing injuries relies upon those clients having a clear-cut goal to strive for; and that’s something both newcomers and old-school lifters can do to gauge progress. “We talk about where the athlete was [athletically] before they got here,” Smith reveals. “Were they not gaining muscle or not losing the weight they wanted to lose? If so, why? Then maybe we’ll take a look at a five-day sample diet. From there we can make adjustments.”
Smith and his team handle the physical assessment; for nutritional direction, there is a staff dietician to field dietary questions or concerns. The topic of sports supplements comes up, and for those seeking an instant fix, Smith has bad news for them.
“Albeit steroids, there isn’t a magic potion or pill that’ll get the athlete to where they need to be,” Smith says. “It’s really good quality foods. Get the majority of vitamins and minerals from whole foods, and use a supplement for what you’re deficient in. I try to educate the athletes as to what they should do pre- and postexercise … and why they’re taking a certain supplement so they know they’re not just taking some pill and powder.”
Smith often fields questions about supplements, two in particular P4’s NSF Certified for Sport products Pre Game Formula and Recovery Push Formula, a pre-workout energy drink and in-game/in-workout recovery drink.
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“The Pre Game Formula and Recovery Push Formula have gotten a great response, and people have been coming back asking for more,” he says. “Our guys often drink it as they walk out of the facility after their training is done. It helps to kick-start the recovery process and replenish lost vitamins and minerals. Getting that process started is important.
“It’s a pleasant surprise to me because they get exposed to a lot of stuff, especially in college and many of the people who train here are [NCAA] Division I athletes. So it’s a pretty cool testimony that these athletes are saying, ‘I really like this product better than we had at a big-time university.’”
At Proven4 we know that combining a strict training regimen with proper nutrition and our NSF Certified for Sport workout supplements, Pre Game Formula, Energy Formula, and Recovery Push Formula, you can achieve optimal results in the gym and on the field.