Speed lifting

ROCHELLE — Sweat was running down Cody Cassidy’s face as he struggled to force words out of his mouth between deep breaths. Several of his schoolmates around him could hardly stand.

It was just another day of Hub Power.

“I’m really tired,” Cassidy said after finishing Thursday’s early-morning session with a series of sprint exercises in the front lawn of RTHS. “I don’t know what else to say.”

Why are so many RTHS athletes willingly crawling out of bed throughout the summer to put themselves through such strenuous training regimens?

They’ve seen the results.

“It’s made me faster. I can hit harder. It helps with everything I do in football and basketball,” said junior Derek White, who has added 35 pounds to his lanky frame during his three years in the program. “I actually look forward to coming in and working out with my team.”

As its name suggests, the Hub Power Program is designed to build strength in Rochelle athletes. A byproduct of that physical strength – and perhaps the more important function of the program - is a gradual improvement in participants’ speed and explosiveness. After all, it takes more than just body mass to build momentum.

“There’s a misconception that we’re just trying to get kids huge with big muscles. That’s not the goal,” Hub Power coordinator Chris Lewis said. “The main focus of the Hub Power Program is to increase athletic ability. We spend two days working on muscular strength while the other two days are spent on explosive lifts – hang clean, power clean, all those Olympic explosive lifts. Those are the ones that translate to the field in whatever sport you’re in.

“You can have a guy who’s really strong, but if he doesn’t have athleticism and explosiveness, he’s not going to be as successful as someone who does.”



For the complete article see the 07-18-2010 issue.

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