NEW THIS SUMMER
ATHLETE
LAB
Jaguar Strength launched Athlete Lab because we believe that the sooner we can start laying the building blocks for athletic performance, the longer the runway for athleticism becomes. Old cautions that early adoption of lifting weights correlates to stunted growth isn’t based on any science, as the study of youth performance training has shown that the sooner you start the more you are capable of achieving.
ATHLETIC PERFORMANCE (AGES 11-18)
WE ARE FOR ATHLETES
We are for ATHLETES. We are for youth that want to show up, put in the hard work, and embrace the process, in an effort to be better than they were. We’re not a fitness daycare, because although we’ll make the training fun, there is a job to do and we show up every day with one goal and one goal only… to be better than we were when we walked in.
PILLARS OF PERFORMANCE
FORCE
POWER
Mobility – Stability – Strength
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Mobility - We must be able to achieve the desired positions of our sport in order to produce adequate force in those positions.
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Stability – We must first be able to resist force at each position, in order to be able to produce force in those positions. Our ability to resist force is a key performance indicator of sport performance.
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Strength – If all else is equal, the stronger athlete always beats the weaker one. Once we’ve developed access to the positions, and stability within them, we progress our ability to be stronger in all positions.
Sport is not slow, therefore it is pointless to be strong if we are not able to activate that strength at a moments notice. Whether it’s charging down the court, jumping to block a spike, tackling an opponent, or clobbering a baseball – it’s essential that we are able to unleash all of our strength in a short amount of time.
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Coordination – Due to the difference in developmental stages between adults and youth, we provide a flexible program to meet athletes where they are at. We look to leverage neurological adaptations as a primary mechanism in early development, and physiological adaptations in athletes as they enter later developmental stages. We do this through progressive variation of movement problems and varied loading to teach the athletes how to use their bodies to produce high amount of power.
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Rate of Force (RFD) – Plyometrics, Accelerations, Change of Direction, and Max Velocity progressions drive tons of muscular contractions for athletes. We focus on FORCE to make them BIGGER AND STRONGER but know that power is the name of the game and is how we hit the third big rock of FASTER.
BUY-IN (the x-factor)
The “X-Factor” of any training program is buy-in, as this directly correlates to effort. The greatest program ever written belongs in the trash can if it doesn’t get athletes excited enough about the training to put forth 100% effort on the daily. We leverage the use of games, competition, and training variety to keep training fun, engaging, and always progressing our group forward!​​
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WE ARE A GYM, NOT A FIELd/COURT
The illusion of “sport specific training” is one that we don’t sell. Science has proven for decades that trying to make the movements in the gym look like the sport itself is a shiny sales pitch but lacks the carryover to true performance. In the gym, we lay the foundation – we make athletes BIGGER, STRONG, and, FASTER. We improve their ability to use their bodies to produce force and power. As a result, when they show up to practice, they have the raw materials needed to further advance their athletic skills, allowing them to dominate their peers.
INTENTIONAL, PERSONALIZED PROGRAMMING WRITTEN IN-HOUSE
The Athlete Lab programming is written in-house by Coach Matt, the owner of both our Lemont and Chicago locations. Over the past 7 years, Matt has accumulated over 30 certifications in every sector of performance training from Mobility, CrossFit, Strength & Conditioning, Sports Performance, Human Optimization, and Speed and Acceleration. He has learned under and currently studies from “Pre-Script”, who have trained 1000s of professional athletes and prepare many hopefuls for the NFL combine. Matt has studied the works of Les Spellman speed and is certified as a Spellman Speed coach. He’s coached weightlifters that have qualified for USA Nationals and Weightlifting World Championships, elite level CrossFitter’s, and youth athletes ranging from 10 years old to Division 1 level in a variety of sports. He applies knowledge from each type of fitness into a rounded program meant to cover all the basis and provide building blocks for athletes to build on for years to come.
BASE
Ages 11-15
Experience Required: None
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All impressive structures have something in common, they all have a strong, stable, and unbreakable base that allows them to layer structure upon. Younger athletes require a different approach to training, the classic “progressive overload” doesn’t work as intended due to their developmental stage. We implement a strategy of “progressive over-stimulus” that utilizes a ton of variation. This not only keeps effort and engagement high from the athletes, but also provides continued challenges in the form of movement problems that nervous system must solve while improving their ability to coordinate muscles and joints allowing them to create a strong BASE from which the foundations of strength, speed, power and acceleration can all be harnessed.
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APEX
Ages 15-18
Experience Required: Athletes should be comfortable with basic weight room equipment and movement patterns (back/front squat, lunge, hinging, pulling and pressing).
APEX is for athletes that have the basics locked in and are looking to take their game to the next level. As the developmental stage allows for building of muscle and physiological strength adaptations, we layer advanced loading strategies, incorporating accommodating resistance, post activation potentiation (PAP), contrast methods, and Olympic lifts to drive high degrees of raw power giving the athlete all the physical qualities to excel in their sport and dominate their opponents.
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developmental groups
Class Schedule
Monday: 9:30am, 3:15pm
Tuesday: 9:30am, 12:00pm
Thursday: 9:30am, 12:00pm
Friday: 9:30am, 3:15pm