Todd Hamer

Todd Hamer is the general manager at Union Fitness. He has 20 years of Division 1 strength and conditioning experience. Prior to Union Fitness, Todd was Director of Strength and Conditioning at the George Washington University where he oversaw all 27 teams and a staff of six strength coaches. Before his time at GW, Hamer spent time at Robert Morris, George Mason, The Citadel, Pitt, Penn State, as well as UNC-Chapel Hill.

 
7 Myths of Collegiate Strength and Conditioning
7 Myths of Collegiate Strength and Conditioning

“We are a family.” This is the first collegiate strength and conditioning myth I’d like to debunk. Hear me out.

Finding the Right Online Coach
Finding the Right Online Coach

As with any purchase you make, your dollar is your vote. Before you hire an online coach, I ask you to do your research and discover what it is you’re searching for.

What Have I Done to Help?
What Have I Done to Help?

I’ve said for years that my job (both current and previous careers) is very easy. What I do is not life or death. What I do is empower those around me to improve. So daily I ask myself, what have I done to help?

Seven Rules of Customer Engagement for Personal Training
Seven Rules of Customer Engagement for Personal Training

I wanted to know the similarities between college coaching and private sector training, so I asked our director of customer engagement to write out his rules of personal training. Here they are.

Hire the Right People
Hire the Right People

I promise that these seven thoughts won’t be perfect, but they may help you along your path of becoming a better “boss.”

Know When to Hold 'Em and Know When to Fold 'Em
Know When to Hold 'Em and Know When to Fold 'Em

Reading enriches our lives and teaches us invaluable lessons. One of these lessons is taking control of our own lives and doing what’s necessary for our happiness and our career.

Programming the Overly Complex Needs Assessment
Programming the Overly Complex Needs Assessment

Stepping away from collegiate strength and conditioning, I’ve had time to reflect. In this article, I’ll delve into programming — the good and the ugly. Program-wise, exactly what are your goals?

The End of My Era as a Strength and Conditioning Coach
The End of My Era as a Strength and Conditioning Coach

I have left collegiate strength and conditioning because I’m concerned with where we’re going as a profession. I still want to be a positive force for the profession, but I’m not sure how to help. I’ll try to keep being a voice of change for positivity.

We Pick Things Up and We Put Them Down
We Pick Things Up and We Put Them Down

A coach once asked me, “Why do you lift?” My reply: “If aliens landed here and saw a basketball game going on, they wouldn’t have any clue what was happening. But if they saw lifting, they could at least wrap their heads around what they were seeing.”

My Biggest Mistakes as a Strength and Conditioning Coach
My Biggest Mistakes as a Strength and Conditioning Coach

These are just a few of my mistakes, and I’ve made many more than the ones listed here. Remember, mistakes are just lessons, so if you haven’t made any mistakes, you haven’t learned any lessons.

It's On Us to Become Better Strength Coaches
It's On Us to Become Better Strength Coaches

I’m here to remind everyone that we all have a part to play in making our field better and safer for our athletes. It’s on us to ensure our athletes, schools, and overall profession are all the best they can be. Start by implementing these 5 simple steps in your program.

Mental Health First Aid Training for Strength Coaches
Mental Health First Aid Training for Strength Coaches

After 20 years of mistakes and heartbreaks, I’ve learned that we need to do better when it comes to mental health training for our student-athletes. There’s no one-size-fits-all solution, but we can start to do better by being more empathetic.

A Fair Assessment of the CSCCa and NSCA
A Fair Assessment of the CSCCa and NSCA

Not sure if you should attend the NSCA Coaches’ Conference or the CSCCa National Conference? Which exam to take? Take a look at some of the pros and cons of each organization and figure out which is best for you.

Live and Coach Your Why
Live and Coach Your Why

My why is to improve athletes through and of the human body and mind by giving them all a well-thought-out program to make them faster, stronger, and more resilient. What’s your why? And why?

The Two Variables That Change It All: Load and Speed
The Two Variables That Change It All: Load and Speed

Your athletes’ load and acceleration will vary greatly depending on the skillset and experience of your athletes. Your athletes’ levels of experience will impact the ability of what they can and cannot do, as well as how you can assess and train these athletes at each level.

Goodbye 2018, Hello 2019
Goodbye 2018, Hello 2019

My life went through a lot of changes and adjustments during 2018, which meant I had to learn and re-learn things. Lesson 1: the grass isn’t always greener on the other side, but sometimes it is, so watch your lawn and don’t forget that some grass is better than yours.

How Strong is Strong Enough?
How Strong is Strong Enough?

To answer this question, we need to define strength. But there are many ways to define strength, so we all have to come up with our own method for defining strength. For me, it’s the squat.

The Coach's Order of Operation
The Coach's Order of Operation

Exactly where does coaching begin? With the sport, athlete, or person?

Programming Chaos
Programming Chaos

Learning and thinking about the many issues that we – as coaches – face, have reminded me to look back at my own programming and question the good, the bad, and the ugly with regard to what I’ve seen and done over the years.

Starting Over as a Full-Time Coach
Starting Over as a Full-Time Coach

Too often in our industry, before we’ve even seen the athletes, we talk about what programs we’re going to use and how these programs need to be implemented.

Rules for Interviewing
Rules for Interviewing

For this month’s article, I want to write about something that I’ve been doing a lot of recently with some success: interviewing. Consider these eleven rules for your next job opportunity.

6 Lessons of a Fired Strength Coach
6 Lessons of a Fired Strength Coach

Last week I went into a meeting with my direct supervisor and came out jobless. Here are the things I’ve learned and the mistakes I’ve made that led me to this point.

New Rules for Being a Strength Coach
New Rules for Being a Strength Coach

If you aren’t willing to change and grow, you won’t survive. Here are the ways my perspective on strength coaching rules has changed since my previous article on the topic.

Learning from Those Around You: 10 S&C Lessons from Friends, Mentors, and Colleagues
Learning from Those Around You: 10 S&C Lessons from Friends, Mentors...

If you aren’t open to the knowledge and expertise of those around you, you’re only holding yourself back. These are some of the most influential things I’ve learned from others in this industry.

Get Your Exercises Right: Four Movements You Aren't Using Enough
Get Your Exercises Right: Four Movements You Aren't Using Enough

These exercises are not commonly used but they deserve a place in your strength and conditioning program. We’ve tested them on our athletes and on ourselves and we believe in them.

Weight Room Lessons from Former Athletes
Weight Room Lessons from Former Athletes

After writing about the importance of getting to know your athletes, I decided to take a real look at whether or not I’ve had an impact. I contacted two of my former athletes and asked them to tell me what they learned in the weight room.

Know Your Audience: Learning More About Your Athletes
Know Your Audience: Learning More About Your Athletes

In the time since I wrote the initial “Know Your Audience” article several years ago, I’ve refined my coaching methods and changed many things, but the enduring message remains the same: get to know your athletes better.

How to Set up a Conference at Your University
How to Set up a Conference at Your University

One question I often get asked is, should I set up a conference at my college/university? Then I’m asked how to go about doing that. I hope to answer those questions here.

Football Conditioning Season Program Design
Football Conditioning Season Program Design

While there are some great things that can go on during this time period, there are also many times that football coaches run their guys into the ground with months to go before the players even see the competitive field.

A Letter to the Next Me
A Letter to the Next Me

I’ve often heard people ask the question, what would you tell a younger you? This is a great question all strength coaches should answer.

A Weekend of JL Holdsworth — My Introduction to Reflexive Performance Reset
A Weekend of JL Holdsworth — My Introduction to Reflexive Performance Reset

I had the opportunity to take one of the RPR courses this week when JL asked to hold a clinic at my university. Whether you love or hate the idea of Reflexive Performance Reset, it works!

The Do's and Don'ts of Leadership
The Do's and Don'ts of Leadership

Since college, I’ve worked at seven different universities and a few Globo gyms. I’ve run clinics, I’ve trained privately, and I’ve even worked construction. From all this, I’ve learned from some great leaders and some less than great leaders.

Grading Professionalism in Collegiate Strength and Conditioning
Grading Professionalism in Collegiate Strength and Conditioning

This is a difficult issue to balance because people expect us to be over the top and screaming all the time. I’m asking that we raise the level of professionalism.

Bring Your Passion
Bring Your Passion

As a profession, we must look in the mirror and ask ourselves if we’re doing what we’re asking others to do.

Core Confusion
Core Confusion

What does it mean to train your core?

What Are Your Biggest Mistakes as a Strength Coach?
What Are Your Biggest Mistakes as a Strength Coach?

For me, five big mistakes come to mind. I want to tell you how I learned from them and the steps I took to never make them again.

5 Coaching Rants to Reframe and Apply
5 Coaching Rants to Reframe and Apply

Layering thousands of coaching hours on the floor with successes and failures, I think I know what works and what doesn’t work.

The Who, What, Where, When and Why of Training Collegiate Football
The Who, What, Where, When and Why of Training Collegiate Football

Knowing that these 253 people are responsible for football programming, my next question is, how many people are “experts” in what we should be doing?

2017 Hawaii Strength Clinic — Spread the Aloha
2017 Hawaii Strength Clinic — Spread the Aloha

We had a blast in Oahu, Hawaii, although I think my son may have had even more fun than my wife and I did! With all that said, I was there for a business trip and I had to get to work.

What Should I Read?
What Should I Read?

What should you read? You’re asking the wrong question.

Time to Pass the Mic
Time to Pass the Mic

I decided to interview a coach who I respect immensely for this month’s article. Meet Coach Buckley.

Play for the Song and Coach for the Athlete
Play for the Song and Coach for the Athlete

Drummer sensation Brandon Khoo gives insight into what makes a great drummer. Strength and conditioning coaches, listen up. His answer is genius.

What Do I Have to Work With?
What Do I Have to Work With?

This is the first question you should ask yourself when training a team. To get this point across, I’ve attached my entire fall football training program.

The Absurd Effectiveness of Simplicity
The Absurd Effectiveness of Simplicity

Young strength coaches, go back to the basics to improve your athletes’ performance.

Programming 201: The Realistic Strength Program
Programming 201: The Realistic Strength Program

You can have the holy grail of training programs, but if it doesn’t fit your job, it isn’t any good.

Using Velocity-Based Training Dynamically
Using Velocity-Based Training Dynamically

With dynamic effort work, we use the guidelines that Bryan Mann has written about extensively. I’ve tweaked his approach to fit our small budget and large team setting.

Which Way Should S&C Go?
Which Way Should S&C Go?

As I see it, there are three directions that this profession can go. I know I favor one and I’ll explain why.

40 Years and 40 Lessons
40 Years and 40 Lessons

On my 40th birthday I reflect on the things I learned for each year of my life.

Communicating Your Vision
Communicating Your Vision

How can you sell your vision when it’s difficult to score your vision? Start with goals!

My Weekend of Strength
My Weekend of Strength

With a clinic and meet scheduled on back to back days, I was surrounded by influential members of the strength community and made a few discoveries.

Football Testing Season — Five Weeks to Gain Strength
Football Testing Season — Five Weeks to Gain Strength

Entering the time period away from pre-season or in-season training, our head coach made his expectations clear: “I want to see bench presses go up by 20 pounds and squats by 40 pounds in the next five to six weeks.” Easy, right?

You Need A Reality Check
You Need A Reality Check

We all need kicked in the teeth every once in a while.

From The Quote Guy
From The Quote Guy

In an endless flow of meaningless words, latch onto the lessons that challenge your mind and dictate your actions.

RMU Strength and Speed Conference Recap
RMU Strength and Speed Conference Recap

Instead of telling you about the event, I’ll do you a favor: here is an eight-hour video of every presentation.

Certification Craze: Profession Flaws and Our Responsibility
Certification Craze: Profession Flaws and Our Responsibility

If we want to get better, if we want to improve the future of our profession, we need to be honest with ourselves. We need to understand and address the real issues.

Keep It Simple, Stupid: Programming Collegiate Athletes
Keep It Simple, Stupid: Programming Collegiate Athletes

When it comes to training athletes in the weight room, remember that just because you love science doesn’t mean your athletes do. Learn to speak their language.

Crazy Mistakes Strength Coaches Make
Crazy Mistakes Strength Coaches Make

These 10 coaching mistakes can hurt you, your team, and your entire program. Are you making any of them?

Greasing the Groove by Training the Coach
Greasing the Groove by Training the Coach

The emphasis is always on the athletes, but keep in mind, in order to be a productive leader, you must go through what you’re asking others to do.

Newtonian Laws in Motion: Physics in the Weight Room
Newtonian Laws in Motion: Physics in the Weight Room

The three laws of motion are the roots of athlete programming. Find out how to apply these rules and improve your athletes.

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