The RMU Department of Strength & Conditioning is responsible for the management, direction and oversight of a competitive and progressive strength & conditioning program for the RMU Department of Athletics and its student-athletes.
The primary athletics weight room is located in the UPMC Events Center. A secondary weight room is located on RMU's Island Sports Complex at the Golf Dome.
MISSION STATEMENT
RMU Strength & Conditioning is committed to principles of ethical conduct, integrity and excellence, which will prepare the student athletes for personal growth both during and beyond the competitive years of collegiate athletics. RMU Strength & Conditioning will prepare a safe and comprehensive training environment to include, but not limited to, increasing specific sports performance, reducing potential injury risk and education of proper nutrition.
GOALS & PHILOSOPHY
RMU Strength & Conditioning's goals are to increase athletic performance, and help reduce athletic-related injuries. Our training philosophy is to train ground based movements, multi-joint movements and three dimensional movements. These three training staples ensure that our athletes are training appropriately for their sport or competition.
FOUR OBJECTIVES
Performance Enhancement:
- Enhancing strength, speed, explosiveness, agility, mobility, metabolic conditioning needs, body composition, nutritional habits and recovery methods.
- Core exercises are ground-based movements, training our athletes in the same position in which they compete. This teaches our student-athletes to apply force through the ground, increasing speed, power and strength.
- Exercises are three-dimensional, meaning we train our athletes in all movement planes, especially in movement patterns they perform on the field while also teaching them to stabilize their musculature in all movement patterns.
- Provide education and guidance in performance nutrition and active recovery methods
- Lastly, we train movements, not muscles. All movement patterns involve multiple joints because athletes move through multiple joints simultaneously while competing.
Reduction of Injury Rates:
- Healthy, strong muscle and joints decrease the risk of injury by allowing the muscle and joint to dissipate more force applied to it on a daily basis, as well as to speed up the recovery time needed for an injured student-athlete. We program injury reduction exercises for our student-athletes, targeting common areas of injury in specific sports.
Mental and Physical Toughness:
- Dedication to the strength and conditioning program develops an individual's accountability, discipline, focus, teamwork, maturity and competitiveness. Each of these lead to an increased commitment toward team goals.
Increase Confidence:
- Improvements seen from our strength and conditioning program instill trust in ourselves and our teammates. It brings teams closer and allows teams to play at their highest potential.
TEN PRINCIPLES OF ATHLETIC DEVELOPMENT
(1) Ground based movements
(2) Train movements, not muscles
(3) Train explosively
(4) Variety
(5) Periodization
(6) Specificity
(7) Split Routine
(8) Injury Reduction
(9) Functional Mobility and Postural Control
(10) Diet and Recovery
INTERNSHIP OPPORTUNITIES
Internships are essential to the success of RMU Strength & Conditioning. Those who complete internships will gain valuable experience toward a future in the profession, including tangible work with program design as well as hands-on coaching experience
Internships start one week prior to the start of a semester and will last through the completion of the semester. Candidates for internships will be supervised by the head strength & conditioning coach, and able to complete the required internship hours to sit for the CSCCa-SCCC.
Contact Tanner Anderson at andersonta@rmu.edu for more information.
