Sports Performance Training

Golf Fitness

Rotator Cuff Training and Injury Prevention

ACL Injury Prevention

Runner Strength and Flexibility Training

What does Maryland Sports Performance do?

We help kids and adults of all skill levels reach their full athletic and fitness potential by designing custom fitness and sports performance programs tailored to individual goal and needs. Our programs will help you build confidence and character in the way you look, feel and perform. We design specialized sports conditioning and strength training programs for kids, women, older athletes and handicapped athletes. Read

Strength Training
Strength Training For Children and Teens
How Old is Old?

How do we do it?

Dr. Steven M. Horwitz is a certified chiropractic sports physician, strength and conditioning specialist, a USA Weightlifting Club Coach, and has won bodybuilding and powerlifting awards. He co-instructs Care and Prevention of Athletic Injuries, a state-mandated, 15 hour class for public school coaches. He coaches athletes of all ages and skill levels taking their performance to the next level by using a dynamic, integrative appoach to training. Dr. Horwitz performs a Functional Movement Assessement on every client athlete. A Functional Movement Assessment is an evaluation of an athlete’s movement patterns designed to identify any underlying physical imbalances that would affect an athlete's competitive edge or predispose an athlete to injury. An athlete performs a series of functional movements designed to identify orthopedic and neuromuscular deficits that would adversely affect his/her athletic performance. From the results of the assessment a specific corrective exercise program is designed to assist the athlete in gaining a competitive edge and to begin to realize his/her athletic potential.

Where do we do it?

We provide a safe, professional and private setting in which to train. Dr. Horwitz is an American Heart Association CPR Instructor. We promote a positive environment which encourages the pyschological and physical development of athletes of all ages.

How about injury prevention?

The 2005-2006 NCAA Sports Medicine Handbook states:

"Participation in intercollegiate athletics involves unavoidable exposure to an inherent risk of injury." (p. 4)

"...the incidence of overuse injuries sustained by young athletes could be reduced by 50% if more emphasis was placed on the development of fundamental fitness abilities before sports participation." "...the National Athletic Trainers' Association suggests that high school athletes engage in conditioning activities at least six weeks before the start of practice."

Faigenbaum, A., Schram, J. Can Resistance Training Reduce Injuries in Youth Sports? Strength and Conditioning Journal 26(3) p18. 2004.

The best way to prevent injury is to combined a performance training program with state of the art sports injury prevention, recovery and regeneration techniques. Dr. Horwitz, the 1996 U.S. Olympic Team Chiropractor, uses advanced muscle therapy techniques — Active Release Technique® and Graston Technique – to heal old injuries and keep muscle tissue loose and limber. Read Not Just Bones, Muscles Too. Chiropractic techniques maintain proper joint function and insure complete nervous system activation.

Read the following articles about the tremendous increase in youth injuries and the need to understand injury prevention:

To an Athlete, Aching Young - TIME MAGAZINE

Doctors See a Big Rise in Injuries to Young Athletes - N.Y. TIMES

Intensive Training and Sports Specialization in Young Athletes - AMERICAN ACADEMY OF PEDIATRICS

Overuse Injuries in Children and Adolescents - THE PHYSICIAN AND SPORTSMEDICINE

Why does everyone need our program?

It is important for all athletes to have proper technique. This is especially important in a children's strength training program. We will teach you the basic and advanced skills to improve your game and keep you healthy. Confidence is preceded by competence. A confident athlete is always a winner on and off the field!

The 2005-2006 NCAA Sports Medicine Handbook states:

"Preseason Preparation: The student-athlete should be protected from premature exposure to the full rigors of sport. Preseason conditioning should provide the student-athlete with optimal readiness by the first practice." p.6

What is the Maryland Sports Performance Difference?

We build the "Complete Athlete" by training movements, not muscles.
Step one is postural alignment and dynamic balance.
We train fundamental movement skills before sport-specific skills.
We train core strength before extremity strength.
We train body weight before external resistance.
We train joint integrity before joint mobility.
We train speed before speed endurance.

What makes up a proper sports performance program? The first and foremost component of a SAFE and EFFECTIVE program is TECHNIQUE! Many of our athletes have experienced "training" sessions that leave them dripping wet and exhausted. Is training harder the only way to train for sports performance? The answer is NO!

According to a recent article published in the National Strength and Conditioning Journal, "Studies show that the incidence of overuse injuries sustained by young athletes could be reduced by 50% if more emphasis was placed on the development of fundamental fitness abilities before sports participation." The missing ingredient in sports performance training is TECHNIQUE.

A good analogy for the importance of proper athletic technique is having your tires properly balanced on your car. Properly balanced tires allow the car to be driven faster, prevent uneven tire wear, permit the slowest rate of tread wear possible, and provide the greatest protection against blowout. The same goes for proper exercise technique and the human body, especially the musculo-skeletal system (bones, joints, muscles, ligaments and tendons).

So many injuries are the result of the combination of poor technique and overtraining. We have seen too many young athletes (ages 8-18) come to our facility with a long list of musculo-skeletal injuries like stress fractures, acute and chronic muscle strains (hamstrings, calves, etc.), and ligament sprains (knees, ankles, etc.). This is NOT NORMAL! Most of these injuries start with an acute episode followed by chronic pain and loss of motion. They occur because the athlete is not properly balanced due to years of poor technique.

Take running for example. Training for speed is NOT the same as training for conditioning. You can make athletes run wind sprints all day until they drop, but will this actually make them faster? NO, not if they have poor running mechanics! When fatigue sets in, running mechanics deteriorate. This is a critical point because every time the foot hits the ground while running, the force generated is two to five times the athlete's body weight. If running technique is poor (which is the case for most athletes we see), the aforementioned injuries will occur. It is a matter of WHEN they will occur, not IF they will occur. This is why our programs spend so much time on running technique. Once technique is perfected, then the athlete can increase training intensity and volume safely. Read whatBroadneck's Matt Centrowitz said about technique, "It doesn't matter how good you are, your form can always be improved," Centrowitz said. "It's not all about speed. It's more about fundamentals and keeping the flow. Of course, it's one of those things that the more you run and work on the motions, the better you become."

Broadneck's Centrowitz just takes raves in stride

The same goes for strength training. We have seen few athletes who can squat up and down correctly when they start training with us. The "athletic position" or partial squat is used in virtually every sport. Learning to squat properly is essential in learning to land properly after jumping. Poor landing technique is one of the primary reasons for the increasing number of ACL injuries, especially in young girls!

So, are you going to have an athlete run and jump until they drop or are you going to improve through technique?

The Hazards of Overscheduling Young Athletes

A big problem we see is athletes playing in so many leagues that they have "no time" for sports performance training. The NCAA Sports Medicine Handbook states, "The student-athlete should be protected from premature exposure to the full rigors of sport. Pre-conditioning should provide the student- athlete with optimal readiness by the first practice."

Playing more sports does not equal a better athlete. Performing the proper strength and conditioning program in the pre-season, during the season, and in the post-season will improve performance dramatically and prevent injury. There are over 30 million teens and children who participate in organized sports. Almost 6 million high school teens participate in team sports and approximately 20 million children take part in recreational or competitive sports outside of school. The injury statistics for these children are quite sobering:

Children between 5 and 14 years of age account for almost half (40 percent) of sports-related injuries for all age groups.
Approximately 20 percent of children participating in sports activities are injured each year, and one in four injuries is considered serious.
More than 775,000 children, ages 14 and under, are treated in hospital emergency rooms for sports-related injuries each year. Most of the injuries occurred as a result of falls, being struck by an object, collisions, and overexertion during unorganized or informal sports activities.
Most organized sports-related injuries (60%) occur during practice.
More severe injuries occur during individual sports and recreational activities.
Children who are less developed than a more mature child of the same age and weight are at increased risk for injury.
Children who are just beginning a sport or activity are at greater risk for injury.
Sports-related injury severity increases with age.

PREVENTION of injuries is the answer! Professional and Olympic athletes spend much more time training to play their sport than actually playing their sport. A proper sports performance training program comprises most of that training time. If professional and Olympic athletes spend all this time training, why don't your children/athletes?

“Dr. Horwitz helped me make the Olympic team and now, with You Can Be Fit, he can help many more people lead healthier and happier lives.”

Robert Muzzio, 1992 Olympian and Four Time U.S. Track and Field National Team Member

“Dr. Horwitz’s insight into ways to stay healthier and fit have been an essence of my training program. Working with Dr. Horwitz has enabled me to better understand fitness and the inner workings of my body.”

Renaldo Nehmiah, Former 110 meter World Record Holder and Former San Francisco 49ers Wide Receiver.

“Samantha Horwitz helped me rehabilitate my back injury and greatly improved my basketball and track and field performance.”

Andrew S. High School Student

CALL 301-622-9000 FOR A SPORTS PERFORMANCE TRAINING SESSION TODAY!

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