Mike Kadar wanted something different — as the strength and conditioning coach for the Pittsburgh Penguins, he was searching for a way to train himself and his athletes in a way that would functionally pertain to their craft. Mike sought the expertise of Kregg Koch — a design engineer for NASA’s Space Shuttle Program — to turn that desire into reality.
The Core Stix would become the fruits of their labor; the brain child of these two individuals. Its design based on what they a call a simple, yet profound philosophy:
No one has ever shot a puck, taken a three-pointer or thrown a touchdown lying down, so why are so many core exercises done with your back on the ground or in a seated position?
Usable strength comes from your ability to directly tie your training motions to real-life performance movements, which means you need to train standing up to get optimal results.
Applying the same principals of upright functional training to healing and recovery, physical therapists and seniors quickly started incorporating Core Stix into their routines in order to provide a safe and stable way to build usable strength.
Here at Gold Medal, we couldn’t agree more. Which is why the Core Stix have become such an integral part of clinic, for all of our patients, no matter their age or activity level.
Whether we’re working on functional strength — rehabbing young athletes to return to sport, or providing our elderly patients with exercise progressions, the ever innovative Core Stix knows no bounds. We couldn’t be more proud to offer this at our clinic.
Below, we’ve taken some videos showcasing the versatility of the Core Stix, as well as a companion video to accompany the post.
Tim and Bryan Explain it All
Examples
- Push/Pulls
- Resisted Split Squats
- The Forward Drive
