Training as an Older Athlete: Why Strength Still Matters After 60
By Coach Dan — Tri-State Training | Mindset. Movement. Memorable. Strength training isn’t just for the young—it works at any age. Older adults can gain meaningful strength, improve function, and enhance overall health, often far beyond what people expect. The research is clear: progressive resistance training leads to gains in both upper- and lower-body strength, […]
The Truth About “Functional Fitness”—What Actually Works?
By Coach Dan — Tri-State Training | Mindset. Movement. Memorable. A Better Way to Define Functional Fitness When I think of functional fitness, I think of training movement patterns that genuinely help an athlete become more capable. Squatting, hinging, pushing, pulling, bracing, rotating, sprinting, and learning to create force through the hips are movements that […]
How to Mentally Reset After a Competition
By Coach Dan — Tri-State Training | Mindset. Movement. Memorable. Start With Immediate Reflection (While It’s Fresh) Right after a meet, the emotions and details are still sharp. This is the best time to reflect—whether you write it down or simply sit with your thoughts. Ask yourself: How did I feel going into the meet? […]
The Importance of Periodization in Strength Training
By Coach Dan — Tri-State Training | Mindset. Movement. Memorable. When we talk about periodization with our athletes, we focus first on consistency and sustainability. Training doesn’t exist in isolation—athletes have lives, jobs, school, stress, and recovery demands that all influence how much they can handle. Periodization gives us a framework to manage those demands […]
The Weight Behind It:Why How We Train Matters More Than What We Lift
What we do in training matters far beyond game days, platforms, or final outcomes. It’s in those daily sessions where we build habits, confidence, and identity. The journey of training—how we show up, who we train alongside, and the environment we create—shapes us far more than any single performance ever could. It’s easy to hyper-focus […]
Why Bar Speed Matters More Than You Think
By Coach Dan — Tri-State Training | Mindset. Movement. Memorable. For a long time, strength training has lived in a fairly rigid framework: percentages, maxes, and numbers on the bar. While those tools still matter, they don’t always tell the full story of what an athlete is capable of on a given day. That’s where […]
What It Really Means to Reflect on an Event or Training Session
By Coach Dan — Tri-State Training | Mindset. Movement. Memorable. A coach’s perspective on meaning, growth, and the joy that keeps us in the sport. Reflection is one of the most underrated parts of being an athlete — and one of the hardest skills to teach as a coach. When we tell athletes to reflect […]
The Art of Deload Weeks: When & Why to Back Off
By Coach Dan — Tri-State Training | Mindset. Movement. Memorable. One of the most misunderstood parts of long-term training is the deload. Too often, it’s seen as either a forced break or a wasted week. In reality, deloads—or what we sometimes call reload weeks—are one of the most important tools a coach has to keep […]
How to Program Training Blocks for Long-Term Strength Gains
By Coach Dan — Tri-State Training | Mindset. Movement. Memorable. Why the Best Strength Plans Aren’t Built Week-to-Week — They’re Built Across Seasons Designing a long-term strength plan isn’t about guessing what next week’s squat numbers should be. It’s about looking at the athlete in front of you — their history, capacity, goals, limitations, and […]
How to Train Around an Injury Without Losing Progress
By Coach Dan — Tri-State Training | Mindset. Movement. Memorable. Injury — or even just discomfort — is one of the fastest ways for an athlete to panic. Lifters worry about losing progress, losing strength, or losing momentum. Coaches worry about pushing too far or not pushing enough. But here’s the truth I want every […]