Saltus Performance

Creatine: What the research actually shows.

Strong evidence for strength, and lean mass when paired with training.

Promising signals for the brain… but not yet proven.

Clear practical dosing. Real gaps named.

For adults under 50: meaningful upper- and lower-body strength gains vs placebo.

For adults 50+: reliable lean-tissue protection and lower-body strength benefits.

Brain and mood effects remain early-stage or contested. Safety profile is excellent at the doses that matter.

3–5 g daily. Consistency over timing. Always with resistance training. Talk to your doctor if you have kidney concerns or are on mood medication.

Evidence over hype. Always.

“Wait until they’re older to start training” is costing your athlete a window they won’t get back.

Peak height velocity (PHV) — the fastest point of a growth spurt — isn’t just a growth milestone.
It’s a performance and injury-risk turning point.

The research is clear: pre-PHV athletes respond to strength and jump training just as well as their older, post-PHV teammates. And supervised resistance training has been shown to cut injury risk by up to 68% in at-risk youth.

The growth spurt itself is when bones outpace muscles and tendons — which is exactly when things like Osgood-Schlatter’s and Sever’s disease show up.

Kids who arrive at that spurt with a trained, coordinated body handle it better.

Swipe through for the data, the myths we hear most from parents, and what to actually look for in a youth training program.

Not sure where your athlete sits on their own growth curve?

Our VALD-based baseline testing gives you a real answer — link in bio.

Mobility isn’t about stretching harder, it’s about stretching smarter.

One of the biggest mistakes we make is chasing the area that hurts. Often, the site of discomfort isn’t the source of the problem. Instead of forcing a tight muscle to “let go,” take a step back and ask: What’s causing this tissue to compensate in the first place?

By addressing the root cause, not just the symptom, you’ll move better, recover more effectively, and build resilience that lasts.

Inspired by the principles in Becoming a Supple Leopard by Kelly Starrett.

Train with intention. Move with purpose.

The heat is here, and for athletes that means every workout comes with an added challenge.

As temperatures rise, your body works harder to keep cool. Heart rate climbs, recovery takes longer, and the cost of training increases. That’s why high-performing athletes don’t just train for fitness—they train for adaptation.

Interestingly, some of the best lessons about handling heat come from the opposite extreme. Research on winter swimmers shows that regular exposure to both hot and cold environments can improve thermoregulation, increase metabolic activity, and help the body become more resilient to temperature stress.

The goal isn’t to chase ice baths or spend hours in a sauna. It’s to build smart, repeatable habits that help your body adapt to the demands of summer training.

As the weather heats up, focus on:
☀️ Hydration and recovery
🔥 Gradual heat acclimation
❄️ Strategic cold exposure when appropriate
📈 Consistency over extremes

Train through the summer. Adapt to the environment. Perform when it matters most.

AthleteDevelopment StrengthAndConditioning PerformanceTraining RecoveryScience YouthAthlete SportsPerformance ColdExposure Sauna ColdPlunge VancouverAthletes HighPerformance TrainSmart AthleteHealth SummerSports Recovery

Shoulder discomfort with pushing exercises?!?

Check out our corrected Floor Press Guide to find the alignment that maximizes stability while protecting your shoulder girdle.

Most people get this wrong and put unnecessary stress on their shoulders. If you come from lifting barbells primarily, then all of the freedom of movement found in dumbbells may seem like too much. Remember, the floor press is a key tool for building pressing strength and size without overtaxing the joint; so lets take the time to find a strong, stable, and safe position for your shoulder!

Use Position C, arms closer to the body (about 45’) as your go-to for standard work.

Remember!!
Dumbbells allow this unique freedom of movement, so why not use it to your advantage?

‘Injury prevention’ is a term commonly used in fitness and athletic training vocabulary. But what does it really mean - are we actually able to fully “prevent” injuries?

Both yes and no.

Nothing is able to prevent 100% of injuries from occurring. Even the strongest and most well-conditioned athletes will occasionally get hurt. Sports are inherently chaotic, often involving a multitude of factors outside of our control like the playing environment or other players’ actions.

But we can prepare ourselves better to deal with this chaos.

Getting stronger and more conditioned means you’re less likely to be injured from the same action or stimulus. It’s that simple. Studies have shown that strength training is the most effective injury prevention strategy (even compared to others that may come to your mind first like stretching or warming-up).

An athlete’s training in the weight room should be just as focused on conditioning to better handle the load of practice and matches as much as to directly improve performance. How do we do that?

✅Build muscle strength
Stronger muscles are better able to effectively absorb and redistribute forces to take stress off of your joints

✅Increase connective tissue resiliency
Our tendons, ligaments, and fascia that hold our musculoskeletal system together also adapt to strength training and become more resistant to strain

✅Refined movement mechanics
Improving sprinting, jumping/landing, and lifting mechanics can decrease the “wear and tear” impacts of repetitive motions and help lower the likelihood of chronic pain/injuries

✅Improved load capacity/tolerance
Injury rates increase significantly with fatigue - a body that is better able to endure practice and match demands will break down less

Even though we can’t fully prevent injuries from occurring, we can significantly lower their likelihood, as well as decrease our recovery time if an injury does occur.

‘Injury prevention’ is a term commonly used in fitness and athletic training vocabulary. But what does it really mean - are we actually able to fully “prevent” injuries?

Both yes and no.

Nothing is able to prevent 100% of injuries from occurring. Even the strongest and most well-conditioned athletes will occasionally get hurt. Sports are inherently chaotic, often involving a multitude of factors outside of our control like the playing environment or other players’ actions.

But we can prepare ourselves better to deal with this chaos.

Getting stronger and more conditioned means you’re less likely to be injured from the same action or stimulus. It’s that simple. Studies have shown that strength training is the most effective injury prevention strategy (even compared to others that may come to your mind first like stretching or warming-up).

An athlete’s training in the weight room should be just as focused on improving your ability to handle the load and demands of practices/matches as much as it focuses on directly improving performance.

How does strength training lead to less injuries?

✅Builds muscular strength
Stronger muscles are better able to effectively absorb and redistribute forces to take stress off of your joints

✅Increases connective tissue resiliency
Our tendons, ligaments, and fascia that hold our musculoskeletal system together also adapt to strength training and become more resistant to strain

✅Refines movement mechanics
Improving sprinting, jumping/landing, and throwing mechanics can decrease the “wear and tear” impacts of repetitive motions and help

✅Improves load capacity/tolerance
Injury rates increase significantly with fatigue - a body that is better able to endure practice and match demands will break down less

Even though we can’t fully prevent injuries from occurring, we can significantly lower their likelihood, as well as decrease our recovery time if an injury does occur.

athlete