Most people think training starts when you walk into the gym and grab a dumbbell. At SPEAR Training Center, we do it differently. Before we put an athlete through a workout, we follow a process. It’s a process designed to understand who they are, how they move, and what they need.
This post is about that process. We’ll pull back the curtain and show you what happens inside a real athletic performance center. If you’ve ever wondered what separates a serious facility from a standard gym, this is it.
Step One: The Intake Conversation
The first thing we do with any new client is talk. Not about workouts, but about them.
We want to know their goals. What are they training for? A sport? A competition? General health? We want to know their history. Have they been injured? Have they had surgery? What’s their training background? We want to know about their lifestyle. How’s their sleep? Their nutrition? Their stress levels?
This matters because training doesn’t happen in a vacuum. An athlete who sleeps five hours a night and eats fast food won’t respond to training the same way as someone who’s dialed in. We need the full picture.
This conversation also helps us understand what motivates the person. Some athletes are driven by competition. Others are driven by personal improvement. Some just want to feel better in their daily lives. Knowing what drives someone helps us coach them effectively.
Step Two: The Movement Screen
After the conversation, we move to the assessment. The first piece is a movement screen.
We ask athletes to perform a series of basic movements, like squatting, hinging, pushing, pulling, and rotating. We watch how they move and look for restrictions, compensations, and asymmetries.
This is about how well the athlete moves, such as can they get into a deep squat without their heels coming off the ground? Can they rotate their torso equally in both directions? Can they raise their arms overhead without arching their lower back?
These are the questions we’re trying to answer. The results tell us where to focus our programming. If someone has limited ankle mobility, we need to address that before we start loading their squat. If someone has poor core stability, we need to build that foundation first.
This is what separates an athletic performance center from a gym that just hands out workout cards. We don’t guess. We assess.
Step Three: Body Composition Analysis
Next, we look at body composition. We use tools like the InBody scanner to measure muscle mass, body fat percentage, and other metrics.
Why does this matter? Because body composition affects performance. Too much body fat can slow an athlete down and put extra stress on their joints. Too little muscle mass can limit strength and power. Knowing where an athlete stands helps us set realistic goals and track progress over time.
Body composition also affects health and performance. A football player might need to add muscle mass to compete at a higher level. Distance runners might need to optimize their body fat percentage to improve efficiency. A general-population client might just want to lose weight and feel better.
Whatever the goal, having data helps us create a plan.
Step Four: Structural Balance Assessment
This is where things get more advanced. Structural balance is central to the Poliquin method. It’s about making sure the body is symmetrical and balanced. That means muscles work together properly, joints move through their full range of motion, and no weak links lead to injury.
Our co-owner, Jonathan Sicora, is a Poliquin Level 5 Master Strength Coach. That’s the highest certification level in the system. He’s trained Olympic and professional athletes and is an expert at assessing and correcting structural imbalances.
In this part of the assessment, we look at muscle balance ratios, joint range of motion, and postural alignment. We identify areas that need work and design corrective exercises to address them.
Other facilities often overlook this step, but it’s critical for long-term success. You can’t build a strong, resilient athlete on an unbalanced foundation.
Step Five: Building the Program
Once we’ve gathered all the information, we build the program. The program is a plan designed specifically for that athlete.
We consider their goals, sport, assessment results, and schedule. We consider what they need to improve and maintain, and we plan training phases that build on each other over time.
The program includes training sessions, plus recommendations for recovery, nutrition, and sleep. We focus on what happens in the other 23 hours of the day.
This is what professional athlete training and recovery looks like. It’s comprehensive, personalized, and it’s designed to produce results.
Why This Process Matters
You might be thinking, this sounds like a lot. Why go through all this trouble? Because it works!
Athletes who complete a thorough assessment and get a personalized program make better progress and get injured less often. They understand their bodies better and know what they need to work on and why.
This process also builds trust. When an athlete knows their coach has taken the time to understand them, they’re more likely to buy in. They’re more likely to work hard and stick with it.
At SPEAR, we’ve seen this play out hundreds of times. Athletes come to us from throughout Lake County sports training programs and the North Shore athletic training community. They’ve tried other facilities, done the generic workouts, and are looking for something more.
And when they experience our process, they get it. They understand the difference.
Recovery: The Other Half of the Equation
We’ve talked a lot about assessment and programming, but recovery is just as important.
Our facility offers a range of recovery services, including Fascial Stretch Therapy, IASTM, cupping therapy, red light therapy, and Normatec compression. These tools help athletes reduce soreness, improve mobility, and stay healthy.
Jeff McCoy, our co-owner and manual therapist, leads our recovery efforts. He’s a former Division I football player with a Master’s degree in athletic coaching education. His expertise in Fascial Stretch Therapy and corrective exercise helps athletes move better and feel better.
This focus is especially important for athletes in post-surgical recovery and fitness. Coming back from surgery requires a careful balance of training and healing. Our coaches work with medical providers to ensure athletes progress safely.
See It for Yourself
We could talk about our process all day, but the best way to understand it is to experience it.
If you’re an athlete looking for more than a generic workout, we’d love to meet you. If you’re recovering from an injury or surgery and want to get back to doing what you love, we’re here to help.
Call us at 847-383-5719 or stop by our facility at 100 Corporate Woods Parkway in Vernon Hills. We serve athletes from Libertyville, Lake Forest, Highland Park, Deerfield, Northbrook, and throughout the region.