In today’s world of sports its all about being prepared by having the best training, conditioning and skills to make the grade, get noticed and excel. Most parents want their sons and daughters to participate in sports and to perform to their fullest potential. Some parents are so extreme they should stay home during their children’s competitions, you know who we’re talking about, so do they, but that’s another story. There are several different sports performance programs in Toledo, Ohio. Some of these programs are known nationally, Pneu-FAST is one of them. The Pneu-FAST is one of the safest, most scientifically advanced sports performance programs in the country. This program will help the athlete decrease the chance of injury, increase take-off speed, acceleration, the ability to switch directions quickly and increase vertical jump. It will also improve flexibility, strength, balance, gait and posture. Some other benefits are increased metabolic rates and bone density from one of special piece of equipment.

The Pneu-FAST Sports Performance program has a specially designed treadmill that has an unweighting device with the unweighting vest which allows the athlete to safely do high speed jump-ons up to 28 mph without holding on. Other high-speed treadmills require the athlete to hold on to a bar when they jump on to the treadmill, then let go when they reach the desired speed. These types of treadmills do not allow the athlete to sync their explosive take-off leg speed with their arms, which is one of the most important components of sprinting, without even taking balance into consideration. This high-speed treadmill is only at Your Fitness Answer and is the only treadmill in the county designed and patented in this manner. This treadmill allows the athlete to do high-speed jump-ons forward, turn laterally in either direction, switch to backwards, turn laterally again and back to forward safely! Imagine your son or daughter running forward down a basketball court, football or soccer field up to 24 mph, then he or she slows down very quickly to make a cut, turning laterally at 9-11 mph, switching to backwards at up to18 mph, turning laterally again at 9-11 mph, do a 360° complete turn around at 9-11 mph and take-off forward and reaching speeds up to 24 mph! Athletes all over the country using the Pneu-FAST program have accomplished this.

The program is closely supervised with group session of only two to four athletes so the athlete receives more private attention with precise training. Core training is one of the key components of this program and is accomplished with special exercises that are incorporated also with balance training. These exercises also help strengthen the ankles of the athlete, which is a weakness for so many athletes today. Strength training is done with special protocols and equipment to help decrease the chance of injury with every part of the program and to increase explosive reaction speed, lateral movement and vertical leap. One piece of equipment is the vibration platform. This specially designed platform will be help increase the athlete’s metabolic rate, increase their bone density, improve vertical leap and have more strength gains compared to non-vibration lifts. The vibration platform at Your Fitness Answer was the first one of its kind in the state and the only one in Toledo, Ohio.

David Edmondson, age 44, a lifetime drug free power lifter with over 27 years of competition experience on the State, National and International level, currently competes in the 148lb weight class and holds many Utah State, National, American, and World records in several power lifting organizations, in 3 different weight classes ranging from 132lbs - 165lbs. Last year he trained on the vibration platform up until 4 weeks prior to competing in the WABDL World Bench Press & Dead lift competition held in Reno, Nevada, November 16th - 21st, 2005. He hit a new personal competition squat of 545 lbs., and very close to breaking the 600 lb. barrier in competition which will be 4-times his body weight. His previous best competition squat was 237.5 kgs, or 523 lbs. His bench press went from: 297lbs on his first attempt to 320lbs to break his previous record set in 2004, then he bench pressed 330 lbs, and then on his 4th attempt, pressed 341 lbs setting a new world record. The 341 lb press exceeded his personal best by 22 lbs. In the dead lift portion of the competition, his lifts were: 473 lbs., 518 lbs., and then 530 lbs, setting an new American record. The previous dead lift record was only 512lbs.

Other athletes are finding out how much this state-of-the-art sports performance training can benefit them such as: Meshawn Graham, Aeric Clay, Makonnen Rice, Daniel Frederick, Lauren O’Brien, Lucas Whitman, Anderson Lee, Pete Reese and many more athletes that will be challenging these athletes for their positions and records.

With football precondition session coming up soon, now is the time to be preparing. If a student athlete walks into preseason camp, highly tuned, conditioned and able to blow away their fellow counterparts, then he or she will stand out more, be able to improve even more, be recognized and most likely get the position. Soccer, baseball, basketball, track and lacrosse are other sport that can benefit greatly from the Pneu-FAST program. Many of the afore mentioned athletes will be getting full and partial scholarships. This type of training along with making sure the athletes are getting good grades and trying to improve them will allow the athletes to become more competitive with other athletes for scholarships at more prestigious universities and colleges. These universities and colleges are not just looking for athletes or genius; they are looking for students that are well rounded with a wide variety of interests, abilities and talents. So here is a hint student and parents, get involved in your school, do sports, extra curricular activities and excel in your grades. Do yourself, your family, your parents and your country proud being the best that you can be.

Steve Hieskell
National Ranked Masters Sprinter
2006 INBA Ohio State Natural Masters Bodybuilding Runner-up
Owner and head trainer at
Your Fitness Answer