THE IMPORTANCE OF STRENGTH- An interview with Driven Athlete Training Owner And Head Coach Andrew Hammer
This week Dynamo Fitness sat down with Andrew Hammer head coach and owner of Driven Athlete Training. Andrew Hammer works with athletes and sports people through strength training and injury rehabilitation to get them performing at their best. His experience and knowledge is recognized and respected in the strength and conditioning field as well as the Crossfit community.
We asked Andrew important questions about strength, diet and what he does at Driven Athlete Training to help improve the life of his clients through his personalised training programs and one on one work.
How important is strength training and building muscle for your overall health?
Andrew: “Strength training using gym equipment helps people to develop themselves not only in sport but in life. It allows people to do every day tasks more effectively and most importantly, prevent injuries! We perform strength movement all the time, picking up your baby from the floor, climbing a ladder, mowing the lawn, bring the shopping in. Everything we do is strength based so to be able to isolate this and work on it in the gym, brings a better quality of life and allows us to do more!”
What are your thoughts on people following diet plans such as the Paleo diet or the Atkins diet?
Andrew: “Regardless of the articles out there that slam paleo, I think it is the best way of eating for people new to healthy eating. It is the easiest way to get people out of the processed high sugar, high carbohydrate way of eating. It is a great stepping stone towards dialing in your nutrition and then can be further refined to suit your goals. Many people are intolerant to dairy and grains but actually don’t know until they come off them for a period of time, which is what paleo helps to do. It is a great start to healthy eating and gets great results without having to weigh, measure and count!”
For those out there looking to improve their overall strength what is one exercise you would strongly recommend?
Andrew: “One exercise I strongly recommend to improve overall strength would be the squat! Back squatting allows the whole body to be active, engaging high levels of muscle recruitment through the legs and the abdominals! Most people think they need heaps of sit ups to have a good set of abs, I recommend do heavier squatting with the best gym equipment!”
Here is a video with a few tips on squatting:
What is the importance of mobility with regards to working out?
Andrew: “I cannot stress the importance of mobility and its major link to training enough!! Mobility is allowing the joints of the body to go through their full range. Because of the development in technology and the constantly evolving ways in which we work, majority of us are placed in a single position for long periods of time each day which means we tighten up, then when we go to train or exercises, these joints become immobile which puts us in compromising positions and opens us up for injury!”
Give this one a go!
What motivated you to start Driven Athlete Training?
Andrew: “The reason for starting Driven Athlete Training was for me to be able to work with people who really want to further their training and knowledge. I have been around different sports for the last 16 years (Cricket, Hockey, Football, Swimming, Motocross, Crossfit, Olympic Weightlifting etc.) and I want to be able to pass my knowledge and experience onto athletes and sports people. I want people to perform better and be injury free!”
How have some of your clients benefited from Driven Athlete Training personalised programs?
Andrew: “I have had really great results with our personalised programs; they allow me to work solely one on one with each person to get the best result possible! Whether this be improvement in posture, strength or fixing an injury to return the athlete back to their sport! I had a client that needed to improve her beep test for a police physical exam with only 5 weeks notice, she had improved her beep test by 2.5 levels!”
Finally can you tell us some of your future plans or goals as the head coach for Driven Athlete Training?
Andrew: “Future plans at this stage are to keep helping more people! I love the work I do and really enjoy watching people improve their training and fast tracking their progress! Everyone has the potential to be better; some just need the knowledge and help to be able to do it!”
How can our readers find out more about what you do?
Andrew: They can visit our website at
facebook/drivenathletetraining
