By Michele Barletta

Proper strength training has become huge part of college sports and can have a huge impact on the success of an individual or a team.

What began as a small room with limited equipment has turned into a 6000 ft functional strength facility.

Xcel Performance, a local gym located at State and 8th Plaza, specializes in helping athletes of all ages enhance their abilities by taking a unique lifting approach backed by science and data.

Gym owner and certified strength and conditioning coach, Chris Bockius, says that the workout plan for each individual differs based on a number of variables.

“Each individual undergoes a movement screening before we start which allows us to see how their body moves and identify the level that they’re at and take it from there,” Bockius said. “We’re going to break you down bit by bit and create custom workouts for each individual.”

Bockius and his team work with athletes from different sports and says that the workouts they do are largely based off of each sport’s unique physical demands. Recognizing that no sport is the same, Bockius believes that one has to study a sport to truly understand how to help an athlete benefit from his training.

“It’s really important for us to understand the fundamentals of each sport to be able to help these athletes as effectively as possible,” Bockius explained. “So I’m looking up ‘whats the biomechanics of baseball? Whats the kinematic sequence of softball?'”

Bockius is no stranger to athletes from QU sports teams, he currently works with the women’s volleyball team as well as training members of the men’s soccer and baseball team.

“We work a lot with people who have finished up their therapy and are looking to continue getting stronger,” Bockius said.

An important part of what is done at Xcel, is the focus on injury prevention.

“What is often overlooked is the exercises that can be done to help limit the injuries an athlete gets, many of the potential issues, we can pick up through the functional movement screening,” Bockius explained.

Not all of his clients are athletes, Bockius works with people of all ages, from as young as eight, to people in their seventies and eighties. Xcel also offers classes for individuals who wish to join.

Multi-sport athlete and student at Highland High school, Robert Goehl, says working out at Xcel has helped him improve over the past year.

“Its not only strength, it’s speed, its agility, it’s flexibility, and it really pays off,” Goehl said.

Xcel prides themselves in establishing a open and comfortable environment for people of all ages and levels, with Goehl describing the gym as a “family.”