DiamondFit FAQ for Parents

Yes, and the research is unusually clear about it. A meta-analysis of randomized controlled trials in the British Journal of Sports Medicine found strength training reduced sports injuries to less than a third of the rate seen without it, and cut overuse injuries close to half. What matters is how an athlete is loaded and how fast, which is why we screen how they move before they train and place them by readiness rather than age.

Two to three. A meta-analysis of youth athletes in Frontiers in Physiology found 42% fewer lower-body injuries in athletes 21 and under, with the largest effect coming from 30 to 60 minutes a week spread across two or three sessions. Once a week was substantially weaker. That's the dose we built the program around.

Yes, and it's part of the same program rather than a separate night. Getting faster comes down to how much force an athlete puts into the ground and how well they control it coming out of a cut. That's strength work, so we build it there. Athletes who already lift with their school team can train speed with us on its own.

Yes, and they should. Every college strength program trains athletes in season, and professional players lift through the season to hold onto what they built. In-season work here is lower volume, built around their game and practice schedule so it takes load off rather than adding it.

No. Athletes train together in the same class, each following their own program at their own pace. Someone who has never lifted and someone who's been training since sixth grade can be in the same session, and neither one can tell what the other is working from. Both belong here. What they have in common is that they want to get better.

Results are determined by consistency. An athlete who commits and works hard can notice a change within a few weeks. Movement quality tends to shift first and strength numbers follow, which is why we measure at the start rather than asking anyone to take our word for it.

No. Plenty of our athletes are past high school. We train gap-year athletes still chasing a scholarship, and our college and professional alumni train here over the summer, at the holidays, and any time they're home. The programming doesn't change: it's the same approach a college weight room uses, which is why it still fits them.

Yes, and a lot of them. Athletes who trained here have gone on to play softball at North Carolina and James Madison, swim at Florida State, Utah and Colorado Mesa, and play lacrosse at Emory & Henry and soccer at Colorado Mesa.

Someone with a Bachelor's in Exercise Science and a CSCS. That second one stands for Certified Strength and Conditioning Specialist, and it's the credential college and professional strength coaches hold. It's issued by the National Strength and Conditioning Association, you need a bachelor's degree before you can even sit the exam, and it tests the science of how to load and progress an athlete safely. It is not a weekend certification.

The time slot for each class is 60 minutes long, however, depending on the day some athletes may finish earlier so we always tell people to plan for 45-60 minutes. Speed classes can vary in length depending on who is in the class and how many athletes are in the class. The treadmill program has a few higher intensity workouts that are typically shorter in duration at around 35 minutes.

Memberships run in three, six and twelve-month terms. Which one fits depends on where your athlete is in their season and how long they've got before it starts. We'll work that out together at the assessment.

It is no big deal if your athlete misses a workout from time to time but regularly missed workouts will result in a decrease in effectiveness of the program. Unfortunately, we cannot allow athletes to roll over a missed workout into the following week as it would impact the program timing as well as the seasonal periodization plan for each sport.

Unfortunately, we cannot allow pauses for vacation mid-contract. Our coaches are able to help the athlete modify the workouts while they will be gone so they can keep up as much as possible and minimize the effect of missing several workouts.

We do allow you to change memberships during a contract as long as you are moving to a more frequent (2x to 3x) or longer (3 month to 6 month, 6 month to 12 month) membership.

Monday through Friday, 3:30 to 7:30 PM, and Saturday, 9:30 to 11:30 AM.

6241 Westgate Road, Suite 100, Raleigh, NC 27617, in Brier Creek.