StrengthLab Superheroes

Superheroes gives children a clear set of movement skills to learn and gives adults a precise way to coach and check them. Children learn through the characters, and each character stands for a defined set of movements with specific coaching points.

There are five superhero strands. Each one carries a family of movements:

• Ironman: squat, jump and land. Two-footed control of the legs.
• Spiderman: moving core and anti-rotation. Controlling the trunk while the limbs move.
• Thor: lunge and split stance. Single-leg control.
• Superman: bracing and planks. Holding a strong trunk position.
• Hulk: higher-intensity coordination that combines the skills learned in the other strands.

Each strand has 24 levels, so children always have a next skill to work towards. Levels are grouped into six blocks. Each block contains four levels from every strand, so a block covers 20 skills.

Every skill has five coaching points. A child earns a star for each coaching point they demonstrate, so five stars shows all five criteria for that skill have been met. Teachers, coaches and parents can see exactly what a child can do and what comes next.

Children learn to get into a shape, get out of it, repeat it well, hold it and change speed. Volume and intensity come later, once the pattern is established.

Clear standards build real confidence. A child knows what they are working on and can see when they have achieved it.

Repetition without boredom. The same movement ideas return in games, challenges and warm ups, so children practise them often enough to improve.

Usable in school. Teachers get a structure they can deliver and a way to record progress. Children can also practise at home.

Squatting, landing, lunging, bracing and controlling the trunk are movements children use across every sport and in play. Superheroes teaches them in a clear order, checks them against specific criteria and gives children repeated practice, so they build a broad base of movement they can take into whatever sport they choose.

Want to know more about the method behind it? About Simon Brundish and StrengthLab