Four Core
Beliefs.
Every training decision at Onyx is grounded in these four principles, which function as operational constraints, not a marketing statement. When in doubt, we default to them.
Data precedes opinion.
We test and measure to let the data define the priority, rather than assuming what an athlete needs. Opinion has its place, but it follows evidence.
Individualization is not optional.
Average programs produce average results. Every variable, including exercise selection, loading, velocity targets, and recovery structure, should be specific to the individual.
Progress requires measurement.
If you're not testing, you're guessing. Scheduled retests are built into every program. Progress that cannot be measured cannot be managed.
Long-term development beats short-term results.
We build athletes over years, not weeks. Decisions about programming are made with career longevity in mind, not the next 30 days.
Pro-Level
Instrumentation.
Every recommendation we make is traceable to a measurement. This is the equipment that generates it: the same hardware used by professional franchises, research labs, and elite collegiate programs.
Why We
Test What
We Test.
Every measure in the assessment battery was chosen because it informs programming decisions that cannot be made accurately without it. This is the reasoning behind each one.
Bodyweight is not the number.
Two athletes at the same weight can have completely different performance profiles. Lean mass contextualized against force and speed outputs tells you what the weight is actually made of. Segmental lean mass by limb tells us whether there is a meaningful side-to-side deficit in muscle mass that predisposes to injury. Relative strength, or force output relative to lean mass, is a stronger predictor of athletic potential than any absolute number.
Load reveals what rest conceals.
Asymmetries in how you move under bodyweight predict how those asymmetries will amplify under load. A compensation pattern that looks minor in a squat becomes a structural liability with a barbell on your back. Range of motion limitations constrain the positions you can get into, which directly limits how much force you can produce at the positions that matter. This screen determines what gets corrected in programming before anything else is trained on top of it.
Rate of force development matters more than peak force.
Most high-speed athletic actions occur in ground contact windows of 80 to 200 milliseconds. Developing peak isometric force takes 300 to 400 milliseconds under maximal effort, longer than many athletic contacts last. Rate of force development measures how quickly force rises in the early phase of a contraction, which determines how much of your strength capacity you can actually access in competition. Reactive strength index is the ratio of jump height to ground contact time, and it quantifies stretch-shortening cycle efficiency: the ability to store elastic energy during a rapid eccentric load and convert it into propulsion before that energy dissipates. Bilateral asymmetry above 10 to 15 percent has been associated with elevated injury risk in the literature, though the relationship is contextual and the direction of asymmetry matters as much as the magnitude.
Slow off the line and slow at top end are different problems.
An athlete who accelerates poorly and an athlete who tops out early require completely different training interventions. Without split data, generic speed work addresses neither specifically. Maximum velocity from the fly run sets the ceiling that all conditioning can target, and it cannot be accurately measured from a standing start because the acceleration phase distorts the top-end number. You need both.
Your thresholds are not the same as the chart.
VT1, the first ventilatory threshold, is the exercise intensity at which pulmonary ventilation begins to increase non-linearly relative to oxygen consumption. It corresponds approximately to the first lactate threshold, the point above which lactate accumulation begins to exceed resting levels, though it remains stable for some time thereafter. VT2, the second ventilatory threshold, is also called the respiratory compensation point. It marks the intensity at which bicarbonate buffering can no longer offset the metabolic acidosis produced by working muscle, driving a second sharp rise in ventilation. Above VT2, acid-base homeostasis deteriorates progressively and exercise duration becomes rapidly limited. These are not interchangeable concepts, and they cannot be accurately estimated from age or heart rate alone. Generic formulas can be off by 10 to 20 beats per minute, which means athletes either train too easily to drive adaptation or too hard to recover from properly. Measured thresholds produce zones that are physiologically yours.
What Access
To the Data Does.
You Know Your Numbers
Peak force, RFD, sprint splits, asymmetry indices, and VO2 are measured, logged, and trended. You walk into a combine or a new season with real data, not estimates.
Training Stops Being a Gamble
Every rep has a velocity target. Every block has a measurable objective. When the data moves, the program moves. When it doesn't, we know why.
You See Problems Before Injuries Do
Bilateral force asymmetry, drop-off in reactive strength, and a creeping decline in RFD show up in the data weeks before they show up in the training room.
Your Story Is Quantified
Objective performance reports you can show a college recruiter, a pro scout, a sports medicine team, or your next coach. Not adjectives. Numbers.
Structure Creates
Progress.
Random training produces random results. We use a block periodization model, a systematic rotation of training emphasis, to ensure athletes are developing the right qualities at the right time relative to their competitive calendar.
Three six-week blocks make one macro-cycle. Each block has a primary training objective. The transition between blocks is determined by retest data, not the calendar.
See It Applied
to You.
The methodology only works when the data is yours. Start with your assessment.