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Training For Success
Two reasons to come to the weight room
- Injury
prevention- Weight training improves the strength of your tendons
and ligaments, improves bone density, improves strength of important
stabilizer muscles, and improves coordination.
- Performance
enhancement- By improving our ability to apply force against the
ground, the athlete will be able to jump higher, run faster, and change
direction quicker than ever before.
Principles of
program design
Ground Based Movements
Athletic movement occurs with the
feet on the ground. Whenever it is most advantageous, the program will employ
movements where the athlete has their feet on the ground. This requires greater stabilization and
body control. Another benefit to
ground based movements is improved ability to apply force against the
ground. Every action has an equal and
opposite reaction. Movements like
squats, and the Olympic lifts teach athletes to apply more force to the
ground. The result is the athlete is
able to run faster and jump higher.
Multiple Joint Movements
Athletic movement rarely involves
joints working in isolation. Muscle
groups must be coordinated to work together for more efficient and effective
movement. Training with multiple joint
movements helps develop inter-muscular coordination and strength in movements
the athlete is likely to perform in sports.
Three Dimensional
Movements
Athletic movements rarely involve
movement in only one plane of motion.
Sports require the athlete to move in a three-dimensional environment. The best way to train for this environment
is with free weights. This requires
the athlete to have muscular control in all planes of motion. Three-dimensional movements require the
involvement of the synergistic muscles around a joint. Strengthening these muscles will aid in
injury prevention.
Progressive Overload
The body adapts to the demands
experienced in training. To make
continuous physical development, the body must encounter training demands
greater than it has previously experienced.
Progressive overload in training will help the athlete progress
throughout the course of their career.
Acceleration
Acceleration is the ability to
reach top speed in a short amount of time.
In many sports, top speed is rarely reached. The ability to accelerate the body is
critical to athletic success.
Acceleration is improved by:
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Strengthening the legs through the use of
squats, single leg exercises, and hip extension exercises.
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Developing explosiveness through the use of
plyometrics, cleans, snatches, and jerks
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Improving stride length
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Training at the appropriate work to rest ratio
Torso Training
Torso training is critical for
enhanced performance and injury prevention.
A strong torso allows for efficient transfer of force from the lower
body to the upper body. A strong torso
also helps prevent injuries, improves body control, and enhances performance
in the core lifts. Torso training will
address the following areas:
- Flexion
- Lateral
Flexion
- Rotation
- Stabilization
- Extension
Compensatory Acceleration
Compensatory acceleration means
that regardless of the weight on the bar, the athlete attempts to apply
maximum force against the bar.
Compensatory acceleration teaches the athlete to recruit fast-twitch
muscle fibers and will improve speed and explosiveness.
Single Leg Strength
In the sporting environment the
athlete is typically pushing off the ground with one leg at a time. Developing single leg strength helps
transfer strength in the weight room to on field performance. Single leg exercises will be utilized
frequently in training the lower body.
Posterior chain training
In training the posterior chain
it is important to understand that the hamstring functions as a hip extensor
and knee flexor. In sports hip
extension is the predominant movement of the hamstrings. Hamstring training will primarily utilize
hip extension movements to better prepare the hamstrings for the demands
experienced in sports.
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