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Why should all endurance athletes strength train?
2 Minute Takeaway
Are you utilizing hot and cold recovery correctly?
2 Minute Takeaway
Hot and Cold exposure impacts an athletes recovery and performance in many different ways. Using these elements correctly can help an athlete maximize their efforts on the field or in the gym!
Cold and Recovery
RICE (Rest, Ice, Compression, Elevation) is a common expression that all athletes have heard before. This is a tried and true method to help reduce inflammation and pain caused by an injury or sport related muscle soreness. This should not ever be a method used to treat conditioning related soreness. RICE delays the onset of muscle recovery through the constriction of blood flow to the area impacted and delaying the onset of muscle inflammation, a key process in the muscles healing process (pushing off muscle recovery further).
RICE still has its benefits, especially for those athletes that have events or games in quick succession of each other. This delay of muscle inflammation can help an athlete avoid muscle soreness and inflammation prior to participating in a sporting event.
Heat and Recovery
Heat exposure as a recovery method is one that will primarily be used by athletes who are in preseason. Heat exposure as a method for recovery will help with muscle hypotrophy (growth), muscle repair, and increased endurance performance.
Focusing on the basics will lead to the greatest athletic gains
2 Minute Takeaway
Social Media is a big factor currently impacting how young people perceive strength training. Many of these outlets and influencers on social media are huge on showing many different over the top sport-specific exercises they perform. With this new generation growing up in a world of social media it is important to get the correct information out there. And when it comes to strength training for any sport, the BASICS will always be the most important to train. Improving this core need of basic strength for an athlete is the most effective way for them to improve, regardless of the sport they play. The basic actions that should be present and apart of the foundation of all athletic strength training should include:
Pressing
Pulling
Hinging
Squatting
Bracing
Rotating
Another important factor to consider when seeing these sport specific trainings on social media is that most of the exercises are accessory work that is added on to the end of a workout that focused on many of the basics we had just discussed. Sport specific training isn’t necessarily a bad thing, but it should always be the afterthought and not the main focus of any workout.
Strength Training for Endurance Athletes
2 Minute Takeaway
Strength training for endurance athletes is important to help improve relative body strength (how strong an athlete is compared to how much they weigh). Athletes participating in sports such as cross country, long distance track racing, rowing, and marathon running can benefit just as much from strength training as athletes involved in explosive and strength based sports like football, baseball, and soccer.
A common thought surrounding endurance athletes is to focus on a high rep and low weight training format (eg. 3-5 sets of 12-20 reps). However, high weight and low rep training formats (eg. 3-6 sets of 1-5 reps) can be extremely beneficial to these athletes as it can assist in:
Force production
Force transmission
Force absorption
Structural integrity/tolerance
This type of training can not only make endurance athletes more resilient to injury but can improve their stride efficiency, improving their overall endurance and reducing their times.
4 Common Errors with Training Speed in Team Sport Athletes
2 Minute Takeaway
Common errors and when doing speed training and how to fix them.
1. Training Speed After Lifting – The highest velocity movements typically require the most work from the body’s nervous system, and the faster the athlete, the more demanding those movements become. In order for athletes to increase their maximal speed, they need to be able to move at near maximal speeds, if fatigue sets in before speed work begins, either by lifting beforehand, or going through an hour-long sport-specific practice, then sprint work will be too slow to allow improvement. A simple rule of thumb for building a workout is to work from fastest to slowest movements, for example:
Sprint Work – Acceleration or top speed work
Technical Work – sports specific skill work
Power – Med Ball Throws, Jumps
Strength – Compound Strength Movements
Accessory – Smaller muscle group work
2. Not Giving Enough Rest Between Reps – This goes hand in hand with why we don’t lift before speed work. If enough time is not provided between sprints to allow an athlete to recover, then each subsequent sprint becomes slower and slower, no longer working to improve maximal speed. A good rule for recovery is:
10 yards – walk back
20 yards – walk back + 30 seconds rest
30 yards – walk back + 60 seconds rest
3. Not Consolidating Like Stressors – Strength training and sports practice need to work together to make sure that athletes are getting much-needed days of rest throughout the week. For example, if the football coach knows he’s going to have high-intensity training sessions on Monday and Wednesday, and low intensity on Tuesday and Thursday, then the strength coach should program high-intensity days on Monday and Wednesday and off or light days on Tuesday and Thursday. While this may sound backward, it allows athletes to have days to focus on recovery instead of having some sort of high-intensity training every day of the week.
4. Believing Submaximal Training Has No Role – Improving mechanics in sprinting, pitching, fielding, hitting, tackling, etc. involves both maximal speed training as well as submaximal speed drill work. When moving at maximal speed, it’s very difficult for an athlete to feel body position, mechanics, or subtle movements, this is where submaximal drill work comes in handy. By limiting speed either consciously or subconsciously by some sort of constraint, we can focus on minor movement mechanics that may not be noticed at full speed. These modifications to technique can help to alter body mechanics during full-speed movement.
When Posture Matters: The Importance of Lumbar Spine Alignment During Heavy Lifting
2 Minute Takeaway
When looking at strength training, injury prevention and a safe training environment is our first and foremost goal. At the top of injury prevention we look at posture control, the ability to keep an athlete’s spine in a neutral position. When under heavy load, too much flexion or extension at the lumbar spine can lead to acute as well as chronic injuries down the road.
Being able to maintain a neutral spine is a combination of proper bracing patterns as well as adequate ranges of motion for the given drill. Some athletes have hyper-mobility, the ability to move through an extreme range of motion, but this is typically coupled with an inability to create adequate stiffness. Some athletes are on the other end of the spectrum, great bracing ability, but below necessary ranges of motion at the ankles and hips. Improving where athletes lack must be a primary focus of a strength and conditioning coach.
Picking the proper drills and emphasizing the proper range of motion for each athlete is as equally important. Some athletes are going to squat lower than others, ensuring that each athlete performs to THEIR ability helps to keep athletes healthy and safe.
are you fueling your play the right way?
2 Minute Takeaway
For high school athletes wanting to take their athletics to the next level, proper nutrition is the key to unlocking that potential. It is not only about finding the quantity (calories) of food your body needs but also the quality (High-quality Proteins, Carbohydrates, and Fats) of that food. Adopting and maintaining a balanced and healthy diet can lead to many benefits for a high school athlete including:
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Increased strength, power, agility, and mobility
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Faster recovery times
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Reduced risk of injury
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Increased academic performance
In general, the more colorful the plate the healthier the plate! It all starts with better eating habits. For a high school athlete this may mean eating consistent meals throughout the day (including the breakfast they usually skip!), healthier snacking habits (ex. avoiding refined sugars), and taking the initiative to shop for fresh fruit and vegetables that may not be available in your home!
In order to start maximizing your athletics through a proper diet follow these general rules:
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Meals leading up to a gameday are the most important, don’t miss a meal!
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Develop a consistent and routine pre game meal.
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Avoid highly processed and low nutrient foods (potato chips, sugary granola bars, etc.).
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Make in house meals, avoid eating out often!