Saturday, September 15, 2012

Prime and Recovery Part 1

Here are a series part 1 of a series of articles I'm working on that covers concepts for training athletes IN-SEASON.

Prime and Recover: Why and how

  While it is common place for most every athlete (especially in the youth and HS level) these days to hit the gym or engage in a specialized pre-season prep for their season it is also common to see them stop (this training) upon the commencement of their competitive season until it ends several months later.  As a private strength and conditioning coach for the past 10 years I have witnessed this very bizarre and discouraged practice.  In my mind an athlete should ALWAYS be in a state of TRAINING.   My definition of TRAINING means engaging in a DAILY activity (activities) that aids in the process of attaining sport skill, amplifying sport skill, increasing general skills, and stimulating the RECOVERY of the body's systems that are stressed during training and competitions.  Unfortunately today's "cultish" fitness industry has led to the gross misinformation and dogmatic mentalities that have spurred a subjective based assessment of fitness in which QUANTIFIABLE results are thrown out the window.  The "if it makes me sore it's a great workout" mantra is often what qualifies the worth of a coach or a trainer.  This unfortunate and unintelligible outlook has led it mass ignorance of the training medium of RECOVERY.  Recovery Training is what allows trainees to grow stronger, more efficient, and get the most out of each and every scheduled training session.  Ignoring this medium and we will fail to reach our utmost potential (no matter what our endeavor), run our body down, and increase our susceptibility to injury.

In the case of competitive athletes whose training should be measure by their performance; recovery becomes a primary means during their competitive season.  In essence all the "hard work" (in the gym anyways) has come to an end and the emphasis should be 1) on improving SPECIFIC sporting form (Ie-practice of the sport skills and in team sports practicing with implementation of strategies) and 2) getting the body and mind into prime and top condition for the rigors of upcoming competitions and events.  While most every coach has the specific part down with planned practices and set goals (often pre-calculated from previous performances)...I'd hate to say but the recovery modalities must go beyond a yoga class and icing down.   Both contact and non-contact sports alike share an equal risk in inducing chronic and acute injuries.  In sorts like football and soccer activities like chaotic sprinting/ cutting induce micro traumas to the soft tissues of the leg and hip joints necessitating realignment, ice massage, aggressive compression, and decompression ( AKA tractioning) to restore optimal function.  In sports like swimming/water polo the volume of repetitive events in one style of stroke often lead to stresses and imbalances in the shoulder girdle.  The shortened ROM of the freestyle kick and the excessive internal rotation of the femur (coupled with the violent knee extension) during the breaststroke negatively stress the tendons and ligaments of the knee and shorten the muscles of the hip (extensors, flexors, rotators).  Necessary recovery means here would include ART therapy, rolfing, traction/compression stretching, and passive/active PNF range of motion therapeutic exercise.

    This may seem like rocket science to most but fortunately for the athlete in all of us...these means can be done by yourself and with the help of a partner.  In some cases a liscensed PT, chiropratcor, or massage therapist may be a wiser choice.  Stay tuned for some videos and more articles exploring these concepts.

Friday, September 7, 2012

YES, we do speed training.  Except we do it the right way!
Collegiate baseballers Chris and Alex work on lateral and forward speed AS A PART of their "lower body" training...