Is your Training Sports Specific?

One thing which many athletes don’t consider when they train is, am I training for my sport or am I just training?

 So often I see athletes in the gym training for their sports who are just training like body builders, trying to make their biceps bigger to make themselves look better for the opposite sex whilst claiming it will assist them in their sporting endeavours. What many people don’t do is sit back and look at the sport they are competing in and analysing the movements associated with that sport.

When I am designing a strength and conditioning  program for an athlete or team I first look at the sport and look at the characteristics of the sport to allow my athlete or team to be the best prepared they can be. I do this when designing gym programs and whilst developing conditioning drills as well.  When designed a strength or gym program for an athlete I look at several things, the athletes’ goals, the sport, their position and their strengths and weaknesses. When designing a strength program I want to have my athlete sports ready. This involves having a different gym program for a Rugby Union player and an AFL player and within that a different gym program for a Prop in Rugby Union and a Flanker in Rugby Union.

I look at the key attributes and demands of the position to see where I can implement strength exercises and strategies to allow the athlete to develop. For Example this may involves making a Prop stronger and more powerful in the legs to increase their hit power in scrummaging. This can also be used to assist athletes who feel a part of their game is lacking or needs improvement. There are many cases where as a strength and conditioning coach I can assist an athlete to become better in their position through an appropriate gym program. This can be done by helping Rugby Union forwards with more strength to assist them to lift players in lineouts or Soccer players to have more acceleration off the mark.

When it comes to conditioning athletes it’s also important to look at the sport and how it is played. Through the advent of GPS devices many professional teams are using this data to see how far players run and at what pace. This information is then used so they can model training to be like games to have the athletes ready to compete. This can be done without the use of GPS software though. By looking at what an athlete does in their sport it is evident to see what type of training is suitable for the sport.

So often we see sports coaches send athletes on lap after lap of an oval in the aim to get them fit. Whilst I see some benefit in this to build an aerobic base I feel there needs to be more thought into the athletes conditioning. When I condition my athlete I look at what happens in the sport to allow me to best simulate a game on the training field so that the athletes are trained in as realistic way as possible. For example when I training Rugby players I have them doing a lot of up and down work to stimulate making a tackle or going into a ruck and then getting on their feet and sprinting and with my Netball athletes I have them doing a lot of intermittent sprint work.

Training sports specificity is one concept which I am very big on as a strength and conditioning coach, I feel by training sports specific movements on the training field it will equate to success on the field. When in the gym I always try and replicate movements on the field to best training my athletes. I often use basic exercises to build size, strength and power in my athletes. But as they become more advanced I feel training sports specific or position specific movements allows them to be better prepared for their sports. With athlete conditioning I feel its best that athletes are trained in as similar to match conditions as possible. By adding a ball to drills which would previously wouldn’t have a ball adds an extra element to training.

So when you are next training for sport or a competition, think, are you training sports specific?

Will

If you have any comments or feedback please email me will@wsstrength.com or find me on Twitter @WSStrength