Now I’m sure we’ve many of us dreamed of playing pro sports as a kid and as we came through the sporting age groups. I know I did and, in my case, it wasn’t just one sport, I changed my mind more than most but there was one constant, I dreamed of playing professional sport. In hindsight I would have loved a place where I was able to learn how to improve my physical abilities and reduce my injury risk in my early-mid teens.
I’m sure you’ve heard plenty of stories of people telling you they could’ve gone pro if they hadn’t been injured in their prime or as a young adult. I’ve got good news and bad news for you, depending on your work ethic and commitment. We no longer have the excuse of lingering injuries ‘cutting me down in my prime’ with the evolution in strength and conditioning.
If you invest now in a great Strength and Conditioning (S&C) coach you will be able to not only improve your physical capabilities but safeguard your body from injury both in the immediate future and long into your sporting career. The best part about investing into your S&C now is that you’ll be able to prolong your time in the sport that you love and reach the highest of highs.
If you’re anything like me, you spent your teenage and early adult years watching your favourite sports players and teams post their workouts with ‘hype up’ music and immediately wanting to get to their level so you could train the way they train. Well now you can train the way the pros do with tailored programming specific to you and your sport. If you get into your S&C work now and have your body ready for the rigours that sport will throw at it and recover faster allowing you to train at the intensity and consistency needed to perform at your best.
Not only will investing in your S&C allow you to perform at your best right now it will also be a massive help in getting your body ready for the pros. If you’re lucky enough to make it, you won’t require the couple of years of being undersized and having to spend time in development squads until your body is ‘battle tested.’
If you want to continue your sports career long until your kids are playing, then it is crucial that you invest in an S&C now. I’m sure we’ve all had a few niggles/aches here and there and just dealt with them through the season, but what if I told you, we can and have had a great track history of reducing and in plenty of cases getting rid of them completely. Your S&C training is such a crucial often overlooked aspect in injury prevention and recovery.
Your S&C training is such a crucial often overlooked aspect in injury prevention and recovery.
You may have heard the term Long Term Athletic Development (LTAD) providing a framework to ensure that training, competition and recovery are appropriate for athletes at each specific stage of growth and development. This is an important model that we utilise at ACE with our youth athletes especially, to reduce burn out, overuse injuries and improve mental health through some of the trickiest growth stages.
Do’s
✅ Seek out an experienced and university qualified S&C coach
✅ When possible, get a movement screen/performance assessment before commencing training
✅ Follow guidance from your S&C relating to the LTAD model
✅ Slowly build into your strength with gradual increases in load and intensity
Do Not’s
❌ Get a program off an Instagram fitness model or bodybuilder
❌Jump straight into workouts and exercises that you have seen professional athletes do
❌ Go straight into the heaviest weight you can lift before focusing on technique
❌ Stop running and skills training and just think strength training alone is enough
For more information or to start training with our own professional strength and conditioning coaches reach out to the ACE Performance Tribe, now!
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