Danny O’Dell’s
Explosivelyfit Training News
Strength and power knowledge
15-May-2008
ISSN: 1550-2643: Library Of Congress, Washington D.C.,
Welcome to this edition, I hope you enjoy the contents.
If you like the information here then please pass this onto your friends or refer them here so they can sign up too.
Topic discussed: Conditioning programs
Conditioning programs are broken down into four groups:
1. General
2. Exercises directed at a specific area of development
3. Sport relevant exercises
4. Competition movements
Training in any of the four areas will be determined by the needs of the athlete according to their ability, age, and the time within the current cycle. If the coach or the athlete stays, with the same program for long periods, it soon becomes stagnant and growth will stop.
To avoid this situation, changes to the program are necessary. Using a large selection of exercises that begin to mimic the rhythm and form of the sport and are suited to the athlete ensures progress is maintained. Keep in mind that sport relevancy selections do not develop the entire system, there are still parts of the body that lag behind in growth.
These lagging traits then become the weak links and must be addressed during the training schedule reevaluation and tweaking conferences with the athlete. Devising a general exercise program that develops all around physical abilities ensures that the neglected areas in the sport relevant program will be highlighted and upgraded.
Specialization
Athletes competing in multiple sports are rare at the high levels of international competition. However, that is not to say that young people should be participating in only one sport at an early age. These athletes need overall athletic development in the gross and fine motor patterns. This comes from being active in many sports not just one.
On the elite and international competitive stage, participating in multiple sports will only diminish the ability to achieve high results. A jack-of-all-trades may be a good thing to a recreational athlete but not at the top.
Exercises must mimic the sport action and there has to be a result oriented training program in place to take advantage of the increased strength, endurance and speed brought on by the regimen. Physical and mental changes resulting from these sport relevant exercises transfer to the competitive endeavor.
Specialized general preparation
Generalized training become more and more specialized as the sport relevant training increasingly demands more be time devoted to it. Compensations now have to be made in the schedule to make up for the imbalances created by the sport relevant training.
As an example, the general exercise work and rest periods can be set up for the same duration as in competition. Other activities can also satisfy general conditioning requirements and still provide stimulus for the specific sport.
For instance, sprinters need powerful legs just as Powerlifters do, so squats fill the need for both sports. In the sprints, the squats are a conditioning exercise whereas in powerlifting they are the primary sport relevant movement. Powerlifters need explosive strength and the cross over from high speed sprinting carries over to this sport.
That’s all for this time. I hope your training is going well and wish you happiness in your life.
Stay strong, and remain passionately committed to your hearts chosen path.
By Danny M. O’Dell, M.A. CSCS*D
I hope you have enjoyed this issue of the Explosivelyfit Training News. If you have any comments or suggestions regarding these articles, or any other aspect of the web site, please feel free to contact me at Danny@explosivelyfit.com
You may use these articles at your website, or in your newsletter. The only requirement is inclusion of the following sentence: Article by Danny M. O’Dell of Explosivelyfit.com - the definitive source for strength training information. Please send an electronic copy of the article to Danny@explosivelyfit.com