All good things come to an end, one entity walks away with the grand prize to mark the success of their season, then starts back up again to prepare for another year, another round and another attempt at glory. Sport, what’s not to love about it? Elite teams and athletes place a lot of emphasis on preseason training, which is primarily made up of rebuilding players' strength and conditioning their systems to face the rigorous season that awaits. Preseason training plays an important part in an athlete’s career; it ensures they keep their fitness up during offseason but, more importantly, their injury levels to a bare minimum when competing. As an athlete, irrespective of what level you perform at, injuries are a part of your life. Preseason preparation gets a lot easier to handle if you approach it in a systematic manner and have a gameplan ready. How can you make this easy? First, if you’re still recovering from an old injury, make sure you do your rehabilitation until the last level. Don’t stick by the mantra “if it doesn’t hurt it doesn’t exist”. It most likely does, and will come back to bite you at some point. Second, create a schedule for yourself. Make a timetable, be pedantic about it. This will help you stick to the plan and keep you accountable as well. Keep in mind that sport isn’t only made up of skill. Strength and conditioning play a big role in making sure you utilise your skills to the max. Alternate between weight training and cardiovascular fitness. Weight training helps build power and strength, which in the long run will help build muscle endurance. This is directly proportional to reducing the occurrences of injuries. Break up your with a recovery session like a light walk or swim. Preseason also allows time to concentrate on the nitty gritties like balance, proprioception and agility. These aspects are particularly important if you have a long history of ankle and hamstring injuries. If you still feel overwhelmed with everything on your checklist, make an appointment with a physiotherapist, exercise physiologist or personal trainer to help you better understand your body mechanics. Build a strong foundation, and you will be able to endure storms in all forms.
FRONT FOOT: It's important to remember that preseason training is a lot easier if you have a gameplan ready.
All good things come to an end, one entity walks away with the grand prize to mark the success of their season, then starts back up again to prepare for another year, another round and another attempt at glory.
Sport, what’s not to love about it?
Elite teams and athletes place a lot of emphasis on preseason training, which is primarily made up of rebuilding players' strength and conditioning their systems to face the rigorous season that awaits.
Preseason training plays an important part in an athlete’s career; it ensures they keep their fitness up during offseason but, more importantly, their injury levels to a bare minimum when competing.
As an athlete, irrespective of what level you perform at, injuries are a part of your life.
Preseason preparation gets a lot easier to handle if you approach it in a systematic manner and have a gameplan ready.
How can you make this easy? First, if you’re still recovering from an old injury, make sure you do your rehabilitation until the last level.
Don’t stick by the mantra “if it doesn’t hurt it doesn’t exist”. It most likely does, and will come back to bite you at some point.
Second, create a schedule for yourself. Make a timetable, be pedantic about it.
This will help you stick to the plan and keep you accountable as well.
Keep in mind that sport isn’t only made up of skill. Strength and conditioning play a big role in making sure you utilise your skills to the max. Alternate between weight training and cardiovascular fitness.
Weight training helps build power and strength, which in the long run will help build muscle endurance. This is directly proportional to reducing the occurrences of injuries. Break up your with a recovery session like a light walk or swim.
Preseason also allows time to concentrate on the nitty gritties like balance, proprioception and agility. These aspects are particularly important if you have a long history of ankle and hamstring injuries.
If you still feel overwhelmed with everything on your checklist, make an appointment with a physiotherapist, exercise physiologist or personal trainer to help you better understand your body mechanics.
Build a strong foundation, and you will be able to endure storms in all forms.
TJ Deshmukh, Ararat Physiotherapy and Health Services
