Conditioning for Sport: Necessary?

Is conditioning important? Are some sports more suited to the benefits of conditioning or are they all the same? Is conditioning for amateur sport just a fad; a snapshot of over-the top coaching that has filtered down from the professional ranks?
By: Steve Cooper - PBFit.co.uk
 
Oct. 4, 2010 - PRLog -- Conditioning is the umbrella term for additional activity outside of sport that is designed to prepare the body to perform better. The benefits for sports persons are that targeted, functional conditioning can improve weak areas of your body which would otherwise inhibit your performance by becoming fatigued which would lead to a negative correlation of technique as time progresses. For example: one of the key technical points for endurance runners is the elimination of unnecessary movement to converse precious energy. It is the job of the Gluteus Medius muscle to stabilise the hip girdle during the gait cycle. If this is weak, the harder and longer you push yourself the quicker the GM fatigues and the sloppier your technique becomes. Targeted exercises such as rear leg raises and lunges strengthen these muscles and keep your technique efficient and effective. Without specialised conditioning the improvement of the GM, for example, as an area for change would be much slower if unchanged.

All sports involve the movement of the body which in-turn involves a complex network of muscular movements and stabilisations. Conditioning not only improves the mechanical function of the movements but also the transfer of the signals between them. It is well documented that strength training not only causes hypertrophy (the increase of muscle fibre density and frequency) but also trains us to recruit MORE muscle fibres per movement through increasing the number of nerve pathways available.

Improving your body can unmistakably improve your performance. If the machine is prepared the mind can focus and take care of business. End of.

Conditioning is a phenomenon that has been practiced and included in professional athletes’ training regimes across every sport for decades. From 800m runners of the 70’s and 80’s to golfers to fighters to football players, but does it have a place in amateur sport? For me, this is a question of your goals. If as an athlete you want to be the best you can possibly be, then yes; absolutely. It is then your responsibility to maximise your potential within the boundaries of the rules of the game. If you want to compete to be happy then that is just as, if not more respectable however you do not need to push yourself as hard if you already enjoy where you are. It is therefore individual. As an athlete, a coach and performance conditioning specialist I can see that the subject of fitness training for sport is individual. Good coaches can produce phenomenal results but it isn’t for everyone. It is therefore the choice of the athlete to decide their goals, speak to the right people and decide what they need to achieve and maximise their potential.

Steve
www.pbfit.co.uk
www.paintballfitness.co.uk
End
Source:Steve Cooper - PBFit.co.uk
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