Top 5 Reasons Why Athletes of All Ages & Levels Need To Participate Strength & Conditionin

Aug. 3, 2010 - PRLog -- Over the last 10 – 15 years we have seen an incredible advance in performance in all sports at all ages and levels. Athletes at every level are doing things now that were unheard of a decade or 2 ago, and a lot of it is due to the evolution of sports in general. In addition to the increased performance in sports comes the need for an advance in strength & conditioning programs as well.

There are now many reasons for athletes to participate in strength and conditioning programs, but there is one major reason that marvels all benefits. And that’s Injury Prevention.

Jason Zaretzky founder of Optimal Performance Training Center ( http://optcfitness.com), a sports performance enhancement training facility located in Rockland County NY states, “With the increased performance in athletes comes a bigger risk of injury at all levels. With that in mind it is imperative that as a strength coach, we take that into consideration and make preventing injury a primary objective when working with athletes”.

In the past many coaches would have their players do pushups and sit ups as well as go for 40 minute conditioning runs. This now is outdated conditioning. This type of training leads to weaknesses, postural imbalances and overuse injuries which according to Zaretzky, is the opposite result of what strength and conditioning programs should do.
It is for these reasons that athletes (male and female) from age eight and up need to be on some sort of strength and conditioning program.

“Typically athletes come to us with the goals to increase their sports performance. They are seeking to get bigger, increase their speed, or simply get stronger. What they don’t realize on the surface is that if we don’t take preventative measures to reduce the chance of injury, all their improved speed, size and strength won’t matter if they are sidelined to an injury that could have been prevented through a structured conditioning program”, states Zaretzky.

So how does an athlete train to prevent injuries from happening?
Zaretzky gives his top 5 injury prevention training strategies that are a ‘must have’ in any strength & conditioning program;

1.)   Assess, assess, assess;
If you are not assessing your athletes, you are not really customizing their program. Therefor you are not addressing any predisposed ailments your athletes may have. To properly design a sports performance training program you need to evaluate your athletes to see what they need in their program. Without an assessment you are not going to reduce your risk of injury, you can actually increase the chances.

2.)   Corrective Exercises;
Every athlete has some form of postural considerations, certain muscle imbalances, weaknesses, and tightness that all need to be addressed. From the assessment and evaluation, we can select a number of exercises that can aid in correcting these imbalances. By doing so, you are going to dramatically increase your movement efficiency and prevent your body from over compensating (which is usually a factor when injury occurs)

3.)   Form and function;
Every aspect of your training needs to be performed with great for and technique. By paying extra attention to your form you will teach your body to function correctly not just when training, but on the field or court too.

4.)   Functional Strength Training;
As part of an effective strength & conditioning program you should definitely incorporate strength training. However, as an athlete you should not train like a body builder. Instead, you should focus on more athletic movements that will increase your overall functionality. Things like Olympic weightlifting (cleans & snatches), single limb training, and exercises that help increase balance, agility and relative strength.

5.)   Proper recovery and nutrition;
   Recovery techniques like myofacial release, deep tissue massage, static stretching, and    mobility training will help aid in preventing over use and injury. Additionally your body    will have the better ability to recover from a well-balanced nutrition regimen. You are    what you eat and fueling your body with the right nutrients will help with recovery which    will prevent injury.

6.)   **Bonus** Get qualified help of a reputable strength and conditioning specialist. They will be able to tie all of the above together in a sound training regimen that will not only increase your performance on the filed or court, but will absolutely prevent you from being sidelined due to a preventable injury

There you have it. 5 solid strategies to help you increase your sports performance while decreasing your chances of getting injured both in preparation for your sport as well as actually competing in practice or games

Jason Zaretzky is owner and program director of Optimal Performance Training Center, Rockland County’s leading sports performance enhancement facility located in Valley Cottage. For more information or to register for their cutting edge sports training programs visit http://www.rocklandsportsperformance.com

# # #

OPTC is Rockland County's leading Sports Performance & Fitness Training Center. For additional information regarding sports training please visit http://rocklandsportsperformance.com & general fitness info please visit http://rocklandfitnesstraining.com