Strength & Conditioning

Without a high level of fitness you will find it difficult to "Achieve your Dreams".

1. Fitness Testing
At the outset of strength and conditioning programs it is important to know how fit you are and understand your own capabilities. Different tests need to be chosen that are relevant to your sport. These can include:

• Sprint / Speed; 10m, 20m, 60m, 100m sprints
• Agility; t-test, s-test
• Power; vertical jump, standing long jump, standing triple jump
• Strength; max 1RM bench press, leg press, squats
• Anaerobic Endurance; max chin ups, max push ups, max dips, 400m run
• Aerobic Endurance; 3km run, beep test shuttle run, 1km swim
• Body Composition; skinfolds, body weight

Once a base line of fitness is established careful planning, monitoring and retesting will ensure you attain a higher level of performance.

What fitness tests are you doing as a part of your training?

2. Aerobic Conditioning
By developing your aerobic energy system you create a base of fitness for the season ahead. This also enhances the efficiency of oxygen delivery to all organs of the body including muscle and the heart.

Your aerobic conditioning is also linked closely with having a desirable body weight suitable for your sport. Maintaining a good body weight also benefits your general health.

Volume of Training
As a relatively inexperienced athlete you will not be able to handle the amount of training that a more experienced athlete can. It is therefore important that volume is changed according to which phase of training you are in. Trying to do too much too soon will cause injury.

Volume in training can include:

• Miles or kilometres run per week
• Number of laps swum
• Time spent on an exercise bike
• Repetitions and sets completed in a strength program

Fast Fact: In some sports it can take 3-4 years to build up the fitness and strength to be able to handle higher volumes of training. An aerobic base will allow you to handle these levels more effectively.

Fast Fact: Professional footballers can run upwards of 15km per game (nearly 10 miles). In Australian Rules Football players have been measured running over 21km (that is a half marathon!!)

3. Strength Training
One of the main traits of a successful athlete is their strength levels. You can build muscular strength using different resistance exercises including:

• Weight training (machines and free weights)
• Theraband
• Hydrotherapy
• Body Weight

By doing so the following is achieved:

• Stronger tendons
• Stronger muscles
• Increased core strength
• Reduced muscular imbalances
• Greater power generation
• Increased speed
• Reduced injury rates

When planning and developing strength programs these things need to be considered:

• Training history of the athlete
• Requirements of your sport
• Phase of season eg pre-season, main competition
• Number of sessions per week available

The old saying "strength training or doing weights makes you slow" is totally incorrect if your training is planned effectively.

Fast Fact: It is safe for children of all ages to do some form of strength training, given that the load is light and technique is emphasised... The technical aspect of strength training can be taught from a young age.

Intensity of Training
The intensity of strength training needs to be monitored as athletes often try to increase the weight they are lifting too soon. Remembering that with an increase in intensity of training there is also an increase in risk of injury therefore care needs to be taken at all times.

It is essential that you monitor your training to prevent over-training and injury from occurring. Heart rate monitoring and training diaries are excellent tools to help avoid this trap.

Fast Fact: It is possible to avoid all soft tissue injuries. (This does not include collision injuries!)

Are you monitoring your intensity of training efficiently to avoid these injuries?

Progressive Overload
It is important that in any training program that you progressively make your training harder and more specific to the demands of the sport. Progressive overload reduces injury rates and allows the athlete to adapt and grow quicker and stronger.

How much is too much of an increase in training load before injury may occur?
How are you currently monitoring your overall training load?

Fast Fact: Milon of Croton was one the most famous of Ancient Greek athletes. The legend has it that he would train in the four years of an Olympiad by carrying a newborn calf on his back every day until the Olympics. By the time the events took place, the calf had progressively grown and he was now able to carry a four year old cow on his back.

4. Anaerobic Endurance (Local Muscular Endurance)
The muscle's ability to sustain a heavy workload (85-100%) whilst levels of lactic acid build up in the muscle and bloodstream. This intense type of exercise is common in sports requiring repeated sprint efforts or a sustained sprint as in 400m running or 100m swimming.

Good aerobic conditioning will assist your anaerobic endurance. This is achieved as greater amounts of oxygen can be delivered to the muscle thus slowing down the fatiguing effects of lactic acid.

Fast Fact: Interval training is one of the most effective ways in improving your anaerobic endurance.

5. Speed Training
In developing a strength base the body is able to develop higher levels of force and power in the muscle thus increasing speed. Speed is an essential component of fitness for all sports and is tied in with your biomechanical technique.

As you increase the amount of speed training you also increase the intensity of training, careful monitoring helps reduce the risk of speed related injuries.

Fast Fact: Michael Johnson (USA) ran a World Record of 19.32 seconds for the 200m at the Atlanta Olympics in 1996. An average of 9.66 seconds for each 100m. The World Record for 100m is 9.78 seconds...

6. Plyometric Training
After developing a strength base the body is able to proceed into plyometric training. This type of training allows the muscle to generate force and power quicker thus increasing your sprint speed.

Advanced exercises can include:

• Bounding
• Depth jumps from boxes
• Repeated squat jumps

Fast Fact: Skipping is a great introduction to plyometric training and helps condition the muscles for more advanced exercises.