You work hard on and off the field, and spend more time in the gym that practically anywhere else. But you’re not seeing the results you’d like. Performance training can help you get to the next level.
Performance training programs are overseen by professional sports medicine specialists, including physical therapists, strength coaches and athletic trainers, who emphasize body mechanics and proper form. Every exercise and drill is based in science and specifically relates to your sport — and even your position on the team.
Here are five ways performance training can help you perform better and reach new personal bests.
Lasting Endurance: Thirty minutes on the treadmill every other day isn’t going to cut it if you’re trying to build endurance that will last a full game. Neither will practice drills, considering how often the whistle is blown to reset a play. Performance training integrates strength and cardio activity to prepare you for the physical demands of an entire match.
Enhanced Agility: The ability to change directions quickly is vital to almost every sport, but anyone can improve their footwork with ladder drills. True agility training, which performance training focuses on, incorporates techniques that help you simultaneously improve your reaction time, coordination and body control.
Explosive Speed: Sprinting is a great way for recreational runners and weekend warriors to increase speed. But athletes need to reach top speed fast and that requires an enormous amount of strength and power straight out of the gate. Performance training emphasizes leg strength to help you achieve explosive speed.
Better Balance and Stability: Stability — the ability to stay on your feet when an opponent or another force is challenging you — is necessary to excel at any sport. Performance training uses dynamic balance training to improve your center of gravity and make you more likely to stay on your feet after taking a hit.
Injury Prevention: While general conditioning can help prevent sports injuries to an extent, performance training is more specialized. Sports medicine specialists will analyze your individual body mechanics and movements to identify potential problem areas and work with you to correct them. They’ll also teach you proper form and techniques to help you reduce your risk for or severity of an injury.
blog.ochsner.org