We all have experienced sports injuries once since our childhood. Recent evidence has showed that exercise training can help you fight against sport injuries effectively, but a “well-planned” exercise training can help you to avoid it.
Before you put on a get into gear and strap on your sneakers, please spend few minutes thinking about these:
What is my goal? How could I train without getting injured? Which muscle groups are you going to train? How many reps should I do to engage muscle hypertrophy? How many watts should I set for my cardiofunction and how much weight should I put on?
Here are two common training programs for sport players:
For a basketball player:
The common training programs for a basketball player have three phases, Pre-season, mid-season and post season, the goals for each phase are slightly different. Each phase focus on the strength of upper body, core muscle strength and increasing explosiveness:
* Days per week: 2 to 3, with at least one rest day between sessions and a lighter week in week 4 to promote recovery and progression.
* Reps: 12 to 15
* Sets: 2 to 4
* Rest between sets: 30 to 60 seconds
Barbell squat
Single leg squat
Romanian deadlift
Dumbbell bench press
Pull-ups and lat pulldown
Medicine ball standing twist
Box jump march
Vertical jump
Shooting
Coordination
Body confrontation
Balance training
For a soccer player:
The training for a professional soccer player includes legs strengthening, hip joint mobility, whole body coordination, and most importantly, strength, speed, endurance and agility:
* Days per week: 2 to 3, with at least one rest day between sessions and a lighter week in week 4 to promote recovery and progression.
* Reps: 12 to 15
* Sets: 2 to 4
* Rest between sets: 30 to 60 seconds
* Back Squats
* Romanian Deadlifts
* Dumbbell Bench Press
* Pull-Ups
* Standing Military Press
10-15 minutes of speed and agility technique drills
* Sprint to Lateral Shuffle
* Sprint to Backpedal
* Standing Long Jump
* Counter-Movement Jump
Perform each exercise with a med ball for 30 seconds and repeat the circuit three times.
* Clean and Press
* Chest Pass
* Overhead Throw
* Twist and Throw
* Med Ball Squat (hold ball in front)
* Med Ball Romanian Deadlift (hold ball in front)
* Med Ball Lunges (hold ball in front)
* Med Ball Crunches (hold ball over chest)
* Med Ball Leg Raises (hold ball between feet)
* Half-field Game: 20-30 minutes
The biggest difference between these two trainings is the target muscle groups. Basketball players need a strong body to maintain their body confrontation, vertical ability and good agility while a soccer play needs to increase their balancing and speed in splinting.
How to make a “well-planned” sport training session?
As mentioned above, your training program is depend on your needs and purposes.
Searching different training methods through the Internet is a good way to make your training plan, but we strongly recommended having a discussion with your physiotherapist, osteopath, or personal trainer before launching it. Following wrong directions or misusing training equipments may cause serious injuries. Discuss your goals with your physiotherapist or osteopath beforehand.
If you want to achieve better sports performance, it’s definitely worth to coming to get a tapered program for your needs. Back to Active Sports and Spinal provides multiple health professionals that perform full body biomechanical assessments and create specialized training programs on a daily basis.
Written by Dr Wei ‘David’ Tai Osteopath