The pre-season for sports is happening for all the traditional winter sports right now across the country, and some are having greater success than others.
If you want to make sure you have a very good season in sports, its absolutely critical to have a good pre-season conditioning period to set you up nicely for the coming months.
Players and sportsmen of all kinds who think they don’t need it or could do without it, are really living back in the 1970’s as sports conditioning has moved on light years since that attitude existed.
So if you are new to it or doing the same old stuff every year for your chosen sport, then its time to open your mind and change.
Long slow runs for a few miles are well and truly gone, and hugely intense sports specific workouts are in big time, and have been for years, it just takes a while for the message to get through. Where in the past 2 hours was normal, now it can be 30 minutes if you know what you’re doing and you’re willing to give total commitment.
Long runs that put strain on your body have been replaced with lots of short sprints, both on flat and up hills. There is forward running and backward running, lots of work for your core (stomach, back, hamstrings and thighs), and flat out lung busting work!!!
If any of this sound familiar its because you know thats the way i like to train because im always after maximum results!!!
I don’t tend to go from the team playbook when it comes to workouts or follow the pack. I want to do whats right and what works, and if the team training i have seen over the years is anything to go by, im glad i have sticked to my guns and given the best possible workouts to my clients and specific to their needs, not long boring runs that require little or no thought!!!
I will give you the example of the junior rugby international i was training in the 90’s, he was given jam sandwiches as a snack suggestion by the welsh rugby union!!! I ripped into that suggestion then and will have a go at any nonsense that still comes out now.
Its tried and tested all the way for me when it comes to training and eating properly, lots of ideas on here so lets make it happen!!!
interesting post Keri. I know some junior rugby teams ie under 16s who did not stop when the season eneded and are still training…dont they need a break though?? some are doing tackling already but as u say, they need to get conditioned first. Also, some of the pre season now starts in the first week of July! Yes, its a professional age, but most people playing rugby union are still amatuers and things are getting far too serious for my liking…our local under 12s have started too…well, ok but intensity for them can be detrimental for their love of the game long term?
Agreed, the season is getting far longer, even for juniors and starting back far sooner.
At that age, they should be doing other things and enjoying themselves and have at least 10 weeks break in my view.
The saddest thing i see is when you see 12 year olds at certain clubs and especially at district level, when you hear coaches who have hardly ever played the game, shouting “defence, defence, defence” all the time like idiots!!!
Now THAT is madness and those coaches should be shot. It must be added though that there are very good coaches out there too!
ive just watched Gary Schofield, ex rugby league international..sounds like he was a great guy as well…he says too many Ozzie coaches have come over here and coached skill and flair out of players…he didnt like it when two coaches told him NEVER to chip ahead..so he just ignored them! We need players to express themselves and move away from the “game plan” not just in sport, but in life in general. we would be a better society with that attitude.