There are several ways an athlete can prepare for competition, but they will
not be effective unless all necessary steps are taken. As with any physical
training, whether resistance or endurance, there is one major factor that
will affect your results. That is your will to work out seriously and
continuously. If you cannot push yourself, training will become pointless
and ineffective.
Plyometrics
As an athlete, your strength is more important than appearance. For example,
if you only perform arm exercises in an attempt to have "big guns" then you
are forgetting that nobody ever scored a touchdown by flexing. A high
intensity workout that promotes muscle growth to all parts of the body is
important. Different sports require the usage of some muscle groups more
than others, as an example, soccer requires leg strength more than the arms.
In building speed, vertical leap, and explosion plyometrics is highly
significant. Plyometrics were first used in training by the Eastern European
BLOC countries for Olympic competition. It has now become a very common
workout for professional and amateur athletes. Plyometrics are the training
of the "springs" in your muscles to a point in which they immediately expand
after they have contracted. For example, as a basketball player drives to
the goal to slam-dunk the ball, on his last step he unloads the "spring" the
second he touches the ground. The result hopefully will be him jumping high
enough to slam-dunk the ball. Performing plyometrics along with a running
program will maximize the results.
When you decide you want to add plyometrics to you strength training program
it is important that you know of some basic exercises and technique. For
most plyometric exercises a plyo-box is needed. Most plyo-boxes have
adjustable legs that can change from about 14'' to 22". When designing your
plyometric workout you need to have two things in mind. One: What are your
goals? And Two: How long do I have to achieve my goals? It is quite obvious
that you won't drop a second off your 40-yard time in a week so be realistic.
Figure out your problem and use the chart below to figure out which
workouts will be used to meet these goals. The best book for learning more
about plyometrics is definitely Donald Chu's Jumping into Plyometrics.
Aerobics are the conditioning of your heart and lungs by strenuous activity.
Conditioning the heart will not only reduce heart problems in the future, but
is also makes short-term activity like a football practice not as tiring to
the heart. Conditioning the lungs will help produce more lung capacity,
which will reduce the amount of breaths you take. Taking continuous breaths
(which can lead up to hyper-ventilation) is unhealthy. Your lung capacity is
crucial to sports that only require breathing as few times as possible, such
as swimming or sprinting.
The most common aerobic exercise is running. When training for a sport you
need to decide what is more important to you athletic performance. It could
be long distance, short sprints, or possibly both. For example, a football
player that is an offensive lineman would find short sprints more crucial to
his position, while a soccer player needs to have more endurance and would
have to run long distance. Aerobic workouts can consist of running or jump
roping or anything else that requires you to breath hard. Some sports like
basketball can be your workout. It just depends on the level of intensity
that you need.
Nutrition
Your nutrition goes hand in hand with your strength training, as you probably
have heard "you are what you eat." What is the point of slaving in the gym
if you aren't going to feed yourself the right foods containing the building
blocks of muscle? Here is a basic overview: Muscles are built with protein;
your body runs off of carbohydrates and sugars, and uses vitamins for "fine
polishing" as an extra boost for growth. Supplements are used to give you
those essentials missed in your diet. Some basic supplements are whey
protein, creatine, and amino acids. These can be bought at Bodybuilding.com.
Before you go out and buy supplements you need to be sure that you are going
to keep training. Many people lift for a week, take supplements, and decide
that it didn't work so they stop training. It takes time to see results,
regardless of what ads may claim. Most people would think making a diet is
difficult, but all you need is a scale and a calculator.
First find your body weight in kilograms (to find your weight in Kg just divide your weight
in pounds by 2.2) and multiply by 55. The resulting number is your target
daily calorie intake. Next, take your weight in Kg and multiply by 1.5.
This number will be your target protein intake. To figure out your
carbohydrate intake multiply your weight in Kg by 9. This is all you need to
target in you diet, and then put it into action with a balanced diet of
fruit, vegetables, and grains. When all else fails use common sense!
Combine this with a strong workout and you will see results.
Target Protein Intake Calculator
Here is a layout of a basic two-day workout. The first day is all upper body
exercises, and the second is all lower body.
***Day One***
Bench Press - Lay on back with feet flat on ground. Bar is held at shoulder
width and is lowered to the chest and back up until the elbows lock out.
3 sets of 10 repetitions
Military Press - Standing up straight while holding with straight-arms
overhead. Lower bar to the back of neck and lift to starting position.
3 sets 10 repetitions
Shoulder Shrugs - Standing up straight with arms hanging, holding the bar.
Make a shrugging motion with your shoulders and hold it.
3 sets 10 repetitions
Neck Roll - While wearing neck weight system stand up slightly bent over at
the hips with hand behind your back or on knees.
3 sets 15 repetitions
Twenty-One's - Sitting on bench with arms holding bar over preacher curl. Do
seven curls from arms locked out low to half way up. Than seven more from
bar up to face to half way down. Than seven complete curls from all the way
down to all the way up.
1 set 21 repetitions
Elbow Curl - Sitting on bench with arms, holding bar over preacher curl.
From arms locked out down low, pull the bar up towards your face.
3 sets 10 repetitions
Dips - On a dip machine start with arms locked out, lower your body as far
down as you can and try to pull your body back up to starting position.
4 sets, as many repetitions as you can
Sit-Ups - Either on sit-ups machine or on ground with ankles crossed and legs
elevated. Put you hands either crossed at chest or behind you head. Pull
your body up until you are able to touch your knees with your chest.
3 sets, as many repetitions as you can
Click HERE for a printable log of Day One!
Need Help with Sit-Ups and Dips?
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***Day Two***
Squats - Start with bar on shoulders and legs shoulder length apart.
Bend your legs, NOT YOUR BACK, so that your legs are parallel with the
ground. Then rise back up to the starting position. Hint: To help keep your
back straight try to look up at all times.
1 set of 15 and 2 sets of 10
Dead Lift - Stand with feet shoulder width apart and bar is over balls of
your feet. Squat down and grab the bar with a mixed grip (one hand forward,
and on backwards) and extend legs to the point in which you knees are locked
out.
3 sets of 10 repetitions
Leg Extension - Sit facing up either upright or lying back on a leg
machine with heels facing the ground. Extend your legs until they are
parallel with the floor.
3 sets of 20 repetitions (10 for each leg)
Need Help On Leg Extensions?
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Straight-Back Stiff-Legged Dead Lift - Stand exactly like a normal dead
lift except the back is bent over the bar. Pull the bar up with you arms and
bring your back straight up into a normal standing position.
2 sets of 15 repetitions
Knee Curl - Sit on leg machine with face down and legs straight out.
Curl leg up until your knee forms a ninety-degree angle upward. Then slowly
drop it back to starting position.
3 sets of 20 repetitions (10 for each leg)
Step Ups - Begin in position the same as normal squat except instead of
dropping body step a leg up onto a bench. Switch legs each time.
3 sets of 10 repetitions
One and a Half Squats - Start in squat position and lower body until legs
are parallel to ground. Then rise half way up and lower legs again.
2 sets of 10 repetitions
Click HERE for a printable log of Day Two!
Remember, no matter how good you are resistance training should NEVER be
easy. Once you are able to complete an exercise easily you should increase
the amount of weight. As a strength trainer it is crucial that you do not
skip workouts because you are "tired" or don't "feel like lifting" because
every time you skip a session you are losing your edge. By combining the
four main aspects of training, plyometrics, aerobics, resistance, and
nutrition you can become a better athlete, but you must have the will to work
out. Without that, you are nothing.
References
Chu, Donald A PhD, Jumping Into Plyometrics Second Edition, Champaign, IL,
1998.
Kleiner, Susan M PhD, RD, Power Eating Second Edition, Champaign, IL, 2001.
Kraemer, William J PhD, Fleck, Stephan J PhD, Strength Training For Young
Athletes, Champaign, IL, 1993.
Thanks,
BAME171@aol.com
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