Training for team sports:
Sports are a great way to socialize, keep fit and give you a break from your day-to-day activities. Team sports in a particular are an easy way to get into exercise, especially if you can do it with your friends!
However, like any activity or exercise you need to ensure that your body is prepared to take part in these activities and team sports. Your Physiotherapist can help guide you through this process and help you if there are any hiccups along the way.
The training year is broken up into 3 main cycles, these are: Pre-season, In-season, and Off-season.
Pre-season:
You’ve decided you want to get back into team sport, but it’s been a while since you’ve last played. What should you do before the season starts?
For most people, starting a pre-season with a grueling 10km run or running hill sprints until fatigue is not the ideal way to kick off your sport season. A good pre-season should be well planned out and progressive to ensure you are at your best when you the season eventually begins. Generally, this should be spread out over a minimum of 8-weeks to ensure your body has enough time to grow and adapt in a comfortable time.
Goals for pre-season are:
- Build performance capacity (increase muscle mass, strength, power, and endurance)
- Build up volume before increasing intensity
- Be mentally and physically prepared to start the season!
Most sports require a combination of aerobic and anaerobic capacity, so it is important to train both throughout your pre-season. Start with aerobic, or long/endurance training, and progress to anaerobic, or short/sprint training closer to the start of the season. You should aim to increase your volume at no more than 10% each week throughout your pre-season. Your physiotherapist can help you to determine the specific needs of your individual sport.
Strength training is another key aspect of your pre-season. This is the most effective way to prevent injuries from occurring during the season and should make up a large part of any pre-season. Again, your physiotherapist can help you to determine the most effective strength training exercises that will benefit you in your sport and target the specific muscle groups.
Below is an example of a generic pre-season training plan:
|
Day | Mon | Tues | Wed | Thurs | Fri | Sat | Sun |
Activity | Run 1 | Strength 1 | Rest | Run 2 (am) Strength 2 (pm) | Strength 3 | Run 3 | Rest |
In-season:
You’ve made it to the fun part of the year, when you can finally start playing the sport you wanted to get into. But you still need to look after your body and make sure you don’t lose everything you have just built in the pre-season.
In-season training should be guided by 3 main principles:
USE IT BUT, DON’T LOSE IT!:
You have just spent the last 8-weeks (at least) building a solid foundation and making gains so that you are in the best condition possible to start your season. Why would you want to waste that?
The aim of any in-season training program should be to maintain AT LEAST 90% of your pre-season strength. Understanding the development phase of an athlete or individual is key to this process, younger and less developed athletes require less work to maintain their gains compared to more senior or developed athletes. However, sport-specific and skills training will likely take precedence over strength training so it is expected that you will lose some of your pre-season gains.
MAINTAIN MOTION:
Joint motion is a key part of every sport, and it is often overlooked when it comes to training programs, replaced by strength and endurance training. Being strong through full range is just as important as being able to produce large amounts of static force.
Research has proven that athletes in throwing sports lose a significant amount of shoulder motion throughout the season. Other research has shown that hip mobility is significantly reduced in many sports, such as baseball and field hockey.
A reduction in joint motion not only increases risk of injury, but it leads to ineffective technique, energy loss and reduced power. Your physiotherapist can guide through mobility techniques for injury prevention based on your sport as well as mobility for injury rehabilitation.
LISTEN TO YOUR BODY AND IT’S GONNA TREAT YOU RIGHT:
Injuries, as unfortunate as they are, are a part of sport and as physiotherapists and athletes we do our best to prevent them, but there are going to be times when we need to manage them.
The acute or early stages of an injury are vital to determining how detrimental they are going to be to the outcome of your playing season. Picking up on the early signs of injury or stress can make a massive difference to the management and impact that the injury has on your season.
Some signs of injury that you should pick up on are:
- Pain
- Reduced strength
- Limited range of motion
- Increased fatigue
Speak to your physiotherapist if you experience any of these throughout your season.
Off-season:
CONGRATULATIONS!!! You have just won the Grand Final and you’ve finished your celebrations (hopefully!). Now what?
Just because the season has finished doesn’t mean that your training has. There are some simple ways to ensure you make the most of your off-season to ensure you come back in the best form you can for the following season.
- Enjoy the break
Your body has just been put through a grueling 6-8 months of tough physical and mental challenges. Allowing it to rest and recover will not only mean you will come back ready to go in the following season, but also reduce the likelihood of psychological burnout and ensure your love of the game continues to thrive.
- Make the most of the training window
The off-season is the best time of year for making gains, your body is primed and ready for various activity following the season. You will only lose gains if you wait until pre-season to get back into any form of strength or endurance training.
Cross training is a form of training that is different to your main form of activity and is a great way to continue to make gains throughout the off-season. For athletes that are predominantly in a running sport, cycling or swimming is a great way to improve cardiovascular gains without adding excessive stress to your legs following the season.
By using this training window effectively, you will be able to start each season stronger that the previous season, which is the goal for any sport and will lead to continued success.
- TLC
Give your body what it really wants. A visit to your physiotherapist!
In the off-season your physio can help you work through many of the side-effects that come along with a sport season and the associated fatigues. Improving soft tissue quality (massage, trigger point release, dry needling, foam rolling etc.) and joint mobility (joint play, mobilisation, etc.) are two of the many ways that your physio can ensure that your body is ripe and ready for the upcoming season!
If you or a family member would like to learn more about training cycles and programs for sports, the Physiotherapists at Back In Motion Como are well equipped to help and already work with athletes from many sports ranging from grass-roots to those competing on the national stage and would love to help!
Website: https://www.backinmotion.com.au/como
Phone Number: 9313 3414