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WHY IS STRENGTH
TRAINING IMPORTANT FOR ATHLETES?
by Joe DeFranco, Owner, Performance Enhancement Specialist
DeFranco’s Training Systems
The improvement of performance in athletics
over the past few years has been phenomenal. For example,
twenty years ago the average football lineman weighed 250
pounds and ran a 5.2-second 40-yard dash. This was considered
to be nearing the genetic limit for a player. Now running
backs that weigh what the lineman used to weigh are
running 4.4-second 40-yard dashes! Strength training has
made the single, most positive contribution to this type
of improvement. Today strength training influences every
athletic program in the country, no matter what the sport
- male or female. Athletes now find it necessary to lift
weights and participate in conditioning programs to better
prepare themselves for the competitive rigors of the athletic
season.
Just a short time ago, most coaches thought
that strength training would cause athletes to become muscle-bound
and would be counterproductive to good technique. Now it
has been proven that athletic performance depends either
directly or indirectly on qualities of muscular strength.
We must remember that strength builds the foundation for
ALL other athletic qualities. For example, if you
do not possess great relative body strength (strength in
relation to your body weight), you will never be able to
run fast. This is due to the fact that all aspects of proper
running technique require high levels of muscular strength.
In other words, if you can’t achieve the proper knee
drive, arm swing, posture and push-off, you can’t
be fast! And this is just one example. Many university studies
have also found a high correlation between an athlete’s
jumping ability and agility in relation to their relative
body strength. What this means is that an athlete who is
strong for his/her bodyweight will possess the ability to
jump higher and move quicker, compared to their weaker counterparts.
The number one purpose of complete conditioning
– including the physical, technical, tactical, and
psychological aspects of training – is to improve
the player’s ability to make the big play. Strength
training is a vital part of complete conditioning. The primary
function of the body’s 600+ muscles is to contract
(shorten in length) to move body parts. And remember that
only muscle can cause movement. The stronger the
muscles and the more forceful the contractions, the faster
the athlete will run, higher he will jump, further he will
throw/kick, and harder he will hit. It’s that simple!
An added bonus of strength training is
injury prevention. Athletes who strength train tend to have
fewer injuries. This is because strength training strengthens
the muscle attachments and increases density of bones at
the sites of muscle origins and insertions. And if an injury
does occur to an athlete who has been strength training
properly, it will probably not be as serious and will tend
to heal faster.
So next time someone tells you weight
training is just for bodybuilders, think again. A proper
strength-training program just may be the final piece of
your training “puzzle” to success!
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