Section 1 - Introducing "The Athlete Inside"
Section 2 - Athletic Training & Conditioning Class: The
First Week
Section 3 - Need to Know! Fitness Terms & Exercise
Principles
Section 4 - Athletic Training Workout Design
Section 5 - Sports Lectures & Workouts
Section 6 - Another Game/Student Projects
Section 7 - More Sports!
Section 8 - It's All in Your Mind (at least 75%)
Section 9 - Personal Trainers & Group Instructors: How to
Use this Information
Correspondence Course Assignments
Online Course Descriptions
"How to Order."
Walking
Skiing
Volleyball
Cycling
I spend several weeks presenting lectures and training drills about specific sports. I do this to teach the Athletic Training students how I analyze the movements of sports and determine which exercises will help condition a person for them. For years I have collected books, magazines, and articles about various sports and recreational activities so I have an extensive amount of resources to draw from for my presentations.
I divide activities and sports into three basic types:
My presentation about a sport includes some background about the activity, a movement analysis of the aerobic, anaerobic, and strength training needs, and a sport skill drill session. What follows are three examples of sport presentations I have used.
This is a workout with no disadvantages. Almost anyone can do it, with almost zero chance of injury. You can walk practically anywhere, either alone or with a friend or family member. It's free! It requires no special equipment.
Walking can be a great aerobic workout for training the body cardiovascularly. It can help reduce body fat. Walking tones and firms the hips and thighs, and develops the calf and shin muscles better than running. While running can tend to make the leg muscles look bunched up and contracted, walking tones the entire length of the muscles and helps them stay long.
Walking is good for the mind as well as the body. It is an activity that can clear the mind and enhance self-esteem and well-being.
Walking is Americans' most popular exercise. It is a good activity that supplements other exercise routines. Walking fills cross-training needs for the fit exerciser and encourages participation for the sedentary, less fit individuals. Because it's easy to build a quality workout around this activity more and more fitness facilities are offering walking programs and classes.
What to walk on? Try to find walking surfaces that provide some shock absorption. Dirt, grass, and running trails are good. Concrete is harder on joints, but fine if there is no pain from the workout. Asphalt is good, too but gets hot in the summer.
Is this really a no cost activity? Good shoes are the only necessity. The walking shoes you wear should have enough padding in the insoles to protect the foot as it strikes the ground. The heel should be snug and the toe box should be roomy and flexible. There are quite a few brands of walking shoes available and many inexpensive athletic shoes do the job nicely, too.
How fast will you have to move? This article deals with fitness walking. Race walking is a sport with special hip moves and a fast stride. It is not the same as the fitness walking that I am discussing here. Fitness Walking or Power Walking means walking at a pace of as low as 12 minutes per mile, which is very brisk.
As with all forms of exercise, correct form will enhance the effectiveness of the walking workout. Good posture allows you to move quickly. Stand erect when walking to protects the low back and improve your abdominal strength. Hold your head up, chin level, and use your eyes to look ahead at the ground. The foot action is a heel strike followed by rolling onto the ball of the foot and pushing off the toes.
To significantly improve your fitness, plan a goal to walk 3 miles at least 3 times per week; more if you can (4 or 5 times a week). Beginners should start with 1 mile and add 1/4 mile per week until you reach 3 miles per walking workout. For the beginner, speed is not a big factor at this point. Sedentary people will see improvements from building up to the 3 mile distance and doing it 3 times a week.
After building up to 3 miles and walking it regularly, you can begin to improve your cardiorespiratory fitness even more by gradually increasing your speed. Those individuals who gradually increase their speed to 12 minutes per mile reap the same benefits as from any other form of aerobic exercise.
To increase your speed, quicken your stride, keeping your hips forward, your shoulders back, and your chin level. Allow each hip to extend forward with each leg. The leg should feel like it starts at the waist. Use your back toe to give yourself a powerful push, with all the leg muscles involved in forward propulsion. Maintain a natural stride length that prevents bouncing. Think of gliding.
Swing the arm from the shoulder and shorten its angle to 90 degrees to move faster. The faster pace may feel hard to hold at first. Your shins may fatigue, too. Just as a beginning walker increases the workout gradually, start out with the increased speed for just one mile of the 3 miles total and gradually increase the distance you walk faster, slowing back to normal pace for the rest of the distance.
Begin each workout with light stretching. Start at a stroll for 5 minutes to warm up then gradually increase to the pace you desire. After walking aerobically for 3 miles or more, slow down and stroll for 5 minutes. Conclude with complete leg stretches.
Commit to this workout for 6 months to see real changes. Remember consistency of at least 3 workouts per week and keeping the intensity as high as your fitness level allows will give you results. Have fun with this wonderful exercise!
It's important to start pre-ski training at least one month before hitting the slopes, or you can train all year around. Recreational athletes can follow the same exercise principles as the professionals in a less time-consuming form, viewing the whole year as preparation for this seasonal sport.
During the off-season, participating in a variety of activities will maintain fitness and give the skier time to rehabilitate any injuries. Pre-season training ideally begins 8-10 weeks before the first planned ski trip. Higher intensity exercise improves stamina and speed, and sport specific drills work on the skills needed. In-season training consists of participation in the sport with extra attention paid to refining the sport specific skills.
For the skier, a solid foundation of cardiovascular and muscular endurance will enhance posture and skill development and help insure a stronger, safer ski season. A good aerobic base prepares the skier for strenuous training later that will focus on coordination, agility and power. Recreational skiers can train at a heart rate of 130-180 beats per minute, depending on ability and goals.
A core strength base through strength training lays the foundation for ski-specific muscular endurance. Resistance training for skiing should be moderate weight and a lot of repetitions. Flexibility through regular stretching will help prevent injuries.
Circuit training and intervals can be adapted to emphasize the muscles used most during skiing and prepare the cardiovascular system. Working out on stair climbers emphasizes the major skiing support muscles. There are many ways to manipulate a stepping workout that will prepare your balance and posture for skiing, as well as work the cardiovascular system.
Some Alpine ski simulators, such as Fitter and Kneedspeed, train the skier for lateral movements and condition the exerciser for the energy demands of skiing.
Alpine Skiing is a skill sport that demands top physical conditioning from virtually every aspect of fitness; upper and lower body strength, endurance and flexibility, and explosive power. The leg muscles are the primary focus for strength training. During a downhill run sustained muscular contractions of the legs maintain proper form and control. Quick turning requires bursts of power from the legs, hips and upper extremities. Balance and good form are enhanced by training the abdominals and low back for strength. There should also be some attention given to strengthening the muscles and ligaments of the thumb. Cross training sports that help prepare for skiing include ice skating, inline skating, bicycling, running, tennis, racquetball, and volleyball.
Cross Country skiing is a low impact, total body cardiovascular workout. Cross country skiing relies more on upper body strength to provide pole pushing power. Total body weight training that alternates lower and upper body days is recommended. Some complementary cross training sports are aerobics, walking, running, cycling, hiking, rowing, kayaking, and swimming.
I use either a circuit workout or interval training for in class ski drills. I include anaerobic power and endurance sets including plyometrics. Some of the exercises we do are:
I like to hand out the team sport rules to the students. In volleyball, the training goals are increased strength, power, and explosiveness, with an emphasis on the lower body and the core strength of the abdominals. I do a very short lecture with most team sports, followed by a skill drill workout, then if possible, I let them play the sport. In the facility I teach at, we have access to walleyball, which is played in a racquetball court. If your facility has an indoor or outdoor volleyball court, take advantage of it!
Weight training exercises recommended for volleyball include leg press, squats, squat jumps, step ups, pushups, overhead chest extensions, incline chest press, seated rows, concentration curls, and single arm tricep extension (vary hand positions).
When I do sport lectures, I like to draft an outline handout of the main requirements for that sport, in terms of aerobic, anaerobic, strength, flexibility, and skill needs. The following is a sample outline that can be adapted to any sport.
Section 1 - Introducing "The Athlete Inside"
Section 2 - Athletic Training & Conditioning Class: The
First Week
Section 3 - Need to Know! Fitness Terms & Exercise
Principles
Section 4 - Athletic Training Workout Design
Section 5 - Sports Lectures & Workouts
Section 6 - Another Game/Student Projects
Section 7 - More Sports!
Section 8 - It's All in Your Mind (at least 75%)
Section 9 - Personal Trainers & Group Instructors: How to
Use this Information
Correspondence Course Assignments
Online Course Descriptions
"How to Order."