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Sport Training

While fitness athletes and bodybuilders train primarily to change the appearance of their physiques, other athletes can tailor a strength training program to improve various aspects of their sports performance. When designing a sports strength training program, however, it has to be specific to the requirements of your sport. You need to consider the following:

• The movement patterns of your sport, and which muscles are used.
• The relative importance of strength, power, hypertrophy and muscular endurance in your sport.
• Which muscles or joints are most prone to injury and therefore need strengthening.
• The priorities of your sport's season - i.e. off-season, pre-season, in-season and post­season.
• Your fitness level and training experience.

General Guidelines for Strength Training for Sport

1. Use different programs for each season, focusing on developing only one of these goals (e.g. strength). Attempting to improve in two or more areas (e.g. strength and muscular endurance) simultaneously will produce only mediocre improvements.
2. During the off-season focus on developing your strength and hypertrophy.
3. Pre-season training should focus on one particular fitness aspect (e.g. power, muscular endurance or strength) that is relevant to the sport. Use one of the programs detailed below.
4. During the season, concentrate on maintaining your fitness and staying
   injury free. The frequency and duration of your strength training workouts should be reduced and the exercises should be more sport-specific.
5. Include mostly compound exercises in your program. They will increase your balance and co ordination while increasing strength. Keep isolation exercises to a minimum and schedule at the end of your workout.
6. Keep rest periods fairly short (between 60 and 90 seconds) to mimic the demands of your sport.
7. Choose a weight with which the set becomes difficult by the last 1-2 repetitions.
8. Maintain strict form for each repetition, using the complete range of movement.
9. Emphasize quality rather than quantity.

Now here are different Sports Training Programs depending on your sport:

• Athlete strength training workout

• Strength training workout for Swimming

• Strength training workout for football

Each of the workouts given above are further divided into two sections of in-season strength training workout and off-season strength training workout.