Change of Seasons; Change of Sports; Practice Sports Conditioning

When the seasons change, our sports change. Our exercise program should change, too. Preparing your body for a different sport prevents injuries, enhances recovery , and improves performance.
Here in Colorado’s Aspen Valley, cyclists are in their best shape in the fall. In the quiet red-rock town of Basalt, cyclists have been enjoying the riding along the scenic Frying Pan River. They have been fine-tuning their cycling muscles for months.
But now our attention turns to Aspen’s ski slopes. In fact, months before the ski resorts open for ski season, some locals work on getting their “skiers’ legs” in the backcountry.

Cycling to Skiing: two Sports Conditioning styles.

Let’s compare cycling and skiing to demonstrate the different requirements of these sports on our bodies. First, cyclists work on staying in a tucked position. The muscles on the front of the body, that put cyclists in a forward-flexed position, are strong and tight. And the positioning of a cyclists’ body over their bikes is different than a skier’s stance.Cycling also occurs within a limited space around one’s bicycle. Riding efficiently and maintaining balance on a bike requires a rider to tighten around the bike. The goal is to limit the area within which they work; i.e., to minimize their “work-space”.
Skiers, on the other hand, are unlikely to be as space-conscious. Their work-space is not so strictly defined. And unless they are competitive speed-skiers, they do not need to practice staying tightly-tucked.
For cyclists who ski in the backcountry before “ski resort season”, their muscles are not conditioned for the change in sports. Backcountry skiing requires a different sense of balance than cycling or skiing on groomed trails. The work-space is broader in the backcountry. Terrain may suddenly change beneath the skier’s feet. The skier must adapt and rebalance continually as they move.
Other conditions affect the transition in seasonal sports. These include: past injuries, your overall physical activity levels, weather and environment, and participation in other sports.

Sports Injury Prevention.

When changing sports, your first priority should be to prevent injuries. Before one season ends, you should be conditioning your body for the upcoming sport. If you are in great physical condition, you may be able to prepare in 4-6 weeks. But 8 weeks is optimal. If you have any preexisting injuries, you may need longer.
If you do not make a physical transition, you are predisposing yourself to injury. If you are recovering from an injury, you should start the next sport at a low physical intensity. Take basic first aid precautions whenever necessary. Icing sore muscles and getting aerobic exercise will remove the soreness and speed recovery.

Recovery.

Getting physically conditioned for the next sport will aid recovery in two ways. First, it will improve the healing environment so that preexisting injuries may heal. Your injury may be aggravated by your current sport. Or maybe your injury can’t heal while you’re training for your current sport. Changing your training may allow your injury to rest and heal.
Second, as you start to practice the next sport, being physically prepared will allow your muscles to respond better to their new requirements. You are less likely to become sore from new activities, and less likely to get injured. Your muscles will recover faster. This will make you feel energized, stronger, and ready to get out have more fun!

Better Athletic Performance.

Pre-conditioning for your sport results in enhanced performance. What is performance, and how can it be improved?
Performance means your ability to participate in a sport. It includes your muscles’ abilities to perform, or execute, the basic moves of that sport. Performance also refers to how you feel while practicing the sport.
Performance refers to measurements and artistic expression, too. It might refer to the time requirements of performing the basic activities. It might refer to the level of difficulty in executing certain moves. It might refer to the fluidity, creativity, and artistry of the sport.
If you practice your sport for fun and recreation, then enhancing performance might mean that you end the day without injuries or feeling wrecked! Improving performance means “More Play-time”!

Starting a pre-Conditioning program

When you start to condition for your upcoming sport, consider all of the factors described so far. How are the sports different? What condition is your body in? Do you have injuries? What does performance mean to you?
Hiring a personal trainer or a coach can make the transition easier. Trainers can make it more fun, too. They have the coaching tools to make those athletic dreams come true! They may motivate you to have your best season ever!

In conclusion, seasonal sports conditioning is an effective way to prevent injuries, treat injuries you already have, aid muscle recovery, and enhance athletic performance for the new sport.

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How to become a better footballer

Football (or soccer as the 'non-Brits' refer to it as) is the most popular sport in the World. Millions of people play, at various levels, every single day. Most people play for fun, others professionally, however the aim of the game is almost always the same - WIN! During the course of the article I am going to suggest ways to becoming a better footballer (and thus increasing your and your teams chances of winning matches). All the suggestions made will result in improvements in your game, however some will take longer than others to 'flourish'. Here goes:

FITNESS:

Watch the top footballers and you will notice that they produce a lot of movement during the 90 minutes, often running 10-15km in the process. To do this requires high levels of cardiovascular fitness. To gain such fitness requires dedication and discipline. Another sport where participants have very high levels of fitness, probably more so than footballers, is boxing (maybe not always the heavyweights!). Therefore, my suggestion to improve your fitness would be train like a boxer! Not in sparring etc, but by rising early (ideally between 5-6am) and putting in a session. This should ideally include a distance run followed by cardiovascular activities such as skipping, star jumps etc. Add to that push-ups, crunchies and sit-ups and your fitness will begin to improve significantly. Ideally I would suggest your session should be no less than 1 hour, at least 4-5 times a week. Training so early will kick-start your metabolism for the day plus psychologically it will give you a sense achievement which should motivate you day ahead.

GOAL!:
Rise at 5.30am, 5 times a week and complete a 4-5Km run followed by 5 x 20 push-ups, 5 x 20 crunchies, 5 x 40 star jumps, 5 x 20 burpees, then hold the PLANK POSITION for as long as possible.

TIP: This will seem difficult at first, but once you are into a routine it becomes easy. Have training clothes next to your bed and focus your mind so that you get out of bed immediately when your alarm goes off. Don't think about what your about to do, JUST DO IT!

DIET:

You are what you eat / drink. You wouldn't put the incorrect fuel into your car, so why put it into your body? Your performance will be affected by what you eat / drink - in the short term and in the long term. Therefore, your overall diet should be well balanced with large potions of green vegetables and salad. Avoid junk food which you know to be detrimental to you - I don't need to list these foods, you know them already, but they just taste too good! Right? 'Garbabge' - they taste good at time of consumption, but how do you feel afterwards once your taste buds have returned to state - I'm guessing it's not great! Improving at anything requires discipline and often sacrifice. Give up the junk food and the benefits which follow will be far in excess of the 'quick fix' pleasure these foods provide.

Your water intake should be high - you should never actually feel thirsty as this is an early sign of dehydration. Replace consumption of fizzy drinks, tea and coffee with water. Drink a minimum of 2 litres and maximum of 5 litres (dependant on body size and intensity of exercise(s) performed) each day. Carry water with you at all-times, don't leave dehydration any invitations into your body!

GOAL!:
Drink 2-5 litres of water everyday , whilst avoiding fizzy drinks, tea and coffee. Eat portion(s) of green vegetables / salad or fruit with every meal. Snack every 2-4 hours on fruit / salad / vegetables or nuts. Eliminate junk food from your diet completely.

TIP: Discipline and dedication are again the key. You don't become an extraordinary footballer by doing ordinary things!

Temperament and focus before, during and after a match is a key ingredient to making a footballer better. Before a match you should focus on what the overall aim is. That focus must remain strong and constant throughout. This should not make you fearful or nervous, but ultimately guide you towards achievement. If you make an error or wastes an opportunity, this should not affect your focus as your goal is still the same. It is unlikely that your overall aim was to score at that particular moment or not to make that error at that exact time. Therefore, concentrate on what you can achieve in the remaining time, there will be plenty of time to review performance after the match has finished.

Finally, once the match has ended focus on winning or losing with dignity. This will not just make you a better footballer, but a better person.

GOAL!:
Before a match spend 15-30 minutes focusing on what you actually want to achieve. Be clear of your outcome. So often people fail because they don't know exactly what they are wanting to achieve.

DO THE SIMPLY THINGS WELL AND OFTEN:

Not every footballer can do the things Cristiano Ronaldo, Zindine Zidane or Lionel Messi can do. But, all footballers can learn to do the simple skills often and well. I'm not trying to banish 'flare' and extravagant skill, rather dilute it. Learning to play short passes accurately and directly 100% of the time is an enormous advantage to any player. Great players, such as Paul Scholes and Claude Makele, are experts at doing the easy things well. This is something all players should adopt.

GOAL!:
Practice short passes, correct positioning, striking off the ball, tackling etc often and for a long period of time. Many players believe because they have mastered a technique they don't have to practice it any more - when in fact mastery and improvement comes from repeatedly practising an already learned skill. This sort of dedication and commitment ensures that in the crucial moments of a game when performing a skill or technique is vital you will be prepared.

LEARN FROM THE BEST:

Why re-invent the wheel? If you want to become a top footballer, benchmark a top footballer. They may have natural skill, but to get to the level they have achieved is not by chance. If you want to get to the level of a certain player(s) copy what they do on a regular basis (the beauty of benchmarking is you can take the positives and eliminate any negative routines the player may have!). With footballers living their life in the media spotlight and all sorts of data being openly available on the internet, it's never been easier to benchmark.

GOAL!:
Chose a World Class player(s) you admire both on and off the pitch. Collect information regarding their diet, training methods and fitness ideas. Study their movement and all-round play in a number of games. Record games which they have played extremely well and analyse their qualities. Possibly contact them directly for advice and hints - if done elegantly, with your reasons for contacting them clearly stated, they should be more than happy to oblige.

Combine all the above with belief and you will most definitely become a better footballer.

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