This Is Not Specific To Any Sport I Have Ever Seen
“Sport Specific Training” is the biggest buzz word in athlete performance today, but no one really knows exactly what it means. What is Sport Specific Training?
If you Google it or ask any strength coach who is trying to sell you something, they will show you a ton of whacky exercises consisting of big bouncy balls, cones, hurdles, vibrating plates (seriously?), and whatever else they just dropped thousands of dollars on. The problem though is this type of training has minimal (if any) carry over to the actual sport and actually hurts the athletes performance in the long run from over use and lack of absolute strength.
This is a business or trainer trying to sell you on something that looks difficult, not many people can do, seems cutting edge, but in reality provides no sort of performance enhancement to any athletes.
I See MLB And NFL Athletes In This Pose At Least Once A Game
To actually figure out what exactly “sport specific training” (SST from now on) should consist of, lets take a look at what actually makes someone a better athlete in general.
- Power
- Quickness
- Strength
- Muscular Balance
- Remaining Injury Free
These are what is going to make you better at any sport. These are also the things that are basic, not flashy, and hard to learn, perform, and teach. This is why most coaches try to skip this phase and/or the athlete thinks they are above it and need something more specialized.
No matter how long you can balance on a stability ball to “activate your core” while pressing, that has zero carry over to any sport that I have ever played or coached. When was the last time you saw someone who didn’t have a foot on the ground in a static position trying to work their core in the middle of a game?
Only Ninjas Should Be Allowed To Do This Type Of Training
So what is SST and how do you do it correctly? First you must go back to the basics. I have many parents and athletes come to me and ask about position specific programs when the athlete doesn’t even have the strength to squat correctly, perform over 10 good push-ups, or do even a single pull-up. You can train for your position all you want, but if you don’t get stronger and learn how to apply power to the ground or the object you are trying to move, then no amount of ladder drills, running exercises, or one arm bench presses off a stability ball will make you better.
The only position that type of athlete is training for is either in the training room due to muscle weakness, imbalance, and overuse injuries, or on the bench because they don’t have the power to actually utilize their talents at the top level.
So what is the best way to become a better athlete and make sure you are always progressing?
Take a look at this pyramid.
It seems that most coaches, parents, and athletes although they mean well and just want the most for the player have it upside down. This isn’t their fault, it is just what is thrown at them when it comes to sports training and the marketing associated with it.
The bottom rung is called General Physical Preparedness (GPP). This means preparing yourself to do anything to the best of your ability (aka become a better athlete). This is the training that builds the foundation that every athlete needs to make sure they are fast, powerful, explosive, and healthy. This type of training corrects muscle imbalances, teaches the entire body how to be powerful, and provides the level of strength that helps an athlete succeed even in a crappy situation. Oops mis-hit a curve-ball and dribbled it to the 2nd baseman? If you were stronger that mis-hit would have dropped in for a base hit just from the extra strength.
Next is Specific Physical Preparedness (SPP). This is the explosion, speed, and quickness work that actually has a beneficial effect only after the athlete has a great level of base strength and muscular balances. This is when we start getting a little more specific towards each sport. Short sprints for football and baseball players, or explosive jumps for a basketball player etc. This is where most “Sports Performance Centers” start and unfortunately because of that the athletes never develop that base level of strength and balance that carries over directly to their sports.
Once these two levels are covered and maximized, then and only then do you start worrying about specific drills that relate directly over to an athletes specific role or position in their sport.
It isn’t pretty, flashy or fancy, but if you are an athlete and you don’t have that base level of GPP then no matter what type of SST you do, you will never be the best possible athlete on the field or court.
This is why it is so important in developing as an athlete, to get in a program that places you not based on your age, but on what you need to work on to become the best and makes sure every athlete starts exactly where they need to be in order to maximize their athletic potential while remaining healthy.
If you are in the Houston area and want to maximize your athletic potential and are willing to work to become the best then Genesis Athletic Performance is for you. Contact us today to set up your FREE trial and start getting ahead of the competition.
