After a long, hard summer the last thing any athlete wants to be thinking about is doing more training, but staying fit in the summer is vital to reducing the risk of injury during pre-season. Even though an athlete has every right to plan their rest and relaxation and recharge the batteries after a hard season, there is good evidence to suggest that those who focus on maintaining fitness over the off season will reduce their injury risk in pre-season. Let’s take athletics for example, a predominantly summer sport which is now in it’s off-season before the hard work begins again in a few weeks. Athletics is a sport where optimum performance is needed in specific blocks of competition phase. Blogging this will be my third year in third grade, and essay help website my third year blogging with students! But in the winter, during pre-season is where the most critical gains can be made. The High Performance Centre at Perform St. George’s Park offers accessible physiotherapy treatment to all from amateur and elite athletes recovering from injury, surgery or suffering with general aches and pains. Perform are able to offer specialist sports injury physiotherapy treatment to get you back to your normal lifestyle as quickly and safely as possible. You are ensured to receive the best possible treatment plan for your individual needs, which is tailor-made for you. So the question is: what is the least you can do in the off-season to maintain your fitness and ensure that pre-season isn’t too great a change in loading?
Steve Kemp, elite physiotherapist at Perform would recommend an initial Regeneration phase. This includes conditioning work that incorporates light aerobic conditioning to increase cardiac output and aid recovery. This should be followed by the Preparation phase. Here alactic training at near maximal intensity for a very brief duration should be included. The final phase is speed training. This involves alactic speed sessions working to maximal speed over a sport-specific distance. This will improve cardiac power and help improve repeated sprint ability. For more information or to enquire about our physio services, please contact the Perform team on 01283 576333 or email.