- Don’t forget strength training
Staying consistent with strength training can be challenging whilst in the middle of a long and gruelling season. However, strength training is important not only for injury prevention and staying on the park, but also to be in a physical condition to perform at your best. There are many ways to modify your strength training in season to avoid DOMS or feeling heavy for your game on the weekend. These include:
- Reducing Volume – reduce the number of sets or reps.
- Reduce Load – you don’t always have to hit a PB.
- Modifying range of motion – For example reduce your squat depth to bench height.
- Full Body Sessions – Incorporate push/pull (vertical & horizontal), legs, core and
power in your program.
2. Recovery!
A solid recovery plan is important to have the capacity to perform week in-week out. Know your body and employ the best techniques that work best for you. Some love the famous ice bath; but some other effective strategies include:
- Sleep - Sleep is arguably the most important yet under-appreciated element of recovery. Aim for 7-9 hours of sleep. Adequate sleep ensures sufficient time for muscle recovery and repair, as well as psychological recovery.
- Refuel & Hydration - Replenish your body after that long and tough game. A nice healthy dose of protein and
carbohydrates is key to facilitate muscle growth and repair, as well as topping up our main
source of fuel. Don’t forget to stay hydrated too! Dehydration can impair your muscle’s ability for repair. - Active Recovery - An active recovery the day after a game can offer numerous benefits. A low intensity bout of exercise, whether swimming, bike riding or steady jog has been shown to increase blood flow to the affected muscles, help reduce soreness, and eliminate metabolic by-products of exercise such as lactic acid.
3. Rehab doesn’t mean stop training
So…you have picked up the dreaded calf strain, or you have a nasty ankle sprain. Our philosophy at Enhance is that “rehabilitation is training in the presence of injury”. This means that rehab doesn’t have to take over, we embed it into your training program. It might even give you a chance to work on an aspect of performance that you don’t typically work on during the season. Modified training drills will also make sure you stay involved.
4. Meet the demands of gameday in training (and in rehab!)
Let’s take hamstrings as an example here. When sprinting at top speed, the power produced by your hamstring muscles is incredibly high compared to even a fast run! But how often can we say we are sprinting at absolutely 100% during training? As a hamstring injury prevention strategy, we have a group at Strathmore football club of about 10 players that complete sprints at the end of training once weekly to ensure they remain ready to go. Different sports have different demands from both a muscle power and energy system perspective – and it is important to condition these.
5. Get your niggles looked after!
In a long season of football, basketball, dancing or any sport you are participating in, you may come across a small niggle or more significant injury at some point. This is where we are here to help. See your physio or osteo to formulate a rehab plan to get you back to sport and performance as soon as possible. Nothing gives us greater satisfaction than seeing you get back and firing.
Enhance is a Physiotherapy service specialising in assessing and treating sports and musculoskeletal conditions. All therapists have completed or are undergoing postgraduate study. We are passionate about providing Melbourne’s western and north western suburbs with premium physiotherapy services and are always looking for medical and allied health professionals to work with in our area. If you require a physiotherapist’s opinion or management, please do not hesitate to reach out to us through any of the avenues above.