5 Myths About
Sports Conditioning That Are Holding You Back:
by Troy M Anderson
In
life we are surrounded by numerous myths and half-truths, the
Loch Ness Monster, Big Foot, UFOs in Roswell, and Crop Circles
just to name a few. No one quite knows if any of these things
really exists or if they are just stories told by people for purposes
only they know. Sports conditioning has much in common with these
mythological occurrences.
Over the past several months, I have answered a gamut of questions
from numerous Revolution players with topics ranging from pre-competition
nutrition to exercise performance questions. All have been valid
and good questions. However, I have also had to dispel more than
a few myths about strength training and sports conditioning as
well. All of which has led to the development of this article
in an effort to dismiss as many of the common myths as possible
with one fell-stroke of the keyboard. So, without further ado,
here are the top five myths related to strength training and sports
conditioning:
1.Myth: Strength Training Will Make Me Bulky
At the heart of this common misconception is the way men and women
who perform strength training are depicted in many well known
“fitness” magazines. You must understand that the individuals
in those magazines are not only genetically pre-disposed to gain
outrageous amounts of muscle, they also are using very large doses
of anabolic and androgenic drugs.
Not getting “bulky” is a concern that I have often heard from
both ordinary trainees and athletes. First, “bulky” needs to be
defined. I assume that the reference to not wanting to be “bulky”
is the desire not to look like the people in the "fitness" magazines.
Fortunately, for those of you concerned with the “bulky factor”,
you have absolutely nothing to worry about. It is entirely possible
to be strong, very strong, without gaining significant amounts
of lean body mass (muscle). As matter of fact, that is exactly
how the majority of elite athletes train. Adding extra lean mass
is not necessarily conducive to improved performance. However,
being stronger and more powerful definitely are.
If you still think that you can’t be strong without being bulky,
below is a picture of former USA Olympic Weightlifting Champion
Tara Cunningham:
http://www.nbcolympics.com/athletebios/5004740/detail.html
Stats:
Ht: 5’1”
Wt: 106 lbs
Performance
Snatch: 177.5 lbs
Clean and Jerk: 209 lbs
She looks pretty athletic, definitely strong, and very “non-bulky”.
Truth: Strength Training Will Not Make You "Bulky"!
2.Myth: Trash Doesn't Stink
Often when working with athletes, I find it necessary to “dial”
them back on their training a little bit as it seems they judge
the effectiveness of a training session on whether or not they
walk away absolutely “wasted”. This is a faulty method of quantifying
a productive session. Usually by the time you reach the “heavy
breathing, sweat drenched” end of a program, you have long since
surpassed the productive portion of your training. This type of
training is what I call “Trash Training”. You are basically “trashing”
your body, your ability to recover, and, most importantly, your
PROGRESS.
The best way to avoid “trash training” is to keep an accurate
training log. That way you can refer back to previous performance,
get into your session, and make progress toward becoming a better
footy player. Progress can be measured as lifting 2.5 more pounds
on a barbell squat, running .1 second faster in a 50 meter run,
or performing one more pull-up. None of this quantifiable information
will be available to you, however, if you do not keep a training
log. Continuous progress is the only way strength and conditioning
training is going to positively impact your performance. Otherwise,
you are just wasting energy that could be spent elsewhere.
If you think of training in the following terms, it might help
you to understand the point I am making. When you go into work
every day, you don’t contemplate how to make the work you are
going to do that day as difficult as humanly possible, do you?
Of course not. You think of ways to make your work more efficient
and productive. Well, the same goes for your strength and conditioning
work.
Truth: Trash Does Stink!
3.Myth: More Is Always Better
One of the primary concerns I hear from footy players is they
don't have the ability to perform longer bouts of running, in
the range of 2-4 miles. Although I do understand how this common
misconception can be fostered by watching AFL level players routinely
log 16-24 miles per game, what must be understood, and thus prioritized,
is that sports training should as closely mimic the sporting activity
as is possible. Even if you are in top condition, the pace at
which 2-4 miles is run is nowhere near the pace at which a game
of footy is played. In footy, the majority of activity is composed
of relatively short, intense bouts of work followed by some sort
of recovery movement. Hence, it makes sense for a footy player's
conditioning to mimic that process. Performing interval running,
fartlek drills, and running multiple 50-400 meter sprints would
all be very applicable components of a footy conditioning program.
If the goal is for your training to have a profound effect on
your game performance, then run fast for short to moderate distances.
You will develop more than adequate conditioning for footy.
Truth: More Is Not Always Better!
4.Myth: "Insanity Training" Gets Results
A commonly accepted definition of insanity is: to repeat the same
activity over and over while expecting a different result each
time. Many athletes take this same approach with their sports
conditioning as well. Once upon a time, they found a program that
worked awesomely for them. They have used it for years and are
very comfortable with it because they're good at it. I call this
"Insanity Training".
There are two very specific problems with "insanity training":
1.There is NO perfect program. Just because it worked well for
you at one point in time, does not mean that it will continue
to work well for you if you perform it consistently for a long
period of time. Here's a thought. If a perfect program had been
discovered, don’t you think that everyone would be using it?
2.People do not like to change. They like to stick with what they
know. The same goes for exercise programs. We tend to stick to
protocols and exercises that we enjoy and are good at doing. When
in reality, we should be doing exercises that address our “weak”
areas.
Three quick ways to keep your training out of the “Nut House”:
1.Change your program every 4 weeks regardless of how successfully
things are going. It's only a matter of time until the benefits
of the program start to fade.
2.When you change your program, select exercises that you dislike
and add them to your new program. Chances are these are the areas
that you need to work the most. Also, just so you don’t end up
hating the entire program, superset a “hated” movement with a
movement that you love. For example, combine Romanian Deadlifts
and Bicep Curls.
3.Lastly, get a coach, or at the very least an objective observer,
to analyze your program, and even better, write a program for
you. There are two benefits to this. The coach/observer won’t
have the same exercise biases that you do, and you are more likely
to comply with a program that someone else has written due to
the actual or perceived obligation to not disappoint that person.
These are just a couple of quick ways to insure that your training
doesn’t end up like a fat person on a stationary bike: going nowhere!
Truth: "Insanity Training" Does Not Get Results!
5.Myth: It's A Beauty Contest
I know many of you have heard the saying “all show and no go”.
I am also sure that each and every one of you has observed this
type of player. You know, the body of Adonis coupled with the
performance of a 1981 Yugo. There are many factors that contribute
to this phenomenon, but one of the main ones is the prevalence
of athletes using bodybuilding training programs. Don’t get me
wrong here. In some instances, muscle hypertrophy (growth) is
very beneficial, but there is a distinct difference between effective
sports conditioning programs and bodybuilding programs. The main
difference is that strength and conditioning routines for sports
are primarily focused on improving the athlete’s performance in
his/her chosen sport. Bodybuilding programs are designed to do
just that – build the body, primarily the muscles.
Now, let’s shift the focus to footy. Some things required by a
footy player are hip and leg strength and power and strength in
the trunk and upper body. Strength in the hips and legs allows
the player to kick the ball and move about the ground at an effective
pace. Strength in the trunk and upper body gives the player stability
when confronted with an awkward body position and allows the player
to perform tackles and shepherds with brutal efficiency. Did you
notice any mention of beautiful, bulging biceps and triceps or
pumped up pecs? Nope. Nada. None. Not a single mention.
Do you know why? Two reasons really:
1. Those areas get effective training from performing exercises
such as squats, deadlifts, pull-ups, over-head presses, etc. As
a matter of fact, the above exercises provide more than enough
of a training effect to keep those muscle groups plenty strong
for the demands placed on them during the sport.
2. Performing specific exercises for those body parts falls lower
on the priority list than those exercises that are going to more
readily assist you in becoming a better footy player.
And that's what it's all about really -- becoming a better footy
player, right? Which brings us to what may be the biggest sports
conditioning myth of all: Bruno Got Kick-Ass Results, So Will
You. You know the story. A friend of a friend's brother's sister's
boyfriend Bruno did this particular program and got kick-ass results,
so, of course, it will work the same magic for you. The problems
with these types of stories/myths are that they may or may not
be true, people may be telling them simply to sell a particular
program, and you don't personally know Bruno. For all you know,
Bruno's kick-ass results may be due to the fact that he was a
stereotypical 90 lb weakling before starting the program or maybe
he was training to be Mr. Olympia. What is probably true is that
Bruno is not a footy player, and despite results of mythological
proportions, his program is totally inappropriate for footy conditioning.
Truth: Bruno Got Kick-Ass Results, You Are Not Bruno.
The first thing you must ask yourself before you start a sports
conditioning program is whether or not this program will make
you better at your sport, and if so, how. If the answer is YES,
then by all means proceed. If, however, the answer is NO, then
you should seriously assess why you would want to undertake such
a program. The next question to ask is whether the program is
going to help you strengthen or eliminate weaknesses in your footy
game or simply further develop areas in which you are already
very proficient. Finally, you have to determine if you have the
resources available to accomplish your goals. Resources can be
anything from training equipment to time to physical stature.
They all play a role in how productive and successful a player
you will become. If you are going to perform a strength and conditioning
program to assist you in becoming a better footy player, why not
perform it using the most effective protocols and techniques available
for your sport?
Hopefully, this article has helped dispel some of the more commonly
held myths about strength and conditioning for sports and that
you will soon be well on your way to your own kick-ass results
as a footy player.
For more articles and information about optimizing your training
programs, be sure to head on over to Coach Anderson’s website
www.integratedevolution.org and check out all the FREE information
available. Also, if you are interested in receiving monthly training
and nutrition information, be sure to subscribe to my newsletter
The Evolutionary at www.integratedevolution.org
Providing clear-cut sports conditioning programs designed for
athletes who are tired of making the wrong decisions about their
training programs.
Troy M Anderson, US Revolution Strength and Conditioning Coach
Integrated Evolution, LLC
integratedevolution@cox.net
www.integratedevolution.org
About the Author
Troy M. Anderson is the owner of Integrated Evolution, LLC,
of Tempe, AZ. For more great tips about strength training conditioning,
and other fitness information, be sure to head on over to Coach
Anderson’s website www.integratedevolution.org and check out all
the information available. Also, to subscribe to my newsletter
The Blue Collar Fitness Report at www.integratedevolution.org
