You are here: Home / Archives for Training

4 Reasons to Become a Coach

July 22, 2011 By Leave a Comment

Coaching is one of the most rewarding teaching careers you can choose. Along with teaching children about their bodies and fitness, there are 4 very good reasons to become a coach.

  1. Fight Childhood Obesity - Obesity is an epidemic in the United States. Children simply don’t get the proper nutrition or exercise to keep a safe weight. This leads to diabetes, and that leads to a shorter lifespan. A coach is well positioned to teach children about good nutrition while introducing them to sports that become lifelong activities for them.
  2. Be a Positive Role Model – Many kids lack a positive role model in their lives. They have no real direction, and therefore lack personal discipline. Coaches are uniquely positioned as a figure of positive authority. As a coach you can help direct an aimless kid while instilling self-esteem and good character traits. Look into online Bachelors programs to get your coaching certificate.
  3. Help Kids Develop a Successful Career Path - It is hard to be a champion team, and this is a great parallel to life itself. It is hard to be successful as an adult. As a coach, you can help kids adjust to the ups and downs of winning and losing. Kids love to win, but they also need to know what it means to lose. Then they need to know how to overcome that loss and become champions.
  4. Be a Life-long Mentor – When asked which teacher influenced them the most, many young adults say it was a coach. Coaches are more than teachers. They are life-long mentors who often guide their students for many years after they graduate from school and embark on their own lives.

Coaching is about more than sports. It’s about life.

 

  • Share/Bookmark
Filed Under: Sports, Team Sports, Training Tagged With: , ,

When to Invest in a Personal Trainer

July 19, 2011 By Leave a Comment
Personal trainer showing a client how to exerc...

Image via Wikipedia

Sports require dedication and a certain level of fitness in order to achieve your goals. Through training and drills, you learn the skills needed for your particular sport. However, training alone does not condition your body for the necessary endurance and strength needed to play sports.

As per conducted surveys (through online survey software), there are three primary areas of fitness: muscle strengthening, core training, and aerobics. No matter what type of sport you play, whether it be gymnastics, track, or football, all three areas are essential to keeping your body in shape. Aerobics help build your overall activity endurance and help strengthen the heart and lungs. Muscle strengthening exercises help build muscle mass and stretch the body to increase flexibility. Core exercises encompass the strengthening of your back, hips, and stomach. A strong core is imperative for proper posture in sports and helps prevent sports-related injuries.

Taking these factors into consideration, it may seem daunting at first to know exactly what to do and how far you can reasonably push yourself while reaching your fitness goals. The key to increasing your fitness level is to gradually push your limits without over doing it. If you are not comfortable doing this on your own, or desire ways to maximize your fitness sessions in little time, you might consider hiring a personal trainer. You can find a local personal trainer by visiting http://www.411.ca.

Personal trainers can also help you customize your exercises based on the type of sports you play. For example, if you are a runner, you will need strong legs to help push you through to the next level. A trainer also keeps you accountable for all workouts. When you exercise alone, it is easy to skip out on a few minutes of exercise or reps. More importantly, a trainer will teach you proper techniques to avoid injuries. If you feel that a trainer can help assist you in meeting your sports and overall fitness goals, it is worth the investment.

  • Share/Bookmark
Filed Under: Equipment, Individual Sports, Training Tagged With: , ,

A Hydrated Athlete is a Safe Athlete

June 27, 2011 By Leave a Comment
Gatorade

Image via Wikipedia

One of the most important things you can do for your body while playing sports is stay hydrated. You see from watching in direc tv and movies how important this is. Hydration is very important in maintaining your body’s temperature. By not hydrating properly while participating in your sport, you could cause serious harms to your health. Athletes in the south are especially susceptible to dehydration while playing sports in the heat. During your game, you need to take steps to make sure you are staying properly hydrated.

The first step is to educate yourself on the harmful effects dehydration can cause your body. If your body becomes seriously hydrated on the field, you are at risk for heat exhaustion, heat stroke, and even death. Heat exhaustion occurs when your body’s core temperature reaches between 100.4 and 104 degrees. Symptoms include muscle cramps, fatigue, thirst, nausea, vomiting, and headaches. If you’re not treated properly, serious health issues can occur, including death. Heat stroke is a medical emergency that occurs when your body temperature reaches 104 degrees or higher. At this point, your health, and even your life, is at a critical risk. If heat stroke occurs, you should be immediately transported to the emergency room, and treated aggressively. Symptoms of heat exhaustion include hot, dry, flushed skin; confusion; unconsciousness; fast heart rate; and hyperventilation.

To avoid these serious conditions, you need to take steps to keep yourself hydrated during athletic events. Make sure you drink plenty of fluids during your event, even if you don’t feel thirsty. You should drink a lot of water before and after your event, too. Other liquids that will help prevent dehydration and replenish your electrolytes include Gatorade and other sports drinks, oranges, and orange juice, as well as bananas and carrots. Whatever drink you prefer, make sure you drink plenty of it.

If your school or gym doesn’t provide water or other liquids to replenish yourself during your game, make sure to bring plenty of your own.

  • Share/Bookmark
Filed Under: Nutrition, Sports, Training Tagged With: , ,

How to Properly Stretch Before Your Game

December 30, 2010 By Leave a Comment
Stretching

Image via Wikipedia

Athletes have to be very careful to properly prep themselves before a practice or a game. Without giving your muscles a chance to wake up, you could risk serious injury. By setting up a stretch routine for warming up before practices and games, you’ll ensure that your muscles are properly prepared for the vigorous workout you’re about to give them.  These stretches and more can be found on the Internet by using your laptops.

First do a pre-warm up by walking in place or lightly jogging. This will warm up your muscles. When you’re ready to start stretching, you’ll want to stretch in a particular order, performing small, circular movements with each area. You can work your way from your fingers to your toes in the following order:

-fingers and knuckles
-wrists
-elbows
-shoulders
-neck
-trunk/waist
-hips
-legs
-knees
-ankles
-toes

When you’ve completed all of the muscle groups, start with your toes again, and work your way back through to your fingers and knuckles. Move slowly to avoid overstretching. Begin slowly. You don’t have to touch your toes the first few times you start to stretch. You want to slowly build up your stretching routine like you would with any other exercise program.

While performing each stretch, hold the stretch in place for a count of ten. Breathe slowly, in and out, during your count, and then release the stretch slowly. Repeat, trying to push the stretch a little further, for another count of ten. Repeat this with each of the muscle groups going forward and backwards. You’ll want to take your time, and not rush through your stretch routine. The idea is to let all of your muscles wake up before revving them into high gear.

When starting your stretching routine, there are some things you should remember. Don’t bounce while you’re stretching. The idea is to wake your muscles up before you use them. Stretch both sides of your body in equal order. You can stretch each side of your body individually, or go back-and-forth with each muscle group. Consult your coach or trainer for additional advice and assistance.

  • Share/Bookmark
Filed Under: Sports, Training Tagged With: , ,

Strength Training and Sports

December 29, 2010 By Leave a Comment

One crucial element in sports training is strength training. Strength training provides so many benefits for an athlete who’s in training, including conditioning your body, improving endurance, improving performance, and maximizing strength. These days we’re having online degree programs, for strength and sports training, one can join then if you have no time to go to a special trainer. There are several elements that you need to include in your strength training routine.

Hypertrophy is the increase in muscle bulk and size, and is an element that should be included in your program if you’re training for contact sports that require you to withstand aggressive body impact, such as football and wrestling. Other athletes could actually find this a hindrance, and will not want to focus a lot of their strength training on this element. One thing you should consider when working on hypertrophy is that a large muscle is not necessarily a strong muscle.

Maximal strength is the highest level of force that you can generate. Its importance also varies among sports. However, the decision is not whether it should be included in your routine or not, but rather how long you concentrate on it during your training period. It can improve your endurance performance, but does not lead to an increase in muscle hypertrophy.

Explosive power is a singular maximal effort you can put behind an action, such as lifting a certain amount of weight. Again, this is not so important in all sports, but can lay the foundation to increase your potential in power development.

Strength endurance is the amount of strength your muscles can hold, and again is less likely to be an important factor in most sports. By including some brief strength endurance exercises into your routine, you can, however, help improve the amount of strength you can maintain over a long period of time.

Periodization is the concept of dividing your overall training plan into brief phases or periods, each of which is supposed to have a specific outcome. It allows your sport-specific strength to peak at its proper time, while minimizing your risk of over-training.

  • Share/Bookmark
Filed Under: Equipment, Sports, Training Tagged With: ,

The Athlete’s Diet

December 25, 2010 By Leave a Comment
Grain products are often baked, and are rich s...

Image via Wikipedia

It’s very important for athletes to eat a proper diet, and get the right nutrition in order to stay healthy and perform well. A healthy diet for an athlete includes a mix of carbohydrates, fats, proteins, vitamins, and minerals.

Carbohydrates provide 40 to 50 percent of athletes- energy requirements. Complex carbohydrates are found in foods like pasta, potatoes, cereals, and grain products. Simple carbohydrates are found in fruits, milk, honey, and sugar. Athletes who have an upcoming event where they’ll need to do a heavy workout for more than 90 minutes should eat a high carbohydrate diet for two to three days before the event.

Fats also provide fuel for the body. About half of the total energy expenditure from exercising comes from free fatty acid metabolism. Athletes with an event that lasts longer than an hour may mostly use the fats stored in their body for energy. Fat can contribute around 75 percent of the needed energy during a long aerobic workout in an endurance-trained athlete. Athletes’ total fat intake should be divided into thirds among saturated, polyunsaturated, and monounsaturated fats. Some good sources of the fats athletes’ bodies need include avocados, olive oil, nuts, salmon, and peanut oil.

Proteins provide energy after the body uses up the carbohydrates and fats. Depending on the type and frequency of the workout an athlete gets, the need for protein may increase. Around 10 to 12 percent of athletes-total daily calories should be enough to provide them with the amount they need. We also have online courses which help us in choosing the correct diet for us. A varied diet will supply the sufficient amount needed, and includes chicken, fish, turkey, beef, beans, cheese, and milk.

The increased amount of calories an athlete takes in when training will supply the needed vitamins and minerals. A proper amount of proteins, carbohydrates, potassium-rich foods, fruit, vegetables, whole grain breads, cereals, and dairy products will give provide the proper amount needed.

Water is also a very important part of athletes- diets for proper rehydration.

  • Share/Bookmark
Filed Under: Nutrition, Training Tagged With: , , ,

Team Building – A Very Important Part Of Training For Team Sports

December 19, 2010 By Leave a Comment
US Navy 040731-N-5862D-236 Master Chief Yeoman...

Image via Wikipedia

Good coaches always focus on team building exercises. When you are training as a team, it is important to understand that you will be operating against your instinct. Any and every sportsperson who has invested a lot of energy and effort in the training process will want good results. To find one’s effort being nullified because of flaws in other team member can be very painful.

It takes a lot to understand that working as a team requires accepting things that may seem unfair. The presence of a weak link should not just be tolerated. Rather, all other team members should take steps to encourage the weakest link to improve. This is the reason why we see many average athletes coming together and performing well as a team while a team full of Prima Donnas and individually brilliant athletes often fail to make it big.

Team building exercises are essential because working as a team under high pressure and high stress environment requires a lot of practice. It is important to adapt one’s expectations and desires to that of the team. At the end of the day, the individual must understand one’s role in the team and perform it well. All this should be a part of the training process. Nowadays, corporate agencies are borrowing exercises from sporting activities to build a sense of fraternity and cohesion in their team members.

Do not make the mistake of thinking that team building is a waste of time. To presume that everything will fall in place as long as each and every person does his or her job well will not work. There may be instances where you may have to put in that extra effort to cover for your team members who has failed. Not just in sports but it is equally true for other team works also like online trading broker and others. In most cases, teams succeed because they have persons who are not just good but are prepared to be better when the team requires them to be.

  • Share/Bookmark
Filed Under: Team Sports, Training Tagged With: , ,

Training And Performing As A Team – Be Wary Of Cliques In The Team

December 17, 2010 By Leave a Comment

There are certain basic rules and norms that must be followed when one is training together as a team. A certain level of bonding is expected between each and every member of the team. However, you certainly will have some team members with whom you are closer. This is perfectly acceptable and even advisable.

To have the same level of comfort with half a dozen individuals does not make sense. On the other hand, having closes sense of friendship or bonding with one of two members is often beneficial for the team. At the same time, it is important to make sure nobody is left out. People do not play sports just for commercial and monetary benefits. There is also a question of self respect and satisfaction.

At the end of the day, working together and sweating it out for success is what makes the effort worthwhile. If any team members feels isolated and left out, it is only going to backfire on the team’s performance. Hence, while close bonding between one and two members is acceptable, it should not end up in formation of a clique.

A team that solves its problems and issues off the field is the one that will perform well on the field. The training process should not only focus on the best case scenario but also on the worst case scenario. Sudden injury to a fellow team member and poor performance by a substitute should not be treated as an excuse. Rather, the training process should be so comprehensive that remaining members are in a position to step it up when needed.

To ensure this, it is important to identify where you differ with other team members. To know that you disagree with your team on specific points and to have the ability to deal with these disagreements in a professional manner is very important.

  • Share/Bookmark
Filed Under: Team Sports, Training Tagged With: , ,

Training Together As A Team – Important For The Coach To Get The Strategy Right

December 15, 2010 By Leave a Comment

The training process of a team invariably consists of certain procedures, routines and drills. The goal of training is to ensure each and every individual reaches minimum level of physical and mental fitness. From this point onwards, onus is upon the coach to identify the best individualized and specialized form of training. A person who is a natural athlete should be trained differently as compared to one who is not. A person with self doubts will require not just physical training but mental conditioning as well.

If the member is very good, then the coach can easily step it up and try to make him or her the star player of the team. On the other hand, if any member is just not up to the mark, the coach can go out of the way and set up a training regimen that will give the member a last shot at staying in the team.

This means that the training process should not only focus on winning the next game but also on converting the existing unit into a winning unit at all times. Needless to say, there are too many variable factors involved for any team to successfully win all the time. It is only an idealistic goal to ensure the training process caters to the specific requirements of individual.

Training is not just about lots of exercise and drills. It is also about smart changes in the diet. A person who does not enjoy a good health should resort to sports drinks to boost health. On the other hand, it is advisable to ensure team members do not become too muscular for their own good. Excessive muscle by spending lots of time pumping irons and consuming sports drinks may backfire where flexibility and agility is important. The team training process should consider all this and more.

  • Share/Bookmark
Filed Under: Team Sports, Training Tagged With: , ,

Avoid Stupid Ligament Tear Injuries – Stretch Properly Before Your Exercise

December 13, 2010 By Leave a Comment

Do you know how to stretch properly? How many times have you seen an inconvenient ligament tear or hamstring injury hampering the performance of your team? Nine times out of ten, the root lies in the improper stretching habits of the team members.

What is the purpose of stretching? Why don’t you take a rubber band and stretch it to its maximum elasticity in a single jerk? Chances are high that three out of five rubber bands will snap immediately. Only two will withstand the immense load. On the other hand, if you stretch in a graded manner, you will find that all the rubber bands get stretched to their maximum elasticity.

This is exactly how the human body works. The level of physical exertion placed on the body should proceed in a graded manner. Of course, you cannot request your opponents to run slowly to ensure your body warms up, can you? That is the reason why one should carry out stretching exercise before the match.

Another significant advantage of stretching exercises is that it ensures proper flow of blood to various parts of the body. Improper blood flow can lead to cramps. It can also affect performance as rate of deterioration of muscles is higher when supply of oxygen is not proper.

Just as you take your vehicle from the first gear to the fourth in a graded manner to ensure adequate supply of fuel, you should stretch repeatedly to make sure that your body is well prepared for the immense burst that you need to put to win the match.

Stretching is essential for not just preparing the body to work hard but also to help the body relax properly. That is the reason why you see teams stretching themselves even after the match as ended. This helps avoid wear and tear for the future.

  • Share/Bookmark
Filed Under: Nutrition, Sports, Training Tagged With: , ,
« Older Posts