Does your training regimen work toward improving different aspects of your athletic performance? Do you train different muscle functions, energy systems, and corrective reactions? Or do you train the same way day in and day out, and don't know why your performance doesn't improve? Variety is the spice of life, and it's no different when we are working out. Changing your workout allows you to address deficits and recover fatigued areas so you can push to new levels.
Most people will find a training routine that they like, or that they think will take them where they want to get to, and they commit to that one routine everyday. At first they will see great changes that makes them feel that this routine is really working. After a while though, the gains slow down. Sometimes the gains stop, or even start to disappear. While they have made gains in how much weight they can lift or how far they can run, they have sacrificed how flexible, fast, or strong they can be. Why is that? It's due to overtraining one system too much, which has deteriorated how they handle a variety of tasks and challenges.
How do we combat this overtraining phenomenon? Sometimes it actually requires rest. A day or several off, some extra and better sleep, more food intake. It can also be addressed by changing your workout, or changing your daily routine. Think about professional athletes. They have an off season for a reason. They need to take time off, change their routine, allow themselves to recover, and challenge different parts of their body. Everyone has the same need, from professional athlete, to recreational adventurer, to weekend warrior, to desk jockey. Our body craves a variety of input, and it thrives when we provide that.
A workout regiment should not be the same day in and day out. If you wanted great looking arms, you can't lift arms every single day. That will burn you out. Some days you need to lift your back, workout your legs, focus on your abs, and even take a day of rest. We can have cycles that focus on an area, and that cycle can last several weeks, but to take it to the next level, we need to change it after that cycle is complete. That allows us to make new gains, address new found deficits, and recover.
When working to increase athleticism, we find that having a variety of exercise focus during the week allows us to address multiple areas all at once. We can address strength, power, endurance, flexibility, and balance, without having burnout of overtraining one area. This allows us to have better athletic performance day to day.
One of our training tactics we use to increase athleticism is a weekly plan that addresses different functions each day. We will have athletes train six days a week, and have one day off for recovery. Our week looks like this:
Day One: Core strengthening
Day Two: Jump Landing Mechanics
Day Three: Strength Training
Day Four: Trunk Rotation Stability
Day Five: Jump Training
Day Six: Balance Training
Day Seven: Rest and Active Recovery
This schedule allows our athletes to focus on different aspects of performance, while allowing enough recovery time of each system. We also have them work toward their own specific goals by not overloading them with too much. That means, if an athlete wants to work on more strength training, they can. If they want to run or hike, they can. If they want to play basketball or swim, they can. By not overloading them, they can still work on their specific goals outside our training routine. #snowbeastperformance