With these 10 strategies, you can dominate in the gym and on the pitch. Take your fitness to the next level.
No matter what sport you play, two of the best professional sports trainers will teach you how to develop your strength, quickness, and agility.
1. Unwind and release
Myofascial release is a type of deep-tissue massage that makes your body more flexible and deactivates uncomfortable muscle knots. Use a foam roller, lacrosse ball, softball, golf ball, or massage stick to perform this on your own. Make fluid passes, and if you experience any tightness or knots, roll that region out briefly to help it loosen up, advises Joe Kenn, C.S.C.S., head strength and conditioning coach for the NFL's Carolina Panthers. "When you perform your movement, that muscle group will contract." Your ability to squat, bend, and jump will be hampered if your glutes are tight, Kenn says. Work on your tissues both before and after workouts to prepare for action.
2. Make use of your muscles
Your body benefits greatly from bands. You can stabilize joints by stabilizing them as a result of muscles contracting in response to the resistance of the band. Following the self-myofascial release, Kenn advises using a vertical pull to engage the muscles. "Stand on a band, hold it in both hands, raise your front arm over your head as high as you can, then lower it to create a T. Repeat by bringing your arms back up over your head, doing an overhead shrug, and returning to mid-level.
3. Dim the lights.
You enter an ideal anabolic (muscle-building) state for growth when you sleep. The ideal amount of sleep, according to Kenn, is between seven and nine hours. He continues, "I would advocate a minimum of seven hours of sleep if you have a full workday ahead of you before you go to the gym. Get some rest, whether you train in the morning, the evening, or both.
4. Pay attention to compound motions
The usage of many joints simultaneously during compound exercises like power cleans, squats, overhead presses, and deadlifts allows for the development of additional muscle. Kenn advises using ground-based exercises. As the name implies, you spend the majority of these motions with your feet on the ground, which teaches your body how to apply and absorb force through the ground. "In terms of squatting, I would rank the front squat as No. 1 because it puts you in a more upright posture, which is more conducive to the position that you'll get in for most starting stances [in sports]." For full-body strength increases, get low and execute the exercises correctly.
5. Start leaping
You must undertake exercises that make your motions more explosive if you want to improve performance in your sport or at the gym. "Jumping will transfer into sports with a vertical component," claims Kenn. If you improve your leaping and landing techniques, you'll see a lot of benefits if you play basketball or volleyball. To increase athleticism, Kenn advises squat jumps, box jumps, and rapid vertical jumps (with the least amount of time on the ground as possible).
6. Team up
A competitive atmosphere and a "get it done" mindset are fostered by training with a partner or in a group. According to Joe DeFranco, C.P.P.S., "It makes you accountable to someone besides yourself, as well as the inherent competition that takes place when you train with a partner." "A trainer should be the one creating and carrying out the program to make sure that the athletes are not only working hard but also smartly." To be your best, discuss your workouts with a licensed personal trainer and train with other athletes.https://www.velocityfitness.pk/
7. Add more water
Your muscles must have adequate water to operate properly during exercise and sports. DeFranco explains that because fascia is watery and mostly composed of water, allowing oneself to become dehydrated can have a significant impact on an athlete's performance. The movable surfaces between the fascia and other tissues "become glued down when we are dehydrated." DeFranco advises high-performance athletes to multiply their body weight by 0.6 to determine how many ounces they should consume daily.
8. Plan your downtime
According to DeFranco, paying attention to rest periods and allowing full recovery can boost maximal outputs and allow athletes to perform at a better level. "Maximal output is the maximum force you can create under ideal circumstances. To ensure quality, relaxation intervals must be completed, he adds. The length of your rest periods should be based on how quickly and well you perform in sports.
9. Activate your recovery
The worst thing for stiff, aching muscles is to do nothing at all, and short, low-intensity "extra" workouts are one of the best methods to hasten the healing process, according to DeFranco. "Simple exercises like walking, a 15-minute dynamic warmup, or different variations of sled dragging can be done." Without the discomfort that comes with eccentric contractions, these additional workouts boost blood flow. Work a little harder to get your body ready for what comes next.
10. Prepare
Before you lift or before you travel, fill your gym bag with the appropriate training supplies so you are always ready. A lacrosse ball, foam roller, bands, and gymnastic rings are among the items DeFranco advises storing. Regardless of where you have to train, having the necessary for the gym can help you stay on track, he continues.
