Nail your Pre-Season Preparation with an Athletic Development Program

Winter sports pre-season Is Coming!

No matter what sport you play, every season has an ending. The time outside of competitive play is considered the off-season or pre-season. Although many community athletes may wish they had a little bit more downtime, this time is a critical period that can return massive advantages if done properly.

You are either one of two types of community athlete. You’ve either been doing your own training (gym or field) whilst your club has been in the off-season OR you haven’t moved since that last game.

Increasing your potential performance in the pre-season is beneficial for many reasons. Not only is it an opportunity for you to build on your fitness and strength foundations, but it is also considerably easier to stay in shape rather than get back in shape.

It is important to find an enjoyable way to train during this time, as the last thing we want is for you to get burnt out or injured. Regardless of what you decide, ensure you factor in rest and time to work on skills that directly and indirectly affect your playing performance.

Pushing too hard too early can make the difference between having the best pre-season (and home & away season) of your life or the worst!

Diving headfirst into training is often the first mistake an athlete can make when returning to a gym or running program and leads to overuse injuries, such as Plantar Fasciitis, Patella and Achilles tendinopathy or shin splints.

These are all injuries associated with overuse (overtraining) or increasing load too early or too quickly. When I talk about increasing load, it refers to a range of factors that lead to overuse injuries, but often put into two categories; External and Internal load.

External load is usually what leads to injuries, which includes; volume, intensity, frequency, or complexity of your sessions.

Whereas internal load refers to factors like heart rate or RPE (rating of perceived exertion).

When we talk about load (internal and external) on the body, it’s crucial that you consider all these factors when working with a Strength & Conditioning Coach otherwise you will have interrupted pre-season sealed with ‘niggling’ injuries that require a decrease in your training. This can often put you behind in achieving your optimal fitness. If you work harder to push through these ‘niggles’, it can lead to larger issues and extended time off training and more time with our Physios!.

Build your program from the ground up, so you can hit your full potential for top-level performance.

The best thing you could do is sit down with a Strength and Conditioning coach and plan out a program that is going to be appropriate for yourself and/or your team! Improving strength is the founding layer of physical performance and the off-season is the perfect time to hit the gym. Identification of muscle imbalances created during the in-season using our VALD performance equipment ensures that the programs that we build for you are tailored to your sport and measurable.

If you would like to speak to one of our Strength & Conditioning Coaches regarding appropriate preparation for the 2023 season give us a call at 03 9913 8986 or check out more information on our here

Nathan Drummond is one of our Strength & Conditioning Coaches. Although he works with both male and female athletes, he has a passion for helping community female athletes avoid injury. If you would like to learn more about Drummo or book in a session, check out his profile here