Rehab Like an Athlete in Denver, COlorado
Hopefully everyone got their fill of candy this past weekend celebrating Halloween! Some of you showed me pictures of your costumes that I can’t come back from. Burned into my memories forever.
With Halloween behind us and Winter upon the horizon. Ski resorts are starting to open up and temperatures starting to reduce. You all already know how I feel about offseason training and rehab, but for those of you who missed it you can find it HERE! One of the constant themes I drone on and on about, not just for skiers and snowboarders, but rock climbers, runners, and mountain bikers alike, is don’t rehab like a body builder, you need to rehab like an athlete.
But what does rehab like an athlete mean?
Oh, so happy you asked………
1) Intensity over Reps
With body building, and even with a few other variations of lifting for that matter, the goal is to grow! Bigger muscles, change the physique, and hit failure!!! But if we tweak the intention, while still including a goal of muscle growth, it places the greater emphasis on intensity of the movement.
If athleticism is our objective, it typically means we are focusing on some element of speed and power. Not saying you can’t achieve this with higher rep models, but its a lot easier to maintain speed and power with lower reps over higher output throughout the whole set. Then once we start to include other aspects of rehab it becomes a more balanced approach that doesn’t limit ourselves from other qualities because we’re also not dying and sore from yesterday’s workout.
2) Power, Plyometrics, & Change of Direction
One of the reasons athletes look “athletic” is because they move in and out of positions effortlessly. They do this quickly, controlled, and fluidly. They are able to do this not only because they practice their given sport but they expose themselves to similar positions outside of practice.
By implementing power, plyometric, and change of direction exercises, we implement movements of increased force that better translate to athletic performance. Not only will it allow us to replicate force production and force absorption but allows our bodies to practice these positions along with increasing strength and power.
3) Sprinting
Have you ever heard of an athlete moving slow? I haven’t. Snowboarding, mountain biking, running, whatever it may be. Each sport has its own requirement of speed. By introducing some element of sprinting into our program, we are able to generate greater force and power that carries over not only in the direct activity of running, but also in regards to our nervous system. Sprinting increases our tendon stiffness and force output that also helps us jump higher, change direction faster, and again move more athletically.
This in no way shape or form takes away from body building or other fitness elements for that matter. If you want to get bigger, go get bigger. Love that for you! But most people who we work with have a general goal of being stronger, healthier, and move younger. To me, you just described being more athletic. As Winter sets upon us, go get younger, go get more athletic, and along the way if you’re looking for some further help from us in doing so, drop us a call.
Helping athletes RESOLVE THEIR PAIN by CLEARLY DEFINING THE PROBLEM and IMPLEMENTING EFFECTIVE SOLUTIONS to get them back doing the activities they love!
If you are currently struggling with an injury or unable to perform in the activities you enjoy. Please follow the link to schedule a consultation call to discuss how we can help you.
