Training for Sport (as opposed to bodybuilding)

I got a PM from another member asking about training that would be beneficial for sport performance. I thought I would post it here on the forum, that way everyone may be able to read the info, and other people can put in their own ideas.

BTW, I won't be able to tell every single person exactly which exercises to do, but must make sure you do enough that trains the whole body. In every single sport, your performance relies on how your muscles work together. Throwing a baseball, for example, is not simply an arm movement. The power comes from the first step with your legs, trunk rotation, then the arm movement.

For a quick (and fun) list of exercises to choose from, check out this site (includes animated characters!):
Animated Exercise Examples - TheTrainingStationInc.com©- Exercises

I'll post the little convo we had, and I'll post information in new replies, so it looks a bit cleaner. Also, I am pretty busy with quite a few things at the moment, so I'll punch in a small bit of info here and there.

Here's the message(s):

greg113 said:

hey i noticed in your posts that you know quite a bit about weight training and just training in general. Id like to ask for a little favor it might be too much to ask but if you could find the time whenever you want that would be great. Id like a weekly plan for the summer to work out. The thing is i am very sport oriented and i dont wish to just bulk up i would like exercises that will help improve my agility/physical strength. I would ask someone i know but all my friends are degenerate Heavy lifters and dont know much about sports.
would you be able to set a out a weekly plan of a entire body workout including how many reps to do of what and when. I have a set of dumbells and a barbell with various weights. i would like to include cardio (biking or running).
If this is asking too much i understand 100% if it is would you be able to recomend some one to help me out?
thanks in advance
greg

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J-Money said:

Hey,

I'd be happy to help you. I just won't be able to give you an in depth program as personal trainers can, because one, they get paid to do that, and two, I'm simply not a personal trainer, so I don't really know what to tell you exactly.

I'm quite busy with school work for the next 3 weeks, but I don't mind giving you advice. It might just take a while for me to do so.

Before I suggest anything to you, I need to ask you about your background. What sports are you practicing now, and what type of movement/skills would you like to improve? What kind of exercises have you done previously, or are doing right now? Also, are there any injuries that you've had, or any discomfort you feel in any of your joints/muscles?

To be honest, you can work out with pretty much anything you have, even if it's just your body weight. Let me know what you want to work on, and how many times a week you would have time for exercise. The worst thing to do is to try to start an unrealistic work-out which you'll end up hating, or just takes too much time. You'll just end up losing motivation, which is the worst thing that can happen.

Later,
Joe

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J-Money said:

One more thing; would you mind if I posted our conversation in the fitness forum? I'm pretty sure quite a few people are looking for the same type of workout, and would benefit from reading about our conversation. Also, you'll probably have people who are more knowledgeable about the subject help you out.

It's really up to you though. I'm sure it's easier for most people to feel comfortable sharing how they work out (or DON'T work out, haha) to one person, as opposed to a bunch of people on a forum. To be honest, I know a lot about working out, but I lack the motivation to really be in great shape.

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greg113 said:

Alright thanks alot man, well im concentrating on hockey mostly, but i also play semi pro paintball. As for hockey im a goalie so alot of latteral movement and explosions basically body core and legs im guessing but i would still like to be fit everywhere (back, chest, arms, not more then that). I do pushups and situps every night and i know how to use weights properly but never done them over an extended period of time. Basically i want to built agile fast muscle as opposed to just power. And no, no injuried whatsoever.

As for time, its not a concern. i wish to do a 7 day excersise plan cardio included. Let me know is this is a bad idea, cardio one day weight training the next?
Im very dedicated so motivation isnt much of a problem.

And no i don't mind at all if you post the conversations.
thanks alot for any help.
greg

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Specific Types of Training

For any sport you want to practice, you need to know how you want to train your muscles. For sports played in very quick intervals which require a burst of energy (such as basketball, football, hockey), it would be beneficial to train mostly for power, as the "first-step" is usually very crucial to your performance. For sports which require more stamina (such as soccer), muscle endurance should be the focus, since you're running so much around the court.

Keep in mind that you still should train for power, strength, and endurance, as they are all important in sports. It's also good to change the focus every few months (or as you see fit), so that your muscles don't get "used to" that type of training. You do not need to change the exercises you're doing, but simply vary the amount of resistance, and the number of reps accordingly. This is called "muscle confusion."

Here is a table of sets/reps that I've scanned from my McGill textbook. It basically gives you an idea of how many reps and sets to perform depending on the type of training you would like your muscles to endure. also, it gives you the speed at which you should perform the exercises; for example, training for power, you would need to perform the contraction at 90-100% of your max speed. Power is being able to exert the most amount of strength in the least amount of time, therefore it seems to make sense.






More info to To Be Added (TBA) when time permits....

tes temps de repos entre les sets sont foutrement long.

Puissance Force 3minutes
Hypertrophie 90-120secondes
Endurance 45-60secondes. (dans le fond c'est pas endurance c'est définition,...)

Je suis un peu daccord avec Exekutor mais je suis content de voir que J-money tourne dans la nouvelle génération... l'hyperthropie, c'est a dire grossir, se fait entre 8 et 15 rep... contrairement a ce que tout le monde dans un gym qui "connaissent" ca peuvent dire, genre des set de 4 et meme moins !!!

I also don't take that much time to rest between sets, but that's what's written in my coursepack; I just scanned it and posted it here. I guess it's just a guideline for those who are not sure of the rest time between exercises.


More info about training for sport:

It is not recommended to regularly train the actual sport-skill with added resistance. What I mean by that is, don't practice shooting/passing a basketball with a heavy ball (like a medicine ball), or skating with added weight around your ankles when you're skating ON A REGULAR BASIS. You can do it as alternative training, but it should not replace the amount of time you would spend practicing the actual sport-skill.

Reason is, the performance of your skill depends largely on muscle activation, and the memory of performing the skill. If you want to improve your shooting in basketball, and you think that practicing the 'shooting' motion with a medicine ball would help improve arm strength, it quite possibly will do that, but will most likely also 'confuse' your arm, as it's getting used to throwing a heavier ball than the regulation size/weight.

It would be much wiser to simply train for power with normal resistance exercises targeting the arms, then allocating time to practice the skill afterwards. You can still practice with added resistance, as long as it doesn't replace practice of the skill in game-like situations.

So, try to select a number of exercises that will train the whole body, as most sports require all your body parts to work together. Find a bunch you like, and see whether you should train mostly for power, for strength, or endurance.


More info to TBA when time permits....