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Sports Specific Exercises Pt. 1

            In my experience in the fitness industry there have been many terms that have lost their original meanings.  At first they were used to separate the “elite” trainers from the “average” trainers.  But as time goes on they just become terms with no meaning and no real purpose other than being catchy marketing words. I will be the first to admit using these terms to draw attention to my business but I have since tried to stay away from using them because I feel they hold no weight anymore.
            I will first tell you what has sparked the writing of today’s blog.  I work at a High School as an Athletic Trainer, so I get to talk to all the kids about their injuries.  Since it is preseason, one of my very first questions of my evaluation process is, “What kind of training have you been doing over the summer?”.  I use this question to see if the injuries are lack of the athlete being in shape or if they are overuse injuries.  One of the terms I keep hearing from my athletes is that they have been doing “SPORTS SPECIFIC” exercises all summer, most of them with their trainers and some of them on their own.  I now cringe when I hear an athlete use this term to describe how they have been trained.
            What is a “Sport Specific” exercise?
            If a kid plays tennis, would swinging a tennis racket with a band around their wrist be considered a “sports specific” exercise?  The answer could be yes, if you can justify how this will help that person improve their performance, or are you just mimicking what they do in their sport and adding resistance, hoping that it will increase their performance output. Doing sport motions and adding resistance most times causes overuse injuries or just adds strength to faulty movement patterns, which then leads to overuse injuries.  Either way, it does NOT always increase performance. I say not always, because there may be situations, when used properly, that the exercise does help to improve performance. 
            The second issue I have noticed is trainers calling plyometrics “sports specific” exercises. A circuit of plyos does not mean it is sports specific. Making a basketball player jump, when all they do is jump on the court all day, does not mean you are getting them ready for their sport.  Most times you’re just setting them up for injury when the season starts.  I'm not saying plyos are bad, I’m just saying they need to be done with a purpose. I know I use them for many reasons, but I never tell the athlete that this is a “sport specific” exercise.  If you are training an athlete, shouldn’t everything you do be getting them ready for their sport anyway?
            I hate when people expose problems without suggesting solutions. I know in this blog I am just shining light on a problem without giving a suggestion of how to fix the problem, but that is what part 2 of the blog is for. Stay tuned for tomorrows blog, where I will tell you how I approach my training and how I keep my athletes injury free.

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