Conditioning for Fall Sports

Should all fall sports participants engage in conditioning programs to reduce their risk of injury and improve their athletic performance? The answer is an unqualified yes! Boys and girls? Yes. Strength athletes who play football and endurance athletes who run cross-country? Yes. Ball handling teammates who play soccer and field hockey? Yes.

Without question, all young people who compete in fall sports should perform appropriate exercise programs to enhance their physical fitness. Of course, some of the training procedures will vary based on the demands of the activity. For example, football players should emphasize power exercises such as sprinting, cross-country runners should focus on endurance exercises such as three to five mile runs, and soccer players should include both sprinting and sustained running such as 100 yard dashes and half-mile repeats.

But when it comes to muscle conditioning, I propose that a similar strength training program may be successfully applied to all of the athletes. Oh, there are some differences, such as the number of repetitions completed. Generally speaking, power athletes respond best to lower (4 to 8) repetitions with relatively heavy weightloads, endurance athletes respond best to higher (12 to 16) repetitions with relatively light weightloads, and combination athletes respond best to moderate (8 to 12) repetitions with moderate weightloads.

However, when it comes to the exercise selection, all of these athletes should be strong in all of their major muscle groups. Regardless of your sport, there is no advantage in having a weak upper body or a poorly conditioned midsection. Going a step further, training some muscle groups more than others can be a serious disadvantage.

But why would football players train with the same exercises as cross-country runners or field hockey players? Because they all have the same major muscle groups. Let's take a look at the major muscles of the body, and the basic free-weight and machine exercises that strengthen these muscle groups.

Major Muscle Groups	Recommended Free Weight Exercises	Recommended Machine Exercises
Quadriceps (front thigh)	Squat	Leg Extension
Hamstrings (rear thigh)	Squat	Leg Curl
Hip Adductors (inner thigh)	---	Hip Adduction
Hip Abductors (outer thigh)	---	Hip Abduction
Pectoralis Major (chest)	Bench Press	Chest Cross
Latissimus Dorsi (upper back)	Pulldown	Super Pullover
Deltoids (shoulders)	Shoulder Press	Lateral Raise
Biceps (front arm)	Biceps Curl	Biceps Flexion
Triceps (rear arm)	Triceps Pressdown	Triceps Extension
Erector Spinae (lower back)	Trunk Extension	Lower Back Extension
Rectus Abdominis (abdominals)	Trunk Curl	Abdominal Curl
Neck Extensors (rear neck)	---	Neck Extension
Neck Flexors (front neck)	---	Neck Flexion

Many people mistakenly believe that strength training inevitably results in larger muscles and more bodyweight. This is not necessarily true. Strength training produces stronger muscles in all cases, but gains in muscle size and bodyweight are very dependent upon personal genetic factors. For example, most football players have mesomorphic physiques that respond to strength exercise with relatively large changes in muscle size and body weight. On the other hand, most cross-country runners have ectomorphic physiques that respond to strength exercise with relatively small changes in muscle size and body weight. Furthermore, the heavy weightload - low repetition training followed by football players maximizes muscle strength and size, whereas the lower weightload - higher repetition training performed by cross-country runners emphasizes muscle endurance without additional bodyweight.

The main point is that all fall sports participants can benefit from a standard program of strength exercise, and that the results will be specific to each type of athlete. A stronger athlete in any sport is a better athlete, and more importantly, a more injury-resistant athlete. If your fall athletes are not presently performing basic strength exercises, like those presented in the table, you can greatly enhance their sport safety and success by starting a sensible strength training program. Thirty minutes a day, twice a week, is all the time and energy requirements necessary for some significant physical benefits.