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SYNOPSIS
TABLE OF CONTENTS
INDEX
AUTHORS
BACK COVER
ORDERING
WHO CAN BENEFIT
COMMON QUESTIONS
EXCERPTS | |
Chapter 9 Excerpt
Finding time for Strength and
Conditioning
With off-season commitments to travel
teams, showcases and tournaments, plus schoolwork, SAT prep, family
obligations and the possibility that you play two or three sports, where
do you find time to workout consistently?
If your goal is to play in college, and
you know which sport is your best ticket, and you also play another
sport or even two, then we suggest you consider dropping one of those
other sports so you can work on strength and conditioning with your best
sport in mind. We do support multi-sport athletes and are aware of the
current controversy over specialization (even Sports Illustrated got in
to the fray with a long article on the topic, November 18th, 2002
edition), but you can make an argument both ways.
Believe it or not there might be a few
things you can do starting today that will impact your conditioning
level. Train Boston’s BJ Baker outlines three things most kids need to
improve on which will improve overall conditioning and health:
1. Sleep
- We need 9 hours as kids, nationwide average is 6.5. Poor recovery
leads to lack of focus in class and on the field - declining performance
in both areas are seen. The chances of injury goes up. Also, growth
hormones show increased activity when you get 8+ hours of sleep. So at
the most critical stages of human development we are not getting the
sleep we need.
2. Nutrition
- Too much processed foods, soda, sugar and fat. Lack of the basic
nutrients and recommended daily allowances cause fatigue, slow recovery
from workouts, higher risk of injury and possible performance
deterioration.
3. Hydration -
Caffeine drinks abound these days, colas, coffee drinks for all seasons
and they deplete the body of water. Plus the juices that many kids are
raised on are full of sugar and artificial flavoring.
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