Some things in life are meant to be one-size-fits-all: adjustable caps and rain ponchos could fall into this category. In contrast, student athlete workouts do not fit into this category!
Most athletes are looking for:
- Strength
- Quickness
- Endurance
- Stamina
- Vertical leap
- Flexibility and range of motion.
And most are trying to avoid:
- Tightness
- Fatigue
- Pain
- Injury
- Decreased range of motion
The problem with most fitness programs is that instead of tracking progress with both of these lists in mind, what is generally tracked is simply:
- The amount of weight Johnny or Jessica can lift before
- The amount of weight Johnny or Jessica can lift after
Different kids
As the adage goes, all kids are different. Some kids can start a weight training routine and get bigger, stronger and faster with, seemingly, no ill effects. A different kid on the same routine may get sore, stiff, slower, and get hurt.
Additionally, some kids have long, lean muscle, while others have short, thick muscle. Some have more natural fast twitch muscle fibers, and others have more slow twitch fibers. Many kids go through puberty with huge growth spurts. Their bones are growing faster than the muscle tissue, which causes what is commonly known as ‘growing pains.’ Because children physically mature at different rates, some look more like men and women than boys and girls.
Why, then, do we have basically the same workout routine for all of them?
Different sports
Should the student athlete workouts or weight training routines be the same for a football player and someone in track and field? Wait, should they be the same for a quarterback and a defensive lineman? What about for a shot putter and someone who runs the 100 meter dash? Should they be the same for a pitcher and an outfielder?
If not, then why do athletes in middle schools, high schools, at the college and professional levels involved in Track, Football, Baseball, Soccer, Tennis, Golf, Volleyball, Wrestling all use the same basic weight training routine?
Different goals
We have kids in middle or high school in our clinics on a regular basis. Sometimes, it’s for maintenance, but other times it’s for an injury related to training at school for their respective sport. Decreased flexibility or lifting weights are common culprits of said injury, in conjunction with an activity like pitching in a baseball game. This is a typical conversation:
What are your goals as they pertain to sports? (Usual answer, “Huh?”)
Do you want to play baseball in high school, college or the professional levels? (Usual answer…”Yes.”)
Are you more interested in other sports like football or power lifting? (Usual answer, “No, I want to play baseball.”)
Are you getting faster or slower? (Usual answer, “Slower.”)
Are you throwing harder/faster or slower? (Usual answer, “Slower.”)
Do you have more or less pain or tightness before or after you began your weightlifting program? (Usual answer, “More pain. I wasn’t hurt before I started lifting weights.”)
What kind of weight routine are you doing? (Usual answer, “3 sets of 8 repetitions with 70-75-80% of our max. Bench press, military press, power cleans, dead lifts, and squats.”)
Straight bar or dumbbells? (Usual answer, “Straight bar.”)
So, you want to be a football player or a power lifter? (Usual answer, “Huh?”)
-Well, that routine was developed for bodybuilders and power lifters in the 70’s. It’s designed for getting bigger and stronger, and has been used by football coaches for years for that purpose. Would you rather have a routine that will help you run faster, throw harder, and put less stress on your joints so you won’t get hurt like this in the future? (Answer EVERY TIME…“Yes, but what do I tell my coach?”)
To the coaches that may be reading this:
Coach, every kid has different goals. Every kid has a different body type. Every kid can’t use the same workout routine and achieve their goals. Their goals and your goals for them may be different! You may want that athlete to be a tight end or tackle on your football team. The kid just wants to pitch for the Longhorns one day. I ask every kid and parent that comes here with an injury to sit down and discuss their goals, and ask their coach to help them achieve those goals. The idea of this conversation universally scares them. They’re afraid you will be angry. They’re afraid you will sit them on the bench. What to do?!
Different workouts
Yes, different workouts! The cool part for coaches is that they don’t have to come up with a student athlete workout all by themselves. We’ll show you some exercises that you can use, along with progress tracking charts. First, some do’s and don’ts.
(Remember Coach, EVERY athlete we work has an injury.)