Okay, here we go again…I was on a forum the other day and one of the guys posted a very thorough post expressing his opinion that there is no such thing as sport specific training. I welcome his opinion and the time he took to create this post, but like most arguments I think it really brings all parties closer together when you define your terms. Let me go over the argument from the training forum before I share my perspective.
This individual’s argument was that there is no such thing as sport specific training. His feeling was that ‘sport specific’ training is just marketing, that trainers will create one program and then put different labels on it for the purpose of making a sale. He is right that labeling a product or manual ‘sport specific’ is marketing. This is how you get found by people looking for the information you are providing. This is good business. Like all businesses, I am sure there are some dishonest folks out there, but that is a different issue all together.
What if Gatorade identified their product as – colourful sugar water with electrolytes? Would you be looking for that or would you be looking for a sport drink? What if I named my Ultimate Goalie Training system, selected resistance and conditioning exercises to improve strength, lateral movement, stability, reactivity and reduce the risk of groin injuries? Would that tell you who the product was created for?
The individual’s second argument revolved around the fact that there are similar exercises in different sport specific training programs. For example a football lineman will perform barbell squats, but so will a hockey goalie. What???? That is inconceivable!
Is it really inconceivable that building stronger legs and a more stable torso will help a lineman execute his job responsibilities in football? Is it inconceivable that building stronger legs and a more stable torso will help a goalie execute his job responsibilities in hockey? Of course it will help both athletes, strength is a foundation of power; if we improve your strength we can improve your power. So you will see some form of squat, press, pull or row and sprint in almost any sport specific training program.
Here is where we get into the definition of our terms. When I hear sport specific training program, what I hear is a program that is designed to improve an athlete’s performance in a given sport while reducing their risk of injury. So if you see a goalie specific training program that looks like this:
- BB Squat 3×12
- BB Bench Press 3×12
- BB Bent Over Row 3×12
- Bike Sprints
- Stretch hamstrings, quadriceps and hip flexors
If you get a program that looks like that, then run the other way – this is a generic program. Here is what you may see in a goalie specific training program:
- BB Front Squat 3×12
- Juggling Ball Off the Wall x 30 seconds (reactivity)
- DB Bench Press 3×12
- Lunge Lateral to Balance 3×8 each (lateral power)
- DB Bent Over Row 3×12
- Prone Resisted Hip Internal Rotation 3×15 (helps with butterfly and injury prevention)
- Micro hurdle lateral hop drill with catch and pass – 6 x 10s on: 20s off (anaerobic conditioning, reactivity, agility)
- Stretch – hamstrings, quadriceps, hip flexors, standing groin, hip internal rotation and external rotation.
Are these exercises earth shattering? No. Do you wear your goalie pads during the workout? No. Is the workout put together in a way that will train the attributes you need to play goal better and reduce the risk of injury? Yes. Will training like this make you a better goalie? Yes. Do you care if it is called sport specific or anything else? Probably not. If you are like me, you only care about being better.
Happy training gang!
Cheers,
Maria
Okay, here we go again…I was on a forum the other day and one of the guys posted a very thorough post expressing his opinion that there is no such thing as sport specific training.I welcome his opinion and the time he took to create this post, but like most arguments I think it really brings all parties closer together when you define your terms.Let me go over the argument from the training forum before I share my perspective.
This individual’s argument was that there is no such thing as sport specific training.His feeling was that ‘sport specific’ training is just marketing, that trainers will create one program and then put different labels on it for the purpose of making a sale.He is right that labeling a product or manual ‘sport specific’ is marketing.This is how you get found by people looking for the information you are providing.This is good business.
What if Gatorade identified their product as – colourful sugar water with electrolytes?Would you be looking for that or would you be looking for a sport drink?What if I named my Ultimate Goalie Training system, selected resistance exercises to improve strength, lateral movement, stability, reactivity and reduce the risk of groin injuries?Would that tell you who the product was created for?
The individual’s second argument revolved around the fact that there are similar exercises in different sport specific training programs.For example a football lineman will perform barbell squats, but so will a hockey goalie.What????That is inconceivable!
Is it really inconceivable that building stronger legs and a more stable torso will help a lineman execute his job responsibilities in football?Is it inconceivable that building stronger legs and a more stable torso will help a goalie execute his job responsibilities in hockey?Of course, strength a foundation of power; if we improve your strength we can improve your power.So you will see some form of squat, press, pull or row and sprint in almost any sport specific training program.
Here is where we get into the definition of our terms.When I hear sport specific training program, what I hear is a program that is designed to improve an athlete’s performance in a given sport while reducing their risk of injury.So if you see a goalie specific training program that looks like this:
·BB Squat 3×12
·BB Bench Press 3×12
·BB Bent Over Row 3×12
·Bike Sprints
·Stretch hamstrings, quadriceps and hip flexors
If you get a program that looks like that, then run the other way – this is a generic program.Here is what you may see in a goalie specific training program:
·BB Front Squat 3×12
·Juggling Ball Off the Wall x 30 seconds (reactivity)
·DB Bench Press 3×12
·Lunge Lateral to Balance 3×8 each (lateral power)
·DB Bent Over Row 3×12
·Prone Resisted Hip Internal Rotation 3×15 (helps with butterfly and injury prevention)
·Stretch – hamstrings, quadriceps, hip flexors, standing groin, hip internal rotation and external rotation.
Are these exercises earth shattering?No.Do you wear your goalie pads during the workout?No.Is the workout put together in a way that will train the attributes you need to play goal better and reduce the risk of injury? Yes.Will training like this make you a better goalie? Yes.Do you care if it is called sport specific or anything else?Probably not.If you are like me, you only care about being better.