Apr. 3, 2009
Young Athletes and Muscle Building
I hear it all the time from young kids. The conversation goes somewhat like this.
Athlete: “Well, yeah we workout. Monday we do some chest and tri’s.”
Me: “What does the workout consist of?”
Athlete: “You know like bench press, incline bench press, pushdowns and skull crushers.”
Me: “So what does the rest of the week look like.”
Athlete: “Tuesday is back and biceps. Wednesday we do shoulders and finish with some legs on Thursday. We will sometimes fit in an extra arm workout on the weekends.”
Me: “So you are doing bodypart training?”
Athlete: “Trying to build muscle and get stronger and bigger so I guess yes.”
Now, see I stop short of telling these misinformed young athletes that they have been led to believe that body part training is what is going to help them acheive their athletic strength and power goals. You see it isn’t there fault. Unfortunately, from a young age many of them are taught wrong, heck I WAS TAUGHT WRONG!
Athletes need to train for performance. One of the best lines I ever heard was from the first time I heard Dave “The Band Man” Schmitz speak he said “You must train to react, not contract.”
Athletes find themselves falling victim to articles they see in the latest “muscle building” magazines that are filled with pharmaceutically enhanced freaks!
It is very unfortunate. Steriods have run so rampant in today’s sports that kids actually believe everything they read. Who can fault them when everyday superstars are using the illegal means to improve their very own performance on the field.
Young athletes must learn to understand that athletes need to train like athletes and they will see even more significant progress in their training programs. Bodypart training is not for a young athlete looking to improve their athletic abilities.
Strength, Movement Prep, Power, Speed, Agility, Quickness, and Flexibility must all be components of a complete athletic program.
Athletes need to train differently for their current season.
In-Season and Off-Season programs must vary in accordance to the physical demands placed on their bodies from their chosen sport.
Teenagers today have a better understanding of athletic performance and are in constant quest for the latest greatest program.
With a strong foundation the sky is truly the limit for many of these future superstars.
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