Health & Medical Fitness & bodybuilding

Remember these 3 Essentials for Injury-Free Progress

Just about every sports-person can benefit from developing their speed and endurance. Most athletes tend to focus the most on endurance, but speed training is a terrific way to take your performance to a higher level. And rest assured, speed can be developed - just like strength, coordination and reflexes.

However, speed training like any other type of training will be of limited use if the athlete doing it is ignorant of some of the basics of effective training. Many inexperienced athletes don't know how to prepare and train properly - and it's amazing how many more experienced ones don't do it that well, either.

And even for the ones who do train properly, it never hurts to be reminded of the fundamentals. Here are 3 basic, but massively important elements needed to train well and get faster:

1. Warm up thoroughly.

Warm-up is hugely important because cold muscles lack flexibility; this makes them much more prone to tearing or pulling. They also have a more limited range of motion than warm muscles. Therefore, by warming up, you're helping your muscles to perform better (by letting them contract and relax better) and protecting them from injury.

Before you begin training, warm up for between 10 and 15 minutes. Try jogging for 10 minutes at a moderate pace then follow up with some simple range-of-motion-stretches - neck, shoulders, trunk, hips, and back. Take it nice and slow and breath deeply.

2. Take care to observe proper form.

Good form is about maintaining correct posture and focusing on how you move - not just on how fast you move. Good form will deteriorate when you're tired, so make sure you're well rested before embarking on your training drills. Here are some guidelines for maintaining proper form:

*Avoid leaning forward (too much) at the waist. If you're sprinting, however, you'll want to lean

into your run somewhat.

*When accelerating, push from the balls of your feet - not the toes.

*Keep your vision focussed on the end of the course.

*Keep your arm swings smooth, and forward/backward (not across your body)

*Ensure your hands move from shoulder height to hips (men), and from chest height to hips

(women).

*Aim to keep your elbows at 90 degrees at all times.

*Try to keep your arms, shoulders, and hands as relaxed as possible.

*Avoid the wasted energy of letting your head bob or twist.

*Keep your momentum focussed forward and not side to side.

3. Cool down.

Why is cooling down so important? Firstly, vigorous exercise will raise your blood pressure, and if you stop suddenly, your blood can pool in your body's extremities. This can cause you to become light-headed or woozy. Cooling down allows it to return to normal in a nice controlled way. Secondly, by-products are created during exercise - like adrenaline, lactic acid and CO2. Cooling down helps to process them safely out of your system. Thirdly, it allows your heart to return to its resting state in a slow, safe manner. Fourthly, it helps prevent post-exercise soreness. Perform your cool-down for about 5 to 10 minutes - the more intense your workout, the longer you should take. And make sure your heart rate has returned to its resting rate.

If you're training for speed, it's easy to get over zealous and be tempted to skip or skim over the above principles. However, if you're smart and do things the right way, you'll enjoy better and safer workouts. What's more, you'll be setting yourself up for some serious speed gains, too.

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