Tournaments, practices, games, summer ball, family vacations. All part of the normal life of an athlete. So how does training coincide with all these activities?
The key is to still get workouts done: while training being out of town isn’t perfect or optimal, it’s critical to commit to doing. As long as the athlete can communicate on what’s available, an intelligent, smart workout, what we call “Remote Training”, can be constructed that keeps the
athlete moving forward and staying consistent. It can be utilizing what’s available in their hotel gym; performing sprint workouts in an open patch of grass; bringing a band along and doing a band workout; simply using the ground for body weight exercises; or typically, a combination depending on the athletes current needs and game schedule. Just like an athlete joins a team and commits to attending all the practices, committing to improving strength and speed is no different. Commitment is critical because the unfortunate reality is that the human body is very resistant to change: muscles begin to atrophy as quickly as 48-72 hours after training, and the residual effect of true speed work is only 3-5 days. So consistency becomes critical to getting results: sport skill and strength training should always be worked on together, in synchronization, allowing the athlete to become the best they can be.
Athletes that are half hearted go out of town and do nothing: they have a litany of excuses as to why they couldn’t get anything done. Athletes that have a no excuses mindset stay on their training, and keep their progress going. If it’s important to you, you’ll find a way. If not, you’ll find an excuse.