Is your child the next LeBron James or Mia Hamm? The fact is that those types of athletes don’t come around often, and these superstars definitely would agree with what I’m about to say.
Here it is: High school athletes simply don’t get enough conditioning for their sport. The coaches do a great job in motivating and working on needed skills, but the bottom line is that the fitter teams always have the advantage.
Agility drills are vital to most sports, and they should definitely be a part of any young athlete’s practice. However, all those drills still aren’t getting the athletes fit.
What the heck do I mean? Let’s take Michael Phelps for instance. That guy races a very short distance in all of his events, but he trains for five hours a day.
What this boils down to is that young athletes need more sustained cardiovascular training, and they really benefit from a variety of exercises that accomplish that.
Cycling, elliptical, rowing and climbing can be extremely beneficial for a high school athlete’s career no matter what their sport. They may be able to sprint for 10 seconds, but can they sprint just as hard in the final minutes of their event as they could at the start of the match?
Any high school athletes who work hard on developing a well-rounded cardiovascular fitness routine will excel in their sport. High school athletics is much more about who is fit rather than who has the talent.
I see this all the time. Most young athletes are so concerned about their quickness. This is important, but the first step is to have an engine that just won’t quit. All those muscles of the really talented yet poorly conditioned athletes inevitably will tire out as their event nears its end. That opens the door for a more fit yet less talented athlete to dominate.
That’s what a strong heart and lungs will get you, and that’s what a great cardio routine is all about.
— Dr. Bob Wilcher is a chiropractor and personal trainer in Santa Barbara. He owns Killer B Fitness, a personal and group training studio at 126 Powers Ave. Contact Wilcher at www.killerbfitness.com or 805.448.2222.