Dealing with sports injuries is becoming a major concern for most teams. Injuries seem to be occurring with increasing frequency especially in certain sports as for example, baseball, basketball and football. To illustrate, at the conclusion of the past football season there were over 1,500 injuries sustained in the last week of play.
Injuries to the players make it impossible for teams to field the best players in order to have the best team available for competition. In addition, the medical costs are getting extremely high which places an extra burden on the teams. Because of this most teams should be trying to find ways of preventing injuries and doing more effective rehabilitation.
Most non-contact injuries (which are often greater in number than contact injuries) that athletes sustain have a neurological base. This means that the injury occurred because of something the athlete did in execution of the sports skill or in execution of a strength exercise. It usually means that the athlete had poor technique or a lack of strength specific to the skill to handle the stresses involved in executing the skill.
For example, to prevent injury to a baseball pitcher it is necessary to make sure that the pitcher has effective pitching mechanics and that the muscles involved in the pitch are strong enough to withstand the stresses that are involved in the pitching motion. The same two factors also apply to other sports skills.
In other words, to prevent injury all athletes must have effective technique and sufficient levels of strength that is coupled with the technique. This means that they must have the physical abilities required to execute the specific technique in the manner needed to be most effective.
To develop the most effective technique and the specific physical abilities related to the technique (when the athlete is given the green light by the medical personnel to begin training) you should use the 1 x 20 RM strength training program. With this program you can develop the technique needed together with the physical abilities specific to the technique.
Keep in mind that there is often a gap between when the athlete is given permission to begin training and to when he begins playing. There is usually no proactive actions taken to prevent the injury from occurring again. Most athletes begin playing the sport the same way as they did prior to the injury.
By using the 1 x 20 RM program you can not only prevent future injuries but also improve the athlete’s performance. This is well substantiated with practical cases. The rationale for its effectiveness lies in the ability to learn and master effective technique and develop strength in the same neuromuscular pathway and in the same range of motion as it is needed in execution of the skill.
The key lies in the use of specialized strength exercises that couple technique with strength. You do the exercise for many repetitions (twenty or a little more). The movement is repeated without resistance many times a day to reinforce learning which is usually needed in most cases. Exercises for strength with the technique are done once a day in the early stages after which it switches to three times per week.
By doing this you not only prepare the athlete for playing, but playing on a higher level than he had been performing previously. Perhaps even more importantly the chances of the injury occurring again are slim to none. If more than a few exercises specific to the injury are done, the athlete will also better prepare himself for prevention of other injuries.
But, keep in mind that the only program that enables you to do this is the 1 x 20 RM. For more information, see The Revolutionary 1 x 20 RM Strength Training Program.