Human Machine and Sport Conditioning Paradox

In the not so distant past, efforts at training athletes relied on expensive and bulky equipment which was designed to either isolate muscles or replicate mechanics in an attempt to “develop” the bodies of players into their specific sport. Today we know that only the athletes themselves are the machines. It is through a method of teaching the athlete to exploit their machine’s natural affinity for movement and reactivity that we can train both the physiology and mechanics needed to optimize skillfulness. Today we also use portable sport-fitness tools that combine for thousands of movement-oriented drills, getting our machine moving!

The Paradox

The bottom line however is that there is a sport conditioning paradox. Epidemiological studies reveal that high velocity direction change commonly leads to injury on the field, court and gym floor. Likewise, braking and stopping are also common causes of injury, especially in collision sports like rugby, football and tennis. Ironically, explosive braking and high speed direction change are also key determinants of sport success. These attributes must be trained. Deceleration, velocity and direction change also add risk to training programs, but are a requisite component if we are to help players perform better and prevent injury. The trick is to do it with a systematic process, proven drills, effective guidelines, and with confidence that players are training in an aggressive yet safe and effective manner. Nowhere is this truer than when applying forces across the abdominals and the lumbar spine.

The Twist Team!