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Instead of charging head first into pre-season with some vague targets in mind
STOP……….
GIVE THIS A GO………. Plan your pre-season backwards from the date of your first competitive game. Knowing exactly how many weeks/training sessions you have to work with when putting your plan in place is essential to optimising your pre-season. Fitting in the most beneficial & worthwhile training within that time frame!!
Develop a basic plan, section off and allocate weeks for specific & progressive training blocks depending on your goals (tip 2!!). You don’t have to be a qualified S&C Coach to ensure your training time is optimised and well planned.
Example:
Now you know exactly how many training hours you have to work with, sit down and set tough but realistic & achievable goals within that time frame.
Think back to last season…… analyse yourself, be brutal but constructive, ask coaches and team mates what was lacking from your game!
Or was it something outside of physical training? Like….
You may be playing a team sport but ultimately you are responsible for yourself and have an obligation to your team mates and coaches to develop the best version of you to take onto the pitch!!
So the plan is in place and the goals are set……. What next??
TEST YOURSELF.
The only way to figure out your starting point and determine if you have actually met your end goal is to test yourself.
i.e timing speed over a certain distance, measuring vertical jump height or horizontal jump distance, stimulus reactions, rep max testing etc. whatever it is I guarantee you there is a simple and effective way to test it without the need for expensive equipment.
Now decide what you want that test result to be when you retest?
You MUST set a target to work to…… This step is what sets your goals in stone!!
It’s easy to say “I want to be faster” “I want to be stronger” “I want to be more flexible” but unless you set specific targets these statements are just that….. statements, not goals.
Session to session/Week to week your training must have a set pattern of progression. Simply altering reps x sets/varying sprint distance or intensity/increasing plyometrics or simply playing around with rest times are all you need to progress your training effectively.
Progress is progress, it doesn’t need to be elaborate or fancy!
Keep in mind, some weeks you will struggle and won’t hit your targets… so what, thats life!!
Don’t give up 🙂
Just remember the 3 R’s
Tags: Athlete, Camogie, GAA, Gaelic Football, Goal Setting, Hurling, Ladies Football, pre-season, Sports Performance, Strength and Conditioning