Training 2007
The thermometer might say otherwise right now, but spring is coming. We had a taste of nicer weather about a week ago, and the earlier switch to daylight saving time is already keeping the sun out pretty late. Only a matter of time before it warms up for good and the spring melt starts. Another month and the fields could be dry…
Anyway with outdoor season now in the foreseeable future I’m starting to get excited about preparation, and that means training. I’ve already started some conditioning work on the treadmill and just this week got the new “Ultimate Fitness” DVD developed by a few former members of Death or Glory, and it looks fantastic – can’t wait to try out all the exercises, which are specifically targeted to physically condition players for ultimate.
Anyway while I haven’t gone so far as to figure out a workout plan yet, I do have some thoughts on my goals for the year as far as training:
1. Conditioning. I think I say this every year, but if I was better conditioned I would be a better ultimate player (and a better runner and whatever else I do). Not just for being able to cut hard or stick to my mark by the end of a long game, but for being able to keep good form and maintain initiative thoughout a game or a tournament, and not having to rely on any energy-saving crutches. In terms of conditioning I would like to build and maintain it throughout the spectrum, from good anaerobic conditioning and fast recovery from maximum exertion, to aerobic and longer term endurance allowing me to play or run continuously for an extended period without tiring.
2. Core strength. For the longest time I had no real appreciation of what core strength is or what it does. I still don’t understand all the mechanisms of core strength as well as some of the more obvious muscle groups, but I can definitely see it’s important – it’s a part of so many movements and actions from running to throwing to marking, and a strong core helps keep proper form and take the strain off other muscles. I think I started to appreciate exactly how important core strength is when I bruised my abdominals on one side on a poorly-conceived layout last year and was amazed at how much it impacted my ability to do much of anything. Speaking of injuries:
3. Treat and prevent injuries. Over the past several years I’ve had several minor to moderate injuries several of which involved trips to the physiotherapist to recover from. Without being too exhaustive, these range from a few bouts of tendonitis in my shoulder to wrist and hamstring sprains to some knee problems that fortunately weren’t as bad as I feared. Some of these injuries resulted from my own stupidity (laying out while drunk = bad idea), some from overdeveloped/underdeveloped muscle groups. In all cases they required some exercises to correct and in some cases have needed some ongoing attention to make sure they don’t become problems again. Basically my training needs to include the corrective treatments for injuries already sustained, and prevent further ones by developing enough strength all round and in key areas to reduce the chance I’m going to pull anything or otherwise cause myself problems. In particular this will involve core strength as above, as well as upper leg muscle groups, and shoulders/upper back due to my injuries there.
4. Improve quickness and agility. I’m already pretty fast flat-out but my acceleration from a dead stop is pretty mediocre. That kind of makes me predictable on offence and lengthens my reaction to a cut on defence. I’d love to be able to get up to speed in three quick steps – that’s where developing quickness comes in. Similarly the ability to change direction on a dime would be great for cutting, marking, getting reaction D’s, and adjusting to the disc. Both of these components are covered heavily in the Ultimate Fitness DVD so I am particularly looking forward to implementing those exercises.
That’s pretty much it. I’m not interested in ‘bulking up’ or even trying to do things like add inches to my vertical (the workouts designed for that seem pretty involved, and not sure if I have the time) but this should be plenty to go on for now.
Anyway with outdoor season now in the foreseeable future I’m starting to get excited about preparation, and that means training. I’ve already started some conditioning work on the treadmill and just this week got the new “Ultimate Fitness” DVD developed by a few former members of Death or Glory, and it looks fantastic – can’t wait to try out all the exercises, which are specifically targeted to physically condition players for ultimate.
Anyway while I haven’t gone so far as to figure out a workout plan yet, I do have some thoughts on my goals for the year as far as training:
1. Conditioning. I think I say this every year, but if I was better conditioned I would be a better ultimate player (and a better runner and whatever else I do). Not just for being able to cut hard or stick to my mark by the end of a long game, but for being able to keep good form and maintain initiative thoughout a game or a tournament, and not having to rely on any energy-saving crutches. In terms of conditioning I would like to build and maintain it throughout the spectrum, from good anaerobic conditioning and fast recovery from maximum exertion, to aerobic and longer term endurance allowing me to play or run continuously for an extended period without tiring.
2. Core strength. For the longest time I had no real appreciation of what core strength is or what it does. I still don’t understand all the mechanisms of core strength as well as some of the more obvious muscle groups, but I can definitely see it’s important – it’s a part of so many movements and actions from running to throwing to marking, and a strong core helps keep proper form and take the strain off other muscles. I think I started to appreciate exactly how important core strength is when I bruised my abdominals on one side on a poorly-conceived layout last year and was amazed at how much it impacted my ability to do much of anything. Speaking of injuries:
3. Treat and prevent injuries. Over the past several years I’ve had several minor to moderate injuries several of which involved trips to the physiotherapist to recover from. Without being too exhaustive, these range from a few bouts of tendonitis in my shoulder to wrist and hamstring sprains to some knee problems that fortunately weren’t as bad as I feared. Some of these injuries resulted from my own stupidity (laying out while drunk = bad idea), some from overdeveloped/underdeveloped muscle groups. In all cases they required some exercises to correct and in some cases have needed some ongoing attention to make sure they don’t become problems again. Basically my training needs to include the corrective treatments for injuries already sustained, and prevent further ones by developing enough strength all round and in key areas to reduce the chance I’m going to pull anything or otherwise cause myself problems. In particular this will involve core strength as above, as well as upper leg muscle groups, and shoulders/upper back due to my injuries there.
4. Improve quickness and agility. I’m already pretty fast flat-out but my acceleration from a dead stop is pretty mediocre. That kind of makes me predictable on offence and lengthens my reaction to a cut on defence. I’d love to be able to get up to speed in three quick steps – that’s where developing quickness comes in. Similarly the ability to change direction on a dime would be great for cutting, marking, getting reaction D’s, and adjusting to the disc. Both of these components are covered heavily in the Ultimate Fitness DVD so I am particularly looking forward to implementing those exercises.
That’s pretty much it. I’m not interested in ‘bulking up’ or even trying to do things like add inches to my vertical (the workouts designed for that seem pretty involved, and not sure if I have the time) but this should be plenty to go on for now.
posted by Druski at 8:11 p.m.
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