The #1 Mistake Athletes Make in Training

Time and again we see athletes, especially younger athletes, unknowingly damaging themselves in the gym. Their aim is always to “put in the work”, and are listening to either a coach, a trainer, something they saw online, or something they’ve seen their peers doing.

In almost every case where they are being coached or trained by someone, the instruction is wrong. Then, an injury is just waiting to happen. (In most cases, the athletes are already injured.)

So what is the problem with most training programs for athletes?

Emily leading a group of high school students who are in an athlete-specific phys-ed class.

The Root of the Issue: Lacking Athletic Coordination

If someone is still learning how to ride a bicycle, would you give them a motorcycle to ride? We hope not. That would be dumb. It would be even dumber to put a powerful engine on the same bicycle frame that has not been engineered to handle it, and then give that to the novice rider.

So then why would anyone think it’s smart to take an athlete who hasn’t learned how to operate the body properly, and load them up with a bunch of muscular strength? Just as a motorcycle with a powerful engine is a hazard to an incompetent cyclist; it’s also a hazard to empower a body that moves poorly with more “strength” to move.

The problem is, most people do not know what is ‘bad’ movement, what it looks like, how to identify it, or how to correct it.

Instead of focusing on becoming more competent at handling the body first, most athletes and athletic trainers jump straight to empowering the body through strength training, conditioning training, speed and agility training, and so on.

By doing this, essentially, they’re empowering incompetence.

It is no wonder why injuries among all types of athletes are no longer just a possibility, but a very high probability.

How to Train for Athlete Development

There are two aspects of training an athlete that are paramount to athletic training and development:

1. The body is engineered well; and

2. The athlete is a good driver.

A well-engineered body is one with:

• healthy joints that properly function;

• strong and elastic sinews; and

• a ‘friction-free’ sense of ease and relaxation.

Next, a ‘good driver’ is an athlete who can operate his or her own body smoothly and effortlessly, and has a high likelihood that they can handle any given scenario and still perform well.

These two criteria are what make up the foundation for making an athlete resilient and efficient - and capable of handling accessories like strength, agility, and power. In essence, these two components is what we refer to as athletic engineering. Which, in other words, is putting first things first.

How to Train for Athleticism

Putting first things first is just about using sense. When automakers wanted to make cars that went faster and farther, they did not just endlessly increase the size of the fuel tank and engine. The fuel tank and engine are important, but not as important as how well the machine is engineered.

How smoothly does it run? How strong is the suspension? How well do all the parts work together? How will it handle and how long will it last when you really push it and when the terrain gets tough and unpredictable? And of utmost importance when it comes to both performance and safety is how COMPETENT is the driver!

When you’re engineered to function properly, with ease, then empowering your athleticism with more strength, stamina, speed, power, etc is quite easy. Those qualities are accessories to athleticism — they enhance athleticism, but they are not athleticism.

Athleticism means efficiency, versatility, resilience. Understanding how to properly train these qualities is RARE. When these qualities are not present, or not up to par, then focussing on training the accessories is putting the cart before the horse, and will almost always create deficiencies and and weaknesses that will compromise performance and result in unnecessary injuries.

How to Find a Legitimate Athletic Trainer

For an intelligent and sustainable approach to physical training for athletic development, seek out trainers/teachers who can demonstrate the qualities of true athleticism: efficiency, ease of movement, versatility, physical integrity and resilience, as well as a sufficient type and amount of strength to express those qualities.

Wondering where to start? Don’t just Google “best training programs for athletes” and think you’re getting the right thing. Any program that starts with strength training is not helping you address weaknesses. Send us an email [email protected].