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Only the Strong Will Rise
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By Jamie Uyeyama
It's not the old days anymore. It used to be that professional athletes would use training camp as a way to get in shape for the season. They would spend their off-season either lying on a beach or a couch. Those days are long over.
Now, there is no such thing as an off-season. To be a professional athlete, it takes year round dedication. If you aspire to get to that level, you need that same kind of dedication.
Competitive athletes are always looking for an edge to improve their skills. Strength and conditioning training gives them that edge.
Soccer players will often kick around with their friends everyday. Basketball players constantly are playing pick up games. Hockey players get on their roller blades and play street hockey. Every kid who dreams of a college scholarship is doing things like this when their seasons are over. The elite athletes are doing this and more. They are weight training. They are running sprints. They are doing agility drills. They are conditioning their bodies in order to get to the next level. And if they aren?t, then they will never get there.
High school athletes in Canada need to have a strength and conditioning program in order to compete with their counterparts down south. Most high schools in the US have programs that their teams can follow. Canadian student athletes do not have that luxury. This means that the onus in on themselves to do what needs to be done.
Athletes need to train in order to get to the next level. Personal trainers should mostly be avoided in this process. They are more appropriate for looking better, not improving physically for a sport. Training companies that will give you sports specific training are often the best option when looking for outside help to help progress one?s training.
Sometimes these companies are not always an option though due to the cost of their services. Fortunately, there are other options. Athletes should actively seek out their own coaches to see if they can help train them. Maybe they have a program they can follow or can simply guide them along the way. They should find friends with common goals to train with. It is hard to pursue an athletic dream on your own. If someone is by your side pushing you, the motivation to run a couple of extra sprints or do a few extra reps will always be there.
Bigger, faster, stronger is the name of game these days. If you aren?t trying to achieve those three things, you might be stuck sitting on the sidelines. Thousands of athletes are competing for the same college scholarships every year. Others are training hard to get that edge in the athletic arena. In the end, the strong will rise up and grasp the opportunities presented. And the only way to be strong is to train your butt off.
Questions? Jamie Uyeyama can be reached at jamieuyeyama@gmail.com
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