Active isolated stretching

By Eoin Everard

As the summer approaches it is crucial that your players and clients can recover adequately from the increase in training and the do or die matches that may be ahead.

Over the next few months I will discuss some strategies you can use to keep yourself or your players healthy and injury free. The first strategy we are going to examine is stretching. It is essential that you get your muscles back to their original lengths following training. Failure to do so can lead to some muscles becoming chronically tight which will alter movement around the joint and can lead to injury or hamper performance.

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The differences in match demands across position and level in International Rugby League Match play.

Gary M. Dempsey

Strength and Conditioning Coach - England Rugby League & English Institute of Sport

Background: The use of Global Positioning Systems (GPS) has proved useful in describing positional differences in both rugby union (Cunniffe et al. 2009) and rugby league (Austin and Kelly 2012).

Purpose: The aim of this study was to (a) examine positional comparisons of locomotive and impact data of International Rugby League players and (b) determine if there were any differences across playing level (senior vs. academy).

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Altitude Training (Part 2): Hypoxic Training for Injury Rehabilitation

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Colin Griffin, The Altitude Centre Ireland  

When an athlete or player is side-lined as a result of injury, it can be a very frustrating experience. It can be a costly one too for professional athletes, as missing a competition due to injury can result in loss in earnings where prize money or match bonuses are involved. The prolonged time that an athlete spends unable to train can have physical as well a psychological consequences. Loss of competitive fitness and physical condition can result from a period of inactivity. Regaining that match or race fitness following a period of inactivity can be further time-consuming. There is also the psychological effect of not being able to train or compete while teammates and rivals can, which can affect an athlete’s confidence and morale. 

Hypoxic training can benefit an injured athlete or player in the rehabilitation process in the following ways:

·       Accelerate healing and recovery from injury, and return to full training and competition sooner

·       Maintaining fitness whilst injured

·       Avoid unwanted weight gain whilst injured

An injured player using Intermittent Hypoxic Exposure (IHE) 

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Altitude Training (Part 1) - Hypoxic Training for Field Sports

Colin Griffin

The English Rugby team using the Exercise Mask System for hypoxic training

Altitude training has been a practice used predominantly by endurance athletes for many decades, but recent evidence has shown that it can enhance performance in speed, power and repeated sprint sports. In the first blog on this topic, we will focus on the reported benefits and application of hypoxic training for field sports, and in particular its impact on Repeated Sprint Ability (RSA) performance.

Hypoxia – a condition where the respiring tissue is deprived of adequate oxygen; is said to enhance athletic performance at sea-level and improve competitive performance at altitude. The oxygen-reduced air provides an added training stimulus as living at altitude stimulates extra oxygen-carrying red blood cells, and exercising at altitude requires greater cardio-respiratory effort than at sea-level, resulting in training adaptations that improve athletic performance.

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Building Self Worth should be an integral focus for the S&C coach when working with adolescents.

By Guest Blogger Josh Fletcher

Adolescence is an important stage for developing both athletic foundations and life skills (Hansen, Larson & Dworkin, 2003).  Literature supports the notion that sports coaches can have a positive impact upon youth development.  This can encompass development of physical and sport specific skills as well as morals and values that can be transferred outside the sporting arena (Gould & Carson., 2008; Jones & Lavallee., 2008; Larson., 2000; Watson, Cannolea & Kadushina., 2011).

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Movement Competency...is it Important?

The topic of movement competency has received little attention in the scientific literature away from elite level sports performance. However, there are a few dedicated professionals who are striving to bring this topic to a wider audience with a view to increase people’s awareness of its importance for the reduction of unnecessary injuries.

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It’s not about how FAR, or how LONG, it’s about how HARD and how FAST.

By Guest Blogger Brendan Walsh

I’ve been saying for years that fat people finish marathons all the time. What people need to realize is that it isn’t about the distance covered, it’s about how quickly or intensely the distance was covered. I wish people would get this through their heads when January comes and they embark on the magic “run for weight loss” kick.

Some people are “built” for running long distances and some aren’t. On average, most people aren’t. “Why?” you may ask. The large majority of our population is just too structurally unsound to run over long distances. Imbalances at the ankle and hip can wreak havoc on the knees and lower back. Just ask any local physical therapist who his number one patient is. More often than not, he will say the long-distance runner. Professional long-distance runners are plagued with overuse injuries such as plantar fasciitis, shin splints, anterior knee pain, IT band/lateral knee pain, and hip and low back dysfunctions, and if you are one of these people, please check out mobility guru Kelly Starett (K-STAR) at mobiltywod.com.

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