Introduction
My name is Mark, and I work with Planet Fitness Hub, where we offer personalized training for athletes. We aim to provide specialized training that meets client needs. Our training sessions are personalized, whereby every athlete has their trainer and their training schedule. This is important to meet each athlete’s needs and goals. All training programs offered here are meant to meet the athlete’s needs to excel in their sport. In this particular project, I will be offering training sessions to Calvin Gray, a 22-year-old sprinter with the potential to get to international competitions. Gray is a seasoned sprinter who only runs during school competitions. For the past year, he has not participated in any competition due to COVID-19 restrictions, making him dormant. However, the limits have been removed, and he is supposed to get in around early next year.
Stabilization Training
Gray successfully passed phase one training; in this phase, balance stabilization training is offered whereby the athlete trains to balance their body correctly during different situations when sprinting. This training is focused on small body muscles and joints (Blagrove et al. 1392). This exercise is done for the first four weeks of training, and it involves three core exercises. Firstly, the single-leg balance whereby the athlete is supposed to stand tall with their shoulders back and feet pointing forward. The athletes lift their left leg and hug it gently on their chest while maintaining a stable posture. The position is held for the longest time possible, and the athlete repeats with the right leg. The second exercise is a single leg reach whereby while the athlete is standing with shoulders straight. They bend at the hips while simultaneously extending their left leg behind them and reaching forward with the right arm. The athlete is supposed to do their best to maintain this position. A similar procedure is repeated while using the right leg.
The third procedure is single leg throw and catch, and it is usually done with a trainer whereby the athlete and their trainer stand about six feet apart. A ball is tossed back and forth to the athlete whose left leg is lifted and balanced with their right leg. This procedure is repeated while balancing on the left leg. Different balls are used in this phase as the progress continues. The fourth phase is plank reaches; this exercise begins where the athlete is in a high plank position while their arms are straight below the shoulders and the back is flat. The athlete lifts the left leg while simultaneously extending the right hand to achieve a straight position. The position is held for three to five seconds, and the exercise is repeated for the right leg and the left arm (Blagrove et al. 1392). These exercises enable the joints to be stable and reduce the risk of getting injured while taking other practices and during the competition. They help the body to distribute physical stress evenly.
The second phase which Gray will undergo is endurance training. Under my guidance, Gray will undergo a hybrid of exercises that will involve a significant amount of volume. These exercises are crucial to Gray as they increase his endurance, stability, strength, and hypertrophy, the core requirements for strength and conditioning. This phase expands Gray’s workout intensity where the sets increase to four, and the repetitions remain high. This phase also has a reduced resting time, thus raising the challenge, improving his strength and endurance. These exercises are categorized into different groups. This includes a warm-up, core resistance, and cool-down exercises. My goal is to take Gray through a four-week training period which motivates him to increase his flexibility, strength, power, speed, swiftness, and overall performance. The primary goal of this training is to reduce Gray’s athletic injuries. It is common for sprinters to suffer from shoulder and back injuries. To avoid these complications, the athlete requires exercises that strengthen these parts.
Strength and endurance training gives proper conditioning to the athlete when applied correctly. It helps the athletes like Gray to attain numerous goals simultaneously. This program is essential for athletes willing to improve their heart rates and increase their endurance (Blagrove et al. 1394). Due to the global pandemic, sports activities have reduced in the past year, making Gray add weight, and his fitness is not great. Gray intends to lose the excess weight and regain his fitness for the upcoming track activities. The workout plan contains warm-up exercises that include stretching and foam rolling. These exercises are core for activating the body for much more intensive practices. Mixing of stability and strength-based exercises improves the stability of the athlete. It is important to note that this workout is built of identical supersets mixed with strength and stability workouts. This is different from joint exercises as it combines two exercises simultaneously.
Warm-Up
The warm-up session is crucial in Gray’s training as they form the base for more strenuous exercise. The warm-up includes doing the activities at a slower pace and low intensity. This progressively opens up the cardiovascular system by increasing the body temperature and improving blood flow to the muscles. Sprinting requires maximum effort with swift limb movements; therefore, warming up is essential in reducing muscle soreness and reducing the risk of muscle injury (Blagrove et al. 1395). Warm-up sessions are supposed to be done for every exercise. To begin warming up, Gray should focus on the large muscle groups such as the hamstrings and then move to more specific ones. For the first warm-up exercise, Gray is supposed to slowly run around the track for three laps, followed by a ten-minute stretching routine where Gray stretches the lungs, quads and does side bends. The warm-up exercises are dependent on the weather conditions whereby Gray will take less time, and during cold weather, he needs more time to warm up the body.
Cool-Down
Cool down exercises are identical to warm-up sessions whereby Gray can continue the workout session for three to five minutes at a slower pace and less intensity. Cooling down exercises help the body recover from the high heart rate and blood pressure. It helps control blood flow in the muscles and prepare the body for the subsequent workout (Blagrove et al. 1397). After every exercise, Gray should continue with the activity slowly. This is necessary to avoid blood pooling which causes dizziness. These exercises should be strictly followed to enhance the results of the training.
Strength and Conditioning Exercises
Single Leg Calf Raise
The above exercises are the most beneficial ones, especially to sprinters like Gray from our previous observation. These exercises are carefully selected from an endless list of activities that sprinters could use. The first activity is the single-leg calf raise. Gray should stand on a low step on one foot while facing a wall with the heels overhang to ensure the fingertips control the balance. The hips are raised as high as possible while squeezing the calf. The heel should be lowered below the step level, and the knee should remain straight. This exercise should be done for ten repetitions on each leg. This activity is crucial in enhancing the strength of the calf muscles and the soft tissues surrounding the Achilles tendon and the ankle (Blagrove et al. 1397). This exercise is done on bare feet to increase the range of motion.
Single Leg Raise and Shoulder Press
The second activity is single leg raise, and to perform this activity, Gray is supposed to lie straight on one side. Raising the leg while keeping it straightforward and holding it in that position for three to five seconds. This exercise is repeated ten times for each leg. These moves help to improve the strength of the abductor’s muscles. After that, the third exercise is the squat to shoulder press. Gray is supposed to pick two five-kilogram dumbbells and place them in line with the shoulders. He should perform squats while maintaining a natural body curve without the knees passing ninety degrees. The dumbbells should be raised when going up and lowered to the shoulder when going down to control balance (Blagrove et al. 1397). Two sets with ten repetitions are done for this activity. This exercise affects the glutes, quads, triceps, core and deltoids; this improves strength and body balance.
Knee Crunch and the Kickback
The fourth exercise is the knee crunch, whereby Gray is supposed to lay on the back with the eyes looking up and the knees slightly curved. The arms should be crossed over the chest, and the body curled up from one side to the other for ten repetitions. This exercise is vital for core and hip flexors (Blagrove et al. 1398). The fifth style is the kickback, whereby the athlete is supposed to be on hand and knees and bring one knee to the chest. The leg should be extended to the back to the highest possible position before moving to the original place. This exercise should be done for two sets, each having ten replications.
Lunge and Lunge with a Medical Ball
The sixth activity is lunge and lunge with a medicine ball. This is done by standing upright with the arms held in three positions: to the front, on the side and straight up. Gray is supposed to take a long step forward to achieve a flat foot and ninety degrees on both feet. He is supposed to force out through the heel of the lunging leg and go back to the initial position. This process is done for three sets with five repetitions (Blagrove et al. 1398). The activity is essential in strengthening the quads, hamstrings, core, and glutes.
Conclusion
By the end of this training period, Gray would have lost weight while his body has achieved the necessary strength and balance it requires to give good results on the track. It is expected that Gray may experience some muscle stiffness and soreness; however, these will disappear after a few days. Gray is also likely to watch his diet by eating a balanced diet and avoiding junk foods to provide the muscles with enough energy for these activities. He is also expected to say hydrated and get enough sleep throughout the program to enable the body to recover fully. After these instructions are followed correctly, Gray will emerge as one of the best athletes in the upcoming competition.
Work Cited
Blagrove, Richard C. et al. “Strength and Conditioning Habits of Competitive Distance Runners”. Journal of Strength and Conditioning Research, vol 34, no. 5, 2020, pp. 1392-1399. Ovid Technologies (Wolters Kluwer Health).