Strength and Conditioning Training

Strength and Conditioning is the physical and physiological development of athletes for elite sporting performance. It also assists with injury prevention and ensures proper mechanics are applied during sporting activities. A strength and conditioning coach uses the recognised components of fitness to assess strength, power, agility, balance, flexibility, cardiovascular endurance, muscle endurance and core stability to design specific exercise programmes to achieve performance goals.

Whilst strength and conditioning is primarily used in elite sport there is no reason why a keen amateur athlete should not make use of the principles to improve their own personal ability. Strength requirements vary between sports; and even within the same sport, athletes will also have different technical and physical strengths and weaknesses and so each solution requires an individually designed training programme.

The initial role of the Strength and Conditioning coach is to identify your strong points and weaknesses and to assess the strength qualities required for your chosen sporting activity. Once this has been done, the coach can then measure and track these to ensure the Strength and Conditioning programme designed for you is effective and achieving its goals.

After your coach has completed your detailed assessment and designed a specific exercise programme, you will then have regular one-to-one sessions to assess your progress and introduce new exercises to ensure you continue to make performance gains and don’t encounter a training plateau. By combining the expertise of a Strength and Conditioning coach with your own desire and commitment to improve your performance, you will be able to achieve a significantly greater level of sporting ability and success.

Working with a Strength and Conditioning coach is not the same as using a Personal Trainer. Your coach will assess which training exercises will improve your performance and help you achieve your goals. To make the most of the training programme you will need to be driven and willing to commit to the training plan.