All top performers know how to play the game and how to execute the skill so why do we constantly see them vent their anger at the ball or the opponent or worse at themselves?
This happens when their brain knows what to do but their body either doesn’t react quickly enough or can’t get to where they want to be to execute the skill. This happens because their fitness regime is lacking in certain elements and the most common one that is missing is speed. Often I ask players what is the most important distance in a game of rugby. The answer is nearly always the first 5 metres. When I ask them how often they practise it, the answer is nearly always never!
A training programme should replicate ALL the physical and mental requirements of the sport, not just some of them. A fitness coach cannot just pick the ones he /she likes or knows more about. Why has speed and power, two of the most essential components of most sports, become the ones that are either never included in a training programme or if they are show the least improvement or in some cases are actually made worse?
The answer is the coach’s lack of knowledge in these two key components. I am often met with the response “ Speed and power are not my area of expertise”. If the fitness coaches work in performance sport and their sport requires speed and power then this answer is not fair to their team or individual that they are coaching. If you do not know how to put speed and power into a performance then all the other components do not fit either. In order to get speed you have to understand all the elements of speed, it doesn’t just involve running. If you do not train the right muscles in the right way then you will hinder speed and power. If you do not understand how to run and the correct technique governing how to run faster then how can you train the right muscles in the weights room?
If you bake a cake then you have to use all the ingredients listed in the recipe. If you leave some out then the results will be poor. Fitness is the same . There is a recipe to consistently improve speed and power, it is written in the Wellfast packages.
