3 mistakes of Pre-season
– Not gradually increasing workload – During your off-season whilst it is great to rest your body from the rigors of last season, it is vital to complete speed, strength and conditioning training in preparation for the pre-season. Going from nothing to a high amount of work places a large demand on the body which may increase your risk of injury due to demands of pre-season being greater than what the body may be able to tolerate.
– Not accounting for increased energy demands – Pre-season training is very gruelling due to the high amounts of volumes that will be attained during this period. If you are not compensating for this especially in the fuelling of your body may lead to you feeling lethargic and fatigued which in turn may also lead to an increased risk of injury as a fatigue can leads to compensation and overuse injuries. Also making sure we are getting plenty of sleep each night or even through naps can help reduce this fatigue also.
– Stopping strength training – Strength training is important in building overall resilience for the body. Just because you are now increasing your running and skill work, doesn’t mean you stop your strength work. As the volume of pre-season increases you will just reduce your training volume in the gym, while increasing the intensity of it.
This will allow you to continue to build or at least maintain your strength base which will keep you healthier overall going into the upcoming season.