Although this training method has a very similar basis to a specific training program, a specific training program would concentrate the same fitness components, they would be made more specialised to football players. I. E. too make it specific you would do your speed and agility training by taking a football round cones then pass it on to the next person; and to practise balance they might have to control a pass while under pressure form a defender behind them.
Direct or in direct, both methods will take advantage of the new scientific developments over the last 30 years, for example nowadays we have the aid of FVC and FEV1 test to make sure breathing patterns are normal and we have the VO2 max and Wingate tests to see how good our aerobic and anaerobic fitness levels are. Footballers have been given great help by technological advances in the last 30 years, especially in terms of gym equipment; as football is such an all body exercise, the latest all body aerobic exercises that can be done in the gym benefit them greatly.
For instance the rowing machine and the cross-trainers are very good ways on improving upper and lower body aerobic endurance. The effort levels can be easily changed on the latest machines which means you can also train in a fartlek style, as you can change the level of effort you have to put it to get moving, so you can work at a slow walking pace or a jogging pace or at full pace; and because this is what happens in reality on the football pitch this is very ideal for specific training.
The attitude and lifestyle of footballers (in particularly professional footballers) has changed dramatically in the last 30 years. Especially in terms of attitude towards alcohol and in general “nights out”. A prime bad example of some ones attitude towards going out and playing football is George Best. He became a footballing super star very quickly and was making too much money for his own good, as a result of this he began drinking excessively and eventually women and drinking took over his priorities and he faded out of the football scene and soon became and alcoholic.
After years of heavy drinking he was admitted to hospital for an emergency liver transplant where he needed over 40 pints of blood in order to survive the operation after a having a haemorrhage in his liver. After the operation he was warned if he ever drunk alcohol again he was severely risking his life. Although there has never been any set rules which professional footballers must abide by, over the last 30 years the general attitude towards alcohol has changed dramatically, it’s very unlikely that any professional footballer will drink any amount of alcohol very regularly.
The opinions towards healthy eating in professional footballing has also changed, as although there are no rules footballers will eat a healthy balanced diet in order to recover and build their muscles. Another major change in the training styles of professional football teams is how frequently they train, over the last 30 years the amount of training done has increased dramatically, most professional teams train 5/6 days a week.
But more recently it has been proven that you can over train your self, and your muscles will have no time to rest, so that next time you exercise your muscles will began to fatigue very quickly. The technological development in football over the last 30 years has been dramatic, mainly due too scientific enhancements, in terms of new technology in gym equipment; but also in terms of having a new understanding of training techniques and the effect dieting and alcohol can have on your performance. Technological Development in Sprinting over the last 30 years
The technological development in sprinting over the last 30 years has been dramatic; as new scientific clothing designs have been made to become as aerodynamic as possible, as well as the development in clothing the methods and styles of training have also been re worked to become much more beneficial to the athlete. The use of drugs in general athletics has changed a lot over the 30 years as well, the science to counter the new drugs that are coming out has also been developed. Training Most modern sprint trainers break down the technique into different parts to train and improve on, too then hopefully put all together in an actual race.
The training involved direct and indirect exercises, for example the sprinter would do weight training on leg and arms in order to have the power to be a fast sprinter; yet they will also do sprinting exercises in order to practise the specific distances. Modern day sprint training will include skipping and training with medicine balls or even possibly dance, this is too improve balance, posture and stability of the trunk. Also general fitness must be improved to be a very good sprinter, but not through jogging, the training used by sprinters to improve general fitness as well as muscular strength is through circuit training.
This works so effectively because it works throughout your whole body, going from upper body exercises to lower body exercises as you go around the circuit. It has also been recognised that running technique and stance is very important. Sprinters will be trained to run in a relaxed but straight style, it has been proven that to make your running look very relaxed and easy is the fastest and most efficient running posture.
The training for sprinting is usually broken down, but very specifically, for instance to improve maximum power trainers believe it is best to progress from short sprints (i. e. shuttle runs) onto slightly further distances, until the trainer and the athletes thinks they are ready to start training specifically for 100m’s for example. Yet because sprinting is a very tiring exercise, it is very easy to over train and become tired. For example if some ones 60m times were: 8. 30, 8. 20. 8. 25, 8. 30,8. 60,8. 80,9. 00; the trainer should have ended the training session after the first significant drop in speed, i. e. after the 5th run when there was a noticeable increase in time, suggesting that the runner had done too much sprinting.
Over the last 30 years the main development in sprinting, has been the sprint start, which has been recognised as the most critical part of the race. In modern day sprint training this will be focussed on significantly, as it is vital for the success of a sprinter. A lot of sprinters will train with partners to practise their sprint starts (for example starting off the blocks up to the 20m mark), as this will increase the competitiveness of the training and hopeful help the sprints reach their maximum effort levels.
Over the last 30 years the sprint start has been recognised to be so important that a lot of sprinters will spend much of their training time just perfecting their body position and the way they push off the blocks. A model sprint start looks something like this: Over the last 30 years the sprint start has been perfected greatly, some trainers use recordings of their sprinters starts; so that they can go through their start frame by frame too indicate any mistakes or improvements that can be made.
By watching a frame-by-frame recording of a sprinter’s start the trainers can specify how they want their sprinters to progress into a standing position. As this is very important; when accelerating the sprinter will be wanting to have wide feet in order to get the maximum out of push and grip from the ground, they will also keep in a low position to stay aerodynamic, slowing rising into a full standing position by around the 15 metre mark.
Sprinters have also gained a lot form the progression in sports gym equipment, with all the equipment available for upper and lower body power. The weights can be as specific as possible for running; as the angle of flexion on a leg weight exercise can be altered to match the same amount of flexion that would be exerted when running. The various types of weight machine accessible mean that sprinters can exercise each of the vital muscles for sprinting separately in order to get to the optimum strength and power that they require.
Attitude In athletics the attitude towards the sport has always been much more professional in comparison too a sport like football, as in the athletics world it has been recognised for some time that being healthy is vital for success as the main basis of athletics is being fit and bodied for your event. Yet the use of performance enhancing drugs is much more wide spread throughout the athletics world, and the actions taken to prevent it are much more wide spread.
The most difficult form of cheating to detect is blood doping, which is giving your body excess red blood cells for oxygen, but this has very little benefit for sprinters, as they do not need a good aerobic fitness level. Whereas drugs such as steroids which improve muscular strength and power will give athletes a much bigger advantage in sprint events, although these drugs are much more easily detected than blood doping is. Although over the last 30 years scientists have designed quick and effective ways for testing athletes for anabolic steroids, there are still drugs being designed in order to bypass the tests.
A very good example is recently a new type of steroid called THG (tetrahydrogestrinone) which had been discovered by scientists as is deemed as an illegal drug in sport, after making a test which could test for THG athletes took the test. Dwain Chambers (International 100m sprinter) was tested for THG and the results were positive, he then repeated the test, again the results came back as positive and the IAAF has suspended him. He now faces a minimum of a 2-year ban; but under the British Olympic Association rules he would be banned for life.