When an athlete suffers an injury, the early decisions made around their training can have a profound impact on their reconditioning timeline.

Research has shown that training the opposite limb can result in up to 77% of the gained strength transferring to the untrained (injured) limb. This is a result of adaptations in the nervous system that allow for a strong neural drive and coordinated contraction to be maintained in the injured side, despite it not actively moving.

Focusing on multi-joint exercises with slow eccentric and rapid concentric phases will maximize the transfer effect.

These positive neural adaptations accompany desirable hormonal responses to heavy resistance training, which may positively impact tissue healing.

If the goal is to optimize injury healing, and expedite a return to full performance, complete rest is rarely the answer.

Feel free to post any comments/questions below. If you found this helpful, please share/re-post it so others can benefit.

To your success,

Kevin Neeld
SpeedTrainingforHockey.com
HockeyTransformation.com
OptimizingAdaptation.com

P.S. For more information reconditioning injured athletes, check out Optimizing Adaptation & Performance

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During the season, there are time when players should perform extra “conditioning” work.
 
When making daily decisions on how to design this type of work, it’s helpful to ask these 3 questions:
 
· What does the player need?
· What has the player done recently?
· How long does the player have to recover?
 
This will help identify the most impactful training goal, appropriate training method, and volume of work to help the player make progress while not negatively impairing the ability to compete the next day.

Feel free to post any other comments/questions you have below. If you found this helpful, please share/re-post it so others can benefit.

To your success,

Kevin Neeld
SpeedTrainingforHockey.com
HockeyTransformation.com
OptimizingAdaptation.com

P.S. For more information on in- and off-season program design, training and reconditioning for injured players, and integrating sports science into a comprehensive training process, check out Optimizing Adaptation & Performance

Enter your first name and email below to sign up for my FREE Sports Performance and Hockey Training Newsletter!

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