Soccer

The biggest challenge when coaching injured athletes is the mental aspect. It is important to be able to identify key areas for the individual to buy into, and have a solid rationale and program in place for them to smoothly progress through their rehabilitation. It is also important to be an ear for them and help them understand why they are doing certain things and how it will help them progress.
 
Transcript: "Beth yw'r gweithgaredd mwyaf pan fyddwch chi'n hyfforddi athletau sy'n cael eu haedlu? Rwy'n credu bod y ffynonell yn eithaf gwych, gwybod bod y unigol yn mynd trwy'r amser anodd iawn, oherwydd mae'n rhaid i'w gweithredu yn y rhan fwyaf o'u bywyd ar hyn o bryd neu'r sefyllfa, ac nid yw'n gallu cymryd rhan yn y sport sy'n ei hoffi. Felly fel hyfforddwyr, mae'n bwysig iawn ein bod yn gallu cydnabod ardalau pwysig i'r unigol i'w gael ei gael, o fywydd personol, ond hefyd cael rhesymau gwych i'w gweithredu i'w gweithredu i'w gweithredu i'w gweithredu i'w gweithredu. Ond mae'r asbect mentol yn eithaf fawr, fel y dwi'n dweud. I'w gweithredu i'r gynhyrch neu i'r pwynt bob dydd, gwybod bod y cyfnod yn ddiddorol, a gall y brosesau ymdrechion fod yn le llwn, felly mae'n rhaid i chi fod yn y rhan fwyaf o flynyddoedd i fuddsoddi at y broblemau a'u broblemau. A'u helpu i ddeall pam maen nhw'n gwneud pethau yn ystod y cyfnodau cyntaf, a sut mae'n helpu nhw i ddod o'r ffordd i'r cyfnod rhagor o gyd-ddatrys. Ond fel dwi'n dweud, rwy'n credu bod y asbect mentol yn fwy fawr i mi, yw cael y cymorth o'r unigol. Ac os gallwch chi gosod y brosesau yn ystod yn gyntaf, bydd hynny'n helpu chi i gael y cymorth o'r unigol i ddeall pam maen nhw'n gwneud pethau cyntaf a sut mae'n helpu nhw i ddod o'r ffordd."

My top tips for recovering after intense workouts are doing some breathwork, getting enough sleep, and having a good pre-bed routine that helps you wind down.
 
Transcript: "What are your top tips for recovery after intense workouts? I think one main thing around this is downregulating. So your breathing will be elevated, your heart rate will be elevated. So some breathwork protocols after training. So simply lying down, putting your feet up, slowing your breathing down. Utilising things like box breathing can be really good. So search for that if you're not quite sure what that is. So that's directly after training or after a workout. But then it comes back for me, the number one is sleep. Getting your sleep right, being consistent with your sleep time, your wake time. And also having a good routine before you go to bed. Not watching anything that's going to be too stimulating in your brain. Watching your caffeine consumption a few hours before bed. And just generally just trying to wind down, doing activities that just wind you down, get you into that state, ready for a deep sleep."

When designing an individualized training regime, it is important to research the sport in order to understand the physical requirements and needs. Additionally, factors such as age, training age, injury history, and playing position should be taken into account. Data around physical markers such as strength, power, and ability to recover should also be collected. All of this information should be combined to create a personalized program that will help the individual reach their peak performance.
 
Transcript: "Sut ydych chi'n creu rhegim trafodaeth unigol? I mi, fel rwy'n hoffi rhaglen ar unrhyw un sy'n mynd ymlaen gyda mi ar y cyfan cyntaf, dwi ddim yn gwybod pa mor bwysig yw'r rhegim. Byddwn yn ymchwilio'r sport, os nad ydw i'n gwybod ei lawer. Felly os yw'n allan o'r ffotbol, byddwn yn mynd ymlaen i ymchwilio'r sport, oherwydd mae'n bwysig iawn i gwybod pa mor bwysigau ffysigol sydd angen eu cymryd yn y sport. Ac yna o ran y unigol, edrych ar ffactorau cyfnodol fel eu hwyloedd, eu hwyloedd ymchwilio, eu hanes gysgwyr, eu lle i chwarae, ac yna hefyd edrych ar y ddata o ran rhai o'u cyfnodau ffysigol, felly rhai o'u KPIs. Felly, a ydyn nhw'n gallu eu cymryd yn eu sport? Os ydyn nhw, a allent gynhyrchu gwasanaeth yn gyflym iawn a bod yn agos a gwblhau mewn eu sport? Ac yna, a ydyn nhw'n gyflym? A ydyn nhw'n gallu cymryd gwasanaethau yn y rhan bwysig, os ydynt yn cael hamstringau, quadau, cawff, i allu cymryd rhan yn ôl yn y sport a chyflwyno'n dda a'n gyflym rhwng ymgyrchu a chwarae? Felly, yna, y cyfnod o'r holl ffactorau cyfnodol yn dod i'r un rhaglen, a byddai hynny'n rhoi cymorth i chi i gael gwybodaeth i'w rhaglen. Ac fel y dweudais, mae hynny'n wirioneddol yn ei gynhyrchu i'r unigol, nid yn rhaglen genedigol. Mae'n wir i ni ddod i'r holl ffactorau cyfnodol i'r unigol i gael gwybodaeth i'r holl ffactorau cyfnodol."

The Nordic hamstring exercise can be beneficial, but it should be taught correctly and progressed at the right time to avoid overuse or too much intensity.
 
Transcript: "The question is, is the Nordic Hamstring exercise beneficial or is it overrated? Well, I think it's definitely a widely discussed movement. We definitely know that it can elicit high levels of soreness and I think that's because athletes do it at a progression or they do way too much volume or intensity at once. So there definitely is value there. It's a high force movement. Obviously there's tools like the Nord Board and other products around the world that can give some sort of reading based off that movement. But we got to make sure that the movement is taught well and that we can actually progress the athlete to be proficient at that movement at the right time. Now for most athletes, I don't start them right at a Nordic. I'll start with some sort of regression whether that's a supine, leg curl, eccentric only and develop some strength there. And then eventually when we get to a Nordic movement, we might even start with a band. Two bands around the chest, can they get two sets of three reps, take away a band after a few weeks and then take away another band so they are just body weight. Eventually we can even overload that movement but I think it's an important movement if we can teach it well in the right dosage."

To help strengthen the hamstrings, we can use exercises like leg curls, which can be progressed by adding load at the hip while doing the eccentric and concentric movements. We can also progress to single-leg movements with the foot on the ground to maintain stability. Finally, nordics is a high force movement from the knee that can also be used to strengthen the hamstrings.
 
Transcript: "So, when we're talking about strength training for hamstring resilience, we've previously spoke about hip dominant movements, we're also going to speak about knee dominant movements. A knee dominant movement that I love is a leg curl. Super simple, it can be taught really easily and we can actually overload that movement as well. We might start with an early regression, something that is supine, two legs, eccentric only, where the athlete can really control that movement. Over time as they get stronger, we can even load that movement by adding some sort of load at the hip while they're going into that eccentric and coming back to that concentric movement. If we want to progress something like a single leg movement, that might be something that's an option as well. I like using something where the foot is on the ground so we keep a lot of stability and we focus on strength. Another movement we might focus on is Nordics, we'll talk about that in a little bit, but that's another high force movement from the knee that is going to be able to strengthen the hamstrings."

When talking about a hamstring strengthening program to reduce the likelihood of hamstring injuries, I like hip-dominant movements such as the Romanian deadlift (RDL). We want to make sure we choose the best movement for the athlete and that they can proficiently move to load that movement over time. To measure progress, single-leg RDLs and hand-supported variations are good options.
 
Transcript: "Anytime we are talking about a hamstring strengthening program to reduce the likelihood of hamstring injuries on the field, I like thinking about hip dominant movements like the RDL. The RDL can be done on two legs with a single leg, with a single leg hand support, and I think it depends on where you are at in that phase with the athlete or what you are trying to elicit from a response standpoint. Typically for me, I think in a rehab setting, you might use something that is more hand supported so we can really focus on strength if we are doing a single leg movement, but I want to make sure the athlete moves really well with that RDL, they know how to hinge, and also that we choose the right method to load that movement. That can be dumbbells, that can be a barbell, that can be a landmine variation or a kettlebell, whatever it might be, we want to choose the best movement that that athlete will respond well to and that they can proficiently move to load that movement over time. So if we choose an RDL, we want to make sure we progressively overload that movement in an appropriate manner, and then over time as we are improving that strength capacity later down the road, we will talk about how do we measure that. So single leg RDL has got to be the top ones for me, could be a double leg RDL, and if we are going with a single leg RDL, I like the hand supported, grab it onto a rack or to something stable so the hand that is holding the weight can really focus on having the stability there to overload that movement."