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Training
and Condition
Bringing out your inner Schwarzenegger
By CS Sloan Professional Nutritionist
If you’ve read any of my columns for
SPLAT then I hope you’ve figured out one thing: Paintballers are
athletes, too. As such, you should train and eat like an athlete.
It’s time to take your training and conditioning program—not to
mention your diet—just as seriously as athletes in other sports
take theirs.
Your weight training should focus on not just muscular strength,
but also speed and endurance. You also need to make sure you increase
your aerobic capacity and your muscles’ general work capacity via
conditioning.
The question, of course, is: How in
the world do you go about working on these aspects? Never friggin’
fear, because I have just the information you need.
Weight Training
The first things a real athlete needs to understand about weight
training are the three methods for building strength (whether that
strength is geared for power, endurance, etc.). The three methods
for strength development are 1) the repetition method, 2) the maximum
effort method, and 3) the dynamic method.
The first method you need to focus on is the one that is most widely
used—the repetition method. This method is performed like it sounds.
You pick a weight and do as many repetitions as possible to failure
or near muscular failure. This method is best used for gaining muscle
mass and for building endurance. However, it’s a very poor way to
build absolute strength, power, or speed.
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The second method that you need
to concentrate on once you have established a solid base using
the repetition method is the maximum effort method. This method
refers to training that is performed in the 85–100 percent range
of the lifter’s one-rep maximum. The repetitions here would
fall somewhere between one and five.
The third method should also be
incorporated by athletes, but only once a good deal of training
time has been spent on the repetition method and then the maximum
effort method. This is the dynamic method. With this method,
you use weights that are in the 50–70 percent range of your
one-rep maximum, but the focus is on speed. You should be moving
the bar as quickly as possible. As a paintballer, you don’t
have to spend as much time on this method as other athletes
would, even at the advanced level. The paintball athlete needs
to be more concerned with muscular endurance and strength. Now
let’s look at some of the other variables you need to consider
when designing a workout program.
The first factor is what days of the week you should train,
and what muscle groups should be trained during these days.
You should be training on either a full-body program or on a
two-way split—training half of your body on one day and the
other half on the other. Also, there is no reason to weight
train more than three to four days a week.
The second most important factor to consider is exercise selection.
Two questions here. What muscle groups are the most important
for paintballers to train, and what exercises are best to work
these muscle groups?
Like most athletes, the most important muscle groups for paintballers
to train are the ones on the rear of the body. This means your
lower, middle, and upper back, your hamstrings, and (although
not nearly as important) your calf muscles. The muscle groups
on the front of your body that you need to focus on include
your abdominals (the most important), your shoulders, and your
quadriceps.
One thing that most paintballers are—or should be—concerned
with when it comes to exercise selection is the amount of time
that has to be spent on an exercise. If you’re in the gym all
day long, then this takes away from valuable time you could
be using elsewhere in preparation for your paintball endeavors.
You should concentrate on heavy (relatively speaking) compound
movements. Some good exercises include squats for your quadriceps,
hamstrings, and lower back; deadlifts for your hamstrings, your
entire back, abdominals, and grip strength; and overhead presses
for your shoulder girdle and your upper back. Biceps are essentially
just a “showy” muscle group, and training them doesn’t have
much of a carryover to your sport. |
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Conditioning
Now that we have enough aspects of proper weight training
covered, it’s time to look at the conditioning part of your
training routine. Even though weight training helps to condition
your body for paintball play—especially if you haven’t done
it before—there is more you can do to make sure you are in
peak shape come the day of the tournament.
I think that the best kind of training the paintball athlete
can do is GPP—or General Physical Preparedness. GPP training
gets you in better shape by increasing your total work capacity.
This means you can compete longer and harder on the day of
your competition without tiring.
I would encourage your paintball team to perform these activities
together. Almost all of the activities can be done in the
form of a little friendly competition—and there’s nothing
like a little competition to get the competitive paintball
fire burning.
Good exercises are:
Push-Ups
Boxing/Kickboxing
Farmer’s Walks
Some Advice
When you first embark on GPP work, try adding it twice a week
to your regular training routine. Do it on different days
than your weight training.
Diet
The dreaded D word: diet. Eating properly doesn’t have to
be so bad, however. Nor does it have to be as complicated
as some people make it.
As a paintballer, you need to make sure your diet—first and
foremost—gives you enough energy for your chosen endeavor.
This means you need plenty of carbohydrates. Carbs have gotten
a bad rap lately, but that is because most sedentary folks
eat way too many bad carbohydrates. Once your body has enough
carbs, you need to make sure you give it enough protein.
Some good snacks include fruit (any kind, as long as it’s
fresh), yogurt, cottage cheese, and any sort of nuts (a good
source of healthy fat). Stay away from sodas, even diet ones.
For something to drink, stick with water, black coffee, unsweetened
tea, and skim milk.
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Eat
for Competition
Most people are unaware of the fact that what you eat the day
before competition is even more important than what you eat
the day of the competition. If you plan on having any energy
come tournament day, then you have to eat the right things the
day before.
The day before your tournament, try adding a couple of additional
meals. These meals don’t have to be large, but they need to
contain at least a little protein and plenty of complex carbohydrates—rice,
potatoes, yams, oatmeal, and pasta are all excellent choices.
Also, don’t go more than two hours on this day without eating
something.
On the day of your tournament, wake up and consume a fairly
large breakfast—a bowl of oatmeal, a couple pieces of toast,
and two or three eggs would fit the bill nicely. Right before
competition begins, consume a snack that contains both protein
and carbohydrates (a little fat wouldn’t hurt, either). Something
like a cup of yogurt topped with peanuts works pretty well here.
Eating this sort of snack before the tournament will help to
ensure that you maintain steady blood sugar levels—a must if
you plan on sustaining your energy.
During the tournament, make sure you consume enough fluids to
stay well hydrated. Drink either water or an energy drink such
as Gatorade. Stay away from any kind of carbonated beverage—even
energy drinks that are lightly carbonated.
Summing This Thing Up
There you have it. Your ultimate guide to proper training and
conditioning—not to mention good nutrition habits. You don’t
have to follow any of my advice, but you don’t have to be a
winner either.
Remember, winners adjust and adapt. Losers make excuses.
| Links to
the 4 Part Article: |
|
Paintball
Strategy
|
Training
that would make A-Rod cry
By Matty Marshall Pro Player,
Team XSV |
|
The
Winning Mentality
|
We put
the Men back into Mental
By Pete
Siegel Sports Hypnotherapist
|
|
Training and
Conditioning
|
Bring out
your inner Schwarzenegger
By
CS Sloan Professional Nutritionist
|
|
Expert
Maintenance
and Teching
|
Becoming
a geek even Bill Gates would make fun of
By Dave Araki Technical Witch
Doctor |
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©Copyright 2005 www.splatmagazine.com All Rights
Reserved
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