Maddux is sitting at a table with friends and loving his decision to order a freshly prepared slice of multi-layered cake.
Cooking isn’t for everyone. Eating on the other hand… especially getting your hands on a properly prepared meal or dessert by a chef… let’s face it, it’s just better that way.
Have you ever ordered something at a restaurant and decided to go home and make it yourself? For most of us, you know where this story lands… back to ordering at the restaurant… maybe even take-out!
Hey, WHY are we talking about food? (your kinda making me hungry)
Have you ever noticed there are different types of people working out around you? Those that clearly know what they’re doing like ON-A-MISSION Michael, those who look indecisive (and don’t achieve their goals) like FLOPPING Freddie, and those that do more watching than doing… and then there are some that your like… whoooa what are you doing?
Maddux is done with dessert and looking to get his workout in today. He plans on making the team when tryouts come in a few months.
Maddux’s Plan:
- Get stronger and faster
- Hit the ball to the fence
- Make it as an infielder or outfielder
Maddux knows what he wants. Fact is, Maddux started at 3B for his Middle School team. He now wants to make the High School team. The team where he knows there will be competition from others that started at 3B for their school, travel team and then there is the returning sophmore to compete with as well.
Guess what, Maddux hasn’t done a lot of performance training himself, so he is going to ask his dad (Bob) and mom (Tammy) for help.
Bob was a competitive H.S. athlete and was taught how to lift by his football coach, darn good running back and cornerback as well. Tammy wasn’t much into team sports (accept to be part of the community at games and have a good time with friends).
Tammy is a rockstar and uses the internet to find different things Maddux can do to help his chances. She shows up with printouts and links. Bob looks over it and doesn’t see a lot of what made him a starter on the team.
WHAT TO DO?
Bob and Tammy could whip up a freshly prepared training plan for Maddux and be an integral part of Maddux’s success when he makes the team! But wait… haven’t we been here before?
Let’s take a moment to geek out and identify the elphant in the room.. WHY WOULD YOU DO THAT?
Freddie is now going to be training using a plan baked for people at least 17 years old. Freddie’s following the recipe of a well made training plan, but meant for an older athlete. Freddie isn’t seeing the results he wants and frankly is confused.
Guess what, remember FLOPPING Freddie? … he’s using a training plan not prepared with the right ingredients… and we know where this will likely land.
The Need for General Physical Preparation (GPP)
KD Note: General Physical Preparation is a way to build a good physical base for an athlete, before they go into more sport specific training. This phase of training allows the athlete to increase their work capacity, so that when they move into different areas of training they do not require as much rest with a similar load, or are able to handle a larger load in general.
The KD Way: There are several layers of GPP and it is important to properly assess each athlete in order to objectively identify the athletes strengths and weaknesses. We’re assessing and creating training routines that are designed using the correct principles of GPP for our athletes.
The image displays a Kinetic Drive athlete during an evaluation of athletic preparedness:
How This Plays in Performance Improvement Training
Did You Know: GPP is a great stepping stone to more intensive, more focused training. GPP increases an individual’s capacity to work, reduces needed recovery time, improves the individual’s overall potential for improvement, and also works as a form of injury prevention.
GPP should be incorporated as the beginning training phase for anyone going into physical training, athlete or otherwise. Athletes are unique, one athlete may need to build their entire base, whereas another athlete only needs to “fill in holes” of the base they already possess.
Geek Talk: GPP is all about increasing an athlete’s work capacity. Say you have an athlete who wants to strengthen their arm through a VELO program, but is not able to properly make it through a 30-minute workout. When this athlete begins to work into higher intensity throws, with lower amounts of rest, their body will not know how to handle this. This is where something may begin to go wrong, i.e. injury or mechanical changes.
GPP works to build an athlete’s work capacity, so whenever that athlete decides to delve into different areas of training they are adequately equipped to do so.
Key Take-Away: General physical preparation is a key aspect of anyone’s fitness journey. Athletes are unique, one athlete may need to build their entire base, whereas another athlete only needs to “fill in holes” of the base they already possess. This phase will build a solid base of strength & work capacity, so that when the athlete moves on to more specified training they can handle a larger workload, thus progress faster.
How We Can Help:
Kinetic Drive’s training programs place performance-improvement training and skills training together in a purpose-driven way.
All Kinetic Drive lessons, programs (VELO, SMASH, SPEED, POWER),camps and clinics are designed to share and train each athlete using sports science.
Pairing Kinetic Drive’s cutting-edge technology available at hand, allows us to tackle problems such as UCS, which other training facilities may not be equipped to handle.
Train With Kinetic Drive: http://kinetic-drive.com
Find out why Kinetic Drive programs are tailored towards the modern athlete and how training with us can help steer you away from unneeded obstacles in your athletic journey.
Resources:
Duncan, F., & Craig Liebenson, D. C. (2019). General Physical Preparation: The big rock of fitness. Journalof Bodywork and Movement Therapies, 23(2), 372–374. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jbmt.2019.02.023
What Is GPP and Why Is It Important for Athletes? (n.d.). Physical Therapy and Personal Training in New York City | Sports Rehab in New York City – Reload PT. Retrieved September 27, 2022, from https://www.reloadpt.com/foundations-of-personal-fitness/what-is-gpp-and-why-is-it-important-for-athletes
Why Is General Physical Preparedness (GPP) Important for Long-Term Success? (2017, March 9). BarBend. https://barbend.com/general-physical-preparedness/
