Commentary: Why more athletes are retiring later like Serena Williams
To avoid this, most athletes now use polarised training, which favours moderate-intensity training. Polarised training still improves performance, but with less likelihood of injury or burnout.
Athletes may also use concurrent training, which combines both strength and endurance training in the same session. This kind of training is especially useful, considering most types of sports combine both strength and endurance.
Sports scientists and coaches now also understand a lot more about the demands of a sport, so they try to tailor training to target specific weaknesses or strengths in an athlete’s performance. All of this leads to less overtraining, illness and injury – which can help extend an athlete’s playing life.
SLEEP, ICE BATHS AND MORE FOR RECOVERY
We also now know more about the best ways to help an athlete recover.
For example, sleep is now known to be extremely important for an athlete’s performance. This is because sleep releases human growth hormone, which is important for muscle growth and maintaining muscle mass. This not only allows an athlete to perform at their best, it also helps them be ready for their next training session or competition.
Since the body secretes less human growth hormone as a person ages, ensuring an athlete gets a good night’s sleep can be one strategy for helping them avoid this and maintain their athletic performance.
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