In the past, the off-season for middle and high school
athletes was consumed by cross training through other sports.
Today, however, there are more sport-specific athletes. Therefore, the off-season has athletes focusing on strength and conditioning. Therefore, it is important to include sport-specific exercises in addition to sports-generic squats and bench press.
An
article published in the
Strength and Conditioning
Journal in 2010 praises the benefits of medicine ball training specifically for
rotational power sports, such as lacrosse.
It explains that medicine balls are especially
helpful because they allow a closer mimic of sports specific ranges of motion.
This is important for rotational sports because the athlete must attain a
maximum angular motion while still maintaining accuracy, such as while shooting
or passing.
Suggested medicine ball workouts include:
Earp, Jacob E MA, CSCS1; Kraemer, William J PhD, CSCS*D, FNSCA2 (2010). "Medicine Ball Training Implications for Rotational Power Sports." Strength and Conditioning Journal. 32, 4 (20-25).
