If you keep up to date with the latest fitness trends, you’re probably of the opinion that traditional resistance equipment is fast losing its place on the gym floor to functional training areas and rigs – and in some instances, you would be right.
However, fixed strength equipment still plays a key role in many facilities – and it’s powering some of the world’s top professional sportsmen and women to success, from global stars of the tennis world to Premier League football teams. But incorporating fixed strength equipment into sport-specific training programmes isn’t something that should be perceived as exclusive to professional athletes; it’s accessible to players of all ages and abilities.
As Cybex UK’s commercial director Rob Thurston explains: “Fixed strength equipment is still central to many gym floor layouts and users shouldn’t be intimidated by it. There are countless examples of sportspeople at all levels combining strength equipment into their training programmes, but it’s all about using the right pieces of equipment to develop the physical attributes most applicable to you and your sport.”
Such training will have the maximum effect providing best practice is followed, adds Chris Armstrong, strength and conditioning coach at Warwickshire County Cricket Club: “The key is to make the exercise movements as sport-specific as possible, ensuring good technique and that the focus is on the player’s range of movement as opposed to the weight they can lift.”
We look at ways in which fixed resistance kit is being used by elite athletes, and how amateur sports enthusiasts can incorporate similar techniques into their training.
