Submitted by Stefan Overgaard, Owner of SXS Fitness in Toronto
One of the biggest challenges we see with young athletes is the difficulty of sticking to a consistent fitness routine. Due to so many other commitments, there isn’t always enough time to get to the gym. If you really want to make noticeable fitness gains, you need to be training a minimum 2-3 times per week in the gym (in addition to participating in other sports). For younger athletes, frequency specifically in the gym is less important and I would NOT sacrifice doing other sports in favour of more gym time. However, as you approach second-year U16 and certainly FIS you must ramp up your commitment in getting to the gym. While I’ll always recommend getting to a fully equipped training facility with professional supervision, that’s not always realistic.
A secondary option would be setting up a home gym. Sure, having a full squat rack with Olympic barbell and weights, treadmill, spin bike, benches, dumbbells, pulley system etc. is great, but many don’t have the room or the budget for this. An effective home gym can easily be done without much space and requires a minimum investment. Any good fitness professional can build a very effective training program for a wide variety of fitness levels with these simple pieces of equipment:
- TRX Suspension Trainer
- Stability Ball
- Box
- A few Kettlebells
- A few Resistance Bands
These items can all that can easily fit in the trunk of a car as well, so a home gym can also be a portable gym. The bottom line is when you can’t make it into the gym, be sure to have other options available. You can get a workout in with 30min or less, so there really isn’t any excuse not to be able to get in some form of training. This is especially important in the summer months when many are away at cottages, travelling, camp etc. If you can’t have a home/mobile gym available with a proper training program set up, try to get to an actual gym. Not having the time, space or equipment should never be a reason not to train. Remember you can have results or excuses; you can’t have both!
**If you have specific questions about gym set up and programming please feel free to contact Stefan directly stefan@sxsfitness.ca