Netball: Improve performance and reduce injury risk! Part 1
Wanting to push into a higher league or really establish your place in this team? Fearful of injury or slowing down on court as you gracefully age? Lifting in a gym along with explosive exercises and running drills can be an answer to the above questions. But what should you do? Going to a gym or lifting at home is/has become more popular as the stigmatism of lifting is being diminished. However, there is still are rumours that weight lifting is going to make people muscle bound and reduce performance in sport, and those who are lifting it can be very confusing as what to do.
Why Lifting for sports
Quite simply going to the gym with the appropriate program will increase sports performance. Netball players in higher leagues/grades are able to jump higher and run faster i.e. they all can apply more force faster (Hogath et al, 2021; Mackenzie et al, 2020). There are thousands of studies on pubmed researching into various gym exercises and prescriptions that improve sporting performance. Rather than writing war and peace on all the studies for you here is an extremely brief summary:
Getting stronger increases acceleration speed, top sprint speed, change of direction speed, endurance and jump height.
In addition being stronger can build more resilience to injuries (Beato et al, 2021). Nothing is ever going to stop injuries happening, but being stronger generally will mean when getting caught in awkward positions your body could find a positive way to react and move out rather than getting injured automatically.
Getting stronger creates more robust bone and soft tissue (muscles, tendons and ligaments).
Common Fears about lifting in a gym
One of the common fears about lifting weights in a gym is they will make you slow. This is a myth especially following some of the advice given later in this blog series. In sport everyone wants to be quicker to beat their opponents. Quickness we call Power. Power is defined as how quickly force can be produced. So to be more powerful speed and force needs to be increased. Both can be addressed in a gym: force is getting stronger speed is doing jumps etc or plyometrics. Both are equally needed as will be advised later.
Another myth is putting on too much muscle. Ladies this is very difficult without some pharmalogical intervention. Plus the amount of lifting performed around a full time job, training and matches will give the muscle a shapely tone, but not excessive growth. Lifting should be focused on improving sports performance. The lifting, conditioning and playing will return an athletic body after consistent training.
The Hidden Additional Benefit
This little gem is never spoken about but returns massively in sport and especially Netball. Getting stronger and more power makes players more solid when playing. What I mean is less easily pushed off the ball, in the 50:50 situations the physically stronger player is more likely to come away with the preferred result. They are able to absorb the force then return it making the opposition bounce off them. This isn’t about being more aggressive but about standing ground and the ability lifting gives players.
Hopefully this has persuaded you lifting will be good for Netball. If you want more details have a listen to the podcast on Lifting for Netball or contact us for more information. Netball players have a look at our online S&C for Netball Program.
References:
Beato M, Maroto-Izquierdo S, Turner AN, Bishop C. Implementing Strength Training Strategies for Injury Prevention in Soccer: Scientific Rationale and Methodological Recommendations. Int J Sports Physiol Perform. 2021 Mar 1;16(3):456-461. doi: 10.1123/ijspp.2020-0862. Epub 2021 Jan 27. PMID: 33503589.
Hogarth L, McKean M, McKenzie M, Collings T. Utility of an Isometric Midthigh Pull Test to Assess Lower Body Muscular Strength in Professional Netball Players. Int J Sports Physiol Perform. 2021 May 1;16(5):719-726. doi: 10.1123/ijspp.2019-0900. Epub 2021 Feb 9. PMID: 33561817.
McKenzie CR, Whatman C, Brughelli M. Performance Profiling of Female Youth Netball Players. J Strength Cond Res. 2020 Nov;34(11):3275-3283. doi: 10.1519/JSC.0000000000002958. PMID: 33105380.