Training

I have been an avid reader and subscriber to Indian Time for over two years. In the time that I have been reading I have noticed that there are many high level athletes in many different sports in the Akwesasne area. I have read about Akwesasne residents who excel and/or participate in a vast array of sports and sporting endeavors. From full contact sports such as lacrosse, hockey and football to the more skilled sports like volleyball, baseball and softball.

The reason for writing this column is to spread the word on proper training for the above mentioned athletes. In training athletes, I have seen many different training programs over the years. Some good and some bad but I have seen more bad than good. Most athletes are on some “cookie cut” routine that has been found in a magazine write up or on the internet. Most of the time, these training “articles” are written by authors who have no actual experience in the training of an athlete for a specific sport. I have seen a personal trainer who trains an athlete with one routine and then will train a housewife, who is looking to lose weight, with the exact same routine or set/rep scheme. Athletes of different sports need their own training schemes to emphasize and overcome weak points. Are you weak? Then get stronger. Are you slow? Then get faster. But how one gets to the end will be different for all athletes. Why would a hockey player have the same weight training program as a football player? They shouldn’t, as they both have different needs on their given sport. Even in the same sport such as football, a senior starter should not have the same program in season as a freshman third stringer. I have trained many athletes from many different sports both male and female and each has achieved goals that they couldn’t achieve without the proper guidance.

These are just some points to ponder and insure that all athletes have structure to their training programs. A balanced and comprehensive training program should achieve three goals in the area of athletics, make one stronger, make one faster and make one more resistant to injury. Even if one is not an athlete, exercise incorporating both resistance and cardio will make one a more healthy individual. So get out and find a proper trainer to get you started in the right direction. Be sure that they are qualified by training and experience and have a grasp on your specific needs in your specific sport. I will try and answer all questions that can be sent to me at tdelorimiere@gmail.com. If I don’t answer personally I will hopefully answer in a future issue of Indian Time. Best of Luck in all of your training and sporting endeavors.

*Thomas Delorimiere is a trainer of athletes who has trained athletes in various sports. He is also an active participant in many different sports. He is an American drug free record holder in the squat with a lift of 805 pounds. He has trained hockey, basketball, football and cross country athletes as well as powerlifters and strongmen. He has studied and is a firm believer in the Russian conjugate methods and principles, which brought the old USSR regime to athletic prominence in the 1960’s, 70’s and 80’s. When not training athletes or himself, he coaches youth hockey and lacrosse in the Niagara area.