Strength Training

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Shelton High School says that weight training is “absolutely essential” for athletics. Strength training is an important part of athletics, and every athlete should be using this powerful tool to improve his or her game.
Strength training in sports is not only to improve one’s ability to perform better, but it can also prevent various injuries associated with sports. One such injury is the well known ankle injury. It constitutes 10 to 28 percent of all sports related injuries (Bellew 32). Ankle injuries are most common in sports requiring jumping and landing on one foot, such as basketball, football, and cross-country running. If a person is a strength athlete or spends a lot of time in the gym pumping iron, the chance of an ankle injury is much less.
Ankle injuries occur when there is too much twisting at the bony junction between the leg and the foot and most often when body weight is placed on the ground, such as when stepping on an uneven surface or a misplaced object. Of all injuries to the ankle, 85 percent involve ankle inversion, commonly known as “rolling the ankle in,” when the sole of the foot turns toward the opposite foot. In contrast, 10 percent of ankle injuries are known as high ankle sprains, involving the bones of the leg just above the foot, while only 5 percent occur by eversion, or turning out of the ankle. Inversion injuries mainly result in strains and tears of the ankle ligaments, while eversion injuries are more likely to result in a fracture of the ankle bones. Fortunately, however, fractures account for less than 15 percent of all ankle injuries (Bellew 33).
With the exception of a fracture, injuries to the ligaments, the connective tissue that connects bone to bone, of the ankle are classified in several ways. Perhaps the most common way is by the severity of symptoms and the looseness in the ankle following the injury. A Grade I injury typically shows minimal pain, swelling, loss o...