David McCracken gives an insight into how to devise a gym plan for Falkirk's footballers
For any athlete a training regime is extremely important in trying to achieve their personal or collective goals.
However making sure the programme is perfect for the desired outcome is also crucial.
Falkirk Football Club gym manager and current Peterhead captain David McCracken gives his thoughts on the importance of strategy and preparation in putting on the correct sessions for the first-team and youth players - as well as giving the correct education.
He said: “Being in the gym isn’t all just about putting muscle on.
“The education thing with the youth players is massive to be able to understand they're training properly when they're going into the gym.
“I’m saying youth there is experienced pros who are similar. When I was younger I’d go to the gym and I’d do stuff because I know it and makes me feel good. Or there is maybe one or two things you pick up from players in the gym.
“But do you know what you’re doing? Are you working in the right range in terms of your sets, reps and weight? Your load you are putting into your session, is it correct? If you want to increase your muscle mass are you training in the right way to make that happen? Or are you training in the wrong way and all you are doing is building your strength and not changing the shape of the muscle?
“You can put on a strength session or a power session but it comes down to the individual and working round them.
“For instance one of the young boys that came in is very small, very light and he’s very slight. He’s not got a lot about him but on the pitch he’s a great player.
“Whereas there is another player of a similar age who is maybe a stone-and-a-half heavier and five inches taller so we have to work on different things.
“Player one is looking to bulk up and get stronger whereas player two is looking to drop a bit of body fat, become a bit leaner and that will help towards his pace.
“You can generalise sessions in a sense as both are looking to build on their physique in some way but one’s looking to bulk up and one’s looking to cut down.
“When I’m working with the youth team I have to try and mirror what the first-team is doing so it’s a similar progression from Under-20s.
“Of course if I’m doing stuff with the first-team boys that have been training at a higher level for a number of years in the gym then there is going to be a slight difference in both sides training.
“We brought on about seven or eight 16-year-olds this year from the youths so they are going to be training at a different level from the first-team.
“But there is nothing that says they can’t be training in the same way in terms of exercises but just adjusting their weight or making sure their technique is right and they understood what they are doing and why.
“There is a lot of eduction for them in that sense.”
Watch David McCracken discuss the importance of prehabilition work here