English 101
8 May 2014
Lifting
Natural God-given talent can only get an athlete so far. At some point they will need to realize that hard work will take them much further than talent ever could taking them. When an athlete trains during the off-season by lifting weights it helps him or her become physically ready for the season ahead. Without pre- training, showing up on the day of tryouts and hoping to be great and being able to do well is a horrible idea. A weight-lifting program is essential for any athlete to achieve top performance.
Weight lifting is important for several reasons. First and foremost it prepares an athlete’s body to endure the rigors of the physical sports. Typically athletes will experience an enhanced ability to perform their sport activities at an elevated level and also maintain a higher level of initial physical output all while being able to sustain those levels for longer periods of time. They will be able to imagine having the physical edge and upper hand on their opponent and thus being able to do whatever is wanted to do to the opponent. That one aspect of the game can completely change the whole game and how it is played. Look at all the great athletes, they all lifted weights. Michael Jordan, Kobe Bryant, Shaquille O’Neal, Dwight Howard, LeBron James, Dwayne Wade are excellent National Basketball Association examples. John Elway, Drew Brees, Michael Irvin and Emmitt Smith of the National Football League are all perfect examples of weight lifting and training put to use at their finest. They all reached greatness not on just pure talent but added to their repertoire of weight lifting and after years and years of dedication, heart and desire. “Well basically I started lifting going into my freshman year of high school and I used to do it Monday through Friday and when I was younger I didn’t always see dramatic results but in the end it all helped me out. Basically I’d tell anyone that being consistent with lifting and pushing yourself past the comfort zone will help benefit in any sport in all aspects it can and will make you a better player” (Kamalani Interview). This is all as a result of dedicated weight lifting.
Typically an athlete will experience an enhanced ability to perform their sport activities at an elevated level and also maintain a higher level of initial physical output all while being able to sustain those levels for longer periods of time. With competition being at such a high level, lifting helps athletes in many different ways. It helps them build as a person; most athletes do not have good lifting techniques until they work with experienced coaches. They learn proper technique and a variety of new exercises which helps them in their sports. Also the lifting helps them reach their potential growth or potential functional weight. Strength is sometimes not the goal but to maintain muscle is what is important to keep an athlete from getting injured. Also lifting builds team growth. Most athletes spend hours a day together so they get to know their teammates and create strong social bonds.
Lifting weights also helps reduce an athlete’s risk of injury. When an athlete has an injury, it usually is a broken bone or muscle and ligament strains. Muscles surround the bone and are attached to tendons. The stronger the muscle, the more it will complement the tendons, ligaments, and bones and make them stronger. Being physically fit allows injured athletes to recover quicker and enhances an athlete’s ability to perform. Their ability to do more work with less effort is the result of conditioning the muscles in a sports specific function. Lifting weights strengthens bones and tendons. It helps increase muscle volume and muscle conditioning. It allows an athlete to perform with a higher level of strength and speed. “Physically, athletes whom weight train and are in good condition will also be able to recover faster if and when an injury occurs. I see this in our setting and it is a proven fact” (Asing Interview).
If an athlete sustains an injury, the goal is to strengthen their injured part and also their overall body. This is why weight training is such an important subject for all sports from the court to the field or even water sports. Even though someone may have surgery on one arm he or she can still work out on the other arm and it benefits him or her by having a faster and quicker recovery. Lifting just strengthens those muscles that were injured so it will make them stronger for the next time they are used. With an injury lifting can help the rehab by strengthening what is needed. For example, if an athlete tears the anterior cruciate ligament, ACL, then strengthening the muscles around the knee such as the quadriceps and hamstrings will help the knee stabilize both before and after surgery, if needed. Lifting despite an injury can also lead to mental strength because athletes who get injured usually go into some depression because they cannot participate in what they love. So any little growth in rehab helps build the self-esteem of an athlete because they see the potential of getting back on the field or court.
Despite injuries, lifting weights challenges athletes’ mental strength to know how to push them harder even though they may be fatigued. Mental toughness comes with training day in and day out. Mentally, when an athlete is conditioned through weight training – they have the confidence to compete at the best of their ability, and therefore will be able to face the challenges of their sport. Children who participate in physical fitness programs are reported to have higher self-concepts that those who are inactive, although not all studies have reported positive relationships between fitness and childhood self-esteem. The more an athlete lift weights the stronger he becomes. The stronger people are the more dominant they are over weaker people. This builds confidence and the more confident they are the more dominant they will be.
There are many examples where being passionate and dedicated to lifting weights and weight training properly has propelled athletes to newer heights. It has brought out a type of player that they themselves thought they could never reach without the specific things that weightlifting has done. “I still maintain weightlifting records at my university till today. I was an All- American Strength and Conditioning athlete of the year, All- Mountain West Conference Linebacker, lead my team in tackles, Defensive Player of the week multiple times in the Mountain West Conference in my football career and the 2002 Hula Bowl Senior All-Star Game Most Valuable Player. None of those awards and accolades would have been possible if weight training was absent in my career” (Caires Interview). Leo Caires is a prime example of what weight lifting can do for any one athlete despite his or her size. He continued to work hard and persevere and reach unbelievable heights that he himself thought could never be done. The achievements and goals he reached are unmatched. Not many people believed in him and thought that it was possible for a guy like him to have as much success as he did, and he gives it all to weightlifting and his off-season preparation.
A weight-lifting program is essential for any athlete to achieve top performance. Without pre-training, going into the season unprepared and weak is not a good idea. It is proven that when athletes actually train and weight train properly, they would be able to their full potential and have their body working at top performance. With the other schools taking weight lifting more seriously and incorporating them more into their athletic programs and regiments, more championship competing teams should arising from each school. Talent can only do so much for a team or athlete, but hard work and perseverance to keep going is unmatched.

Works Cited
Asing, Alika. Certified Athletic Trainer. Personal Interview. January 11, 2012.
Caires, Leo. 4 Year Starter Middle Linebacker at D-1 Wyoming. Personal Interview.
January 16, 2012
Benefits of Lifting. Honolulu, Hawai’i: Makaainana Printing House, 1897. Print.
“Improving your performance.” BBC SPORT. N.p., 11/07/2005. Web. 11 Jan 2012.
Kamalani, Keloni. Current Starting Linebacker at Oregon, Rose Bowl Winner Personal
Interview. January 19, 2012.
Potter W., Norris, and Lawrence M. Kasdon. What and How on Lifting Weights. Honolulu, Hawai’i: Bess Press, 2003. Print.
Tua, Lemoe. Personal Trainer and Football Coach Personal Interview. January 07, 2012.
“Wounded Warrior Programs.” Wounded Warrior Project. N.p., n.d. Web. 17 Jan 2012.
<http://www.woundedwarriorproject.org/programs.asp&xgt;.