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What's the purpose of Strength and Conditioning?
The aim of the WAIS Strength and Conditioning service is to provide institute athletes training facilities and individual training programs designed to maximise their athletic potential and performance.
The Strength and Conditioning staff provide specialised training programs for strength, power, endurance and injury prevention and rehabilitation. These programs are supervised to ensure maximal training effectiveness, and are monitored via regular assessment of strength and power.
Crucial to the performance of Strength & Conditioning is the ability to integrate the expertise of a number of professional providers to ensure that every component of the athletes training program is integrated and working towards maximising the athletes' performance at competition.
Ideally located within the same facility, Strength & Conditioning staff combine with the sports head coach, biomechanists, physiologists and psychologists to provide a complete service to the athlete. In the area of sports medicine, the Strength & Conditioning staff liaise closely with some of Perth’s leading sports physicians and physiotherapists to assist athletes overcome and prevent injury.
What's in the gym?
The WAIS strength and conditioning facility was specifically built to cater for the elite athlete and as such does not look like a conventional public facility. It is designed for strength and power development and is primarily equipped with free weight exercises. The machine exercises that are available have been modified to suit the wide range of athletes that use them – from junior gymnasts to elite swimmers. Extra heavy weight stacks, increased range of motion, additional safety features and further adjustments are a few of the modifications that were necessary.
The facility contains two lifting platforms for the performance of the more advanced technical and power orientated exercises which allow for weights to be dropped.
The weights used on the platforms are of world class standard (Eleiko) and are one of only two brands that are ratified by the International Olympic Committee to be used at the Olympic Games.
Technology also features in the facility in an effort to provide athletes with real time feedback on their performance. Several of the pieces of equipment have been instrumented and linked up to computer feedback software designed at the institute. These systems are used by the athlete and strength and conditioning staff during training, to ensure they work at maximal intensity, and, during testing to monitor their adaptation and progress throughout the year. Additional feedback occurs via video filming of athletes during their training sessions to monitor technique and provide reinforcement of safe movement patterns.
Staff
There are currently three full-time staff members at WAIS. Between them, they are responsible for the design, implementation and supervision of strength and conditioning programs and provide programming and supervision for athletes associated with the institute. In addition to servicing their respective sports, the coaches are further responsible for continually evaluating scientific knowledge relating to strength and conditioning and where relevant provide education to coaches, athletes and other staff on its implications for training and performance.
Further to this, WAIS strength and conditioning also operates an internship system, employing emerging strength and conditioning professionals to assist with programs and servicing, whilst also aiding their professional development in the process.
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