People, especially young athletes, want to train like professionals.  They want to do the same type of training their favorite athlete is doing.  And why wouldn’t they? If they got to that level it’s got to be because of the way they train, right? Or maybe not…Let me give you a couple reasons why you might want to reconsider training like a pro athlete.

1. Athletes generally don’t know more than you do.  Athletes are people just like everyone else, and because they are professional athletes doesn’t mean they know everything there is to know about training or anything else.  Granted, they have tremendous skills and physical abilities to perform and they have a lot more training experience than the Average Joe.  But the fact is, they are no experts in human anatomy or physiology and they chose to train in certain ways because they have been told (or convinced) by some trainer or coach that it was the best way to do things.  And the fact of the matter is that, the trainer/coach in question could be a very knowledgeable one and he might really get it; but it’s also highly possible that on their way to the top, the athlete in question met a meathead trainer who’s a better salesman than he is a trainer and the athlete could’ve fallen for it.  Bottom line is, some train smart and some others don’t, but it’s definiltely not because they are professionals that they actually do things right.

2. Don’t confuse what an athlete has been doing in the past versus what he’s doing now.  What I mean by that is that athletes might not train the same way or with the same trainers/coaches their whole life; what they did to bring them to the top might be totally different than what they’re doing as an established pro athlete.  Many D-1 Colleges have very good strength and conditioning programs that help their athletes get faster and stronger.  After spending 4 years in college busting your ass and gaining strength in a good training system will do wonders for you when you turn pro.  And when you get there you might do something totally different, but as long as you train you’ll be able to maintain most of those gains.

Whatever Darrelle Revis is doing right now in his training, he gained a lot of strength during his time at the University of Pittsburgh, who’s recognized for his good strength and conditioning program.

3. Money.  The sad truth is, because an athlete endorses a training or fitness related product doesn’t mean he actually uses it.  Big companies pay big money to have sports icons endorsing their product; it’s called marketing.  It doesn’t mean the athlete swears by it nor that he uses it at all.

Did you know that T.O. actually have shares in that bands’ company?

I’m sure Sidney Crosby never even tried a pair of Zigtech…otherwise he would’ve realized how much they suck

4. Pro athletes need more rest.  With all the stress, the injuries, and the incredible amount of practices and games pro athletes face on a yearly basis, they might actually need more rest than training.  Of course, it all depends on the sport they play, and the length of their season; every sport faces different demands and require different amount of rest.  But take into consideration that the pro level (in most sports) is the level where the volume of training (including practices, games, and strength training) is at its highest.  So in order to recover, athletes may need more time off.  All of this means that what some athletes are doing for their training might be geared more toward recovery rather than actually be geared toward making more gains.  Some may train less or take more weeks off during the off-season.  Understand that they face different things on a daily basis, and what might be optimal for them, might not be for you.

All in all, make sure what you do in your training is geared toward reaching your goals, but that it is also adapted to your situation, your strengths and weaknesses, your injuries and your schedule…in short, it should be individualized to YOUR needs.