If you are into sports in Dubai, Abu Dhabi or Sharjah you will already appreciate that you need to have a certain level of fitness to do well.
Footballers for example have to maintain peak levels of fitness to excel. The same applies to other sports too including boxing, swimming and athletics.
Maintaining your fitness levels through exercise and training in the UAE is just the start. To perform well you have to watch what you eat, what you drink, get plenty of sleep and make changes to your lifestyle in general.
If you are new to sports activities in the UAE you might be wondering what the best exercise and training types are to increase your sports performance and endurance.
Of course the type of exercise and training you do does depend on what sports activity you want to improve in. Boxers for example would follow a different training plan than tennis players and footballers in Dubai.
To help you out and provide some great tips we asked a professional sports fitness coach from Dubai what their personal tips are for anyone wanting to either improve their sports performance.
Lets take a look at the top training methods for sports men and women in Dubai, Abu Dhabi and Sharjah.
Running
Overall, running is a great activity for increasing your endurance and also if you need to lose a few pounds. Running as a fitness method can be tailored for your type of sport. For example, let’s say your are a boxer in Abu Dhabi. During your match you might be doing 3 rounds that are 2 minutes each. During these 2 minutes you will be expending a lot of energy and power.
If you started of jogging and then add in sprints to your routine you could gradually build up your energy levels and endurance. Over time you would decrease the jogging element and concentrate on sprints. This is a great way to get your endurance levels up for any sport, boxing is just an example. Footballers for instance spend a lot of time running around the pitch so interval running training in the UAE is a great method for them too. Over time, you will find your recovery time improves too as you move away from quick jogs to more sprints.
HIIT
HIIT (High Intensity Interval Training) provides so many health and fitness benefits in Dubai and Abu Dhabi. From weight loss to much improved cardio fitness. This cardiovascular exercise technique uses alternating short period (bursts) of intense anaerobic exercise with less intense recovery periods. Basically you continue until you are too exhausted to do any more.
There is normally no set duration for HIIT exercises as this depends on the individuals (or group) fitness levels. HIIT sessions are great for sports men and women and will help you greatly improve on your stamina and endurance. Doing HIIT a couple of times a week as part of your total training regime can help you maintain peak sporting performance in the long term.
Circuits
Circuit training is another great choice for sports because it uses various methods of exercise. Each exercise targets muscular development, strength and endurance. Circuits are also great for people who tend to get bored with one exercise type because circuits include many different exercise types that can be tailored to just one person or a group. Studies at Baylor University and The Cooper Institute show that circuit training is the most time efficient way to enhance cardiovascular fitness and muscle endurance.
Other studies also show that circuit training helps women to achieve their goals and maintain them longer than other forms of exercise or diet.
Interval Training
Interval training is a method that helps you increase your sports performance via endurance training, speed and agility. This training method alternates between low intensity exercise methods and high intensity exercise methods.
Tabata
Tabata is a form of HIIT training that has become more and more popular in the UAE over the last few years. It normally consists of of eight rounds of ultra-high-intensity exercises in a specific 20-seconds-on, 10-seconds-off interval. It may only take four minutes to complete a Tabata circuit, but those four minutes may well push your body to its absolute limit. Created by a Japanese scientist called Izumu Tabata the exercise method is ideally suited to sports men and women looking to increase their fitness levels.
It can help to increase aerobic and anaerobic performance and can be performed on a 1-2-1 basis or as part of Tabata group training in Dubai or Abu Dhabi.
Endurance Training
All sports men and women need to have endurance to perform well in their chosen sport. Some sports require more endurance than others but endurance training in the UAE will help you improve of all aspects of your sporting activity. Increasing your endurance through various exercise types (running, swimming, playing sports and more) means you can perform better and for longer before you get tired.
Using running as an example, you will find that over time you can run faster and for longer periods before you tire. Athletes for example need to build up their endurance over time in order to be well prepared for marathon running.
The same applies to cycling as a sport. You wouldn’t expect to complete in competition the first time you got on a bike. Increasing your endurance over time will help you win that race.
Fartlek
Fartlek running is a newer method of improved endurance training in Dubai and Abu Dhabi. This method of training alternates between running fast and then slow down to jogs during your training. But, unlike traditional interval training Fartlek uses specific time or measured segments during the training session. Many athletes like Fartlek training because it involves speed but unlike other interval training methods it tends to not be as demanding for beginners. Fartlek is also different because it can be done on any terrain, ideal for those of you that might get bored with traditional track running.