Practice makes perfect, but subtract the exercise component, and you may not be living up to your maximum athletic potential. Contrary to popular belief, even low-impact sports such as golf or yoga require ample and particular exercise routines to improve your sports performance.

Remember, your equipment only contributes a fraction of the work. And no—walking for exercise isn’t going to cut it. If you’re looking to improve your overall form and performance, here are a few workout styles you need to incorporate into your fitness routine.

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High-Intensity Interval Training

High-intensity interval training (HIIT) is an all-time gym favorite. It involves periods of quick sprints and slow-paced recovery zones that force your cardiac muscle tissue to increase strength and endurance, quickly.

HIIT is ideal for improving your performance in any sport, as it’s versatile and completely customizable. If you like you can even do HIIT workouts in the pool by doing swim sprints!

Strength Training & Cardio

While many gym enthusiasts will recommend separating strength training and cardio, we recommend combining the two. Why? Grouping these two together will help increase your endurance, which is vital for improving overall sports performance.

Also, strength training isn’t just an excellent test of your strength—it also improves your mental fortitude, which is an underrated aspect of sports training. The quicker you can achieve your strength-related goals, the more you will see your sports performance thrive.

Drills, Drills, and more Drills

You can never go wrong doing sport specific drills. So, in between your cardiovascular and strength training sessions, try to get in some plyometric and agility training. Exercises such as lateral plyometric jumps and dot drills do wonders for improving speed, coordination, power, and targeted sports techniques.

We recommend forward-running, high-knee drills and lateral running to engage your legs and core, if your gym has an outdoor space. Otherwise, you can easily perform in-gym workouts such as box jumps that improve your response to resistance.

Squats

When it comes to sports that require mobility, power, and balance, squats can take you a long way. Even variations like split squats improve mobility, strength, and stability, while goblet squats can improve carry-through movements in the hips and thighs.

Compound Exercises

While engaging one part of the body is an excellent way to whip it into shape, compound exercises like squats and deadlifts are more effective at building total body muscle and strength. In addition, by focusing on compound movements, you engage multiple joints at once, which improves workout efficiency.

Banded Exercises

Training with bands does more for your body, and overall sports performance, than you might anticipate. When you react to a resistance band, your muscles have to continually contract faster and harder to keep the weight moving; improving your strength, power, and even endurance. You can start by getting some light bands and adding a little tension to your main lifts once a week!

The Bottom Line

Ultimately, building strength and endurance can go a long way towards improving your sports performance. Along with maintaining a good diet, regularly engaging your muscles and building power can make you the athlete you want to be. By regularly hitting the gym and making the most of your time, you can start inching your way towards championship wins and broken records!

About the Author

Jordan is an experienced sportsman and expert at golf. Through Golf Influence, he hopes to provide accessible resources on the best equipment, performance tips, and reviews.