Summer vacation is supposed to be a stress-free time for students, right? Kids can go to the pool, hang out with friends and sit around the bonfire late at night. However, for student athletes wanting to improve their overall abilities, they should participate in summer lifting.

Sanford POWER is a summer program offered to high school sports teams looking to improve athletic performance and prepare for specific sports. POWER focuses on many different components, such as speed, endurance, agility and strength.

It is important for athletes to take care of their bodies during off-season. A main purpose of POWER is injury prevention. If athletes decide to go all summer without any kind of exercise or lifting, their bodies are going to become weak, which increases their chance of an injury.

According to University of Florida News, “seventy-eight percent of severe injuries to the upper body struck non-lifting athletes, or those students who were not in a controlled weight-lifting program, Horodyski said. And non-lifting athletes accounted for 64 percent of those with severe injuries to the lower body.”

With POWER, student athletes are taught the correct way to lift weights, so they can strengthen their body and prevent injuries when their season comes around.

POWER is not only a place to exercise and fortify your body, but it is also a perfect place for team bonding, which is essential for every team in order to have a good chemistry. POWER is organized and divided up by sport. Each sport team meets Monday through Friday in the summer at their high school weight room. This forces the teammates to get to know each other before the season even starts, which benefits the team because they are comfortable around each other.

Last but not least, lifting and the workouts included in the POWER program will improve one’s performance both physically and mentally. A proper strength training program will increase muscle mass and decrease body fat, physically helping the body. Mentally, strength training allows the body to get in the habit to push itself, which will transfer over to that last five minutes of a game.

A summer lifting program is essential for all athletes if they want to get a head start on the season. Sanford POWER is a great program where teams can train and receive proper technique tips. Visit http://www.sanfordpower.com/about/facilities/sioux-falls/ for more information.