The employees at Athletic Republic tend to truly care about the athletes that come in. They have some clients that come in on a regular basis so the trainers tend to get to know them on a more personal level. It makes it more comfortable for the athletes because they do not feel pressured to be the best or wear themselves out during a workout. They are motivated to get better, and their progression comes from their own desire to work hard. There are several unpaid interns at Athletic Republic, and we do fairly simple jobs. Some of us help in the front desk with paperwork, answering phone calls, and scheduling appointments. Others, like myself, work on warming up the athletes prior to their workout, and taking a group of kids through their predetermined workout. We all like working their because it is an interesting setting, we see athletes come in all day ranging from kids playing their first high school sport to semi-pro athletes. It interests us, and when the classes start we usually become more focused so we can understand what the trainers go through. From the outside looking in, it looks like an amazing job to be able to make workout routines, and programs for teenagers. The trainers at Athletic Republic seem to know exactly what they're doing, and have been doing it for years. It is awesome to see the way they work, and how they have mastered several techniques in their training process. Things like knowing
Before I started this internship at Athletic Republic, I thought of it as an advanced training sports industry. It appeals to athletes around the nation who would like to perform at an elite level at their sport. My friend AJ Johnson gave me some insight on it prior to starting so I considered it to be similar to a mix of Crossfit for Athletes, and the YMCA. It appeals to kids too who want to run around during the sports camps in the morning as well so it is not necessarily a complete athlete training facility. The people that come in tend to range in sports, but the most common are hockey and football players.
On Monday and Tuesday, I worked with various athletes on their workout routines that were made by Jason. I also helped a class of athletes including football, lacrosse, and hockey players. We worked on the Super Treadmill testing athletes at speeds varying from 12-19mph with an incline of up to 33%. In between sets on the treadmill, another intern and myself helped the athletes maintain their intensity by applying some medicine ball workouts that increased core strength. On Thursday, we worked individually with football players from Norwood, Walpole, and the Dedham area. My job included helping our trainers with the resistance training to maximize the use of all the equipment. With the resistance training bands I held the athletes back with my own bodyweight as they tried to run full speed twenty yards. This type of training is often used at AR because it translates well to the field. Athletes tend to see an increase in straight-line speed because they become so used to the resistance that is applied. Other duties that I am starting to gain at AR is doing the warmups for each of the classes to make sure that everyone is stretched out before they begin to lift. These include various dynamic stretches to loosen up the muscles prior to any heavy intensity workouts. Along with these new duties, typically from 12-2 the other interns and myself are responsible for the maintenance of the gym. We clean the equipment, and vacuum the turf to make it as presentable as possible. We have learned to also tighten some of the equipment because when it is overused the bolts sometimes get loose. I am picking up on many strategies used to train athletes, and from an athlete's perspective, the training is very helpful and rewarding when done correctly. |