Fitness expert urges trainers to be cautious and not over train young athletes

Texas fitness expert Bobby Whisnand urges coaches, trainers and parents to be cautious and not over train young athletes preparing for the upcoming football season.

Bobby Whisnand, fitness expert for the Dallas division of the American Heart Association, Cooper Clinic Certified Personal Trainer, and ISSA Certified Specialist in Fitness Therapy and Sports Nutrition is the founder and designer of the It's All Heart Fitness Program that is currently endorsed and prescribed by doctors and surgeons for pre and post surgical patients.

Having performed over 6,000 one on one fitness evaluations, Whisnand feels strongly that over training is the biggest challenge facing today's young athletes, no matter the sport, and ultimately pays the price with serious injuries that could have been prevented. "You have to question if sports injuries are a result of the game, or the countless hours training to prepare for a game," Whisnand said. "In addition to an increase in the severity of sports injuries, degenerative diseases like Arthritis, joint degeneration, joint replacement, and spinal issues are on the rise because of overuse and abuse."

Whisnand, also a health and fitness motivational speaker, likens the body to a vehicle that has a certain amount of mileage in it. When you drive them hard, they wear out quickly. Once the integrity of your body is compromised, it drops in production. In professional athletes a drop in production means a drop in value and they are then either traded or released. He thinks that athletes can lengthen their careers and play better for longer if they don't over train. For example he lists Tiger Woods, Prince Fielder, Sean Lee, Sam Bradford, and RG III as star athletes whose career interrupting injuries were in play before they were famous.

Whisnand says many injuries are set in motion in high school and college athletes, and are a direct result of training too hard. Everyday people who emulate the professional training regime are getting hurt, too. With the increased popularity of Cross Fit Training, Boot Camps, and other over the top programs, physicians are treating more patients with injuries similar to the pros.

Bobby Whisnand's 'It's All Heart' fitness program combines exercises with cardiovascular activity while addressing limited range of motion, balance, nutrition and a special segment on exercising with pre-existing conditions. He works with professional athletes and those that have severe joint issues resulting from years of exercising incorrectly to gain and maintain mobility. For more information go to www.bobbywhisnand.com.