By: Will HitzelbergerSpectrum Sports PerformanceInternational and Premier League Soccer player Salif Diao just spent 3 weeks of his off-season training re-conditioning his body with SSP this summer. Due to his busy schedule of Charity work with sport4charity, he was traveling the first part of his off-season.

The focus for Salif while at SSP was to begin the re-conditioning process and prepare his body for an upcoming pre-season. The first week was spent mostly working on stability and mobility of his entire body. We worked on re-training some movement patterns to help ensure a healthy and injury free training regimen.

My experience at SSP has been unlike anything I have encountered in over 15 years as a professional athlete. I have trained with many of the best coaches and physical trainers in Europe over the years, but SSP raises the bar to an entirely new level.

After performing a movement screen with him, our main focus was working on corrective exercises, core work, and some dynamic flexibility and movement. His plyometrics were very basic and stability oriented while we just worked on dropping the hips and creating a stable environment. Our movement approach was very similar while we slowly introduced linear, lateral, and multi-directional movements. We also integrated a power and strength component with a stability focus at first.

Every day was a new experience, and the level of sophistication and professionalism was among the highest I have encountered in my pro career.

On his third week, his body was definitely starting to come around and we were able to move from stability into a more strengthening and conditioning environment. Although we still spent a great deal of work each day with mobility and core work, we were able to increase intensity with his plyometrics and movement which in turn added some conditioning.

His daily and weekly regimen consisted of six days a week of a combination of performance training, massages, recovery techniques and nutritional supplementation. Salif left SSP with a new understanding of preparing his body and a strict daily and weekly training routine moving forward.

My only regret is not having been introduced to SSP earlier in my career as I am sure it would have made me a much better professional athlete.

Diao moved from Senegal to France when he was seventeen and started his career at AS Monaco, with whom he helped with the French Super Cup and French Division 1. Salif also won a runner-up medal in the 2002 African Cup of Nations, where Senegal lost in extra time to Cameroon. Diao then had an impressive 2002 World cup with Senegal, which attracted the attention of several Premier League sides. It was Liverpool who won the race and signed Diao in 2002. In 2007 Diao would then sign a contract with Stoke City where he would spend the next 5 years.

By on August 8, 2012   /   Pro Athletes   /   Leave a comment

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