7 WAYS TO GET FIT FOR ACTION SPORTS

1. WORK ON WEAKNESSES Action sports will mercilessly expose any gaps in your functional fitness, so don’t just play to your strengths in the gym.

2. MASTER THE MOVEMENTS There’s no point having strength without the range of motion to use it, so train for full extensions in whatever sport you do.

3. PRACTISE PLYOMETRICS

Many action sports require you to launch into the air and land safely – both of which can be explosive concentric and eccentric contractions.

4. TRAIN WITH BODYWEIGHT Learning to master your own movements is key for global strength and body control.

5. GET YOUR HEART PUMPING Your aerobic engine provides the foundation for everything else, so don’t neglect it.

6. THINK UNILATERALLY

Action sports stances are often to the left or the right, so you can develop strength imbalances if you do all of your gym moves on two legs.

7. RAMP UP YOUR REFLEXES Split-second decision-making and nextlevel hand-eye coordination can make the different between sending it and stacking it, so get those tennis balls out.

Fortunately, Roberts says working on reaction speed doesn’t need to be complicated: “Anything that involves whole-body movements, hand-eye coordination and decision making will help. Simple kit like tennis balls and reaction balls are great.”