One of the myths many high school student/athletes believe is that sports conditioning isn't really necessary to compete. Many of your peers probably think that just being in "good health" or just lifting weights once in a while is enough. What do you think?

Many ask, "why do I have to do all that work? I'm healthy now. I eat pretty well. I'm growing pretty fast. I can already lift or jump or run." Well, being in "good health" really just means the absence of illness. Is it really good enough for an athlete to just be healthy? Is being healthy the same as being physically fit? Nope.

So what does "physically fit" mean?

First, it must signify a personal goal - an objective or you wouldn't be taking the time to download and read this book. Secondly, if "good health" means just not being ill, then physically fit suggests more than that, doesn't it? Lastly, if you are happy with your current performance, if you have no goals or aspirations to get better at your sport, if you don't think you are good enough to get better, then being in "good health" just might be enough. Wouldn't that be easy? After all, you've got enough to do already, don't you? Wouldn't it be more fun to just slip a video game into the machine, sit back and exercise your thumbs instead or, better yet, just find the nearest party or head for the mall?

Maybe it would be easier but if you lay awake nights dreaming about doing better on your next high jump, or pitching the perfect game, or beating that kid down the street in tomorrow's race, or being able to rim the ball, well then, you may have to be more than just healthy. You may need to be physically fit.

Physical fitness for sport means preparing your body and mind to reach your goal of improved performance. Along the way toward physical fitness you just might begin to feel better about yourself. You may improve your self-image and gain some confidence. After all, planning and executing a physical fitness program doesn't just happen. You have to actually work at it. If you do work at it and you get bigger, more muscular, have more speed, and you find yourself performing well at your sport (read: that the coach doesn't yell at you as much!), then won't you feel better about yourself? Might this better feeling spill over into other parts of your life…like your studies, your relationships, like getting into the right college for you? Yes!

So, you made the right choice to download this manual. Reading it will help you learn just about everything you need to know to design and carry out a sports conditioning program that will help you become more physically fit and, therefore, a more accomplished athlete. We also recognize how stressful your life as a student/athlete can be so we have included lots of tips and ideas to help you learn better ways to manage your life as you pursue your personal, academic, and athletic goals.

There are two ways to use this book. You can read it off-line at your leisure. You can print the pages you want to carry around with you. You can also read the book on-line. There are links included to other sites that can add to your knowledge. Some of the links take you to our website, The Student/Athlete Resource Center at: http://www.chap.com. Checking out those links can help you find out more about the topics we cover in this book. Simply clicking on highlighted text and you're there.

We wish you all the best in your personal, academic and athletic pursuits during your high school years.