There are many factors that determine athletic success. While some may be genetic, many are within your control. Whether you're an elite or recreational athlete, there are some basics training guidelines and principles that will help you get the most from your training. These six tips can help you bump up your sports performance

Stretching and flexibility go hand in hand with sports for a variety of reasons. Stretching not only feels good, but it helps an athlete maintain an appropriate and balanced range of motion in specific joints. This is important if you play a certain sport over and over, or when you are recovering from an injury.

Stretching Exercises By Sport

Here are some basic stretching routines for athletes who play a specific sport.

• Best Stretches for Cycling
• Best Stretches for Golfers
• Best Stretches for Runners
• Best Stretches for Snowboarding
• Best Stretches for Soccer

Injury-Specific Stretching Routines

Here are some sample stretching routines for athletes who have specific injuries.

• IT (Iliotibial) Band Pain Stretching Routine
• Back Pain Stretching Routine
• Calf Pull Stretching Routine

If you've been sidelined because of an injury you've probably felt everything from denial to anger and even depression.  And although your feelings are real, it's important to find positive strategies to cope with this setback.

Athletes who accept an injury and seek ways to stay involved with their sport, their coaches and their teammates while recovering from an injury often become  more focused, flexible, and resilient athletes.  Here are a few suggestions for using sports psychology to cope with an injury.  What strategies have worked for you?

Share Your Sports Psychology Tips for Faster Injury Recovery.

The news is abuzz with reports of some mysterious illness suffered by one Oregon high school football team. Most of the team wound up in the hospital with severe pain, swelling and muscle damage. Several players were diagnosed with compartment syndrome, as well as rhabdomyolysis (rhabdo).

Rhabdomyolysis is not a very common sports injury. It occurs when muscles are damaged so severely that myoglobin, a protein, is released into the bloodstream. In severe cases, this can lead to kidney failure. In order to develop rhabdomyolysis, you need to exercise well beyond the body's ability to handle the stress. Being dehydrated and out of shape while exercising this hard, only adds to the likelihood of rhabdomyolysis.

While the case in Oregon is being investigated, you can be sure that parents will be scrutinizing the coaching staff at this, and their own children's schools. The rumors that the team was put through extreme training in 100 degree temperatures without access to water gives parents and athletes a reason to wonder about the training program.

Coaches everywhere need to be reminded to match the training program to the athlete's ability. Kids today may not be starting training camp in great shape, and it's the coach who can ensure that  players workouts are effective as well as safe.

For a good explanation of rhabdo, check out Greg Glassman's article, CrossFit Induced Rhabdo. The man behind the extremely popular (and extremely difficult) CrossFit workouts warns all his new participants of the very real dangers of untrained athletes performing extreme exercise routines.