By Brian Foley from Activate Fitness

In the early 1980s, Goodyear tyres were responsible for fitting tyres to a few high-performance cars, mostly, the Chevrolet Corvette.

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The tyre’s roots were based on Formula One racing - the elite of the elite in racing car performance. The tyre’s design was very different from most passenger car tyres and it was an overnight victory with devotees of performance cars. The tyre featured a low profile side wall, large tread blocks for good dry traction grip, a very stiff sidewall and a nylon cap over the steel belts to hold the tyre together at high speeds. The tyre received a unique sidewall rating and it was designated with a 'V' which meant the tyre had been safely tested in the laboratory to stay together at speeds as high as 149mph. This is the first time the high-performance tyre was made in America.

This tyre was an instant hit even though it was costly - even by today’s standards. It was not uncommon for them to cost over $200 each when generic, average tyres weren’t ever more than $50 each. Since then, however, the high-performance tyre has made its way onto almost every modern car. This is because automobile manufacturers found that high-performance tyres helped cars handle better, corner better, stop better, steer better, were safer and worked well with anti-lock brake technology. During this time tyre manufacturers began to produce a multitude of intermediate high-performance tyres known as “touring” tyres which were designed to accede to high-performance demands and lessen ride and wear issues. Within a few years, there was an entire list of high-performance tyre categories which include ultra-high performance, performance, touring, cosmetic performance, touring performance, etc. As technology advanced, automobile manufacturers began to equip nearly everything with a performance tyre - even on work vans - because of one simple reason: they help sell cars because they are attractive and because of the benefits they add to the steering and braking of the car.

In the same way performance tyres slowly made their way from F1 performance cars to the everyday driver, strength and conditioning has made its way down from Olympians and elite athletes to the amateur and emerging athlete. More than ever before, young, emerging and amateur athletes are buying into the idea of a high-performance training programme, even if they aren’t yet at an elite level of competition. Over time, emerging athletes realised that:

“What got me here, won’t get me there”

This fundamental shift in thinking has meant that a choice and habit - to take strength and conditioning training seriously - that used to be exclusive to Olympians and elite athletes, is now becoming the norm.

For you as an athlete, that means that your competition is getting better too. They are running faster, feeling stronger, and expressing more power when they throw, shoot, kick, run and jump. If you aren’t taking your gym training seriously, it’s the equivalent of riding on bald tyres… it’s only a matter of time before you crash.

So, no matter what type of athlete you are - there is almost always a place for a quality strength and conditioning programme to keep you injury-free, feeling strong and demonstrating power and athleticism.

You could always ignore the warning signs - but ignore them long enough, and your dreams will be stopped dead in their tracks when you’ve run out of tread and crashed on the side of the road.

Activate’s annual pre-season programme is about to get underway and starts in the coming weeks. If you are an athlete and are looking to improve over the winter, this is the programme for you. It's designed by a master in S&C, a qualified coach who has also competed at high level themselves. It is overseen by a masters qualified S&C coach who has over 15 years experience in the field and who has worked in professional sports.

To find out more visit our website www.activate.ie or email us at hello@activate.ie.