Importance of Competitive Advantage in Today’s World
In 1985, Sylvester Stallone inspired audiences with his 4th installment of the Rocky series, which pitted Rocky Balboa against the Russian brute Ivan Drago in a classic underdog story. As usual, Rocky is victorious in the end of the movie, but not after an intense and antiquated training montage that takes place in an old run down barn. Meanwhile, his opponent Drago is training in the highest quality facilities available with the best trainers that money can buy. Despite being the clear underdog, Rocky manages to pull off yet another amazing upset, seemingly as a result of his “back to the basics” training method.
Although very patriotic and awe-inspiring, this is a fictional movie that screams Hollywood throughout. In today’s world, the harsh reality is that to compete as a top tiered athlete, the best equipment and facilities need to be utilized. These days competition at the professional level is so high that the participating athletes must seek out every competitive advantage at their disposal. For example, many endurance athletes choose to train in locations at higher elevations, such as Colorado. The increased altitude means that there is a lower percentage of oxygen in the air. The idea behind training in this oxygen deficient atmosphere is that the athlete’s body becomes accustomed to performing with less oxygen. Thus, when the athlete moves down to lower elevations to compete, their lungs intake more oxygen than they’re accustomed to, therefore granting the athlete more aerobic capacity.
If athletes are willing to train way up in the Rocky Mountains to get a competitive advantage, then it would make sense for them to have the best flooring surface to train on as well. Although often overlooked, the training surface that an athlete trains on is a huge factor in their competitive success. Each different flooring material in the market has different properties that accommodate the athlete’s movements in different ways. Unfortunately, not all materials were created equally, and the material you choose to train on can be the difference between winning and losing.
Many studies have been done on the subject, and specific categories have been established as having the greatest influence on an athlete’s body. To help avoid injuries from repetitive movements, a floor with consistent depth, as well as good ratings in force reduction and resiliency is the ideal choice. Every time an athlete touches the ground, they create a certain level of impact force as a result from their movements. These repetitive impacts can start to take a toll on top tier athletes, people who train 7 days a week year round. To avoid the possible injuries that result from some of these impacts, a floor with high force reduction is preferred, such as recycled rubber. It helps absorb some of the impact from the athlete’s body, which means that the floor takes a beating instead of the athlete’s joints. Athletes can drastically extend the life of their careers simply by training on a forgiving surface that is suited towards their training needs. Athletes can also exert more force on their limbs, allowing them to grow more explosive and powerful muscles post workout. That being said, poured polyurethane flooring is the future of indoor athletic facilities, and unlike Ivan Drago, you don’t have to pay a fortune to have the best.
These Padenpor floors are a combination of recycled rubber mats, with multiple layers of self-leveling polyurethane poured over top of the mats. Polyurethane floors provide excellent traction and world-class force reduction, while at the same time reacting to the athlete’s movements the same way a hardwood court would. With the average cost of a polyurethane floor running at about $7-8/square foot, a top quality floor is very affordable.
The multipurpose flooring industry has improved drastically over the past couple of decades, resulting in high quality flooring that is used by some of the best athletes in the world. With ideal levels of traction, force reduction, resiliency, and consistency, athletes can keep themselves on the playing field and off the sideline by training on top-of-the-line multipurpose sports flooring.