I have been rolling with this blog for a couple of months by now, and I just realized that I haven’t discussed one of the most important aspect of training yet: MUSIC! Seriously, could you even imagine lifting heavy weights or doing an intense conditioning session without any music on? It would suck! If you train in a commercial gym and you don’t have an ipod, I don’t get it. Even if I was 65 years old, had really bad arthritis, could barely walk 2.5 MPH on a treadmill or lift nothing heavier than 15 pounds, I would still shoot myself if I had to listen to the radio in a commercial gym.
That being said, we ALL need some kind of motivating music that will give us that extra kick in the butt to go heavier on our next set of deadlift or to go faster on our next shuttle run interval and make sure we don’t quit before that 30 seconds ends.
We all have different musical preferences, and we all have different background (I used to play the guitar and have a rock/metal background), but I feel like if your music doesn’t want to make you smash babies on the wall when you’re lifting, you might need something angrier to help you get stronger and bring your conditioning to a whole new level!
Here is my top 10 songs to lift to(don’t worry, if you’re not a fan of rock or metal, there will still be something for you on the list!)
- Bleed it Out – Linkin Park. Probably one of the best song to get you started when you don’t “feel it”.
- Psychosocial – Slipknot. If you like loud and angry music like I do, you gotta have this one on your playlist.
- Give it All – Rise Against. This is Endeavor’s official band as Rise is blaring through the stereo at least 70% of the time.
- Red Flag – Billy Talent. Just a great song from a Canadian band that totally kicks ass.
- Before I Forget – Slipknot. Another great song from one of the best band EVER! If that doesn’t get you started…
- Savior – Rise Against. Combine this song and 16 ounces of energy drink and you have an explosive combination to get the best lift of your life.
Here is a couple for the rap/hip hop fans in the crowd:
- Rabbit Run – Eminem. Angry beat + angry lyrics + angry Eminem = PR on the deadlift.
- Rock Superstar – Cypress Hill. This is a must on any hip hop playlist!
I am far from a techno fan, but here’s 2 tunes that totally kick ass if your into that stuff…
- The Funeral (I have no clue who the original artist is). If there’s one techno song that get met started it’s this one:
- Bring the Noise – Benny Benassi. This one might makes you want to fist pump in a club more than lift heavy stuff, but it’s definitely a great one for conditioning.
There it is, you have my top 10! But any top 10 of training tunes would not be complete without THE most requested artist during conditioning sessions at Endeavor: none other than Phil Collins! You think I’m kidding? Just ask any Endeavor athlete what they want to listen to when conditioning (including Matt one of our coaches who was definitely meant to live in the 80s, but that’s a whole other story). So here is a special mention to my man Phil.
What are your favorite tunes to lift to? Let me know in the comment section below!
Having so many things to share with you, but at the same time, not enough content for indivdual blog posts for all of them, I decided to do a “random thoughts” blog post that gathers interesting information on training, and some other stuff as well, so enjoy!
1. For the strength coaches and trainers among you that are constantly looking for new continuing education material, I’ve got a great resource for you: the Postural Restoration Institute has a lot, and I mean, A LOT of valuable material.
I’ve watched a home study course that comes in a DVD form this past week-end, and I’ve got to say that I was completely blown away by what I’ve learned. This is probably the most valuable resource I’ve found in the last 2 years. If you’re not familiar with the PRI stuff, you need to check it out. (More on this in the upcoming weeks)
2. Mid-way through the NHL training camps, Endeavor athletes Eric Tangradi (Pittsburgh Penguins) and Colby Cohen (Colorado Avalanches) are still on the roster of their respective teams, with only a couple more cuts left.
They both have a legitimate shot at making the team from what I’ve heard from sources close to the teams. Eric and Colby both busted their asses in the gym all summer long with us, and I wish them the best for the upcoming season!
3. I think if I hear that eggs are bad for you one more time I’m gonna go nuts! Seriously, doctors still recommend that you shouldn’t eat more than 2 eggs per week or something like that otherwise your cholesterol will go up, but honestly most of them don’t know shit about nutrition. It has been proven times and times again in the last decades that eggs (yes, including the yolk!) are good for you and they can actually help decrease your LDL levels (the bad cholesterol) and prevent heart disease. Brian St. Pierre recently wrote a very interesting blog post about that, check it out HERE.
4. We have a couple high school baseball pitchers who have been training with us at Endeavor for a couple of months now. These guys were amazingly weak when they first started training with us; but surprisingly 3 of them were already pitching in the low 80s MPH at around 16-17 years old. We’re still 4-5 more months away from the start of their senior year season in high school and they’re getting stronger by the day. So it’ll be interesting to see how it turns out for them as they have a lot of time in front of them to get stronger, get their fastball up and maybe get a comitment to a good D-1 or D-2 college before the season rolls around!
5. I’ve discussed times and times again in previous blog posts why it is important not to specialize too early in sports and why young athletes should avoid year-round practice of their sport. It is really important to develop as a good overall athlete and not only in one sport to avoid injuries. Here is the link to the development model we propose to our athletes at Endeavor if they want to reach the elite level in their sport while staying healthy in the long run; I truly feel like EVERY athlete with no exception should follow a progression like that for an optimal development.
6. If you’re a strength coach that works with hockey players (from any level) I strongly recommend that you join HockeyStrengthAndConditioning.com as they have a lot of great information for training hockey players, videos, audio interviews and training programs all put together by the top names in the business who train hockey players.
Mike Potenza (San Jose Sharks), Sean Skahan (Anaheim Ducks), Mike Boyle (Boston University) and my Endeavor colleague Kevin Neeld along with other contributors are giving out some great information on how to train hockey players. They have new material every week, check it out!
That is all for now! Back on Thursday with some fresh material!
Just like I mentioned in my blog post 3 Things I Learned From Brian St. Pierre, conventional post-workout drinks that are sold by supplement companies are very convinient, but also very nutrient-empty and don’t contain much quality carbohydrates. I also mentioned that a protein and carb meal might be more optimal.
The problem is, a lot of people (myself included) literally can’t eat anything after an intense training. If you’re like me, you’re probably closer to getting something out rather than being able to get something in. A very good solution to that would to make a Super Smoothie.
When I started working with Brian, he actually gave me a list of different smoothie recipes that you can use post-workout or anytime for that matter as a snack. All of them are totally delicious and way easier to take after a training session than eating a solid meal.
After playing around a little bit with the ingredients, here is my favorite smoothie recipe to use post-workout:
- 1.5 cup organic whole milk (use almond milk if you want less calories)
- 1 scoop chocolate protein powder
- 1 frozen banana
- A handful of frozen strawberries
- 1 Table spoon of natural peanut butter
- 1 Table spoon of flax seeds
- 1 Table spoon of cacao nibs
- 1/2 cup of old-fashioned oats
You just need to throw everything in a blender and enjoy; it is totally delicious! And the best part is it provides you with good quality carbs, fibers, omega 3s, healthy fats and a load of vitamins and minerals! It is definitely one of the best options when it comes to post-workout nutrition.
In my last blog post, I explained the concept of synergistic dominance and how it can relate to injuries in sport performance. Today, I’m going to go into more specific examples as it relates to sport performance and how we, as strength coach, can help prevent that kind of imblance that may lead to injury.
Hamstring Pulls
Hamstring pulls are a very common injury among athletes of all level. Athletes will tell you, the worst part about hamstring pulls is not only that it happens a lot; it is a recurring injury that you will have to deal with over and over again. It seems like it’s the type of injury that you just can’t get rid of for good. Agreed that some athletes may just go back to playing and practicing at 100% too soon, but is that really the only reason why it happens? Is everyone suffering a hamstring pull going back to play too soon? I don’t think so. Is it the fact tha we treat the symptoms and not the source of the problem and that’s why the problem keeps coming back? I think so.
During what action does an hamstring pull occur most? While you run or while you sprint I think is the answer. If we analyze the running mechanic and the involvement of the hamstring during that movement, we’ll find that the hamstring contributes to the hip extension (leg going back) while running; and the faster you run, the greater hip extension and contribution from your hip extensors are going to be. So far, there is no problem to the hamstring contributing to the hip extension as it is one of the 2 most important functions of that muscle (the other one being knee flexion). But let’s not forget that the hamstring is not the only hip extensor; the gluteus maximus (butt muscle) and the adductor magnus are also hip extensors. A point could be made that the erector spinae (lower back muscles) may help during hip extension by extending at the lowert back. It is important to note though that this is a compensation mechanism and it is not desirable when running, but it does happen in some athletes, especially if one of the hip extensors is not performing up to par. So what’s wrong about the hamstring in the running stride if it’s just performing its action like its supposed to? Well, because of it’s attachment point far down from the hip on the tibia and the fibula, it makes the hamstring line of pull not optimal at all; that’s why the hamstring “should be” a synergist in the hip extension phase of the running stride.
I say “should be” and you’ll understand why in a second.
The gluteus maximus is a powerful hip extensor that attaches on the illi0tibial band and the gluteal tuberosity. Because of its higher attachement, it makes the glute max a much more efficient hip extensor than the hamstring; therefore, in the running stride it should be the agonist in the hip extension portion.
The problem is that it’s not more often that not. Because of our daily activities (pretty limited) as it is in the 21st century, the fact that we sit way too much, in our car, at work, at school and at home, we leave the glute max in a stretch position most of the day. Combine that with poor lower body training habits (read: focusing too much on the knee extension and knee flexion) the glutes get left out most of the time. All of this leads to a problem that lower back expert Dr. Stuart McGill refers to as “glute amnesia” where your glute muscles are dormant and can’t activate properly. So what happens when the glute max, which should be the most efficient hip extensor, is dormant during running? You guessed it! The hamstring will take over; therefore, be overused and constantly stressed, which might lead to a hamstring pull sooner than later. Not convinced? Look at the glute muscle definition of athletes who pull hamstring frequently; I’m willing to bet that have none have none, meaning that the muscle is underused (or dormant).
Randy Moss = Prone to a hamstring injury?
How can we solve the problem? The first step is to start by activating the glutes; before strengthening the muscle and integrating it into more dynamic movements, you need to make sure it can fire properly without other muscles taking over. A good example of a basic glute activation exercise is a glute birdge done lying on your back.
While doing a glute bridge, you want to make sure you are really activating your glute muscle. Meaning you need to squeeze your butt cheeks together and drive your hips up; you want to avoid hyperexteding at the lower back or “feeling it” in your hamstrings. The glute bridge is one basic example, but you have a variety of glute activation drills and variations that you can use like birddogs, superdogs,s 1-leg glute bridges, wall marches, etc. The next step is to strengthen the glute muscles with hip dominant movements like pullthroughs, straight-leg deadlifts and the like. And as you progress, you want to incorporate proper hip estension through the glutes with more athletic movements like lunges, squats, sprints, jumps, etc.
Hip Flexor Pulls/Strains
Another good example could be made with hip flexor pulls or strains. First of all, it is important to consider that there are 3 major hip flexors in the hip: the rectus femoris, the tensor fascia latae (TFL) and the psoas major.
Rectus Femoris
Tensor Fascia Latae & Psoas
Most of the time, the TFL or the rectus femoris are the ones who happen to get injured; very rarely will you see a pulled psoas. Similarly to the hamstring pull, one gets overused and one get underused. That’s what causes the imbalance and in the long run the overuse injury. Rectus femoris pull are common in activities that involve running or sprinting (football, soccer, track and field); the reason is that these sports are very quad dominant and the rectus femoris, which is a hip flexor but also a knee extensor and one of the 4 quadriceps muscle, is stressed a lot. Conversely, hockey players see more TFL strains/pulls because hockey involves more lateral movements and hip abduction(think leg pushing laterally away from the body). The TFL happens to be a hip abductor as well as a hip flexor, therefore the TFL gets stressed more in a skating stride than on a running stride. Both cases leave out one muscle, which turns out to be, most of the time, the underused one: the psoas. Why is that? The psoas is the only hip flexor active above 90 degrees, therefore if we have movements in sports that don’t flex the hip higher than 90 degrees, it’s going to put more stress on the TFL or the rectus femoris depending on the demands of the sport.
Once again, one of the ways to take care of the problem is to activate and strenghten the weak link; the psoas in most cases. Knowing that it is the only hip flexor active above 90 degrees, we should use drills that put the hip into flexions greater than 90. There are different progressions and drills that can be used to accomplish that. The standing psoas lift is one of them.
The goal is to set up with your foot on a box or bench that will put your knee higher than your hip level; from that position you simply want to lift your foot off the box/bench and making sure you are not rounding at the lower back to compensate for the lack of hip flexion strength. And of course, there are many other options, including sitting on a bench, lying on your back, using bands, etc.
But whether it is to help prevent the ocurrence or re-ocurrence of hamstring or hip flexor strains or pulls, be aware that there are a lot of other factors to take into account. Mobility, flexiblity, stability and soft-tissue quality are just a couple of the factors that also need to be addresed to prevent overuse injuries like strains and pulls from occuring. Also note that the strategies that I mentioned above WILL NOT replace adequate physical therapy treatment in the case of a pulled muscle; they are meant to be used in conjunction with it to treat the source of the problem.
So, hopefully you now have a better understanding of functional anatomy and you can use these principles to help prevent your athletes injuries. If you have any questions, do not hesitate to contact me.
I will get a little more theoritical than usual in this 2 part series; but for those of you not so familiar with geeky anatomy stuff I will still try to make it as simple and understandable as possible.
Synergistic dominance…what the hell does that mean?
Synergistic dominance refers to muscle action during movement. Let’s start at the basic: when you have muscles performing an action (flexion, extension, etc.) you will have an agonist muscle as well as antagonist and synergist muscles. The agonist is the primary muscle involved in the movement performed; the antagonist is the opposing muscle to the one performing the action, which must relax as much as possible to let the agonist contract; and, the synergist(s) is the muscle(s) that assist the agonist in its action. Let me give you a very simple example for those of you who that I might have already lost. In a simple bicep curl exercise, the action performed is an elbow flexion. In this case, the agonist muscle would be the biceps brachii since it’s the main muscle performing the action. The triceps brachii would be the antagonist because it’s the one on the other side of the arm and one of its functions is to extend at the elbow joint; therefore the triceps must relax to allow the biceps to contract more effectively.
The brachialis muscle is also an elbow flexor, but is definitely not the strongest one; therefore it assists the biceps during a biceps curl exercise. In this case the brachialis would be a synergist muscle to the biceps.
This is just to give you a basic idea of what synergist muscles are and what their implication is in different muscle actions.
So now we know that synergist muscles assist the agonist in its action; but what is synergistic dominance?
At every joint in the body, depending on the action performed, you usually have many different synergist muscles. The concept of synergist dominance is pretty much a muscle imbalance that refers to an agonist muscle not doing its job for different reason (dormant muscle, weak agonist, short or stiff antagonist, etc.) and the synergist taking over most of the work load to compensate for the problem. Then, what happens when a muscle that is supposed to just assist another one in its action is forced to take over? It puts more stress on that synergist muscle (more than it would be supposed to handle) and it puts you at risk for different types of injuries: muscle strains, muscle pulls and
tendonitis/tendinosis just to name a few. And the thing is it can also create some pretty bad muscle imbalances across your body and that can lead to a lot more problems. Therefore, it is very important to get muscles to work optimally so the athlete can perform at high level without being exposed to overuse injuries because of muscles not activated properly.
The goal in this part one series was to give you an idea of what synergist dominance is and what can result from it if that type of imbalance is not taken care of. In part 2, I will give you more concrete examples and how you can help fix them with proper training
Kevin Neeld is definitely one of the smartest strength coaches I know; he has a lot of knowledge, he knows how to apply that knowledge and he really understands how to train athletes as he’s well aware of the demands and reality they’re facing from competing at a high level. Kevin is also an incredible person to talk to, and he is very generous of his time; he kindly accepted to contribute to my website and share his knowledge with you, my readers.
Knowing that groin injuries are growing at an alarming rate in the athletic population, especially in hockey players, I asked Kevin what 3 tips he would give to athletes trying to avoid groin injuries.
Enter Kevin:
“It’s a great topic and one that I think more athletes need to familiarize themselves with. I’ve written a lot about specific strategies on how both prevent and deal with these injuries, but over the last year I’ve discovered that there are a couple more basic messages that athletes need to understand first.
1) Take time off Most groin strains come about because of overuse, or probably more accurately, under recovery. The prevalence of groin strains amongst all athletes, but hockey players especially has drastically increased over the last 10 years. Not coincidentally, so has the emphasis on year-round sports participation and early specialization. It’s imperative that athletes play at least two sports WITH DISCTINCT OFF-SEASONS up through high school. Pairing up sports like hockey and baseball, football and lacrosse, or basketball and soccer allow athletes to benefit from the different movement strategies used in the two sports, force them to take a break from one sport while they pursue the other, and provide time for actual training (e.g. strength and conditioning) during the “third” part of the year.
Far better option for young hockey players during the summer instead of hockey summer leagues
Vladimir Issurin, world expert on block periodization and consultant to the Soviet and Israeli Olympic programs points out that we’ve replaced preparation time with competition time. No training and no rest is a recipe for groin strains.
2) Train Year-Round
This may seem counterintuitive based on the previous paragraph, but hear me out. Most groin strains come about as a result of a stiffness or an activation/strength imbalance across the hips. In the off-season, it’s important that athletes train to improve their overall athletic capacity (strength, speed, power, conditioning) to prepare for the demands of their sport. In-season athletes need to train to maintain (or continue to improve depending on the athlete) their athleticism. If athletes get weaker as the season goes on, then they will need to play at a higher percentage of their total capacity to maintain the same performance level as early in the season. Ultimately this means that athletes will have a diminished ability to perform at a high level at the end of the season, when perfect performance is most important. They also need to train in-season to REVERSE some of the undesired adaptations that result from playing their sport so much. As an example, as the season goes on some hockey players have a tendency to lose hip internal rotation ROM. An internal rotation deficit is associated with hip labral tears, and can put constant (and unnecessary) strain on the groin musculature.
The labrum is the ring of cartilage that surrounds the hip joint socket. It prevents the femural head from moving out place.
By focusing on maintaining strength and balance across the hips, we can help maximize performance and minimize injury risk.
3) Don’t be a hero in the 1st half of the season When athletes don’t prepare or prepare insufficiently for the start of a new season, it’s pretty common for a few to suffer slight groin “tweaks” during pre-season camps and early on in the season. This is simply the result of a huge increase in the volume of high velocity movement without adequate preparation. These injuries tend to go away in a couple weeks if they’re handled the right way. By “the right way” I mean by taking time off from anything that causes it pain, stretching the glutes, doing psoas activation work, and strengthening the adductors in a shortened position using exercises like the 2-Way Med Ball Crush.
Preferably done with a shirt on…
I’ve seen too many athletes, high on their own enthusiasm, fight through the pain/discomfort and keep playing. I know how difficult it is to take time away from your sport when 95% of your body feels great, but it’s a necessity. Groin “tweaks” become mild tears, which become sports hernias if unaddressed. The time to fight through pain is the playoffs, not the first half of the season. An extra week off could be the difference between your tweak healing stronger or laying the foundation for surgery in the future.”
Thanks Kevin for your words of wisdom! Make sure to check out Kevin’s website HERE.
Power is a very important quality to develop for pretty much every athletes in every sports. But the term power is a little bit of a garbage term because it is used losely to design any type of exercise ranging from sprints to squats. Before we go any further, I’ll try to clarify what my definition of power is. Power is an athletic quality that involves developing a maximal amount of force (strength) in a minimum amount of time (speed). Think of strength and speed as both ends of a continuum on the same line. Power would be located somewhere in the middle, varying on the type of exercise and the load your using (if at all), it might be closer to strength, or closer to speed. The lighter the load you’re using is, the faster the acceleration. An example of power geared more toward speed-strength would be plyometric (think jumping) drills because it doesn’t involve additional weight (other than your own bodyweight), so the speed output will be higher. At the other end of the spectrum, a hang clean done for a 1RM (rep max) will be geared more toward strength-speed because the weight used is much heavier, so therefore the speed (or acceleration of the load) will be lower.
So that being said, there are lots of ways to develop power for athletes alike. Here are a couple of options you might want to consider when trying to develop power in your athletes.
Olympic lifts are a very good option when it comes to power development, and it’s probably one the most popular methods for that purpose.
Hang cleans are only one of the multiple variations you can use. You may also want to consider, jerks, push presses, hang snatches; any of these variations could be done with a barbell, with dumbbells, one arm at a time, etc. The possibilities are endless.
Medecine balls throws are another excellent way of developing power. There’s a little more of a speed-strength emphasis with these, considering that medicine balls don’t get really heavier than 30lbs, but it is a great option nontheless.
Once again, this is just one of the many variations you can use with med ball throws; you can do, scoops, shotputs, chest passes, slams on the ground, using different positions; side standing, front standing, split stance, taking forward steps, etc. The possibilities are endless…unless you don’t have a cinder block wall available, then the options are a little more limited. The good thing with med ball work, is that it can help you build rotational power (depending on which variation you use) in the transverse plan compared to standard olympic lifts or traditional plyometrics.
Another interesting option when it comes to rotational power development is the use of a cable column to do different types of presses and lifts.
This type of exercise is very good to develop power in the hip muscles, which are very important for rotational power. Again, just use your imagination as there can be a wide range of possibilities and variations from that. Just make sure the cable column you’re using is able to sustain high velocity drills; in some cases, the weight stack can bounce off the cable at the end range of motion if it’s not a dual pulley system or it can hit the top of the column if the cable is not long enough. Make sure you verify these things before having your athletes try them.
There is just so many options you can use to develop power including all sorts of plyometric and jump drills that I didn’t even elaborate on in that post. My goal was just to inform you on the use of power development training and give you a couple of ideas.
What are your prefered methods for developing power in your athletes? Let me know!
People, especially young athletes, want to train like professionals. They want to do the same type of training their favorite athlete is doing. And why wouldn’t they? If they got to that level it’s got to be because of the way they train, right? Or maybe not…Let me give you a couple reasons why you might want to reconsider training like a pro athlete.
1. Athletes generally don’t know more than you do. Athletes are people just like everyone else, and because they are professional athletes doesn’t mean they know everything there is to know about training or anything else. Granted, they have tremendous skills and physical abilities to perform and they have a lot more training experience than the Average Joe. But the fact is, they are no experts in human anatomy or physiology and they chose to train in certain ways because they have been told (or convinced) by some trainer or coach that it was the best way to do things. And the fact of the matter is that, the trainer/coach in question could be a very knowledgeable one and he might really get it; but it’s also highly possible that on their way to the top, the athlete in question met a meathead trainer who’s a better salesman than he is a trainer and the athlete could’ve fallen for it. Bottom line is, some train smart and some others don’t, but it’s definiltely not because they are professionals that they actually do things right.
2. Don’t confuse what an athlete has been doing in the past versus what he’s doing now. What I mean by that is that athletes might not train the same way or with the same trainers/coaches their whole life; what they did to bring them to the top might be totally different than what they’re doing as an established pro athlete. Many D-1 Colleges have very good strength and conditioning programs that help their athletes get faster and stronger. After spending 4 years in college busting your ass and gaining strength in a good training system will do wonders for you when you turn pro. And when you get there you might do something totally different, but as long as you train you’ll be able to maintain most of those gains.
Whatever Darrelle Revis is doing right now in his training, he gained a lot of strength during his time at the University of Pittsburgh, who’s recognized for his good strength and conditioning program.
3. Money. The sad truth is, because an athlete endorses a training or fitness related product doesn’t mean he actually uses it. Big companies pay big money to have sports icons endorsing their product; it’s called marketing. It doesn’t mean the athlete swears by it nor that he uses it at all.
Did you know that T.O. actually have shares in that bands’ company?
I’m sure Sidney Crosby never even tried a pair of Zigtech…otherwise he would’ve realized how much they suck
4. Pro athletes need more rest. With all the stress, the injuries, and the incredible amount of practices and games pro athletes face on a yearly basis, they might actually need more rest than training. Of course, it all depends on the sport they play, and the length of their season; every sport faces different demands and require different amount of rest. But take into consideration that the pro level (in most sports) is the level where the volume of training (including practices, games, and strength training) is at its highest. So in order to recover, athletes may need more time off. All of this means that what some athletes are doing for their training might be geared more toward recovery rather than actually be geared toward making more gains. Some may train less or take more weeks off during the off-season. Understand that they face different things on a daily basis, and what might be optimal for them, might not be for you.
All in all, make sure what you do in your training is geared toward reaching your goals, but that it is also adapted to your situation, your strengths and weaknesses, your injuries and your schedule…in short, it should be individualized to YOUR needs.
When you’re a strength coach, one question that comes up all the time is: Should athletes do strength training during the season? The long answer is it really depends on the athlete’s situation, but more often than not the answer is yes.
The first thing to consider is the purpose of training in-season; most athletes who play at a competitive level have a high volume of practices and games. Therefore, it is very difficult to make gains without getting too tired which in turns mean performing less than optimally in games. But if you’re not going to make any gains, why even bother training? For one, injury prevention is very good reason to train in-season. That way training can be geared toward fixing imbalances created by the same repetitive movements that the athlete will perform over and over in the practice of their sport.
Second, if the athlete has been training during the off-season and made tremendous gains in strength and power, you would definitely want to train to at least maintain those gains. Strength and power are the two most important qualities that you want to maintain. I am saying that because gains made in speed, agility and level of conditioning in the off-season will, most of the time, be easily maintained through the practice of their sport alone. Let me give you a couple of examples: will a soccer player really improve his speed by doing, let’s say, an additional 10-15 sprints in their training while they’re actually sprinting for the ball hundreds of times a week while practicing and playing? Similarly, will a basketball player really improve his conditioning with 15-30 more minutes of interval training while he’s practicing and playing in a sport-specific environment for over 5 hours a week? I think you get the idea…
Please note here that I also said “most of the time” speed and agility training as well as additional conditioning are not necessary in-season. An exception to that might be if a player is not on the starting line-up or just not playing a lot; in that case, the athlete might need the additional volume of speed, agility and conditioning to stay on top of his game.
Strength and power are totally different though. The reason is because these two qualities require the use of some sort of additional resistance. That is why if not trained, strength and power will progressively decrease and the athlete might lose all of what he gained during the off-season. That is going to become more obvious as the season progresses, as athletes gets more and more tired from the high volumes of practices, games and stress in general related to everyday life (school, family, boy/girlfriend, job, etc). It is imortant to be careful with the volume of training that is given to the athlete, because it can contribute to overtraining. Also, you do not need high volumes of training to maintain athletic qualities; most of the time, only a couple of sets per week will be more than enough.
Again, there are a lot of factors to consider for training in-season, but it is definitely essential to maintain gains made in the off-season and help prevent injuries.
