Why Athletes Need In-Season Training
"You are either getting better or getting worse, but you are never staying the same.”
- Drew Brees
Every year, countless athletes push themselves during the off-season of their respective sports. Off-season training typically consists of extended time in the gym working on strength, power, and conditioning specific to the demands of the sport. However, many of these same athletes that work so hard in the off-season to improve their physical prowess completely remove or greatly diminish their time in the gym once their season commences. With these athletes, we often hear excuses such as the demands of their sport being too great to sustain a commitment to the gym or that their fatigue is too great to attend another workout on top of their regular practices and games. I am here to say that, barring any major injuries or extraneous circumstances, there is no reason to skip out on in-season strength training. I would go as far as to say that year-round strength training is necessary for long-term athlete development and that anything less than year-round training limits athletes from reaching their full potential! Below are 3 reasons why athletes must engage in year-round strength and conditioning!
Injury Prevention and Durability
By nature, team sports produce tight, tonic muscles due to the repeated movement patterns performed by athletes. The repeated movement patterns are often what leads to the trend of injuries seen in various sports; such as tennis players getting elbow tendonitis and hockey goalies having a high prevalence of hip and groin issues. Just think about how many times a goaltender goes down into a butterfly position during a game. Including warmups, shots on goal, and shots attempts that missed but the goaltender still reacted with a save selection, and this number may be in the 40-50 range, if not more. Now consider that a typical goalie in-season will have numerous practices and games. That is a ton of repetitions going into the butterfly! Additionally, consider that the butterfly position is inherently an unnatural position that puts strain on the knee and hip joints. Specifically, the extreme internal rotation of the hip joint to get a wide butterfly flare coupled with the reactionary nature of the position putting extreme torque forces on the knees leads to many goalies having issues with their medial collateral ligament (MCL) in their knee and the labrum of their hip (the layer of cartilage that keeps the hip in the acetabulum, the hip socket, and allows for fluid hip range of motion). With the amount of stress placed upon muscles and joints during sporting events, not performing the necessary work to undo these repetitive patterns leads to chronic overuse and sudden injury. One of the most effective ways to counteract these overuse injuries is by engaging in sport-specific strength training and prehab-based exercise. By lengthening and strengthening the correct muscles to create structural balance in the athlete, we can make athletes more resilient and less prone to injuries, allowing them to stay in more games and perform to the best of their abilities.
Performance Enhancement
Most people would agree that strength training and time in the gym is essential to improve physical fitness to reach higher levels of sports performance. However, time in the gym is often forgotten in-season for many athletes that do not play on teams with dedicated strength coaches. By not performing the necessary training in the gym, athletes limit their athletic performance. Consider two athletes who participate in the same sport, play the same position, and are capable of performing the tasks of their sport with identical technical proficiency. However, one athlete has continued with their training in the gym throughout the season and has gained some strength in the process. Meanwhile, the other athlete has ceased their gym training, using fatigue management as a reason for skipping their workouts. Obviously, the player that has spent the time in the gym to improve their physical fitness year-round is going to be able to express their prowess more effectively and at a higher level than their no-workout counterpart. Furthermore, research demonstrates that it only takes about 3 weeks after the cessation of strength training to see declines in strength and muscle mass. Additionally, putting in the extra work outside of regular sports practice increases an athlete’s work capacity, allowing them to handle more work before feeling the effects of accumulated fatigue. Therefore, athletes that cease strength training after putting in the work during the off-season risk losing out on the progress they made, putting them on a downward trend in physical performance. Meanwhile, those who engage in the necessary training to make gains in physical performance put themselves on an upward trajectory over those who do not, thus giving them a competitive advantage through hard work.
Psychological Resilience and Character Building
Aside from the physical benefits of year-round training for athletes, there is something to be said about the psychological benefits one gains from consistent training. We could talk about the endorphin release and dopamine highs associated with exercise that elicits positive emotions upon completion. However, I believe that the biggest psychological benefits come in the form of discipline, resilience, and perseverance. Let's be honest, do you really think that all the best athletes in the world wake up super motivated to go crush every workout and practice? NO WAY! No matter how motivated they are, every athlete has had days where they do not feel like working out or performing the work that is asked of them. It is having the discipline to push through and challenge themselves to be consistent in their workouts that aids in the construction of mental fortitude. Waking up and doing what is necessary to get better at your craft regardless of how motivated you are is what separates good athletes from great ones. Ask any coach or scout and they will all say how much they love athletes that consistently put in the extra work as it demonstrates their discipline, perseverance, and character. Put in the work and people will begin to notice you more than the next athlete that doesn’t.
Summary
While I have argued that athletes must continuously train year-round to maximize their potential, by no means do I recommend pushing to failure and exhaustion day in and day out. In-season training for athletes will be different than off-season training to better manage fatigue and have them perform their best for games and events. While some argue that strength training in-season accumulates too much fatigue and negatively impacts performance, this claim is unfounded when athletes follow a properly structured program. It is very possible to overdo the training volume and burn out from excessive fatigue. However, we also know that under-training leads to diminished physical performance. The key is finding the right balance for the individual athlete, considering all of their stressors to produce a program that is conducive to their success. This is where a qualified coach who understands training principles for athletes and load management is of the utmost importance. While finding balance is necessary, the bottom line is to put in the work and not make excuses to skip workouts. Don’t be an off-season gym goer, be a dedicated athlete and you will reap the rewards of long-term continuous improvement!
References
Emery, C. A., & Meeuwisse, W. H. (2001). Risk factors for groin injuries in hockey. Medicine and science in sports and exercise, 33(9), 1423-1433.
Enoka, R. M., & Duchateau, J. (2016). Translating fatigue to human performance. Medicine and science in sports and exercise, 48(11), 2228.
Gabbett, T. J. (2016). The training—injury prevention paradox: should athletes be training smarter and harder?. British journal of sports medicine, 50(5), 273-280.
Lehnhard, R. A., Lehnhard, H. R., Young, R., & Butterfield, S. A. (1996). Monitoring injuries on a college soccer team: the effect of strength training. Journal of Strength and Conditioning Research, 10, 115-119.
Mehta, N., Nwachukwu, B. U., & Kelly, B. T. (2019). Hip injuries in ice hockey goaltenders. Operative Techniques in Sports Medicine, 27(3), 132-137.
Rønnestad, B. R., Øfsteng, S. J., & Ellefsen, S. (2019). Block periodization of strength and endurance training is superior to traditional periodization in ice hockey players. Scandinavian journal of medicine & science in sports, 29(2), 180-188.
