Get Strong and Stay Strong In-Season

It's that time of year again.. football is back, baby!

Fall has always been my favorite time of year. Football, cooler weather, harvest on the farm... can't beat it. As a strength coach, fall means it's in-season training time. Most strength coaches, live for the offseason. You have no games or practices to worry about, it's full on Hulk mode with the athletes. You push them hard and if they are so sore the next day that they can't even sit on the toilet...good.

For me, however, I enjoy in-season training, as much, if not more than offseason training. With in-season training, it's a different challenge. The weight room is no longer the main focus for the athletes. It's gameday. As a coach, the challenge is to enhance their performance on the field or court by keeping the athletes strong, powerful, and healthy through the season. Most importantly, the training must support, not interfere with the athletes' performance.

Unfortunately, in-season training seems to be one of those topics in the strength and conditioning world that is surrounded with myths and dogmas that are simply not true. If you're a strength coach you've probably heard something like this before from your athletes/parents/coaches...

"I don't want to lift because I don't want to be sore for gameday."

"I don't have time to lift in-season."

"Our goal is to just maintain our strength in-season"

When I hear this is still common thinking..

In-season training is a must if you're a serious athlete trying to maximize your performance. IF TRAINING IS DONE CORRECTLY, it will not make athletes sore on gameday, rather it will keep them energized, strong and powerful. IF TRAINING IS DONE CORRECTLY, it does not take a large amount of time. As little as 30 minutes a couple days a week can go a long way. IF TRAINING IS DONE CORRECTLY, you can actually get stronger and more explosive in-season, without interfering with competitions.

On episode 35 on the R/Strong Podcast I break down these myths, address why you or your son/daughter should be lifting in-season and how to train in-season to maximize performance and stay healthy on the field/court and in the weight room.