Training should NEVER STOP once the season begins....

Sports are demanding activities and the older we get, the more demanding they will become on our body and mind. I learned a simple concept more than 25 years ago from my Dad, if you are going to play any sport then you better be strong! As a child I learned how to do pushups, pullups, sit ups, jumping jacks, and lots of manual labor around our house. We mowed the lawn, raked the leaves, shoveled snow, chopped wood and stacked it, and threw a ball around any chance we had. Looking back at it now we realize how our training carried over to everyday movements, and not just to the sports we played.

With kids and teens playing almost year round, we see more emphasis on skill development over long term general physical preparedness (GPP). Chasing professional level metrics like exit velocity, launch angles and enhancing 60 yard dash time all become unrealistic if there is no baseline level of strength. Athletes need to train and there is no way around it, your development will truly suffer and chances of getting injured become higher and higher if the body is weak and deconditioned.

Most professional baseball players have been in what we consider the off season since October, especially if you didn't make the playoffs. That gives them 3-4 months to work on their bodies before Spring Training. That could be 3-4 workouts every week with long toss, possible hitting drills, and bullpens for pitchers. Strength is being built and developed, power and speed enhanced, old or new injuries rehabbed, weight being gained or even decreased amongst a lot of other details all dependent on the athlete and never the group. The closer we get to the season starting then we decrease strength training sessions to 2-3 every week and more sport specific skills are increased like hitting and throwing.

There is never a point in the year where training simply stops, an athlete needs to be at their strongest during the season so adjustments will always be made to frequency, movements performed and especially volume. Collegiate and Professional Athletes will train IN SEASON so it should be no different for middle school and high school athletes. There is an alarming trend where athletes will train 2-3 months non stop and then quit altogether once the season ramps up. Trust me there will always be time but only certain athletes value that time along with their long term development. How hard and consistent you train during the off season will warrant how much you need to train in season. The Head of S&C for the Phoenix Suns has created an entire course on How to Micro D

ose Training for IN SEASON Athletes. Cory Schlesinger made a name for himself as a coach at Stanford University before taking over the NBA. His methods are producing one of the top and rising teams in the NBA and his training methods are found all over the country. Some of the methods used at APL are derived from this exact course and we implement into a lot of our custom programming for High School Athletes.

There is no secret when it comes to In Season Training and the benefits that come with it. We have athletes playing Division 1 Athletics that take what we teach them and it carries over into their collegiate weight rooms. Strength and Skills to last well beyond the life of playing sports, long term training leads to lifelong results. Invest in your strength and conditioning YEAR ROUND and imagine the possibilities!