Why Youth Athletes Should Strength Train In-season
“Our [insert sport] coach told us that strength training during the season is a bad idea, so we’re going to take a break for a little while until it’s over.”
“Our schedule is getting too hectic now that the season is starting.”
I hear these things from some parents like clockwork every three to four months. They have the best of intentions, and they are trying to look out for their child.
Allow us to suggest a different perspective. Strength training for athletes in-season leads to increased strength and performance, reduced chances of injury, and better in-game performance over the season. So before you cut it out completely, read on!
1. Athletes start losing power in as little as two weeks of reduced activity.
A study at East Carolina University found that football and powerlifting athletes’ Type II (fast twitch) muscle fibers decreased significantly (-6.4%) after a two week period of detraining. Other studies back this idea up. It doesn’t take long to see the effects of a cessation in resistance or strength training.
A study at Ball State University looked at the effects of 4 weeks of reduced-to-no activity in collegiate swimmers. They found that while “muscular strength” didn’t decrease, the ability to generate power was significantly reduced in all groups (-13.6%).
A season is longer than these studies measured (2 and 4 weeks), so the power losses will continue during the season. If an athlete is constantly resetting their measure of success at the end of every season, they won’t reach their full potential.
If you stop strength training in season, you’ll lose much of your hard-earned progress, and you won’t come close to reaching your athletic potential.
2. Increased, unmitigated sport-specific activities increases the risk of injury.
You can’t get around it– if you play a sport, you have to play games, and you have to go to practice. But when you add games on top of practice during the in-season, your athlete is experiencing a ton of increased sport-specific movements in a short amount of time.
For example, a male soccer player is more likely to be injured during a game in general play than a practice.. A study looking at 16 years worth of data across 15 sports for the NCAA found that injuries were statistically higher in games (vs. practice) and in-season/post-season (vs. preseason). It’s even worse if your youth athlete has specialized in only one sport too early (UC Davis Health).
Reducing the chance of injury is our most important goal with your athlete. This study in the British Journal of Sports Medicine concluded that “Strength training reduced sports injuries to less than 1/3.” How? Proper in-season strength programming is adjusted to help balance this increased demand on your athlete’s body. UC Davis Health | Sports Medicine agrees.
While most youth players require the same movement training to become better overall athletes, good coaches look at transferable training for your athlete according to the demands of their sports. You’ll see our athletes moving in all planes and training force production and absorption to better protect against non-contact injury.
Of course, strength training in season isn’t the be-all-end-all to reducing chances of injuries, and we don’t claim it to be such. Don’t have your youth athlete specialize in one sport too early (UC Davis Health). Play multiple sports and become a more well-rounded athlete!
Proper in-season strength and conditioning programming can dramatically lower the chance of sport-specific injuries.
3. Elite teams resistance train and lift throughout their season.
What does success look like? Look to the what elite teams do.
Coach and GM Bill Belichick had his 2017 Superbowl Champions squatting 80% of their one rep max (1RM) the week leading up to the Superbowl. USA Basketball agrees — in-season strength training is important.
This study published in the Journal of Strength and Conditioning Research showed that it was necessary to train at least once a week to see maintenance of strength gains that had been achieved during the pre-season.
Another study at the University of Saskatchewan researched the affects of in-season training in collegiate football players and found that “a specific strength/power oriented maintenance program of sufficient intensity but only twice-a-week frequency may be enough to maintain levels of strength and power acquired during the preseason training program.”
The studies above are all about maintenance. But, an athlete can get better during the season, all the way to the playoffs. That’s when you want to be your strongest and your most durable.
What does all of this mean?
Each athlete and sport is different, but continued strength training during the season can maintain, and potentially improve, an athlete’s performance.
Competitive / high energy environment today. Speed squat work for @IndianaFootball. The west side of Indy represented well here. For today, @TrBF_31 (2,352 watts) edged out @Sjames_2 (2,260 watts) in the chase for power. Effective in-season training so critical for development. pic.twitter.com/fEbkvLMg7h
— David Ballou (@IU_CoachBallou) October 9, 2019
4. In-season strength training should be adjusted for in-season demands.
How should this training look? We lower the volume (number of reps at heavier loads), but maintain a high intensity and high weight/load of my athletes. Lowering the volume helps manage in-season fatigue, but staying heavy helps keep those strength numbers up.
We program to better protect my athletes and to supplement sport-specific activities. If your son or daughter trains with us, you’ll see your athlete strengthening the muscles around specific joints as well as more mobility-based movements in season. I’m also monitoring for decreases in power and performance in our data.
Strength coaches should adjust athlete’s in-season strength training appropriately, and observe data at regular intervals to monitor and mitigate decreases in individual performance.
Conclusion
Don’t stop training just because you’ve entered the season. Strength training in season can better protect against the chance of injury and keep that high level of performance up through the season.
Interested in starting your strength training journey with us and hearing the latest in Raymer Strength news? Shoot us your info, and we’ll be in touch.
Citations:
Hootman, J. M., Dick, R., & Agel, J. (2007, April). Epidemiology of collegiate injuries for 15 sports: summary and recommendations for injury prevention initiatives. Retrieved October 1, 2019, from https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC1941297/.
Hortobágyi, T., Houmard, J. A., Stevenson, J. R., Fraser, D. D., Johns, R. A., & Israel, R. G. (1993, August). The effects of detraining on power athletes. Retrieved October 1, 2019, from https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/8371654.
Lauersen, J. B., Bertelsen, D. M., & Andersen, L. B. (2014, June 1). The effectiveness of exercise interventions to prevent sports injuries: a systematic review and meta-analysis of randomised controlled trials. Retrieved October 4, 2019, from https://bjsm.bmj.com/content/48/11/871.full.
NCAA. (2009). Men's Soccer Injuries. Retrieved October 4, 2019, from https://www.ncaa.org/sites/default/files/NCAA_M_Soccer_Injuries_WEB.pdf.
Neufer, P. D., Costill, D. L., Fielding, R. A., Flynn, M. G., & Kirwan, J. P. (1987, October). Effect of reduced training on muscular strength and endurance in competitive swimmers. Retrieved October 1, 2019, from https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/3683154.
Rønnestad, B. R., Nymark, B. S., & Raastad, T. (2011, October). Effects of In-Season Strength Maintenance Training Frequency in Professional Soccer Players: The Journal of Strength & Conditioning Research. Retrieved October 1, 2019, from https://journals.lww.com/nsca-jscr/Fulltext/2011/10000/Effects_of_In_Season_Strength_Maintenance_Training.3.aspx.
Schneider , V., Arnold, B., Martin, K., Bell, D., & Crocker, P. (1998, February). Detraining Effects in College Football Players During the The Competitive Season: The Journal of Strength & Conditioning Research. Retrieved October 1, 2019, from https://journals.lww.com/nsca-jscr/Abstract/1998/02000/Detraining_Effects_in_College_Football_Players.9.aspx#pdf-link.
Stein, A. (2010, August 23). Why In-Season Strength Training Is Important. Retrieved October 2, 2019, from https://www.usab.com/youth/news/2010/08/why-in-season-strength-training-is-important.aspx.
UC Davis Health | Sports Medicine. (n.d.). Overuse Injury Prevention in Youth Sports. Retrieved October 4, 2019, from https://health.ucdavis.edu/sportsmedicine/resources/youth_injury_prevention.html.