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“The benefits of strength to athletic performance are experienced as long as the neuromuscular system maintains the cellular adaptations induced by training”

There are 3 Phases to an annual cycle for any athlete:

Off season. Pre season. In season.

No matter when the actual season is for the sport, the in season performance is a direct result of preparation during the “off season” and the “pre season”.

Athletes who partake in a well-structured periodized strength program during off season can spend months accruing the required strength and foundation to maximize their performance during the actual season.

However, no matter how long an athlete prepares for the season, research shows that all strength and power gains can start to diminish in a matter of 2 weeks if strength training ceases.

When training stops, the newly developed contractile properties of muscles also start to diminish.

Unfortunately, as the season approaches, there is a significant portion of coaches and parents alike who tend to overlook the importance of strength maintenance mainly because 100% of the focus shifts towards only practice and games.

The bottom line is that a lack of strength training will cause a decrease in performance as the season progresses.

During the early part of the season, while strength training is still in effect, athletes will perform as expected. However a lack thereof of training reduces the muscles ability to powerfully contract, negatively affecting performance as the season progresses.

A Break Down On The Necessity Of Strength

First and foremost, do not confuse “strength” with maxing out everyday in the weight room pushing as much weight as possible.

Muscle has certain contractile properties that can and should be enhanced through proper training methods. Strength is involved in developing these properties and enhancing the nervous system to help fire muscles and improve intramuscular and intermuscular coordination.

In terms of sports where power and or speed, even muscular endurance are involved, strength is the foundation as power is directly proportional to strength. Speed is directly proportional to power. And for sports that involve extended OR intermittent spurts of speed and power, strength is the ultimate determinant.

Increased strength means more applied force, which is a characteristic necessary in the majority of sports.

A solid strength base prepares the body for the demands of the season.

And a season that last for several months, especially on sports where competitions occur multiple times per week, like Lacrosse, in season training is especially important, even if done 1-2 times per week.

In season training is about maintaining the strength, speed, and power attained during the offseason.

The Misperception

Unfortunately, the common perception of training during the season, especially at the high school level, is that it will be too much for the athlete to handle with the demands of the sport.

However the more appropriate concern should be “How can the athlete maintain what they worked so hard to gain, throughout a 3-5 month long season?”

While being concerned with the physiological and psychological loads of a young athlete does have merit, this becomes less worrisome so long as the strength program is well planned and understood. If it is, not only is the athlete not overwhelmed, but he or she is stronger and more powerful throughout the season, helping to have an edge over competition as well as reducing risk of injury*

*there is bigger potential for injury without in season training as a lack of stimulation for muscles can cause them to shut down faster from fatigue which can lead to pulls, strains, even tendons strains or tears

Training Variables to Consider

Obviously, the structure of inseason training varies from preseason and offseason training by a few ways:

1.) Intensity

2.) Volume

3.) Exercise Selection

4.) Session Duration

The intensity, or resistance used during the season to maximize performance during the season can be reduced up to 60 percent or even more depending on sport, the athlete, and the spread of matches.

The volume, or the amount of reps performed should also be reduced in order maintain strength, without fatiguing the athlete.

Intensity and volume can undulate depending on how much time off and feedback from the athlete. For example, a day or two should be taken off after a game, with a moderate intense session happening the furthest from the match, and a lesser intense one days before.

It is also important to uses exercises that train the prime movers of the sport as they are heavily utilized and need to fire accordingly to stay strong throughout the season.

Session length should also be reasonable so as to not tire the athlete and allow enough time for recovery.

Conclusion.

“The longer the competitive phase is, the more important it is to maintain power”

As mentioned earlier, power, speed endurance, and agility are all proportional to strength.

Strength gains can be lost in a matter of weeks if not maintained properly or training completely ceases. If strength decreases, then so do the aforementioned qualities of speed and power which are tantamount during the season.

The saying goes that an athlete does not get stronger or faster playing sport, they get stronger and faster preparing for it.

And to go even deeper, those gains are only maintained through continuous, WELL PLANNED training.

If the goal is superior performance, then essentially it is contradictory to completely cease training during the season, and compromise any gains made previous to the season.

Peak performance means using a proper training strategy to bring out the absolute best in the athlete throughout the entire year.

You only get one chance to do this thing we call “life” right. One time through it all, that’s it.

A lot of people turn down options they have as they are growing because of several possible reasons. While those may be viable reasons, it doesn’t mean that particular opportunity will arise again in life, no matter what may have caused the person to pass on the chance.

The point is, you only have one life and you better live it up and pay attention to the OPPORTUNITIES that are presented to you. Because they may not present themselves again.

These opportunities are different for everyone: college, relationships, jobs, sports; it doesn’t matter. If you are presented a chance to have something valuable in life or take something to the next step, you need to take a minute and ponder on what you want to do.

And, if you decide to step up and take the opportunity that has been given you, make sure you go ABOVE AND BEYOND to accomplish your mission; this does not mean you have to do this alone…

If it’s with college, get the best grades possible that you can earn, even if it takes tutoring.

If it’s with relationships, give whomever it may be all you have to the best of your ability, even it takes consulting your friends on the best advice.

If it’s with a job, make sure to give it your all and know the business/position inside and out, even if you have to ask questions daily.

If it’s with sports, become the best athlete you can be, even it takes coaching and training outside of practice TO BE ELITE.

Regardless of your given opportunity, seize with TENACITY, do not let go, and take every step you can take to make the most of your big chance.

When is the right time for a kid to participate in a resistance training program?

A question with a wide spectrum of opinions from parents and coaches alike.

In short, if a child is ready to partake in competitive sports, then most likely they are ready to participate in a thorough resistance program based on two factors:

They are physiologically and psychologically mature.

Each of equal importance.

However, if a child is ready to participate in sports, then he or she needs to make sure their muscles, joints, and tendons are also ready for the rigors and demands of the sport.

And while some kids are more physiologically inclined to withstand higher degrees of those demands, training outside of their sport with an appropriately designed strength (and or speed) program is crucial for longevity,biomechanical integrity, and performance integrity.

Benefits of strength training for young athletes include

– Increased muscular strength and local muscular endurance

– Improved sport performance

– Injury prevention

– And development of lifelong exercise habits

The Strength Gain

Young athletes want to get faster. Parents want their kids to be quicker.

They want their daughter to excel in softball, break down faster in front of the ball, run around bases faster..

Parents need their athlete to be a step faster on the football or lacrosse field..

In each of the instances, a well planned progressive strength training program enhances results.

The mantra goes you don’t get faster playing sports, you get faster preparing for them.

Increasing strength means increasing muscle and joint integrity which are the backbone for speed and quickness enhancement.

Research has shown that as much as a 74% muscle strength increase has occurred in untrained youth athletes after 8 weeks of training.

On average, gains of 30% to 50% are observed in youth athletes.

However, when a young athlete stops training, detraining occurs, and if ceased long enough, the competitive advantage gained from strength training is lost as natural growth rates of peers help them to catch up.

In other words, once an athlete begins training at a young age, they should not stop training for an extended period of time in order to maintain and continually get stronger over time.

Devoting at least 1 day per week to training (outside of sport practice) is sufficient for young athletes to begin to have a competitive advantage.

Improved Sport Performance

Once a youth athlete has developed a solid strength base, training movements and muscles that are specific to their respective sports are keys to successfully transferring strength acquired.

Rather than just training general movement to enhance youth athlete performance, the particular biomechanics of the sport and demands should be calculatedly implemented so the muscle contraction patterns, velocity of movement, and contraction forces are correctly trained to elicit the best adaptations.

For instance, when training a youth softball player, after establishing a base strength foundation, this is the appropriate time to really focus on developing lateral movements, inside outside edge-work of the feet, rotational strength of the trunk, shoulder scapular integrity, and energy system development.

Specificity is key to successfully enhancing sport performance. Proper exercise selection and training technique should be especially emphasized during this phase, and not random exercises chosen just to make athletes work.

The amount of training is also an important factor as sport season should always be taken into consideration in order to vary and assign the correct training loads.

HOWEVER, regardless of in season or not, performance training outside of the sport should not be discontinued.

Injury Prevention.

The most significant benefit of strength training for children is the injury prevention factor.

Youth athletes will not “play themselves into shape” because the actual loads and demands of the sport don’t stimulate improved muscle and connective tissue growth and relative strength.

Training does.

Training and preparing the muscles for sport help create longer lasting strength and endurance throughout the season.

Supplemental strength and performance training are key to enhancement.

Lifelong Exercise and Training Habits

One of the most rewarding aspects of strength and performance training from a coaching perspective is witnessing the psychological development occur in youth athletes.

Every athlete that I have had the privilege to train experiences a mental maturity and confidence gain from training.

Physiologically, benefits range from improved bone density to improved body composition, two additional factors significant for health in the long term.

But can’t strength training for children stunt growth??

No.

Contrary to popular belief, research indicates proper strength training does not have adverse effects on growth.

Strength training can actually influence growth at any stage in development but will not affect the natural maximum height a child can achieve.

It is vitally important however to understand that strength programs need to be appropriate for the age of young athletes and their training background, and the importance of a child to be psychologically ready for training.

Here are a few guidelines that we go by at Willis Performance Training:

Every athlete should be properly assessed before beginning any training program and continually monitored

A firm strength base should be established before any “rigorous” training

Focus on trunk and spine or “core” strength for sport carryover

Program intensity should match the sport season

Never overload the athlete

Allow adequate rest and recovery

Reassess to measure progress

*******

Preventing injury is key, thus common sense and a correct programming should be implemented.

Conclusion

Is strength and or performance training right for your kid?

Yes.

There are more advantages than disadvantages in terms of sport performance, general fitness, and overall preparedness for sport that will provide a competitive advantage.

Also, keep in mind that strength and speed are closely related. So even though it might look the part to just throw kids into activity where they are running through ladders and pulling parachutes, a foundational strength building phase will further enhance speed and balance;  when speed mechanics are broken down, it boils down to individual muscles, joints, and tendons working together to generate, redirect, and absorb force.

A youth athlete should be prepared.

Principle based training with effective structure is the perfect solution for a parent or competitive youth athlete looking to get ahead.

Too many parents miss the boat in this area by assuming that fundamental strength and speed happen through playing only sports and is not a necessary aspect of development.

Not only is it beneficial from many aspects, it’s absolutely necessary to withstand and exceed the demands of sport.

The age old dilemma that has yet to be proven scientifically goes that “too much” resistance training for women is bad because they get too bulky.

Despite this common belief, research and evidence beg to differ, only directing us to the fact that there are more benefits to resistance training for women than there are cons.

There are several major benefits to strength training for women:

– Enhanced bone modeling to increase bone strength and reduce the risks of osteoporosis
– Enhanced joint integrity
– Increased general strength for daily activity and or sport
– Increased lean body mass and decreased nonfunctional body fat
– Improved confidence and self-esteem
– Increased metabolic rate from increased muscle math and fat decrease

Just like any other specialized strength and conditioning program, training should consists of periodization that rotates between increasing strength, power, increasing lean muscle mass, and burning fat.

Essentially, The myth is that lifting weights for women causes bulk and too much girth,
when the reality is that strength training REDUCES body fat and increases lean weight.

However, there are 3 trainable effects to focus on when developing an efficient regimen for female athletes and a fitness program for women that is sure to have long lasting results, and they are:

1.) Developing Lean Mass
2.) Max Strength Development
3.) Power Development

Developing Lean Mass

Again, the fear of getting too big and getting too much muscle is not founded on anything. This essentially limits most women to any real development because of the fear of increased resistance.

In women, development of lean muscle mass is important, specifically in regards to the upper body (explaining most looks on faces when I say we have pushups.)

In order for the larger muscles to be stimulated, there needs to be a sufficient amount of motor unit activation. The more resistance applied, the more motor units containing larger muscle fibers are stimulated.

In regards to further stimulating those muscles, proper variation of exercise should be involved, including varying joint angles and the direction of force, or doing different types of exercises to stimulate muscle when necessary.

The most successful method of developing lean mass for women is proven through using a well-planned, periodized training program.

The main takeaway in terms of developing lean mass for women is to activate as many motor units as possible to stimulate real muscles growth through variable resistance.

Developing Max Strength

Creating maximal strength is directly proportional to the resistance loaded schemes used throughout a training program.

Increasing total strength means high loads close to the one rep max (3-5 rep max or >90%). In order to develop the one rep max, women will need heavy resistances just as established science dictates.

The “goal amount” of strength should be dependent on individual wants and needs. However, for female athletes, adding strength is a critical component of increased performance and should be implemented correctly.

The current athletic standards and competition place demands on female athletes that call for the need to develop max strength in order to perform at the highest levels.

The benefit of incorporating max strength training for women’s general fitness includes activating more muscle tissues and the improvement of connective strength and tissue, thus further improving lean mass.

How does this translate to fitness?

More definition and less fat.

Developing Power

Training explosively is another component that makes up a complete regimen.

While strength and lean mass are a big part of developing overall fitness, developing power has a significant impact on performance and functional improvement as well.

While strength in large part deals with developing a high force to move against resistance, power specifically involves the velocity or speed of movement.

This further enhances muscle and neural coordination while also developing quick twitch fiber muscle.

Developing power is a very important aspect for female athletes in terms of being able to generate force rapidly, whether with an external resistance or the athlete’s body weight.

Power exercises for the general fitness population add another dynamic to the fitness program, and should be developed along with true strength training as both power and strength closely interact and need to be addressed.

Research shows that rate of force development (power) is significantly slower for the average woman, than the average man. Thus, training for explosive power is crucial for female athletes to overall improve power performance.

Stop fearing. Physiology Speaks for Itself

So as we mentioned earlier, most women are fixated on the idea that strength training will make them look like a man, when the truth is, without anabolic drugs, there is a very small chance of that.

This is belied by the fact that women have smaller muscle fibers than men.

Though this be the case, untrained women have more of a strength potential than men for lean mass, fat burning, and strength gains if trained properly since research suggests that 75% of untrained women have slow twitch muscle fibers that are bigger than their fast twitch muscles fibers.

It has actually been shown, the responses of muscle fibers are more rapid in women than in men. Research has also proven that in as little as 2 workouts that muscle responses in women develop more rapidly than in men.

Thus, a few guidelines exist to developing the most efficient training program for female athletes OR fitness enthusiast to elicit the best response:

1.) Programs should cycle between developing strength, lean mass, and power at variable intensities to create the most efficient training results.

2.) You should always develop a solid strength base BEFORE developing power in order to generate more force in a short period of time and elicit the intended response. Exercises should be explosive in nature (push press, resisted box jumps, clean pulls etc)

3.) Programs should include multi-planar, multi joint movements, and functional exercises to further enhance intramuscular coordination, proprioception, and balance in order that the transfer is great in sports or in daily life.

4.) Do not be afraid to break barriers and challenge your current physical state.

*******

Regarding the actual training systems, there really is not too big a difference between the structure and science of strength programs for men or women.

The only difference is the strength potential and physiological adaptation that more heavily favor untrained women since they have more untapped strength.

In terms of the elite female athlete, or the serious female fitness enthusiast, partaking in an intricately structured program that utilizes training concepts of strength, muscle gain, and power, performance enhancement is guaranteed whereas increased physical definition is inevitable in reaching your perfect body.

I was asked an interesting question the other day by one of our fitness members who  approached me about a friend who asked her what the difference between Willis Performance Training and Orange Theory Fitness was.

I’ll start with the obvious:

We are not a studio gym.

You won’t find a line of treadmills.

You won’t find row machines.

You won’t find a coach with a headset microphone attached to loud speakers.

You won’t be attached to a heart rate monitor blue tooth connected to a flat screen monitor to see your heart rate zone.

Not at WPT.

Orange Theory Fitness has an extremely great concept by focusing on high intensity interval training and aiming to elevate Exercise Post Oxygen Consumption (EPOC).

It is a high energy environment that is non stop.

However the main difference between Willis Performance Training and OTF, or ANY other gym for that matter starts with our Mission Statement:

“To enhance athlete and non-athlete performance through a science based,  multidisciplinary approach to training while educating and inspiring the community through compassion, integrity, and heartfelt service”

This is the backbone of our system and everything we do ensures that our Mission is executed to the best of our ability.

As far a training goes, yes we do utilize high intensity training when necessary or when we are in that phase.

However that is not the basis of our training program.

What we offer is a full out strength and conditioning program geared towards complete fitness using micro and mesocycles as well as periodization and variable intensity.

Programs are designed to enhance strength, increase muscle, burn fat, create energy, pain management, and correct imbalances in the body.

Some weeks are high intensity, some weeks are low intensity with a heavy weight focus.

Training cycles are put together to elicit specific and intended responses from the body.

Nothing new. Just principle based.

We take the time to assess, evaluate, and establish goals on a monthly basis.

More than just monitoring heart rate, we monitor overall movement and joint integrity and adjust accordingly for overall enhancement.

Do we use weights? Yes.

Heavy? On occasion when the member is READY.

Do we run? Yes.

We do agility? Yes.

Are we a $20 per month type of gym? Heck no. You get what you pay for.

Is it hardcore everyday? No. We vary  the intensity of the program and implement recovery days/weeks and progressive intensity and movement.

HOWEVER,

Even with all of the “science” and “principle” behind our training systems, it is the community and environment that we take pride in.

We educate.

We inspire.

We motivate.

We highlight.

We stay connected.

How?

Everything from our private social media groups, to our very inspirational emails and newsletters, to workshops, to networking, to our monthly articles and blog posts, to filming our in house mini series highlighting our members and athletes and recognizing people for their hard work and breaking down the exercise of the week.

Even offering additional materials such as Nutritional Guides and Goal Sheets for everyone.

We want to establish a community that provides exact resources for everyone to stay motivated, informed, inspired, and goal oriented like our mission says.

This we ensure happens inside and out of the gym.

Now, this is NOT a rant about what each company does not have and who is better as EACH of them have the opportunity to change someone’s life.

This is just an answer to a great question.

That is it.

We are not a franchise or a studio gym.

We are an authentic, rapidly growing training and sports facility available to anyone who believes in coaching combined with precise training as a solution to their needs and who loves community and fun in the process.

There you go.

If you would like more info on our Adult Fitness Program, please visit

https://www.willisperformance.com/wptfitness