Hint: It’s so we can prepare the body to be able to train in-season.
“The whole point of training in the (short) offseason is so that you can build the capacity to be able to withstand the demands of training in-season.
Training in-season has always been important, but with longer “seasons” than ever before, training in-season is non-negotiable.”
-Ray Zingler on X
The most common questions I get in regards to training pertains to in-season training.
“How do you do it?”
“What is the frequency?”
“Do you adjust anything?”
And these are great questions, but they all circle back to one common theme:
Preparedness.
“Huh?”
How I approach an athletes in-season training has everything to do with their work capacity and level of physical preparedness related to training, specifically.
If kids are training year-round (as they should be) their bodies live in a trained state.
What this means is that I have to make relatively few adjustments to teenagers training plans during the season because their bodies are prepared for the demands of training.
I have had baseball players train max effort squatting methods the day before, and hell, even hours before major games only to watch them go out and excel on the ball field, feeling great.
Now can you imagine a “heavy” leg session the day before a game with an untrained athlete?
He’d be walking around looking like he constantly had to use the restroom and this would severely inhibit his performance.
The reason is simple, it’s because he isn’t prepared for the demands of training.
When I get athletes who START training in-season (this is fine) I have to very slowly ramp up their intensity in an effort not to “steal” physical resources from the “main thing” (baseball, soccer, lacrosse, etc.)
It’s for this reason I always laugh when a trained athlete will tell me he doesn’t want to “lift before a game or practice because he doesn’t want to get sore.”
Buddy, you’ve been training for the last 36 weeks consecutively. Your body is prepared for the demands of training. Do you think you’re magically going to get sore in week 37?
Of course not. If anything, your sport is what is making you sore and training (intelligently) will help mitigate soreness.
Because off-season’s in the modern era are so short, it is critical to build a base so that athletes can continue to train in-season (year-round).
It is the only real way to maximize athletic output potential.
Some might be able to “get away without it” but that inevitably comes at a cost of leaving potential on the table.
