As discussed in my previous article, 5 Ways to Maintain Your “In-Season” Strength: Part 1, training during this portion of year is clearly very important for an athlete’s development and performance on the field. With that being said, we want to give you more of a guide to help you train efficiently this season so you will see some basic programming that we use with our athletes during these months!
Quality vs Quantity
We understand there are a lot of factors that play a role in how you train during the season. Things such as game/practice schedule, weekly workload and position (pitchers vs position players), but it’s still really critical that every athlete finds some time to train during the season.
We’ve established that 2-3 Days/Week of Strength Training would be ideal, especially if you’ve trained hard all off season, but continuing to train through the season will give you a smooth transition into your summer training and playing plans! You don’t want to miss a beat!
The key with in-season training is quality over quantity. Get in, get your work done, get out! Off-Season workouts can typically last 60-90 mins, but we want the in-season sessions to be of high quality and no added workload. So, 30-45 minute sessions are ideal.
Since a lot of athletes won’t always know when their next training session will be, and if you’re training 2-Days/Week, we really like to have 2 Full Body Lifts with this type of set-up. If an athlete is lifting 3-Days/Week, we will go with 1 Upper, 1 Lower Split and 1 Full Body Lift!
Keep It Simple
Try not to introduce any new movements or exercises during the season. Stick with things that you’re familiar with to help reduce soreness. Exercise selection for your workout should fall into these categories:
- Hip/Hinge
- Squat Variation (Bi-Lateral or Uni-Lateral)
- Upper Body Push
- Upper Body Pull
- Carry Variation
- Arm Care Routine
Be Creative and Be Prepared
This one is for the college and high school athletes who play in tournaments throughout the summer, staying in hotels every week/weekend. You have to work with what you got, and hotel gyms might not have everything you need. Be creative and come prepared!
If you’re lucky enough to have a hotel with dumbbells and a cable stack, you can get a quality on-the-road lift! Having a small collection of your own equipment can go a long way as well. Every athlete should bring the following tools with them:
- Foam Roller
- Lacrosse Ball
- Flex Bar
- Mini Bands
- HLT Bands
- Suspension Trainer/TRX
Sample In-Season Workout 1
Goblet Squat or Trap Bar D-Lift (Concentrics) 4x3each
Chain Push-Ups or DB Press 3×6
SL Bridge Holds 3x:10
Goblet Side Lunges 3x5each
Dead Bugs 3×8
Chest Supported DB Rows 3x5each
Sample In-Season Workout 2
SSB or DB Reverse Lunge 3x5each
Prone row to ER 3x6each
Pallof Press Holds 3x:10
SL RDL Variation 3x5each
Yoga Push-Ups 3×8
1-Arm DB Row 3x5each
Conditioning
We’re not huge fans of heavy conditioning during the season, but if it’s something that you like as part of your routine, our advice is to skip the long-distance running and perform the following:
- Higher Intensity Dynamic Warm-Up (Linear & Lateral)
- Sprint Work w/ :20-:30 Rest Periods (10-30 Yards)
- Agility Work w/ :20-:30 Rest Periods (Your Choice of Exercise)
- Movement Day w/ :10 Rest Periods
- Strength Day w/ :30-:45 Rest Periods
In-season training is a MUST if you want to maintain performance and your long term strength, power and mobility. If you only work hard during the off-season just to regress when the season comes along, you’re going to be Yo-Yo-ing and struggling to really see long term progressions, not only in strength but body weight as well!
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