The data and facts don’t lie. (The same can’t be said for people with underlying agendas.)
“If your sport coach doesn’t heavily encourage In-Season S&C, but tells you he wants you to be ‘the best you can be’..
He may be a nice guy, but he’s a liar.
Not knowing any better isn’t an excuse in ‘24.
Maximized performance while omitting serious S&C is entirely impossible.”
-Ray Zingler on X
I have no desire to for my athletes to be the strongest technical lifters.
What I am after with them is not only improved sport performance, but sustained sport performance and to sustain sport performance, we have to continue to train athletic qualities that are responsible for sport performance. Novel concept, huh?
This isn’t my idea. It’s not my opinion. It’s not “my truth”.
It’s inarguable human biology. It’s fact.
Trust me if we could just bust our ass all offseason and then coast for 3-4 months during the season and steadily progress performance without doing anything other than playing our sport, that is what I would encourage.
Path of least resistance, #amirite!?
But, unfortunately, like most things in life, athletic qualities come with a use it or lose it stipulation.
Guess how fast strength becomes detrained? Within 21 days.
“Ahh it’s only strength, who cares!?”
Okay, fine.
Guess how fast speed becomes detrained? In as little as 2-5 days.
“Oh, sh*t.”
Again, not my opinion, this is how athletic qualities work (or don’t work) in the human body.
So, what do you think happens if all you do is go to sport practice and play your games for 6 weeks without touching weights or max velocity sprinting?
Your performance inevitably decreases. That late season lull doesn’t happen on accident.
You’ll obviously get exceptions to the rule who use anecdotal evidence to say, “Nah, I feel good and fine during the season without training..”
And that’s.. well.. fine..
But here is another inarguable fact:
Despite “feeling” fine and thinking you can “get away” without training in-season, you’ll never, and I mean never reach the pinnacle of your potential omitting it.
Call it “fine” all you want, but said differently and more accurately, it would be: “Nowhere near your best.”
The reason sport coaches don’t push it (seriously) is because, many, despite knowing better, are creatures of habit.
It’s “their season” and the only thing you need to be focused on is “their thing”..
But it’s those coaches with the same, old, limiting mindsets who do a pretty good job of underperforming every year.
Your performance is your responsibility.
Make the personal choice to do what you need to do to be the best you can be.
Train in-season.
