Strength matters. There is no way around it. Force makes us move and moving is what we do in sport. There is more than enough research to highlight the fact that strength training improves the force producing abilities of the muscle. However, sport is highly dynamic and clearly does not only rely on raw strength/force producing abilities. Aside from that, strength training puts a strain on the body that reduces the body’s immediate functional abilities. Thus, strength training during the season or for an athlete who constantly at work may not seem too enticing. A reduction in functional capacity is not the greatest thing to deal with in season. However, there are two sides to the coin and any reduction in strength also reduces the functional capacity of the athlete (fatigue causes weakness and weakness causes fatigue).

Chunking

 

In modern day athletics, it is hard to carve out entire months strictly dedicated towards strength. Athletes don’t have that kind of time and often the increased fatigue makes them want to seek out other options. This is where the simple idea of undulating blocks came from. During chunks of the year, we apply a directed stimulus at strength. This allows the coach to work around athlete’s schedule and allow strength training to be a positive factor in their development. This directed stimulus helps preserve previous strength gains and further push their overall maximal force producing abilities even further.

Sometimes in sport, we have to take what we can get. In an ideal world, as a strength coach we could have a perfect macro cycle setup with practices and competitions all planned out. However, as we all know, this utopia doesn’t exist. Instead, we deal with the constant flux the athlete’s free will and probably all too demanding game/practice schedules. Thus, a mindset of one step back, two steps forward is more realistic. This obviously is not ideal, but we can still make progress this way. Being frustrated and abandoning the idea of strength training will do no one any good. Instead, we take what we can get and run with it.

Conclusion

Strength training is a critical aspect of athletic development. However, it comes with a cost and managing that cost is what may keep your athletes coming back. A small progress approach with a undulating yearly model may be best. The lack of consistency in a schedule means that acting when you can is sometimes the only way to act. Carving out a small chunk, applying a directed strength dose and stepping away from it might be one of the few options we have. This isn’t ideal, but neither is life and sometimes we just have to play with the cards we are dealt.

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