Top 5 Keys to Transferring the Weight Room to the Playing Field

As strength coaches, we are always looking for the best ways to help our athletes get faster and stronger. We are constantly reading the latest articles and blogs, attending the newest certification courses and hunting for the best new tools to push our athletes to the next levels of performance greatness. However, that will mean little if we can’t get the improvements we seek to transfer to the playing field.

In the field of modern performance enhancement, we can use a multitude of methods to improve our athletes. Here are just a few things I like to keep in mind when developing athlete programming for maximal transfer to the field of play.

Movement Matters:

As we develop athlete training programming in this modern era of technology and performance training advancements, it can be easy to get away from the basics qualities that can lead to next level athleticism. A quality we can improve that can lead to performance improvement is a focus on developing qualitative movement. Having the athlete spend some time focusing on quality movement can lead to better efficiency in athletic movement. As well as, better utilization of energy systems specific to the sport and of course injury prevention.

Train Functional Strength:

Being able to move heavy weight in isolation moves is one thing, being able to integrate actual strength to the field of play is another. Our main goal for our athletes is that we want them to get bigger, faster, stronger but we want them to see the results of the training stimulus become present in their chosen sport. So, when we design training programs we want to utilize exercises and protocols that allow the athlete to integrate and sequence the movement patterns that will be useful in sport.

Move Through Different Planes of Motion

We don’t rise to the level of our expectationswe fall to the level of our training.” –Archilochus

The act of competing in sport happens in multiple planes of motion. So, in order for athletes to prepare for the demands of athletic movement, expose them to multiplanar movement training. This prepares the athlete to be more durable, as well as leading to efficiency of movement in the athletic space. Athletes need to be able to move with power and efficiency through space.

Develop Power

Power is one of the qualities all athletes want and need. The ability to produce power is one of the most important things in sports performance. Having possession of game changing power can mean the difference in sport. Just look at a slam dunk, a walk off home run, or a stolen base late in a game. We can think of maximal power as being able to exhibit instantaneous power within a single movement at maximal velocity. In order for an athlete to harness this type of power, it needs to be trained within the weight room. We can help our athletes by helping them understand progressions of power training and the applications to their given sport.

Understand the Demands of Sport

Each sport has skills that are required. If improved they can help your athletes better transfer functional strength and power to their chosen sport. Understanding the demands of the sport from a movement standpoint can be key to helping your athlete transfer their hard work to the field of play. Understanding that the energy system in baseball will be different than that of your marathon runners will make all the difference in the way you create programs. As well as understanding the movement profile for a wide receiver in football will be different than that of your professional golfer will change the way you create programming. Understanding the demands of the athlete’s given sport can provide the foundation of the “why?” for your programming.

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In conclusion, we want our athletes to get bigger, faster and stronger. We want them to be able to get the best bang for their buck from the work they do. Keeping a few of these things in mind can go a long way to creating better athletic functional training programs.

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