A quick thought on “I don’t have time for that.”
The amount of activities that we could fill our days with is essentially infinite, while the amount of total activity that our body can tolerate is finite.
This discrepancy means that we have to choose wisely about what we actually execute in a day, week, month, year, etc. Anytime that we choose to do something, we are by default choosing not to do something else (whether we are explicitly aware of it or not).
This is where your “why” needs to guide you. Why do you do what you do? What’s this all for? What are you hoping to get out of life?
When deciding what you should do on a daily basis, you need to intentionally choose the activities that move the needle most toward where you’re trying to go.
If your goal is to maximize your athletic potential, then time spent on physical development is a high ROI activity. You can’t be slow, weak, and injury prone and expect to reach your athletic ceiling.
That’s why I hate hearing the phrase “I don’t have time for training.” You do have time for it; it’s just not a priority in your eyes.
It’s really okay to feel that way. A lot of people talk about how they want to be the best athlete they can be, but they don’t really want that more than other things. Having a lot of time to hang out with their friends is more important to them. Having plenty of time to relax, play video games, or scroll through their phone is more important to them.
None of those are bad things. Many times you have to choose between two really good things.
There’s a subset of the population, however, who crave greatness. They can’t fathom not living up to their potential. For these people, there’s always time.
I know, because I see this everyday with some of our athletes. Rain, snow, sleet, hail, in-season, off-season, tired, energized, angry, happy, sad, worn, injured, healthy it doesn’t matter. They show up and they work.
How bad do you really want it?
A deep dive on training frequency
One of the biggest question marks I get when consulting with athletes, coaches, and parents is: how many days per week should I train?
The answer is the ever-unhelpful “it depends.”
Context is king. Today, I want to dive into that context.
This advice is targeted toward athletes between the ages of 12.5 and 18 years old.
We can divide this segment into 3 phases:
- True off-season
- Pseudo in-season
- True in-season
A true off-season is when you don’t have any games (or maybe you have a few games every few weeks) and you don’t have multiple practices per week.
This is the ideal time to dedicate to physical development. You have the time and energy to go all in on developing a more powerful engine.
I recommend 3 to 4 days per week of power and strength sessions.
If you choose 3 days per week, I’d recommend either 3 full body strength days or an upper, lower, full strength split. (3 full body strength days, spaced out with a rest day between each session, is going to give you the most bang for your buck.)
If you choose 4 days per week, I’d recommend an upper lower strength split. If someone desperately needs to gain muscle mass, this is the split I’d recommend. If you’re under the age of 16, though, it’s probably overkill.
A pseudo in-season is when you’re technically in a season, but it’s not your main sport or it’s not your main team, or it’s not your main season.
In today’s era, athletes are rarely in a true off-season. If you trained year round on an in-season “maintenance mode” then your long-term progress would be fractional compared to what your genetic potential allows.
If your heart belongs to soccer and you want to be the best soccer player that you can possibly be, then you’ll have to train hard during basketball season.
I recommend 2 days per week of power and strength sessions. The strength sessions should be full body and have at least one rest (i.e. not strength training) between them.
A true in-season is when you’re in the heat of your busiest and most important season. The stakes are high and your time is minimal, but you don’t want to limit your long-term potential.
It’s important to not step away from training completely during these times. Strategic strength training is the closest thing we have to an antidote for injuries. It’s anecdotal, but the vast majority of major injuries that I’ve seen occur after a break of at least 4-6 weeks away from training.
I recommend 1 day per week of power and strength sessions, which of course would be full body.
You really shouldn’t be in this phase for more than 3 months out of the year. Training only 1x per week year round is a recipe for moderate performance; it’s better than nothing, but you’re leaving a lot on the table.
More from me…
- 2024 is geared toward pumping out more educational content on social media. Follow me on Instagram @gtperformance_ to learn all about athlete development.
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Thanks so much for your help in spreading the word about long-term athlete development!
Be >,
Zach
Dr. Zach Guiser, PT, DPT, CSCS