Season after season, year after year, I see the same trend: those who train during the season have progress that compounds exponentially compared to those who don’t.
The athletes who train through the season stay healthier, perform better during the important times of the season, and see better long term progress.
I feel so strongly about this concept that I’ve built my entire business model to make in-season training as accessible and easy as possible, despite it being less profitable for the business.
With our current waitlist, it would make more financial sense for me to clear up space on our client roster and bring new athletes on.
The evaluation and onboarding processes are separate charges, so we make more money by bringing a new athlete on than we do by keeping the same client roster.
But, that’s not what I’m interested in.
I want to see our tight community of athletes have the highest possible chance at success.
I’ve developed tiered packaging that allows our athletes to continue training 1 or 2 days per week through the season, depending on what is appropriate for them.
Our online scheduling system allows our athletes to shift their training sessions around their busy schedule.
Our small group personal training model allows for each athlete to be doing a program built specifically for their circumstances, which means we can push hard when it makes sense and pull back when it makes sense.
It’s always cool to watch our super committed athletes continue to find ways to get work done in-season.
Here’s a quick summary of some of the benefits of in-season training.
1) Optimize performance and peak during the most-important time of the season
You didn’t train all off-season just so you can show off during the first 3 weeks of camps, before games even start.
You want to win, and you want to win a lot.
This means the most important time of the season comes at the very end, playoffs.
If you stop training once the season starts most of the speed, strength, agility, and power gains that you made will have significantly diminished by the time that you need them the most.
If you don’t believe me, take the word of some guys who know a thing or two about winning:
“We paid a serious price to get to this point. We put in a lot of work. We’re practicing in pads on Super Bowl week. We’re squatting 80% of our maxes on Super Bowl week. I mean, we worked for this. Our bodies were ready. Our minds were ready.”
-Matthew Slater (Patriots Wide Receiver 2017– Super Bowl Champion)
2) Maximize the long-game
Another big reason to keep training through this season is to make sure you’re maximizing your potential next season.
Too often we lose sight of the forest for the trees.
We focus on what’s happening right now and can’t see the long-term plan.
Stopping training once the season starts is like taking 2 steps forward and 1 step back.
Continuing to train during the season is like taking 3 steps forward.
All of a sudden you’re 2 steps ahead of where you would otherwise be (along with being 3 steps ahead of your competition).
Repeat this process season after season and year after year and you’ll learn the value of compound interest.
3) Stay healthier
Training is the best anti-injury medicine that we’ve got at our disposal.
It’s not 100% perfect, but it’s by far the best tool that we have available.
Continuing to train during the season allows you to continue to carry your shield and fortify yourself to the best of your ability.
Additionally, appropriately dosed training gives a big recovery boost and allows you to feel much better.
We all know- if you feel good, you play good.
Best,
Zach
Dr. Zach Guiser, PT, DPT, CSCS