3 Must-Do‘s to Build Strong Athlete’s In-Season

Mimicking sprinting-like actions in the weight room, when loaded appropriately, can be a useful approach toward safeguarding the hamstring region for protection against injury in athletics. Furthermore, in doing so, there is a greater likelihood for the athlete to improve strength and durability in positions commonly frequented during participation in sports. An intelligent strategy for directly targeting the hamstring region in an overall strength and conditioning program can be through the Single-Leg Hamstring Bridge (SLHB) exercise. A much more challenging variation than the common bridge exercise, this single-leg hamstring bridge exercise calls for approximately 20° of knee flexion, which places a greater loading emphasis on the hamstring region (Freckleton 2014). The isometric position of the working leg in the SLHB can factor in as a way to prescribe hamstring strengthening to improve overall lower body durability (Ezequiel 2017). Suggested in-season utilization: 2-3 sets of 8-10 repetitions per side on 1-2 days per week.

The groin region, a neighbouring area to the hamstring region, is commonly placed under mechanical loading stress within a multitude of sports. Consider what is widely referred to as an athletic stance with an athlete slightly crouched down and hunched a bit forward with both knees and hips at a slight bend and both hands out toward each side. Furthermore, consider what it looks and feels like when an athlete pushes off to change direction from this athletic stance or even performs a defensive slide in sports. Ultimately, what you will find is that the groin region is heavily involved in all of these actions, which makes it a key area to strengthen in training. The Copenhagen Adduction (CA) exercise can be a useful training strategy to begin building lower body durability in the groin region to keep athletes strong during in-season play. Current evidence on the CA exercise has been conducted with male footballers where one study demonstrated reduced groin problems by up to 41% (Polglass 2019). Suggested in-season utilization: 2-3 sets of 8-10 repetitions per side on 1-2 days per week.

Lower body durability for athletes during in-season sport participation is key for long-term success. Although strengthening the hamstring region and groin region are both a must, we can also see how the knee region becomes equally important as well due to the anatomical location and similar mechanical loading in athletics. Current evidence suggests that the Reverse Nordic Hamstring Exercise (RNHE), better known as the Reverse Nordic Curl in strength and conditioning circles, has been shown to produce a significant increase in the muscle fascicle length, muscle thickness, pennation angle, and cross-sectional area in the quadriceps muscles (Alonso-Fernandez 2019). This joint-friendly exercise places a strong emphasis on the controlled eccentric component for muscular and tendon strength adaptations in the knees via increased time under tension. Suggested in-season utilization: 2-3 sets of 6-8 repetitions on 1-2 days per week.

It’s important to consider that the feet are the first things that touch the ground during sprinting, running, jumping, and landing, which all represent important aspects of sports and physical activities. Understanding this will lend credence into viewing how this impacts the associated structures in the calf region, such as the gastrocnemius muscle, soleus muscle, and Achilles tendon, in addition to how forces are transmitted up the chain in the lower body toward the knee region, groin region, and hamstring region. A recent study found that the triceps surae, made up of both the gastrocnemius muscle and soleus muscle, respond robustly to regimented exercise (Schoenfeld 2020). Targeting the gastrocnemius muscle becomes accessible within standing positions of direct loading with an emphasis on a controlled tempo and externally loading in the entire range of motion. Suggested in-season utilization: 2-3 sets of 10-12 repetitions on 1-2 days per week.

Anatomically, the soleus muscle resides below and deep to the gastrocnemius muscle. A simple and effective way to target the soleus muscle directly in a strength and conditioning program will be when the knees are bent to a certain degree. You can do so partially by standing with both knees slightly bent, or you can do so fully in a seated position since the soleus is a single-joint muscle and only crosses the ankle joint. The gastrocnemius, on the other hand, is on relative slack when the knees are bent since this muscle crosses both the ankle joint and knee joint. An externally loaded isometric standing position with the knees bent slightly can be a useful approach toward improving lower body strength and durability in the soleus muscle. Suggested in-season utilization: 2-3 sets of 20-30 seconds per side on 1-2 days per week.

Can deceleration training improve athletic performance?

Deceleration training focuses on the primary elements that allow an athlete to slow down in a controlled manner, absorb contact via various forces and velocities, efficiently change directions, and land in an organized fashion. These physical skills and qualities may aid your athletes in the process of remaining strong and durable during in-season sport participation. Strength and conditioning coaches can potentially begin to take preventative measures for injury reduction and athletic performance enhancement by including exercises and protocols that focus on deceleration and landing skills within an in-season training program.

A recent study on male and female youth athletes suggested that the inclusion of a program centered around jumping and landing exercises could improve jump-landing technique, which would help to reduce the risk of lower-body injuries (Root 2015). Another study concluded that a training program including jumping and landing exercises with male and female basketball players can be effective in preventing lower extremity injuries (Aerts 2013). In-season sport participation leans heavily on an athlete’s ability to remain strong and durable. Most importantly, those that can remain strong and physically capable will be available to participate versus being sidelined due to a potential lower-body injury. This further highlights the importance of including deceleration training within in-season programs to reduce injury risk and improve athletic performance.

The three planes of motion within human movement refer to the sagittal plane (forward and reverse movements), the frontal plane (side-to-side and lateral movements), and the transverse plane (rotation and twisting movements). Consideration of all 3 planes of motion when prescribing deceleration training exercises could be beneficial for your athletes to be well-equipped for the demands of in-season sport participation. Ultimately, this could align with the thought process of leaving no stones unturned within the training program to physically prepare your athletes for resiliency.

Sagittal plane example: Click here

Frontal plane example: Click here

Transverse plane example: Click here