If you’re new to strength training, don’t try to make it “sport-specific” – here’s why:
Athletes and coaches sometimes put off starting a strength plan because they don’t know how to make it fit their sport.
The thing is – you don’t need to. In the beginning, you need to grab the low-hanging fruit; getting stronger & more powerful.
If you try to make your strength sessions look like your sport, you may water down the strength exercises so much that they won’t do the job you actually want them to do! If you want to get better at your sport skills, practise those skills. If you want to work on physical qualities to support your sport and those skills, get in the gym.
The goal of strength training is to make you stronger, more able to produce force quickly, and more resilient to injury. When you’ve already built a certain base of strength and power, then you can start looking at specific qualities for your sport.
But in the beginning, focus on the basics:
(Split) squat, hinge, push, pull.
Multi-joint exercises are good bang for your buck because they strengthen multiple muscle groups, and make you stronger in certain movement patterns, not just isolated muscle groups.
Still not sure where to begin?
I recently released a podcast episode where I covered some basics of strength training for athletes (or coaches) who don’t have access to a strength and conditioning coach. Take a listen here or click the image below.
Need more personalised advice?
I offer online consultations for teams, coaches, and athletes, and personalised programming for athletes of all levels. Get in touch if you’re interested in working with me.
Siobhan Milner 