A lot of athletes know they should be training but aren’t sure what they should do. I’m hoping this blog will help answer some questions and also provide a starting point for training.

First, it’s important to address that periodization is VITAL. There are four periods in a yearly macrocycle of training - in-season, postseason, offseason, and preseason. Each season has a purpose and focus to ensure athletes avoid overtraining and injury, but also to progress athletic performance further every year. It’s important to note that if you’ve been training for awhile, these changes are harder because they’ll take longer to make compared to someone that is just beginning their training journey. When you’re first starting out you’ll see a lot of changes quickly due to new neuromuscular patterns of movement - a lot of trainers will refer to this as “newbie gains”.

The purpose of offseason is to serve as a preparatory phase. Offseason is preparing your body for the speed, power, and increased stress that is coming during the preseason phase. Therefore, the focus of offseason is strength, recovery, and habit building to make sure your body is in its most primed state for what’s to come in preseason. Offseason is the time to push yourself in the weight room and on the field building your aerobic base, again knowing that speed and power focus is on the horizon.

When you’re weight training, it’s important to target all movement patterns of pushing, pulling (x2), hip hinging, squatting, unilateral work, and any individual weaknesses. For most exercises, you’ll stay in the 8-10 rep range for 3-4 sets and the last two reps should be tough to get through.

With the increased stress on the body through progressive overload, recovery will be vital. Getting in enough post-workout recovery fuel through nutrition, sleeping, hydrating, and keeping overall stress low will be crucial to maintaining gains and helping you recover session to session.

Typically, 2-3 training sessions for younger athletes is a good start, but more can be added. Again, recovery should be prioritized if so.

If you’d like to try out a sample of a week of an offseason training program, fill out the form below, where you’ll be taken to the set up of ideal workouts. Once you get to the sheets, you can make a copy and use them to track your progress through the workouts. If you have ANY questions, feel free to reach out at lmlaxtraining@gmail.com. If you’d like the full 16 week offseason program shoot me an email and I’d be happy to help support!

Happy lifting!