The pervasive myth that athletes exclusively train in the off-season, merely practicing during competition periods, dangerously undermines performance potential. This misconception is fueled by the intense focus demanded in games, the cumulative fatigue from weekly practices, and the relentless demands of balancing academics, sports, and personal life. However, true athletic excellence hinges on continued in-season development of fundamental movement skills: speed, power, agility, strength, and stamina.
Off-season training induces physiological adaptations that rapidly deteriorate without maintenance. Neuromuscular performance capabilities can vary over an in-season training cycle and are influenced by high-intensity workloads. This suggests the need for acute monitoring in high performing athletes.This isn’t advocating for off-season intensity, but rather, strategically reduced volume and intensity of focused work weekly, which can be facilitated and monitored through in-season training sessions and outputs [1].
Similarly, strength, power (the rate of force production and it being sustained), and stability diminish without consistent in-season training. In-season hamstring strength, a key indicator in injury prevention, has been noted to decrease from pre-season [2]. Integrating targeted strength, stability, and speed exercises supports performance optimization and significantly mitigates injury risk.
Athletic Republic trainers, with extensive experience training elite athletes, understand the ‘use it or lose it’ principle. Top-performing athletes proactively adapt their training to meet the evolving demands of each season.
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Citations:
[1] Clancy, C., Gleeson, N., & Mercer, T. (2022). Neuromuscular Performance and Training Workload Over an In-Season Mesocycle in Elite Young Soccer Players. Int J Sports Physiol Perform. 2022 Jan 1;17(1):37-43. doi: 10.1123/ijspp.2020-0834. Epub 2021 Aug 17.
[2] Zandavalli, L., et al. (2024). Physical Performance Changes in Season are Associated with GPS Data in Soccer Players. Int J Sports Med. 2024 Dec;45(14):1047-1054. doi: 10.1055/a-2367-6289. Epub 2024 Jul 16.
