The Truth About In-Season Training

When the season kicks off, most athletes shift their focus to practices, games, and recovery—which makes sense. Why do some athletes put such an emphasis on training in the offseason, but the second the season starts they don’t touch the weight room until the next offseason?  All that time put in during the offseason goes to waste when their sport starts. Why is it such a big deal that they stop training, you ask? They get weaker, slower, and more prone to injury as the season wears on. Following a properly periodized training program in-season can help mitigate injuries and continue to improve performance.

The Myth: Lifting Makes You Tired For Games

         It is a common belief that in-season training will leave athletes stiff, sore, and unable to perform in competition. You are in complete control of whether this is an issue or not. A properly periodized program will have the exact opposite effect on athletes when the time comes to perform. The correct mix of volume, intensity, and recovery will show performance increases in-season rather than be a detriment to success. 

         Just like anything in life, we use moderation. When I was first given teams of my own, I was told about the dinner plate analogy, and I cannot think of a better time than right now to share that with you. You are only allowed to get one dinner plate at this buffet; how will you fill it? During the offseason, the bulk of your plate will be filled with general prep (i.e., the weight room and field, with maybe a little bit of sport training). During the in-season period, that changes: the majority of an athlete’s plate is filled with specific prep (i.e., training their sport). We cannot overfill the plate, or we will be driving the athlete into the ground. Since success in their sport is what’s most important during the season, we as strength coaches cannot load up an already full plate. A full plate is when athletes do experience overtraining, fatigue, increased injury risk, etc. 

Why Bother Training In-Season?

         Thankfully, athletes not training in-season is becoming less prevalent, but it still happens. Some still ask, “Why do we need to train in-season?” Well, first and foremost, keeping athletes healthy and resilient is reason number one. In-season training should be a thing for all sports, but depending on what category of sport an athlete plays (collision, contact, non-contact), it may be the only thing keeping them healthy. Think of it this way: a typical college football regular season is 12 weeks long, not counting any postseason games teams may qualify for. It’s a use-it-or-lose-it situation. Some studies suggest that noticeable muscle atrophy can begin to occur in as little as 3-4 weeks (Encarnação et al., 2022; Domingues et al., 2024). Strength decreases can begin in the range of 2-4 weeks at around 5%, and after 6 weeks, strength can decrease by up to 15% (Blocquiaux et al., 2020). Arguably most importantly, speed and power can begin to start seeing decreases in as little as 5 days, in the range of 1-5% (Molina-García et al., 2017). By the time 12 weeks of no training rolls around, you can only imagine the decrease in performance and the injuries that could occur.

         The argument to train in-season is not that you need to train exactly how you do in the offseason. During the competition period, the goal is to keep the engine running by performing tune-up sessions during the week. The sessions are typically shorter and more concise than out of season: get in, hit your big blocks, fill the bucket that isn’t being filled by playing your sport, and get out.

What Does In-Season Training Look Like?

         Now, I can’t just tell you “do this” or “don’t do this” without informing you how I have had success in avoiding fatigue and increasing potential for athletic performance. My in-season exercise selection consists  only of movements I have already introduced in the offseason. If we have never back squatted before, why would I choose to introduce that during the season?  Your in-season training should just be a continuation of the offseason. All movements I program have been used at some point in the offseason. While the trap bar deadlift may have served as a max-effort movement in the offseason, in-season it might be used for dynamic work, maintaining continuity without introducing new movements. The actual nitty-gritty follows a higher set, lower-rep model. Excessive volume is what accumulates fatigue in athletes. When the season rolls around, volume goes down, but intensity stays high to maintain training adaptations. In-season, we will still touch anywhere from 80-88%, depending on the time of the season. My periodization during this time follows a stricter 1-2-3-deload model. In the offseason, I am more willing to extend a phase based on how the athletes are looking and feeling. That second phase will use the same compound movement, but the accessories will change. After the second phase, the compound will change. After that deload week, we will attack a new phase with higher percentages. So it may go something like this with our compound lifts:

Phase 1:

Week 1: 70% 6x3 (Last 3 sets @ 70%)

Week 2: 75% 6x3 (Last 3 sets @ 75%)

Week 3: 80% 7x2 (Last 4 sets @ 80%)

Week 4: 67% 4x3 (Last 2 sets @ 67%)

Phase 2:

Week 1: 73% 6x3 (Last 3 sets @ 73%)

Week 2: 78% 6x3 (Last 3 sets @ 78%)

Week 3: 83% 7x2 (Last 4 sets @ 83%)

Week 4: 70% 4x3 (Last 2 sets @ 70%)

Conclusion

In-season training does not have to be difficult. Lift 2-3 times per week, reduce volume but keep intensity high, focus on high-quality reps within that reduced volume, and prioritize big blocks (e.g., triple extension, squat, hinge, push, pull). Following these guidelines, your athletes will have the best opportunity to stay bigger, faster, stronger, and most importantly, healthier longer.

References

1.  Blocquiaux, S., Van Roie, E., Delecluse, C., & De Mey, J. (2020). The effect of resistance training, detraining and retraining in older adults: A systematic review. Journal of Muscle Research and Cell Motility, 41(2), 115–129. https://doi.org/10.1007/s10974-020-09564-0

2.  Domingues, L. B., Faria, F. R., Monteiro, M. M., & Cyrino, E. S. (2024). Effects of a 4-week detraining period after 12 weeks of resistance training on strength and functional capacity in older adults. International Journal of Environmental Research and Public Health, 21(11), 1433. https://doi.org/10.3390/ijerph21111433

3.  Encarnação, P., Willardson, J. M., Neves, R., & Ribeiro, A. S. (2022). Effects of detraining on muscle strength and hypertrophy: A systematic review. Strength & Conditioning Research Review, 1(1), 1–14. https://doi.org/10.3390/scrr1010001

4.  Molina-García, P., Orquín-Casas, J., & Sánchez-Romero, L. (2017). Effects of 4 weeks detraining on strength, power, and flexibility in adolescent surfers. The Open Sports Sciences Journal, 10(1), 71–78. https://doi.org/10.2174/1875399X01710010071