The importance of strength & conditioning to maximise athletic performance.
It doesn’t matter if you’re a professional athlete or a weekend warrior, engaging and following a structured strength and conditioning program can help you perform at your best and allow you to reach your full athletic potential. Along with reducing your risk of injury keeping you performing at your best for longer.
A strength and conditioning program will improve your performance in different ways. The following blog delves deeper into the how and why.
1. Increasing Muscle Size and Strength
One of the most common benefits of regular strength training is the ability to increase muscle size and strength (1). As any athlete the stronger your muscles the more force you will be able to produce whether that be in the gym or out on the track/field. For example, a study published in the Journal of Strength and Conditioning Research found that basketball players who engaged in a strength training program increased their vertical jump height by an average of 8.36% (2). Increasing muscle strength leads to increased power output which therefore means that it can assist in the improvement of running economy and speed. Research shows that regular strength training improved running speed in long-distance runners (3).
2. Reducing Injury Risk
A very important aspect of strength and conditioning is the ability to reduce the risk of injury (4). By strengthening the muscles, tendons, and ligaments that support your joints, you can help protect yourself from common sports injuries and keep you performing at your best for longer. A study published in the American Journal of Sports Medicine found that athletes who engaged in a strength training program were 55% less likely to suffer a muscle injury compared to those who did not (5). Additionally to this, it is important that the strength and conditioning program also aims to address any weaknesses or previous injured areas of the body so that it reduces future injury risk. These weaknesses can be identified through movement screening and objective testing.
3. Improving Physical Conditioning
As well as improving strength and power outputs alongside reducing injury risk, strength and conditioning can help improve an athlete’s overall physical conditioning (6). Physical conditioning includes body composition/weight, flexibility (muscles/joints) and also your cardiovascular fitness. Optimal levels of cardiovascular fitness is important to sustain high levels of performance for longer periods of time. Research shows that well-trained runners who engaged in HIIT improved their VO2 max (a measure of cardiovascular fitness) by an average of 6% (7). Additionally, static stretching improves flexibility which is also important for performance, a study showed that just 10 minutes per week or 4 minutes per session showed improvements (8).
4. Periodisation & Programming
Strength and conditioning sessions should be periodised and programmed depending on your individual needs which should be identified during a needs analysis which will look in more detail at your; training age, biological age, current fitness levels and injury status. This information alongside any objective testing will form the programs. Sessions throughout the week should typically include a combination of hip and knee dominant patterns, push and pull, plyometrics and trunk strength exercises. These will be alongside any on-feet or off-feet conditioning sessions. It is also vital that within your strength and conditioning programs you have structured regeneration sessions that allow your body to rest and recover in order for adaptations to occur. These can either be post sessions, during the week (i.e days off) or even de-load periods throughout a block of work. Finally, your nutrition should also be programmed around training sessions to allow you to fuel correctly for sessions but also recover well from them in order to achieve the adaptations. See our website for more information on how AI can support your nutritional demands - https://b-yondperformance.com/pages/b-yond-ai-nutrition-training
5. Conclusion
To conclude this blog, individualised and correctly programmed strength and conditioning sessions are an essential component of your training. As mentioned they can enhance performance levels to reach athletic potential whilst simultaneously reducing the risk of injuries occurring. Interested in strength and conditioning programming to enhance your athletic levels? Struggling with injuries or niggles and need assistance with rehabilitation? If so, then please get in touch via our socials for more support through Craig.
References
- Kraemer, W. J., & Ratamess, N. A. (2004). Fundamentals of resistance training: progression and exercise prescription. Medicine and science in sports and exercise, 36(4), 674-688.
- Stone, M. H., Sands, W. A., Pierce, K. C., Carlock, J. M., Cardinale, M., & Newton, R. U. (2007). A comparison of strength and power characteristics between professional and college-age male basketball players. The Journal of Strength & Conditioning Research, 21(3), 679-683.
- Teng, Y., Xie, Z., Chen, A., Zhang, J., & Bao, Y. (2023). Improving speed and strength in long-distance running training. Revista Brasileira de Medicina Do Esporte, 29, e2022_0298. https://doi.org/10.1590/1517-8692202329012022_0298
- Serafim, T. T., de Oliveira, E. S., Maffulli, N., Migliorini, F., & Okubo, R. (2023). Which resistance training is safest to practice? A systematic review. Journal of Orthopaedic Surgery and Research, 18(1), 296. https://doi.org/10.1186/s13018-023-03781-x
- Albrecht, K. A., & Knapik, J. J. (2007). The effectiveness of resistance training in enhancing sports performance: a meta-analysis. Journal of strength and conditioning research, 21(3), 678-688.
- Faigenbaum, A. D., & Westcott, W. L. (2009). Youth resistance training: position statement summary and technical report. Sports Medicine, 39(6), 433-445.
- MacDougall, J. D., Ray, S., Sale, D. G., McCartney, N., Lee, P., & Garner, S. (1985). Muscle performance and enzymatic adaptations to sprint interval training. Journal of Applied Physiology, 58(3), 785-790.
- Ingram, L. A., Tomkinson, G. R., d’Unienville, N. M. A., Gower, B., Gleadhill, S., Boyle, T., & Bennett, H. (2024). Optimising the dose of static stretching to improve flexibility: A systematic review, meta-analysis and multivariate meta-regression. Sports Medicine. https://doi.org/10.1007/s40279-024-02143-9