THE DOUBLE EDGED SWORD OF STRENGTH TRAINING

As a performance coach, I obviously believe in the importance of strength training for athletes. Getting stronger and more powerful is essential for any athlete who wants to reach their potential, and in today’s hyper competitive world reaching the top of your sport is getting harder and harder, meaning committing to development is even more crucial. But, as with most things, not all avenues of training are created equal.
​
While a great training program can be a massive boost for an athlete, a bad, or even mediocre, program can be a severe detriment, leading to injury and decreased performance. A great training program will reduce the risk of injury, while a bad training program itself could be the root cause of catastrophic injuries. And it happens all the time. We see it at high school and college programs, where there are endemics of specific injuries. At a high school near our facility, they have seen no fewer than 10 shoulder labrum tears in the last four seasons in their football program alone. At another high school nearby they have had the same issue, with a significant amount of shoulder injuries that is disproportionate to their population. 

I can think of another high school where the issue is knee injuries. While they work towards constant failure (AMRAP sets, or “as many reps as possible”) as a method of strengthening, they decrease the integrity of the knee due to fatigue under a high load at such a consistent basis that they see an outsized amount of knee injuries, primarily meniscus tears and MCL injuries.

The issue of high rates of overuse, non-contact injuries due to poor strength programs has many causes. I think the one worth highlighting for now is that due to the recognized importance of strength training, so many high school teams are ensuring they offer a strength training program to their athletes, which on its surface is great. However, if they cannot ensure the quality of the program, or they do not have the knowledge or education to recognize a good program, they end up doing more harm than good. And so, when a sports coach makes a decision on a strength program, they determine the future of many of their athletes, for better or for worse. Hire a bad coach, and you will see injuries skyrocket and seasons go down the drain. Hire a good one, and you’ll see an uptick in performance and competitiveness. Unfortunately, most high school sports coaches are unqualified to determine the effectiveness of a strength program.

This issue gets compounded when coaches want “ownership” of their teams in the off-season. What I mean is that many coaches, or athletic departments, want to make sure their entire team participates in their team program. This, from a team bonding and cohesiveness standpoint, makes a lot of sense. But, if you have a bad strength program, and you now pigeon-hole your team into using it, you have in reality doomed your team to injuries.

Unfortunately, even in the private sector, there are many bad strength programs. If we think about what makes a client or team return to a trainer, it’s based on the relationship. They want a coach they enjoy spending time with, someone who brings enthusiasm, someone who motivates them, someone who cares about them. These skills are great to have, but also unrelated to knowledge and expertise about biomechanics, injury prevention, exercise physiology, programming and periodization, etc. Unfortunately, since the coaches and athletes generally lack knowledge in those areas as well, it’s difficult for them to evaluate what their strength coach is actually implementing.

A great strength program is one of your most important assets. A bad strength program is your largest liability.

​