When it comes to being a complete and successful athlete, there are a multitude of factors to consider.
The world’s most successful athletes come in a variety of shapes, sizes, and skillsets, so it can be hard to determine exactly how to train ourselves to become “athletic.” There are certain principles, or “pillars” of athletic performance that use universal terminology and movement patterns to help develop athletes relative to their sport.
Once we determine the pillars we need to focus on, we can then tailor our training to reflect the properties most necessary to improve!
Pillar 1: Power
Leading off the pillars of athletic performance is my personal favorite: power.
Simply put, this is the maximal expression of force production for athletes, often utilizing little to no resistance and moving as fast as possible. This is one of the most widely applied principles in sports, as most require athletes to perform actions as quickly and powerfully as possible.
Whether it’s dunking, broad jumping, throwing a baseball, or shooting a takedown in MMA, the ability to explode instantly and generate maximum force is a skill you should consistently train in the weight room.
As mentioned earlier, little to no resistance is used to train this principle. Things like plyometrics, medicine ball throws, and ballistic movements can improve power production.
Pillar 2: Strength
The next of these pillars comes as no secret – sports require to be strong in some capacity, though this does not look the same for all sports. That said, the term “strength” can be divided into multiple subcategories. Specifically, relative strength refers to the amount of absolute strength compared to body weight.
For most athletes outside of powerlifting, there are diminishing returns for approaching maximal strength when comparing the opportunity cost to risk of injury. General strength training addresses your basic movement patterns. These include bilateral squats, lunge, hinge etc.
Performing loaded movements in these planes have been greatly shown to translate to athletic performance. When coupled with proper training schemes with our next principal, you will have the proper basis for improving all dynamic movement capacity!
Pillar 3: Speed
Another one that should come as no surprise – athletes MUST be fast.
Contrary to strength, however, there is almost always a reason to approach the upper thresholds of speed. Maximal speed training almost always benefits athletes, so you should carefully plan and program it with limiting factors in mind to minimize the risk of injury.
Whether it be sprint work, or reactionary work necessary for sport (i.e. machine batting practice for baseball with pitch speeds of 90+) speed and its subcategories remains a paramount part of all training.
Pillar 4: Mobility
Quite possibly the most misunderstood of all the pillars. Mobility refers to the ability to express movement through a range of motion. You can achieve this through movement, not just static stretching.
In sports, we encounter countless positions. Our bodies must be prepared to direct and absorb force through these positions.
In much the same way that we approach regular strength training, mobility should have its own, dedicated and intensive sessions. We achieve muscular adaptations through proper mobility training. But we also achieve joint and tendon adaptations which is arguably far more important.
Joints and tendons adapt under load the same way muscles do- though through different mechanisms. They do not recover as well from wear, tear, and injury as muscles do. Thus, it is imperative that athletes take their mobility work seriously and perform it consistently.
In addition, perform all strength work through the fullest range of motion permissible to aid in mobility training.
Pillar 5: Nutrition/Recovery
Lastly, proper nutrition and recovery are the bow that tie everything together. Here are some of the various factors affecting recovery:
- Sleep- by far the most important. Bad sleep=bad performance/increased chance of injury.
- Food- as an athlete, getting as many whole food with protein as the priority should be a priority.
- Supplementation- as an athlete, there are many supplements you can take. These include whey protein, creatine, and electrolyte drinks in addition to your whole food diet to increase performance capacity.
- Auxiliary methods- this includes things like ice baths, saunas, massages, etc. These can complement other recovery methods, but you shouldn’t use them as primary recovery methods.
Author: Myles Marshall, Training Arc
