Sport Specific Strength Training: Fact or Fiction?

Is sport specific strength training a myth?  The answer is no, but in the way most people think about it, it is a myth. 

What I mean is, if you take a 20 pound medicine ball and shoot hoops with it, it will do absolutely nothing to improve your shot.  Or if you take a dumbbell and pretend it’s a golf club or tennis racket and go through the motions of your swing, it’ll do nothing to improve your swing.  It actually throws off the whole mechanics of your swing or shot.  You see, a basketball doesn’t weigh 20 pounds, so when you shoot it, you body develops a muscle memory for its weight and the distance you’re throwing the ball.  Same can be said for the golf club and tennis racket.  It is for these reasons that the only way to get better at golf, tennis, football, wrestling, gymnastics, basketball, baseball, karate, dancing, and cooking is practice. 

Now, for all of these things, to some degree, you need strength to go along with your skill.  That is where real sport specific strength training comes in.

If I was to train an NFL kicker, I would not have him kick a 20 pound football to get strong (he’d probably break his foot and I’d be in big trouble).  I would start by improving his lower body strength as a whole.  I would then cycle into focusing on the muscles needed most to kick a football (the core, hip flexors, quads, etc.)  On his own time, he’d be working his ball kicking technique.  The combined efforts would lead to an increase in his kicking distance.  However, just because I focused on his lower body, does not mean I would neglect his upper body.  This would lead to “weak links” and increase his chance of injury.  The entire body works together to accomplish any task and therefore should be trained in a similar manner.

So, what is sports specific training?  It is using the muscles of the body in a manner that will improve strength, speed, agility, acceleration, flexibility, power, injury prevention and any attribute needed for sports except skill.  Several sports have similar needs.  Some sports have different needs for different positions.  For example, football has 11 players on the field at a time.  Let’s pick offense.  You’d never train a quarterback like a lineman.

How can you get started in a sport specific strength training program?

Incorporate these exercises into your workout program:

Bench Press

Squats

Deadlift

Pullups

Why these exercises?  Two reasons: (1) Every sport requires strength and (2) these exercises include every major muscle in the body.  Everyone should start here and these exercises should be a part of every strength training program.  Each sport/athlete will dictate the level of intensity and frequency for these exercises as well as what auxiliary lifts should be done. 

For more information on these lifts, consult a strength and conditioning professional or personal fitness trainer.  Consult your doctor before starting any exercise program including these exercises.