Is This Strength and Conditioning?

“I don’t know what this is, but I know this is what my son needs right now.  Is this strength and conditioning?”

A father recently asked this question as he stood with coach Chris, watching his son’s first full training session here at Beyond Strength Performance NOVA, LLC.  His son wasn’t doing the “traditional” strength and conditioning actions—jumping, throwing, lifting, running—he was working with an experienced coach on simple movement and mobility drills.

 

The athlete, a promising soccer player, had recently been through the wringer.  In his young career he’d already suffered some devastating injuries and setbacks.  He hadn’t played soccer in quite a while due to his injuries, so he was training to attain a baseline.  He was training to get back to a point where he could practice without getting hurt.

 

Chris answered with a simple, “Yes.”  What this father watched is indeed strength and conditioning.  It’s strength and conditioning that meets the athlete at their current level.  It’s strength and conditioning that focuses on results rather than appearance, and it gives the athlete what they currently need.

 

We knew that simple movement and mobility training was appropriate for this soccer player, because we took the time to explore his history—training, injury, sports—and we assessed him using a battery of tests that gave us a clear picture of exactly what type of training would be the safest, and most impactful, for him, at this moment.  Those tests gave us the information we needed to individualize his training program.

 

Imagine if we hadn’t taken the time to get to know this young soccer player—if we didn’t assess his movement and learn about his injury history—what could have happened?  Well, the likelihood that he’d make progress would steeply decline.  It’s also likely that we could have injured him by giving him exercises that were too stressful for his current level.

 

Strength and conditioning isn’t training that looks a certain way, training that looks hard and seems to mimic a sport.  Strength and conditioning is training that produces the desired result.  It’s based on answering simple questions.

 

What does the athlete need?

 

What are the demands of their sport?

 

What exercises will help meet their needs?

 

What does this training produce?

 

It’s easy to make a training session hard, anyone can do that—just push an athlete to exhaustion.  It doesn’t require any skill.  But understanding that strength and conditioning exists on a spectrum, based on what an athlete currently needs, and how to help them perform optimally, requires care, attention, and skill.

 

The result isn’t based on how tired an athlete is after a training session.  The result is based on whether or not their training session, and their training program, takes them closer toward their performance goals, while simultaneously making them more resilient and less likely to be injured.

 

So, if a strength coach is taking the time to get to know an athlete, evaluating their fitness and movement, and then writes a program that meets them at their current needs, yes, it’s strength and conditioning.

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Interested in learning more about BSP NOVA and how we can help your athlete?

We are hosting a FREE soccer performance seminar, run by head coach Lori Lindsey, on Saturday February 18th from 12-1pm.  Come join us!

In the meantime, check out our soccer performance program descriptions.  Then, if you’re interested in getting your athlete started started, simply fill out the form below and we will be in touch shortly!

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