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Why It’s Smart To Train In the Off-Season

Participation in sports doesn’t begin with competition. To get fully prepared physically and mentally, it’s important to train yourself before the sports season starts.

Advantages to off-season training include:

• Helping you to stay healthy and in shape before competition begins
• Strengthening weak muscles (which are more prone to injury)
• Developing the stamina you’ll need to endure long, intense competition
• Improving coordination and increasing reaction time, especially for middle school age athletes who are not yet physically able to build muscle mass
• Identifying any weaknesses you may have, and then focusing on strengthening them before competition begins

Off-season conditioning is typically longer and more intense than training during the sport’s season when more time is spent competing and less time is available for training.

Source: National Athletic Trainers’ Association; American College of Sports Medicine