Why Spring Athletes Need to Keep Lifting During the Season

When the spring season starts, many high school athletes make the same mistake—they stop lifting. Practice volume increases, games and matches fill the schedule, and the weight room becomes an afterthought. On the surface, it makes sense. Athletes feel like they’re doing more than enough. But over time, performance begins to dip.

Speed drops. Explosiveness fades. Late-game fatigue sets in.

This isn’t because athletes are doing too much. It’s because they’ve stopped maintaining the strength that supports their performance.

Strength is what supports in-season performance

Strength is the foundation for speed, power, and control. Every sprint, cut, jump, and change of direction relies on the ability to produce force and stabilize the body.

When strength training is removed during the season, the body adapts quickly. Within a few weeks, athletes begin to lose force production. That shows up as slower first steps, less powerful movements, and reduced efficiency on the field.

Practices and games may keep athletes conditioned, but they do not provide enough consistent stimulus to maintain strength. Without it, performance gradually declines.

In-season lifting keeps speed and power intact

Speed and explosiveness are qualities that need to be maintained. They don’t stay just because you built them in the offseason.

By continuing to lift 1–2 times per week, athletes can preserve the strength and power they worked hard to develop. These sessions don’t need to be long or exhausting. The focus is on quality, not quantity.

A well-structured in-season lift should include:

• Lower body strength work to maintain force production
• Posterior chain exercises to support sprinting and jumping
• Core stability to improve control and reduce injury risk
• Low-volume explosive movements to keep the nervous system sharp

This type of training allows athletes to stay fast and powerful without interfering with practices or games.

Strength also plays a major role in durability

As the season progresses, fatigue builds. Repeated sprinting, cutting, and contact take a toll on the body.

Strength helps absorb that stress. Strong muscles protect joints, improve movement efficiency, and reduce the likelihood of breakdown under fatigue.

Athletes who continue to lift during the season are better equipped to handle the physical demands of competition. They recover more effectively and are less likely to deal with nagging injuries that limit performance.

The bottom line

Stopping strength training during the season leads to a slow but noticeable decline in performance. Athletes may not feel it immediately, but it shows up over time in speed, power, and durability.

Spring athletes don’t need more volume. They need consistency.

Maintaining strength with just one or two focused sessions per week can be the difference between starting strong and finishing strong.

Matthew Walcott

B.S., CPPS, BPS, FRCms, CPT