Parts of a Whole

This post is also written for Sports Eh!

Perspective is an important thing in training, especially with young athletes. As a former football player I can attest to the draw of the huge physique. Once you start getting a bit of mass from your program, it's easy to get distracted and think that that is your primary goal - getting HYOOGE! The problem is, besides bodybuilders, that's never the primary goal. How would you answer this question:

Would you rather get huge or dominate at your sport?

If your answer is #2 then you need to make sure you shift your focus. This all comes Back to the Basics.

As great as it is to focus on body parts and improve your aesthetics, you need to keep a focus on compound movements and sport specific movements.

For example, getting a huge chest doesn't ensure a huge bench, you need to make sure you're doing lots of compound work first and foremost and then think about body parts as an accessory to those movements.

The same can be said about your sport. Getting a bigger bench and bigger vert doesn't necessarily make you a better football player, you need to work hard on your skills to be accustomed to your new athleticism. If you're a receiver, catching the ball becomes much more difficult when either you or the ball move faster.

Here's the bottom line, if you're lifting, focus on being better and stronger at foundational movement, pressing, squatting, dead lifting and upper body pulling. In terms of lifting you'll want to focus on: strength, rate of force development, movement quality and work capacity.

After that, be sure to get speed work in, ball work, positional technique work, conditioning and mobility/flexibility. If you haven't focused on any of those things, it's time to skip calf day or even chest day. Don't be too caught up with aesthetics, if you train like an athlete you'll look like an athlete.

Remember,

It's About Getting Better!