Strength is the ability of the body to produce force against resistance, is probably the most overused and misunderstood term in “strength and conditioning” today.
We must evaluate the athlete, his or her sport and the position played. We then address how to maximize the correct type of strength, but more importantly, we look at strength needs at different times during the various phases.
Many people doing “strength training” do not understand how the use of different training variables can affect their training program. Sometimes, their gains are lost at the time when they need them most. For example athletes tend to hit the gym in preseason building their strength up with heavy weights and drop off once the season begins, so by the time it comes to their championship game they have no longer maintained their strength. Better understanding of how certain factors affect adaptation is key to putting together a strength and conditioning program that's effective and worthwhile.
For peak performance, the goals of each of these phases must be very specific, and training must be totally in tune with those goals as well.
Athletes should identify the time when they want to peak and work backwards from that point.
