Offseason Training for Athletes: Why Most Are Doing It Wrong

If you’re spending your offseason hammering chest day, chasing the pump, and skipping sprint work, you’re not training like an athlete. You’re training like a bodybuilder who forgot what sport they play.

This has been coming up a lot lately with my athletes. I’ve been working with a mix of football, hockey, and soccer players this summer, and one thing I keep pressing is that your training needs to reflect how you actually move in your sport.

Too many athletes are crushing arms for an hour or doing isolated glute work, but haven’t sprinted, jumped, or worked on deceleration in weeks.

I’m all for building muscle. But if that new muscle doesn’t help you move better, play faster, or absorb contact, what are you really gaining?

Why Bodybuilding Doesn’t Translate to Sport

Bodybuilding is about isolating muscles, creating fatigue, and chasing symmetry. That’s fine if your main goal is to look good in the mirror. But for athletes, that approach falls short.

Athletes need to move well. That means being explosive, changing direction, handling contact, and recovering fast. You don’t build those qualities by doing body part splits and hammering high-rep machines.

To make matters worse, if you’re only training slow, heavy lifts without adding speed, mobility, and intent, you actually start moving slower and stiffer. You lose that bounce, that quickness, that reactive power.

You might get stronger and have cool PRs, but your body forgets how to use it dynamically.

Real athletic strength isn’t just about what you can lift. It’s about how well you can produce and absorb force in real-time with intent, under pressure, and with control.

How Athletes Should Be Training Instead

Training like an athlete starts with purpose. You don’t need some fancy program, but you do need structure.

Your training should be built around the qualities that matter in your sport and not just what gives you a good pump.

A smart offseason plan includes:

• Sprinting and jumping to build speed and explosiveness

• Compound lifts like trap bar deadlifts, front squats, and RDLs

• Sled work for power, conditioning, and joint-friendly drive

• Core training that actually builds control and stability

• Mobility work for your hips, ankles, shoulders, and upper back

You can still train upper body. You can still build muscle and size. Just make sure you’re not sacrificing movement quality in the process.

Mistakes I See All the Time

Here’s what I see when athletes don’t have a structured offseason:

• No sprint or jump work

• Skipping unilateral or deceleration training

• Getting tight and stiff from zero mobility

• Training just for the pump, not performance

• Following random workouts with no progression

• Over conditioning and burn-out

That stuff might feel good in the moment, but it doesn’t transfer to the field. You can’t out-curl a slow first step.

Simple Offseason Training Template for Athletes

If you’re not sure how to structure your offseason, here’s a general layout you can use as a base for most athletes. It covers the essentials: strength, speed, mobility, and recovery without getting overly complicated. This isn’t a full custom program, but if you’re an athlete who wants to move better, get stronger, and actually train with purpose, this is a solid place to start.

Weekly Overview:

Monday – Lower Body Strength + Power

Tuesday – Upper Body Strength + Sprint Mechanics

Wednesday – Mobility + Core + Light Conditioning

Thursday – Unilateral Legs + Change of Direction

Friday – Upper Body Volume + Optional Finisher

Saturday/Sunday – Active Recovery, Full Rest, or Make-up Day

The details shift depending on the sport, the athlete, and their practice schedule. But the structure stays focused on building a body that moves well, stays healthy, and performs under pressure.

Final Thoughts

Without a doubt, it’s great to grow in size and strength. We just want your body to be able to actually use that size and strength. You should be able to move it with speed, control, and intent. Looks should be the byproduct of hard training, not the main goal.

If you’re an athlete, your offseason should be about building a better version of yourself. You should come out of it faster, stronger, more explosive, and more confident.

That doesn’t happen by accident. It happens through smart, intentional training.

If you're tired of random workouts and want something built for performance, reach out. I’ve got space for a few more athletes who are ready to train with purpose.