Strength Training for Sport Explosiveness

If you are an athlete who plays an explosive sport, like football, wrestling, soccer, lacrosse, field hockey, or basketball, and you have never done weight lifting or resistance training before, then strength training will get you the greatest improvement in your sport performance versus any other training modality. A great starting place for you is doing simply bodyweight movements, like bodyweight squats, lunges, pushups, and pull ups. When you can consistently demonstrate good technique in these movements, then you could begin incorporating additional load, and learn the the big 4 compound lifts:  Deadlifts, Squats, Bench Press, and military press. Deadlifts and squats build strength in your posterior chain: muscles on the backside of your body. These muscles are essential to strengthen for athletes in explosive sports because they help you run and jump explosively in forward and lateral directions. Bench press and military press builds incredible upper body, pushing strength.

Importantly, strength training generally involves moving much higher loads in any given exercise than other forms of resistance training. This means learning good technique is absolutely essential to ensure you stay uninjured and get the best training adaptations out of each workout. I always recommend that young athletes get a quality strength coach to teach them these movements. Learn quality technique when you are young, and you will continue perform these movements safely and effectively as your athletic career progresses.