Season x Pre-Season (The difference between training sessions)

Speak, player!

Another frequently asked question from Bolerada. What is the difference between the workouts I should do pre-season and during the season?

For those who don't know, the pre-season is that phase of the year where athletes focus a lot on the physical part and the intensity of training is extremely high! The name says it all, pre means before, so this phase usually starts 1-2 months before the start of the championship.

If you've already played for a federated or professional club, you've probably already done a pre-season. At this stage of the year, the focus is on increasing and development of physical fitness, as athletes are returning from vacation and many return overweight or out of rhythm. 

The trainings are heavy, usually 2 periods, with many physical tests, many strength training sessions, even for that reason first division clubs travel to more remote cities and stay in some kind of 5 star hotel that has a monster structure so that the athletes can rest and eat quickly after training sessions. (I recommend that you watch the Boca Juniors series on Netflix, there the pre-season is very well documented).

During the season, however, things are quite different. The focus is already another, instead of focusing on the development of physical preparation, physical trainers should seek to maintain pre-season gains and be very concerned with reducing the risk of injuries to athletes.

I already had the experience of training professional athletes during the season, and the first thing I had as a goal was to keep the athlete on the field, because if the athlete is in the medical department, nothing will help all that work I did with him during the season. offseason and preseason, right?

In the last YouTube blog, I showed you what an injury prevention session would look like, if you want to watch it, Click here

In short, during the season training is lighter and shorter, as athletes can have up to 2 games a week. But that doesn't mean the athlete doesn't need to train extra, training during the season is essential! 

Last year, when I was still playing in the collegiate championship, I always did extra work during the week and this kept my fitness at a high level throughout the competition and the most impressive thing is that I had 0 injuries during the season.

Now, if you still have doubts about how to organize your training during the competition year, I recommend that you take a look at the Play the 90 Minutes programs.

All programs can be used together all year round as shown in the image below

If you are in the offseason or preparing for some test or sieve, I recommend that you take a look at the training program. Pre-season, there are 12 weeks of training divided into 3 phases for you to arrive flying back to training.

On the other hand, if you are in season and already employed in a club, take a look at Season, Speed or Stamina. 3 programs with training sessions tailored to keep you in shape all year round!

I hope I helped you and #RumoAoPro

Lucas de Paula

NCSF Certified Strenght Coach