The problem with sport specific training (and what to do about it)

In discussion of sports, we naturally get to the topic of “what is the most optimal training for a baseball player” — or whatever your sport happens to be.

Before we dive in, imagine a pyramid. The bottom is wide and beefy. The top is narrow and pointy. This is our capacity of activity across just about anything. Table that, we’ll come back to it.

Even people who are “way past their prime” are playing very competitive sports. This is amazing! I don’t think we should hang it up just because your competitive days at the highest level are over.

And in discussing said sport, the question always comes up “so uh…what can I do to get more power in my swing? Should I do some rotational stuff?”

The answer is a resounding NO.

Here’s why

First, let’s assume that you are no longer in your prime. Let’s assume instead that you are me -so no one feels attacked haha.

You are 38, you have 2 kids, you run a business and you train 2x a week for your sport — Brazilian jiu jitsu.

The temptation is to start engaging in plyos and high level drills to maximize on my sport outcomes. But there is a problem, my foundation is weak.

Back to the pyramid. The bottom of the pyramid is the simple stuff — joint function, arms and legs, the muscles pull and move stuff. The next level is comprised of compound things like squats and pullups and running. The next level is more complex things like specific squats tailored to an outcome (unilateral, tempo, etc.) the final tip of the pyramid is the sport outcomes. That is, throwing a curveball, running a passing route, technical Judo throws — things like that.

Right in between the final two stages of the pyramid is a blend of these two items into “sport specific training” — that is, designing training programs and movements that specifically target an athletic outcome. So, I do some variation of a dumbbell movement that SPEFICIALLY improves my curveball, throw technique and so on.

But there is a fatal flaw in this — if you do not have a great foundation, you will hurt yourself. This is a damn near guarantee. If you don’t have the foundation (or its sufficiently cracked) and you start piling on more and more to the tippity top, your pyramid will eventually become lopsided and fall over.

Foundation is everything.

And here is the magic of it — when you build FOUNDATION your top rises automatically as a result. The better I get at the basics (let’s say a body weight dip) the more capacity my shoulder has to throw harder more often. If I can throw harder more often, I can use my curveball more effectively and throw it just a bit harder as well. My base can support a larger top. My top will naturally acclimate to grow on the foundation I have created.

Remember in the late 90s when a handful of MLB players put on a shit ton of muscle out of nowhere and started cranking homeruns like it was batting practice?

Yea, they weren’t working on their “swing mechanics” — they were juiced to the gills and slamming weight in the weight room. I can guarantee very little of that was oriented towards sport specific outcomes because they looked like stage ready body builders. They were attacking pure mass and hypertrophy training and they got strong as hell.

That strength simply made their bat speed greater and their ability to take a warning track shot over the fence or to make connection with a 95mph fastball that they would have been a bit late on in years prior. These were already MLB caliber players — they don’t need sport specific training. They had accumulated that over the last 2 to 3 decades of simply playing baseball at a high level.

Not only is foundation everything, but foundation will allow you to TOLERATE those high level drills when you do undertake them. Nothing breaks my heart more than watching a highscool coach (or worse, middle school), take a bunch of gangly and unstable teenagers and pound high level agility drills. This is lunacy!

There is a precipitous rise of teenagers getting surgeries due to athletic injuries and this is a huge part to blame.

Especially if you are over the age of 30 and no longer playing at a high level, I cannot emphasize enough how building foundation is the ONLY thing you need to be successful long term at your activity. If you happen to have max capacity at foundation, then go ahead and knock yourself out with some sport specific training.

But unless your name is Bo Jackson, this is very unlikely.

Build foundation. Build longevity and watch your improvement sky rocket.