The Off-Season. An important time for players and staff to recover. A chance for athletes to just be, get away from the training environment, and spend time with family and friends.
The 292 Performance team share and discuss our key principles when it comes to Off-Season Training, based on 20 years of experience working with elite and professional athletes and clubs.
“Generic programmes and plans only work to a point, especially if you’re doing nothing. Doing something will lead to you getting better to that point. After that, everything needs to be completely individualised to your needs and your experience”
292 Performance Team
Understand The Mindset Of The Athlete
Before embarking on an off-season journey, we ensure we fully understand the athlete’s mindset. 292 Performance meet all athletes before starting the offseason training programming phase and reflect together on the season. Questions we ask nudge athletes towards reflecting and to dig a bit deeper. How have they found the season from a physical and psychological point of view? Have they hit their performance goals? What is the lasting feeling about the previous season? Are they happy with their performance? What are their motivation levels right now? What do they feel they need right now both physically, mentally and socially?
We know that a psychological recovery period for players is necessary during the off-season. Athletes want and need the opportunity to rest, reflect and spend time away from their sport.
Understand The Physically Capabilities Of The Athlete
Off-season programs are not a one-size fits all. They must be tailored to each player’s needs and the previous season performance. Every athlete has got different goals, different things they’re good at, different strengths they maximise to be effective and impactful, different injury history, different training history.
“One training programme for one athlete is going to have a really, really big impact but a significantly different impact on a different athlete. So it’s really important that as a coach, you take time to understand all those different things to help you write that programme for them.”
In order to write a really effective strength and conditioning plan, we try to understand what the performance gaps are that the athlete exhibits. So what is it they’re actually trying to get better at? And what are the physical limitations or reasons why they can’t do that. And the only way to really do that in a valid and reliable way is to perform some sort of assessments. And that’s why we’ve come up with a comprehensive physical profiling system.
292 Performance have got a database of some of the world’s best athletes from across multiple sports. We can compare every athlete we work with and, with great clarity, say that this is the thing which is stopping you from getting better.
“On the other other side of that equation is the biomechanics which is where we understand how athletes are performing really meaningful tasks. How are athletes sprinting? How are athletes changing direction? Because that can give clues to why individuals might be getting injured, why individuals might be getting hurt, and uncovering areas to target to make the athlete more efficient and effective at those tasks.”
292 Performance Team
At 292 Performance, we use a comprehensive physical profiling system and AI-driven biomechanical analysis to help provide the individual basis of off-season program planning for athletes
Understand The Principles of Programming
After a detailed, individual analysis of each athlete, we program a plan that hit the a few must have 292 Performance objectives.
Follow a Progressive Element. An offseason tailored plan should gradually build the athletes readiness for the demands of the upcoming season. We see too many players are misguided or under-resourced which leads to over training. Off season training should bridge the gap between the end-of-season rest and the rigorous pre-season training. Smart training and load management are key to getting physically and mentally primed for the challenges ahead.
“The period of the offseason is always the athletes choice to be able to say “this is thing that I think I can make an improvement on” and it’s a coach’s responsibility to tell them how. The way you do that is identify where they are right now, identify where they need to be based on their goals, and then put a progressive programme in place to bridge that element.”
292 Performance Team
Focus On The Foundations. Strength, power, speed, fitness, and mobility form the bedrock of athletic performance. Offseason is a great time for athletes to dedicate specific time to these and turn them into strengths. The offseason allows for structural adaptations without impacting performance in season. One of the biggest opportunities in the offseason is that athletes don’t have any competing fatigue between training or matches and competition. So the only thing that athletes are doing is training. Following the correct offseason training programme can allow athletes to get a really, really good rest in and still do the three really heavy training sessions without negative physical impact on the athlete.
Allow For Choice and Enjoyment. Athletes need to have choice and the chance to unwind after their season has completed. 292 Performance fully support that notion so we program this into their offseason. We seek to help educate and advise on alcohol and hydration strategies and encourage players to take ownership of their development. Athletes are humans after all.
“It’s a time for players to strategically rest and follow targeted training to ensure the groundwork is laid for the upcoming season. The goal is to return feeling fresh and ready to go.”
292 Performance Team
Over the last 20 years, 292 Performance coaches have trained Olympic, World & European Champions, Premier League Winners and Champions League winners. 292 Performance are thought leaders in physical training and programming.
To gain access to your individualised off-season program and get the off-season right this year, please simply contact us by booking a FREE initial call here. Further information can be found here
292 Performance
Email: info@292performance.com
Website: www.292performance.com/contact
