In-Season Strength Training for High School Athletes: What to Do (and What to Skip)

Written By LaTricia Morris

What In-Season Training Is Actually For

In-season strength training is not the time to chase PRs, add a bunch of new exercises, or see how hard you can grind. The season already provides plenty of stress: practices, games, travel, school, and less sleep.

The job of lifting in-season is simple:

  • Maintain strength and power you built in the off-season

  • Keep your body durable (less overuse, fewer tweaks)

  • Support speed and agility

  • Help you recover between practices and games

If lifting is making you consistently sore, heavy, or slower, you’re likely doing too much and need to dial it down or back off.

What to Skip During the Season

Most in-season problems come from doing too much, too often, or doing the wrong things at the wrong time.

Now’s a good time to skip or limit these:

  • High-volume leg days (tons of sets, lots of reps, lots of soreness)

  • New exercises you can’t do well yet (in-season is not the time to learn complicated lifts)

  • Failure training (grinding reps, forced reps, “max effort” every set)

  • Too much conditioning on top of your sport (your sport is already conditioning)

  • Random workouts that don’t match your game schedule

You can still train hard at times. You just can’t train hard all the time. Remember: as tough as you are (we know, you’re a solid athlete), the body is still the body. It has to have proper time to heal and adapt to training stressors. Going beyond the threshold of what it can reasonably keep up with will only set you back.

What to Do Instead (better objectives)

Objective 1: Lift 1–2 days per week

For most high school athletes, 1–2 strength sessions per week is enough to maintain strength and feel good.

  • 1 day/week: if your sport schedule is heavy (multiple games/week)

  • 2 days/week: if you have one game/week or your practices aren’t crushing you

Objective 2: Keep the volume low and the intent high

You don’t need a lot of sets. You need quality reps.

A good in-season target for main lifts:

  • 2–4 sets of 2–5 reps

  • Stop with 1–3 reps “in the tank”

  • Move the weight fast and clean

This keeps strength and power without creating a soreness hangover.

Objective 3: Don’t let lifting compete with game day

The best in-season plan is built around your competition schedule.

  • If you play Friday: lift Monday or Tuesday

  • If you play Saturday: lift Tuesday or Wednesday

  • If you have multiple games: do less lifting and keep it to earlier in the week

If you lift the day before a game, it should be a light “primer” session, not a hard workout.

A Simple In-Season Template (45 Minutes)

This is a general structure that works for most field and court sports (football, soccer, basketball, lacrosse, volleyball). It also works for wrestlers and martial artists with small tweaks.

1) Warm-up (8–10 minutes)

  • Hip mobility (90/90 switches, hip flexor stretch)

  • Glute activation (bridges)

  • Trunk endurance (dead bug, side plank)

  • A few jumps or short sprints if appropriate

2) Power (5 minutes)

Pick one:

  • Box jump

  • Broad jump

  • Med ball throw

2–4 sets of 2–3 reps. Keep it crisp.

3) Strength (20 minutes)

Pick one lower + one upper:

  • Lower: trap bar deadlift, front squat, goblet squat, split squat

  • Upper: bench press, push-up variations, row variations, pull-ups

2–4 sets of 2–5 reps.

4) Accessories (8–10 minutes)

Pick 2–3 that match your sport and your body:

  • Single-leg work (rear-foot elevated split squat, step-ups)

  • Hamstring work (RDLs, sliders)

  • Upper back work (rows, face pulls)

  • Calf/ankle work (especially for jumpers and runners)

2–3 sets of 6–10 reps.

5) Carries (2–3 minutes)

Farmer carries or suitcase carries. Short, heavy, controlled.

Sport-Specific Notes (Quick)

  • Soccer and lacrosse: hamstrings, adductors, and calves matter. Don’t ignore them.

  • Basketball and volleyball: ankles, calves, and landing mechanics matter.

  • Football: keep strength work in, but manage soreness. Trap bar and split squats are usually good choices.

  • Wrestling: lifting should support practice, not drain you. Keep sessions short and avoid high-rep grinders.

Signs You’re Doing Too Much

If you see these, pull back:

  • You’re sore for 2–3 days after lifting

  • Your sprint speed feels flat

  • Your legs feel heavy in warm-ups

  • Your sleep is worse

  • Little aches are stacking up

In-season training should make you feel more prepared, not more beat up.

How We Do In-Season Training at Strength Through Movement

At Strength Through Movement, we build in-season plans around the athlete’s schedule and sport demands. The goal is to keep athletes strong, fast, and durable without interfering with practice and game performance.

We focus on:

  • Efficient sessions (usually 35–55 minutes)

  • Low soreness, high quality

  • Strength maintenance and power

  • The common problem areas for each sport

Getting Started

If you’re a high school athlete in Lancaster and you want to lift during the season without feeling wrecked, come in for an assessment.

We’ll look at how you move, what your sport demands, and how your weekly schedule is set up. Then we’ll build a plan that supports performance instead of competing with it.

Strength Through Movement 315 W James St, Suite 210 Lancaster, PA 17603 717.598.2698

LaTricia Morris
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