In-Season Training for Football Players: Why It Matters More Than You Think

Football Player on Sideline

When the season kicks off, many athletes and coaches assume the weight room takes a back seat. The truth is, in-season strength and conditioning is actually one of the most important phases of training for a football player’s long-term performance and durability.

Here’s why smart in-season training matters, and how we structure it so it supports, rather than competes with, what happens on the field.

What Happens Without In-Season Training?

If an athlete stops strength and power work once the season begins, they can lose progress quickly:

• Strength begins to drop

• Speed and explosiveness take a hit

• Injury risk increases

• Fatigue builds from week to week

It doesn’t take long. Just two to three weeks away from the weight room, and the gains an athlete built all offseason start slipping away.

The Long-Term Edge: 4 Years of Gains vs. 2

One of the most overlooked benefits of in-season training is how much it adds up over the course of a high school career.

A football season typically lasts three to four months. Athletes who skip lifting during that time lose at least one-third of the year, every single year. Over the course of four years, that’s more than sixteen months of missed development — over an entire year of potential strength, power, and performance gains left unused.

Meanwhile, athletes who lift just once or twice a week during the season keep stacking progress. They graduate stronger, more explosive, more durable, and more prepared for the next level than their peers. In a sport where milliseconds and inches matter, that difference is huge.

The Goal: Maintenance, Not Maxing Out

In-season training is not about setting personal records or crushing legs the day before a game. It’s about maintaining strength, keeping tissues healthy, and staying fast and powerful throughout the entire season. We keep the training volume low, but we maintain relatively high intensity to preserve nervous system readiness and power output.

Focus Areas for In-Season Work

At Nation Training, our in-season programs usually include:

• Two short strength sessions per week

• Low volume, high intensity main lifts such as the trap bar deadlift, bench press, or squat

• Explosive work like jumps or medicine ball throws to keep power sharp

• Mobility and recovery work to offset soreness, collisions, and long practices

• Prehab and posterior chain work for injury prevention, especially for the hamstrings, glutes, and upper back

The focus is on quality over quantity.

Injury Resilience is Built — Not Hoped For

The weight room is where we help an athlete’s body handle the physical demands of a full-contact sport. By continuing to train with purpose, football players reduce their risk of soft tissue injuries, maintain joint stability, and keep their bodies ready to perform. This becomes even more important later in the season when fatigue is at its highest.

In-Season Training = Competitive Advantage

Athletes who lift during the season do more than maintain. They often improve while others plateau. By staying sharp physically, they recover faster, move better, and are able to bring more to the field every week. Consistency beats intensity, and that is especially true during the season.

Final Thoughts

In-season training does not need to be exhausting. It just needs to be intentional. For football players who want to perform at their best from the first game through the playoffs, the weight room should be a non-negotiable part of the process.

If you are a parent, coach, or athlete looking for a smart and time-efficient in-season plan, we would love to help you put it together.