08/31/2026
The season is officially underway. 🏈🏐🥎🏃♀️
Football is a couple weeks in. Volleyball, softball and cross country athletes have already been putting in WORK.
And this is usually the point where we start seeing the little things pop up.
"My knee has been bothering me."
"My shoulder feels tight."
"My hamstrings are always sore."
"I'm just tired."
This is where recovery AND targeted strength training become really important.
Once the season starts, we don't stop strength training—we adjust it.
Your athlete probably doesn't need to be crushing heavy workouts on top of practices and games. But maintaining strength in the areas their sport demands can help their body continue to tolerate those demands as the season progresses.
🏈 Football athletes may need continued hip, hamstring, trunk, neck and shoulder strength.
🏐 Volleyball athletes need strong hips, knees, ankles and shoulders to tolerate hundreds of jumps and swings.
🥎 Softball athletes need rotational strength, shoulder stability, strong hips and the ability to repeatedly throw, sprint and change direction.
🏃 Cross country athletes need strength too! Strong calves, feet, hips and posterior chains help their bodies tolerate mile after mile.
Then we have to balance that work with RECOVERY.
Sleep.
Nutrition.
Hydration.
Mobility.
Appropriate rest.
Managing soreness.
Adjusting training when needed.
The goal isn't to completely avoid stress on the body. Athletes NEED stress to get stronger and improve.
The goal is making sure their body has enough capacity to handle the stress we're asking it to handle.
Practice + games + strength + recovery all have to work TOGETHER.
And that balance may look completely different in Week 2 than it does in Week 8.
That's one of the things we help athletes with at Elevate Sports Medicine & Performance.
We look at the athlete, their sport, their schedule, their strengths, their weak points and how their body is responding—and adjust the game plan throughout the season.
Because the goal isn't just to START the season healthy.
We want you finishing it healthy, strong and still performing. 💪
