The 80/20 Rule for Training

Hello Everyone!

NEWSFLASH: Most sports have nearly 80% the same needs and therefore 80% of the training should look the same for athletes, regardless of sport. 

Yet, most athletes and coaches spend too much of their training time focusing on the 20% intricacies.

To understand what I mean, can you tell which one of these successful athletes DOES NOT need to be fast, strong, and powerful?

All of these athletes need to be fast, strong, and powerful!

Regardless if it is football, basketball, baseball/softball, volleyball, soccer or (insert sport here) athletes need to be fast, strong, and powerful That's why 80% of many great training programs are very similar looking with similar exercises that produce the results of speed, strength, and power.

Does your training include the 80% exercises that great athletes need or does your training have too much of the 20% intricate exercises that won't matter if you aren't getting faster, stronger, and more explosive??

That's the problem with the 20% intricate exercises that vary between sports. They are great compliments to the main focus of developing more speed, strength, and power, but they in and of themselves don't impact your performance results like the 80% exercises do.

For example, regardless of sport, 80% of athletes' training should include exercises like the following as these exercises will make you fast, strong, and powerful!

80%
- Olympic Lifts (clean, snatches, etc)
- Squats
- Lunges
- Pullups
- Pushups
- Glute Bridges & Bucks
- Short Sprints
- Short Shuttles

So what are some 20% exercises?

20% 

Basketball:

- box jumps, depth jumps, ankle mobility, single leg jumping

Baseball/Softball:

- core work in the transverse plane (think seated medicine ball twists), hip mobility, rotator cuff work

Football (varies on position, but in general): 

- bench presses, cutting drills, sagittal jumping (think long jumps)

Volleyball:

- low back work, box jumps, single leg jumping

Soccer:

- long distance speed work (greater than 400 meters), patella tracking exercises, split-stance jumping exercises

Improve your training by following the 80/20 Rule.

80% of your exercises should be spent on the ones that will make you faster, stronger, and more powerful. 20% should be the intricate exercises that make your sport unique!

Keep Training!

Coach Amanda Kephart