Are bodybuilding workouts appropriate for athletes? The short answer is no. But there are aspects of bodybuilding that athletes can “build” into their training.

We’ve all seen that guy at their gym. Think about the person that turns heads every time he walks into a room of average-looking people. How many of you have seen a meathead throw a baseball or a football? How about shooting a basketball? Elite and aspiring athletes don’t need to build muscle the same way that bodybuilders do. Athletes need to maintain and develop lean muscle mass.

Beginner and high school athletes are still growing and will be able to develop muscle; however, it is not the same muscle mass that a bodybuilder is working toward.

Bodybuilding is all about developing muscle mass. Lifts are typically performed slowly and controlled, and sometimes negative lifts or overloading the eccentric portion of the lift are used to build as much muscle as possible.

The problem is … athletes need to develop sport-specific and movement-based strength. Basketball players must develop leaping ability. Hockey players must develop lateral and rotational strength through different planes of motion. Baseball players must develop fast-twitch muscle fibers with rotational strength. Football players must develop traditional strength along with speed, quickness, and lateral movement.

Another problem that needs to be mentioned with bodybuilding training for performance athletes is that bodybuilding traditionally occurs mostly all in one plane of motion. Typically, no rotational or diagonal movement is involved.

When in a sport are you only moving in one plane? Hardly ever. The ability to separate the upper from lower and rotate is ESSENTIAL as athletes move in multiple planes at all times, with their upper and lower bodies performing different motions in different planes at the same time.

Also, bodybuilders tend to focus on developing muscles, not movement. For example, many bodybuilding exercises isolate a specific muscle. And while this compartmentalized fashion does build muscle, it does not coordinate neuromuscular efficiency; think about the body working cohesively together. If you have imbalances or lack the neurological ability to fire your muscles in a coordinated fashion, then you leave yourself wide open for injury and performance will suffer.

There are many aspects of strength athletes must develop. These include core stability with lateral movement, rotational elements, and upper and lower body coordination. Ideally, an athlete’s training should strive to induce positive changes to cardio capacity, strength, plyometric power, and mobility. Circuits that include full-body movements — strength training combined with cardio and plyometrics — are ideal for athletes in any sport.

Here’s what you can take from bodybuilding!

An element of bodybuilding that we can use with athletes is the compound set. In a compound set, you perform two exercises that work for the same muscle group in quick succession — e.g., working your chest with a set of bench presses followed directly by an explosive set of push-ups.

Athletes can use compound sets in their training on occasion, but they must be careful to strengthen their backs as much as their chests, their hamstrings as much as their quads, etc. The posterior chain is the bread and butter of any explosive athlete.

Asymmetries and imbalances throughout the body are one of the biggest risk factors for injuries in athletes.

Raised in Pocatello, Darren Hansen feels right at home coaching at HansenAthletics and heading up marketing at Streamline Sports Physical Therapy. With a background in collegiate and professional strength and conditioning, Darren is accustomed to high performance, diverse populations and accountability. Forever a student, Darren is always looking to strengthen, question and improve his understanding of human movement and performance. In addition, he currently works with clients and coaches across the world through the HansenAthletics online coaching platform. Darren can be reached at 208-569-1533, Darren@Streamlinesportspt.com, or via social media @HansenAthletics and @StreamlineSportsP.