12 weeks · 2x / week · Collegiate
In-Season Strength
Two days a week to keep what you built in the off-season, without stealing anything from Friday night.
How to run it
- Maintain intensity, cut volume. Heavy-enough loads at low reps hold strength; long sets only produce soreness.
- Stop every set two reps short of failure. If bar speed drops, the set is finished.
- Lift within 48 hours after competition, never within 48 hours before it.
Springbak® note
In-season, your total ground contacts are set by practice, not by your program. A stable, ultra-thin platform beneath your foot supports body control through the contacts you never count.
Shop SpringsolesThe goal
Hold off-season strength through a full competitive season with no drop in game-day legs.
How it progresses
Weeks 1-4 · Early season
Full loads, two sessions, both inside 40 minutes.
Weeks 5-9 · Mid season
Drop to one heavy day plus one maintenance day in congested weeks.
Weeks 10-12 · Championship
Intensity only. Three exercises, two sets each, bar speed decides the load.
What you test
- Trap bar 3RM
- Week 1 and week 12 only. Holding the number is a win.
- Standing vertical
- Once a month, same day of the week, before practice.
- Session readiness
- Rate legs 1-10 at warm-up. Two 4s in a row means cut the day in half.
What you need
- Barbell and rack
- Trap bar
- Cable or band
- Box
The week
Day 1
Lower push + power
Trap bar deadlift
4 x 3 @ 80%
Split squat
3 x 6 per leg
Low-box jump
4 x 3
Anti-rotation press
3 x 10 per side
Day 2
Posterior + upper
Front squat
3 x 4 @ 75%
Hip thrust
3 x 8
Row variation
4 x 8
Pogo hops
4 x 10
Questions about this block
Two games in one week — do I still lift?
One session, the day after the first game, three exercises. Skipping entirely for more than ten days is where strength actually leaks.
Should I add conditioning?
No. Practice is your conditioning. Extra running in-season is the most common cause of dead legs in week 8.
Watch the drills
In-season strength work in action
A short clip showing the shape of the lifting in this block: controlled dumbbell split squats and trunk work at a calm, focused pace.
Run this next
Build your next block
Tell us your sport, the number you want to move next, and the date of your first competition. We re-rank the program library against those answers and show you why each block placed where it did.
Off-season · Nothing to protect on the weekend, so this is where the heavy, high-volume blocks belong.
Best match · 8 weeks · 4x / week
Football Lineman Power
Add 4-6 inches to the standing broad jump and improve the 10-yard split out of a three-point stance.
Why this fits · We ranked this here because it was written for Football and strength work is exactly what belongs in off-season.
- Written for Football
- Fits off-season
Option 2 · 7 weeks · 3x / week
Football Skill-Position Speed
Improve flying 10 speed and cut deceleration distance on a 90-degree break by a full step.
Why this fits · We ranked this here because it was written for Football and speed work is exactly what belongs in off-season.
- Written for Football
- Fits off-season
Option 3 · 6 weeks · 3x / week
Speed & Acceleration
Cut 0.10-0.15s off a 40-yard dash by improving push-off angle and ground contact quality.
Why this fits · We ranked this here because it was written for Football and speed work is exactly what belongs in off-season.
- Written for Football
- Fits off-season