The Athlete’s Calendar: Mastering the In-Season vs. Off-Season Balance
- Kaila & Mike Minion
- 5 hours ago
- 3 min read
One of the most frequent questions we get at Spinfinite is:
"Should I still be training while I'm in the middle of my season?"
The short answer? Yes.
The long answer? Yes, but it shouldn't look anything like your off-season workouts.
To stay at the top of your game, your training must evolve as your season does. If you’re training with the same intensity in mid-November as you were in mid-August, you’re either leaving gains & performance on the table or heading straight for burnout. Here is how we break down the two phases of the athlete's calendar.
Off-Season = Build
In-Season = Maintain + Recover
Post-Season = Reset + Rebuild
1. The Off-Season: The Construction Phase
This is when the real work happens. When the pressure of game day is gone, and with fewer practices, we finally have the "budget" to break you down so we can build you back up stronger.
The Goal:
Build hypertrophy
Increase max strength
Develop a massive aerobic engine/base
The Vibe:
High volume, progressive overload, and addressing weaknesses. This is where you fix imbalances, rebuild movement patterns, and create durable athletes.
Why it matters:
Think of the off-season as raising the ceiling of your athletic potential. The higher your ceiling, the more room you have to express speed, power, and endurance when the season starts.
What science says:
Research consistently shows that structured resistance and aerobic training in preparatory phases improve sprint performance, jumping ability, and maximal strength—key predictors of sport performance. Preseason data can even predict competitive-season success, meaning what you build here sets the trajectory for the entire year.
2. The In-Season: Maintenance & The "Snappy" Factor
Once the season starts, your "stress budget" is mostly spent on practices, games, travel, school, and life. Chasing heavy PRs in-season often backfires, performance drops, fatigue climbs, and injury risk increases.
But stopping training entirely? That’s how you lose speed and strength before playoffs.
The Goal:
Maintain strength & power
Support Recovery
Keep the nervouos system sharp
The Strategy:
We prioritize low-volume, high-quality explosive work. Think “snappy,” not “sore.”
Short, powerful lifts and movements keep the central nervous system primed without draining recovery.
The Secret Weapon:
Low-impact cycling and aerobic work to flush [lactic acid] the system, thus improving circulation, reducing soreness, and keeping legs moving without adding impact stress to your joints. Cycling is also the only cardiovascular activity you can do and build/maintain muscle at the same time.
What science says:
Athletes who performed just one structured strength session per week in-season maintained strength, sprint speed, and jump performance—while those who trained less lost strength and speed.
Multiple studies show that maintaining resistance training during the season preserves power and performance, while stopping completely leads to declines.
Translation: You don’t need to do more—you need to do the right amount.
By the Numbers: Why Our Members Stay Strong All Season
Data from our in-season athletes shows a massive difference in longevity. Athletes who maintain 1–2 sessions per week of intentional cross-training during their season report:
Higher energy levels late in games
Fewer "overuse" injuries like tendonitis, strains, pulled muscles, and chronic soreness.
Faster recovery times between games and practices
It’s not about grinding. It’s about strategic consistency.
Where Spinfinite & Iron Body Coaching Fit In
At Spinfinite, our in-season classes focus on keeping athletes resilient, powerful, and recovered, not crushed.
If you want a structured blueprint outside of class, we recommend you check out the free PDF resources from Iron Body Coaching that pair well with your Spinfinite training.
Dryland Bootcamp Workouts – a plug-and-play strength plan for athletes who want off-season structure
Performance Breathing Course – learn to improve recovery, focus, and endurance through intentional breathing strategies
👉 Think of Spinfinite as the lab—and Iron Body Coaching as the playbook.
What This Means for Your Training
Don't let your hard-earned off-season gains evaporate by the time playoffs roll around. Whether you are building the engine or tuning it for a race, your training needs to match the calendar.
Not sure where you fall on the calendar right now?
Come chat with us at the lab, and let’s look at your schedule to find the "Sweet Spot" between performance and recovery for you and your sport.
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