How strength training powers India’s top athletes

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Strength training is one of the basic building blocks for anyone looking to lead an active life and play a sport recreationally or professionally. That’s because strength training helps improve performance and prevent injuries, says Ashutosh Nimse, associate consultant for sports medicine at the Kokilaben Dhirubhai Ambani Hospital in Mumbai. “Base strength training is important because it helps athletes to perform explosive and power-based movements more efficiently. Without strength training, athletes will not be able to generate greater speed or velocity in crunch moments," he explains. 

Chopra, who has his eyes set on the javelin final on August 8, regularly lifted weights to improve his shoulder strength as well as arm and running speed. Yarraji has spent quality time in the gym doing bench presses, cleans, weight jump squats, deadlifts and more. Videos of Kohli lifting have not only gone viral, they have also been used in several advertisements. Hockey captain Singh, who spent two weeks at a training camp in Bengaluru before flying to Europe for acclimatisation on July 8, had at least three strength sessions a week doing compound lifts such as deadlifts, cleans, presses, squats and more. 

“As a defender, I need not only speed but also the strength to hold off challenges and barges of strikers charging towards us. One needs to be strong enough to absorb those and stop them, and that makes strength training vital for me," Singh told Lounge at the Sports Authority of India training ground in Bengaluru in early July.    

Another reason athletes, professional or recreational, need to include strength training in their plans is because it helps prevent injuries by reducing fatigue and maintaining resilience over a longer period of time. Movements such as squats, lunges, or step-ups are fundamental and are included in the training of all athletes irrespective of their sport. However, a comprehensive strength training programme is developed based on an athlete’s demands and the requirements of the sport.

“We conduct a needs analysis to understand the movement requirements of the sport, the muscles involved, the desired speed of the movement, and the physiological requirements – whether the muscles need more speed, power, strength, or endurance. Based on these factors, we decide the most effective strength training exercises. For example, an athlete might do a double-leg leg press versus a single-leg leg press, or a double-leg squat versus a single-leg squat," says Nimse.  

Exercises are also selected based on the desired speed, such as slow-speed strength exercises where the athlete controls the whole movement, like a single-leg Romanian deadlift, or speed-based exercises like throwing a medicine ball with one hand with high velocity. Velocity-based strength training improves an athlete’s ability to generate power using lighter weights and enhances athletic performance. Sometimes, sports-specific strengthening exercises are chosen. For example, a cricketer who needs to get stronger in rotational bat swings might use TheraBands or medicine balls and perform resistance exercises that mimic batting movements.

So critical is strength training that a professional athlete can’t completely stop it even during their off season or while recovering from an injury. During off season, all professional athletes hit the gym in order to maintain their base fitness levels and improve their muscular strength, as it helps them transition from pre-season training to match readiness much faster. Statistically, most injuries in football occur at the beginning of the season when the players’ bodies are still getting used to increased work load after the break, notes Joel Dones, former strength and conditioning coach of the Indian Super League club FC Goa.

And when it comes to rehab after an injury, strength training has a very significant role, especially in advanced rehab, says Nimse. With an injury, muscle weakness and imbalances set in, which could create a lot of biomechanical changes in the way the athlete walks or runs. This can impact their performance or risk them for further injury in the long run. 

“With strength training, limb strength or symmetry can be achieved, which is critical for athletic performance. Strength training provides a solid platform for athletes to undergo a progressive return to impact/plyometric training and agility training before they actually resume any sport after an injury," notes Nimse. 

Shrenik Avlani is a writer and editor and the co-author of The Shivfit Way, a book on functional fitness.

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