How to Fit Gym Training Around Your Sport
Updated
Short answer
If you play a sport, plan your gym sessions around it rather than on top of it. Keep heavy lower-body and high-intensity work at least 48 hours before a game, keep the day after a game or a hard training session light, and track how hard each sport session felt (effort out of 10 × minutes) so you can see when your total load is climbing. In season, one or two short strength sessions a week is usually enough to hold on to strength.
Why your sport counts as training
A 90-minute football session or a netball game is real training load. If your gym plan ignores it, you can end up doing a hard leg session the day after a game, or arriving at a match already tired.
A simple way to put a number on any session is session RPE: rate how hard the whole session was from 0 to 10 and multiply by the minutes. A 90-minute training rated 6 is 540 units; a 45-minute easy gym session rated 4 is 180. The method was described by Foster and colleagues and is widely used in team sports because it works for any activity.
A sample week with a Saturday game
| Day | Sport | Gym |
|---|---|---|
| Mon | Rest or recovery | Light: mobility, easy upper body (if anything) |
| Tue | Training (90 min) | Strength: lower body and upper body, before or well after training |
| Wed | None | Optional short upper-body or easy conditioning session |
| Thu | Training (90 min) | Short strength session, lower volume, early in the week is better for heavy legs |
| Fri | None | Rest or light activation only: no heavy lower-body work |
| Sat | Game | None |
| Sun | Recovery | Walk, swim or mobility |
Strength and conditioning coaches most commonly leave about 48 hours between a strength or power session and competition.
Rules of thumb
- Put the hardest gym session furthest from the game, usually two to three days after the last one.
- After a heavy session or a game, keep the next gym day light or make it a recovery day.
- In season, aim to maintain: one to two short sessions a week with fewer sets, but keep the weights reasonably heavy.
- Off season and pre-season are when to build: two to three strength sessions a week.
- If your weekly total load jumps sharply, expect to feel it. Increase gradually.
Tailor to the sport or keep it general?
Most recreational players do well with a general strength plan: squat, hinge, push, pull, carry, and some single-leg and trunk work. Sport-specific training (such as more jumping and change-of-direction work for court sports) helps more as you get more serious, but it should not replace the basics.
Strength training also has a role in injury prevention: a meta-analysis of randomised trials found strength training reduced sports injuries, with a larger effect than stretching or proprioception training alone.
Frequently asked questions
Should I lift weights the day before a game?
Avoid heavy lower-body or high-volume work the day before. A short, light session (a few jumps, light lifts, mobility) is fine for many people if it leaves them feeling fresh, but most players simply rest.
Can I lift on the same day as sport training?
Yes. Many teams do strength work on training days so other days can be for recovery. Leave a few hours between them if you can, and do the more important one first.
How do I know if I am doing too much?
Watch for persistent fatigue, worse sleep, falling performance and niggles that do not settle. Tracking session RPE × minutes each week makes a sudden jump in load easy to spot.
Sources
- Foster et al. (2001). A new approach to monitoring exercise training. J Strength Cond Res 15(1)
- Lauersen, Bertelsen & Andersen (2014). The effectiveness of exercise interventions to prevent sports injuries: a systematic review and meta-analysis of randomised controlled trials. Br J Sports Med 48(11)
- Rønnestad et al. (2011). Effects of in-season strength maintenance training frequency in professional soccer players. J Strength Cond Res 25(10)
- Spiering et al. (2021). Maintaining physical performance: the minimal dose of exercise needed to preserve endurance and strength over time. J Strength Cond Res 35(5)