How strength training powers India’s top athletes

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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