Everybody knows lifting and exersizing is good for you; yet, many athletes, especially endurance athletes such as cross country runners and soccer players, neglect going hard in the weight room because of their belief it could make them less athletic. This belief stems from the idea that they will get too “bulky;” however, become muscular to the point that it impairs your athletic performance requires deliberate, specific routines and years of consistency to achieve. Below are 5 ways that weight training will both boost your performance and confidence on the field, track, court, or any other surface you play on:

1. Increase in strength: This is obvious one. Getting in the weight room will increase your chances of finishing that hit or winning the ball. 
2. Decrease risk of injury: There have been a vast number of studies proving that lifting weights reduces your chances of injury, especially in season when you are under a lot of stress. This is becasue strengthing your muscles allows for them to take more of the wear and tear that they receive during strenuous movement. Moreover, weight training improves joint stability and bone density, both of which can help decrease your chances of injury.
3. Increases in agility: Contrary to somes belief that weight training can make you “clunky,” lifting weights can increase your nimbleness on the field. This is due to that strength training increases nueromuscular coordination and imrpoves muscular power and explosiveness, both of which can increase your agility.
4. Increases in speed: Similar to the increase in agility, when you become stronger, you also become faster for muscular power and explosiveness. This can be seen in all of the top sprinters in the world, for they are all quite muscular compared to the rest of the track and field sport.
5. Increase in confidence: Not all of the benefits are physical. A large part of how you perform in your sport is based off your confidence and how good you feel. When you strength train, you look and feel better, which can help you perform better on the field due to having that little increase in confidence.

And the list goes on. There are countless reasons why you should get in the weight room and much less why you shouldn’t. Luckily, at school we have a weight room with a strength coach that can lead you in the right direction. So start today and gain that edge in your athletic performance!