For many years, high school and college athletic coaches frowned upon their athletes doing any sort of weight training. However, as television brought more money to professional sports, college and even high school athletic programs worked to increase the performance of their athletes in order to keep up. As a result, kids became stronger and faster in order to advance. Weight training, sports supplementation, and other bodybuilding fundamentals quickly became part of every sports program in the nation.

A stigma still exists, for many, about bodybuilding. Many athletic programs employ a core weight-training program – squats, presses, dead lifts, and bench press – but they neglect full body development. Some consider this practice dangerous, as core training leaves many stabilizer body part groups ignored, even endangered, as muscle imbalances lead to new strains as some parts grow. Let’s count the ways that bodybuilding training gives you an edge in sports.

Mental edge

In any competition, the stronger man will always possess more confidence than his adversary. You can call it animal instinct, the alpha male complex, or anything else. But when two men face one another, the stronger of the two possesses a carnal advantage in every situation. It might not always result in a win, but it does provide a mental edge.

Core strengths

Using compound exercise movements like bench press, presses, squats, and dead lifts are a great way to make the entire body grow. They also create added strength in those actions most used in sports – jumping, running and stopping, moving opponents, and maintaining position. They build the core, which is your base for all performance.

Isolating weaknesses

The core strength training mentioned above is great for growing overall body mass, and targeting the large muscle groups. However, as these body parts grow, the strain, which exists on the smaller groups to support them, grows as well. You are MORE likely to sustain an injury if your back, chest and shoulders grow, yet your lower back, neck, traps, and arms are neglected. Bodybuilding training programs focus on every muscle in the body to ensure none go untrained and become problem areas.

Balance

A well-balanced bodybuilding-training program results in a well-balanced physique. Bodybuilders are able to eliminate the awkwardness of many common functions by adding additional strength (through training) to areas, which may lack functional strength.

Endurance

All sports involve repetition of strenuous tasks, whether it is running, jumping, throwing, or catching. As muscles repeat the same actions dozens or hundreds or even thousands of time, fatigue begins to se in. The muscle groups are flooded with blood for hours at a time, and lactic acid begins to build up in these areas.

If you’re an athlete, do a little bit of reading on standard bodybuilding routines. Even if you cannot add a full bodybuilding routine to your sports training protocol, see what areas of your physique you’ve been neglecting. You might just find that a few movements each week will go a long way in increasing your sports ability and avoiding injury.