To put it simply, strength is the ability to apply force to an opposing object or into the earth. Strength can be displayed through speed, absolute strength, coordination, and improved jumping ability, to name a few.

Strength is critical in most any sport or athletic endeavor. For most athletic endeavors, being strong is an asset. Some sports are based on strength alone. Being strong is imperative for a sport like Olympic lifting or powerlifting. Your absolute strength is necessary but what can you do with that strength? If you are simply talking “pick things up and put things down” that's cool and all but how does it apply in most athletic endeavors? This is why you need this strength to be functional and applicable to your sport. That being said, at the end of the day, most components of athleticism come back full circle to your strength. Being strong and organizing and utilizing that strength in a specific manner can be foundational to not only being an athlete but improving your athleticism.

Your ability to use the strength you work hard for both quickly and efficiently in order to exert maximum force in a short amount of time is another component of athleticism. Explosiveness can be found in how you move your body or how you move another object (think barbell or throwing something). Having explosive strength as an athlete is, again, a strength that can be improved upon in the gym but also things like plyometric work can be beneficial here. This is something that can also be considered impulse performance. The force you can develop over a short period of time is an aspect of athleticism that can be improved upon when trying to improve performance. For example, learning how to use your hips as one of your greatest assets, learning how to transfer absolute strength into your body so you have POP when necessary, increases this component of athleticism. 

Can you sustain a certain level of, often higher intensity effort for a certain period of time? Oftentimes endurance in sport relates to aerobic stamina, in which your heart rate and breathing are both higher. When an athlete has good endurance, you will find them outlasting their opponents, or even a previous version of themselves. To go longer, harder and with less fatigue is the goal.

Being able to reduce the risk of injury sounds nice, doesn't it? Well, when your muscles are able to coordinate themselves so they move a joint through its full range of motion, you are doing just that: reducing your risk of injury by relying on your mobility. Mobility can be beneficial in ways much more than just standing and trying to touch your toes or making sure your lats aren't too tight to throw well. Consider an Olympic lifter going to catch a clean in the deepest squat of their life. That deep squat requires dynamic mobility in order for you to reach the required depth to get under the bar. Improve mobility and you may find yourself improving your sport.

Are you able to arrange your body in a way in which all the parts are working together? When you want your feet to react one way and your arms to do something differently- does your body respond accordingly? What about the challenges that you may come across with having your feet continue to move while your upper body needs to do some other completely different exercise? Are you able to arrange your body and fire your muscles accordingly so you are running while throwing or spinning while pushing? This is your reflexive strength. This plays a role in almost anything in sport. Kick a ball while running, throw while spinning, pull a barbell while dropping into a squat. Coordinating and organizing all these movements at once is a massive component in sport.

Left, right, faster, slower. Your body's ability to change direction on a dime is beneficial. The saying “be light on your feet” comes to mind when thinking of agility. The athlete who can be quicker to pivot from one direction to another with ease and smoothness will often be the more athletic one. If an athlete can identify agility as being one of their areas where improvements are necessary, focusing on dynamic trunk control is critical. The agility component of athleticism requires you to have refined skills in some of these other components we are referring to (balance, strength and mobility) but when you also put an emphasis on dynamic trunk control, you may also find the concept of “being light on your feet” comes a bit easier as well.

Maintaining control of your body's positioning and maintaining equilibrium, is this even a consideration of yours when you think about being as athletic as possible? Your balance plays a key role in everything. Squatting, pulling, jumping and even in the specific sport you are training for, without balance you are in trouble. Improving your balance often means improving your dynamic trunk control as well. And while we know that having a strong trunk can translate into being a strong athlete so you might not need much convincing to work on this, knowing that balance improves as well is only icing on the cake. 

You lose, you make a bad play, things don't work out as you had planned or hoped- how do you deal? Are you able to bounce back and take the next best step? Or does something that doesn't go according to plan get in your head and totally derail you? It may not even be fair to say this is easier for a seasoned athlete, because that's not always the case. Rather the person who is able to understand that bad days, losses, they unfortunately happen but the next best thing you can do is learn from it and move on. Asking yourself “what can I learn from this, how can I take this into my training to perform better in the future?” is where your mental resilience can be a major athlete in athleticism.

What's the next best move? Often in sport you need to make important decisions, and often on the fly. It's not just a matter of “throw the ball” or “lift the weight” rather, how can you do it in the most efficient and effective manner given the specific circumstances you are performing under. Going up against an opponent, tripping mid sprint or some other unforeseen circumstance occurs, and you are forced to keep going, being able to strategically make the next move is key in sports performance.

Now that we understand what makes up athleticism, it's probably easier to see and understand how being athletic in itself isn't enough. Even the most genetically blessed humans who seem to just “have it” can benefit from understanding each of these components and identifying where they need to improve upon the most for their specific sport. Someone who is naturally strong, we love that for them, however not being able to translate that strength with quick thinking and organizing their body to move in a way they want with ease, rather than looking like a baby giraffe trying to walk, takes training and practice.