An athlete (or anyone who plays recreational sports) should still lift weight to maintain muscle mass and strength during the season. To train safely, an athlete’s routine should gear toward sports-specificity; focus on the muscle groups that are important for his or her success in the specific sport. As the season goes on, an athlete can also focus on weaker spots to enhance his or her overall performance.

During the triathlon offseason, I train for competitve swimming. I focus my weight training on my back and shoulders, where I am less developed comparing to experienced swimmers.

• 10 x 10 clean-n-jerk (without the split, I had my feet parallel), 65 lbs. This exercise helps me strengthen for my pull (read “brush thumb”) in the water and lower back stability to maintain a neutral position.

In between sets of clean-n-jerk, I added lower back lifts, swimmers, lower abdominal lifts,  and face-down flies (10 to 15 repetitions) to help me develop minor muscle groups for better balance and more flexibility.