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One of the biggest challenges in athletic development isn’t teaching athletes what to do, it’s helping them discover movement solutions they would never arrive at on their own. Left unchecked, the system defaults to what it already knows: familiar compensations, preferred strategies, and rehearsed patterns.
That’s where intelligent constraints matter. And one of the most powerful constraints we can introduce is asymmetrical. Why Asymmetrical? Most training environments are built around symmetry:
But human movement isn’t symmetrical, and sport certainly isn’t. Athletes cut off one leg. They rotate and turn around fixed limbs. They accept force on one side while producing it on the other. When we introduce asymmetry into training, we create space for athletes to explore new solutions. We bias internal and external rotation strategies. We expose options that often stay hidden in balanced, bilateral scenarios. Asymmetry doesn’t fix movement. It reveals possibilities. Influencing Movement Without Coaching Outcomes Rather than over-coaching technique, we manipulate constraints. Small changes in setup can dramatically change how an athlete organizes force. Here are three simple design tactics that consistently open new movement doors: 1. One Side Elevated Elevating a foot or a hand on a box or mat changes how the athlete experiences space. This often invites:
These solutions rarely show up in perfectly symmetrical positions. 2. Staggered & Split Stances Altering the base of support changes what’s available to the system. Staggered and split stances:
Compared to parallel stances, they open entirely different movement conversations. 3. Load on One Side of the Body Using ipsilateral or contralateral loads (bands, dumbbells, kettlebells) biases the system toward internal or external rotation strategies. These constraints don’t eliminate compensations. They refine and expose them, showing how the athlete adapts when symmetry is removed. That information is gold. The Bigger Picture Asymmetrical design isn’t about making exercises harder or more complex. It’s about:
Asymmetry builds adaptability. And adaptable athletes are durable athletes, capable of solving the unpredictable problems sport and life will always present. That’s the real goal.
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When it comes to athletic development, it’s tempting to focus on movement patterns, drills, and repetition counts. Yet the reality of sport is far messier. True performance emerges not from perfectly executed exercises in isolation, but from the ability to solve problems in dynamic, unpredictable environments.
At the heart of this skill transfer lies the tight coupling of three critical elements: Perception, Action, and Intention. Perception: What the individual sees, feels & anticipates Perception is more than just seeing. It is the ability to sense, anticipate, and interpret information from the environment. In sport, athletes must continuously monitor:
Without accurate perception, even the most technically proficient movement becomes meaningless. Athletes who fail to perceive cues in real time are always a step behind the game. Action: How they organize their body to respond Action is how athletes organize their body in response to perceived information. This is where mechanics, strength, and speed meet function. However, action is never isolated in sport. A sprint, cut, or jump is not a preprogrammed pattern; it is a solution to the problem posed by the current situation. Successful action depends on the ability to adapt movement to fit the environment, changing angles, timing, or intensity as needed. Intention: Why they are moving Intention gives meaning to movement. It’s the “why” behind the action, whether the athlete is:
Intent drives decision-making, prioritization, and effort. Without intention, movement may look correct but lacks relevance to performance. Solving Problems, Not Executing Patterns Athletes don’t simply execute movements, they solve problems. Every rep, cut, or pass is shaped by:
Training that ignores any of these elements risks producing technically proficient but contextually irrelevant movement. Designing Training for Transfer To develop transferable skills, training must simultaneously challenge perception, action, and intention. This can be achieved through:
When training engages all three elements, athletes develop movement intelligence, the ability to perceive information, respond effectively, and act with intent under pressure. The coupling of perception, action, and intention is the foundation of skill transfer. It’s what separates movement that looks good in a gym from movement that truly matters in competition. To cultivate adaptable, resilient athletes, we must train for the problems of sport, not just the patterns. Train perception. Train action. Train intention. Train transfer. When we say, “every exercise is a question,” we’re reframing resistance training away from a checklist of movements and toward an ongoing inquiry into how an athlete’s system organizes itself under demand.
An exercise isn’t just something to do. It’s something designed to ask the body a very specific question. The Exercise as a Problem to Solve Every task places constraints on the athlete and invites a solution. Beneath the surface of sets and reps, the nervous system is constantly answering:
These aren’t abstract concepts. They’re revealed in real time through movement. The bar, the stance, the load, the tempo, the range of motio, each variable shapes the problem being presented. The Setup Is the Question Small changes in setup dramatically alter what the system is being asked to solve.
Nothing here is neutral. Every choice narrows or expands the solution space. Movement Is the Answer The athlete’s movement is the response to the question being asked. As coaches, our job isn’t to immediately correct, it’s to observe. We’re watching for patterns:
Progress isn’t just heavier weight or smoother reps. It’s a shift in how the problem is solved. Coaching Through Better Questions When the “answer” isn’t what we’re looking for, we don’t force the athlete into a predefined model. We change the question:
By doing so, we guide the system toward new solutions rather than imposing them. The athlete learns through interaction, not instruction alone. Training as Dialogue, Not Template This is why resistance training can’t be reduced to a template. It’s an ongoing dialogue between the individual and the environment, one where exercises act as prompts to reveal tendencies, challenge existing strategies, and expand the range of available solutions. When every exercise is treated as a question, training becomes less about prescribing movements and more about shaping adaptability. And adaptability, not perfection, is what ultimately transfers to performance. The term repetition is used constantly in training, coaching, and performance environments. Yet the way we define a repetition strongly influences how we design practice, what we value in movement, and ultimately what athletes are prepared for.
At first glance, a repetition seems simple. But beneath the surface, there are two very different ways to understand what a rep actually is. The Traditional View of a Repetition Traditionally, a repetition is defined as a single execution of a prescribed movement, performed with the goal of reproducing the same pattern each time. In this view, the repetition is something to be repeated, refined, and perfected. Key characteristics of the traditional perspective include:
This is effective for building physical capacity, when the environment is stable and outcomes are known. However, human and sporting movement are rarely stable or predictable. Where the Traditional Definition Falls Short The challenge with this definition is not that it’s wrong, but that it’s incomplete. Sport demands constant adjustment. Opponents move differently. Space closes or opens unexpectedly. Timing shifts. Decisions must be made under pressure. When training only rewards identical movement outcomes, athletes may struggle when the environment no longer matches the script. This is where a nontraditional view of repetition becomes critical. The Nontraditional View of a Repetition In a nontraditional framework, a repetition is not a copy of a movement. Instead, it is a unique interaction with an environment. Each rep is shaped by constraints such as:
Even when the drill looks the same on the surface, the information available to the athlete is constantly changing. Key characteristics of this perspective include:
In this lens, movement variability isn’t something to eliminate, it’s something to learn from. Repetitions as Information When viewed nontraditionally, repetitions become information-rich experiences. Each rep provides feedback about:
Even if two reps look similar externally, they are never truly the same internally. The athlete must continually perceive, decide, and act. This is what drives:
Redefining the Purpose of Reps The shift from traditional to nontraditional thinking reframes training altogether. Repetitions are no longer about producing perfect movement copies. They are about developing a wide movement bandwidth; a range of solutions athletes can access when conditions change. In this sense, training isn’t about controlling athletes into ideal shapes. It’s about designing environments that invite exploration, decision-making, and adaptability. Because in sport, the athlete who adapts best doesn’t just move well, they solve problems well. In sport, athletes rarely receive force passively. They manage it, redirect it, and convert it into their next action, all in milliseconds. That’s why one of the most misunderstood concepts in training is the idea of “absorbing” force.
Absorption implies that force simply disappears into the athlete’s body like a sponge. But in reality, high-level movers don’t soak up force, they accept it, organize it, and use it. Force acceptance is an active, coordinated strategy, not a passive one. And when coaches train it correctly, it becomes a powerful gateway to speed, change of direction, jumping, and injury resilience. What Force Acceptance Really Means Force acceptance is the athlete’s ability to receive incoming force, maintain structural integrity, and actively prepare for the next movement solution. It’s not about bracing as hard as possible. It’s not about collapsing and absorbing load. It’s about finding a middle ground where the athlete yields, organizes, and responds. High performers do this instinctively:
These moments require more than “strength.” They require the coordination to manage force smoothly and rhythmically. Why “Absorption” Misses the Point Traditional training often teaches force absorption as:
While these patterns may look clean on paper, they don’t show up in sport. Over-bracing actually limits:
Athletes need to flow into the next action, not freeze, drop, or stall in the name of “control.” Absorbing force is passive. Accepting force is active, dynamic, and sport relevant. Force Acceptance Is a Skill Just like sprinting or cutting, force acceptance must be taught and progressively developed. Athletes need exposure to controlled chaos: angles, rhythms, perturbations, unexpected bounces, and variable speeds. When we train force acceptance, we aim to improve: 1. Yielding Capacity The ability to eccentrically load without collapsing. Soft enough to accept load, stiff enough to retain shape. 2. Rhythmic Coordination Managing force across multiple joints in sequence, ankle, knee, hip, trunk, like a well-timed braking & re-accelerating system. 3. Movement Capability under Load Every landing or deceleration sets up the next action. Force acceptance improves readiness & movement “options.” 4. Energy Redirection The hallmark of elite movers: smooth transition between storing & releasing energy. How We Train Force Acceptance We integrate force acceptance strategies across warmups, plyometrics, and field work. A few examples: Yielding Isometrics
Rhythmic Decels & Landings
Perturbation-Based Activities
High-Velocity Strategies
What Effective Force Acceptance Produces When athletes improve force acceptance, we see measurable changes:
The Bottom Line Force absorption is outdated. It traps athletes in rigid patterns that don’t translate to sport. Force acceptance is the future: A dynamic, coordinated, and proactive strategy that bridges strength qualities with motor skill. When we train the athlete, not just the muscles, we prepare them to thrive in the fast, unpredictable, high force world of sport. |
AuthorJamie Smith is a proud husband and father, passionate about all things relating to athletic development and a life long learner, who is open to unorthodox ideas as long they are beneficial to his athletes. Categories
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*By accessing this website and/or purchasing or utilizing the articles, emails, programs, images, videos, services and/or products, you are agreeing to this disclaimer in its entirety. The content on this website and the educational products sold within are the intellectual property of The U of Strength, LLC and may not be replicated, reproduced, or sold without prior written consent from The U of Strength, LLC. Website, social media and product content provided is for informational purposes and meant to be utilized by athletes, sport coaches, and fitness professionals at their own discretion. It is not meant to substitute advice or guidance from qualified medical experts, and misuse of the information can result in serious injury. Any fitness program should be administered under the discretion of qualified professionals who take into account individual differences in health and ability. While our programs have found success with the athletes who train at our facility, individual results vary and we do not guarantee any specific results. The U of Strength, LLC assumes no liability from the misuse of the content provided or products purchased. Users assume all risk when implementing our ideas in theirs or their clients’ real life training experiences.
Email: [email protected]
*By accessing this website and/or purchasing or utilizing the articles, emails, programs, images, videos, services and/or products, you are agreeing to this disclaimer in its entirety. The content on this website and the educational products sold within are the intellectual property of The U of Strength, LLC and may not be replicated, reproduced, or sold without prior written consent from The U of Strength, LLC. Website, social media and product content provided is for informational purposes and meant to be utilized by athletes, sport coaches, and fitness professionals at their own discretion. It is not meant to substitute advice or guidance from qualified medical experts, and misuse of the information can result in serious injury. Any fitness program should be administered under the discretion of qualified professionals who take into account individual differences in health and ability. While our programs have found success with the athletes who train at our facility, individual results vary and we do not guarantee any specific results. The U of Strength, LLC assumes no liability from the misuse of the content provided or products purchased. Users assume all risk when implementing our ideas in theirs or their clients’ real life training experiences.