How to Structure Training for Athletes Using a High-Low Model – Lewis Physical Therapy & Sports Rehabilitation

If you’re a baseball player or athlete who feels constantly fatigued, not recovering well, or not seeing the performance gains you expect…

It might be because your training is poorly organized.

One of the most common mistakes I see is athletes stacking:

• sprinting

• jumping

• med ball work

• heavy lifting

…all into the same week (or worse, on back to back days) with no real structure.

On paper, it looks like a great program.

In reality, it creates fatigue that kills performance, slows progress, and increases injury risk.

What you’ll learn in this blog

• What the high-low training model is

• Why stacking high-intensity work back-to-back hurts performance

• What qualifies as high vs low intensity training

• Why the “middle zone” is a problem for athletes

• How to structure your week for better recovery and performance

🎥 Watch the YouTube Video

In this video, I break down how we organize training stressors for athletes so they can improve speed, power, and strength without constantly feeling run down.

Watch on Youtube here:

What Is the High-Low Training Model?

The high-low model is a simple but powerful way to organize training:

👉 High-intensity days = neurologically demanding work
👉 Low-intensity days = recovery + lower output work

Instead of spreading stress randomly across the week, you consolidate it.

This allows your body to:

• fully adapt

• recover properly

• perform better on high-output days

What Counts as High-Intensity Training?

High-intensity work is activties that places a large demand on the nervous system.

This includes:

• Sprinting (90%+ effort)

• Explosive med ball throws

• Max-effort jumps

• Heavy strength training (especially max strength work)

These are the elements that actually drive:

• speed & strength development

• power output

• performance gains

⚠️ The key: these stressors require ~48 hours of recovery before repeating effectively.

Why Most Athletes Struggle: Poor Stress Organization

A lot of athletes do this instead:

• Sprint one day

• Lift heavy the next, sprint again

• Add conditioning on top of it

Every day becomes a moderate-to-high stress day.

The result?

• Constant fatigue

• Poor recovery

• Decreased performance output

• Increased injury risk

The Problem With the “Middle Zone”

This is one of the biggest mistakes in training.

The “middle zone” is:

• not easy enough to promote recovery

• not intense enough to improve speed or power

Examples:

• moderate effort running (75-85%)

• random conditioning circuits

• workouts that feel hard but lack intent

➡️ You end up accumulating fatigue without real adaptation.

For baseball players and speed-based athletes, this is a major problem.

What to Do on Low-Intensity Days

Low days are not about doing nothing — they’re about doing the right things.

Examples include:

• Tempo runs (lower intensity running)

• Aerobic work (bike, pool, light circuits)

• Extensive med ball work (lower output)

• Extensive jumps (submax effort)

• Bodyweight circuits

The goal is to:

• promote recovery

• maintain movement quality

• build aerobic capacity

NOT to create more fatigue.

Example Weekly Training Structure

A simple high-low setup might look like:

• Monday: High (accelerations, MB throws/jumps, lift)

• Tuesday: Low (tempo, aerobic work)

• Wednesday: High (max velocity sprints, lift)

• Thursday: Low

• Friday: High (accelerations, MB throws/jumps, lift)

• Saturday: Low / recovery

• Sunday: Off

This allows:

• proper spacing of high-intensity work

• better recovery between sessions

• higher quality outputs on training days

Why This Needs to Be Individualized

Not every athlete responds the same way.

For example:

• A deconditioned athlete may find even low days challenging

• Some athletes tolerate sprinting well but struggle with jumps

• Others may fatigue more from lifting than speed work

That’s why programming should always be:
👉 tailored to the athlete
👉 adjusted based on response

The Biggest Takeaway

Training is a means to an end.

The goal is not to:

• feel exhausted

• win the workout

• stack as much as possible

The goal is to:
👉 perform better on the field
👉 stay healthy
👉 recover effectively

If your training is interfering with those things…

…it’s time to change how it’s structured.

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🎙 Listen to This Topic on The Lewis Physical Therapy & Sports Rehab Podcast

Dive deeper into how smarter training structure improves performance and reduces injury risk.

🎧 Listen on Spotify:
https://open.spotify.com/show/4A6iBs0CzkAwSu9rUVPfGX?si=lrea2AaWQSy5USIT90KXhQ

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