The basis of functional strength is posture: People talk all the time about strength development for sports. There are many proven programs and methods of increasing somebody's strength over time. When it is time to APPLY that strength in competition however, remember this – EVEN THE GREATEST STRENGTH WILL BE UNDERMINED BY FAILURES IN POSTURE WHEN APPLIED TO A GIVEN TASK. For any given task there is at least one posture that optimizes strength application – deviation from that ideal posture(s) will manifest itself as weakness. Breakdown the most commonly occurring situations and scenarios in your sport and research which postures come close to ideal as far as applying your strength towards your goals. Doing so will maximize the effect of whatever strength you have. Naive strength is one thing, BUT STRENGTH DIRECTED BY POSTURE FEELS LIKE IRON. A weak man with good and efficient posture will outperform a strong man operating from poor posture. Make posture in all the main areas of your sport a serious part of your study. Here, Georges St-Pierre shows perfect posture whilst wrestling on the fence in single leg position – a key part of his sport
