Conceptually, strength applies to force production whereas conditioning applies to the application of movement (e.g. through speed, agility and quickness). In other words, strength is the application of high force against a heavy resistance whereas conditioning is the repeated application of force against a lighter resistance (the primary resistance in conditioning is body weight; sometimes there is use of medicine balls (MB) but the resistance needs to be low because the resistance should not cause deviation to the form of the movement. For instance, when sprinting a person wouldn’t use weight vests heavier than 20lbs because it would slow the athlete down too much. Also, velocity-based (plyometric) medicine ball (MB) throws do not exceed 8-10 lb; during strength applications with a MB the weight can be as much as 25 lb. So, during conditioning, emphasis is on higher movement speed with light resistance, thereby challenging the metabolic energy systems. With respect to strength resistance training though, the focus is on generating high force output using heavy resistance.

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