ABSTRACT
This chapter looks at the big questions of what strength and conditioning is and how it fits into total performance. Using the concept of the four co-actives of performance it suggests that strength and conditioning should not be viewed in isolation but instead as a cog in a larger performance programme. Subsequently, without consideration of performance as a whole, strength and conditioning application will never be optimal. However, our current thought structures mitigate against this integrated approach. So, whilst the strength and conditioning process provides a suitable structure for practice, it lacks context, without which practice will never be optimised.
