"It’s about building bodies that can tolerate the season." - Nic Gill
In professional sport, talent alone rarely determines success. Season after season, the athletes who have the greatest impact tend to share one trait: they stay healthy.
High-performance departments increasingly refer to this quality as durability - the ability to withstand repeated training and competition without breaking down.
Former All Blacks strength coach Nic Gill has spoken about this shift in philosophy.
"It’s about building bodies that can tolerate the season," he said.
That philosophy is now visible across multiple sports.
Fast bowlers, for example, now manage workloads carefully to reduce injury risk. GPS systems measure sprint distances, while recovery monitoring helps coaches identify fatigue patterns before injuries appear.
Former England bowler Stuart Broad described how his perspective on preparation changed as his career progressed.
"The older you get, the more you realise preparation is about staying available," he said.
The same thinking applies in endurance sport, where runners now incorporate strength training, mobility work and cross-training to support long-term resilience.
Durability does not always make headlines. But it often determines who is still competing when championships are decided.
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