Tarleton State Rodeo's strength coach explains how modern rodeo athletes are training smarter and staying competitive longer.
From the practice pen to the weight room, rodeo athletes are redefining preparation. As rodeo grows more competitive, strength and conditioning is becoming essential for longevity and performance. Preparation off the dirt is becoming just as important as performance in the arena.
At Tarleton State University, the rodeo team's personal strength and conditioning coach Tyler Frank works with the team across every event. His job isn’t just about building muscle, it’s about building durability in a sport where one mistake can end a season or a career.
Frank says the most rewarding part of his job isn’t a championship banner or a record in the weight room.
“The athletes. You guys come in in such a wide range of athletic ability. You have your superstars that played 5 or 6 sports, and then you have the athletes that have never been in a gym before. Finding a way to make everyone lock in and love it and having a program that matches everyone’s needs is my favorite.”
That range of ability is part of what makes rodeo different. Unlike traditional team sports, rodeo doesn’t always come with a structured athletic pipeline. Some competitors grow up multi-sport athletes. Others have never followed a formal training program.
And that shift, Frank says, has changed dramatically over time.
“When I started there was maybe 1 or 2 people in this space and they were almost made fun of because the world didn’t see athletics and strength and conditioning as a part of rodeo. As the stock, and the sport has gotten more competitive, people have realized they can prolong and elevate their career by prioritizing their fitness and health.”
The sport has evolved. The livestock is stronger and the competition is deeper. Athletes are realizing longevity depends on and demands preparation.
One of the biggest challenges rodeo contestants face is life on the road. Unlike football or basketball players, they don’t have daily access to structured facilities or team nutrition plans.
Frank keeps his advice simple.
“Plan ahead. You would be amazed what you can do with one kettle bell, a couple of bands, and a cooler that has been packed correctly.”
There are still so many misconceptions about rodeo athletes and their preparation. Many assume the sport revolves only around core strength.
“You have to be able to move and control yourself. Having a strong core helps too, but you can’t forget about the little things. Flexibility has a major play in how successful you can be.”
Training rodeo athletes also requires a different approach than traditional sports. From bronc riders, to barrel racers, every single athlete uses a variety of muscle groups to do their job correctly.
“Everything we do is athlete based. You have to open your ears and throw away a textbook because what might work in a traditional sport setting is not what works with a student rodeo athlete’s schedule. So we have to adapt to individual needs and then tailor that to the event performance rather than traditional strength and conditioning where you have a lot of data and research on the sports and positions you can study. In rodeo everything is one big variable away from a catastrophic event.”
Beyond physical performance, the gym plays a role in the mental side of competition. Rodeo is unforgiving and humbling, but there is a constant many athletes find in the gym and in the practice arena.
“It provides confidence and strength. It can be as little as building strength to carry your water buckets back to your trailer without having to stop. Or as big as I know I can perform because I am strong enough and I have proven it day in and day out in the gym.”
At Tarleton, the culture around training is part of the program’s identity. Tarleton State University is known for a National Championship team year after year. Something is different about a program that produces titles the way the purple vests do.
Since 1947, Tarleton Rodeo has been synonymous with greatness.
“The culture here is irreplaceable. The buy in of the workout program has been beyond belief and the results are proven on the wall. We have more championships than anybody out there and I think a big part of it is the buy in from the practice arena to the gym to the trailer park. Everything we do is to be better everyday.”
Rodeo may still look like a few seconds in the arena dirt to the casual fan, but behind that are hours in the practice pen and increasingly, hours in the gym too.
For athletes looking to stay competitive in a growing sport, that preparation is no longer optional.