This weeks begins the first of my new block with the primary focus being power. Also the energy system of primary focus is alactic power. This is a very CNS intensive block which will require me to maintain an extensive regimen of regeneration and recovery. First few days have proven that already but are going great otherwise.
Day 1 Alactic Power/Lower Body AM Session (10:45) 30 YD Sprint (2X2)x2 6 sec Multi Directional (2x3)x2 3-fold Jumps (2x2)x2 5 min between sets 8 min between series
PM Session (5:30) 1A)1 Arm DB Snatch-3x3@95, 105, 110 2A)Squat-3x5 @ 405, 415, 430 3A)BB Step UP-2x6 @185 4A)Good Morning- 3x6@225 4B)BB Anti Rotation-3x12 5A-C)Band aBduction 2x12@ Mini TKE 2x20 @ Green Band Heavy Clam Shell 2x12 Regeneration-Cold Plunge, PNF Stretch
Day 2 Tempo Runs Epsom Bath
Day 3 Upper Body (3:30PM) 1A)High Pulls-3x5@135,155,175 2A)Bench Press-3x5@300,315,325x2 3A)BB Row-3x6@205 3B)Rear Delt-3x8@20 3C)Core Roll Progression 3x6 4A-D)Ext Rotation 2x12 all ITY Core Rollouts Curls Regeneration-Contrast Shower 4 rounds
So far so good. Got another sprint session tomorrow followed by weights and plenty of regeneration. Overall Sleep Quality is great and Heart Rate is at 59 this morning so recovery is going well. As of now squat is still feeling very strong even after a morning sprint session and overall power and jumping is getting very explosive compared to previous blocks. As I stated in a previous post when I began my first power block was I missed being able to dunk the ball and since my injury it has been a far cry. But I am still chasing it as my goal by the end of the block and I am getting pretty close. Will post video when it is a reality.
Over the last month I have been working with the local high school in developing a program to physically prepare the athletes for their given sport. The significance of this school is that it is particularly small. This makes athletics dependent on athletes participating in multiple sporting competitions. So, most important is the induced fatigue almost year round from sport practice and competition. This made frequency and recovery highly important when designing a program for athletes that are exerting such high efforts throughout the year.
All that being said, the focus then was on a program that didn't require high frequency of training and still was able to develop an advancement in there preparedness. This meant that proper alternation in workout were needed. Exercises in consecutive training sessions should minimally involve the same muscle groups and thus repeat the same pattern of muscle coordination (Zatsiorsky 1995, 96). Also when large muscle groups are worked periods of 48 hours or rest are optimal. For optimal recovery from training and competition a 3 day per week program was implemented. Day 1- Lower Body, Day 2- Upper Body, Day 3- Full Body. This allowing for optimal recovery between large muscle groups and for muscle groups to be worked 2X per week.
Also with athletes of this age (14-18) certain qualities need to be prioritized for further development. Enough power-related work must be done during the early years to maintain the genetically determined levels of white muscle fibers. However, until desired samototype is developed methods to increase cross-section of muscles must be emphasized. After this the reverse is true (Francis 1992, 25). Choice for power exercises range from a snatch/clean variation and a plyo metric/med ball progression. To promote maximal strength, sets are held at five reps and will sometimes drop to three. This allows for maximal loads while still inducing a hypertrophy in the muscles as a bi-product compared to singles which are also dangerous for some athletes because the high percentage requires a lot of coordination to perform the movement.
With so many athletes participating in multiple sport exercise variation can have a heavy influence on adaptation and SORENESS. If you have played a basketball game with heavy legs you know what I'm talking about. In the end performance in competition and injury prevention is the main goal. So exercise selection of "core" lifts will remain the same, while supplementary ones will change. This will induce as little soreness as possible when transitioning to a new mesocycle. Example of core lifts are Front squat, RDL, Bench Press, and Rear Foot Elevated Split Squat (RFESS). Some may think that not alternating Core exercises will ultimately lead to stagnation or plateau. But, every time you complete a performance goal that passes previous results your body is introduced to a new stimulation and will be forced to adapt. The avoidance of stagnation is how intensity is set. The training principle known as progressive overload is key. As Mike Boyle once stated, if you take an athlete and have him front squat 135 for ten reps while only adding 2.5# weights to each side each proceeding week, by the end of the year they could potentially be at 395#. A lot of problems with programs fail because athletes miss reps. SO in selecting weight, athletes started at a moderate load and are using progressive overload at small increments through out the training cycles and have shown improvement each week and PR's are already being set.
Eample:
Freshman-Football, Basketball, Track, and Baseball
Week 1-4 (last set recorded each week)
Front squat x5: 165, 170, 175, 180 (PR)
RDL x5: 155, 160, 165, 165
Hang Clean x3: 170, 175, 185 (PR)
RFESS x10: 100, 105, 110, 115
Bench Press x5: 145, 150, 155, 160
Warm Up/Activation should address coordination, preparation for training, and the undoing of the poor postural habits throughout the day. Taking into account that students are sitting for almost the entire day while a school, a build up of stiffness and tissue creep may incur. When students are sitting for upwards to an hour a half at a time only to get up to go to another class stiffness issues will undoubtedly follow. When sitting Hip flexors will stiffen which will inhibit gluteal function. This should be taken into consideration when developing a quality warm up.
Warm up: (10-12 min)
4 Hurdle/Dynamic Routine continuous
(2x each way or 1xR/L)
R/L Step over/inch worm
Lateral over/high knee pull
Backwards over/lunge elbow to instep w/ knee ext.
Alt Over-SLRDL
Lateral under- Crossover walk
Leg kick/quad pull
Activation
(1x10 each)
T-spine mobility
Glute Bridge
Lateral Band
F/B Monster band walk
Shoulder PNF
Band Pull Apart
Phase 1-Day 2
Linear Unilateral, Lateral Bilateral
Short Box single leg jump:2x3 each
Medicine Ball: Side tosses: 2x15 each (kneel)
Lateral jumps over short hurdles:3x6 each (stick landing)
All in all, the entire workout never will take more than an hour which works perfect for those who do this during P.E. class and prior to school. The key to a successful youth training program is supervision. Fortunately, the athletes have set times and sometimes multiple coaches to observe technique, motivate, and ensure safety practices. A well designed program can go a long way in terms of youth athletes having a good expereince in sport competition. Seeing improvemnts is not only motivating but also goes a long way in building character and confidence which are beneficial far beyond the spectrum of sports.
A very important aspect of block periodization is maintaining the previously developed qualities. This requires low volume but high intensities. One quality that is very important for my sport is starting strength. I currently utilize the back squat for this purpose. Also, being that it is a Power block every workout will have its share of dynamic work as well. One of my favorite power movements is the clean grip power snatch. It travels a greater distance than the conventional style and it requires a lot of power to get the bar up to speed and over your head. Also as the restorative week is just starting, my heart rate is sitting in a good spot (56 this morning). The utilization of cold plunges, epsom salts, and soft tissue work has paid off significantly.
Squat 2x1 @ 485, 500 Here are my two working sets this week for maintaining of starting strength. Even though it is a maintenance focus I have still been using Rating of perceived exertion (RPE) to select load. Based off my RPE I have been able to still increase in weight over this block. There was some shifting coming out of the bottom of the last set but I made it through a sticking point that has given me trouble in the past.
Clean grip Snatch 3x3 @ 165, 175, 185 Like I stated earlier this is one of my favorite Olympic lift variations. By moving the hands in, the bar is required to travel a greater distance than conventional. It also places the shoulder at a much less vulnerable position. I tend to focus on making sure I am able to apply as much force as possible without worrying a great deal on load.
I have used a good amount of time on restorative work due to it being a very CNS intensive block of training. A couple of useful methods are Epsom Salt baths, Contrast Showers, Cold plunges. ($3.00) Epsom Salt Bath
What to do:
Fill a bath tub with warm/hot water and add in 300-600 grams on Epsom salts.
Sit in the bath for 10-20 minutes.
Can be used 2-3 times/week.
How it works:
It can increase your mean blood magnesium. Magnesium can be absorbed by the skin. Magnesium is a very important mineral and is one we are often deficient in.
Increases perspiration which helps rid the toxins and impurities.
Stimulates vasodilatation, facilitating blood flow to the muscles and helps reduce inflammation.
Reduces muscle and joint pains associated with an excessive inflammation response.
Contrast Showers
What to do:
Alternate between 30 seconds of cold water and 2 minutes of hot water.
As I approach the end of Block 5 of my training it could not have been going any better. Of course the main focus is maximum power output while maintaining the other developed components such as max strength and aerobic capacities. However, it is now time for a aerobic mini cycle. I have previously posted my results in previous blocks while in my Accumulation phase. This usually involves a good amount of tempo work and some tempo runs or low intensity cardio. Here are some videos of some Tempo Squats also a exercise I have chosen for power development and a great core exercise that can also serve as low intensity cardio as well.
Hang Clean
This lift has increased a great deal since starting the Power block. In three weeks it has gone from 285 to 315 shown here.
Tempo Squat
The key to tempo squat is...TEMPO. It should be approximately 2 seconds eccentric/2 second concentric. It should be a constant movement with not pausing.
1 arm Farmers Carry The quadratus lumborum (QL) works to help stabilize the spine. The best way to go about increasing the strength and stabilizing efforts of the QL is to use asymmetrical loading exercises.(McGill). You can utilize these as great cardio by lightening the loads and walking for time. The key is to walk with perfect posture and avoid excessive leaning to counter act the load.
As far as recovery, I have utilized plenty of cold plunges, contrast showers, and soft tissue work. My heart rate upon waking up has been around 57-59 the last week which is much lower than the previous block. I will post some upper body Tempo exercises along with some of my maintenance max strength work in the near future.
As I posted earlier in the week the importance of a warm up and activation can not be overlooked. It is also important not to neglect certain aspects of plyo/speed drills such as whether it is later/linear or unilateral/bilateral. Here is an example of a upper body linear emphasis day for our football team. Upper Body Pre Work Roll-out/Tennis Ball Massage Hurdle Mobility-Lateral x2 Each (fish-hook position/up on toes) Partner Shoulder Stretch- x5 ea (hold 5 sec) In-Line Lunge- x5 ea (3 sec pause)
Dynamic Warm-up Pryor to Speed Activation Side Leg Raises Clam shells Glute Brides
Speed/Plyos Box Jump Lateral Bound- 1, 2 cut Power Skip- for Height Get Ups- Stomach Auditory Acceleration- Split Stance
This is what we do prior to strength work and should take no longer then 15 min or so. Another thing to keep in mind is to gradually build volume/intensity of exercises. This may serve as a great way to build work capacity as well as we gradually build up the volume.
As everyone knows, warm up, activation, and mobility are all crucial factors that together can take your physical preparedness to new heights. This serves as no problem when training yourself or small groups, but when you have nearly 100 athletes, alternative ways are needed.
One of the first things we did was organize our team into 3 groups, Skill, Semi-Skill, and Bigs. This sets us up well based off there movement drills and allows them to be around guys they play next to while they are grinding it out in the weight room. We then start them with Pre work, followed by "Activation", Movement drills, and of course strength work. Here is a example of a Lower body/Multi directional emphasis day.
Mini-Band Warm-Upx5 each direction Straight Leg lateral walk
Straight Leg forward walk
Monster Walk Forward & Back
Leg Abduction
Wide March /Tight March
Arm Abduction
Upper Body Warm-Up
Cross-Over Jacks
Seal Claps
Scap Push-ups
Movement
Med Ball circuit
Chest Pass-Kneeling
Overhead pass- Kneeling
Perpendicular Rotational Throw- Kneeling
Lateral Cone Drill
3 Cone Lateral Shuffle
This is in the first week of our progressions so everything is pretty controlled in terms of movement drills. Reinforcing technique, quality of movement, and preparing them for more dynamic/intense drills.
Check out article I wrote on Elite. I have posted several times before on the importance of this energy system and it has been present in my workout logs. Gives a brief overview of the topic and a few ways to develop this energy system in a team and individual setting. Enjoy!
Right now is an exciting time with the team and off-season training. For the first couple weeks it was a lot of regeneration work and getting everyone rested up and healed from the season. Now, we have began our Accumulation phase. They really need a lot of work capacity in order to set them up for the Winter program. Some of the things that I have taken into consideration with this block of the program:
Time under Tension (TUT):
This, for hypertrophy reasons, as well as hypertrophy of certain muscle fiber types is very important. The goal is to increase cross section size of slow/oxidative fibers which will increase speeds at AT. This is extremely important to build this capacity in a sport where there are many repeated bouts.
Corrective Work:
In no way is this inclusive to only focus on corrective exercises for specific areas, though we do hammer those, it also includes making sure we correct many imbalances that occur from the sport itself. We focus a lot on the quality of our horizontal pulls as well and getting our main hip stabilizers up to par as well.
Team Building:
One of the main ways I have instilled some quality team building within our workouts is simply how I grouped the athletes. In previous years we had set times and lifting partners. This was alright but not effective if both partners weren't very intrinsically motivated. Now, we have three larger groups (skill, semi-skill, Bigs) and since we have enough equipment they all are performing the same lift at the same time. The results have been great and the decibel level has risen significantly. When your athletes are being held accountable by the team they usually start to make sure they don't embarrass themselves and most of the time lifting with great effort will be the cure or that.
We are rapidly approaching Christmas break and when we get back we have testing. I am exited to see the results and seeing where we have to build off of. But as of now, the most important aspect of the whole program so far has been the team building or the emotional readiness of the team. Psychology can do wonders for the human body in terms of readiness, stimulation, and personal accountability. I will get some videos up soon with some example exercises/template and how we are utilizing them. Besides that GO HAWKS...BCS victory awaits!
Last time i wrote about our running back whom had a few hip mobility issues come to the surface that have put him at potential risks and exposed a significant instability issue in the lower back. This next athlete has had a few issues in terms of hamstring issues and typical dings and hang ups that would be typical of a usual athlete. The other significance of him is that he is a multi-sport athlete. He is a all conference baseball short stop and was quarterback this season.
He went through an entire assessment and there were some pretty revealing issues. Below are a few test that I feel are important as indicators for potential risks factors when playing these sort of position.
Hip Internal Rotation of Lead Leg
The first thing the sort of raised red flags is the only way to perform this test he had to abduct the leg. When tested in supine position total ROM was approx. 25 degrees. Alarming because when throwing, the lead leg must plant and internally rotate in the follow through phase. It also raises risks in change of direction/planting and turning.
G-H Range of Motion on throwing arm
As you can see he is able to externally rotate pretty well without even any assistance in movement. What you should look for in this case is making sure you achieve full ROM from eternal to internal rotation. Look for 180 degrees of total ROM for sufficient movement.
Prone Hip extension
He complained about frequent hamstring issues and from this test it is evident why. He had a lot of trouble extending the leg with out the hamstring bringing him into flexion. This shows a significant hamstring dominance which also was confirmed by the glute firing pattern
Subscap test
The role of this cuff muscle is significant more for its isometric properties in that it prevents the anterior glide of the humeral head. Looking at the video you can see that he immediately goes into extension and the shoulder protrudes forward. This could indicate weakness in this musculature which was confirmed in other test.
T-spine Rotation/Ext
This is a big one. if you lack sufficient rotation in the t-spine you will inevitably rotate at the lumbar spine. If you lack quality extension you will have trouble upwardly rotating when trying to throw anything. This is an area that regardless of testing you should probably stay on top of due to the upper extremity issues that can arise form lack of mobility in this area.
Even though this athlete hasn't had too many serious issues in terms of injuries preventing his play, it is plain sight that if identified much earlier the many minor injuries may have been prevented. Having athletes go through some sort of quality assessment is definitely the right way to go about keeping them healthy. If your best players are healthy there are on the field and in the end when you have your best players playing you are always in the best position to win!
So begins the next block in my physical preparation. As you can tell by the title the main focus will be power, force production, and continuing to expand certain energy systems. Expectations are extremely high for this block and the first two days have already provided promising results. Max strength is put back toward maintenance and for my primary strength lifts, squat, bench, and hang cleans, I am still seeing increases from the previous blocks. I am looking forward to the explosive work and can't wait to get my cleans up to par!
Day 1 Plyo progression 1ACG BB Snatch 4x3 @ 155 2ASquat 3x5 @395, 405, 425 RPE=8, 8, 9 3AExplosive RDL 3x5 @2753BBB Anti Rotation 4circuit 2x10 TKE Front Plank BW 1 legged Hip thrust Band Abduction
Day 2 Plyo Progression 1A1 arm DBn Snatch 3x3 @ 85# 1BCable lift 3x8 2ABench 3x5@ 295, 305, 320 3A1 arm unsupported Row 3x8 @85# 3B Face pulls 3x8 4Circuit 2x10 ITY External Rotation Core Roll Progression Curl variation
Day 3 FT Capacity Work. (sled sprints)
I was very excited to see my squat number where it was. According to rep max chart it is just below 500 which is getting to pre-ankle injury numbers. Bench max chart says ~360 but I feel like when the reps drop to 3 it will be better. But, power is the name of the game and one of the things I miss most as a side effect of the injury is throwing down the b-ball. So, i guess that would be my goal for the end of the power blocks in 8 weeks. Video to come!!!...(hopefully).
