Recently my personal training clients have begun the second phase of their fat loss/strength building routines. It is of popular demand right now to attack fat loss clients with high intensity, complexing, and leg numbing workouts. Honestly this sort of protocol can be effective with the right type of people. To be honest, even if this is the most effective route when dealing with fat loss clients, I guarantee many whom are seeking fat loss would drop out of your programs if constantly confronted with HIIT, sledge hammer work, and sprints. You must first establish and teach them and make it clear how important establishing movement patterns is. This was phase 1. Using a progressive approach to establishing quality movement before moving on to higher intensity complexes. Here is an example of "fat loss" exercises we used with several beginner clients when they came in. Phase 1 Week 1 Explosive- KB Swings Hip Extension-Pull Through, RDL w/reach Knee Dom- Split Squat (w/ support for some) Horz Push- Push ups, DB bench w/ NG Horz Pull- 1 arm row, face pulls, cable rows Vert Pull- cable pull down, chins Vert push- Curl 2 press
Now after a great phase which lasted 6 weeks, they have made considerable progress and now have progressed to much more metabolic and complex movements. These which would have been possible before phase one but with sub standard form which would have led to soreness in all the wrong areas (low back, knees, etc..) Now everything we do is tri-sets with more of an emphasis on complexing movements. We still focus on strength with much of our first tri-set and from there after it is fairly metabolic. Here is an example of a Phase 2 workout which we used with a client:
0 sec between lifts 45-60 sec between sets Tri Set 1 Trap Bar DL- 3x5 NG DB Push Press- 3x8 each Cable Hold-3x20sec Tri set 2 SS 1 arm row- 3x10 each 1 Leg RDL w/ KB-3x10 each Anterior Core- 3x10 Tri set 3 Scaption-2x12 External Rotation 2x12 Face Pulls- 2x12 ESD- 1 arm KB Swing 2 jump squat/BW Squat 10 swings per arm 2 10 jumps w/ 30 sec rest x 6+
This has worked out very well and I look forward to progressing them from here. I know there are a lot of very quality fat loss workouts out there right now but a majority of them are just far to advanced for an first time weight lifter looking to shed some pounds. Start basic and in time the exercise can pick up. Remember, fat loss isn't a quick fix, it is a progressive lifestyle change. The exercise should fit that progressive change they are making.
Back in November, I posted about my philosophy on how I would train younger athletes. So far I have incorporated these methods with not only the featured athlete of that post but also incorporated it into the high school program with great results. After getting the results from the athlete, it was amazing how he has gradually progressed from some humbling numbers up to weights that are turning some heads. The best part of this is that his form is still amazing due to the increases being so gradual (2.5# pr week) that he isn't breaking form to "grind" out that last rep.
Making load increases in this manner requires a lot of patience from the athlete and coach. But if you hold out after about 2-3 months these numbers start to look great. Like I have said before missing reps is one of the main reasons why a progress fails, and this will avoid missing these valuable reps any way possible. Here is an example of some of the lifts and how the athlete has progressed recently since the end of November.
Front Squat x5- Start- 185-210 +25# Hang Clean x3- Start- 175-200 +25# RFESS x10- Start- 105-135 +30# Bench Prs x 5- Start- 150-170 +20# RDL x 8- Start- 175-200 +25#
This has been great progress for this athletes freshman year. Being introduced to a progressive approach this early on in his training will keep him away from staleness and being able to manage his weight in order to safely and effectively get stronger.
A program very similar to this one has been implemented at the local high school as well as well as a modified version of the warm up we do here at the college. It is pretty unanimous that the Rear Foot Elevated Split Squat is the most dreaded of all lifts they have to perform but this has also been one that the athletes make great progress with.
I will try to get video as soon as possible of the younger athletes in action through warm ups and lifts. Congrats to the Saints!!!!
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.
So far one of the first things that I have picked up on while working with the football team is that they "want" to do a lot of auxiliary lifts. They want to isolate certain muscles, do lots of ab work, and bench all the time. Often times it is because they feel mentally that they are getting bigger, stronger, and for some reason it will help them on the field. I will often tell them it is about what they need not what they always want. Emphasizing that we will take care of things that will hopefully improve performance and keep them healthy in the short time they have for in-season workouts. Does that mean they don't get to do any curls or press downs if they want? NO! Once thy complete the workout which last approximately 35-45 minutes. They are allowed free time for around ten minutes if desired. They do a great job at getting in there mobility and activation work, lifting hard and not slacking off during rest periods, they deserve it. Also if an All-American thinks doing a couple sets of curls will make him play better, just remember, a lot of sports performance is extremely mental. Besides, athletes are being told what to do all day during school and practice that some time to do what they want for themselves is a positive whenever they an get it.
