Its about that time of year when all the high school off season programs are in full swing. Here in a few months most teams will be performing maximum efforts in the following exercises: bench press, squat and power clean. If you asked a coach why they perform these exercises they'd say, " The bench press measures upper body strength. The squat measure lower body strength and the power clean indicates how powerful an athlete is."
I'm only going to address the power clean issue, because to me it does not indicate maximum power production. The power clean is an extremely technical lift that can take years to master. Most of the time, a maximum effort at the power clean turns into a display of survival. The technique is horrible and the kids feel like they failed because they could pull the bar to their chin, yet they couldn't catch the bar. If you've ever coached this lift you know what I'm talking about.
I've been training myself for 15 years and I've still not mastered the lift. It takes an enormous amount of time to become proficient at this lift...and to me its not worth the time! In the time it takes me to train an athlete to perform a proper clean I could have taught him how to perform a vertical jump, broad jump and a clean pull.
Its my recommendation that coaches teach the broad jump(horizontal power production), vertical jump (vertical power development/indicator of acceleration capacity) and the clean pull (starting strength). If you do this you will maximize your time and have three great tests to accurately measure power production.
Monday, February 2, 2009
Monday, January 12, 2009
Winter Conditioning for Football
School is back in session and it's time to start preparing for next season. Championship teams are made in the off season. Now is the time to start building. So where do you start? Your team has come off of a championship run. It was a long season and your players are tired and beat up. Some are going to other sports and some are not. How do you deal with all of this? The easy answer if Football 360. This program is has it all. You put your kids in the program, record there max effort lifts and push print. There you have it. Easy and effective. So what about multi-sport athletes? This was my philosophy when I coached in high school. For example, we are in basketball season. If it is game day, lighten up the core lifts of the program by 10%. Also, train in the morning so the athlete has all day to recover. When tournament time rolls around, you will need to change a few things. We'll cross that bridge when we come to it. There you have it, nice and simple. It you want to take your team to the next level, Football 360 will help. Remember, train hard and smart and God Bless!
Scott Hines Sr. EdM, C.S.C.S. RKC
P.S. Later this week I will touch on training basketball players and wrestlers!
Scott Hines Sr. EdM, C.S.C.S. RKC
P.S. Later this week I will touch on training basketball players and wrestlers!
Sunday, January 4, 2009
Metabolic Conditioning
It’s the end of football practice and its time to condition the football team. Everyone lines up on the sidelines and begins to perform half-gassers (width of field and back). Lineman have 18-20 seconds, mid-skill has 16-18 and skill positions have 14-15 seconds. Why do we condition football players this way? Think about it, when was the last time a play lasted 14-18 seconds? Maybe the Cal-Stanford game, with all the crazy backwards passes.
Most plays in football last for about 5-6s with a 30-35s rest interval. So why do we condition our athletes for training intensities that last from 14-20 seconds?
In football there are primarily two metabolic pathways that are used to supply energy to the athlete. The first is a high intensity, short duration system. Energy is produced by metabolizing high energy compounds such as ATP (adenosine triphosphate) and CP (creatine phosphate). This energy system is capable of producing energy for 8-12s.
The second is the intermediate energy system (anaerobic glycolytic). This metabolic pathway uses a process called glycolysis to convert glucose into pyruvic acid and ATP. An additional by-product of glycolysis is lactic acid. Contrary to popular belief, lactic acid is not produced because of a shortage of oxygen, rather it is a by-product of metabolism. Research now indicates that there is a constant amount lactate in the blood; however, there is a balance between removal and accumulation. Glycolytic pathways can contribute to energy metabolism for up to 120s. With this information under our belt, we can now more accurately assign conditioning protocols for American football.
Metabolic conditioning is a general term used to describe conditioning protocols that accurately meet the demands of the sport. For football we want to condition the body to rapidly replenish ATP and CP, and buffer lactate. This is my suggestion: maximum effort sprints that last for 5-6 seconds, with a 30s active recovery. I like to separate sets of sprints just like football drive i.e. 12 play drive.
Example 1 (Receivers)
1 Rep = maximum effort route (5-6s) + 30s jog back to start
1 Set = 10 plays
Rest Interval between sets = 3-4 min
Start with 2 sets work up to 4-5 sets.
Example 2 (Lineman)
1 Rep: Prowler sled push for 5-6 seconds with 90-200lb + 30s walk between reps
1 Set = 8 – 10 plays
Rest Interval between sets = 3-4 min
Start with 2 sets work up to 4-5
This type of conditioning is best used in the summer as you are preparing for the upcoming fall season. It’s highly intensive, thus you need to make it the priority of the workout. In addition, you can now work on specific plays with offensive players and get a conditioning benefit.
Erik Korem, MS, C.S.C.S., CSCCa, USA Weight Lifting Club Coach
Super Training, Mel Siff PhD
Exercise Physiology, Brooks, Fahey and Baldwin
Most plays in football last for about 5-6s with a 30-35s rest interval. So why do we condition our athletes for training intensities that last from 14-20 seconds?
In football there are primarily two metabolic pathways that are used to supply energy to the athlete. The first is a high intensity, short duration system. Energy is produced by metabolizing high energy compounds such as ATP (adenosine triphosphate) and CP (creatine phosphate). This energy system is capable of producing energy for 8-12s.
The second is the intermediate energy system (anaerobic glycolytic). This metabolic pathway uses a process called glycolysis to convert glucose into pyruvic acid and ATP. An additional by-product of glycolysis is lactic acid. Contrary to popular belief, lactic acid is not produced because of a shortage of oxygen, rather it is a by-product of metabolism. Research now indicates that there is a constant amount lactate in the blood; however, there is a balance between removal and accumulation. Glycolytic pathways can contribute to energy metabolism for up to 120s. With this information under our belt, we can now more accurately assign conditioning protocols for American football.
Metabolic conditioning is a general term used to describe conditioning protocols that accurately meet the demands of the sport. For football we want to condition the body to rapidly replenish ATP and CP, and buffer lactate. This is my suggestion: maximum effort sprints that last for 5-6 seconds, with a 30s active recovery. I like to separate sets of sprints just like football drive i.e. 12 play drive.
Example 1 (Receivers)
1 Rep = maximum effort route (5-6s) + 30s jog back to start
1 Set = 10 plays
Rest Interval between sets = 3-4 min
Start with 2 sets work up to 4-5 sets.
Example 2 (Lineman)
1 Rep: Prowler sled push for 5-6 seconds with 90-200lb + 30s walk between reps
1 Set = 8 – 10 plays
Rest Interval between sets = 3-4 min
Start with 2 sets work up to 4-5
This type of conditioning is best used in the summer as you are preparing for the upcoming fall season. It’s highly intensive, thus you need to make it the priority of the workout. In addition, you can now work on specific plays with offensive players and get a conditioning benefit.
Erik Korem, MS, C.S.C.S., CSCCa, USA Weight Lifting Club Coach
Super Training, Mel Siff PhD
Exercise Physiology, Brooks, Fahey and Baldwin
Sunday, December 21, 2008
Core Strength
I wanted to write a short article on what I observed this past week with my athletes. I had some new baseball players join my baseball group this past week. One thing I noticed was how much core strength the athletes who have been training with me for a while had. There was a very noticeable difference in the new kids and the one's who have been training. The new players have been training, but not with us. I'm not saying this to brag, I'm just saying we focus on the core. When developing an athlete, you have to develop a strong and powerful base. Upper body strength and power is important as well. To tie the base with the upper body, you MUST have a strong core. This is a neglected part of training a large part of the time. Crunches won't get it done. If you want to train the core in a functional way, try renegade rows. Make sure the athletes keep there feet back and there butt down and back flat. Train hard and smart and God Bless!
Scott Hines Sr. EdM, C.S.C.S. RKC
High School Strength and Speed, LLC
Monday, December 15, 2008
Training High School Baseball Players
Being Co-owner of High School Strength and Speed is just one of my businesses. I also own Pro Performance. Pro Performance is a personal and sports performance training facility in Rome, GA. We train the general population, elementary school age kids, middle and high school athletes, college and pro athletes and tactical athletes. This article is going to focus on high school baseball players. Before I start, allow me to share with you how we set up our training schedule. We train Monday, Wednesday and Friday at 6:15 AM. Monday is a total body day with upper body focus, Wednesday is also a total body day with a lower body focus and Friday is a plyometric/movement day plus work capacity.
I’m going to write a series of articles on training baseball players. Today I’ll discuss some of our athletes and the progress they’ve made. First of all, the baseball players we’re training at this time range from freshman to juniors. They play a variety of positions. These guys are above average athletes with a couple of them being very good athletes. Over the past 3 months, as a group, we have had steady lean muscle mass gains of 3-7 lbs., vertical jump has increases 3-5 inches, there upper body strength has increased and pull up rep maxes have increased. There core strength has increased as well. For our baseball group, we focus on lower body strength and power to improve speed, rotational core strength, upper body strength, shoulder prehab, work capacity and flexibility. I can see a measurable difference in their body composition as well. I’m looking forward to watching these guys play this year. Next week I’ll get into the specifics of their program. Until then, remember, NO EXCUSES! JUST RESULTS! Train hard and smart and God Bless!
Scott Hines Sr. EdM, C.S.C.S. RKC
scott@highschoolstrengthandspeed.com
Sign up for our newsletter at: www.highschoolstrengthandspeed.com
Also, check out the #1 training program for High School Football Players in the nation: Football 360
I’m going to write a series of articles on training baseball players. Today I’ll discuss some of our athletes and the progress they’ve made. First of all, the baseball players we’re training at this time range from freshman to juniors. They play a variety of positions. These guys are above average athletes with a couple of them being very good athletes. Over the past 3 months, as a group, we have had steady lean muscle mass gains of 3-7 lbs., vertical jump has increases 3-5 inches, there upper body strength has increased and pull up rep maxes have increased. There core strength has increased as well. For our baseball group, we focus on lower body strength and power to improve speed, rotational core strength, upper body strength, shoulder prehab, work capacity and flexibility. I can see a measurable difference in their body composition as well. I’m looking forward to watching these guys play this year. Next week I’ll get into the specifics of their program. Until then, remember, NO EXCUSES! JUST RESULTS! Train hard and smart and God Bless!
Scott Hines Sr. EdM, C.S.C.S. RKC
scott@highschoolstrengthandspeed.com
Sign up for our newsletter at: www.highschoolstrengthandspeed.com
Also, check out the #1 training program for High School Football Players in the nation: Football 360
Thursday, December 4, 2008
Football 360
Football 360 is ready for shipment! Just in time for your off season and winter conditioning program. If you want to take you football team to the next level and put the best product possible on the field, this program is for you. Football 360 is the most scientific and functional strength, speed and conditioning program ever created for high school football players. This program is not a bunch of hype. It is solid, scientific and time tested techniques that work, plus new and proven speed training techniques. Get your copy today at:
Visit our web site at: http://www.highschoolstrengthandspeed.com/ and sign up for our FREE monthly news letter.
Train hard and smart and God Bless!
Scott Hines Sr. EdM, C.S.C.S. RKC
Still Convinced
Still Convinced
By Dan Bailey, PhD, NBCT, NESTA
Gentlemen, the Good Lord has blessed me with being able to keep learning and being in contact with so many people who have the same passion about Strength & Conditioning as I do. But over the years I am amazed at the number of programs that are still using other formats for their workouts. I have spoken at clinics before on the conjugate method and when I do; I speak from 7 years of proven results that are unlike any results from various formats that I have used over the last 20 years. I am not the expert, I love to learn and listen to other people that understand the conjugate method and gain different perspectives on how to maybe approach a certain aspect of the system.
I did not just read and learn the conjugate by trial and error; I went straight to one of the best sources for this system, a protégé of the great Louie Simmons, Jim Wendler, of Elite Fitness Systems. Jim spent countless hours with me by phone and email discussing the format, and then there was my good friend Scott Hines who I spent many hours talking about training high school student-athletes with the conjugate method. I know everyone has their preferences and this format is considered radical to some extreme by some of the “old school” coaches I have spoken with. In my personal opinion, it is a fail safe system to raise the strength and conditioning level of ANY student-athlete. Like most of you who utilize the system, I have tweaked it to fit into my own personal style of teaching and the other considerations that we all have to deal with as strength coaches (equipment, room size, number of students, class time, etc.).
I basically wrote just to say again how much I believe in the system and what it can do for the average highs school student-athlete. I did not get into any specifics, like most of you, I use the basic four days (we refer to max effort as Best Effort), that way the basketball coach does not think we are maxing out every Monday. Mondays and Wednesdays are best effort for lower and upper, we include some aspect of the clean of plyometric on 3 of the 4 lift days. Thursday and Fridays are either dynamic or hypertrophy work for lower and upper body work. We use Tuesday as an active rest and work core, speed and agility, or change of direction work. (As well as clean the weight room, our kids take lots of pride in the weight room).
I listed below the results of a 3A program of 29 varsity football players who were in 1 of 4 classes and compiled their spring max results as a team. None of these are Division I or II players. Maybe 1 or 2 could play Division III, or even II with a little help, but this is the result of 29 average high school football players on the conjugate system for 2 years:
2008 – SPRING FOOTBALL MAX SUMMARY
Ø 16 OUT OF 29 PLAYERS SQUATTED OVER 350 (55%)
Ø 9 OUT OF 29 PLAYERS SQUATTED OVER 405 (31%)
Ø 3 OUT OF 29 PLAYERS SQUATTED OVER 450 (11%)
Ø 17 OUT OF 29 PLAYERS CLEANED 225 OR OVER (59%)
Ø 6 OUT OF 29 PLAYERS CLEANED 250 OR OVER (21%)
Ø 2 PLAYERS CLEANED 315
Ø 12 OUT OF 29 PLAYERS BENCHED 225 OR OVER (41%)
Ø THE AVERAGE SQUAT FOR ALL OF THE 29 PLAYERS WAS 358 LB
Ø THE AVERAGE BENCH FOR ALL OF THE 29 PLAYERS WAS 215 LB
Ø THE AVERAGE CLEAN FOR ALL OF THE 29 PLAYERS WAS 225 LB
Ø THE AVERAGE GAIN ON SQUAT FOR ALL OF THE 29 PLAYERS WAS 38 LB
Ø THE AVERAGE GAIN ON CLEANS FOR ALL OF THE 29 PLAYERS WAS 27 LB
Ø THE AVERAGE GAIN ON BENCH FOR ALL OF THE 29 PLAYERS WAS 17 LB
By Dan Bailey, PhD, NBCT, NESTA
Gentlemen, the Good Lord has blessed me with being able to keep learning and being in contact with so many people who have the same passion about Strength & Conditioning as I do. But over the years I am amazed at the number of programs that are still using other formats for their workouts. I have spoken at clinics before on the conjugate method and when I do; I speak from 7 years of proven results that are unlike any results from various formats that I have used over the last 20 years. I am not the expert, I love to learn and listen to other people that understand the conjugate method and gain different perspectives on how to maybe approach a certain aspect of the system.
I did not just read and learn the conjugate by trial and error; I went straight to one of the best sources for this system, a protégé of the great Louie Simmons, Jim Wendler, of Elite Fitness Systems. Jim spent countless hours with me by phone and email discussing the format, and then there was my good friend Scott Hines who I spent many hours talking about training high school student-athletes with the conjugate method. I know everyone has their preferences and this format is considered radical to some extreme by some of the “old school” coaches I have spoken with. In my personal opinion, it is a fail safe system to raise the strength and conditioning level of ANY student-athlete. Like most of you who utilize the system, I have tweaked it to fit into my own personal style of teaching and the other considerations that we all have to deal with as strength coaches (equipment, room size, number of students, class time, etc.).
I basically wrote just to say again how much I believe in the system and what it can do for the average highs school student-athlete. I did not get into any specifics, like most of you, I use the basic four days (we refer to max effort as Best Effort), that way the basketball coach does not think we are maxing out every Monday. Mondays and Wednesdays are best effort for lower and upper, we include some aspect of the clean of plyometric on 3 of the 4 lift days. Thursday and Fridays are either dynamic or hypertrophy work for lower and upper body work. We use Tuesday as an active rest and work core, speed and agility, or change of direction work. (As well as clean the weight room, our kids take lots of pride in the weight room).
I listed below the results of a 3A program of 29 varsity football players who were in 1 of 4 classes and compiled their spring max results as a team. None of these are Division I or II players. Maybe 1 or 2 could play Division III, or even II with a little help, but this is the result of 29 average high school football players on the conjugate system for 2 years:
2008 – SPRING FOOTBALL MAX SUMMARY
Ø 16 OUT OF 29 PLAYERS SQUATTED OVER 350 (55%)
Ø 9 OUT OF 29 PLAYERS SQUATTED OVER 405 (31%)
Ø 3 OUT OF 29 PLAYERS SQUATTED OVER 450 (11%)
Ø 17 OUT OF 29 PLAYERS CLEANED 225 OR OVER (59%)
Ø 6 OUT OF 29 PLAYERS CLEANED 250 OR OVER (21%)
Ø 2 PLAYERS CLEANED 315
Ø 12 OUT OF 29 PLAYERS BENCHED 225 OR OVER (41%)
Ø THE AVERAGE SQUAT FOR ALL OF THE 29 PLAYERS WAS 358 LB
Ø THE AVERAGE BENCH FOR ALL OF THE 29 PLAYERS WAS 215 LB
Ø THE AVERAGE CLEAN FOR ALL OF THE 29 PLAYERS WAS 225 LB
Ø THE AVERAGE GAIN ON SQUAT FOR ALL OF THE 29 PLAYERS WAS 38 LB
Ø THE AVERAGE GAIN ON CLEANS FOR ALL OF THE 29 PLAYERS WAS 27 LB
Ø THE AVERAGE GAIN ON BENCH FOR ALL OF THE 29 PLAYERS WAS 17 LB
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