I disagree with my Strength Coach...

[Swolenpecs]

I play college ball and we work out all year, but during the summer we have a choice to workout on our own. I choose to workout on my own for many reasons.

My strength coach knows alot about training but makes big mistakes.

First off we do only 2 upper body exercises a week.
Bench Press and Skull crushers. Occasional shoulder circuit.

In the game of football, the upper body is used very often.
Doing 2 simple exercises won't cut it in my opinion.
I think we need at least one more Tricep and Chest exercise.
and a steady shoulder, bicep, and back routine.

Second mistake he makes is:
We do some form of squat 4 out of 5 workouts of the week. Last time i checked you need at least 48 hours of recovery time.
Several people hurt their backs and pull hamstrings.

Limme know what ya think...

 

[spatts]

Swolenpecks, I have my team on a split like Westside's. They have two upper body days, one speed one strength, and the same for lower. I tell them NOT to workout outside of here, because they need to recover. I tell them to do their speed bench in, low and tight...same path the arms should swing through when running. It will make them faster, and those that push, stronger. People routinely underestimate the role the upper body plays in running. If your core is centered it decreases the ROM for each limb, allowing for a more efficient run and injury prevention. Learning to train the core for both max effort and speed through the appropriate planes is crucial, IMO.

I don't have a problem with squat work, but it can't all be max squat work. We do medial and lateral split squats, speed squats, box squats, etc..., some just for agility, some for speed, some for max (but only once a week). We do a lot of GMs too. Imagine the look on your opponent's face when they come to tackle you and you GM them off your back and keep running!

Most strength coaches need to be fired.

 

[louden_swain]

4 squat workouts per week??

Your strength coach needs to get caught up with the times.

All heavy explosive movements must be drilled no more than twice a week.

 

[IronLion]

I put this together recently as a general example of a sport specific adaptaion of the Westside split. If you are training yourself this summer I highly recommend you try it. Also, if you are a OL/DL type guy then you could benefit from a few strongman type events and some general "odd lifts"

here is the program:

Monday ME Lower:

Main move: week 1 = Parallel box squat
week 2 = Sumo DL
week 3 = Full ROM squat stance GM

Secondary 1: week 1=SLDL
week 2=1 leg split squat
week 3=Step Ups

Secondary 2: week 1=Zercher Front Squat
week 2=GHR
week 3=One Hand powersnatch

Accesory: week 1=turkish get ups + zott presses
week 2=standing weighted crunch + overhead shrugs
week 3=hip swing throughs + saxon side bends

Tuesday: ME UPPER

Main Move:

week1=Full ROM PL Style Bench press
week2=Push Press
week3=Incline DB (pronated)

Secondary1:

week1=3 board
week2=Pin press from 90 degree elbow angle
week3=Incline BB 2 board close grip

Secondary2:

week1=JM Press
week2=Tate Press
week3=Pronated db shoulder press + band pushdowns HV

Accesory:

week1=Chest Supported Row+face pulls+hammer curls
week2=Pull Up+underhand bb row
week3=bench plane row+hammer curls+bent over shrugs

Wednesday: Straight ahead speed work
dynamic/plyo warm up every week
high knees
stiff leg bounding
back pedal
forward lunges
backward lunges
carioca
skip bounding for height

week 1
sled starts
form running
ankle dragging
static stretch

week 2
Hill Sprints
interval sprint/jog
bear crawl hills
static stretch

week 3
sand sprints
get up/get off
static stretch

Thursday : DE LOWER

Main Move:

every week=Speed Squat off box w/ bands


Secondary1:

week1= Box Jumps
week2= jump squats
week3= speed skater w/ db's

Secondary2:

week1= drop squats
week2= Overhead walking lunges
week3= oly complex
snatch, drop squat, overhead squat = 1

Accesory:

week1= vert test+depth jump test+broad jump test (all standing)
week2= ladders forward + side + diagonal
week3= forward hops over bench + side hops over bench

Core every week:
Bent press+tornado ball or woodchoppers

Friday DE upper:

Main Move:

week 1=Speed Bench w/ bands
week 2=Speed ohp w/ bands
week 3=One handed DB throws for height

Secondary1

week1 =Powersnatch
week2 =Powerclean
week3 =Split Jerk

Secondary2

week1 =Med ball Backwards throw for distance + forward throw (both start from ground)
week2 =Explosive pushups (up to boxes)
week3 =Med Ball Recoils

Accesory= every week

rotator 3 way
plate pinch
hub holds

Friday session 2: Agility and COD Sprints

dynamic/plyo warm up every week
high knees
stiff leg bounding
back pedal
forward lunges
backward lunges
carioca
skip bounding for height

week 1
Hoops 8 ft diameter
sprint-reacts
static stretches

week 2
Star drill
knee tucks complex with 20 yard sprint
static stretches

week 3
ladders
w drills
stretch

sets and reps have been left out purposely.....the main move should be taken to a 5 rep max the first week then a 3 rep max three weeks later, then a 1 rep max three weeks later

the secondary1 moves should be a little less intense than the main but still no more than 20 total reps

the secondary2 moves should have an element of volume so as to build some anaerobic endurance so between 30 and 40 total reps

the dynamic moves and secondarys should all be done with speed in mind and never in sets with reps above 5. Those days are for training your body to recruit fibers fast....

 

[coolcolj]

4 squat session a week is ok, as long as the volume is divided up into the 4 workouts, ie lower volume than one would use if training once or twice a week.

I squat and do olys 3 times a week no problems.

 

[Swolenpecs]

My coach is a big olympic lift trainer...i think olympic lifts are good but thats all he does, rarely do we do speed/high reps. The guys that worship him are all too tight to even be any good on the field.

Spatts, i would really appreciate if you could throw me together an in season routine and maybe an offseason one later on.

Thx everyone else...

 

[spatts]

swolenpecs, the one ironlion just pasted kicks ass, and I get a lot of my tips and tricks from him. We have very similar training philosophies. Definitely check it out.

 

[Zander1983]

swolenpecs, the one ironlion just pasted kicks ass, and I get a lot of my tips and tricks from him. We have very similar training philosophies. Definitely check it out.

What spatts said. I'm on that routine now (see my journal below). Its kicking ass.

 

[The Sun Devil]

Tell him how u feel about your training

 

[collegiateLifter]

I play college ball and we work out all year, but during the summer we have a choice to workout on our own. I choose to workout on my own for many reasons.

My strength coach knows alot about training but makes big mistakes.

First off we do only 2 upper body exercises a week.
Bench Press and Skull crushers. Occasional shoulder circuit.

In the game of football, the upper body is used very often.
Doing 2 simple exercises won't cut it in my opinion.
I think we need at least one more Tricep and Chest exercise.
and a steady shoulder, bicep, and back routine.

Second mistake he makes is:
We do some form of squat 4 out of 5 workouts of the week. Last time i checked you need at least 48 hours of recovery time.
Several people hurt their backs and pull hamstrings.

Limme know what ya think...

On one hand, the 48 hours is in no way set in stone and doing lots of Olympic lifting variations, power cleaning, jerking, push presses, snatches, that will give your back and shoulders quite a lot of work. Though maybe a rowing movement thrown in....


On the otherhand I'm definately feelin what IL posted.

 

[Swolenpecs]

no we do...heavy back squat, clean/jerks clean/pulls on one day.
Next day Front squat snatch and snatch pulls. Day 3 heavy squats jerks, weighted stepups. day 4 light squats, cleans..ect...we may throw in only 3-4 upper body workouts a month......i get minimal gains when i do this.

When i do legs twice a week and upper 2 times a week my strength sky rockets.

Ironlion that work out looks awesome im gonna start on it right after the season.

Any in season tips??? Im taking off right now through 2 a days.
Gonna start a 3 a week work out when school starts.

 

[jerkbox]

a lot football coaches are pretty behind the times as far as strength training goes....

i only played in HS, but was fortunate to have a coach who was pretty knowledgable. during the season, we did minimal weight training supplemented with plyos and agility drills.

 

[IronLion]

In season I fully belive in bands. Buy a full set if you can b/c you will use them in your training too. About three hours after practices and workouts do a full body active recovery session. Do another one the next day. The sticky at the top of the page will explain active recovery w/ bands. Other than that just eat more and rest, try not to drink, and keep lifting even if you are sore.