STS 2-25-08

How you respond to the challenge in the second half will determine what you become after the game, whether you are a winner or a loser. -Lou Holtz

A great qoute, as the ability to make mid-game adjustments cannot be understated. I know Lou meant for the qoute to extend further than the field, but it's a great example of yet another attribute of an intelligent coach: the ability to step outside the game and view it strategically from a peripheral level without emotion. Definitely one of the most useful attributes for player/coaches in a uber-streaky sport like ours.

Here's a new article by Alwyn Cosgrove that is extremely informative. Listen to the man:

http://www.alwyncosgrove.com/leg-training-myths.html

And one of my favorites that needs to be re-read at least once a year:

http://www.alwyncosgrove.com/Articles.html
(click on "the best exercise you're not doing")

One day I'll learn how to do those link-things like one of those real blogger types. One day.

The focus of today's workout was a longer-than-usual emphasis on jump-training and also on hang-cleans for the Functional Strength part.

Movement Prep: cycle of jump-rope, walking split-squats, squats, side-lunges, inchworms, handstand pushups, and shootin' hoops.

Medicine Ball:
1A: front-squat throws
1B: mini-band shuffles

2A: sumo-squat backwards toss w/jump backwards
2B: mini-band skips

3A: Medicine Ball 3-throw circuit (see previous posts for reference)
3B: mini-band shuffles

Plyometric/explosive movent:

1A: mini-band high knees on med. plyo box
1B: plyo pushups
2 sets

2A: down n' back step-ups on small plyo box
2B: jumping pullups w/tuck
2 sets

3A: sitting box jumps w/alternating leg pistol squats
3B: hanging leg-raises
3 sets

4: box jump march on med. plyo box: http://www.exrx.net/Plyometrics/BoxJumpMarch.html
2 sets

Tried a new exercise today also, a romanian dead-lift to weighted squat-jump hybrid. To do this I took dumbells in each hand, performed the first part of the RDL (lowering) and then at the bottom I bent my knees fully and transistioned into the bottom of a squat. Then once I was centered I exploded up in a jump-squat. Very simple, and very effective. A nice variation on two seperate exercises. Here's the RDL portion:

http://www.exrx.net/WeightExercises/OlympicLifts/RomanianDeadlift.html

Functional Strength:

1: Hang Cleans: 6 sets w/increasing weight

Also did a crazy-hard circuit 4 times through, each time alternating wearing mini-bands. Like I said, the possibilites of them are endless.

2A: Deadlifts
2B: Push-press
2C: Decline sit-ups w/weight

3A: Overhead split-squats
3B: core twists w/medicine ball

Finished the workout with a killer circuit of:

- chinups w/dumbbell between feet
- GHD's
- GHD situps
- dips
3x through w/no rest

This week:
Monday: workout above
Tuesday: Winter League game
Wednesday: rest and/or yoga/stretching
Thursday: weights
Friday: Heavybag work & hill runs. On my last heavybag workout I alternated rounds wearing the mini-bands and it had an amazing effect on my lower body. Trying to keep your power stance and move properly with your knees being tugged together is amazingly good on the core/hips/legs. Crazy, I know.
Saturday: Flag football game in morning, ultimate in the afternoon.
Sunday: Golfy-golf, ultimate if good weather, weights if not.

Your goal for this week is to:
A) buy some mini-bands. Seriously.
B) find a way to incorporate them into a portion of your workout that you haven't done before. If what you've created with them is awesome then feel free to write me about it so I can try it out as well.

Now go to it.

#40

300 Club

"Appearance is a consequence of fitness" - Mark Twight

Did the 300 workout that everyone has been spoutin' about since the movie came out for the first time today. The story goes that it was an invitation-only rite-of-passage workout for the actors & stuntmen at the end of the training camp for the movie. The guy that designed the program for the movie, Mark Twight, is realer than the real deal holyfield. His workouts are based on the concept of sprint methodology: high-intensity full body movements done in succession for complete metabolic and neurological fatigue. Sound ultimate related to you? For a further explanation check out the man himself:

http://www.gymjones.com/

The 300 workout:
(done in exact order, can't move on to next exercise until all reps are completed)

25 x pullups
50 x Deadlifts w/135lbs
50 x pushups
50 x box jumps on largest plyo box
50 x floor wipers
50 x 1 arm clean-n-press w/36lb kettlebell (I substituted a 35lb dumbbell as I had no kettelbell available)
25 x pullups

This workout was a useful measuring stick for my off-season program, and for my off-season program only. I couldn't care less about fitness "tests" like these, as my one & only concern is how my training translates over to W's on the field. But it was nice to check in and see where my training program stacks up to other fitness professional's on a quantitative level.

I'm writing this 2 hours after the workout and I'm still dizzy. When I first took a look at the workout the deadlifts stood out immediately. 50 is quite a daunting number, but I broke it up into 5 sets of 10 and it went by much easier than I anticipated. Thank god they were second. I really started to feel fatigue on the second half of the box jumps, which I broke into the same rep/set count. The 1-arm clean-n-press were a blur, mostly just tried to keep my feet underneath me, my food down, and the room from spinning.

Even if I did care, since I didn't use a kettlebell which incorporates a bit more core stability, grip strength, and would be 1lb heavier, my time wouldn't be considered "official". But I will say that I broke the 20-minute mark, putting me up there with 'dem dudes from the movie. What does that mean? absolutely jack shit. But it was still fun to get a ferociously difficult workout done in under 20 minutes.

This week:
Monday- rest
Tuesday- winter league game
Wednesday- 300
Thursday- row machine & elliptical intervals
Friday- weights
Saturday- flag football game in the morning, beach ultimate in the afternoon
Sunday- golf in the morning, heavybag workout & hill runs in the afternoon

#40

STS 2-12-08

I'm tired of hearing about money, money, money, money, money. I just want to play the game, drink Pepsi, wear Reebok.
-Shaquille O'Neal

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IFNlFnyxW_w

This video is fantastic for showing the sequence of movements that make up the hang clean. In slow motion you can really see how the bar follows a direct line from the pull to the catch as close the body as possible. If your experience in olympic lifts are limited then start with deadlift-to-high pulls, front-squats, and jump-shrugs combined with lightweight cleans (just the bar) until you feel comfortable with the sequence of movements and can keep the bar on that single line close to your body. Truly my favorite excercise as it just about trains everything all at once. Add the push-press and your now into badass territory.

Todays Workout:

Movement Prep: 15 minutes worth of jump-roping, clock split-squats, inchworms, T-pushups, side lunges, bodyweight squats, & ab wheel.

Medicine Ball/Mini Band Sequence:
1A 10 front-squat throws w/catch
1B 4 mini-band shuffles

2A 10 sumo-squat backwards throws (instead of throwing straight up, throw against wall behind you as high up as you can throw) w/catch
2B 4 mini-band shuffles

3A 3-throw sequence from previous post (5 times through)
3B 4 mini-band shuffles

Plyometric Movement:

2 sets of each with plyo-pushups and jumping pull-ups w/tuck mixed in intermittently

- Mini-band high knees on med. plyo box http://www.exrx.net/Plyometrics/BoxMarchHigh.html
- Explosive step-ups, alternating legs in air
- split-squat jumps (make sure your feet don't get too far away from the center of your body. it's not a lunge jump, as the video incorrectly states). http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=aVmJKsMmd1A

Advanced Level: Pistol Squat-to-sitting box jump: sit on medium plyo box, perform 1-leg'd (pistold) squat with right leg, lower back to sitting on box and repeat with leg left, lower back to sitting and perform sitting box jump, landing on box in 1/4 squat with zero noise. That's 1 rep.

Functional Strength Training:

1A: Lateral Step-ups w/crossover: Stand on the left side of the medium plyo box with your right leg on the box in proper step-up position and bar w/weight on your back. Movement is the same as regular step-up except you step down to the side instead of backwards. Step up with right leg 3 times then at the top of step-up cross your left foot in front over to the right side of the top of the plyo box and step down with right foot so that you are now on the right side of the box with left foot on top of box in proper step-up position. Perform 3 with left-leg then cross-over back to original position. Shoot for 9-12 reps with each leg. Advanced Level: once you can lateral step-up with complete control crossover each time you step up instead of waiting until your 3rd rep.
1B: Hanging leg/knee raise

Go through 1st superset twice with rest only after hanging leg raise.

2A: overhead split-squat: 12 reps, movement is initiated by posterior chain of back leg.
2b: Lateral shuffles with mini-bands: 30-45 seconds, focus on no noise on landings.

Go through 2nd superset twice with 1st set forward split-squat, 2nd set backwards split-squat.

This next sequence is from Tyler Hansbrough's strength coach and it's emphasis is on strengthening the back. This mothaf'er is crazy-ridiculous and a huge reason for his strength gains since he came to college. Perform this with 40% of your bodyweight or below. And as always, Form. Is. Everything.

Move from one movement to the next without rest:

Deadlift-to-high-pull (6 reps)
Hang Snatches (6 reps. If you don't know how to do these substitute with russian dead-lifts)
Good-mornings (6 reps)
Thrusters (Front-squat to push-press- 6 reps)
Bent over back rows (6 reps- don't round that back)

You need to be able to keep scapular retraction while in movent the entire time. Imagine trying to squeeze a grapefruit with your shoulder blades, that's how it should feel. A round back is like drinking a beer with a straw: just f'ing useless. Don't be that guy.

Scapular retraction: http://catalog.nucleusinc.com/generateexhibit.php?ID=20873&ExhibitKeywordsRaw=&TL=&A=2

3-5 sets, depending on your strength levels.

3A: pullups/chinups TF (to failure) Advanced: weighted pullups/chinups
3B: Dips TF Advanced: weighted dips

2-3 sets. Finish with 10-15 minute core circuit, making sure to include rotational movment.

Stretch, foam roll, and eat smart food within 20 minutes of your session.

This weeks schedule:
Monday: Heavybag work (30-40 mins) followed by Bikram yoga
Tuesday: Weight session above
Wednesday: Interval work followed by full stretching session (i've been mad tight lately and trying alleviate that with extra stretching/yoga sessions)
Thursday: Reactive/elastic strength training+ jump workout
Friday: Winter League Game
Saturday: Flag Football game in the morning, pickup ultimate in the afternoon
Sunday: Golf in the morning, either heavybag work or co-ed pickup in the afternoon, or both.

#40

Back to it.

You can discover more about a person in an hour of play than in a year of conversation.
- Plato

Took a break from this thing for a minute there, but I'm back to it now. The past few months have been great for my training, I've progressed in a lot of key areas I've been emphasizing (step-ups, hang cleans, lateral movement, etc...for example) and spent LOTS of time regressing and improving other areas that definitely needed it (overhead squats, split-squats, postural control, for example). You know what your own weaknesses are, make sure you give them their due. Lots to cover today so I'll jump right into it.

Things that are awesome:

- Mini-bands. Simply the most effective way train lateral movement and strengthen the outer hip muscles. The options with them are simply endless. Just start with the greens first big guy, then work your way up.
http://www.performbetter.com/detail.aspx_Q_ID_E_3893_A_CategoryID_E_327

- 10 commandments. Couldn't have said it better if I tried.
http://www.saintwilhelms.org/Commandments.htm

- 50 tips for serious athletes. Great article.
http://www.t-nation.com/readArticle.do;jsessionid=BC65C70A3950A8AA59188E6D56E5972E.hydra?id=1354863


Today's workout:

Movement Prep: 15mins worth of jump-rope, bodyweight squats, split-squats, inchworms, handstand pushups, side lunges, etc. Again, save that static stretching for afterwards when you want to put the muscles to sleep. Not before.

Medicine-ball Work:
I incorporated medicine ball throws into the beginning of my explosive work now and it's been phenomenal. Really warms the entire body up at once and innately trains the "kinetic chain" from your feet to your fingertips. Plus it's fun. I designed a 3-step sequence that hits the most functional type of movements.

Move from one throw to another without rest.

Throw 1: sumo-squat overhead toss. Put the ball on the floor, squat down in proper squat form, pick the ball up and throw it straight overhead with arms extended exploding upwards. Catch the ball.
Throw 2: Ground Slam. Standing upright put the ball behind your head (like a soccer player attempting a throw-in). Jump up while at the same time throw the ball down in front of you as hard as you can. Your feet should stay together and will be out in front of you at the height of your jump. So your lower body is exploding up while your upper body is moving explosively downward. Catch the ball on the bounce in a front-squat position.
Throw 3: Front-squat throw: Since you're already in front-squat position finish it off with a front-squat throw, leaving your feet and throwing it straight up as high as possible, like a jump-shot straight up. Catch the ball.

Sequence: Go through the throw-sequence 5 times with no rest, then put a mini-band on just above your knees and and shuffle back and forth while staying low, on your toes (feet always pointed forward and feet should never touch each other). I do my throws on a basketball court and then shuffle down n' back to halfcourt twice.

2 times through, resting after the band shuffles. Add more throws as you see fit.

Explosive Movement:

3 new types to go over. Incorporate these into your normal box jumps, box marches, etc. Explosive & nimble are the name of the game here. Minimal ground contact as possible. I usually pick 2 of these and work 2-3 sets in.

- Mini-band high knees. Same as the box march but with mini-bands just above the knee. Stay as anaroebic as possible. Don't stress is the bands ride up the quad as you're going, sometimes it happens, just power through. Go till failure and keep that form solid.
http://www.exrx.net/Plyometrics/BoxMarchHigh.html

- Back n' forth step-ups: using the low plyo box stand with the box in front of you. As fast as you can while staying on your toes step-up onto the box with right leg first then left leg then step down in front of the box following the same pattern. Now reverse the direction while still facing the same way (always face the same way) so that you are stepping back up onto the box and then back to your original position, then repeat so that you are going back n' forth to the front and back of the box, back n' forth..etc. Alternate which leg leads the next time through, or tranisition during movement if you're advanced enough. Can also be done with those plastic reebok stepper things if you need a smaller box. Incorporating backwards movement with step-ups is the shit.

-Sitting box jumps: Sit on the edge of the medium plyo-box with your feet in dorsiflexion. From the sitting position explode up and land on top of the plyo box on your toes in a 1/4 squat (or deeper if you are able). Your landing should make zero noise, focus on your landing mechanics- absorbing with your muscles not your joints. In fact, your landing mechanics should be on your mind for every ballistic movement you make. When you stick it, hold it there for a second or two then jump down with control and repeat (you can also do a depth jump from here if you're so inclined). If you don't stick it then it's now an exercise in reactivity, bounce out of it and back to the ground as safely and as athletically as possible. Who said we only have to train jumping forwards?

Functional Strength-training:

1A: Overhead squats. Keep the heels on the floor. If you can't do these well then put the medium plyo box or a bench behind you and do box-squats. essentially re-create sitting back and standing up out of a chair, but with a bar overhead.
http://www.exrx.net/WeightExercises/OlympicLifts/OverheadSquat.html
1B: Lateral shuffles on the low plyo box with the mini-bands above the knee. 30-45 seconds
http://www.exrx.net/Plyometrics/BoxLateralShuffle.html

Twice through, resting after the shuffles

2A: Overhead split-squats. Don't lunge out, all your weight should be on the posterior chain of the back leg, not the quad of the front leg.
2B: lateral shuffles as above. Don't be scared tough guy, it's only 30-45 seconds.

First time through split-squat forwards. 2nd time through split-squat backwards.

3: hang-cleans heavy. 3 sets. Substitute another full-body lift if you can't perform these. Deadlift, deadlift-to-high-pull, more split-squats...etc.

4A: front-squat thrusters: with the bar in the push-press position perform a front-squat and finish with the bar overhead.
4b: jumping pull-up tucks TF: stand under the pull-up bar, jump up and perform a pull-up while simultaneously bring your feet into a tuck position so that you finish your pullup in a full tuck. land, repeat. Shoot for 10-12 or to failure. I also mix these in intermittently whenever I feel like so that I'll usually finish with 5-7 sets of these at the end of the workout. Same with plyo-pushups.

2 sets through, rest when necessary.

5: 2 sets of either heavy front-squats, or heavy walking split-squats.

6: 2-3 sets of hamstring/posterior chain dominant exercises: russian deadlifts, GHD's (try 1 leg if you're able) are all good examples.

Finish with 10mins of a core circuit, emphasizing your transverse abdominis (translation= do something more than just crunches.)

Now you can stretch, foam roll and eat.

This weeks schedule:
Monday- Workout above
Tuesday- Interval work & 10min. core circuit
Wednesday- Winter League game
Thursday- yoga or recovery/stretch day, depending on how I feel
Friday- weights
Saturday- Flag football in the morning, golf in the afternoon
Sunday- 40min. Heavy-bag work (punch & kick combo), pickup frisbee in the afternoon.

Have a good week, and remember to always train as close to game speed as possible.

#40